the-french-artist/wikipedia_20220301.simple_sentence_split huggingface dataset:
He was best known as a founder of The Second City improvisational comedy troupe with Paul Sills and Howard Alk in 1959.
Sahlins also opened the Second City Theatre in Toronto in 1973.
Sahlins was born in 1922 in Chicago, Illinois.
He studied at the University of Chicago in 1943.
On June 16, 2013, Sahlins died at his home from natural causes in Chicago, Illinois, aged 90.
He was survived by his wife, Jane Nicholl Sahlins.
Stanley Edward Lopata (September 12, 1925 – June 15, 2013) was an American professional baseball player.
Lopata played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for parts of 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Braves.
A two-time all-star, he was the first National League catcher to wear glasses.
Lopata was born on September 12, 1925 in Delray, Michigan.
He studied at Southwestern High School.
Lopata died on June 15, 2013 from heart failure in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, aged 87.
Stan Lopata at the Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project
Michael Mahon Hastings (January 28, 1980 – June 18, 2013) was an American journalist, writer and reporter for BuzzFeed.
The son of doctors Molly and Brent Hastings, he graduated from Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington, Vermont in 1998, and New York University in 2002.
He was a regular writer for Gentlemen's Quarterly and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine.
From 2002 - 2008, he was a journalist for Newsweek magazine, famous for his Iraq War coverage and book about the death of his fiancée Andrea Parhamovich I Lost My Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story.
Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone on the Story that Brought Down Gen. McChrystal – video report by Democracy Now!
C-SPAN Q&A interview with Hastings, January 29, 2012
Michael Hastings on CNN debating the resignation of Gen. David Petraeus with Gen. Mark Kimmitt, Lt.
Rick Francona, and Piers Morgan
Carly Rose Sonenclar (born April 20, 1999) is an American singer, songwriter and actress.
In 2012, Sonenclar finished in second place in season 2 of The X Factor USA.
She started her career as an actress on Broadway in 2006, and she also played Gilda in the television show The Electric Company.
She later became a singer, and sang the National Anthem at sporting events.
In 2012, Sonenclar auditioned for The X Factor USA season two, singing the song "Feeling Good", which gave her praise from the judges.
During the season, Sonenclar was normally among the top two most voted contestants, along with Tate Stevens.
In the finale, Sonenclar finished in second behind Stevens.
Paul Martin Simon (November 29, 1928 – December 9, 2003) was an American politician from Illinois.
He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985, and in United States Senate from 1985 to 1997.
A member of the Democratic Party, he unsuccessfully ran for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination.
Simon was born on November 29, 1928 in Eugene, Oregon.
He studied at the University of Oregon and attended Dana College.
Simon was married to Jeanne Hurley from 1960 until her death in 2000.
Then he was married to Patricia Derge from 2001 until his death in 2003.
He had two children with Jeanne.
One of them was Lieutenant Governor of Illinois Sheila Simon.
Senator Paul Simon Papers  at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Special Collections Research Center
Jeanne Hurley Simon Papers  at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Special Collections
U.S. Senator Paul Simon Museum
Paul Simon Public Policy Institute
CNN obituary
Paul Simon Tribute in Daily Egyptian
Our Culture of Pandering ,
http://www.booknotes.org/Watch/8465-1/Jeanne+Simon.aspx
Booknotes interview with Paul Simon on Advice and Consent: Clarence Thomas, Robert Bork and the Intriguing History of the Supreme Court's Nomination Battles, September 20, 1992.
"Eternal Flame" is a 1989 ballad by The Bangles.
It is from their 1988 album Everything.
It became a hit when it was released in February 1989 in the United States.
It hit #1 in other countries, including Australia.
With this song, the Bangles became the third girl group to have many number one songs in the United States, after The Supremes (twelve) and The Shirelles (two).
The Tet Offensive was a military campaign during the Vietnam War that started on 30 January 1968.
It was fought by the communist forces of the Viet Cong in in South Vietnam, aided by North Vietnam, against the South Vietnamese government, aided by the United States and other allies.
Its purpose was to surprise the enemy with attacks against military and civilian commands and control centers in South Vietnam.
Eventually, the Americans and the South Vietnamese managed to fight off the communist forces for a military victory.
However, the massive fighting during the Tet Offensive mad most Americans go from supporting the fighting in Vietnam to opposing it.
The military and the government had told US citizens that the their country was close to winning.
After that was disproved by the offensive, the US was said to have won the battle but to have lost the war.
Bibliography: The Tet Offensive and the Battle of Khe Sanh
Photographic history of 1st Air Cavalry Division Lurp / Rangers in the 1968 Tet Offensive
"Saigon, Target Zero" (1968) Tet Offensive film from the USA National Archives and Records Administration
United States History: Tet Offensive
The Division of Darling Downs was an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland.
It was one of the original 75 divisions for the first Australian election in 1901.
It was named for the Darling Downs region of Queensland.
It included the city of Toowoomba and surrounding rural areas.
The electorate's first member, William Henry Groom, died at the first Commonwealth Parliament meeting in Melbourne in 1901.
The seat was abolished in 1984, largely being replaced by the Division of Groom.
"A Hazy Shade of Winter" is a hit song performed by Simon and Garfunkel in the 1960s.
It was covered by The Bangles two decades later.
The song was released by itself at first, but was later released as part of the album Bookends, released in 1968.
This single is about sadness during winter.
The Bangles version was released in November 1987.
Both versions became major hit singles.
In the late 1980s, the Bangles' version became more popular than the first version.
A siddur () is a Jewish prayer book.
It has a set order of a list of Jewish prayers and blessings.
"Siddurs", which come from a Hebrew root meaning "order", have a very long history and so they can be found in a number of versions in different streams in Judaism.
Siddur Audio
Thomas Samuel Kuhn (July 18, 1922 - 17 June, 1996) was a Jewish-American physicist, and historian and philosopher of science.
He introduced the idea of paradigm shift.
He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and died from lung cancer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, aged 73.
Thomas Kuhn Online  (News, Philosophy, Biography, Bibliography)
Educators from Cincinnati, Ohio
The District of Grevenmacher () was one of three districts of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Its capital was the city of Grevenmacher.
It was the easternmost of the districts and the smallest of the three districts, with an area of .
It is the district with less people living in it with a population of 64,978 inhabitants and a population density of  inhabitants/km².
On 2012, the communes of Burmerange and Wellenstein were made part of the commune of Schengen.
So the number of communes changed from 26 to 24.
The district of Grevenmacher is bordered to the north by the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, to the east by the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, to the south by France (the Moselle département) and to the west by the Luxembourg district.
The Diekirch district has 3 cantons and 24 communes.
Cantons and their communes
Betzdorf
Bous
Lenningen
Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 - November 2, 1996) was an American singer, vocalist and musician.
She was born in Washington, D.C. to a German immigrant mother and father of Scottish-Irish ancestry.
She performed pop, country and jazz music.
In 1992, she released her first album, The Other Side.
Cancer deaths in Maryland
Julia Karin Ormond (born January 4, 1965 in Surrey, England) is an English actress.
She starred in many movies, including Nostradamus, First Knight, Legends of the Fall and Sabrina.
She also starred on television shows, including Nurse Jackie and Temple Grandin.
Digital Audio Tape is a magnetic tape that permits to record audio.
The recording is digital, its quality is similar to that of a compact disc.
It was developed in the 1980s to replace the compact casette.
Like tapes used for recording video, the tape can only be played in one direction, the "cassette" only has one side.
It competed with Digital Compact Cassette (DCC), and the Minidisc.
Unlike these however, it allows for an exact digital copy of the source; DCC and Minidisc use lossy data compression.
DAT tapes were also used to back up computer data in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Most computer DAT drives will not read audio DAT tapes.
Sex segregation is a highly controversial culture-related definition for separation of people according to their actual sex.
This can occur in both public and private areas.
There are four levels for sex segregation: permissive, voluntary, administrative and mandatory.
The practice is often, however, mandatory in relation to prison rules or employment, particularly medical care and military services.
The Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) was a format of magnetic tape, developed by giant PHILIPS to replace the compact cassette.
It competed with the Minidisc and the Digital Audio Tape (DAT), but neither format could replace the compact cassette.
It was marketed as a cheaper alternative to DAT.
Equipment for the digital compact cassette was able to playback analog compact cassettes as well; recording could only be done to DCC, though.
A DCC tape is similar in appearance to a regular cassette, except that it has reel access holes on only one side, and has a shutter covering both the tape and reel access holes, similar to the shutter on a floppy disk.
Unlike DAT, DCC uses lossy data compression.
This means that the copy of the data is not identical to the original.
Audio data could be compressed to about 25 percent of its original size.
The main problem of the format was tied to handling: Finding a song in the middle of a 90 minute tape takes several minutes, with Minidisc it is instantaneous.
Minidisc allows to delete or move tracks, features which the digital compact cassette cannot offer.
Even though some of the features were addressed (like rewinding a 90 minute tape in less than a minute), the format never gained much market share.
The compression format used by DCC is based on MP1, which was a predecessor of MP3.
The CD-R, which is compatible with standard CD players, eventually replaced both DCC and MiniDisc for home audio recording.
The CD-R also replaced analog tape.
The term fat acceptance movement refers to social movements seeking to change social attitudes regarding being overweight.
The movement has a political and culture related background, and its activities include although are not limited to sports, shopping and fashion matters.
This movement argues that those who are overweight are targets of being discriminated against, threatened by hatred and subjected to major prejudice.
There have been many debates within this movement.
The revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century.
It describes a historical event, but there is a lot of fiction added to the story too.
The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (becoming ronin) after their daimyo (lord) Asano Naganori had to kill himself by committing seppuku (ritual suicide).
He had to do this because he assaulted a court official named Kira Yoshinaka.
The ronin waited and planned almost two years, and then killed Kira to avenge their master's honour.
They delivered Kira's head to Asano's grave.
After that, the ronin had to kill themselves by committing seppuku as they had committed the crime of murder.
One noted Japanese scholar described the tale, the most famous example of the samurai code of honor, bushidō, as the country's "national legend."
Allyn, John. (
The Forty-Seven Ronin Story.
Dickens, Frederick V. (1930) Chushingura, or The Loyal League.
Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2012).
Forty-Seven Ronin: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Edition.
Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books.
ASIN: B00ADQGLB8
Forty-Seven Ronin: Utagawa Kuniyoshi Edition.
ASIN: B00ADQM8II
Chushingura: A Puppet Play.
