title: Euclidean geometry

text: Points are customarily named using capital letters of the alphabet. Other figures, such as lines, triangles, or circles, are named by listing a sufficient number of points to pick them out unambiguously from the relevant figure, e.g., triangle ABC would typically be a triangle with vertices at points A, B, and C.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Angles whose sum is a right angle are called complementary. Complementary angles are formed when a ray shares the same vertex and is pointed in a direction that is in between the two original rays that form the right angle. The number of rays in between the two original rays is infinite.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Angles whose sum is a straight angle are supplementary. Supplementary angles are formed when a ray shares the same vertex and is pointed in a direction that is in between the two original rays that form the straight angle (180 degree angle). The number of rays in between the two original rays is infinite.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Modern school textbooks often define separate figures called lines (infinite), rays (semi-infinite), and line segments (of finite length). Euclid, rather than discussing a ray as an object that extends to infinity in one direction, would normally use locutions such as "if the line is extended to a sufficient length", although he occasionally referred to "infinite lines". A "line" in Euclid could be either straight or curved, and he used the more specific term "straight line" when necessary.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: The pons asinorum ("bridge of asses") states that "in isosceles triangles the angles at the base equal one another, and, if the equal straight lines are produced further, then the angles under the base equal one another". Its name may be attributed to its frequent role as the first real test in the "Elements" of the intelligence of the reader and as a bridge to the harder propositions that followed. It might also be so named because of the geometrical figure's resemblance to a steep bridge that only a sure-footed donkey could cross.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Triangles are congruent if they have all three sides equal (SSS), two sides and the angle between them equal (SAS), or two angles and a side equal (ASA) (Book I, propositions 4, 8, and 26). Triangles with three equal angles (AAA) are similar, but not necessarily congruent. Also, triangles with two equal sides and an adjacent angle are not necessarily equal or congruent.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: The sum of the angles of a triangle is equal to a straight angle (180 degrees). This causes an equilateral triangle to have three interior angles of 60 degrees. Also, it causes every triangle to have at least two acute angles and up to one obtuse or right angle.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: The celebrated Pythagorean theorem (book I, proposition 47) states that in any right triangle, the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares whose sides are the two legs (the two sides that meet at a right angle).


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Thales' theorem, named after Thales of Miletus states that if A, B, and C are points on a circle where the line AC is a diameter of the circle, then the angle ABC is a right angle. Cantor supposed that Thales proved his theorem by means of Euclid Book I, Prop. 32 after the manner of Euclid Book III, Prop. 31.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: In modern terminology, the area of a plane figure is proportional to the square of any of its linear dimensions, formula_1, and the volume of a solid to the cube, formula_2. Euclid proved these results in various special cases such as the area of a circle and the volume of a parallelepipedal solid. Euclid determined some, but not all, of the relevant constants of proportionality. E.g., it was his successor Archimedes who proved that a sphere has 2/3 the volume of the circumscribing cylinder.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Euclidean geometry has two fundamental types of measurements: angle and distance. The angle scale is absolute, and Euclid uses the right angle as his basic unit, so that, for example, a 45-degree angle would be referred to as half of a right angle. The distance scale is relative; one arbitrarily picks a line segment with a certain nonzero length as the unit, and other distances are expressed in relation to it. Addition of distances is represented by a construction in which one line segment is copied onto the end of another line segment to extend its length, and similarly for subtraction.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Measurements of area and volume are derived from distances. For example, a rectangle with a width of 3 and a length of 4 has an area that represents the product, 12. Because this geometrical interpretation of multiplication was limited to three dimensions, there was no direct way of interpreting the product of four or more numbers, and Euclid avoided such products, although they are implied, for example in the proof of book IX, proposition 20.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Euclid refers to a pair of lines, or a pair of planar or solid figures, as "equal" (ἴσος) if their lengths, areas, or volumes are equal respectively, and similarly for angles. The stronger term "congruent" refers to the idea that an entire figure is the same size and shape as another figure. Alternatively, two figures are congruent if one can be moved on top of the other so that it matches up with it exactly. (Flipping it over is allowed.) Thus, for example, a 2x6 rectangle and a 3x4 rectangle are equal but not congruent, and the letter R is congruent to its mirror image. Figures that would be congruent except for their differing sizes are referred to as similar. Corresponding angles in a pair of similar shapes are congruent and corresponding sides are in proportion to each other.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Because of Euclidean geometry's fundamental status in mathematics, it is impractical to give more than a representative sampling of applications here.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: As suggested by the etymology of the word, one of the earliest reasons for interest in and also one of the most common current use of geometry is surveying, and certain practical results from Euclidean geometry, such as the right-angle property of the 3-4-5 triangle, were used long before they were proved formally. The fundamental types of measurements in Euclidean geometry are distances and angles, both of which can be measured directly by a surveyor. Historically, distances were often measured by chains, such as Gunter's chain, and angles using graduated circles and, later, the theodolite.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: An application of Euclidean solid geometry is the determination of packing arrangements, such as the problem of finding the most efficient packing of spheres in n dimensions. This problem has applications in error detection and correction.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Geometry can be used to design origami. Some classical construction problems of geometry are impossible using compass and straightedge, but can be solved using origami.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Much of CAD (computer-aided design) and CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) is based on Euclidean geometry. Design geometry typically consists of shapes bounded by planes, cylinders, cones, tori, and other similar shapes. In the present day, CAD/CAM is essential in the design of almost everything, including cars, airplanes, ships, and smartphones. A few decades ago, sophisticated draftsmen would learn fairly advanced Euclidean geometry, including things like Pascal's theorem and Brianchon's theorem, but in modern times this is no longer necessary.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Archimedes (c. 287 BCE – c. 212 BCE), a colorful figure about whom many historical anecdotes are recorded, is remembered along with Euclid as one of the greatest of ancient mathematicians. Although the foundations of his work were put in place by Euclid, his work, unlike Euclid's, is believed to have been entirely original. He proved equations for the volumes and areas of various figures in two and three dimensions, and enunciated the Archimedean property of finite numbers.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Apollonius of Perga (c. 262 BCE – c. 190 BCE) is mainly known for his investigation of conic sections.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: René Descartes (1596–1650) developed analytic geometry, an alternative method for formalizing geometry which focused on turning geometry into algebra.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: In this approach, a point on a plane is represented by its Cartesian ("x", "y") coordinates, a line is represented by its equation, and so on.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: In Euclid's original approach, the Pythagorean theorem follows from Euclid's axioms. In the Cartesian approach, the axioms are the axioms of algebra, and the equation expressing the Pythagorean theorem is then a definition of one of the terms in Euclid's axioms, which are now considered theorems.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: defining the distance between two points "P" = ("p", "p") and "Q" = ("q", "q") is then known as the "Euclidean metric", and other metrics define non-Euclidean geometries.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: In terms of analytic geometry, the restriction of classical geometry to compass and straightedge constructions means a restriction to first- and second-order equations, e.g., "y" = 2"x" + 1 (a line), or "x" + "y" = 7 (a circle).


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Also in the 17th century, Girard Desargues, motivated by the theory of perspective, introduced the concept of idealized points, lines, and planes at infinity. The result can be considered as a type of generalized geometry, projective geometry, but it can also be used to produce proofs in ordinary Euclidean geometry in which the number of special cases is reduced.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Geometers of the 18th century struggled to define the boundaries of the Euclidean system. Many tried in vain to prove the fifth postulate from the first four. By 1763, at least 28 different proofs had been published, but all were found incorrect.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Leading up to this period, geometers also tried to determine what constructions could be accomplished in Euclidean geometry. For example, the problem of trisecting an angle with a compass and straightedge is one that naturally occurs within the theory, since the axioms refer to constructive operations that can be carried out with those tools. However, centuries of efforts failed to find a solution to this problem, until Pierre Wantzel published a proof in 1837 that such a construction was impossible. Other constructions that were proved impossible include doubling the cube and squaring the circle. In the case of doubling the cube, the impossibility of the construction originates from the fact that the compass and straightedge method involve equations whose order is an integral power of two, while doubling a cube requires the solution of a third-order equation.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Euler discussed a generalization of Euclidean geometry called affine geometry, which retains the fifth postulate unmodified while weakening postulates three and four in a way that eliminates the notions of angle (whence right triangles become meaningless) and of equality of length of line segments in general (whence circles become meaningless) while retaining the notions of parallelism as an equivalence relation between lines, and equality of length of parallel line segments (so line segments continue to have a midpoint).


title: Euclidean geometry

text: In the early 19th century, Carnot and Möbius systematically developed the use of signed angles and line segments as a way of simplifying and unifying results.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: In the 1840s William Rowan Hamilton developed the quaternions, and John T. Graves and Arthur Cayley the octonions. These are normed algebras which extend the complex numbers. Later it was understood that the quaternions are also a Euclidean geometric system with four real Cartesian coordinates. Cayley used quaternions to study rotations in 4-dimensional Euclidean space.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: At mid-century Ludwig Schläfli developed the general concept of Euclidean space, extending Euclidean geometry to higher dimensions. He defined "polyschemes", later called polytopes, which are the higher-dimensional analogues of polygons and polyhedra. He developed their theory and discovered all the regular polytopes, i.e. the formula_4-dimensional analogues of regular polygons and Platonic solids. He found there are six regular convex polytopes in dimension four, and three in all higher dimensions.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Schläfli performed this work in relative obscurity and it was published in full only posthumously in 1901. It had little influence until it was rediscovered and fully documented in 1948 by H.S.M. Coxeter.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: In 1878 William Kingdon Clifford introduced what is now termed geometric algebra, unifying Hamilton's quaternions with Hermann Grassmann's algebra and revealing the geometric nature of these systems, especially in four dimensions. The operations of geometric algebra have the effect of mirroring, rotating, translating, and mapping the geometric objects that are being modeled to new positions. The Clifford torus on the surface of the 3-sphere is the simplest and most symmetric flat embedding of the Cartesian product of two circles (in the same sense that the surface of a cylinder is "flat").


title: Euclidean geometry

text: The century's most influential development in geometry occurred when, around 1830, János Bolyai and Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky separately published work on non-Euclidean geometry, in which the parallel postulate is not valid. Since non-Euclidean geometry is provably relatively consistent with Euclidean geometry, the parallel postulate cannot be proved from the other postulates.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: In the 19th century, it was also realized that Euclid's ten axioms and common notions do not suffice to prove all of the theorems stated in the "Elements". For example, Euclid assumed implicitly that any line contains at least two points, but this assumption cannot be proved from the other axioms, and therefore must be an axiom itself. The very first geometric proof in the "Elements," shown in the figure above, is that any line segment is part of a triangle; Euclid constructs this in the usual way, by drawing circles around both endpoints and taking their intersection as the third vertex. His axioms, however, do not guarantee that the circles actually intersect, because they do not assert the geometrical property of continuity, which in Cartesian terms is equivalent to the completeness property of the real numbers. Starting with Moritz Pasch in 1882, many improved axiomatic systems for geometry have been proposed, the best known being those of Hilbert, George Birkhoff, and Tarski.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Einstein's theory of special relativity involves a four-dimensional space-time, the Minkowski space, which is non-Euclidean. This shows that non-Euclidean geometries, which had been introduced a few years earlier for showing that the parallel postulate cannot be proved, are also useful for describing the physical world.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: However, the three-dimensional "space part" of the Minkowski space remains the space of Euclidean geometry. This is not the case with general relativity, for which the geometry of the space part of space-time is not Euclidean geometry. For example, if a triangle is constructed out of three rays of light, then in general the interior angles do not add up to 180 degrees due to gravity. A relatively weak gravitational field, such as the Earth's or the Sun's, is represented by a metric that is approximately, but not exactly, Euclidean. Until the 20th century, there was no technology capable of detecting these deviations in rays of light from Euclidean geometry, but Einstein predicted that such deviations would exist. They were later verified by observations such as the slight bending of starlight by the Sun during a solar eclipse in 1919, and such considerations are now an integral part of the software that runs the GPS system.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Euclid believed that his axioms were self-evident statements about physical reality. Euclid's proofs depend upon assumptions perhaps not obvious in Euclid's fundamental axioms, in particular that certain movements of figures do not change their geometrical properties such as the lengths of sides and interior angles, the so-called "Euclidean motions", which include translations, reflections and rotations of figures. Taken as a physical description of space, postulate 2 (extending a line) asserts that space does not have holes or boundaries; postulate 4 (equality of right angles) says that space is isotropic and figures may be moved to any location while maintaining congruence; and postulate 5 (the parallel postulate) that space is flat (has no intrinsic curvature).


title: Euclidean geometry

text: The ambiguous character of the axioms as originally formulated by Euclid makes it possible for different commentators to disagree about some of their other implications for the structure of space, such as whether or not it is infinite (see below) and what its topology is. Modern, more rigorous reformulations of the system typically aim for a cleaner separation of these issues. Interpreting Euclid's axioms in the spirit of this more modern approach, axioms 1–4 are consistent with either infinite or finite space (as in elliptic geometry), and all five axioms are consistent with a variety of topologies (e.g., a plane, a cylinder, or a torus for two-dimensional Euclidean geometry).


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Euclid sometimes distinguished explicitly between "finite lines" (e.g., Postulate 2) and "infinite lines" (book I, proposition 12). However, he typically did not make such distinctions unless they were necessary. The postulates do not explicitly refer to infinite lines, although for example some commentators interpret postulate 3, existence of a circle with any radius, as implying that space is infinite.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: The notion of infinitesimal quantities had previously been discussed extensively by the Eleatic School, but nobody had been able to put them on a firm logical basis, with paradoxes such as Zeno's paradox occurring that had not been resolved to universal satisfaction. Euclid used the method of exhaustion rather than infinitesimals.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Later ancient commentators, such as Proclus (410–485 CE), treated many questions about infinity as issues demanding proof and, e.g., Proclus claimed to prove the infinite divisibility of a line, based on a proof by contradiction in which he considered the cases of even and odd numbers of points constituting it.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: At the turn of the 20th century, Otto Stolz, Paul du Bois-Reymond, Giuseppe Veronese, and others produced controversial work on non-Archimedean models of Euclidean geometry, in which the distance between two points may be infinite or infinitesimal, in the Newton–Leibniz sense. Fifty years later, Abraham Robinson provided a rigorous logical foundation for Veronese's work.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: One reason that the ancients treated the parallel postulate as less certain than the others is that verifying it physically would require us to inspect two lines to check that they never intersected, even at some very distant point, and this inspection could potentially take an infinite amount of time.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: The modern formulation of proof by induction was not developed until the 17th century, but some later commentators consider it implicit in some of Euclid's proofs, e.g., the proof of the infinitude of primes.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Supposed paradoxes involving infinite series, such as Zeno's paradox, predated Euclid. Euclid avoided such discussions, giving, for example, the expression for the partial sums of the geometric series in IX.35 without commenting on the possibility of letting the number of terms become infinite.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Euclid frequently used the method of proof by contradiction, and therefore the traditional presentation of Euclidean geometry assumes classical logic, in which every proposition is either true or false, i.e., for any proposition P, the proposition "P or not P" is automatically true.


title: Euclidean geometry

text: Placing Euclidean geometry on a solid axiomatic basis was a preoccupation of mathematicians for centuries. The role of primitive notions, or undefined concepts, was clearly put forward by Alessandro Padoa of the Peano delegation at the 1900 Paris conference:


title: Euclidean geometry

text: That is, mathematics is context-independent knowledge within a hierarchical framework. As said by Bertrand Russell:


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Iglesia ni Cristo (, abbreviated as INC; ; ) is an independent Nontrinitarian Christian church, founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Y. Manalo in 1914 as a unipersonal religious corporation to the Insular Government of the Philippines.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: INC describes itself to be the one true church and the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus, whereby all other Christian churches are apostate. According to INC doctrine, the official registration of the church with the Philippine government was on July 27, 1914, by Felix Y. Manalo—who is upheld by members to be the last messenger of God—was an act of divine providence and the fulfillment of biblical prophecy concerning the re-establishment of the original church of Christ in the Far East concurrent with the coming of the seventh seal marking the end of days.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: By the time of Manalo's death in 1963, INC had become a nationwide church with 1,250 local chapels and 35 cathedrals. As his successor, Manalo's son, Eraño G. Manalo, led a campaign to grow and internationalize the church until his death on August 31, 2009. His son, Eduardo V. Manalo, succeeded him as Executive Minister. The 2015 Philippine census reported that 2,664,498 of the population's religious affiliation was with the church, placing it fourth behind, Catholic Church, 80,304,061, Other Local Ethnicity, 24,042,850, and Islam, 6,064,744.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: During American Occupation over the Philippines, there were a variety of rural anti-colonial movements, often with religious undertones, and American Protestant missionaries introduced several alternatives to the Catholic Church, the established church during Spanish colonial period.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Felix Y. Manalo, born on May 10, 1886, in Taguig, Philippines, was baptized in the Catholic Church. In his teenage years, Manalo became dissatisfied with Catholic theology. According to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the establishment of the Philippine Independent Church (also called the Aglipayan Church) was his major turning point, but Manalo remained uninterested since its doctrines were mainly Catholic. In 1904, he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, entered the Methodist seminary, and became a pastor for a while. He also sought through various denominations, including the Presbyterian Church, Christian Mission, and finally Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1911. Manalo left Adventism in 1913 and associated himself with atheist and agnostic peers.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: In November 1913, Manalo secluded himself with religious literature and unused notebooks in a friend's house in Pasay, instructing everyone in the house not to disturb him. He emerged from seclusion three days later with his new-found doctrines. Manalo, together with his wife, went to Punta, Santa Ana, Manila, in November 1913 and started preaching. He left the congregation in the care of his first ordained minister and returned to his native Taguig to evangelise; there, he was ridiculed and stoned at his meetings with locals. He was later able to baptize a few converts, including some of his persecutors. He later registered his new-found religion as the Iglesia ni Cristo (English: Church of Christ; Spanish: Iglesia de Cristo) on July 27, 1914, at the Bureau of Commerce as a corporation sole, with himself as the first executive minister. Expansion followed as INC started building congregations in the provinces in 1916, with Pasig (then in Rizal province) having two locals established. The first three ministers were ordained in 1919.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: By 1924, INC had about 3,000 to 5,000 adherents in 43 or 45 congregations in Manila and six nearby provinces. By 1936, INC had 85,000 members. This figure grew to 200,000 by 1954. A Cebu congregation was built in 1937—the first to be established outside of Luzon, and the first in the Visayas. The first mission to Mindanao was commissioned in 1946. Meanwhile, its first concrete chapel was built in Sampaloc, Manila, in 1948. Adherents fleeing for the provinces away from Manila, where the Japanese forces were concentrated during World War II, were used for evangelization. As Manalo's health began to fail in the 1950s, his son Eraño began taking leadership of the church. Manalo died on April 12, 1963.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On July 27, 1968, Eraño G. Manalo officiated the inaugural worship service of the church in Ewa Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii—the first mission of the church outside the Philippines. The following month, INC established the San Francisco congregation. INC reached Europe through the United Kingdom in 1971, and Canada in 1973. INC established its first congregation in South Africa in 1978. INC established congregations in Rome, Italy on July 27, 1994; Jerusalem, Israel on March 31, 1996; and Athens, Greece on May 10, 1997. In 1998, INC has established 543 congregations, and missions in 74 countries outside the Philippines.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: In 1965, INC launched its first resettlement and land reform program in Barrio Maligaya, Laur, Nueva Ecija. INC started operating a radio station in 1969 while its first television program aired in 1983. The Ministerial Institute of Development, renamed as "Iglesia ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) School for Ministers", was founded in 1974 in Quiapo, Manila, and moved in Quezon City in 1978. In 1971, the INC Central Office building was built in Quezon City. In 1984, the 7,000-seat Central Temple was added in the complex. The Tabernacle, a multipurpose tent-like building which can accommodate up to 4,000 people, was finished in 1989. The complex also includes the New Era University, a tertiary education institution run by INC. Eraño G. Manalo died on August 31, 2009. His son, Eduardo V. Manalo, succeeded him as executive minister upon his death.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On July 21, 2014, former President Benigno Aquino III and INC executive minister Eduardo V. Manalo led the inauguration of Ciudad de Victoria, a 140-hectare tourism zone in Bocaue and Santa Maria, Bulacan, where the Philippine Arena is also located. The Philippine Arena, a 55,000-seat multi-purpose structure owned by the INC, currently holds the Guinness World Record for the largest mixed-used indoor theater.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Philippine government declared the year 2014 as the "Iglesia ni Cristo Centennial Year" through Proclamation No. 815, whereas, July 27 of the same year was declared as a special non-working holiday to commemorate the 100th founding anniversary of Iglesia ni Cristo.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On July 27, 2014, INC celebrated its centennial anniversary at Ciudad de Victoria, with Philippine Arena as the main venue, and in about 1,180 worship buildings worldwide through live video feed. The week-long celebration consisted of pyro-musical displays, worship service led by Manalo, oratorio, musical presentation, theatrical play, quiz show, and evangelical mission. For the worship service conducted for the INC centennial, INC secured two Guinness World Records for the largest gospel choir with 4,745 members and largest mixed-used indoor theater for the Philippine Arena with 51,929 attendees. On July 26, 2015, INC capped their centennial year through different activities such as International Unity Games, worship service led by Manalo, and Closing Centennial Celebration which were held at Washington D.C. United States, and the Philippine Arena.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On October 4, 2015, INC, through Viva films, conducted the world premiere of "Felix Manalo", a film depicting the origin of the INC and the life of its first executive minister, which was held at the Philippine Arena.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: According to the resolution passed by the Senate of the Philippines to commemorate INC's 104th anniversary, INC has already established more than 7,000 congregations in 151 countries and territories throughout the world.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Iglesia ni Cristo believes that it is the true church established by Jesus Christ in the first century, and that its registration in the Philippines is the fulfillment of biblical prophecies that Christ's church would re-emerge in the Far East. Because of a number of similarities, INC's doctrines have been described as restorationist in outlook and theme.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: The Iglesia ni Cristo believes that the Bible is the only book inspired by God, thus it is the sole basis of all their beliefs and practices.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: The Iglesia ni Cristo believes that God the Father is the creator deity and the only true God. INC rejects the traditional Christian belief in the Trinity as heresy, adopting a version of unitarianism. They believe that this position is attested by Jesus Christ and the Apostles.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: The church believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the mediator between God the Father and humanity, and was created by God the Father. God sanctified him to be without sin, and bestowed upon him the titles "Lord" and "Son of God". The church sees Jesus as God's highest creation, believe that he is a Man and denies the deity of Jesus. Adherents profess Jesus' substitutionary role in the redemption of humankind. He is believed to have been "foreordained before the foundation of the world" and sent by God "to deal with sin". Members "are saved by Christ's blood" who died because of his "self-sacrificing love".


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: INC believes that the Holy Spirit is the power of God and also not a deity, being sent by God the Father and Jesus Christ to guide God's people.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: The Iglesia ni Cristo believes that it is the one true church founded by Jesus Christ and was restored by Felix Manalo in the last days. They believe that the first century church apostasized in that century, or in the 4th century due to false teachings. INC says that this apostate church is the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, its reestablishment is seen as the signal for the end of days.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: They believe that the Iglesia ni Cristo is the fulfillment of the Bible verse, Isaiah 43:5, where "east" refers to the Philippines where the Church of Christ would be founded. INC teaches that its members constitute the "elect of God" and there is no salvation outside the Iglesia ni Cristo. Faith alone is insufficient for salvation. The Iglesia ni Cristo says that the official name of the true church is "Church of Christ or Iglesia ni Cristo (in Tagalog)". The two passages often cited by INC to support this are Romans 16:16 "Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you",


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: and the George Lamsa translation of : "Take heed therefore ... to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood."


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: According to INC, Manalo is the "angel from the east" mentioned in Revelation 7:1–3 who started preaching about the INC coincide the outbreak of the World War I. This is the start of the period according to INC being referred to in the Bible as the ends of the earth


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: (cf Is 41:9-10; 43:5-6) the time when the end of the world is near, even at the very doors (cf. Mt. 24:3, 33), which began with the outbreak of a war of global proportions (cf. Mt. 24:6-7) Manalo is from the Philippines, which they say is in the "center" of the Far East. The ‘four winds’ in Revelation 7:1-3, they say refers to World War I and the four angels are the four leaders known as the big four (Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Vittorio Orlando) who they say worked on the prevention of the war to continue.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Manalo is also portrayed as the fulfillment of several passages in Isaiah and other books of the Bible.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: As the one who sent by God to restore INC, Manalo became the first executive minister and spiritual leader of the church. As such, he taught that what is written in the Bible was the ultimate authority in all aspects of the church, and effectively as a messenger of God, Manalo is "the foremost Biblical authority for all humanity and the divinely designated leader of a reestablished Church of Christ in the modern world."


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: The church believes that baptism is done by immersion baptism or Believer's baptism by adults in water, and that it is necessary that people be baptised in the Iglesia ni Cristo to become disciples of Jesus Christ. The church rejects infant baptism. Newborn children of members are instead dedicated to God through a congregational prayer, led by an ordained minister of the INC.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Members who are not living in accordance with the doctrines taught in the INC are admonished. Those who continue in violation of INC doctrines after being admonished are expelled from the INC, thus losing salvation. As such, the church does not believe in the perseverance of the saints. Certain violations, such as eating blood, having too long of an absence from church services without a solid reason, drinking alcohol, or having a romantic relationship (including marriage) with a non-member, may result in mandatory expulsion.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: INC believes that a person is composed of a body ("vehicle"), soul ("individual") and spirit ("life" or fuel). Members believe that when a person dies, his/her body and soul both die and go into the grave where both will remain until the Second Coming of Christ, whereas the spirit will go back to God. Upon Christ's return, all dead servants of God, from the time of the patriarchs up to the last days, would be resurrected to join living faithful and loyal INC members. They will be rewarded by living in the Holy City or New Jerusalem, together with God the Father, and Jesus Christ. At the right time chosen by God, a second resurrection would occur, and non-INC members will experience second death which is the Lake of Fire "(Dagát-dagatang Apóy").


