the-french-artist/wikipedia_20220301.simple_sentence_split huggingface dataset:
How it is played
In an orchestra, double bass players bow the strings with a wooden bow strung with horsehair, or pluck the strings with their fingers (plucking the strings is called pizzicato).
In jazz the double bass is played pizzicato most of the time.
However some jazz players use the bow to play melodies on the double bass.
Double bass players hold down the metal strings against the fingerboard with their left hand and then bow the string or pluck it with their right hand.
To play different notes the double bass players move the left hand to different positions on the fingerboard.
Double bass players in jazz bands or rock bands often connect their double bass to an electronic amplifier and a loudspeaker, to make a louder, stronger sound.
This makes it easier for the double bass player, the other musicians, and the audience to hear the double bass's musical notes.
The double bass is usually considered a member of the violin family, because it is constructed using many of the same techniques as violins.
The double bass also has influences from the viol family.
Viols are old string instruments from the 1400s and 1500s with sloping "shoulders" on the instrument's body and flat backs.
Like the viols, the double bass also has sloping "shoulders" on its body and a flat back.
The double bass is generally tuned in fourths, in contrast to members of the orchestral string family, which are tuned in fifths.
Modern double basses are usually tuned, low to high, E-A-D-G, which is one octave lower than the four lowest-pitch strings on a guitar.
Throughout classical repertoire, there are notes that fall below the range of a standard double bass.
Notes below low E appear regularly in double bass parts in the Baroque and Classical eras, when the double bass was typically doubling the cello part an octave below.
In the Romantic era and the 20th-century, composers such as Mahler, Beethoven, Busoni, and Prokofiev also requested notes below the low E. There are two common methods for making these notes available to the player.
Major European orchestras generally use basses with a fifth string, tuned to B three octaves and a semitone below middle C. Players with standard double basses (E-A-D-G) typically play the notes below "E" an octave higher.
In the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, most professional orchestral players use four-string double basses with a "C extension," which extends the lowest string down as far as low C, an octave below the lowest note on the cello.
More rarely would one find a four-string double bass with a "B extension", extending the lowest string down to a low B. The extension is an extra section of fingerboard mounted up over the head of the bass.
There are several varieties of extensions.
In the simplest version, there are no mechanical aids attached                                                                             to the fingerboard extension except a locking nut for the "E" note.
To play the extension notes, the player reaches back over the pegs to press the string to the fingerboard.
The advantage of this "fingered" extension is that the player can adjust the intonation of all of the stopped notes on the extension, and there are no mechanical noises from metal keys and levers.
The disadvantage of the "fingered" extension is that it can be hard to perform rapid alternations between low notes on the extension and notes on the regular fingerboard, such as a bassline that quickly alternates between "G" and the low "D".
The simplest type of mechanical aid is the use of wooden "fingers" that can be closed to press the string down and fret the C#, D, Eb, or E notes.
This system is particularly useful for basslines that have a repeating pedal point such as a low D, because once the note is locked in place with the mechanical "finger", the lowest string then sounds a different note when it is played "open" (e.g., a low D).
The double bass also has many other names.
Some bluegrass musicians call it a "bass fiddle" or a "bull fiddle."
Rockabilly bands often call it an "upright bass" or "Doghouse" Some orchestra musicians call it a "contrabass."
In a military concert band, it is often called the "string bass."
Sometimes the double bass is simply called a "bass."
The Allied Powers (or Allies of World War II) were a group of nations that fought against the Axis countries in World War II.
They were successful in defeating the Axis nations.
The group of nations was later named the United Nations by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt.
The main great powers, sometimes called "The Big Three", were the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union.
Some of the powers fought for a short time, or declared war but did not fight.
Romania, Bulgaria, and Finland fought from 1944-1945 and before that were Axis powers.
Italy also changed sides.
The B-36 Peacemaker was a strategic bomber.
It was used in the United States.
The B-36 could carry a 21,000 pound bomb.
The B-36 was never used in wartime, but was in a movie called Strategic Air Command.
The Peacemaker could fly for 48 hours non-stop and was one of the longest ranged bombers at the time.
It first flew in 1948, and the last combat flight was in 1959.
United States Air Force aircraft
Animal wings
A wing is part of an animal that allows it to fly.
By moving its wings, the animal can produce lift and get off the ground.
Animals that have wings are insects, birds and bats.
Birds' wings are made of feathers.
The wings of bats are made of skin, which is stretched between the bones of the bat's arms and fingers.
Not all insects and birds can fly, even if they have wings.
Artificial wings
Airplanes also have wings.
Those wings cannot be moved, they are stable, but the wings also produce lift, so the airplane will get off the ground if you move it fast enough.
People also talk about wings of buildings.
What they mean is usually a part of the building that is separated from the rest (for example: the west wing of a building).
These conditions may be congenital (present at birth), cognitive (to do with the brain), developmental (appears as the person develops), physical (for example, caused by an accident or infection), sensory, or a combination of factors.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines disability as:
"long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder [a person's] full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others".
Invisible disabilities, or hidden disabilities are disabilities that are not immediately obvious.
Some examples of invisible disabilities are intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mental disorders, asthma, epilepsy, allergies, migraines, arthritis, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
People with a disability or disabilities may need to use special equipment that can help them.
This can include using a wheelchair, a cane or walking stick, hearing aids, a teletypewriter (TTY) and using specially designed software and hardware for the personal computer.
People who use a wheelchair cannot walk up or down stairs in a building.
They need to use ramps and elevators (lifts)  going into and moving around in a building.
Wide doorways and accessible toilets also make it easier for people with physical disabilities to use.
Prejudice towards people with disabilities is common.
This is sometimes called 'ableism'.
People with such a prejudice are called an ablecentrists.
Some categories of disability
Physical disabilities limit the way the body works.
Visual impairment is when the eyesight of a person is affected. (
e.g. blind)
Hearing impairment is when a person cannot hear normally. (
e,g. deaf)
Intellectual disability is when a person's brain is limited and cannot function at the same level as another person of their age.
Developmental disabilities can limit how a person processes information and thinks.
Guardian disability page
Newfoundland is an island off the east Coast of North America, and is part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The capital city of Newfoundland is St. John's, on the north-east part of the island.
Over 500,000 people live in Newfoundland (these people are called Newfoundlanders).
It, along with Labrador on the mainland, became part of Canada on March 31, 1949.
There is no bridge or tunnel from Newfoundland to the rest of the country but there is a ferry to Nova Scotia.
In Newfoundland, most people speak English, but there are also French speakers on the island, mostly in the south-west.
In some areas of Newfoundland, people speak with an accent and use words that are not in standard English.
There is even a dictionary of Newfoundland English.
The first people in Newfoundland were the First Nations.
Settlers came from countries like Norway, England, Portugal, France, and Ireland in the 16th century.
The first European explorers were the Vikings from Norway and they settled in L'Anse aux Meadows.
They came because of the good fishing off the coast, especially off the south-east coast.
Eventually they left because of disagreements with aboriginals.
Today, there is still fishing, but not very much because people fished too much, and now there are not many fish left.
Cutting down trees and mining have also been attractions of the island.
There are some paper mills (paper factories) in a few cities in Newfoundland.
Welcome Page for Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland Tourism
Geography of Newfoundland and Labrador
Kiss is an American hard rock/heavy metal band.
The band started in the 1970s.
They formed in New York City on January 4th 1973.
The original members are Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley.
They are most famous for their stage show and songs like "Rock and Roll All Nite" (1975), "Strutter" (1974) and "Detroit Rock City" (1976).
Paul Stanley - rhythm guitar, vocals
Gene Simmons - bass guitar, vocals
Tommy Thayer - lead guitar
Eric Singer - drums, vocals
Ace Frehley - lead guitar, vocals
Peter Criss - drums, vocals
Eric Carr - drums, vocals
Vinnie Vincent - lead guitar, vocals
Mark St. John - lead guitar, vocals
Bruce Kulick - lead guitar, vocals
Kiss has had several changes in style and lineup.
Their more famous era was in the mid 1970s, particularly the first 6 studio albums, and the first live album, Alive!
which was widely popular.
In the 1980s, Kiss started to follow the trend taking place with more synthesizers, and songs that many fans didn't like because of a big change in style.
In the 1990s, Kiss changed toward the grunge and heavier trend with Revenge and Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions.
The original members reunited for Psycho Circus and then parted ways again in 2002.
Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer replaced Frehley and Criss, and the current lineup has made the 2009 album Sonic Boom, which was a return to the classic style of the 70's, and many fans liked it.
The follow up to that is going to be released in June 2012, titled Monster.
Music from "The Elder"
Kiss Online
Kiss Army
Kiss Dressed to Play - Brazilian Page
2020s American music groups
The Visioner's Tale is one of the little-known writings of Geoffrey Chaucer.
Only parts of the story were left from when Chaucer wrote it in the 14th century, so it is not normally included in modern versions of the Canterbury Tales.
My lady's touch upon the lute is light,
yet she weaves the streams of melody,
with such profound synchicity,
that the river of time spills into dream,
into that ocean of unspoken promise,
where lives primordial the memory of future things,
here vision and voice and sound,
and meaning emerge at last as one.
British poems
Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–25 October 1400) was an English writer, poet, and philosopher.
He is most famous for writing Canterbury Tales which had 24 stories but was not completed.
He was one of the first writers to write in English.
He wrote in Middle English.
Chaucer was probably born in London.
His father, John, and grandfather were prosperous wine merchants in London.
The name Chaucer is French and means shoemaker.
However, not many details are known of his early life and education.
By 1357, Chaucer was a page to Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster, wife of Lionel, 1st Duke of Clarence.
In 1360, he was captured by the French near Reims during a battle in the Hundred Years' War.
He was then ransomed and released.
King Edward III gave £16 towards his release.
Chaucer married Phillipa (de) Roet.
She was a lady-in-waiting to the queen and had close family connections to John of Gaunt.
He had about three or four children.
The king's squire
Chaucer may have studied law in the Inner Temple.
He joined the Royal court and travelled around Europe on business for the king.
He became one of the king's esquires.
One of his first known poems was written in 1369.
It was called The Book of The Duchess, and was written after the death of John of Gaunt's wife, Blanche.
In 1374, he became Comptroller (in charge of the money) of the Customs for the Port of London.
He did this job for 12 years.
It was a well paid job and Chaucer was quite rich.
When Richard II became king, Chaucer continued to work in Customs.