Robinson, B.W. (1982).
Kuniyoshi: The Warrior Prints.
Ithaca.
Sato, Hiroaki. (
Legends of the Samurai.
Screech, Timon. (
Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779–1822.
Steward, Basil. (
1922).
Subjects Portrayed in Japanese Colour-Prints.
Mémoires et Anecdotes sur la Dynastie régnante des Djogouns, Souverains du Japon.
Paris: Nepveu.
Weinberg, David R. et al. (
Kuniyoshi: The Faithful Samurai.
Robson, Lucia St. Clair (1991) The Tokaido Road.
Forge Books.
Chushingura and the Samurai Tradition – Comparisons of the accuracy of accounts by Mitford, Murdoch and others, as well as much other useful material, by a noted scholars of Japan
Ako's Forty-Seven Samurai – Web site produced by students at Ako High School; contains the story of the 47 ronin's story, and images of wooden votive tablets of the 47 ronin in the Oishi Shrine, Ako
The Trouble with Terasaka: The Forty-Seventh Ronin and the Chushingura Imagination  by Henry D. Smith II, Japan Review, 2004, 16:3-65
Well photos  – The well where 47 ronin washed the head of Kira
Five different woodblock print versions of the story by Ando Hiroshige
National Diet Library: photograph of Sengaku-ji (1893); photograph of Sengaku-ji (1911)
Yoshitoshi, 47 Ronin series (1860)
The term femicide refers to killing women.
Feminist Diana Russell is one of the many early pioneers of the term; she defines the word as referring to killing women because of their gender.
The term was first used around 1801 in England to represent the killing of women.
The term has created controversy, and other feminists differ on what the word femicide really means.
In Brazil, crime is in the Brazilian Criminal Code since 2012.
The penalty for this crime is 12 to 30 years in prison.
The term Cinephilia refers to when someone has a strong interest in cinema, movie theories and movie criticism.
Since the silent era, there have been various waves of cinephiles, people with strong interest for cinema and movies.
The movie community which may have been best noted in relations to cinephilia, however, are one that was developed during World War II around Paris, France.
A major influx of foreign movies, alongside a screening program used with certain local movie clubs, generated interest for world cinema among the intellectual youth culture of the city.
This community fostered a strong interest in directors and movies which may have been neglected, forgotten or simply not known in the West.
Notable directors of French cinephiles in this period include although are not limited to Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles.
This profession has become less connected with movie going due to presence of DVDs and VHS cassettes.
Avenue Franklin Roosevelt is a street in Brussels, Ixelles.
It is next parallel to Bois de la Cambre, a forest in Brussels.
Many houses there were built in the Second World War.
It is known as one of the most beautiful boulevards in Brussels.
The Ixelles community opposes that people build shops or hotels and apartment buildings have to be no bigger than 16 meters high.
There are many embassies and residences of ambasadors located on Avenue Franklin Roosevelt.
The avenue was named "Avenue des Nations" in 1922, after Leopold II came the visit de Universal Exposition from 1910.
He said it should be a residential area.
The villa Empain is notable as the Boghossian Foundation is taking place there with different exhibitions.
The villa Bernheim was occupied by Émile Bernheim, former President of the group À l'Innovation and now is an art gallery.
Bois de la Cambre () is a forest in Brussels.
It used to be part of the Sonian Forest but now it is separate.
There is a park that includes horse rides, an ice rink, boating activities and fishing are organized.
Bois de la Cambre is connected to the Sonian Forest as in the past it used to be part of it.
Three entries are from the Avenue Franklin Roosevelt.
The Chalet Robinson
In the 1990s the Chalet Robinson was built on the an island on the lake.
The restaurant was destroyed by a fire in 1991.
The decision was made in 2006 to rebuild it and it reopened to the public in September 2009.
An electrical boat has been made so you can pass from the shore to the island.
Two days per year there is a race, 24 hours race Bois de la Cambre that is played by the young scouts other activities are also organized for the young scouts.
In 2013 the 24 hours race was canceled because of the cold, wind and rain.
Other smaller events are also organized in the park.
Sometimes, sports demonstrations, outdoor concerts, processions coupling, theaters animation or games for children are held during the summer.
In the last week-end of August the Fiesta Latina is organized witch includes Latin food and concerts.
In September an Eat festival was organized but the first two days were ruined because of the rain.
Forests of Belgium
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a novel written by John Boyne.
Bruno's father is a commandant in World War II and the family moves house to Out-With so that he can work closer to concentration camps under the Fury's orders.
After staying there for some time, Bruno makes friends with a Jewish boy named Shmuel on the other side of the fence.
They meet up on their side of the fence whenever they can.
On the day where Bruno is meant to move back to Berlin, he accidentally enters a gas chamber while attempting to look for Shmuel's father and dies while holding hands with the Jewish boy.
Prader–Willi syndrome is a rare but major genetic condition that involves being overweight, substandard sexual development and low intelligence.
This problem also puts those affected under risk for diabetes mellitus.
People with Prader-Willi syndrome experience constant hunger, despite eating much more than average, which can cause life-threatening obesity.
It was first observed in 1956.
Prader-Willi syndrome is usually diagnosed with a genetic test.
There is no cure for Prader-Willi syndrome.
It can be treated with behavioural therapy.
Luxor () is a city in Upper Egypt.