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: The church believes that God set a day where He will judge all people. They believe that this day is also the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: The church conducts regular worship services, one during the week, and one during the weekend, conducted in the local languages (providing sign language interpreters and translators in some congregations). It consists of singing of hymns, prayers, studies of the bible, collection of voluntary offerings, and benediction. Both God the Father and Jesus are worshiped. The ministers of every congregation in a given worship service use the same sermon outline prepared by the executive minister. Deacons and Deaconesses guide worshipers to their seats and collect voluntary offerings. The singing of hymns is led by the locale's choir. The first hymnbook, termed "Ang Himnario ng Iglesia ni Cristo", which consists of over 300 songs, was published in 1937. Children's worship services (Tagalog: "Pagsamba ng Kabataan", or "PNK") are held every weekend. They use similar lessons as the standard worship services taught using the Socratic method (question and answer). The church teaches that willfully forsaking the worship service is a grievous sin, thus members are expected to attend the congregational worship services twice a week without fail.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: The church encourages its members to make prayer a part of everyday life. Thus, prayer before various activities, such as taking meals and going to sleep, are commonly practiced. Prayers recited in rote repetition are not observed.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Since February 1939, the church has been publishing "Pasugo" ('God's Message') in both Tagalog and English. Filipino has been the only language used since its inception in 1939 until 1953. Currently, about two-thirds of its pages are devoted to the English-speaking population. Felix Manalo wrote its first editorial where he stated the publication's purpose, including the propagation of the faith. Issues contain articles which detail INC doctrines and refute doctrines which it considers as heresy, such as the Trinity. It also features information on church history, educational programs and missionary achievements, including lists and photographs of newly dedicated chapels. In 2001, it had a monthly circulation of 235,000 copies. For the year 2009, there were more than four million copies of "Pasugo" distributed worldwide.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: In the Philippines, through the Christian Era Broadcasting Service International Incorporated (CEBSI Incorporated), INC broadcasts programs that discuss Bible


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: teachings over the radio and television. These programs are aired by about 60 other radio stations all over the Philippines (i.e. INC Radio- DZEM 954kHz) and several more in the US and Australia. INCTV-48, as well as major cable stations in the Philippines and some channels in the US Direct TV ch 2068, telecast the INC's religious programs. These programs can also be seen in the Internet via one of the organisation's news website.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: INC holds religious gatherings called evangelical missions regularly which aim to attract more followers. On February 28, 2012, INC held its largest Philippine-wide evangelical missions simultaneously on 19 sites across the country. In Manila site alone, more than 600,000 people attended the event. On April 13, 2013, INC launched "Lingap-Pamamahayag" under its project "Kabayan Ko, Kapatid Ko" (English: My Countrymen, My Brethren), which incorporates outreach missions to its evangelical missions. On September 26, 2015, INC held its first worldwide evangelical mission at the Philippine Arena as the main venue and in 2,125 sites throughout the world through video conferencing. It was officiated by INC executive minister, Eduardo Manalo.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On November 19, 1981, INC has launched the "Lingap sa Mamamayan" ('Aid To Humanity') Program. The program aims to provide relief goods, health care, and other services to the needy, especially those who are afflicted by calamities and disasters. It also provides seminars for disaster preparedness, first aid, and family planning. Other humanitarian activities such as blood donation and community clean up drives were also conducted in different parts of the world where the Iglesia ni Cristo is established.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Felix Y. Manalo (FYM) Foundation, the INC's arm in executing the "Lingap sa Mamamayan" and other related programs, was formally registered in the Philippines on February 4, 2011, and in the United States on May 17, 2012. The institution is also recognized in Japan, South Korea, Spain, and Russia.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On July 7, 2012, the INC Lingap sa Mamamayan was conducted in the slums of Parola in Tondo, Manila and was awarded three Guinness world records for breaking records in the most people involved in a dental health check; the most blood pressure readings taken in 8 hours; and the most blood glucose level tests in 8 hours. On April 29, 2016, four more Guinness world records were broken by the INC. These records are the largest collection of clothes for recycle/donation, the most shoes donated to charity in 24 hours, the most medical ultrasound examinations in eight hours, and the most medical risk assessment in eight hours which was also held in Tondo, Manila.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On February 15, 2014, INC bagged another two Guinness world records when they conducted a worldwide charity walk simultaneously on 135 different sites scattered in 29 countries. INC holds the records for the largest charity walk on a single venue when 175,509 members of the church finished the 1.6 km walk in Manila; and for the largest charity walk in 24 hours (multiple venues) when a total of 519,521 participants finished the charity walk in different parts of the world. The proceeds were used for the housing and livelihood projects of super Typhoon Haiyan survivors. INC also broke the same records on May 6, 2018, for its Worldwide Walk to Fight Poverty with 283,171 people in single venue, and 773,136 people in multiple venues for its African missions and outreach.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On February 22, 2014, INC conducted another Lingap sa Mamamayan at its first resettlement project in Barrio Maligaya in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija. Coinciding with the barrio's 49th anniversary, INC bagged another world record after setting the record for the most hunger relief packs distributed within eight hours. A total of 302,311 hunger relief packages were given.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On March 14, 2014, after conducting a worship service in Tacloban, Leyte, INC executive minister Eduardo V. Manalo, led the groundbreaking ceremony of the EVM Self-Sustainable Community Rehabilitation Project in Sitio New Era, a 3000-hectare property of the church in Brgy. Langit, Alang-alang, Leyte. The project which costs more than one billion pesos includes at least 1000 housing units for the survivors of super typhoon Haiyan. Garments and dried fish factories, and eco-farming project are also included to provide livelihood to the community. More than 150,000 hunger relief packages were also given which contains 3 kilos of rice, canned goods and instant noodles aside from the free medical and dental services conducted that day. On January 23, 2015, Manalo inaugurated the livelihood and housing project.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On November 9, 2015, Manalo inaugurated a community project for Kabihug tribe, an indigenous group in Camarines Norte. The project is situated in a 100-hectare land which includes 300 housing units, calamansi orchard, ecological farm, dried fish factory, garments factory, clinic, learning center, and an INC worship building. After 6 months, another housing and eco-farming community project was inaugurated by the church on May 27, 2016, for the B'laan tribe in Bgy. Danlag, Tampakan South, South Cotabato in southern Philippines.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Iglesia ni Cristo has had three Executive Ministers () who lead the Church Administration in overseeing the faith of the members. Eduardo V. Manalo, as the current Executive Minister, serves as the church's leader, and, in this capacity, manages the administration of the church. Along with other senior ministers which comprises the Church Economic Council (), the Executive Minister forms the Central Administration of Iglesia ni Cristo.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: The Central Office in Quezon City, built in 1971, is Iglesia ni Cristo's headquarters. The Central Office is one of several structures inside the INC Central Office Complex. It houses the permanent offices of the central administration and some of the church's departments. It is here where about a thousand INC professionals and volunteers hold office. It was located in Manila during its early years, then in San Juan, and later in Makati, before moving to its present site. INC also has three main offices outside the Philippines; in Burlingame, California; Washington D.C.; and in Heathrow, London.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Administration and ministerial work are delegated into ecclesiastical districts (termed "divisions" until 1990) which are led by District Ministers (formerly, "division ministers"). Ecclesiastical districts comprise 40 congregations (referred to as locales) on average. All locales were directly managed by Felix Y. Manalo until 1924 when the first ecclesiastical district was organized in Pampanga.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Iglesia ni Cristo church buildings primarily serve as places of worship and are used for other religious functions. These are described by "Culture and Customs of the Philippines", a book published by Greenwood Publishing Group, as structures "which employ exterior neo-Gothic vertical support columns with tall narrow windows between, interlocking trapezoids, and rosette motifs, as well as tower and spires." There are multiple entrances leading to the main sanctuary, where males and females sit on either side of the aisle facing a dais where sermons are made. The choir loft is located behind the dais, and in larger churches, a baptistry with pools for immersion baptism is located at the back of the church. Meanwhile, Fernando Nakpil-Zialcita, an anthropologist from Ateneo de Manila University, said that INC churches can be uniquely identified for "its exuberant use of fanciful forms and ornaments [and a] brilliant white facade whose silhouette is a cusped Gothic arch or a flattened Saracenic arch." The distinctive spires represent "the reaching out of the faithful to God." Prominent architects, such as Juan Nakpil (a National Artist of the Philippines for architecture) and Carlos A. Santos-Viola, had been involved in designing INC churches while the Engineering and Construction Department of INC, established in 1971, oversees the uniformity in design of church buildings.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: The first chapel was built on Gabriela Street in Tondo, Manila in 1918, fashioned out of "sawali" (woven leaf panels), nipa and wood, typified the style and materials of the early chapels. After World War II, INC began to build concrete chapels, the first of these in Washington (Maceda), Sampaloc, Manila completed in 1948. Next came the chapel and former official residence of the executive minister in San Juan, Rizal (now San Juan City, part of Metropolitan Manila), designed by Juan Nakpil. The Central Temple, which opened on July 27, 1984, can accommodate up to 7,000 persons, and was designed by Carlos A. Santos-Viola. It features octagonal spires, "fine latticework" and ribbed windows. Recent buildings are variations on the designs of the Central Temple. These are designed to accommodate 250 to 1,000 persons while larger churches in Metro Manila and provincial capitals can accommodate up to 3,000 persons.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: INC churches outside the Philippines which were acquired from different religions undergo intensive renovations to meet the standard of INC worship services.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: The Iglesia ni Cristo is close to fundamentalist style and supports conservative politicians. It is known for its practice of bloc voting during elections. During the 2016 presidential election, INC communities in Agusan del Sur, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Dasmariñas, and Quezon City delivered 98% to 100% of the total votes to the endorsed candidates. The church supported the candidacies of Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, and Rodrigo Duterte during the 2010, and 2016 presidential elections respectively.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On June 12, 2009, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Republic Act 9645, declaring July 27 as "Iglesia ni Cristo Day", a special national working holiday. On February 13, 2018, President Duterte appointed INC's executive minister, Eduardo Manalo, as special envoy for overseas Filipino concerns.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Despite the strict instructions of the previous leaders of the church namely Brothers Felix Y. Manalo and Erano G. Manalo against church-initiated loans and against pawning of church properties, the Iglesia ni Cristo in 2014 under the administration of Eduardo Manalo obtained billions of loans from two Philippine banks, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company and from Asia United Bank. According to loan documents, the loans were meant to partially fund the construction and completion of Philippine Arena, this despite the initial pronouncements of church leaders that the project was fully funded by INC members’ offerings. In order to secure the loans, the church mortgaged its properties located in Metro Manila, Cavite, Nueva Ecija and Baguio. The church also used 317 residential units of its LIG Condominium, a housing for church ministers and church workers that is based beside the church headquarters in Barangay Central, Quezon City as part of the loan collaterals.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: During mid 2015, internal conflicts challenged the century-old church. Felix Nathaniel "Angel" Manalo, the brother of current executive minister, Eduardo V. Manalo, as well as their mother, Cristina "Tenny" Manalo, the widow of former executive minister Eraño G. Manalo, uploaded a video to YouTube alleging that the INC administration had threatened their lives and that there has been a mass kidnapping of ministers. The INC, however, denied the claims of kidnapping. On July 23, 2015, Eduardo expelled his two brothers, one of three sisters, and mother, for allegedly trying to create a schism in the church and take over the church's leadership.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Former INC ministerial worker Lowell Menorca II stated that his life and that of his family were threatened by the INC administration, leading the Canadian government to grant him asylum: "When the panel considers the links between the INC and the law enforcement authorities in the Philippines…[t]he panel is satisfied Menorca would be unable to avail himself of state protection, from the risks that he fears in that country." The Immigration and Refugee Board has found that the Philippines-based church "is motivated by a vendetta" and has "both the means and the motivation to seriously harm or kill" him, should he return to the Philippines.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: In response to these issues, the Church Administration launched the program “"Tunay" "Na Defenders Of The Faith” (The True Defenders Of The Faith)" on March 31, 2018, on YouTube and Facebook, dismissing allegations made by the expelled.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Rovic Gloria Canono was arrested in November 2016 over a case allegedly filed under the direction of INC leaders and INC Legal Department. Canono was allegedly behind the critical Facebook page "Sher Lock” and blog "Silent No More" which accuses corruption within the church's ranks. Canono fled the Philippines after being charged with various cases by church members, including a libel case by the church's top leader Eduardo V. Manalo. Canono arrived and applied for asylum in Canada in December 2016. In a hearing in February 2017, his claim was accepted by the Immigration and Refugee Board on the basis of religious persecution as mandated by the United Nations Convention on Refugees of 1951. Like Menorca, Canono is now a resident of Canada. Rotary Philippines now gives an award named after Canono, known as "The Rovic Canono Human Rights Award", in honor of Canono's work as an advocate of human rights.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Another figure in the 2015 church crisis was a U.S. citizen living in the Philippines. American Lito Fruto was expelled from the INC in the early part of 2015 because of his critical statements against the church leadership, which had been rocked by corruption scandals and allegations of abductions supposedly perpetrated by top INC officials. He was initially under the witness protection program by the Philippine government in April 2015, as he claimed to have received threats due to his allegations against the INC leadership. In November 2015, he filed a complaint against members of the INC's top administrative body, the Sanggunian, accusing them of coercion, harassment, threats, and arbitrary detention. Fruto said that he had been forcibly taken at gunpoint from his Caloocan residence based on a complaint of alleged rape against him, which he said was fabricated by INC. Fruto believed that they were held by the INC against their will because of their supposed exposes against the church. He also said the judge in the rape case, who also issued Fruto a hold departure order, was a member of the INC.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Fruto was shot several times by an unidentified gunman as he was driving along Cavitex Exit in Barangay Marulas, Kawit, Cavite, around 1:30 am on May 24, 2017. Several excommunicated INC members allege that the killing may have been perpetrated by church officials, whom Fruto has publicly spoken out against.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: A few days after Danilo Patungan was abducted, Felix Villocino disappeared as well. Villocino had long been delivering food supplies to the Manalo residence in Tandang Sora, Quezon City. Several former members of the church believed that these disappearances were a repeat of the suspected abductions, allegedly committed by the church against its own ministers in 2015 when the feud between the current INC leader Eduardo V. Manalo and his siblings Angel V. Manalo and Lottie Manalo-Hemedez became public knowledge.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Villocino was expelled after he openly supported Angel Manalo by delivering food supplies for the besieged Manalo siblings. Villocino's bullet-riddled body was found the following day in a grassy portion of Barangay Malamig, Bustos, Bulacan.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: On November 11, 2018, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's "The Fifth Estate", hosted by Bob McKeown, featured INC on an episode entitled "The Church of Secrets," which followed the story of a widow of a murder victim allegedly killed by INC members after a series of verbal altercations, as well as the story of excommunicated ministerial worker Lowell Menorca II, who sought refugee status in Canada. The news crew also attempted to land an interview with Eduardo V. Manalo after an event in Sacramento but were denied. During their attempt to land the interview, their vehicle's tires were slashed, which McKeown suspected was an act of intimidation by INC. An INC member denied the allegation. In February 2019, the CBC and "The Fifth Estate" were sued by INC for defamation, with officials calling the show "slanderous" and "without evidence". CBC News responded by stating they stand behind the story.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Karl Keating, the founder of Catholic Answers, said in 1990 that the INC engages in anti-Catholicism and anti-Protestantism in its "God's Message" magazine. Keating views the church as being built on a set of anti-Catholic doctrines, and that their lessons, as well as their "God's Message" magazine are dedicated more to debunking Catholic and Protestant beliefs and doctrines than to explaining their own positions.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: Let Us Reason Ministries, an online apologetics research group, has challenged the Iglesia ni Cristo's doctrines that one can only receive salvation if they are a member of the INC, and for saying that the INC has the sole authority from God to interpret and preach the Bible, while other religions do not. They also say that the Iglesia ni Cristo fallaciously misinterprets Biblical passages in order to suit their doctrines.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: James White, of Alpha and Omega Ministries, challenged the theology of the Iglesia ni Cristo in a public debate. White and Jose Ventilacion of the Iglesia ni Cristo met for a debate on April 21, 2017, in Rapid City, South Dakota.