He was also sent to Europe on several more diplomatic jobs for the king.
Chaucer moved to Kent in 1385 where he had a new position as Justice of the Peace.
He was also elected as one of two knights of the shire to be a member of parliament.
At the end of the year he lost his customs jobs.
His wife, Phillipa, died in 1387.
But on 12 July 1389, he was made the Clerk of the Kings Works, looking after repairs to the royal palaces.
He was given other small positions, including looking after the river banks of the Thames, and as a deputy forester in the Royal Forest.
Over the next few years, Chaucer became poorer and often was given small payments and pensions from the king.
He died at St.Mary's Chapel in Sevenoaks on 25 October 1400.
Chaucer is buried in Westminster Abbey, in what is now called the Poets' Corner.
His writings
Chaucer did most of his writing between 1369 and 1393.
He is famous for his collection of stories in verse called the Canterbury Tales.
He also wrote The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame and Troilus and Criseyde.
1340s births
1400 deaths
British poets laureate
Echidna, the spiny anteater, is a monotreme that lives in Australia and in New Guinea.
They are the living members of the family Tachyglossidae.
Echnidas have a long, tube-like mouth with a sticky tongue.
They are also covered in spines.
They have mammary glands, and lay eggs.
The echidna has a method of protecting itself.
With its long, sharp claws, they quickly dig a hole until only their spines are showing when they are hiding in the hole.
The predator will not be able to get it without injuring itself on the spines.
The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus) eats termites and ants.
The three Zaglossus species also eat other small insects and grubs.
Echidnas pick up the prey with their sticky tongues.
Family Tachyglossidae
Genus Tachyglossus
Tachyglossus aculeatus
Genus Zaglossus
Zaglossus attenboroughi
Zaglossus bruijni
The 2002 Bali terrorist bombings took place in Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali.
The attack was the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia.
Kuta is a popular tourist destination.
202 people were killed.
164 of them were foreigners, 38 were Indonesian citizens.
Most of those killed were Australians, Britons and Indonesians.
In addition, 209 people were injured.
The bombings
At around 11 in the evening, a bomb destroyed a bar on Bali.
The bomb was in a backpack, and only the person that owned it died.
A few seconds later, a larger bomb went off.
This bomb was close to 1,000 kilograms.
In total, four people were charged with the terrorist attack.
An Indonesian court sentenced three of them to death.
One person received a long prison sentence.
2002 in Asia
2000s building bombings
2000s in Indonesia
2002 bombings
Building bombings in Asia
Islamic terrorist incidents in Asia
Islamic terrorist incidents in the 2000s
Mass murder in the 2000s
Massacres in Asia
Murder in 2002
Suicide bombings in Asia
Suicide car and truck bombings
Suicide in the 2000s
The Boeing 17 Flying Fortress was a heavy bomber, that was used by the United States Strategic Air Force during World War II.
It first flew in 1935, and was introduced in 1938.
It had a shorter range, and a smaller bomb load, than its sister bomber the B-24 Liberator, but it had more defensive armament.
It dropped large amounts of bombs during air raids against Germany, such as the raid on Dresden.
The B-17 was also used in the Pacific, including  the Battle of Midway.
The Flying Fortress had its name for a good reason, it could survive the hits and was able to fly while under enemy fire.
The B-17 was a heavy bomber plane that carried 2 tons of bombs.
The reason why few B-17's survived WWII was because lack of escort by allied fighters and enemy fire.
Later in WWII, the U.S. increased escort fighters for the bombers giving more protection.
The escort fights flew until the end of WWII.
Technical data (Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress)
Boeing aircraft
Royal Air Force aircraft
World War II American aircraft
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith is a science fiction movie.
It is the third film in the Star Wars saga produced by Lucasfilms.
It was released in 2005.
The movie shows the events that led to the transformation of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader of the original trilogy.
It also shows how Palpatine turned the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire as well as showing the destruction of the Jedi because of Order 66.
Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker
Natalie Portman as Senator Padmé Amidala
Ian McDiarmid as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine
Frank Oz as the voice of Yoda
Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu
Jimmy Smits as Senator Bail Organa
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
Kenny Baker as R2-D2
Christopher Lee as Count Dooku
Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca
Matthew Wood as General Grievous
Silas Carson as Nute Gunray
Temuera Morrison as Commander Cody and other clone troopers
Episode III on Wookiepedia
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith at StarWars.com
Film screenplay  at MovieScriptPlace.com
Star Wars Episode III -Revenge of the Sith at The Movie Database
2005 science fiction movies
Pregnancy movies
Prequel movies
Revenge of the Sith
Movies directed by George Lucas
Screenplays by George Lucas
American sequel movies
2000s sequel movies
Midway Atoll was the site of a famous battle in World War II, the Battle of Midway.
The United States of America took control of the atoll in the 19th century when nobody lived there.
While Midway supports nearly three million birds, each seabird species has carved out a specific site on the atoll in which to nest.
Seventeen different species of seabird can be found, the rarest of which is the Short-tailed Albatross, otherwise known as the “Golden Gooney.”
Fewer than 2,200 are believed to exist due to excessive feather hunting in the late nineteenth century.
Over 250 different species of looli marine life are found in the  of lagoon and surrounding waters.
The critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals raise their pups on the beaches.
Monk seals are benthic foragers and rely on the Midway Atoll’s reef fish, squid, octopus and crustaceans.
Green sea turtles, another threatened species, occasionally nest on the island.
The first was found in 2006 on Spitsy Rinaia Island and another in 2007 on Sand Island.
A resident pod of 300 spinner dolphins live in the lagoons and nearshore waters.
Satellite Map and NOAA Chart of Midway  on BlooSee
AirNav - Henderson Field Airport : Airport facilities and navigational aids.
Diary from the middle of nowhere BBC's environment correspondent David Shukman reports on the threat of plastic rubbish drifting in the North Pacific Gyre to Midway.
Accessed 2008-03-26.
Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (this article incorporated some content from this public domain site)
NOAA Midway Island Hawaiian Monk Seal Captive Care & Release Project
The Battle of Midway: Turning the Tide in the Pacific, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
Marines at Midway: by Lieutenant Colonel R.D. Heinl, Jr., USMC Historical Section, Division of Public Information Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps 1948,
Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
Past residents of Midway Discussion of Midway related topics by former residents and those interested in Midway.
U.S. Unincorporated Possessions.
Pacific islands
Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (Besiktas JK) is a Turkish football club from Istanbul.
Besiktas JK was founded in 1903 by 26 young men in "Osman Pasa Konagi".
It was the beginning of the 20th century and it was forbidden then to attend sports activities on a club basis.
People were gathering together all around Istanbul.
Twenty-six young men (Huseyin Bereket, Mehmet Samil, Ahmet Fetgeri, Mehmet Ali Fetgeri, Fuat Balkan, Muhittin Pasa, Mazhar Kazanci, Nazim Nazif Ander, Haydar Bey, Cami Baykurt, Behcet Bey, Sevket Cenani, Mahmut Naci Bey, Refik Bey, Sukru Pasa, Haci Ahmet Pasa, Kilic Ali, Ziya Karamursel, Kenan Bey, Yuzbasi Fethi Bey, Seraffettin Bey, Seref Bey, Celal Davut, Hami Bey, Fuat Pasa, and Kamil Beyler) gathered together on November in 1902 and decided to found a club.
Next year in 1903 the vision came to life and Besiktas JK was founded.
Besiktas is one of the 3 big clubs in Turkey.
Others are Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe.
Phosphorus has the chemical symbol P, and its atomic number is 15.
Its mass number is 30.97.
It is not found in nature as an element but as compounds, such as phosphates.
It can be a red or a white waxy solid.
Phosphorus comes in several forms.
White and red phosphorus are the most common forms.
White phosphorus is a waxy white solid.
When pure, it is colourless.
It is insoluble in water, but soluble in carbon disulfide, an organic solvent.
It turns light yellow when in air.
It glows in the dark because it "burns" very slowly in air.
When exposed to sunlight, or when heated in its own vapour to 250 °C, it is converted to the red variety.
This form does not ignite spontaneously and it is less toxic and less flammable than white phosphorus.
The red modification is fairly stable and sublimes with a vapor pressure of 1 atmosphere at 417 °C.
White phosphorus is more reactive than red phosphorus.
White phosphorus catches fire spontaneously in air, burning to make smoke of phosphorus(V) oxide.
If it burns in a little air, it produces poisonous phosphorus(III) oxide.
When white phosphorus is heated in an alkali, it disproportionates to produce hypophosphites and phosphine.
Red phosphorus can burn but needs to be ignited.
Phosphorus reacts with the halogens to make phosphorus halides.
It reacts with some metals to make phosphides.
Phosphorus compounds are chemical compounds containing phosphorus.
They are listed below with some of their properties.
Phosphorus comes in several oxidation states, the number of electrons moved during a redox reaction.
-3 is flammable, powerful reducing agent, and toxic; +1 is a strong reducing agent and is rare; +3 is a weaker reducing agent that is poisonous; +5 is not a reducing agent and is very common.
In -3 oxidation state
Phosphides
Phosphine, toxic gas that smells like fish and ignites by itself
Phosphide, the ion
Other compounds
Phosphonium, another ion
In +1 oxidation state
Hypophosphorous acid, salts are called hypophosphites
In +3 oxidation state
Phosphites
Phosphorous acid, poisonous, salts are called phosphites
Phosphorus(III) oxide, phosphorus trioxide, poisonous, garlic-smelling
In +5 oxidation state
Phosphoric acid, most common, salts are called  phosphates
Mono-calcium phosphate
Phosphorus (V) oxide, phosphorus pentoxide, absorbs water
Phosphorus (V) chloride
It is an essential component of living systems and is found as phosphate in nervous tissue, bones and cell protoplasm.
It is also found in the earth as phosphate rock.
Phosphate rock is the main source of phosphorus and phosphorus compounds.
Many body tissues have calcium phosphates in them.
Phosphorus was first made by heating a mixture of phosphates and carbon in an iron pot.
The phosphates were made by dissolving bones in strong acids and evaporating the solution.
Phosphorus is made now by heating calcium phosphate, carbon, and silicon dioxide in an electric arc furnace.
The heat of the electric arc melts the mixture of materials, and phosphorus gas is given off.
It is absorbed under water.
This makes white phosphorus.
White phosphorus is used in incendiary weapons and smoke grenades.
It is also used to make organic compounds that have phosphorus in them.
Phosphorus is used to dope semiconductors.
Phosphorus is used to remove oxygen from copper.
It is also used in making alloys.
Red phosphorus is used in matches and flares.
Phosphorus compounds are used for fertilizers, soft drinks, toothpaste, and detergents.
Most of these are phosphates.
Phosphides can be used to kill rodents.
White phosphorus is very dangerous.
It is very toxic and ignites easily, burning with a very hot flame.
Red phosphorus is much safer.
Some phosphorus compounds are toxic, but the common phosphates are not toxic.
Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 – October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States (1853–1857) and is the only president from New Hampshire.
Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" (a Northerner with Southern sympathies) who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.
Pierce was born on November 23, 1804, in Hillsborough, New Hampshire.
He attended school at Hillsborough Center but then moved to Hancock Academy in Hancock at the age of 12.
After attending school there for five years, he was transferred to Phillips Exeter Academy in the spring of 1820.
After he entered, he felt homesick and returned home.
Consequently, his father then put him in a wagon, drove him half way back to school, and left him on the roadside without saying a word.
Franklin walked the seven remaining miles back to school.
Later that year, he was transferred to Phillips Exeter Academy to prepare for college.
That fall, he was sent to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.
While he was there, Franklin Pierce participated in literary, political, and debating clubs.
During his second year there, his grades were the lowest in his class, but he was able to improve them and graduated with the rank of fifth in his class.
Once finished with college, he went to law school in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Pierce was admitted to the bar and began law practice in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1827.
Franklin Pierce rose to a central position in the Democratic party of New Hampshire and was elected to the lower house in New Hampshire’s General Court in 1828.
Pierce served in the State House from 1829 to 1833 and  also  served as Speaker from 1832 to 1833.
Then in 1832, Franklin was elected Democrat to the 23rd and 24th of Congress from March 4, 1833, to March 4, 1837.
At 27 years of age, Pierce was the youngest U.S. Representative at that time.
In 1836, he was elected by the New Hampshire General Court as a Democrat to the U.S Senate, serving from March 4, 1837, to February 28, 1842.
After serving in the Senate, Pierce went back to Concord to resume law practice.
He then was U.S. Attorney from 1845 to 1847 for the district of New Hampshire, though he declined Democratic nomination for Governor of New Hampshire and refused the appointment as General of the United States.
On November 19, 1834, Franklin Pierce married Jane Means Appleton.
They had three children, all of which died in childhood.
Franklin Pierce Jr. died only three days after birth; and Frank Robert Pierce died at four years of age from epidemic typhus; just two months before his inauguration, Franklin Pierce and his family boarded a train bound for  Boston.
Shortly after, their derailed car started to roll down an embankment.
Franklin and Jane survived, merely shaken up, but saw their 11-year-old son Benjamin get crushed to death.
Jane Pierce thought the train accident was a divine punishment for Franklin’s pursuit and acceptance of high office.
President years
Franklin Pierce served as President from March 4, 1853, to March 4, 1857.
He was the first President to “affirm” his oath of office instead of swearing it (the only other president to do this has been Herbert Hoover).
So rather than placing his hands on the Bible, Franklin Pierce placed his hands on a law book.
He was also the first President to recite his inaugural address from memory.
Surprisingly, Franklin Pierce selected men of different opinions for his Cabinet.
Many people expected a diverse group to break up quickly, but the Cabinet stayed together for Pierce’s four-year term.
Franklin Pierce’s toughest challenge as President was the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854.
This act repealed the Missouri Compromise and, in the west, reopened the question of slavery.
These and more triggered a series of events known as "Bleeding Kansas".
Pro-slavery Border Ruffians, mostly from Missouri, illegally voted in a government.
Pierce recognized this and called the Topeka Constitution, set up by Free-Staters, as an act of “rebellion.”
Overall, Franklin Pierce is ranked among the least effective Presidents of the United States, as he was unable to steer a steady, prudent course.
After losing the Democratic reelection in 1856, Pierce retired with his wife.
Franklin Pierce died in Concord, New Hampshire of cirrhosis on October 8, 1869 at the age of 64.
He was buried in Old North Cemetery in Concord.
Pierce's White House biography
1804 births
People from Concord, New Hampshire
United States representatives from New Hampshire
United States senators from New Hampshire
Lawyers from New Hampshire
Politicians from New Hampshire
The Ottoman Empire, officially the Sublime State of Ottomania (in Ottoman Turkish: دولت عالیه عثمانیه), was a multinational state that lasted from 1299 to 1923.
It was centered in Turkey and controlled the eastern and southern lands around the Mediterranean Sea.
The empire was founded by Osman I around 1299, and was most powerful from around 1400 to 1600, when it controlled trade and politics in southeastern Europe, southwest Asia, and northern Africa.
Suleiman the Magnificent was one of the most powerful rulers.
The empire was a collection of conquered countries.
The Sultan sent governors to rule these countries or provinces, with titles such as Pasha or Bey.
The most famous in the early 19th century was Muhammad Ali Pasha.
Besides provinces, the empire also had tributary states.
In later years, the Ottoman Empire began to weaken.
In the later part of the 19th century, it became known as "the sick man of Europe".
The empire was defeated in World War I and broke apart.
The Ottoman Empire was founded by Osman I in 1299.
His son, Orhan, captured its first capital, Bursa, from the Byzantine Empire.
In the late 1300s, the Ottomans began consolidating power, especially in the Balkans, where Serbia was defeated in 1389 at the Battle of Kosovo Polje by Sultan Murad I. He died at the battle, and Bayezid I took control.
At the 1396 Battle of Nicopolis, a large crusade of the Western European powers was defeated.
Despite the victory, Bayezid was deposed by Tamerlane at the Battle of Ankara in 1402.
His absence led to a civil war, referred to as the Ottoman Interregnum.
Mehmed Çelebi won and became Mehmed I. His son, Murad II had to battle pretenders to the throne backed by the Byzantine Empire.
He retaliated with an attack on Constantinople, and Venice helped the Byzantines.
Murad defeated them at Thessaloniki.
He also defeated the Karamanid beylik (principality), Hungary, Poland, and Wallachia at Varna in 1444.
John Hunyadi, a Hungarian general, tried his hand at defeating the Turks but lost in 1448.
Mehmed the Conqueror conquered Constantinople on May 29, 1453.
He also subjugated Albania and expanded tolerance for the Orthodox Church.
Mehmed continued his expansion, followed by his son Bayezid II.
Selim I conquered Egypt and the Levant, which were ruled by the Mamluks, in early 1517.
He also obliterated the Safavid Persians at Chaldiran in 1514.
The Ottomans were at odds with Portugal over their expansion as well.
Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim's son, captured Belgrade and most of Hungary after the Battle of Mohács in 1526.
His Siege of Vienna was repulsed by the deeply-divided Holy Roman Empire in 1529.
Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia became tributary to the Ottoman Empire soon afterwards.
In the east, the Ottomans captured Baghdad from the Safavids and partitioned the Caucasus with them.
Meanwhile, Suleiman allied Francis I of France over mutual hatred of the Habsburgs.
This led to Ottoman activity in the Mediterranean, where Rhodes, Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli would eventually be captured.
Barbarossa Hayreddin led the Ottoman advance.
In 1566, Suleiman died, and many historians consider that the start of the Ottoman stagnation.
The Ottomans lost the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 by Philip II of Spain and his Holy League.
The Ottomans quickly recovered by capturing Cyprus from the Republic of Venice.
However, the defeat shattered the myth of Ottoman invincibility.
The Ottomans suffered many defeats in the next 30 years: the Long War with the Austrian Empire ended in stalemate, and the Safavids invaded the eastern Ottoman provinces.
Murad IV recaptured Iraq and the Caucasus from Persia.
The "Sultanate of Women" became an nickname for the Ottoman Empire after consorts Kösem Sultan and Turhan Sultan became important in the empire and sometimes made even economic decisions in the Sultan's place.
The Grand Vizier also took a greater role under the leadership of the Köprülüs.
Crete was captured from Venice and southern Ukraine was captured from Poland.
However, Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha carelessly opened up the empire to attack when he attacked Vienna.
The Austrians, Poles, Russians, and Venetians all attacked the Ottomans back in the Great Turkish War.
Austria and Poland attacked the overstretched Turks in Hungary and Transylvania while Russia hammered Crimea.
Venice settled to attack Greece.
The warring sides signed the Treaty of Karlowitz, ceding Hungary and Transylvania to Austria, Podolia (southern Ukraine) to Poland, Morea (southern Greece) to Venice, and Azov (a Black Sea port) to Russia.
Russia and Sweden went to war, and the Ottomans got involved by retaking Azov and then making peace.
Austria, Russia, Venice, and the Ottomans would go to war several times.
By 1739, the Ottomans had actually retaken the Morea and Serbia.
In the 1740s and the 1750s, the Ottomans began to modernize their military, but in the 1760s, the Ottomans went to war with Russia again.
Russia took over Crimea in 1783 and claimed that Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman Empire were under Russian protection.
Selim III continued modernising the military, but the elite Janissary corps troops revolted.
Napoleon attacked Egypt but was repulsed by the British.
Serbia revolted and gained nominal independence in 1815, but they were still vassals of the Ottoman Empire.
Greece won their independence after a long war of independence from 1821 to 1829.
The al-Saud family revolted in 1811 with the support of the Wahhabi sect.
Then, Egypt under Muhammad Ali almost captured Constantinople, but the Russians repulsed them.
The Egyptians settled with the Levant, and the Ottomans tried to retake it but were soundly defeated.
The Ottomans was dubbed the "sick man of Europe" because of the empire's incompetence in international affairs.
Decline and fall
The Ottoman Tanzimat period brought reform: conscription was introduced, a central bank was formed, homosexuality was decriminalised, the law was secularised, and the guilds were replaced with factories.
The Christian part of the empire became much more advanced than the Muslim part, and the divide created tension.
In the 1850s, the British and the French helped the Ottomans in the Crimean War.
The Ottoman debts led to a state of bankruptcy, and the European countries began providing loans and controlling the finances of the empire.
Worse yet, the Ottomans began war with Russia over Bulgarian independence.
Ar the 1878 Congress of Berlin, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro gained complete independence.
Bulgaria remained a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.
The British took Cyprus and in 1882 Egypt.
In 1908, the Ottomans underwent a revolution by the Young Turks.
Abdul Hamid II abdicated, and Mehmed V was instated.
Bulgaria gained independence, and Austria invaded Bosnia that same year.
In 1912, the Ottomans lost Libya to the Italians.
The ensuing Balkan Wars saw the Ottomans lose all of their European territories except Eastern Thrace to a combined force of Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bulgaria.
The Second Balkan War allowed the Ottomans to attack Bulgaria in conjunction with Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece.
Their victory meant little since the unrest continued, with a 1909 countercoup to the Young Turk coup and then three countercoups.
In 1914, although they were utterly disorganised, the Ottomans attacked Russia and declared war.
Britain and France went to war with the Ottomans, and World War I had come to Turkey.
The Ottomans early in the war performed better than expected.
They won the Battle of Gallipoli, partly because of the incompetence of the British commanders.
The Ottomans also won the Battle of Kut  though Iraq was lost later.
In 1915, some of the worst mass killings in history began.
Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks, and others were targeted, and many as 2.5 million people died.
The Ottoman Empire fell soon after the Arabs revolted in 1916 with British help.
The empire fell after the Sinai, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and eventually Anatolia itself fell.
The Ottomans surrendered in 1918.
The Turkish War of Independence was military campaign by The Turkish National Movement, which lead to the foundation of the Republic of Turkey.
In 1923, the Ottoman Empire formally ceased to exist.
Sultan's family
The empire was a hereditary monarchy.
The ruler's title was 'Sultan'. (
It was used in front of the name, e.g. "Sultan Süleyman".)
The title of 'Sultan' was also used for the wives and the daughters of the monarchs. (
It was used at the end of the name, e.g. "Hürrem Sultan".)
In the early years of the empire, shahzadahs, the sons of the Sultan, were sent to different parts of the empire (Sanjaks) to get experience of governing.
Later they might be candidates for the Sultanate and Caliphate.
After Ahmed this system changed.
In the new system the Sultan would keep his male relatives locked in a small apartment called a kafes where they would never be able to see the outside world, and would therefore be unable to take power from him.
Often, a new Sultan would have his male relatives killed, a simpler solution since it removed competition for the  Sultanate and prevented rebel movements.
However, the women in his harem often sought greater status and influence, and the Sultan's mother might become a powerful political force in the Empire.
Each mother in the harem would try to make her own son the next Sultan, since they knew he would probably be killed if he was not.
The Sultans gradually lost their ability to govern far-away territories well.
Distant governors did whatever they wanted and made their own laws instead of obeying the Sultan.
By its end, the Ottoman Empire grew so worn out and corrupt that it was ready to collapse.
Bursa was the first capital of the Ottoman Empire.
Edirne in Thrace became the capital city of the Ottoman Empire in 1365, until Istanbul was conquered by the Turks and became the empire's final capital.
Vassal states
Many places were vassal states to the empire, rather than being directly ruled.
They included Transylvania, Moldavia, Wallachia, (all of them later joined to form Romania), Caucasus (Georgia, Dagestan, and Chechnya).
Their rulers received a degree of independence and autonomy from the Ottoman Empire, but they had to pay more money (tax or tribute) to the sultan.
The Ottoman Empire: A Chronogical Outline
The Ottoman Empire: The Eternal State
Ottoman Website
History of Turkish Empire — gives detailed timetable.
Turkish Oral Narrative
Information about Ottomans
Forced population transfers in early Ottoman imperial policy - covers the period 1300-1600
Turkey in Asia is an old book in English from 1920
Ottoman Empire Citizendium
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used to destroy the enemies' economic ability to fight a war.
It is an attack from the air.
Strategic bombing missions usually attack targets such as factories, railroads, oil refineries and cities.
Missions would attack targets such as military bases, command and control facilities, airfields, and ammunition dumps.
Strategic bombing was an idea first tried in World War I. It was used by the German Luftwaffe.
They bombed Antwerp.
Zeppelins were used to bomb England.
However, the strategic bombing in World War II was on a far larger scale than anything which went before.
First, In the Battle of Britain the German Air Force almost defeated Britain by attacking the Royal Air Force planes on the ground.
This was partly successful, and some think it was a mistake to switch to other targets.
The British had primitive radar, good enough to know whereabouts each attack was going.
There was time to get the fighters in the air to intercept and damage the attacks.
German bombing of London and the larger provincial cities such as Coventry (an industrial city).
They used high explosives and incendiary devices to cause fires.
Once the attacks on British air bases was diverted to the city targets, the Luftwaffe began to lose planes to the defences.
The German air force, which had previously fought easy targets (for example, in the Spanish Civil War) began to take losses.
Eventually these losses began to tell, and Hitler cancelled the planned invasion.
He realised that no invasion across the Channel could succeed while Britain still had an active air force.
USA enters World War II
United States Army Air Force (USAAF) Colonel Billy Mitchell promoted strategic bombing in the United States.
He had new ideas on the strategic, and tactical air war.
The first USAAF strategic bomber was the B-17 Flying Fortress.
After World War II, the Strategic Air Command was located at Omaha, Nebraska, at Offutt Air Force Base.
Nuclear weapons became an important mission.
A full cadre of generals at Offutt participated in many of the missions of the "Looking Glass", a KC-135 air tanker which was stripped and refitted with state of the art electronics which would take over in case the president was killed in wartime.
The plane had several generals on board to assume wartime duties.
The "red telephone" was an instant connection to the president at the White House.
The plane flew all day every day, three planes took off a day in overlapping flights to provide this level of coverage.
Since the end of the cold war, this flight ended, however, the Strategic Air Command still maintains the main facility at Offutt AFB - this is where President Bush flew to when the Twin Towers were bombed on 9-11-01 to set up his command center.
de:Luftkrieg#Strategische Bombardements
Edsel was a make of car and a new car making division introduced by the Ford Motor Company on September 4, 1957.
The company called that day, "E-Day."
It was named after Henry Ford's son, Edsel Ford.
The Edsel was also one of the biggest failures in history.
It was sold for only three years, ending in 1960.
Ford planned to move their Lincoln brand upmarket and put another make in beneath it.
Design of the Edsel began in 1955 under the name "E-car" which stood for "Experimental car".
Edsel produced four models their first year, the 1958 model year.
These were the large Citation and Corsair, and the smaller, easier to buy Pacer and Ranger.
Citation: 2 door hardtop, 4 door sedan, 2 door convertible
Corsair: Same, no convertible
Pacer: 2 door, 4 door, 2 door sedan, 2 door convertible
Ranger: 2 door, 4 door, 2 door sedan, 4 door sedan
The Bermuda, Villager and Roundup were station wagons based on the two smaller Edsel models.
They were basically the same as the 1957-59 Ford wagons.
63,110 Edsels sold the first year, which was the second largest car launch for any brand in history.
Only the Plymouth introduction in 1928 was better, but still not as many cars as Ford hoped would sell.
There were only 2 Edsels in 1959, the Ranger and the Corsair.
Only 44,891 cars were sold in that model year.
Only the Ranger and Villager were produced in 1960.
These were almost exactly like the 1960 Ford cars.
Only 2848 cars were built before the Edsel Motor Division was closed on November 19, 1959.
Edsel's failure
Edsel's failure is very famous because it failed after Ford put US$400,000,000 into its development.
It had many innovations which are still in use today, including brakes which adjusted themselves and a very powerful V-8 engine called the "FE-series" that would be used for many years in later Fords.
Also, the car did not live up to all of the promises in the advertisements before it was released.
Some people blamed the look of the new car because of its very unusual grille shaped like a horse's collar.
One famous quote from an auto writer said that the Edsel looked like "an Oldsmobile sucking on a lemon."
Quality of the Edsel was a problem as well.
Even the name was a problem to some buyers.
Worst of all, the U.S. was entering a period of recession.
All car sales were down.
Many drivers did not like having the automatic transmission as push-buttons mounted on the steering wheel hub.
Since this was the place the horn was normally found, drivers ended up shifting gears instead of honking the horn.
Fewer than 6,000 Edsels survive and today they are considered collectors’ items, with convertibles sometimes selling for over US$20,000 if in good condition.
As usual with classics, hardtop models are worth considerably less, station wagons less than that, and sedans least of all.
It is possible to get a very good 1959 sedan for about US$3000–$3500.
Edsel.com History, specifications, resources for owners.
1960 disestablishments in the United States
1000 (M) in the Gregorian Calendar was the last year of the 10th century and the 1st millennium in the Christian era ending on December 31.
According to the then used Julian Calendar, 1000 AD was a leap year starting on Monday.
In the Gregorian Calendar (not invented at the time) the year would have been a common year starting on Wednesday.
Leif Ericson becomes the first European to visit America
Gunpowder is invented in China.
Dhaka, Bangladesh, is started.
July 5 – Robert I, Duke of Normandy, French nobleman; father to William the Conqueror (died 1035)
King Stephen I of Hungary, Hungarian royal (died 1038)
Pope Clement II (died 1045)
Pope Damasus II (died 1047)
Pope Sylvester IX (died 1049)
Saint Herfast, French bishop; first Lord Chancellor of England (died 1085)
July 27 – The July Revolution begins.
August 2 – Charles X of France refuses the throne.
August 9 – Louis Philippe becomes "King of the French".
Chino Hills is a city in the U.S. state of California.
It is in San Bernardino County.
Almost 75,000 people live in Chino Hills.
It is named for the hills that cover most of the city.
Settlements in San Bernardino County, California
Classical conditioning: where two stimuli come together, the organism learns they are related.
Operant conditioning: an organism changes its behaviour when behaviour has consequences.
Play: an inherited mechanism whereby mammals speed up learning in the young.
Gestalt learning: learning by insight
Imitation, emulation or observational learning: mimicking the behaviour of others
Implicit learning or unconscious learning: learning which is done without conscious awareness of the learning process.
Imprinting: a very rapid type of early learning.
Learning may occur as a result of habituation or classical conditioning, seen in many animal species, or as a result of more complex activities such as play, seen only in relatively intelligent animals.
Learning may occur consciously or without conscious awareness.
There is evidence for human behavioral learning prenatally, in which habituation has been observed as early as 32 weeks into gestation, indicating that the central nervous system is sufficiently developed and primed for learning and memory to occur very early in development.
According to James Zull, Professor of Biology and Biochemistry at Case Western University, "Learn­ing is phys­i­cal.
Learn­ing means the mod­i­fi­ca­tion, growth, and prun­ing of our neu­rons, connectionscalled synapsesand neu­ronal net­works, through expe­ri­ence".