In 2012, about 506,588 people lived there.
To tourists, it is mostly known because of Karnak, as well as other tourist sites nearby.
Because the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes is located in Luxor, the city has been called the "world's greatest open-air museum."
On the other side of the Nile lies the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.
Theban Mapping Project: website devoted to the Valley of the Kings and other sites in the Theban Necropolis
Luxor World Heritage Site in panographies - 360 degree interactive imaging
GCatholic Copic epachy
Luxor Temple picture gallery  at Remains.se
California City is a city in southern California that was incorporated in 1965.
Over 14,000 people live in the city.
The area has its own police and post office.
Settlements in Kern County, California
Fokker F27 Friendship is a twin-turboprop airliner built in Netherlands.
It was designed to replace Douglas DC-3's airliners.
It can carry between 48 and 56 passengers.
Fairchild FH-227 is an American licence-built variant, and Fokker 50 is a modernized variant.
Some of them were acquired by militaries as cargo aircraft.
The Fokker 50 is a twin-turboprop airliner built in the Netherlands.
A improved version of Fokker F.27.
It can carry about 50 passengers.
It is also a military cargo aircraft and a reconnaissance aircraft.
Francis Eaton was born ca.
1596 in Bristol, England, and died in the autumn of 1633 in Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
He was a passenger on the Mayflower in 1620.
Eaton was the son of John Eaton and his wife Dorothy (Smith) Eaton.
He was baptized on 11 September 1596 at St. Thomas church in Bristol, England.
Eaton was a house carpenter.
He married Sarah about 1618 and had a son named Samuel.
The family left for North America in 1620 on the Mayflower.
Sarah died in the New World during the winter of 1620-1621.
Eaton married John Carver's servant Dorothy _ before 1623.
She died shortly after the marriage, leaving no children.
In the 1623 Division of Land at Plymouth, Eaton received four shares: one for himself, one for his deceased first wife Sarah, one for his son, and one for his current wife Dorothy.
They were all Mayflower passengers.
About 1626, Eaton married Christiana Penn.
They had three children: Rachel, Benjamin, and a child whose name is unknown but was called "an ideote" (mentally disabled).
In 1631, Eaton began having money troubles.
He sold some of his land, some livestock, and his house.
He died some time between 25 October and 8 November 1633 at Plymouth.
He died in debt.
His estate included some livestock, fifty bushels of corn, some clothing, some carpenter's tools, some boards, fishing lead, and some kitchen items.
He was buried in Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Caleb Johnson's Mayflower History: Francis Eaton
This is a list of the governors of Wyoming.
It includes territorial governors.
Wyoming Territory was created in 1868.
Wyoming became a state on July 10, 1890.
Governors of Wyoming Territory
The most recent governor to die was Clifford P. Hansen (1963–1967), on October 20, 2009.
The most recently-serving governor to die was Edgar J. Herschler (1975–1987), on February 5, 1990.
Hobomok: A Tale of Early Times is a book by Lydia Maria Child.
It was published anonymously in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1824 by Cummings, Hilliard & Co.  The story is about the marriage between a white woman and a Native American man.
The heroine later remarries, and rejoins Puritan society with her child.
The theme of miscegenation crearted a scandal.
The book was not a critical success.
The MBB/Kawasaki BK117 is a twin-engine, lightweight helicopter designed and built in Germany and Japan.
It has both civilian and military uses.
To 1992 it was built by Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
Later, it was built by Eurocopter and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
Some were built under licence in Indonesia as NBK117.
Eurocopter EC145 is a newer type of BK117, but without a Japanese partner.
Lydia Maria Child (née Francis; February 11, 1802October 20, 1880), was an American writer.
She wrote the Thanksgiving Day poem, "Over the River and Through the Wood".
She founded and published Juvenile Miscellany, the first children's magazine in the United States.
Child also wrote on housekeeping and child rearing, slavery, abolitionism, religion, women's issues, and Native American rights.
Child was born in Medford, Massachusetts to David Convers Francis, a baker, and Susannah (Rand) Francis.
She attended a local dame school, a seminary, and a Congregational church.
She lived for a time with her married sister in Maine, and then with her brother, a Unitarian minister, in Watertown, Massachusetts.
In 1828, she married Harvard graduate, David Lee Child.
He was a lawyer and abolitionist.
His idealism prevented him from providing his wife with a comfortable home.
The childless couple lived in near poverty.
In the last years of her life, Child became a recluse.
She kept company only with her husband.
He died in 1874.
Lydia Child died in 1878.
Her first novel, Hobomok: A Tale of Early Times, was published anonymously in 1824.
It sold well.
Another novel followed in 1825.
In 1826, she founded and published Juvenile Miscellany, the first magazine for children in the United States.
She wrote a book about housekeeping in 1829,The Frugal Housewife, a book about child-rearing in 1831, The Mother's Book, and a book for children, The Little Girl's Own Book, also in 1831.
She turned her social concerns to Native Americans in The First Settlers of New England in 1829, and then to African Americans in 1833 with An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans.
This book prompted many Americans to join the abolition movement, but it also caused Child to be shunned socially.
Family friends withdrew their support for her children's magazine, forcing it into bankruptcy.
Her nonfiction books about women's concerns and rights in the 1830s sold poorly.
In 1841, she moved to New York City.
She edited an anti-slavery weekly for two years, then collected and published her columns written for a Boston newspaper.
Her husband was working as a journalist in Washington, D.C. during these years, but the couple reunited and moved to Wayland, Massachusetts in 1850.
In the following years, she wrote books about female sex workers, the evolution of religion, African Americans, and Native Americans.
Her last book, Aspirations of the World appeared in 1878.
She was born in Rochester, Minnesota.
She was married (now divorced) to Paul DeRobbio, and has two sons: Luke (b. 1990) and Nicolas (b. 1997).
She is best known for two television roles: April Stevens on Dallas (1986 to 1991), and Alexandra "Alex" Cahill-Walker, on Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-2001).
Ottis Dewey Whitman, Jr. (January 20, 1923 – June 19, 2013), known professionally as Slim Whitman, was an American country music and western music singer/songwriter and instrumentalist known for his yodeling abilities and his smooth high octave falsetto.
He sold in excess of 120 million records.
Whitman was born on January 20, 1923 in Tampa, Florida.
He was married to Alma Christ from 1942 until her death in 2009.
Whitman died on June 19, 2013 in Orange Park, Florida from heart failure, aged 90.
List of country musicians from Florida
Slim Whitman Lyrics
Fogel was born on July 1, 1926 in New York City, New York to Russian-Jewish parents.
Fogel graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1944.
He studied at Cornell University, at Columbia University, and at Johns Hopkins University.
Fogel died on June 11, 2013, at a health services center in Oak Park, Illinois of a short illness, aged 86.
Nobel prize autobiography
Review of Fogel's "Escape from Hunger and Premature Death"
Lance Davis review essay on Fogel's Railroads and American Economic Growth
Thomas Weiss review essay on Fogel and Engerman's Time on the Cross
Podcast Interview with co-author Stanley Engerman on Time on the Cross on EconTalk at Econlib
RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) updated information about Robert W. Fogel
Feature article in The University of Chicago magazine
IDEAS/RePEc
The Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry, OBE (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997), was an English Anglican cleric, railway enthusiast, and children's author.
Simply known as the Reverend W. Awdry, he was the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, the central figure in his acclaimed Railway Series.
Awdry was born on 15 June 1911 in Ampfield, Hampshire, England.
He was raised in Box, Wiltshire, England.
Awdry was educated at Marlborough House School, Sussex (1919–24), Dauntseys School, West Lavington, Wiltshire (1924–9); St Peter's Hall, Oxford (BA, 1932), and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.
He was married to Margaret Awdry from 1938 until her death in 1989.
They had three children, Christopher Awdry, Hilary Fortnum and Veronica Chambers.
Awdry died on 21 March 1997 in Rodborough, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England from natural causes, aged 85.
Internet Archive: 'Original' Awdry Family Website – contains some information not available on the later site
Internet Archive: Sodor Enterprises (publishing company) – Formerly www.sodor.co.uk (Dead link discovered April 2010)
Rev. W. V. Awdry  – Biography at the Official Awdry Family Website
The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, Tywyn, Gwynedd, Wales – Home of the Rev. W. V. Awdry's study
Mondale was born on January 19, 1960 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Walter Mondale and to Joan Mondale.
She studied at St. Lawrence University.
Mondale was married to Keith Van Horne from 1988 until they divorced in 1989.
Then she was married to Greg Malban from 1991 until they divorced a few months later in 1991.
Then she was married to Chan Poling from 2005 until her death in 2011.
Mondale died on September 17, 2011 in Minnesota from brain cancer, aged 51.
Mirage at CityPages
Mirage at Walker
The Declaration of Arbroath is a declaration of Scottish independence, made in 1320.
It was a letter sent to Pope John XXII, dated 6 April 1320.
The declaration confirmed Scotland's status as a independent, sovereign state and defended Scotland's right to use military action when unjustly attacked.
The letter was signed at Arbroath by eight earls and thirty-one barons.
When King Alexander III of Scotland died in 1086, his heir was his granddaughter Margaret, Maid of Norway.
King Edward I of England negotiated to have his son, Edward II of England become her husband and share the crown of Scotland in 1289.
Edward I  stepped in to choose who would be king from among the candidates who had any claim to be king.
But Edward treated the Scottish king badly.
When King John tried to break free, Edward put him in prison, then allowed him to live in France.
In 1296 Edward invaded Scotland with his army to take everything for himself.
Scotland remained without a king until 1306 when Robert the Bruce declared himself king of Scotland defying Edward I. Just before doing this Robert the Bruce had been involved in a dispute with John Comyn.
The two met before the altar in Greyfriars Church in Dumfries in 1306 and a fight broke out.
John Comyn was killed and Robert the Bruce was crowned king three weeks later at Scone.
Accused of murdering Comyn Bruce was excommunicated by the Pope.
During the wars that followed the Scots won a major battle at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
In 1317 the pope called for a two year truce which Scotland ignored.
For failing to listen to him he excommunicated all of Scotland.
The Declaration was part of a larger plan to show the Pope and others that Scotland was an independent kingdom and had a right to rule itself.
The English king Edward I had written to the pope before confirming his right to rule Scotland.
For his part the pope refused to accept Robert the Bruce as the king of Scotland.
Dated April 1320 the Declaration of Arbroath was a letter to Pope John XXII at Avignon from fifty leading men of Scotland.
There were 39 names, (eight Scottish earls and thirty one barons), who signed the document with their seals.
On strips on the bottom of the letter are seals and names of eleven more who signed.
Bernard Linton, Chancellor of Scotland and Abbot of Arbroath is believed to be the author.
It was written at the monastery of Arbroath in Scotland.
The letter began by reminding the pope of Scotland's conversion to Christianity by Saint Andrew.
That under the protection of the church Scotland had lived in peace until King Edward I of England pretended to be their friend.
He then invaded their country while it was without a king.
The letter then told of the hardships they faced under English rule.
Showing their resolution the letter stated:
The pope was impressed by the declaration and with the promise by the Scottish barons to support the pope's crusade.
He encouraged Edward II to make peace with the Scots.
The pope sent two delegates.
The French king also wanted to see peace between England and Scotland and he sent two delegates.
Peace talks went on until 1321 without the English recognizing Scottish independence.
The English convinced the pope it was the fault of the Scottish that there was no progress.
The pope issued six rulings against the Scots stating all invaders of England would be excommunicated and re-issued the excommunication against Robert the Bruce.
Finally in October 1328 a peace treaty was agreed to between Scotland and England.
Edward III gave up all claims on Scotland.
The interdict on Scotland and the excommunication of its king were finally removed.
The second part of the treaty agreed that the son of Robert the Bruce, David II of Scotland and the sister of Edward III of England would marry.
The wedding took place on 12 July of 1338 when David II, then four years old married Joan of the Tower, aged six, at the church at Berwick, Scotland.
In 1998 The United States Congress resolved that the US Declaration of Independence has been modeled on the Declaration of Arbroath.
It was further resolved that April 6th was from that day on officially National Tartan Day in commemoration of that famous document.
List of signatories of the Declaration of Arbroath
Declaration of Arbroath  on National Archives of Scotland website (includes full Latin text and English translation)
National Tartan Day April 6 commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320
Dansband (dance band) is a term in Swedish that describes a band that plays dansbandsmusik ("dance band music").
It is used for bands in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden that perform live music from stage, allowing the audience to dance partner dance.
Famous Swedish bands have been Curt Haagers, Ingmar Nordströms, Matz Bladhs, Sten & Stanley, Sven-Ingvars, Thorleifs, Vikingarna and Wizex.
Such bands were very popular in Sweden by the mid 1970s.
By the end of the same decade, the genre began to go through hard times, due to the arrival of disco music.
Dansbands
The Division of Griffith is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland.
It is named for Sir Samuel Griffith, 9th Premier of Queensland, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, and principal author of the Constitution of Australia.
It was represented from 1998 to 2013 by Kevin Rudd, who was Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and from June to September 2013.
On 13 November 2013, Rudd announced that he would resign from parliament at the end of week and retire from politics.
Division of Griffith (Qld) — Australian Electoral Commission
Kevin Rudd's website
Siw Malmkvist (born 31 December 1936) is a Swedish singer.
She was popular in West Germany in the 1960s and 1970s.
"Over the River and Through the Wood" is a Thanksgiving poem by Lydia Maria Child.
It appeared in the second volume of her Flowers for Children in 1844.
The original title of the poem is, "The New-England Boy's Song About Thanksgiving Day".
Boston College writes: "Starting with the familiar line, "Over the river and through the wood", this poem is easily Child’s most famous work.
Child never revised the poem herself, but the verses changed over time, especially when they were set to music.
With its bouncing rhythms and high spirits, the poem draws on the writer’s childhood memories of visiting her grandfather’s house on Thanksgiving.
Having gained notoriety for her ideas about race, Child kept her antislavery ideals out of this volume in an effort to avoid controversy and boost sales.
Flowers for Children contains only two stories involving race, and they both avoid addressing racial prejudice head on.
In this nostalgic poem, Child takes us back to the simple pleasures of a family holiday."
The English Defence League, or in short EDL, is a street protest group in the United Kingdom which is against Sharia law and Islamism.
The group was founded in 2009 in Luton by Tommy Robinson.
Groups including Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and Anonymous are against the EDL.
EDL can also stand for the European Defence League, also founded by Tommy Robinson.
Tommy Robinson left the EDL in October 2013.
Tim Ablitt became the new leader.
A report found that 81% of EDL supporters are male.
Koko Taylor sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor (September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American Chicago blues singer, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues."
She was known primarily for her rough, powerful vocals and traditional blues stylings.
Taylor was born on September 28, 1928 in Shelby County, Tennessee.
She was raised in Chicago, Illinois.
Taylor was married to Robert Taylor until they divorced in 1989.
Then she was married to Hays Harris until her death in 2009.
Taylor died on June 3, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois from surgical complications, aged 80.
Hoekstra, Dave. "
Chicago legend and 'Queen of the Blues' Koko Taylor dead at 80," Chicago Sun-Times, Wednesday, June 3, 2009.
Co-host of "Blues you can use", FM radio station WGVE 88.7, Gary, Indiana
Interview with Koko Taylor on Centerstage Chicago (June 2007)
"Queen of the Blues: Koko Taylor Talks About Her Subjects", interview by James Plath, 1994
Wild Women Don't Have the Blues features interviews with Koko Taylor
Koko Taylor - Daily Telegraph obituary
Ultimate Tournament of Champions was a special tournament done during the 21st season of the American television game show Jeopardy!.
145 contestants who won past Jeopardy!
tournaments or won five games played in a 15 week tournament.
It lasted from February 9 to May 25, 2005.
In this tournament, the two finalists from four rounds of play went against Ken Jennings, who is Season 21's biggest winner and, at the time, was the highest winner on a game show with $2,522,700.
Those contestants played for a prize of $2,000,000.
The two finalists were Brad Rutter and Jerome Vered.
Rutter was the show's second-highest winner, while Vered had set a one-day winnings record of $34,000 in 1992.
Rutter won the three-day final and the $2,000,000 prize, claiming the record from Jennings.
Archive - recaps of all Ultimate Tournament of Champions games
Cyrus Hall McCormick, Sr. (
February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and founder of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which became part of International Harvester Company in 1902.
He invented the crop machine the Reaper.
From the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, he and many members of his family became well known residents of Chicago.
The McCormick Place is named after him.
McCormick was born on February 15, 1809 in Rockbridge County, Virginia.
He lived in Raphine, Virginia.
He was married to Nancy Fowler from 1835 until his death in 1884.
McCormick died from a stroke on May 13, 1884 in Chicago, Illinois, aged 75.
He is buried in Graceland Cemetery in Uptown, Chicago.
Farm Equipment  on Antique Farming web site
McCormick Family Financial Records  at Newberry Library
Frank Joseph Zamboni, Jr. (January 16, 1901 – July 27, 1988) was an American inventor, whose most famous invention is the modern Zamboni, a machine that smooths the ice in ice rinks.
The name "Zamboni" is a registered trademark for these machines.
Zamboni was born on January 16, 1901 in Eureka, Utah.
He was raised in Pocatello, Idaho and in Chicago, Illinois.
Zamboni died on July 27, 1988 from cardiac arrest in Paramount, California, aged 87.
www.zamboni.com — Frank J. Zamboni & Co.
Samuel "Sam" Houston (March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American statesman, politician, and soldier.
He is best known for his leading role in bringing Texas into the United States.
Houston, Texas and Sam Houston State University was named after him.
Shortly afterwards, he relocated to Coahuila y Tejas, then a Mexican state, and became a leader of the Texas Revolution.
Sam Houston supported annexation by the United States.
When he assumed the governorship of Texas in 1859, Houston became the only person to have become the governor of two different U.S. states through direct, popular election, as well as the only state governor to have been a foreign head of state.
Houston was born on March 2, 1793 in Rockbridge County, Virginia.
He was of an Irish-Scottish descent.
Houston was married to Eliza Allen from 1829 until they divorced in 1837.
Then he was married to Diana Rogers Gentry until they divorced.
Then he was married to Margaret Moffette Lee from 1840 until his death in 1863.
Houston had seven children.
Houston died on July 26, 1863 in Huntsville, Texas from pneumonia, aged 70.
Life of General Houston, 1793–1863 published 1891, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
Sam Houston ; David Crockett.
published 1901, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
Sam Houston Memorial Museum
Sam Houston Memorial Museum Antiquities Collection  From Texas Tides
Sam Houston's Obituary – The Tri Weekly Telegraph, Houston, Texas July 29, 1863 – TexasBob.com
Sam Houston Historic Schoolhouse in Maryville, TN USA
Documentary film on life of Sam Houston.
Massive web site with many pictures, links, and educational tools.
Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture entry
Tennessee State Library & Archives, Papers of Governor Sam Houston, 1827–1829
Sam Houston Rode a Gray Horse
Houston Family Papers, 1836–1869 and undated, in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University
Booknotes interview with Marshall DeBruhl on Sword of San Jacinto: The Life of Sam Houston, May 2, 1993.
Leo Carbol (June 5, 1910 – November 13, 1991) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played a total of 6 games in the NHL for the Chicago Black Hawks.
Carbol played most his ice hockey career with the St. Louis Flyers of the American Hockey Association and the American Hockey League with a combined 12 seasons.
He also played 1 season for the Minneapolis Millers and 20 games for the Buffalo Majors of the AHA.
He also played for the Detroit Olympics of the IHL.
The cheer pheasant (Catreus wallichii) also known as Wallich's pheasant (in Nepal: "Kahir", "Chihir") is a vulnerable species of the pheasant family, Phasianidae.
It is the only member of the genus Catreus.
The species was named as Phasianus wallichi by the English zoologist Thomas Hardwicke in 1827; he named it after the Danish botanist Nathaniel Wallich.
Later the name was changed to the present name by the English ornithologist John Gould.
The Cheer pheasant lacks the color and brilliance of most pheasants.
The male has a brownish yellow plumage with black markings and a long gray crest; the skin of the face is red.
Its long tail is mainly gray and brown, and has 18 feathers, something that puts this pheasant apart from similar species.
The female is smaller than the male, somewhat duller in plumage and more heavily marked, with reduced red facial skin, a shorter crest and lacking the male’s spurs.
The Cheer pheasant is endemic to the western Himalayas; it is distributed in the highlands and scrublands (a place where small shrubs are abundant as well as small herbaceous plants, without trees) of the southern foothills, most frequently from  of the western Himalayas, from north Pakistan, through Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, India, to east to central Nepal.
Surveys in 1981 and 2003 in the Dhorpatan area of western Nepal found that there were 70 places where the birds were heard, suggesting that many birds exist in this area (approximately 200 birds).
In another survey in 2010, Cheer pheasant was detected in 21 calling sites in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
Biology and social behaviour
These pheasants tend to be fairly gregarious (traveling in groups) for much of the year, with groups of five to fifteen birds, but form monogamous pairs during the breeding season from late April to June.
They breed on steep cliffs during summer and the number of eggs in a nest is relatively large; there are usually ten to eleven eggs in each nest, though in some cases there as many as 14.
The Cheer pheasants get most of their food from the ground, digging with is powerful beaks; they eat roots, tubers, bulbs, seeds, insects and other small animals.
They look for food mainly during the morning and evening, walking in pairs or, sometimes, in family groups.
Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size and hunting in some areas, the Cheer pheasant is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.
The Cheer pheasant is legally protected in Nepal and India, and occurs in at least 12 protected areas in Himachal Pradesh, three in Uttar Pradesh and three in Nepal.
ARKive - images and movies of the Cheer Pheasant (Catreus wallichi)
Animal Diversity Web - Catreus wallichii
ITIS Report
Bradford Gates "Brad" Rutter (born January 31, 1978) is the highest winner on the American television game show Jeopardy!,
and the highest winner on a game show.
Rutter became a five-time champion on Jeopardy!
He later won four tournaments: the Tournament of Champions in 2001, the Million Dollar Masters tournament in 2002, the Jeopardy!
Ultimate Tournament of Champions in 2005, and the Jeopardy!
Battle of the Decades in 2014 His win in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions made him the highest winner on a game show.
This was later beaten by Ken Jennings in 2007 when Jennings won $500,000 on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?.
However, Rutter reclaimed the record after he won the Battle of the Decades tournament.
In February 2011, Rutter played against Jennings and an artificial intelligence computer called Watson.
Rutter came in third place, losing to Watson.
He won $200,000 for placing in third place.
In January 2020, Rutter played against Jennings and James Holzhauer in Jeopardy!
Greatest of All Time.
The event was won by Jennings and Rutter finished in third place.
In addition to Jeopardy!,
Rutter also appeared on the game show 1 vs. 100 as part of the show's "mob."
He played four times: on December 1, 2006, December 8, 2006, December 15, 2006, and February 9, 2007.
In 2007, he appeared on the game show Grand Slam.
He lost to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire contestant Ogi Ogas in the second round.
In 2011, he appeared as part of a six-person team on the game show Million Dollar Mind Game.
His team won $600,000.
Alberto Zaccheroni (born 1 April 1953) is an Italian football manager.
He led A.C. Milan to win the Serie A in 98/99.
He currently manages the Japan national football team.
Profile  on Goal.com
Susan Bogert Warner (July 11, 1819 – March 17, 1885) was a popular 19th-century American writer.
She wrote 30 books under the name, "Elizabeth Wetherell".
She was born in New York City to upscale parents.
Her first book was the sentimental and moralistic The Wide, Wide World (1851).
It is believed to be the first book by an American writer to sell one million copies.
Her novel The Hills of the Shatemuc (1856) sold 10,000 copies on the day of its publication.
She wrote some children's books and Bible-themed books.
She sometimes co-wrote with her sister, Anna.
Anna wrote the popular children's hymn, "Jesus Loves Me This I Know".
Susan Warner died in Highland Falls, New York.
She is buried in the West Point Cemetery.
Mercy Otis Warren (September 14, [September 25, New Style] 1728 – October 19, 1814) was a poet and playwright.
She wrote political plays about the problematic situations that led to the American Revolution.
The Adulator and The Group were published on the eve of the Revolution.
Her later works included Poems, Dramatic and Miscellaneous and History of the American Revolution.
Sarah Kemble Knight (1666–1727) was a colonial American businessperson and  writer.
She managed the family business after her father's death.
She wrote The Journal of Madame Knight while travelling between Boston and NYC on business.
The book is valued for its authentic peek at colonial life in 18th-century America.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911) was an African American lecturer, suffragist, and writer.
Her book of antislavery verse, Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects (1854), sold thousands of copies.
Her "The Two Offers" (1859) was the first short story published by an African American.
She married Fenton Harper in 1860.
She headed the African American department of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.
She had a hand in organizing the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, and became the organization's vice president.
She died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Ann Hennis Trotter Bailey (1742 – November 22, 1825) was a scout and a messenger during the American Revolutionary War.
She is remembered for her 100-mile ride from Fort Clendenin to Fort Savannah in order to bring back much needed gun powder during an Indian attack.
Ann was born in Liverpool, England in 1742.
She was poor and went to America when she was 19.
In 1765, she married Richard Trotter.
They moved to Staunton, Virginia.
Richard was killed by Indians during the Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774.
Ann swore to avenge his death.
She began wearing men’s clothing and learned to shoot a gun.
She volunteered her services as a scout and messenger in the American Revolution.
She sometimes met Indians during her trips to the frontier.
They feared her because she was "mad".
She was known as "Mad Ann".
She married John Bailey in 1785.
He was a Ranger and frontiersman.
In 1788, he began duty at Fort Clendenin.
In 1791, Indians were planning to attack the Fort.
The militia did not have enough gun powder to fight them.
Ann volunteered to ride 100 miles to Fort Savannah for the needed gun powder.