title: Iglesia ni Cristo

text: A book-length Catholic treatment of INC history and teachings is: Elesterio, Fernando, "The Iglesia Ni Kristo: Its Christology and Ecclesiology", Quezon City, Philippines: Cardinal Bea Studies, Cardinal Bea Institute, Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila University, 1976.


title: Ron Eldard

text: Eldard was born on Long Island, New York. He is the sixth of seven children, and has four sisters and two brothers. He is of Irish and Scottish descent. Eldard's mother died in a car accident when he was a child, and Eldard and his siblings were sent to live with various family members. He attended grade school in Utah while living with his aunt and uncle.


title: Ron Eldard

text: Eldard made his film debut in the comedy "True Love" (1989), written and directed by Nancy Savoca, and co-starring Annabella Sciorra. This film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Eldard has performed on Broadway in critically acclaimed productions of "On the Waterfront", "Biloxi Blues", "Bash: Latterday Plays", and "Death of a Salesman." The latter two were filmed for Showtime productions.


title: Ron Eldard

text: Eldard is known for his film roles as Mickey Bunce in the cult comedy "Drop Dead Fred" (1991); as street thug John Reilly in "Sleepers" (1996), and as Dodge, a Marine Salvage Expert, in the horror film "Ghost Ship" (2002).


title: Ron Eldard

text: Beginning January 11, 2006, he starred as Father Flynn in the Tony Award– and Pulitzer Prize–winning Broadway production of "Doubt", opposite the British actress Dame Eileen Atkins. He was scheduled to assume the role for the January 10 performance, but was ill. The production closed July 2, 2006. In 2014, he starred in the indie horror film "Poker Night".


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, and engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine primarily transports domestic and international cargo and passengers during peacetime, and operate and maintain deep-sea merchant ships, tugboats, towboats, ferries, dredges, excursion vessels, charter boats and other waterborne craft on the oceans, the Great Lakes, rivers, canals, harbors, and other waterways. In times of war, the Merchant Marine can be an auxiliary to the United States Navy, and can be called upon to deliver military personnel and materiel for the military.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: In the 19th and 20th centuries, various laws fundamentally changed the course of American merchant shipping. These laws put an end to common practices such as flogging and shanghaiing, and increased shipboard safety and living standards. The United States Merchant Marine is also governed by more than 25 (as of February 17, 2017) international conventions to promote safety and prevent pollution.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: As of October 1, 2018, the United States merchant fleet had 181 privately owned, oceangoing, self-propelled vessels of 1,000 gross register tons and above that carry cargo from port to port. Nearly 800 American-owned ships are flagged in other nations.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The federal government maintains fleets of merchant ships managed by the United States Maritime Administration. In 2014, they employed approximately 6.5% of all American water transportation workers. Merchant Marine officers may also be commissioned as military officers by the Department of Defense. This is commonly achieved by commissioning unlimited tonnage Merchant Marine officers as Strategic Sealift Officers in the United States Navy Reserve.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: During World War II, nearly 250,000 civilian merchant mariners served as part of the U.S. military, transporting supplies and personnel. Between 1939 and 1945, 9,521 merchant mariners lost their lives, a per capita casualty rate greater than those of each U.S. Armed Forces branch. The GI Bill Improvement Act Of 1977 P.L. 95–202, granted veteran status to Women Airforce Service Pilots and "any person in any other similarly situated group" with jurisdiction granted to the Secretary of Defense, and delegated to the Secretary of the Air Force. Merchant mariners who served in World War II were denied such veterans recognition until 1987 when a federal court ordered it. The Court held that the Secretary of the Air Force wrongfully denied active military service recognition to American merchant mariners who participated in World War II.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Captains, mates (officers), and pilots supervise ship operations on domestic waterways and the high seas. A captain (master) is in overall command of a vessel, and supervises the work of other officers and crew. A captain has the authority to take the conn from a mate or pilot at any time he or she feels the need. On smaller vessels the captain may be a regular watch-stander, similar to a mate, directly controlling the vessel's position. Captains and department heads ensure that proper procedures and safety practices are followed, ensure that machinery is in good working order, and oversee the loading and discharging of cargo and passengers. Captains directly communicate with the company or command (MSC), and are overall responsible for cargo, various logs, ship's documents, credentials, efforts at controlling pollution and passengers carried.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Mates direct a ship's routine operation for the captain during work shifts, which are called watches. Mates stand watch for specified periods, usually in three duty sections, with four hours on watch and eight hours off. When on a navigational watch, mates direct a bridge team by conning, directing courses through the helmsman and speed through the lee helmsman (or directly in open ocean). When more than one mate is necessary aboard a ship, they typically are designated chief mate or first mate, second mate and third mate. In addition to watch standers, mates directly supervise the ship's crew, and are assigned other tasks. The chief mate is usually in charge of cargo, stability and the deck crew, the second mate in charge of navigation plans and updates and the third mate as the safety officer. They also monitor and direct deck crew operations, such as directing line handlers during moorings, and anchorings, monitor cargo operations and supervise crew members engaged in maintenance and the vessel's upkeep.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Harbor pilots guide ships in and out of confined waterways, such as harbors, where a familiarity with local conditions is of prime importance. Harbor pilots are generally independent contractors who accompany vessels while they enter or leave port, and may pilot many ships in a single day.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Engine officers, or engineers, operate, maintain, and repair engines, boilers, generators, pumps, and other machinery. Merchant marine vessels usually have four engine officers: a chief engineer and a first, second, and third assistant engineer. On many ships, Assistant Engineers stand periodic watches, overseeing the safe operation of engines and other machinery. However, most modern ships sailing today utilize unmanned machinery space (UMS) automation technology, and Assistant Engineers are dayworkers. At night and during meals and breaks, the engine room is unmanned and machinery alarms are answered by the Duty Engineer.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Marine oilers and more experienced qualified members of the engine department, or QMEDs, maintain the vessel in proper running order in the engine spaces below decks, under the direction of the ship's engine officers. These workers lubricate gears, shafts, bearings, and other moving parts of engines and motors; read pressure and temperature gauges, record data and sometimes assist with repairs and adjust machinery. Wipers are the entry-level workers in the engine room, holding a position similar to that of ordinary seamen of the deck crew. They clean and paint the engine room and its equipment and assist the others in maintenance and repair work. With more experience, they become oilers and firemen.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Able seamen and ordinary seamen operate the vessel and its deck equipment under officer supervision and keep their assigned areas in good order. They watch for other vessels and obstructions in the ship's path, as well as for navigational aids such as buoys and lighthouses. They also steer the ship, measure water depth in shallow water, and maintain and operate deck equipment such as lifeboats, anchors, and cargo-handling gear. On tankers, mariners designated as pumpmen hook up hoses, operate pumps, and clean tanks. When arriving at or leaving a dock, they handle the mooring lines. Seamen also perform routine maintenance chores, such as repairing lines, chipping rust, and painting and cleaning decks. On larger vessels, a boatswain—or head seaman—will supervise the work.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: As of 2011, a typical deep-sea merchant ship has a captain, three mates, a chief engineer and three assistant engineers, plus six or more unlicensed seamen, such as able seamen, oilers, QMEDs, and cooks or food handlers known as stewards. Other unlicensed positions on a large ship may include electricians and machinery mechanics.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The North American shipping industry developed as colonies grew and trade with Europe increased. As early as the 16th century, Europeans were shipping horses, cattle and hogs to the Americas.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Spanish colonies began to form as early as 1565 in places like St. Augustine, Florida, and later in Santa Fe, New Mexico; San Antonio, Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. English colonies like Jamestown began to form as early as 1607. The connection between the American colonies and Europe, with shipping as its only conduit, would continue to grow unhindered for almost two hundred years.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The first wartime role of an identifiable United States Merchant Marine took place on June 12, 1775, in and around Machias, Maine (then part of Massachusetts). A group of citizens, hearing the news from Concord and Lexington, captured the British schooner HMS "Margaretta." The citizens, in need of critical supplies, were given an ultimatum: either load the ships with lumber to build British barracks in Boston, or go hungry. They chose to fight.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Word of this revolt reached Boston, where the Continental Congress and the various colonies issued Letters of Marque to privateers. The privateers interrupted the British supply chain all along the eastern seaboard of the United States and across the Atlantic Ocean. These actions by the privateers predate both the United States Coast Guard and the United States Navy, which were formed in 1790 and 1797, respectively.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The merchant marine was active in subsequent wars, from the Confederate commerce raiders of the American Civil War, to the assaults on Allied commerce in the First and in the Second World Wars. 3.1 million tons of merchant ships were lost in World War II. Mariners died at a rate of 1 in 26, which was the highest rate of casualties of any service. All told, 733 American cargo ships were lost and 8,651 of the 215,000 who served perished in troubled waters and off enemy shores.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: During World War II ships with deck guns had United States Navy Armed Guard to man the guns. Some Armed Guard personnel also served as Radiomen and Signalmen. The Navy gun crews were assisted by ship's crew, though the merchant mariner's training in gunnery and combat role was ignored for years. Specific instructions as to merchant crew manning of guns and training they should receive was issued by the War Shipping Administration which operated all U.S. merchant ships either directly or through agents during the war. At wars end 144,857 men would serve in the Navy Armed Guard on 6,200 ships.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Merchant shipping also played its role in the wars in Vietnam and Korea. During the Korean War, under the operational control in theater of the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), the number of chartered ships grew from 6 to 255. In September 1950, when the U.S. Marine Corps went ashore at Incheon, 13 Navy cargo ships, 26 chartered American, and 34 Japanese-manned merchant ships of the MSTS participated.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: During the Vietnam War, at least 172 National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) ships were activated, and together with other US-flagged merchant vessels crewed by civilian seamen, carried 95% of the supplies used by the American armed forces. Many of these ships sailed into combat zones under fire. The SS "Mayaguez" incident involved the capture of mariners from the American merchant ship SS "Mayaguez".


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: During the first Gulf War, the merchant ships of the Military Sealift Command (MSC) delivered more than 12 million metric tons of vehicles, helicopters, ammunition, fuel and other supplies and equipment. At one point during the war, more than 230 government-owned and chartered ships were involved in the sealift.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: As of January 2017, U.S. Government-owned merchant vessels from the National Defense Reserve Fleet have supported emergency shipping requirements in 10 wars and crises. During the Korean War, 540 vessels were activated to support military forces. A worldwide tonnage shortfall from 1951 to 1953 required over 600 ship activations to lift coal to Northern Europe and grain to India. The Department of Agriculture required 698 activated ships to store grain from 1955 through 1964. After the Suez Canal Crisis in 1956, the NDRF activated 223 cargo ships and 29 tankers. During the Berlin Wall Crisis of 1961, 18 NDRF vessels were activated, remaining in service until 1970. The Vietnam War required the activation of 172 vessels.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Since 1976, the Ready Reserve Fleet (RRF) has taken the brunt of the work previously handled by the National Defense Reserve Fleet. The RRF made a major contribution to the success of Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm from August 1990 through June 1992, when 79 vessels helped meet military sealift requirements by carrying 25% of the unit equipment and 45% of the ammunition needed.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Two RRF tankers, two Roll-on/Roll-off (RO/RO) ships and a troop transport ship were employed in Somalia for Operation Restore Hope in 1993 and 1994. During the Haitian crisis in 1994, 15 ships were activated for Operation Uphold Democracy operations. In 1995 and 1996, four RO/RO ships were used to deliver military cargo as part of US and UK support to NATO peace-keeping missions.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Four RRF ships were activated to provide humanitarian assistance for Central America following Hurricane Mitch in 1998.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: In 2003, 40 RRF ships were used in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. This RRF contribution included sealifting into the combat theater equipment and supplies including combat support equipment for the Army, Navy Combat Logistics Force, and USMC Aviation Support equipment. By the beginning of May 2005, RRF cumulative support included 85 ship activations that logged almost 12,000 ship operating days, moving almost 25% of the equipment needed to support operations in Iraq.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The Military Sealift Command was also involved in the Iraq War, delivering of cargo and of fuel by the end of that year. Merchant mariners were recognized for their contributions in Iraq. For example, in late 2003, VADM David L. Brewer III, Military Sealift Command commander, awarded the crew of the Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medal.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The RRF was called upon to provide humanitarian assistance to gulf coast areas following Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita landfalls in September 2005. The Federal Emergency Management Agency requested a total of eight vessels to support relief efforts. Messing and berthing was provided for refinery workers, oil spill response teams and longshoremen. One vessel provided electrical power.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: As of 2007, three RRF ships supported the U.S. Army's Afloat Prepositioning Force (APF) with two specialized tankers and one dry cargo vessel capable of underway replenishment for the Navy's Combat Logistics Force.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: On October 22, 2015, a Military Sealift Command oiler and a United States civilian tanker refueled at sea during an exercise. This is not normally done as commercial fleet vessels are not normally geared for this type of exercise. This was done to increase operational readiness of MSC's naval auxiliary assets and prove flexibility of operation.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: In Fall 2021, news broke out that several midshipmen reported having been sexually assaulted either at the Academy or during Sea Year. The news resulted in a suspension of Sea Year, multiple investigations and lawsuits, and another promise by the U.S. Government to keep women safer while under their jurisdiction.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: As of 31 December 2016, the United States merchant fleet had 175 privately owned, oceangoing, self-propelled vessels of 1,000 gross register tons and above that carry cargo from port to port. One hundred fourteen (114) were dry cargo ships, and 61 were tankers. Ninety seven (97) were Jones Act eligible, and 78 were non-Jones Act eligible. MARAD deemed 152 of the 175 vessels "militarily useful".


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: In 2005, there were also 77 passenger ships. Of those American-flagged ships, 51 were foreign owned. Seven hundred ninety-four (794) American-owned ships are flagged in other nations.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: 2005 statistics from the United States Maritime Administration focused on the larger segment of the fleet: ships of and over. Two hundred forty-five (245) privately owned American-flagged ships are of this size, and 153 of those meet the Jones Act criteria.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The World War II era was the peak for the U.S. fleet. During the post-war year of 1950, for example, U.S. carriers represented about 43 percent of the world's shipping trade. By 1995, the American market share had plunged to 4 percent, according to a 1997 report by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The report states, "the number of U.S.-flag vessels has dropped precipitously — from more than 2,000 in the 1940s and 850 in 1970 to about 320 in 1996."


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: A diminishing U.S. fleet contrasted with the burgeoning of international sea trade. For example, worldwide demand for natural gas led to the growth of the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker fleet, which reached 370 vessels as of 2007. In 2007 the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) set uniform LNG training standards at U.S. maritime training facilities. While short-term imports are declining, longer term projections signal an eightfold increase in U.S. imported LNG by 2025, the worldwide LNG fleet does not include a single U.S. flagged vessel. Moreover, only five U.S. deepwater LNG ports were operational in 2007, although permits have been issued for four additional ports, according to MARAD.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The U.S. pool of qualified mariners declined with the fleet. In 2004, MARAD described the gap between sealift crewing needs and available unlicensed personnel as "reaching critical proportions, and the long term outlook for sufficient personnel is also of serious concern".


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Future seagoing jobs for U.S. mariners may be on other than U.S.-flagged ships. American-trained mariners are being sought after by international companies to operate foreign-flagged vessels, according to Julie A. Nelson, deputy maritime administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration. For example, Shell International and Shipping Company Ltd. began recruiting U.S. seafarers to crew its growing fleet of tankers in 2008. In 2007, Overseas Shipholding Group and the Maritime Administration agreed to allow American maritime academy cadets to train aboard OSG's international flag vessels. In 2015, the average salary of American mariners was $39,000.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The Military Sealift Command (MSC), an arm of the Navy, serves the entire Department of Defense as the ocean carrier of materiel during peacetime and war. MSC transports equipment, fuel, ammunition, and other goods essential to United States armed forces worldwide. Up to 95% of all supplies needed to sustain the U.S. military can be moved by Military Sealift Command. As of February 2017, MSC operated approximately 120 ships with 100 more in reserve. More than 5,500 civil service or contract merchant mariners staff the ships.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: MSC tankers and freighters have a long history of also serving as supply vessels in support of civilian research in the Arctic and Antarctic, including: McMurdo Station, Antarctica; and Greenland in the Arctic.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) acts as a reserve of cargo ships for national emergencies and defense. As of 31 January 2017, the NDRF fleet numbered 99 ships, down from 2,277 ships at its peak in 1950. NDRF vessels are now staged at the James River (off Ft. Eustis, VA); Beaumont, TX; and Suisun Bay (off Benicia, CA) anchorages, and other designated locations.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: A Ready Reserve Force component of the NDRF was established in 1976 to provide rapid global deployment of military equipment and forces. As of January 2017, the RRF consists of 46 vessels, down from a peak of 102 vessels in 1994. Two RRF ships are homeported at the NDRF anchorage in Beaumont, TX, while the remainder are assigned to various other homeports.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: In 2014, the federal government reported directly employing approximately 5,100 seafarers, out of an industry total of over 78,000 water transportation workers in Occupation Code 53–5000, which represented about 6.5% of all water transportation workers, many of whom worked on Military Sealift Command supply ships. By 2016, MSC reported employing more than 5,500 federal civilian mariners.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Training and licensing are managed by the United States Coast Guard, guided by the United States Code of Federal Regulations Title 46, Chapter I, Subchapter B. Training requirements are also molded by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (or STCW), which prescribes minimum standards that must be met.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Unlimited tonnage deck officers (referred to as mates) and engine officers are trained at maritime academies, or by accumulating sea-time as a rating on an unlimited tonnage ship along with passing certain training courses. Officers hold senior leadership positions aboard vessels, and must train over several years to meet the minimum standards. At the culmination of training, potential deck officers must pass an extensive examination administered by the U.S. Coast Guard that spans five days. Upon meeting all requirements and passing the final license examination, new deck officers are credentialed as third mates or third assistant engineers. To advance in grade, such as to 2nd Mate or 2nd Engineer, sea time in the prior grade and additional endorsements and testing are required. The term "unlimited" indicates that there are no limits that the officer has in relation to the size and power of the vessel or geographic location of operation.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (also known as USMMA or Kings Point) is one of the five United States service academies (the others are: the United States Military Academy, Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy, and Air Force Academy), and one of eleven United States maritime academies. It is charged with training officers for the United States Merchant Marine, branches of the military, and the transportation industry.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The Academy operates on an $85 million annual budget funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and is administered by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD).


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Joseph Banks Williams entered the Academy in 1942 and was the first African-American to graduate in 1944. Admission requirements were further changed in 1974, when the USMMA became the first Federal service academy to enroll female students, two years before the other Federal service academies.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Freshmen, known as "plebes," upon reporting in June or July of each year as the incoming class, begin a three-week indoctrination period, also known as "Indoc". Indoc is functionally run by upperclass midshipmen, but is overseen by officers of the United States Maritime Service who are part of the Commandant of Midshipman's staff. This high stress period involves physical training, marching, and an intensive introduction to regimental life at the academy. After the indoctrination period is completed, the academic year begins.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: U.S. citizen candidates for admission must sign a service obligation contract as a condition of admittance to the USMMA; U.S. candidates who completed Indoc will execute the Oath of Office as a Midshipman in the Navy Reserve the day prior to Acceptance Day. Plebes officially become part of the USMMA Regiment of Midshipmen on Acceptance Day, which is now standardized at 2 weeks after Indoc ends. Until they are "recognized" later in the academic year, plebes must continue adhere to stringent rules affecting most aspects of their daily life. After earning it, the plebes are recognized, henceforth accorded privilege of the title Midshipman, which gives them more privileges, known as "rates".


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Academy students focus on one of two different ship transport areas of education: marine transportation or marine engineering. Transportation students learn about ship navigation, cargo handling, navigation rules, and maritime law. Engineering students learn about the function of the ship's engines and its supporting systems. There are currently five different academic majors conferring a Bachelor of Science degree in the major field of study available to midshipmen:


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: For part of sophomore and junior year, known at the Academy as third class and second class years, midshipmen work as cadets on American-flagged unlimited tonnage merchant ships. Midshipmen are typically paired two to a ship, one engine cadet and one deck cadet. Midshipmen work and function as part of the crew and gain an opportunity for generous amounts of hands-on experience as well as the opportunity to travel abroad to many different foreign ports. The average midshipman travels to 18 countries during this period, which totals a minimum of 300 days. Due to this absence from the Academy, the remaining three academic years span from late July, through mid-June.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Immediately upon taking the Oath of Office as U.S. Navy reservists, the first year students become members of the U.S. military, subject to various regulations and military discipline under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and are subject to mobilization policies in the event of war or national emergency.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: USMMA graduates must maintain their merchant mariner licensing for 6 years following graduation, and must serve at least 5 years as either a merchant marine officer aboard a U.S.-flagged vessel or with a maritime-related profession, or 5 years of active duty service as a commissioned officer in any of the U.S. Uniformed Services (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), or Public Health Service). All newly commissioned uniformed services officers, active or reserve component, will swear the Oath of Office and serve a minimum military service obligation of 8 years (any portion not served on active duty will be served in the reserve component).


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Beginning in 1942, Merchant Marine Academy midshipmen were authorized to wear the Navy Reserve Merchant Marine Insignia and could automatically display this badge on U.S. Navy uniforms upon acceptance of a commission as a reserve naval officer. By the 1990s, especially in light of the somewhat rigorous training requirements for the Surface Warfare Badge, the badge had drawn a negative connotation and was often referred to as the "Sea Chicken". The Surface Warfare Officers School (SWOS) prohibited display of the badge by its students in 1998 and in 2011 the Navy discontinued the badge all together. Afterwards, a new badge known as the Strategic Sealift Officer Warfare Insignia was issued for merchant marine naval reserve officers, with this badge having qualification standards more identical with the standard surface warfare training pipeline.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Like the Federal USMMA, the following six state maritime academies offer the same training and licensing opportunities for future United States Merchant Marine officers, with varying USCG-approved programs. Each academy operates their own training ship, which are owned by the U.S. Government and loaned to the academy. These ships act as training laboratories during the academic year, and are sailed on by the cadets during training cruises for months at a time. One example of a training ship is USTS "Golden Bear", at the California Maritime Academy.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Unlike midshipmen from the USMMA, students at any of the state maritime academies are not automatically appointed as members of the Navy Reserve or any branch of the armed forces, nor are they guaranteed commissions as military officers.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Merchant mariner license program cadets at any of the state maritime academies may apply for commission as a Strategic Sealift Officers in the Navy Reserve and are eligible to receive a $8,000 annual student incentive payment from MARAD. They must however, apply for and be accepted to a simultaneous-membership military service program consisting of both appointment as a midshipman in the Navy Reserve and reserve enlisted status. After receiving the student incentive payments for 2 years, uniformed service obligations commence upon either graduation or dismissal for any reason from the program. Graduates must comply with their state maritime academy enrollment agreements, and subsequent employment limitations, if any. Women were barred from all U.S. maritime academies until 1974, when the USMMA, State University of New York Maritime College, and the California Maritime Academy first admitted women cadets.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: An informal maritime industry term used to refer to a merchant ship's officer who began his or her career as an unlicensed merchant mariner and did not attend a traditional maritime college/academy to earn the officer's license. This term is similar in use and definition to a U.S. naval services "Mustang" who went from enlisted to officer. A hawsepiper earns their officer's license by attaining the required sea time as a rating, taking required training courses, and completing onboard assessments. When all requirements are met, the mariner can apply to the United States Coast Guard's National Maritime Center to take the license examination.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Unlicensed personnel (synonymous with ratings) are generally trained through several private programs funded by maritime unions, shipping companies, or by one's own expense. An example training institution would be the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, or better known as "Piney Point". Generally the merchant mariner works their way up through the rates with sea time on the job. Entry level ratings would be ordinary seaman in the deck department and marine wiper in the engine department.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Unlicensed personnel must have sufficient sea time in a qualified rating and complete specified testing and training. These requirements are outlined in the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), to advance in rate.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Limited tonnage licensed mariners hold senior positions aboard small ships, boats, and similar vessels, but are restricted to certain tonnages (under 1600 GRT), types of vessels, and geographic locations.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Several laws shaped the development of the U.S. Merchant Marine. Chief among them are the "Seamen's Act of 1915," the "Merchant Marine Act of 1920" (commonly referred to as the "Jones Act"), and the "Merchant Marine Act of 1936".


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The Seaman's Act significantly improved working conditions for American Merchant Marine seamen. The brainchild of International Seamen's Union president Andrew Furuseth, the Act was sponsored in the Senate by Robert M. La Follette and received significant support from Secretary of Labor William B. Wilson.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The Act's passage was attributed to labor union lobbying, increased labor tensions immediately before World War I, and elevated public consciousness of safety at sea due to the sinking of the RMS Titanic three years prior.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The "Merchant Marine Act of 1920", often called "The Jones Act", required U.S.-flagged vessels to be built in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and documented ("flagged") under the laws of the United States. Documented means "registered, enrolled, or licensed under the laws of the United States". The Act also required that all officers and 75% of the crew be U.S. citizens. Vessels satisfying these requirements comprised the "Jones Act Fleet", and only these vessels were allowed to engage in "cabotage", or carrying passengers or cargo between two U.S. ports. There are countries in which, due to lower labor standards and prevailing wages, are much cheaper to document a vessel than the United States. Critics of the act claim it unfairly restricts the lucrative domestic shipping business. Another important aspect of the Act is that it allowed injured sailors to obtain compensation from their employers for the negligence of the owner, the captain, or fellow members of the crew.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The Merchant Marine Act of 1936 was enacted "to further the development and maintenance of an adequate and well-balanced American merchant marine, to promote the commerce of the United States, to aid in the national defense, to repeal certain former legislation, and for other purposes".


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Specifically, the Act established the United States Maritime Commission and required a United States Merchant Marine that consisted of U.S.-built, U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed, and U.S.-owned vessels capable of carrying all domestic and a substantial portion of foreign water-borne commerce which could serve as a naval auxiliary in time of war or national emergency.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The Act also established federal subsidies for the construction and operation of merchant ships. Two years after the Act was passed, the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps, the forerunner to the United States Merchant Marine Academy, was established.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: Federal law requires the Merchant Marine to adhere to a number of international conventions. The International Maritime Organization was either the source or a conduit for a number of these regulations.


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: The Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award for valor which can be bestowed upon members of the United States Merchant Marine and is the Merchant Marine's equivalent of the Medal of Honor. The following Merchant Marine World War II combat veterans received the Medal for extraordinary heroism:


title: United States Merchant Marine

text: In Tennessee Williams' play "The Glass Menagerie", the character Tom Wingfield leaves his family to join the Merchant Marine.


title: Phosphoric acid

text: Phosphoric acid (orthophosphoric acid, monophosphoric acid or phosphoric(V) acid) is a colorless, odorless phosphorus-containing solid, and inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is commonly encountered as an 85% aqueous solution, which is a colourless, odourless, and non-volatile syrupy liquid. It is a major industrial chemical, being a component of many fertilizers.


title: Phosphoric acid

text: The compound is an acid. Removal of all three ions gives the phosphate ion . Removal of one or two protons gives dihydrogen phosphate ion , and the hydrogen phosphate ion , respectively. Phosphoric acid forms esters, called organophosphates.


title: Phosphoric acid

text: The name "orthophosphoric acid" can be used to distinguish this specific acid from other "phosphoric acids", such as pyrophosphoric acid. Nevertheless, the term "phosphoric acid" often means this specific compound; and that is the current IUPAC nomenclature.


title: Phosphoric acid

text: In the wet process, a phosphate-containing mineral such as calcium hydroxyapatite and fluorapatite are treated with sulfuric acid.


title: Phosphoric acid

text: Calcium sulfate (gypsum, ) is a by-product, which is removed as phosphogypsum. The hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas is streamed into a wet (water) scrubber producing hydrofluoric acid. In both cases the phosphoric acid solution usually contains 23–33% P2O5 (32–46% ). It may be concentrated to produce "commercial-" or "merchant-grade" phosphoric acid, which contains about 54–62% (75–85% ). Further removal of water yields "superphosphoric acid" with a concentration above 70% (corresponding to nearly 100% ). The phosphoric acid from both processes may be further purified by removing compounds of arsenic and other potentially toxic impurities.


title: Phosphoric acid

text: To produce food-grade phosphoric acid, phosphate ore is first reduced with coke in an electric arc furnace, to give elemental phosphorus. Silica is also added, resulting in the production of calcium silicate slag. Elemental phosphorus is distilled out of the furnace and burned with air to produce high-purity phosphorus pentoxide, which is dissolved in water to make phosphoric acid.


title: Phosphoric acid

text: The difference between successive p"K" values is sufficiently large so that salts of either monohydrogen phosphate, or dihydrogen phosphate, , can be prepared from a solution of phosphoric acid by adjusting the pH to be mid-way between the respective p"K" values.


title: Phosphoric acid

text: Food-grade phosphoric acid (additive E338) is used to acidify foods and beverages such as various colas and jams, providing a tangy or sour taste. The phosphoric acid also serves as a preservative. Soft drinks containing phosphoric acid, which would include Coca-Cola, are sometimes called phosphate sodas or phosphates. Phosphoric acid in soft drinks has the potential to cause dental erosion. Phosphoric acid also has the potential to contribute to the formation of kidney stones, especially in those who have had kidney stones previously.


title: Phosphoric acid

text: Phosphoric acid is not a strong acid. However, at moderate concentrations phosphoric acid solutions are irritating to the skin. Contact with concentrated solutions can cause severe skin burns and permanent eye damage.


title: Phosphoric acid

text: A link has been shown between long-term regular cola intake and osteoporosis in later middle age in women (but not men).


title: Prostitution in India

text: Prostitution is legal in India, but a number of related activities including soliciting, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, prostitution in a hotel, child prostitution, pimping and pandering are illegal. There are, however, many brothels illegally operating in Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, and Chennai. UNAIDS estimate there were 657,829 prostitutes in the country as of 2016. Other unofficial estimates have calculated India has roughly 3–10 million prostitutes. India is widely regarded as having one of the world's largest commercial sex industry. It has emerged as a global hub of sex tourism, attracting sex tourists from wealthy countries. The sex industry in India is a multi-billion dollar one, and one of the fastest growing.


title: Prostitution in India

text: A tawaif was a courtesan who catered to the nobility of India, particularly during the Mughal era. The tawaifs excelled in and contributed to music, dance (mujra), theatre, and the Urdu literary tradition, and were considered an authority on etiquette. Tawaifs were largely a North Indian institution central to Mughal court culture from the 16th century onwards and became even more prominent with the weakening of Mughal rule in the mid-18th century. They contributed significantly to the continuation of traditional dance and music forms and then emergence of modern Indian cinema.