Martel is considered to be the founding figure of the European Middle Ages. He was skilled as an administrator and warrior. Martel is often credited with a key role in the development of feudalism and knighthood. He was a great patron of Saint Boniface. Martel made the first attempt at reconciliation between the Papacy and the Franks. The Pope wished him to become the defender of the Holy See and offered him the Roman consulship. Martel refused the offer.
Although Martel never assumed the title of king, he divided Francia, like a king, between his sons Carloman and Pepin. The latter became the first of the Carolingians, the family of Charles Martel, to become king. Martel's grandson, Charlemagne, extended the Frankish realms to include much of the West. Charlemagne became the first Emperor since the fall of Rome. On the basis of his achievements, Martel laid the groundwork for the Carolingian Empire.
Deng Minghe
Deng Minghe (; 8 June 2006 – 28 April 2015) was a Chinese actor of yu opera. He was best known for opening the 2012 "CCTV New Year's Gala" on China Central Television (CCTV), performing a folk song. He also appeared in the Henan Television series "Liyuanchun" in 2010. He was born in Handan, Hebei.
Deng died from leukemia on 28 April 2015 in Beijing, aged 8. He had the disease once before and recovered after five rounds of chemotherapy in 2013. However, in February 2015, his condition got worse.
Deaths in May 2015
The following is a list of notable deaths in May 2015. For notable deaths before the current month, please see "Previous months".
Emil Doepler
"Emil Doepler the younger"' (29 October 1855 - 21 December 1922) was an illustrator, painter and teacher. Today he is seen as one of the people who influenced the Art Nouveau movement. Emil Doepler's father was Carl Emil Doepler. Doepler designed the coat of arms of the Weimar Republic.
Matthias Kuhle
Matthias Kuhle (20 April 1948 – 25 April 2015) was a German geographer. He was also a professor at the University of Göttingen in Göttingen. He edited the book series "Geography International" published by Shaker Verlag.
Kuhle was born in Berlin. He died in an earthquake on 25 April 2015 in the village of Saurpani, Gorkha, Nepal. He was 67.
Marty Napoleon
Marty Napoleon (June 2, 1921 – April 27, 2015) was an American jazz pianist. He was best known for having replaced Earl Hines in Louis Armstrong's All Stars in 1952. He also worked with Gene Krupa, Phil Napoleon, Teddy Napoleon, Charlie Ventura, Kai Winding and Rex Stewart.
Napoleon was born in Brooklyn, New York City to Italian immigrants from Sicily. He died on April 27, 2015 in Glen Cove, Long Island, aged 93.
Synthetic genomics
Synthetic genomics is a type of genetic engineering. It makes genes which never occur in nature.
Synthetic genomics does not use naturally occurring genes. It may use custom-designed base pair series. In the future, it might use genetic codes that are not composed of the two base pairs of DNA currently used by life forms.
Synthetic genomics uses techniques from genetics research. Researchers can make long base pair chains cheaply and accurately on a large scale. This allows them to do experiments on genomes which do not exist in nature. They also use ideas in protein folding and high-end computing facilities.
The J. Craig Venter Institute is working in this field. The team of about 20 researchers is led by Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith, DNA researcher Craig Venter and microbiologist Clyde A. Hutchison III. The Venter group has put together a semi-synthetic "Mycoplasma genitalium" bacterial genome by recombination of 25 overlapping fragments. This was done in a single step:
Geneticists have made the first synthetic chromosome for yeast. "The genes in the original chromosome were replaced with synthetic versions and the finished man-made chromosome was then successfully integrated into a yeast cell".
Other companies, including one called Synthetic Genomics (company), have been formed to take advantage of the many commercial uses of custom designed genomes.
Ray Jackson (activist)
Ray Jackson (1941 – 23 April 2015) was an Australian Aboriginal activist and Wiradjuri elder. He was President of the Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA). He was a notable campaigner for the rights of Indigenous Australians. He was a member of the Stolen Generations.
Jackson died on 23 April 2015 in the suburb of Sydney of Waterloo, New South Wales. He was 74.
Gopulu
S. Gopalan (1924 – 29 April 2015), better known as Gopulu, was an Indian illustrator and cartoonist. He was best known for his work for the Tamil humour magazine "Ananda Vikatan".
Gopulu was born in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. He died on 29 April 2015, aged 91. His son outlived him.
St. Clement Parish (Ottawa)
Before the 1960s, Catholics all over the world prayed together in Latin. In the 1960s, the leaders of the Catholic Church decided that Catholics should pray together using their mother tongue instead of using Latin. Some Catholics still wanted to use Latin when they prayed together. A group of these Catholics were in Ottawa and asked Bishop Joseph-Aurèle Plourde to let them pray together in Latin. He said that they could. The group started to meet together in 1968.
When these Catholics started to meet together, they met at Precious Blood Sisters' Monastery. This was a large home for nuns. In 1984, the nuns could not share their home with them anymore. The group moved to a small building and called themselves St. Clement Latin Community. They stayed in the new building until 1993. At that time they were able to get a church building of their own. The new church was on Mann Avenue in the Sandy Hill neighborhood.
In 2011, Bishop Terrence Prendergast asked St. Clement Parish if they wanted to move into Ste-Anne Church. Ste-Anne Church was an old church building that was important to the history of Ottawa. The parish started to meet at Ste-Anne Church on June 3, 2012.
The St. Clement Parish also runs an event called Marie Reine du Canada Pilgrimage. During this pilgrimage, people walk 100 km from Saint-Joseph-de-Lanoraie to the church of Notre-Dame du Cap in Trois-Rivières. It is based on a similar pilgrimage from Notre-Dame de Paris to Chartres Cathedral in France.
Talossan language
Talossan is a constructed language created for the micronation the Kingdom of Talossa. In Talossan the language is called "Talossan".
Patachou
Henriette Ragon (10 June 1918 – 30 April 2015), better known by her stage name Patachou, was a French actress and singer. She appeared on stage, television and movies between 1953 and 2006. She also wrote at least twenty songs. On 1 January 2009, she was awarded the Legion of Honour.
Patachou was born in Paris. Her son, Pierre Billon (born 1946), is a songwriter.
Patachou died on 30 April 2015 in Paris, aged 96.
Gregory Mertens
Gregory Mertens (2 February 1991 – 30 April 2015) was a Belgian professional footballer. His position was central defender. He played in the Belgian Pro League, playing for Cercle Brugge (2011–2014) and Lokeren (2014–2015). He was born in Anderlecht.
Mertens went into cardiac arrest and collapsed on 27 April 2015 while playing a game against K.R.C. Genk. He died from heart failure on 30 April at a Genk hospital, aged 24.
Lennart Bodström
Ture Lennart Bodström (20 April 1928 - 30 April 2015) was a Swedish politician. He was born in Gothenburg. He served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Olof Palme's Social Democratic cabinet from 1982 to 1985. Following the 1985 election, Bodström was reassigned to the post of Minister for Education.
United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor