Family and early life.

Ngô Đình Diệm was born in 1901 in Quảng Bình, a province in central Vietnam. His family originated in Phú Cam Village, a Catholic village adjacent to Huế City. His clan had been among Vietnam's earliest Catholic converts in the 17th century. Diệm was given a saint's name at birth, Gioan Baotixita (a Vietnamized form of Jean Baptiste), following the custom of the Catholic Church. The Ngô-Đình family suffered under the anti-Catholic persecutions of Emperors Minh Mạng and Tự Đức. In 1880, while Diệm's father, Ngô Đình Khả (1850–1925), was studying in British Malaya, an anti-Catholic riot led by Buddhist monks almost wiped out the Ngô-Đình clan. Over 100 of the Ngô clan were "burned alive in a church including Khả's parents, brothers, and sisters."  Ngô Đình Khả was educated in a Catholic school in British Malaya, where he learned English and studied the European-style curriculum. He was a devout Catholic and scrapped plans to become a Roman Catholic priest in the late 1870s. He worked for the commander of the French armed forces as an interpreter and took part in campaigns against anti-colonial rebels in the mountains of Tonkin during 1880. He rose to become a high-ranking Mandarin, the first headmaster of the National Academy in Huế (founded in 1896) and a counselor to Emperor Thành Thái under the French colonial regime. He was appointed minister of the rites and chamberlain and keeper of the eunuchs. Despite his collaboration with the French colonizers, Khả was "motivated less by Francophilia than by certain reformist ambitions". Like Phan Châu Trinh, Khả believed that independence from France could be achieved only after changes in Vietnamese politics, society and culture had occurred. In 1907, after the ouster of emperor Thành Thái, Khả resigned his appointments, withdrew from

Early career.

After graduating at the top of his class in 1921, Diệm followed in the footsteps of his eldest brother, Ngô Đình Khôi, joining the civil service in Thừa Thiên as a junior official. Starting from the lowest rank of mandarin, Diệm steadily rose over the next decade. He first served at the royal library in Huế, and within one year was the district chief in both Thừa Thiên and nearby Quảng Trị province, presiding over seventy villages. Diệm was promoted to be a provincial chief (Tuần phủ) in Ninh Thuận at the age of 28, overseeing 300 villages.  During his career as a mandarin, Diệm was known for his workaholism and incorruptibility, and as a Catholic leader and nationalist. Catholic nationalism in Vietnam during the 1920s and 1930s facilitated Diệm's ascent in his bureaucratic career. Diệm's rise was also facilitated through Ngô Đình Khôi's marriage to the daughter of Nguyễn Hữu Bài (1863–1935), the Catholic head of the Council of Ministers at the Huế court and also supported the indigenization of the Vietnamese Church and more administrative powers to the monarchy. Nguyễn Hữu Bài was highly regarded among the French, and Diệm's religious and family ties impressed him and he became Diệm's patron. The French were impressed by his work ethic but were irritated by his frequent calls to grant more autonomy to Vietnam. Diệm replied that he contemplated resigning but encouragement from the populace convinced him to persist. In 1925, he first encountered communists distributing propaganda while riding horseback through the region near Quảng Trị. Revolted by calls for violent socialist revolution contained in the propaganda leaflets, Diệm involved himself in anti-communist activities for the first time, printing his own pamphlets.  In 1929, he was promoted to the governorship of Bình Thuận Province and was known for his work ethic. In 1930 and 1931, he helped the French suppress the first peasant revolts organized by the communists. According to Fall, Diệm put the revolution down because he thought it could not sweep out the French, but might threaten the leadership of the mandarins. In 1933, with the ascension of Bảo Đại to the throne, Diệm accepted Bảo Đại's invitation to be his interior minister following lobbying by Nguyễn Hữu Bài. Soon after his appointment, Diệm headed a commission to advise on potential administration reforms. After calling for the French to introduce a Vietnamese legislature and many other political reforms, he resigned after three months in office when his proposals were rejected. Diệm denounced Emperor Bảo Đại as "nothing but an instrument in the hands of the French," and renounced his decorations and titles from Bảo Đại. The French then threatened him with arrest and exile.  For the next decade, Diệm lived as a private citizen with his family in Huế, although he was kept under surveillance. He spent his time reading, meditating, attending church, gardening, hunting, and in amateur photography. Diệm also conducted extensive nationalist activities during those 21 years, engaging in meetings and correspondence with various leading Vietnamese revolutionaries, such as his friend, Phan Bội Châu, a Vietnamese anti-colonial activist, whom Diệm respected for his knowledge of Confucianism and argued that Confucianism's teachings could be applied

Exile.

Diệm applied for permission to travel to Rome for the Holy Year celebrations at the Vatican. After gaining French permission, he left in August 1950 with his older brother, Bishop Ngô Đình Thục. Before going to Europe, Diệm went to Japan, where he met with Prince Cường Để, his former ally, and discussed Cường Để's efforts to return to Vietnam and his capacity to play some roles in his homeland. Diệm's friend also managed to organize a meeting between him and Wesley Fishel, an American political science professor at the University of California, who was working for the CIA in Japan. Fishel was a proponent of the anti-colonial, anti-communist third force doctrine in Asia and was impressed with Diệm and helped him organize connections in the United States. In 1951, Diệm flew to the United States to seek the support of government officials. Nevertheless, Diệm was not successful in winning US support for Vietnamese anti-communists.  In Rome, Diệm obtained an audience with Pope Pius XII at the Vatican before undertaking further lobbying across Europe. He also met with French and Vietnamese officials in Paris and sent a message indicating that he was willing to be the Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam to Bảo Đại. But Bảo Đại then refused to meet him. Diệm returned to

Becoming Prime Minister and consolidation of power.

Until 1953, the State of Vietnam was nominally independent from Paris. Since dissatisfaction with France and Bảo Đại was rising among non-communist nationalists, and support from non-communist nationalists and Diệm's allies was rising for his "true independence" point of view, Diệm sensed that it was time for him to come to power in Vietnam.  In early 1954, Bảo Đại offered Diệm the position of Prime Minister in the new government in Vietnam. In May 1954, the French surrendered at Điện Biên Phủ and the Geneva Conference began in April 1954. On 16 June 1954, Diệm met with Bảo Đại in France and agreed to be the Prime Minister if Bảo Đại would give him military and civilian control. On 25 June 1954, Diệm returned from exile, arriving at Tân Sơn Nhứt airport in Saigon. On 7 July 1954, Diệm established his new government with a cabinet of 18 people.  In the first period of his premiership, Diệm did not have much power in the government; he lacked control of the military and police forces, and the civil system's key positions were still held by French officials. He also could not control the Bank of Indochina. Besides, Diệm had to face massive obstacles: refugee issues; the French colonists wanting to remove Diệm to protect France's interest in South Vietnam; general Nguyễn Văn Hinh, a Francophile, the leader of National Army was ready to oust Diệm; the leaders of the Hòa Hảo and Cao Đài sectarian armies wanted positions in Diệm's cabinet and complete administrative control over the areas in which they had large numbers of followers; and the major threat of Bình Xuyên, an organized crime syndicate that controlled the National Police led by Lê Văn Viễn, whose power was focused in Saigon In summer 1954, the three organizations controlled approximately one-third of the territory and population of South Vietnam. In that situation, besides his own political skills, Diệm had to trust in his relatives and the backing of his American supporters to overcome the obstacles and neutralize his opponents.

Partition.

On 21 July 1954, the Geneva Accords temporarily partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel, pending elections in 1956 to reunify the country. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam controlled the north, while the French-backed State of Vietnam controlled the south with Diệm as the Prime Minister. Diệm criticized the French for abandoning North Vietnam to the Communists at Geneva, claimed that the terms did not represent the will of the Vietnamese people, and refused French suggestions to include

Establishing control.

In August 1954, Diệm also had to face the "Hinh crisis" when Nguyễn Văn Hinh launched a series of public attacks on Diệm, proclaiming that South Vietnam needed a "strong and popular" leader. Hinh also bragged that he was preparing a coup. However, at the end of 1954, Diệm successfully forced Hinh to resign from his post. Hinh had to flee to Paris and hand over his command of the national army to general Nguyễn Văn Vy. But the National Army officers favoured Diệm's leadership over General Vy, which forced him to flee to Paris. Despite the failure of Hinh's alleged coup, the French continued to encourage Diệm's enemies in an attempt to destabilize him.  On 31 December 1954, Diệm established the National Bank of Vietnam and replaced the Indochinese banknotes with new Vietnamese banknotes. In early 1955, although American advisors encouraged Diệm to negotiate with the

Presidency (1955–1963).

Establishment of Republic of Vietnam.

In South Vietnam, a referendum was scheduled for 23 October 1955 to determine the future direction of the south, in which the people would choose Diệm or Bảo Đại as the leader of South Vietnam. During the election, Diệm's brother Ngô Đình Nhu and the Cần Lao Party supplied Diệm's electoral base in organizing and supervising the elections, especially the propaganda campaign for destroying Bảo Đại's reputation. Supporters of Bảo Đại were not allowed to campaign, and were physically attacked by Nhu's workers. Official results showed 98.2 per cent of voters favoured Diệm, an implausibly high result that was condemned as fraudulent. The total number of votes far exceeded the number of registered voters by

Elections.

According to Miller, democracy, to Diệm, was rooted in his dual identity as Confucian and Catholic, and was associated with communitarianism and the doctrine of Personalism. He defined democracy as "a social ethos based on certain sense of moral duty", not in the US sense of "political right" or political pluralism and in the context of an Asian country like Vietnam, Confucian values were relevant to deal with contemporary problems in politics, governance, and social change. In this sense, Diệm was not a reactionary mandarin lacking an interest in democracy as he has been portrayed by some scholars. His way of thinking about democracy became a key factor of his approach to political and administrative reform. On 4 March 1956, the elections for the first National Assembly were held. On this occasion, non-government candidates were allowed to campaign, but the government retained the right to ban candidates deemed to be linked to the communists or

Socio-economic policies.

During his presidency, Diệm imposed programs to reform Saigon society in accordance with Catholic and Confucian values. Brothels and opium dens were closed, divorce and abortion were made

Rural development.

During Diệm's rule setting up a democratic basis and to promote a rural and material rearmament among the people". The Civic Action was considered a practical tool of Diệm's government to serve "the power vacuum" and make a rural influence for Diệm's government in countryside due to the departure of Việt Minh cadres after the Geneva Accords (1954).  Steward's study provides a clearer picture of Diệm's domestic policies and a further understanding of his government's efforts in reaching and connecting with local communities in South Vietnam that shows "an indigenous initiative" of the government in building an independent and viable nation.  Land Reform: In South Vietnam, especially in Mekong Delta, landholdings in rural areas were concentrated in small number of rich landlord families. Thus,

Counter-insurgency.

During his presidency, Diệm strongly focused on his central concern: internal security to protect his regime as well as maintain order and social change: staunch anti-subversion and anti-rebellion policies. After the Bình Xuyên was defeated and the Hòa Hảo, Cao Đài were subdued, Diệm concentrated on his most serious threat: the communists. Diệm's main measures for internal security were threats, punishment and intimidation. According to Gabriel Kolko about 12,000 suspected opponents of Diệm were killed between 1955 and 1957 and by the end of 1958 an estimated 40,000 political prisoners had

Religious policies and the Buddhist crisis.

In a country where surveys of the religious composition estimated the Buddhist majority to be between 70% and 90%, Diệm's policies generated claims of religious bias. Diem was widely regarded by historians as having pursued pro-Catholic policies that antagonized many Buddhists. Specifically, the government was regarded as being biased towards Catholics in public service and military promotions, as well as the allocation of land, business favors and tax concessions. Diệm also once told a high-ranking officer, forgetting that he was a Buddhist, "Put your Catholic officers in sensitive places. They can be trusted." Many officers in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam converted to Catholicism in the belief that their military prospects depended on it. The distribution of weapons to village self-defense militias intended to repel Việt Cộng guerrillas saw weapons only given to Catholics. Some Buddhist villages converted en masse to Catholicism in order to receive aid or to avoid being forcibly resettled by Diệm's regime, with Buddhists in the army being denied promotion if they refused to convert to Catholicism. Some Catholic priests ran their own private armies, and in some areas forced conversions, looting, shelling and demolition of pagodas occurred.  The Catholic Church was the largest landowner in the country, and the "private" status imposed on Buddhism by the French required official permission to conduct public Buddhist activities and was never repealed by Diệm. Catholics were also

Foreign policy.

The foreign policy of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), according to Fishel, "to a very considerable extent", was the policy of Ngo Dinh Diem himself during this period. He was the decisive factor in formulating foreign policies of the RVN, besides the roles of his adviser – Ngô Đình Nhu and his foreign ministers: Trần Văn Độ (1954–1955), Vũ Văn Mẫu (1955–1963) and Phạm Đăng Lâm (1963) who played subordinate roles in his regime. Nevertheless, since Diệm had to pay much attention to domestic issues in the context of the Vietnam War, foreign policy did not receive appropriate

Coup and assassination.

As the Buddhist crisis deepened in July 1963, non-communist Vietnamese nationalists and the military began preparations for a coup. Bùi Diễm, later South Vietnam's Ambassador to the United States, reported in his memoirs that General Lê Văn Kim requested his aid in learning what the United States might do about Diệm's government. Diễm had contacts in both the embassy and with the high-profile American journalists then in South Vietnam, David Halberstam ("New York Times"), Neil Sheehan (United Press International), and Malcolm Browne (Associated Press).  The coup d'état was designed by a military revolutionary council including ARVN generals led by General Dương Văn Minh. Lieutenant Colonel Lucien Conein, a CIA operative, had become a liaison between the US Embassy and the generals, who were led by Trần Văn Đôn. They met each other for the first time on 2 October 1963 at Tân Sơn Nhất airport. Three days later, Conein met with General Dương Văn Minh to discuss the coup and the stance of the US towards it. Conein then delivered the White House's message

Aftermath.

Upon learning of Diệm's ouster and assassination, Hồ Chí Minh reportedly stated: "I can scarcely believe the Americans would be so stupid." The North Vietnamese Politburo was more explicit:  The consequences of the 1 November coup d'état will be contrary to the calculations of the US imperialists... Diệm was one of the strongest individuals resisting the people and Communism. Everything that could be done in an attempt to crush the

Diệm's legacy.

Diệm's assassination led to the collapse of his regime and the end of the first Republic of Vietnam. Nevertheless, Diệm's contribution over his nine years of power from 1954 to 1963 can be appreciated at many levels due to his part in resolving the northern refugees issue, establishing and consolidating the power of his regime, subduing the sects, and pacifying the country. Diệm stabilized an independent South Vietnam that had suffered in the First Indochina War and built a relatively stable government in Saigon during the late 1950s. The normalcy and domestic security created conditions for economic recovery and development of education in South Vietnam, which contributed educated human resources to serve the nation. Many universities were established during Diệm's presidency, such as Huế University, Đà Lạt University, University of Pedagogy, the University of Saigon, University of Agriculture and Forestry, Medical University of Huế, and the National Institute of Administration, which applied the methods of European and American-style vocational schools, contributing to education in the Republic of Vietnam.

Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–55), and then served as President of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) from 1955 until he was deposed and assassinated during the 1963 military coup.

Ngo Dinh Ziem (též Ngo Dinh Diem; viet. Ngô Đình Diệm), 3. ledna 1901 v Hue – 2. listopadu 1963 v Saigonu, byl vietnamský politik, první prezident Vietnamské republiky (Jižního Vietnamu) v letech 1955–1963.


Early life.

Querrey was born in San Francisco and attended Thousand Oaks High School, graduating in 2006. Querrey turned down a scholarship offer from the University of Southern California (USC) to turn pro. His father Mike Querrey recommended that his son try making it in tennis, as he often regretted his own decision to attend the University of Arizona rather than play baseball for the Detroit Tigers, who had drafted him. Querrey said that going pro was "one of the toughest decisions of my life. [...] I'd play a match and want to go pro. I'd lose and want to go to college."

Career.

2006.

On June 11, 2006, Querrey became the first player to win a challenger event in his pro debut. He won in the Yuba City and Winnetka challengers. He won his first-round match at the Indian Wells Masters tournament over Bobby Reynolds, before falling to James Blake in three sets. He defeated American Vince Spadea at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles. At the US Open, Querrey received a wildcard and defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets, before falling to Gastón Gaudio in the second round.

2007.

At the 2007 Australian Open, he advanced to the third round. He defeated José Acasuso, the 27th seed, in the first round. In the second round, he defeated Frenchman Florent Serra in straight sets, but in the third round lost to 7th seed Tommy Robredo in four sets.  At the 2007 Indianapolis Tennis Championships, he hit 10 consecutive aces when he defeated James Blake in the quarterfinals. This is believed to be an Open Era record.  At the 2007 Western and Southern Masters, he defeated thirteenth seed Mikhail Youzhny and advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Argentina's Juan Mónaco, who had defeated Rafael Nadal in the previous round. He lost to no. 9 seed James Blake, but made his top 50 debut at no. 47 afterwards. At this time, Querrey was the third-ranked American behind Andy Roddick and James Blake.  In August 2007 at the US Open, Austrian Stefan Koubek defeated Querrey in the first round.

2008: First ATP World Tour Title.

In January 2008 at the Australian Open, Querrey defeated Belgian Olivier Rochus in the first round. In the second round, he then beat Russian Dmitry Tursunov. He lost in the third round to the eventual champion, Serbian Novak Djokovic.  In March, Querrey won his first ATP level tournament at the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas. In the final, Querrey defeated qualifier Kevin Anderson of South Africa in three sets. The next month, at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Querrey reached the quarterfinals, defeating former French Open champion Carlos Moyà, Andreas Seppi, and no. 7 seeded Richard Gasquet.  Querrey played tennis for the USA at the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. He advanced to the fourth round of the US Open by defeating 14th seed Ivo Karlović of Croatia, where he was defeated in four sets by world no. 1 Rafael Nadal.  Querrey was tapped to play for the US in the Davis Cup semifinals against Spain as a replacement for James Blake, who had withdrawn citing exhaustion. In Querrey's first-ever Davis Cup match, he lost to world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in four sets.

2009: Second ATP title.

Querrey participated in the 2009 Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand in January, where he was the sixth seed. Querrey made it to the final, where he was defeated in straight sets by top-seed Juan Martín del Potro.  In the 2009 Australian Open, Querrey lost in his opening round to Philipp Kohlschreiber.  In the SAP Open in San Jose, Querrey beat Cypriot wildcard Marcos Baghdatis in the opening match. Querrey then beat Denis Gremelmayr, in 52 minutes.  In the 2009 Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island, no. 3 seeded Querrey advanced to the final against compatriot and first-time finalist and lucky loser Rajeev Ram, who had entered the main draw when top seed Mardy Fish had to take Andy Roddick's place in the Davis Cup quarterfinals. Querrey lost the match.  Querrey was seeded no. 3 for the 2009 Indianapolis Tennis Championships, where he made his second final in as many tournaments. However, Querrey fell to unseeded American Robby Ginepri.  Querrey defeated no. 1 seeded Tommy Haas to advance to the final of the LA Tennis Open. He defeated qualifier Carsten Ball in the final for his only title of the year.  Querrey next played at the ATP Tour 500 event in Washington, where he lost to top seed Andy Roddick, in the round of 16. He also played at the Cincinnati Masters losing in the third round to Lleyton Hewitt.  By reaching the quarterfinals in New Haven, he won the 2009 US Open Series, qualifying for the accompanying bonus following the 2009 US Open. Querrey reached the final in New Haven, before losing to Fernando Verdasco. In the 2009 US Open, Querrey lost in the third round to Robin Söderling in four sets.  Querrey's year was ended prematurely by a potentially career-threatening accident in which a glass table he was sitting on collapsed, impaling his arm and requiring emergency surgery; the location of injury just missed causing nerve damage, which could have ended his tennis career.  Querrey finished the year ranked a career-high no. 25, and as the no. 2 American behind Andy Roddick.

2010: First ATP 500 Title.

Although seeded at the Australian Open, Querrey lost in the first round to 2003 Australian Open finalist Rainer Schüttler. Querrey then reached the semifinals of the SAP Open, where he lost to Andy Roddick in singles.{ However, Querrey teamed with Mardy Fish to win the doubles title.  Querrey's next tournament was the 2010 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, where he was seeded eighth. He defeated defending champion Roddick in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Ernests Gulbis in the semifinals, and defeated fellow American John Isner, for the championship. Querrey also teamed with Isner in the doubles, where they won the championship; Querrey became the first player to win the singles and doubles at Memphis simultaneously since 1981. At the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, he lost in the first round against Fernando González in three sets.  Querrey and Isner were selected to play singles for the United States Davis Cup Team against Serbia on indoor clay in March 2010. After losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets, Querrey managed to beat Viktor Troicki in straight sets in the unnecessary fifth match.  At the BNP Paribas Open, Querrey was seeded 17th and, after receiving a bye in the first round, then beat Jérémy Chardy in straight sets. In the third round, he was beaten by doubles partner John Isner in straight sets. At the Sony Ericsson Open, seeded 21st this time, after receiving a bye in the first round, he lost to Jérémy Chardy in three sets.  In April, he played at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. After receiving a bye in the first round, he beat Blaž Kavčič in straight sets in the second round, and in the quarterfinal, beat Nicolás Massú in three sets. In the semifinals, he beat Wayne Odesnik to reach his eighth final on the ATP World Tour. He lost to Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in the final.  He reached the doubles final with John Isner at the 2010 Rome Masters, but lost to Davis Cup teammates Bob and Mike Bryan.  Querrey played in the 2010 Serbia Open and progressed to the final, where he faced Davis Cup teammate John Isner. Querrey defeated Isner, for his second title of the year, and his first ATP title on clay.  At the 2010 French Open, Querrey was seeded 18th, but lost in the first round to fellow American Robby Ginepri in four sets. He withdrew from the doubles event, where he and Isner were the 12th seeds.  In the Queens Club in London, Querrey beat fellow American Mardy Fish in straight sets, in the final of the Aegon Championships. The victory made him the first American to win the tournament since Andy Roddick. The victory gave Querrey his third title of the season, making him the only player besides Rafael Nadal to win at least three titles, and made Querrey the first player in 2010 to win titles on three different surfaces. This was Querrey's first ATP tour title on grass. Despite being ranked no. 21 in the world at the time, Querrey was seeded no. 18 at Wimbledon, due to his Queen's Club result. He was entered in the doubles with Isner, where they were the 12th seeds, but the partners agreed to forfeit after Isner played the longest tennis match in history. In the singles, Querrey defeated 2002 Wimbledon semifinalist Xavier Malisse in five sets to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time, where he lost to Andy Murray.  Querrey defended his title at the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, winning a third-set tiebreaker in the quarterfinals against 2003 Australian Open finalist Rainer Schüttler, then defeating Janko Tipsarević in the semifinals, to reach his fifth final of the year. In the final, Querrey faced world no. 4 and 2010 Australian Open finalist Andy Murray. Querrey defeat Murray in the final. This was his first successful title defense, making him the first man since Andre Agassi to win two consecutive titles at this tournament.  Querrey next played in Washington, where he lost in the first round to Janko Tipsarević. During his time in Washington, he along with Bob and Mike Bryan conducted a tennis clinic for children, where they unexpectedly met president Barack Obama.  After early losses in the Canada Masters and the Cincinnati Masters, Querrey entered the 2010 US Open ranked no. 22 and seeded no. 20. He defeated Bradley Klahn in four sets, then defeated Marcel Granollers and 14th seed Nicolás Almagro in straight sets to reach the fourth round, tying his previous best result in any Grand Slam. In the fourth round, he lost to 25th seed Stanislas Wawrinka.

2011: First masters doubles title.

Querrey struggled with injury during this year. He reached the quarterfinals of two tournaments, both ATP 500 series. The first in Memphis in February, where he lost to Mardy Fish, and the second in Valencia, where he was beaten in straight sets by Juan Martín del Potro.  He was eliminated in the second round of the 2011 French Open by Ivan Ljubičić, and did not play at Wimbledon or the US Open, due to an elbow injury that required surgery.

2012: Seventh ATP title.

In the Australian Open, Querrey made it to the second round, where he was defeated by Bernard Tomic in four sets.  Querrey reached the semifinals of the Aegon Championships, losing to Marin Čilić.  Querrey progressed to the third round of Wimbledon, only to once again lose to Čilić. This was the second-longest match played in Wimbledon history, clocking in at 5 hours and 31 minutes, second only to the Isner-Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships (11 hours and 5 minutes over 3 days).  At the Farmers Classic, Querrey defeated Ričardas Berankis for his third Los Angeles title in four years.  Querrey then went on to making the third round at the US Open, losing to Tomáš Berdych.  At the BNP Paribas Masters, Querrey defeated Novak Djokovic in the second round.

2013: 200 career wins.

Early in the year, Querrey made the semi-finals in Auckland and San Jose. He exited in the fourth round of Indian Wells and Miami, losing to Novak Djokovic and Tomáš Berdych, respectively.  In Davis Cup competition in Boise, he won his first rubber against Viktor Troicki, but lost the deciding rubber against Djokovic, despite the fact that Djokovic suffered an ankle injury early in the match.  Querrey was eliminated in the first round in Madrid, Rome, and Wimbledon. He did not have a good summer on the North American hard-court swing and consequently slipped out of the top 20, ceding his place as top American player to his friend John Isner.  The year was not very successful, since Querrey failed to make a single final for the first time since 2011.

2014.

Querrey also struggled early in 2014, being eliminated in the first round in Brisbane and Sydney. However, he made it to the third round of the Australian Open, defeating Santiago Giraldo and Ernests Gulbis, before succumbing to Fabio Fognini.  He lost both of his ties in the Davis Cup against Great Britain in San Diego in January and was eliminated in the first round in Memphis and Delray Beach.  He made it into the second round in Indian Wells and Miami, losing to Andreas Seppi and Nicolás Almagro, respectively.  He had his best showing of the year thus far in Houston, where he made the semifinals of the clay-court event. However, there he again lost to Almagro.  Querrey failed to qualify in Rome and Nice, continuing his frustrating year. He also lost his first match in the second round in Nice to Albert Montañés.  At the French Open, Sam defeated Filippo Volandri in the first round, but went down to Dmitry Tursunov in the second in straight sets. His form picked up at the Queen's Club grass tournament, where he defeated Jérémy Chardy and Denis Kudla in the first two rounds. He lost in the third round to eventual semifinalist Stanislas Wawrinka.  Sam made it to the semifinals of the Aegon International in Eastbourne, England, but fell to eventual champion Feliciano Lopez.

2015: US Open mixed doubles runner-up.

Querrey reached his first singles final for three years at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, where he was beaten by compatriot Jack Sock. Querrey then reached the final of the Nottingham Open, where he lost to Uzbek Denis Istomin. Both Sock and Istomin were first-time ATP tour singles winners.

2016: First Grand Slam quarterfinal.

After failing to make it past the 2nd round of any tournament since July, Querrey started 2016 with a very strong run, reaching the semi-finals in Memphis, where he would lose to the eventual champion Kei Nishikori. The following week, Querrey reached the final at Delray Beach, where he defeated American Rajeev Ram to win his first ATP title since 2012 and return to the Top 50 of the world rankings.  At Wimbledon, Querrey faced Novak Djokovic in the 3rd round while his opponent was holding all four majors. Despite being listed as high as a 30-1 underdog, Querrey upset the world No. 1 player in four sets to snap Djokovic's streak of reaching at least the quarterfinals in every Grand Slam since the 2009 French Open, and his streak of 30 consecutive Grand Slam match wins. It was also Querrey's first win over a No. 1 ranked player. He then continued his successful run by defeating Nicolas Mahut to become the first American man to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam since John Isner and Andy Roddick did so at the 2011 U.S. Open. In the quarterfinals, he lost to Canadian Milos Raonic in four sets. Despite this defeat, the 2016 Championships marked Querrey's best ever performance at a Grand Slam.  Querrey then entered the 2016 US Open but lost to Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic in the first round. He also played doubles with fellow American Steve Johnson but lost to Italians Fabio Fognini & Andreas Seppi in the first round.

2017: First Grand Slam semifinal, American No. 1.

Querrey opened 2017 in Brisbane where he fell in a Round of 32 match to Diego Schwartzman. He then won his first two matches in the first major of the season (Australian Open) before falling in straight sets to No. 1 Andy Murray. Returning to the US, he helped the US defeat Switzerland in the first round of the Davis Cup by winning his singles match against Adrien Bossel.  February saw Querrey compete in Memphis where he fell in his opening match to eventual champion Ryan Harrison. He then competed at Delray Beach where he fell in the quarterfinals to Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets. At the ATP Acapulco tournament he beat David Goffin, Dominic Thiem, and Nick Kyrgios, before defeating world No. 6 Rafael Nadal for his first career victory over the former world No. 1 player and his ninth career ATP singles title. At Wimbledon, Querrey defeated Murray in five sets to earn a spot in his first semi-final at Wimbledon. Querrey lost to Marin Čilić in the semifinals in 4 sets. Furthering his success in Mexico, he won the 2017 Los Cabos Open in August, defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis in the final.  At the 2017 US Open he became the first male American to reach the quarterfinals since Andy Roddick and John Isner both did so in 2011, at which he was defeated by Kevin Anderson.

Playing style.

Querrey is right-handed and uses a doubled-handed backhand. He is regarded as one of the best servers on the tour.

Equipment and sponsors.

Querrey plays with the Babolat AeroPro Drive GT Racquet after switching from Prince. He wore Adidas apparel and shoes until the end of the 2009 season. At the start of the 2010 season, he changed his clothing sponsor to K-Swiss. In February 2012, Querrey has announced that he will be joining the Babolat team and playing with their Aeropro Drive GT Plus racket.  His apparel and footwear are sponsored by Fila.

Personal life.

Querrey's fan club, the "Samurai Club", was started by high school friends of his. They attend his matches shirtless with the letters "S-A-M-M-Y" on their chests.  Querrey married Abby Dixon, a model, on June 9, 2018 in Ft. Pierce, Florida.

Performance timelines.

Singles.

"Current through the 2020 Australian Open."

World TeamTennis.

Querrey has played seven seasons of World TeamTennis, making his debut in 2009 with the St. Louis Aces. He has since played for the Sacramento Capitals in 2012 and 2013, the Washington Kastles in 2015 and 2017, the Orange County Breakers in 2018, and the Vegas Rollers for their inaugural season in 2019. He has one WTT Championship from his time with the Kastles in 2015. It has been announced that Querrey will return to the Vegas Rollers during the 2020 WTT season set to begin July 12.

Sam Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American professional tennis player who (as of July 1, 2019) is ranked world No. 65 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Known for his powerful serve, Querrey holds the record for consecutive service aces in a match with 10. He is also a capable doubles player, with five doubles titles and a career-high doubles ranking of world no. 23.

Sam Austin Querrey (* 7. října 1987 San Francisco, Kalifornie) je americký profesionální tenista hrající pravou rukou. Ve své dosavadní kariéře na okruhu ATP World Tour vyhrál deset singlových a pět deblových turnajů. Na challengerech ATP a okruhu Futures získal sedm titulů ve dvouhře.


Plot.

In the final moments of Pastor Tomas Ericsson's noon service, only a handful of people are in attendance, including fisherman Jonas Persson and his pregnant wife Karin, and Tomas's ex-mistress, the atheistic Märta. After the service, Tomas, though coming down with a cold, prepares for his three o'clock service in another town. Before he leaves, however, the Perssons arrive to speak to him. Jonas has become morose after hearing that China is developing an atomic bomb. Tomas speaks to the man briefly, but asks Jonas to return after taking his wife home. No sooner have the Perssons left than substitute teacher Märta enters, and she attempts to comfort the miserable Tomas, and asks if he's read the letter she wrote to him. He has not, and tells her of his failure to help Jonas, and wonders if he will have anything to say, since he is without hope as well. Märta states her love for Tomas, but also her belief that he does not love her. She leaves, and Tomas reads her letter.  In the letter, Märta describes Tomas's neglect of her, relating a story of how a rash that disfigured her body repulsed him, and neither his faith nor his prayers did anything to help her. She writes of how her family was warm and loving without religion, and expresses bewilderment at his indifference to Jesus. Tomas finishes the letter, and falls asleep. Awakened by the return of Jonas, Tomas clumsily tries to provide counsel, before finally admitting that he has no faith as well. He says his faith was an egotistical one – God loved humanity, but Tomas most of all. Serving in Lisbon during the Spanish Civil War, Tomas could not reconcile his loving God with the atrocities being committed, so he ignored them. Tomas finally tells Jonas that things make more sense if we deny the existence of God, because then man's cruelty needs no explanation. Jonas leaves, and Tomas faces the crucifix and declares himself finally free.  Märta, who has been lurking in the chapel, is overjoyed to hear this, and embraces Tomas, who again does not respond to her affections. They are interrupted by the widow Magdalena, who tells them that Jonas has just committed suicide with a rifle. Tomas drives, alone, to the scene, and stoically helps the police cover Jonas's body with a tarp. Märta arrives on foot, and she and Tomas drive off to her home, where she invites him in to take some medicine for his cold. Waiting in Märta's classroom attached to her house, Tomas finally lashes out at her, telling her first that he rejected her because he was tired of the gossip about them. When that fails to deter her affections, Tomas then tells her that he was tired of her problems, her attempts to care for him, and her constant talking, and that Märta could never measure up to his late wife, the only woman he has ever loved. Though shocked by the attack, Märta agrees to drive with him to the Persson house. Informed of Jonas's suicide, Karin collapses onto the stairs and wonders how she and her children will go on. Tomas makes a perfunctory offer of help, and leaves.  Arriving for the three o'clock service at the second church, Tomas and Märta find the building empty except for Algot, the handicapped sexton, and Fredrik, the organist. In the vestry, Algot questions Tomas about the Passion. Algot wonders why so much emphasis was placed on the physical suffering of Jesus, which was brief in comparison to the many betrayals he faced from his disciples, who denied his messages and commands, and finally from God, who did not answer him on the cross. He asks, "Wasn't God's silence worse?" Tomas, who has been listening silently, answers yes. Meanwhile, Fredrik tells Märta that she should leave the small town and Tomas and live her life, rather than stay and have her dreams crushed like the rest of them, but she chooses to start praying. Fredrik and Algot wonder if they should have a service since no one has shown up. Tomas still chooses to hold it, and the bells are rung. He begins the service, in which he proclaims that God is holy and that all the earth is full of His glory.

Themes.

Ingmar Bergman identified previous films he had made with similar themes as "The Virgin Spring" (1960) and "Through a Glass Darkly" (1961). "Winter Light" is often considered the second film in a trilogy, following "Through a Glass Darkly" and completed by "The Silence". All three films focus on spiritual issues. Bergman writes, "These three films deal with reduction. "Through a Glass Darkly" – conquered certainty. "Winter Light" – penetrated certainty. "The Silence" – God's silence – the negative imprint. Therefore, they constitute a trilogy". He later retracted his claim the films form a trilogy.  With "Through a Glass Darkly" ending with a discussion of how God is love, "Winter Light" further examines if understanding God is as simple as that. Bergman stated he abandoned the idea that love is proof of God because it was unsatisfactory to explain to a character who was suicidal over fear of nuclear war. The character Blom mocks the idea of God as love, attributing the words to Tomas but quoting the end of "Through a Glass Darkly" exactly. Tomas's loss of his wife, and his loss of his ability to love, is further proof to him that God has become silent. In contrast, the character Algot, presented as enlightened, equates Tomas's spiritual crisis with sayings of Jesus on the cross and God's "silence".  Like "Through a Glass Darkly", "Winter Light" describes God as a "spider-god", with "Winter Light" explaining the metaphor when Tomas relates the spider-god to suffering, as opposed to his previous ideas of a God of love that provides comfort. The ending may mean Tomas has decided God does not exist, or that Tomas learns he must keep his faith because all Christians, including Jesus, grapple with God's silence. In Bergman's view, "Winter Light" represents the end of his study on whether God exists, after which human love became his main concern.

Production.

Development.

Director and screenwriter Ingmar Bergman was inspired to make the film after talking to a clergyman, who related how he had offered spiritual advice to a fisherman who later killed himself. To this, Bergman added the ideas of the clergyman struggling with his faith and a relationship outside marriage. The idea of the character becoming depressed over fear of China and weapons of mass destruction was based on an article Bergman himself had read, and he acknowledged it reflected his own dread.  Bergman attempted to structure the screenplay as chamber music, in three acts. It is meant, in part, as criticism of the governance of the Church of Sweden, which Bergman felt was condemning itself by failing to keep what is important. He completed the screenplay on 11 August 1961, at which point Vilgot Sjöman began filming the documentary "Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie" chronicling the production.  With this film, Bergman took the rare step of sharing the screenplay with his father, Church of Sweden minister Erik Bergman, and boasted that his father read it three times. Ingmar may have been trying to communicate to his father that he understood Erik, but the name of the character, Ericsson (son of Erik), may indicate the character represents Ingmar more than Erik.

Casting.

Ingmar Bergman personally cast some of the roles himself. Actor Gunnar Björnstrand, who played Tomas, typically acted in more comedic roles, and found it challenging to play a character who was in some ways unlikable. This led him to forget some of his lines, which Bergman said he had never seen Björnstrand do before. However, Björnstrand told Sjöman he personally liked the character because of his relatability.  Allan Edwall played Algot, a character with the same form of rheumatism as prop artist K.A. Bergman. As a result, K.A. Bergman supervised Edwall's performance.

Filming.

The film was shot between 4 October 1961 and 17 January 1962 in the Filmstaden studios, Skattunge kyrka and Rättvik. The crew was unable to shoot inside the real Skattunge kyrka church, so they built a set for interiors. Although most film sets have no roofs, the crew built a roof over the church set it constructed. K.A. Bergman brought in hymn boards, which were centuries old, from real churches in Forsbacka and Lillkyrka.  Cinematographer Sven Nykvist spent one month studying lighting in the church at different times of day and in different conditions, conducting photography tests. Nykvist's lighting was used directly from low perspectives in his shots. To reduce the shadows as much as possible, Nykist had reflectors and screens built to also indirectly light scenes. Although the clothing is ordinary, costume designer Max Goldstein had the actors try out many articles of clothing to determine what looked best, and Ingmar Bergman did not review his sketches. The film employs no score aside from the organ music. Bergman planned to use Sarabande from Suite No. 2 in D minor for Cello, BWV 1008 by Johann Sebastian Bach for the scene where Tomas and Märta leave the scene of Jonas's suicide, tying in with the use of the piece in "Through a Glass Darkly", but Bergman eventually abandoned the idea as "contrived".  Bergman judged the speed of filming to be slower than his average film, because of struggles to master the right emotions, though scenes did not require an unusually high number of takes. The scene where Märta first comforts Tomas took 11 takes.

Release.

The film opened in Sweden on 11 February 1963. Vilgot Sjöman's interviews with audience members at the Swedish premiere indicated viewers thought it was a masterpiece, that the performances were realistic, and Bergman's struggles with faith were relevant to everyone.  In the United States, "Winter Light" opened in New York City on 13 May 1963, distributed by Janus Films. On 19 August 2003, The Criterion Collection released the film on DVD in Region 1, in a boxset with "Through a Glass Darkly", "The Silence" and Sjöman's documentary "Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie". In 2018, Criterion announced a Blu-ray release in Region A for 20 November 2018, along with 38 other Bergman films, in the set "Ingmar Bergman's Cinema".

Reception.

"Winter Light" drew ambivalent responses in the American press. In "Variety", it was billed as "an extremely moving and fascinating film for the religiously aware, and a somewhat boring one for the religiously indifferent". Judith Crist of the "New York Herald Tribune" wrote that the work "casts a gloom-tinged glare upon the human condition with chilling clarity", but found the film "bleak and cold in its abstract ideas". John Simon described it as "inferior Bergman" in "The New Leader", but wrote that it still "deserves to be seen". In "The New York Times", Bosley Crowther called it "a thoughtful, engrossing, shocking film". The National Board of Review named it one of the Top Foreign Films in its 1963 Awards.  In 2007, Roger Ebert added "Winter Light" to his Great Movies list, citing the film's "bleak, courageous power" and praising its visual style as "one of rigorous simplicity". In his "2015 Movie Guide", Leonard Maltin gave the film three and a half stars, calling it a "Powerful, penetrating drama". Bergman cited "Winter Light" as his favorite among his films. The film has an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 reviews.

Winter Light () is a 1963 Swedish drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Bergman regulars Gunnar Björnstrand, Ingrid Thulin and Max von Sydow. The film follows Tomas Ericsson (Björnstrand), pastor of a small rural Swedish church, as he deals with an existential crisis and his Christianity.

Hosté Večeře Páně (ve švédském originále Nattvardsgästerna) je název autorského existenciálně laděného filmu režiséra Ingmara Bergmana z roku 1963. Drama rozebírá melancholické stavy vyvolané neschopností nalezení a naplňování smyslu a hodnoty života, vnitřní vyčerpání a prázdnotu, prožíváním skrytosti Boha atd., které jsou umocňovány depresivní roční dobou (odtud anglický název Zimní světlo). Detailní rozsáhlé zobrazování liturgie Švédské státní církve naznačuje, že sama institucionalizovaná víra není schopna zajistit vědomí Boží přítomnost a ani nedává sílu snášet nejistotu lidské existence. Bergman se rovněž zabývá partnerskými vztahy, což je ostatně jedno z hlavních témat jeho tvorby ("Hodina vlků", "Náruživost", "Scény z manželského života"...).


Service history.

"Pope" was initially placed in reduced commission at Philadelphia and assigned to Squadron 3, Division 39 of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. During 1921 she alternated between her winter base at Charleston, South Carolina and her summer one at Newport, Rhode Island and escorted President Warren G. Harding to Plymouth, Massachusetts 30 July – 1 August. She engaged in maneuvers with the battleship divisions off Guantanamo Bay from 12 January until her return to Philadelphia 27 April.  After a refit, "Pope" departed 12 May for duty in the Pacific. She passed through the Straits of Gibraltar 3 July and transited the Suez Canal 15–25 July. "Pope" joined Squadron 15, Division 43 of the Asiatic Fleet at Chefoo, China 26 August and participated in fleet exercises off Chefoo until her departure 28 October for her winter base at Cavite, Philippines.  In the Orient, "Pope" protected American lives and interests during the civil strife in China. She first served with the Yangtze River Patrol 9 September – 9 October 1923 and continued to make her presence known through repeated patrols until 1931.  Notable exceptions were duty off Japan in connection with the United States Army "Round the World Flight" in 1924, a visit to French Indochina in 1926, and a visit to Japan in 1929. From 1931 until 1937, the "Pope" continued to "show the flag" off the China coast, during the summers and spent the winters in the Philippines engaging in division maneuvers. She was reassigned to Squadron 5, Division 15 on 3 February 1933. "Pope" made visits to French Indochina in 1935 and in 1938, two visits to Japan in 1934 and 1935 and one to the Dutch East Indies in 1936.  Increased tension on China's northern borders due to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria made it necessary for "Pope" to evacuate Americans from northern Chinese ports such as Lao Yao and Tsingtao to Shanghai beginning 19 September 1937. From 15 July to 20 September 1938, she cruised in Chinese waters off Chinwangtao and returned 5 June 1939 with the South China Patrol force removing American consulates and nationals. "Pope" was stationed off Swatow and Pehtaiho during 14 June – 19 August, observing the Japanese Navy en route to Swatow and the subsequent bombing and occupation of the city. She remained in this area until her return to Manila 12 October for the Neutrality Patrol off the Philippines. "Pope" was transferred to Division 59 of the Asiatic Fleet 6 May 1940, and resumed patrolling off China during 11 May – 24 June. "Pope" returned to Manila in late June on neutrality duty and remained on station there until 11 December 1941, when she got underway for Balikpapan, Dutch East Indies.

World War II.

"Pope" was heavily engaged in fighting in the Dutch East Indies in the early days of World War II. On 9 January 1942 "Pope" was one of five destroyers in an escort composed of the cruisers and, with the other destroyers,,, and departing from Darwin to Surabaya escorting the transport "Bloemfontein". That transport had been part of the Pensacola Convoy and had left Brisbane 30 December 1941 with Army reinforcements composed of the 26th Field Artillery Brigade and Headquarters Battery, the 1st Battalion, 131st Field Artillery and supplies from that convoy destined for Java.  During the naval battle of Balikpapan she made close-quarter torpedo and gun attacks which helped delay Japanese landings at Balikpapan and later in the Battle of Badung Strait she impeded the invasion of the island of Bali. During the Second Battle of the Java Sea, "Pope" and were directed to escort the severely damaged British cruiser away from the action. was unable to recall her crew from shore leave in time to join their retreat to Ceylon. In the evening of 28 February 1942, "Exeter" and the two destroyers left Soerabaja and proceeded north. Japanese surface and air forces launched an attack the next morning, midway between the islands of Java and Borneo. As they sought to escape the three Allied ships fought four Japanese heavy cruisers and four destroyers throughout a fierce three-hour action, and they damaged a number of enemy ships. "Pope" fired all of her torpedoes and 140 salvoes of naval gunfire.

Fate / Wreck.

The Allied squadron was discovered by Japanese cruiser float planes whose spotting of their cruisers' gunfire nullified the effectiveness of the Allied destroyers' attempt to conceal "Exeter" with a smoke screen. When the two British ships were destroyed by gunfire shortly before noon 1 March 1942, "Pope" found temporary refuge in a rain squall. Although the Japanese cruisers were evaded by a course change within the squall, "Pope" was rediscovered by aircraft from after she emerged from the squall. After the destroyer's single 3-inch anti-aircraft gun failed, one of six dive-bombers scored a near miss which wrecked the port engine shaft and started flooding from damaged hull plating. Flooding worsened as "Pope" maneuvered to evade six more bombers, and only one crewman was lost as the crew boarded life rafts when flooding could no longer be controlled. "Pope" remained afloat long enough to be sunk about 2pm by the sixth salvo of a Japanese cruiser arriving on the scene. This was to be the start of a long, almost 60 hour ordeal for the men in the water, as the survivors from "Pope" would not be rescued until almost midnight on 3 March by the Japanese destroyer. The survivors from "Encounter" and "Exeter" were to be more fortunate, as those that were not rescued right after the battle on 1 March by the destroyer "Inazuma", were rescued the following day by the Japanese destroyer, who picked up the last 400 odd survivors from those two ships on 2 March. These survivors had been adrift for about 22 hours in rafts and life jackets, or clinging to floats, many coated in oil, and some blinded. This humanitarian decision by Lieutenant Commander Shunsaku Kudō placed "Ikazuchi" at risk of attack, and it interfered with her fighting ability, due to the sheer load of rescued sailors. The action was later the subject of several books and articles and a 2007 TV programme.  "Pope" was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 8 May 1942. She received two battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation for her World War II service. The wreck of USS "Pope" was located and identified in December 2008 by the dive vessel MV "Empress", approximately from the wreck of HMS "Exeter", which "Empress" discovered in 2007. Unfortunately commercial salvage divers had discovered "Pope" previously and save for a skeleton, little now remains of her wreck. With her location/identification now being finally confirmed, all ships lost during the Battle of the Java Sea and subsequent engagements have now been discovered/located and positively identified.

USS "Pope" (DD-225) was a in the United States Navy that served during World War II. She was the first ship named for John Pope.

USS Pope byl jeden ze 156 postavených amerických čtyřkomínových torpédoborců třídy Clemson. V době vypuknutí války s Japonskem se "Pope" pohyboval na Dálném východu a účastnil se neúspěšné obrany Nizozemské východní Indie spojenými silami ABDACOM. Ve dnech 18.-20. února 1942 bojoval v bitvě v Badungském průlivu.


History of Herculaneum.

Ancient tradition connected Herculaneum with the Greek hero Heracles ("Hercules" in Latin) an indication that the city was of Greek origin. The inhabitants worshipped principally Hercules as the founder of both the town and Mount Vesuvius. Other important deities worshipped include Venus and Apollo represented in many statues in the city.  According to Strabo the Oscans founded the first settlement at Herculaneum. They were followed by Etruscan and then Greek control. The Greeks named the town "Heraklion" and used the town as a trading post because of its proximity to the Gulf of Naples. In the 4th century BC, Herculaneum came under the domination of the Samnites until it became a Roman "municipium" in 89 BC, when, having participated in the Social War ("War of The Allies" against Rome), it was defeated by Titus Didius, a legate of Sulla.  After the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, the town of Herculaneum was buried under approximately 20 metres (50–60 feet) of ash. It lay hidden and largely intact until discoveries from wells and tunnels became gradually more widely known, and notably following the Prince d'Elbeuf's explorations in the early 18th century. Excavations continued sporadically up to the present and today many streets and buildings are visible, although over 75% of the town remains buried. Today, the Italian towns of Ercolano and Portici lie on the approximate site of Herculaneum. Until 1969 the town of Ercolano was called Resina. It changed its name to Ercolano, the Italian modernisation of the ancient name in honour of the old city.

The eruption of 79 AD.

Based on archaeological excavations and on two letters of Pliny to the Roman historian Tacitus, the course of the eruption can be reconstructed.  At around 1:00 pm, Mount Vesuvius began spewing volcanic material thousands of metres into the sky. When it reached the tropopause, the top of the column flattened, prompting Pliny to describe it to Tacitus as a stone pine tree. The prevailing winds at the time blew toward the southeast, causing the volcanic material to fall primarily on the city of Pompeii and the surrounding area. Since Herculaneum lay to the west of Vesuvius, it was only mildly affected by the first phase of the eruption. While roofs in Pompeii collapsed under the weight of falling debris, only a few centimetres of ash fell on Herculaneum, causing little damage but nonetheless prompting most inhabitants to flee.  At 1:00 am the next day, the eruptive column, which had risen into the stratosphere, collapsed onto Vesuvius and its flanks. The first pyroclastic surge, formed by a mixture of ash and hot gases, flowed down the mountain and through the mostly evacuated town of Herculaneum at. A succession of six flows and surges buried the city's buildings, causing little damage in some areas and preserving structures, objects and victims almost intact. However, in other areas there was significant damage, knocking down walls, tearing away columns and other large objects; a marble statue of Marcus Nonius Balbus near the baths was blown 15 m away and a carbonised skeleton was found lifted 2.5 m above ground level in the garden of the House of the Relief of Telephus.  The date of the eruption has been shown to be on or after October 17. Further support for an October/November eruption has long been known in several respects: buried people in the ash were wearing heavier clothing than the light summer clothes typical of August; fresh fruit and vegetables in the shops are typical of October – and conversely the summer fruit typical of August was already being sold in dried, or conserved form. Wine fermenting jars had been sealed, which would have happened around the end of October; coins found in the purse of a woman buried in the ash include one with a 15th imperatorial acclamation among the emperor's titles and could not have been minted before the second week of September.  Recent multidisciplinary research on the lethal effects of the pyroclastic surges in the Vesuvius area showed that in the vicinity of Pompeii and Herculaneum, heat was the main cause of the death of people who had previously been thought to have died by ash suffocation. This study shows that exposure to the surges, measuring at least 250 °C (480 °F) even at a distance of 10 kilometres from the vent, was sufficient to cause the instant death of all residents, even if they were sheltered within buildings.

Archaeology.

The Prince d'Elbeuf began building a villa at nearby Granatello and to furnish it became interested in local stories of wells revealing ancient statues and works of art. In 1709 he purchased the land of a recent well and proceeded to tunnel out from the bottom of the well, collecting any statues they could find. The well revealed some exceptional statues at the lowest levels which were found to be the site of the theatre. Among the earliest statues recovered were the two superbly sculpted Herculaneum Women now in the Dresden Skulpturensammlung. The excavation was stopped in 1711 for fear of collapse of buildings above.  Major excavation was resumed in 1738 under the patronage of Charles III of Spain when he started construction of his nearby palace at Portici. He employed Spanish military engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre to oversee the intensive new work. The resulting elaborate publication of "Le Antichità di Ercolano" ("The Antiquities of Herculaneum") had an effect on incipient European Neoclassicism out of all proportion to its limited circulation; in the later 18th century, motifs from Herculaneum began to appear on stylish furnishings, from decorative wall-paintings and tripod tables to perfume burners and teacups. However, excavation ceased after strong criticism in 1762 by Winckelmann of the treasure-hunting methods employed, and once the nearby town of Pompeii was discovered which was significantly easier to excavate because of the thinner layer of debris covering the site (4 m as opposed to Herculaneum's 20 m).  In 1828 under the new king Francis I, new excavations were begun in order to expose the remains to the open air and land was purchased, though this was stopped in 1837. Under the Italian government in 1868 further purchases of land were made and excavations proceeded eastwards till 1875.  From 1927 until 1942 a new campaign of excavations was begun by Amedeo Maiuri under the Mussolini regime, which exposed about four hectares of the ancient city in the archaeological park that is visible today.  Excavation resumed briefly in the town in 1980–81 on the ancient shoreline following which the skeletons in the so-called "boat houses" were found.  From 1996–99 the large area to the north-west of the site was excavated and exposed, including part of the Villa of the Papyri, the north-west baths, the House of the Dionysian Reliefs and a large collapsed monument. This area was left in a chaotic state and from 2000–7 further work on conservation of this area was done.  Many public and private buildings, including the forum complex, are yet to be excavated.

The site.

The classical street layout separates the city into blocks ("insulae"), defined by the intersection of the east-west (cardi) and north-south (decumani) streets. Hence Insula II – Insula VII run counterclockwise from Insula II. To the east are two additional blocks: Orientalis I (oI) and Orientalis II (oII). To the south of Orientalis I (oI) lies one additional group of buildings known as the "Suburban District" (SD). Individual buildings having their own entrance number. For example, the House of the Deer is labelled (Ins IV, 3).  The Forum, temples, theatre, numerous houses and necropolises are still buried in Herculaneum.  The town was surrounded by walls of thickness from 2 to 3 metres and built mainly with large pebbles, dating to the second century BC, while along the coast they were in opus reticulatum. As in Pompeii, the walls lost their defensive function after the social wars and were incorporated into buildings in their vicinity, for example the House of the Inn.  A single main drain was found, along cardo III, which collected water from the Forum and from house impluviums, latrines and kitchens that overlooked this street, while other drains emptied directly into the street, except those of the latrines that were equipped with a cess pit. For water supply the city was directly connected to the Serino aqueduct, built in the Augustan age, which brought water to houses through a series of lead pipes under the roads, regulated by valves; previously, wells had been used which found water at a depth of between eight and ten metres.

The House of Aristides (Ins II, 1).

The first building in insula II is the House of Aristides. The entrance opens directly onto the atrium, but the remains of the house are not particularly well preserved due to damage caused by previous excavations. The lower floor was probably used for storage.

The House of Argus (Ins II, 2).

The second house in insula II got its name from a fresco of Argus and Io which once adorned a reception room off the large peristyle. The fresco is now lost, but its name lives on. This building must have been one of the finer villas in Herculaneum. The discovery of the house in the late 1820s was notable because it was the first time a second floor had been unearthed in such detail. The excavation revealed a second floor balcony overlooking Cardo III, as well as wooden shelving and cupboards; however, with the passing of time, these elements have been lost.

The House of the Genius (Ins II, 3).

To the north of the House of Argus lies the House of the Genius. It has been only partially excavated but it appears to have been a spacious building. The house derives its name from the statue of a cupid that formed part of a candlestick. In the centre of the peristyle are the remains of a rectangular basin.

The House of the Alcove (Ins IV).

The house is actually two buildings joined together. As a consequence of this it is a mixture of plain and simple rooms combined with some highly decorated ones.  The atrium is covered, so lacks the usual impluvium. It retains its original flooring of opus tesselatum and opus sectile. Off the atrium is a biclinium richly decorated with frescoes in the fourth style and a large triclinium which originally had a marble floor. A number of other rooms, one of which is the apsed alcove after which the house was named, can be reached via a hall which gets its light from a small courtyard.

College of the Augustales.

Temple of the augustales or priests of the Imperial cult.

Central Thermae.

The Central Thermae were bath houses built around the first century AD. Bath houses were very common at that time, especially in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Per common practice, there were two different bath areas, one for men and the other for women. These houses were extremely popular, attracting many visitors daily. This cultural hub was also home to several works of art, which can be found in various areas of the Central Thermae site.

Villa of the Papyri.

The most famous of the luxurious villas at Herculaneum is the "Villa of the Papyri." It was once identified as the magnificent seafront retreat for Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, Julius Caesar's father-in-law; however, the objects thought to be associated with Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesonius correspond more closely to a greatly standardized assemblage, and cannot indicate, with certainty, the owner of the villa. The villa stretches down towards the sea in four terraces. Piso, a literate man who patronized poets and philosophers, built a fine library there, the only one to survive intact from antiquity.  Between 1752 and 1754 a number of blackened unreadable papyrus scrolls were serendipitously recovered from the Villa of the Papyri by workmen. These scrolls became known as the Herculaneum papyri or scrolls, the majority of which are today stored at the National Library, Naples. The scrolls are badly carbonized, but a large number have been unrolled, with varying degrees of success. Computer-enhanced multi-spectral imaging, in the infra-red range, helps make the ink legible. There is now a real prospect that it will be possible to read the unopened rolls using X-rays. The same techniques could be applied to the rolls waiting to be discovered in the as-yet unexcavated part of the villa, eliminating the need for potentially damaging the rolls by unrolling them. In a later attempt to better read the writings on the scrolls, scientists put the scrolls through a CT scan. From this scan, scientists were able to see the structure of the scrolls’ fiber, and see the sand and other dirt that had gotten into the scrolls through the years. Knowing the scrolls’ structure made it easier to unroll without breaking. However, the text on the scrolls was still illegible.  A team spent a month in summer 2009, making numerous X-ray scans of two of the rolls that are stored at the French National Academy in Paris. They hoped that computer processing would convert the scans into digital images showing the interiors of the rolls and revealing the ancient writing. The main fear, however, was that the Roman writers might have used carbon-based inks, which would be essentially invisible to the scans. That fear has turned out to be fact. They had hoped that re-scanning the rolls with more powerful X-ray equipment would reveal the text. However, subsequent X-rays produced nothing legible.  In 2015, a group of researchers headed by Italian physicist Vito Mocella used the method of X-ray phase-contrast tomography, which allowed scientists to increase the contrast between the carbon ink and the carbon based papyrus so that the words could be read along the outer surface of the papyrus. Scientists were able to read the words written in Greek on the scrolls, marking the beginning of “a revolution for papyrologists.” While researchers can identify certain words on the scrolls, there is still a long way to go before the stories on the scrolls are unlocked.

Skeletal remains.

In 1980–82, under site administrator Dr. Giuseppe Maggi, excavations initially turned up more than 55 skeletons on the beach and in the first six so-called boat sheds. Because earlier excavations had revealed only a few skeletons, it was long thought that nearly all of the inhabitants had managed to escape, but this surprising discovery led to a change of view. The last inhabitants waiting for rescue from the sea were killed instantly by the intense heat, despite being sheltered from direct impact. The study of victims' postures and the effects on their skeletons indicate that the first surge caused instant death as a result of fulminant shock due to a temperature of about. The intense heat caused contraction of hands and feet and possibly fracture of bones and teeth.  After a period of mismanagement of the finds and deterioration of skeletons further excavations in the 1990s revealed a total of 296 skeletons huddled close together in twelve arches facing the sea and on the beach, while the town was almost completely evacuated. The "Ring Lady" (see image), named for the rings on her fingers, was discovered in 1982.  Chemical analysis of the remains has led to greater insight into the health and nutrition of the Herculaneum population. Dr. Sara C. Bisel (1932–1996) was a physical anthropologist and classical archaeologist who played a prominent role in early scientific research at Herculaneum. Her pioneering work in the chemical and physical analysis of skeletons yielded new insights into the nutrition and health of ancient populations. This was considered ground-breaking and helped advance the field of paleodemography. Quantities of lead were found in some of the skeletons, which led some to speculation of lead poisoning. Also the presence of scarring on the pelvis, for instance, may give some indication of the number of children a woman had borne.  Casts of skeletons were also produced, to replace the original bones after taphonomic study, scientific documentation and excavation. In contrast to Pompeii, where casts resembling the body features of the victims were produced by filling the body imprints in the ash deposit with plaster, the shape of corpses at Herculaneum could not be preserved, due to the rapid vapourization and replacement of the flesh of the victims by the hot ash (ca. 500 °C). A cast of the skeletons unearthed within chamber 10 is on display at the Museum of Anthropology in Naples.

Dangers to the site.

Natural Disaster.

As of 2015, some volcanologists believe that Vesuvius has the potential for another eruption like the one of 79 AD. From looking at seismic waves of earthquakes under the volcano, it is believed that there could be magma (molten material) 8 to 10 km below the volcano, but it is unclear whether or not this magma has the potential to erupt.

Bradyseism.

In 79 AD Herculaneum was a coastal town that sat just above sea level. Now certain areas of the ancient city are located as much as 4 metres below the current sea level. While the Herculaneum Conservation Project has implemented a drainage system that keeps water from collecting in the city and causing further damage to the site, Bradyseism has caused the land to sink in the vicinity.  There may come a time when the current drainage system is rendered ineffective. Climate change may eventually also have an effect on sea level rise as elsewhere.

Issues of conservation.

The volcanic ash and debris covering Herculaneum, along with the extreme heat, left it in a remarkable state of preservation for over 1600 years. However, once excavations began, exposure to the elements began the slow process of deterioration. This was not helped by the methods of archaeology used earlier in the town's excavation, which generally centered around recovering valuable artifacts rather than ensuring the survival of all artifacts. In the early 1980s and under the direction of Dr. Sara C. Bisel, preservation of the skeletal remains became a high priority. The carbonised remains of organic materials, when exposed to the air, deteriorated over a matter of days, and destroyed many of the remains until a way of preserving them was formed.  Today, tourism and vandalism have damaged many of the areas open to the public, and water damage coming from the modern Ercolano has undermined many of the foundations of the buildings. Reconstruction efforts have often proved counterproductive. However, in modern times conservation efforts have been more successful. Today excavations have been temporarily discontinued, in order to direct all funding to help save the city.  A large number of artifacts from Herculaneum are preserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.

Modern conservation.

After years of mismanagement, Herculaneum fell into a dire state. However, in 2001, the Packard Humanities Institute began the Herculaneum Conservation Project, a private-public partnership. Initially the project set out to provide financial aid to the local authorities and address the truly critical areas of the site. Over time the goal changed to not only providing financial aid but to providing resources and skilled experts who could better tend to the site. The team went from addressing emergency conservation issues to creating a formula for the long term betterment of the site. Since 2001, the Herculaneum Conservation Project has been involved in multiple pilot conservation projects and has partnered with the British School in Rome to actively teach students how to maintain the site.  One of the pilot projects started by the Conservation Project was on the tablinum that had been conserved by Maiuri's team in 1938. Over time water had managed to seep into the wall causing the paint to attach to the previously applied wax and curl away from the wall, stripping it of its color. However, after working in tandem with the Getty Museum, conservators have managed to create a technique where a series of solvents can be used to remove some of the wax and lessen the amount of buildup on the walls so that the paint no longer chips off of the walls.  While the conservation efforts are still ongoing, Herculaneum has gone from one of the worst preserved UNESCO sites at risk of being put on the endangered list to becoming “a textbook case of successful archeological conservation.”

Herculaneum () was an ancient town, located in the modern-day "comune" of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. The city was destroyed and buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

Herculaneum (italsky "Ercolano") bylo antické město v Kampánii, které zaniklo, stejně jako Pompeje a Stabiae, při výbuchu Vesuvu 24. srpna roku 79 n. l. Podle legendy jej založil mýtický řecký hrdina Héraklés (latinsky Hercules). Na jeho místě dnes stojí město Ercolano.


Properties.

Sodium borohydride is an odorless white to gray-white microcrystalline powder that often forms lumps. It can be purified by recrystallization from warm (50 °C) diglyme. Sodium borohydride is soluble in protic solvents such as water and lower alcohols. It also reacts with these protic solvents to produce H, however, these reactions are fairly slow. Complete decomposition of a methanol solution requires nearly 90 min at 20 °C. It decomposes in neutral or acidic aqueous solutions, but is stable at pH 14.

Structure.

NaBH is a salt, consisting of the tetrahedral BH anion. The solid is known to exist as three polymorphs: "α", "β" and "γ". The stable phase at room temperature and pressure is "α"-NaBH, which is cubic and adopts an NaCl-type structure, in the "Fm3m" space group. At a pressure of 6.3 GPa, the structure changes to the tetragonal "β"-NaBH (space group "P42c") and at 8.9 GPa, the orthorhombic "γ"-NaBH (space group "Pnma") becomes the most stable.

Synthesis and handling.

For commercial NaBH production, the Brown-Schlesinger process and the Bayer process are the most popular methods. In the Brown-Schlesinger process Sodium borohydride is industrially prepared following the original method of Schlesinger: sodium hydride (produced by reacting Na and H) is treated with trimethyl borate at 250–270 °C:  Millions of kilograms are produced annually, far exceeding the production levels of any other hydride reducing agent. Sodium borohydride can also be produced by the action of NaH on powdered borosilicate glass.  Different from it, the Bayer process is based on the reaction among borax (NaBO), Na, H, and silicon oxide (SiO) at 700 °C producing sodium borohydride and sodium silicate  There is currently an effort to modify the Bayer Process by employing the less expensive reducing metal magnesium (Mg) in place of sodium. Reactions such as:  and  are promising modifications to the Bayer Process, but have not been developed far enough to exhibit both high yield and fast reaction rates.

Reactivity.

NaBH reduces many organic carbonyls, depending on the precise conditions. Most typically, it is used in the laboratory for converting ketones and aldehydes to alcohols. It efficiently reduces acyl chlorides, anhydrides, α-hydroxylactones, thioesters, and imines at room temperature or below. It reduces esters slowly and inefficiently with excess reagent and/or elevated temperatures, while carboxylic acids and amides are not reduced at all. NaBH reacts with water and alcohols, with evolution of hydrogen gas and formation of the borate salt, the reaction being especially fast at low pH.  Nevertheless, an alcohol, often methanol or ethanol, is generally the solvent of choice for sodium borohydride reductions of ketones and aldehydes. The mechanism of ketone and aldehyde reduction has been scrutinized by kinetic studies, and contrary to popular depictions in textbooks, the mechanism does not involve a 4-membered transition state like alkene hydroboration, or a six-membered transition state involving a molecule of the alcohol solvent. Hydrogen-bonding activation is required, as no reduction occurs in an aprotic solvent like diglyme. However, the rate order in alcohol is 1.5, while carbonyl compound and borohydride are both first order, suggesting a mechanism more complex than one involving a six-membered transition state that includes only a single alcohol molecule. It was suggested that the simultaneous activation of the carbonyl compound and borohydride occurs, via interaction with the alcohol and alkoxide ion, respectively, and that the reaction proceeds through an open transition state.  α,β-Unsaturated ketones tend to be reduced by NaBH in a 1,4-sense, although mixtures are often formed. Addition of cerium chloride as an additive greatly improves the selectivity for 1,2-reduction of unsaturated ketones (Luche reduction). α,β-Unsaturated esters also undergo 1,4-reduction in the presence of NaBH.  Many other hydride reagents are more strongly reducing. These usually involve replacing hydride with alkyl groups, such as lithium triethylborohydride and L-selectride (lithium tri-"sec"-butylborohydride), or replacing B with Al. Variations in the counterion also affect the reactivity of the borohydride.  The reactivity of NaBH can be enhanced or augmented by a variety of compounds. Oxidation with iodine in tetrahydrofuran gives the borane–tetrahydrofuran complex, which can reduce carboxylic acids. Likewise, the NaBH-MeOH system, formed by the addition of methanol to sodium borohydride in refluxing THF, reduces esters to the corresponding alcohols. Mixing water or an alcohol with the borohydride converts some of it into unstable hydride ester, which is more efficient at reduction, but the reductant eventually decomposes spontaneously to produce hydrogen gas and borates. The same reaction can also occur intramolecularly: an α-ketoester converts into a diol, since the alcohol produced attacks the borohydride to produce an ester of the borohydride, which then reduces the neighboring ester. The combination of NaBH with carboxylic acids results in the formation of acyloxyborohydride species, such as STAB. These can perform a variety of reductions not normally associated with borohydride chemistry, such as alcohols to hydrocarbons and nitriles to primary amines.

Coordination chemistry.

BH is a ligand for metal ions. Such borohydride complexes are often prepared by the action of NaBH (or the LiBH) on the corresponding metal halide. One example is the titanocene derivative:

Hydrogen source.

In the presence of metal catalysts, sodium borohydride releases hydrogen. Exploiting this reactivity, sodium borohydride is used in prototypes of the direct borohydride fuel cell. The hydrogen is generated for a fuel cell by catalytic decomposition of the aqueous borohydride solution:

Applications.

The principal application of sodium borohydride is the production of sodium dithionite from sulfur dioxide: Sodium dithionite is used as a bleaching agent for wood pulp and in the dyeing industry.  Sodium borohydride reduces aldehydes and ketones to give the related alcohols. This reaction is used in the production of various antibiotics including chloramphenicol, dihydrostreptomycin, and thiophenicol. Various steroids and vitamin A are prepared using sodium borohydride in at least one step.  Sodium borohydride has been considered as a solid state hydrogen storage candidate. Although practical temperatures and pressures for hydrogen storage have not been achieved, in 2012 a core–shell nanostructure of sodium borohydride was used successfully to store, release and reabsorb hydrogen under moderate conditions.  Sodium borohydride can be used to reduce foxing in old books and documents.

Safety.

Sodium borohydride is a source of basic borate salts which can be corrosive, and hydrogen or diborane, which are both flammable. Spontaneous ignition can result from solution of sodium borohydride in dimethylformamide.

Sodium borohydride, also known as sodium tetrahydridoborate and sodium tetrahydroborate, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaBH. This white solid, usually encountered as a powder, is a reducing agent that finds application in chemistry, both in the laboratory and on an industrial scale. It has been tested as pretreatment for pulping of wood, but is too costly to be commercialized. The compound is soluble in alcohols, certain ethers, and water, although it slowly hydrolyzes.

Tetrahydridoboritan sodný Na[BH] (neboli "borohydrid sodný") je důležitým redukčním činidlem používaným v chemických laboratořích i v průmyslu. Tetrahydridoboritan sodný lze připravit mnoha různými způsoby. K nejběžnějším patří reakce hydridu sodného s diboranem nebo s chloridem boritým: