Background.

In the early days of the war in the Cape Colony, the Boers surrounded and laid siege to the British garrisons in the towns of Kimberley and Mafeking and destroyed the railway bridge across the Orange River at Hopetown. Substantial British reinforcements (an army corps under General Redvers Buller) arrived in South Africa and were dispersed to three main fronts. While Buller himself advanced from the port of Durban in Natal to relieve the besieged town of Ladysmith and a smaller detachment under Lieutenant General Gatacre secured the Cape Midlands, the reinforced 1st Division under Lord Methuen advanced from the Orange River to relieve Kimberley. Methuen advanced along the Cape–Transvaal railway line because a lack of water and pack animals made the reliable railway an obvious choice. Also, Buller had given him orders to evacuate the civilians in Kimberley and the railway was the only means of mass transport available. But his strategy had the disadvantage of making the direction of his approach obvious. Nevertheless, his army drove the Boers out of their defensive positions along the railway line at Belmont, Graspan, and the Modder River, at the cost of a thousand casualties. The British were forced to stop their advance within of Kimberley at the Modder River crossing. The Boers had demolished the railway bridge when they retreated, and it had to be repaired before the army could advance any further. Methuen also needed several days for supplies and reinforcements to be brought forward, and for his extended supply line to be secured from sabotage. The Boers were badly shaken by their three successive defeats and also required time to recover. The delay gave them time to bring up reinforcements, to reorganise, and to improve their next line of defence at Magersfontein.

Prelude.

Boer defences.

After the Battle of the Modder River, the Boers initially retreated to Jacobsdal, where a commando from Mafeking linked up with them. The following day, Cronje moved his forces north to Scholtz Nek and Spytfontein, where they began to fortify themselves in the hills that made up the last defensible position along the railway line to Kimberley. Although closer to the British camp than the Boer camp, Jacobsdal was left poorly defended, and continued to function as the Boers' supply base until 3 December.  The Free State government decided to reinforce Cronje's position after the Battle of Belmont. Between eight hundred and a thousand men of the Heilbron, Kroonstad and Bethlehem commandos arrived at Spytfontein from Natal, accompanied by elements of the Ficksburg and Ladybrand commandos from the Basuto border. Reinforcements were also brought up from the Bloemhof and Wolmaranstad commandos who were besieging Kimberley. The remainder of Cronje's force arrived from the Siege of Mafeking. Their force now numbered 8,500 fighters, excluding camp followers and the African labourers who performed the actual work of digging the Boer entrenchments.  Koos de la Rey had been absent from the army immediately after the Battle of the Modder River, having gone to Jacobsdal to bury his son Adriaan, who had been killed by a British shell during the battle. He arrived at the defensive positions on 1 December and surveyed the Boer lines the following day. He found the defences lacking, and realised that Cronje's position at Spytfontein was vulnerable to long range artillery fire from the hills at Magersfontein. He therefore recommended that they should move their defensive position forward to Magersfontein, to deny the British this opportunity. Cronje, who was the more senior officer, disagreed with him, so De la Rey telegraphed his objections to President Martinus Theunis Steyn of the Orange Free State. After consulting with President Paul Kruger of the Transvaal, Steyn visited the front on 4 December at Kruger's suggestion. Steyn also wished to settle a rift that had developed between the Transvaal and Free State Boers over the poor performance of his Free Staters in the battle on 28 November. He spent the next day touring the camps and defences, then summoned a "krijgsraad" (council of war).  The Boers had learnt in earlier battles that the British artillery was superior in numbers to theirs, and could pound any high ground where they placed their guns or rifle pits. At Ladysmith, the Boers used rocks to build defensive sangars, but the ground at Magersfontein was sandy and less rocky. De la Rey recommended, contrary to common practice, that they should entrench themselves forward of the line of "kopjes", rather than on the facing slopes. The trenches overlooking the receding, open ground sloping down towards the British axis of advance afforded the Boers concealment and protection from fire, and permitted them to use the flat trajectory of their Mauser rifles to greater effect. Since the trenches were concealed, they could thwart the standard British tactic of advancing to within close range under cover of darkness and then storming the Boer position at daybreak. A final consequence of De la Rey's defensive layout was that the troops would not be able to retreat, as Commandant General Marthinus Prinsloo's forces had done at Modder River. Before leaving the front, Steyn raised the morale of the Free State "burghers" by dismissing Prinsloo, who was seen as the chief reason for the defeats in earlier battles.  The new defensive line occupied a wide crescent-shaped front, extending for and straddling the road and the railway line that Methuen's advance depended upon. The main trench directly in front of the Magersfontein Hill was long, and protected on the right flank by a single trench. The trenches that were to protect the left flank in the direction of the river were not completed before the battle commenced. Two high wire fences complemented the natural obstacles created by the thick scrub bush. One ran north-northeast and marked the border of the Orange Free State, while a second protected the trenches in front of the Boer position.

British plan.

Methuen believed that the Boers were occupying the crests of the line of "kopjes", as they had done at Belmont, but he was unable to reconnoitre the position; his mounted scouts could not roam the countryside freely on account of wire farm fences, nor could they approach any closer than to the Boer positions without being driven off by rifle fire. No serviceable maps were available; those in the possession of the British officers had been prepared for the purposes of land registration, with no consideration of military operations. Officers supplemented these maps with hasty sketches based on limited daily reconnaissance. The poor maps and lack of reconnaissance would prove critical to the outcome of the battle.  Ever since the victory against an Egyptian army at the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir, the standard British tactic against an entrenched position was an approach march at night in close order to maintain cohesion, followed by deployment into open order within a few hundred yards of the objective and a frontal attack with the bayonet at first light. Methuen planned to bombard the Boer positions with artillery from 16:50 to 18:30 on 10 December. Following the barrage, the newly arrived Highland Brigade under Major General Wauchope was to make a night march that would position them to launch a frontal attack on the Boers at dawn the following day. Wauchope had argued for a flanking attack along the Modder River, but had been unable to convince his superior. Methuen's orders show that his intention was to "hold the enemy on the north and to deliver an attack on the southern end of Magersfontein Ridge." The advance was to be made in three columns. The first column consisted of the Highland Brigade, the 9th Lancers, the 2nd King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and supporting artillery and engineer sections as well as a balloon section. The first column was ordered to march directly on the south-western spur of the "kopje" and on arrival, before dawn, the 2nd Black Watch were to move east of the "kopje", where he believed the Boers had a strong-point. He ordered the 2nd Seaforth Highlanders to advance to the south-eastern point of the hill, and the 1st Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to extend the line to the left. The 1st Highland Light Infantry was to advance as a reserve. All units were to advance in a mass of quarter columns, the most compact formation in the drill book: 3,500 men in 30 companies aligned in 90 files, all compressed into a column wide and long, with the outer sections using ropes to guide the four battalions in their night march and deployment for the dawn attack. The second column, on the left under Major-General Reginald Pole-Carew, consisted of a battalion from the 9th Brigade, the Naval Brigade with a 4.7-inch naval gun, and Rimington's Guides (a mounted infantry unit raised in Cape Town). The third column, led by Major-General Sir Henry Edward Colville, was in reserve and was composed of the 12th Lancers, the Guards Brigade, and artillery, engineer, and medical support elements.

Advance to attack.

A drizzle started by mid-afternoon on 10 December and continued throughout the artillery bombardment, which was delivered by 24 field guns, four howitzers, and a 4.7-inch naval gun. In preparation for the attack, the British soldiers bivouacked in the rain from the Boer lines. Instead of "softening" the Boer positions, the explosions of lyddite shells against the facing slopes above their trenches merely alerted the Boers to the impending attack. As midnight approached, the rain increased to a downpour and the leading elements of the Highland Brigade commenced their advance towards their objective at the southern end of Magersfontein ridge. Wauchope had made a similar night march in his advance on Omdurman in 1898, but this time he was faced not by flat desert terrain and clear skies, but rather by torrential rain, rocky outcrops, and thorn scrub, which caused delays and annoyance. The thunderstorm and the high iron ore content of the surrounding hills played havoc with compasses and navigation.  The brigade was advancing in quarter column as directed by Methuen's orders. The soldiers advanced packed as closely together as possible, with each ordered to grasp his neighbour to prevent the men losing contact with each other in the darkness. As first light approached, the storm abated and the Brigade was on course, but the delays put them from the line of hills. Wauchope's guide, Major Benson of the Royal Artillery, suggested to Wauchope that it was no longer safe to continue in closed formation and that the Brigade should deploy. Wauchope replied ""... I'm afraid my men will lose direction. I think we will go a little further."" Still in quarter column, the Highlanders advanced further towards the unknown enemy lines, when an advancing British soldier tripped an alarm on the fence in front of the Boer trench.

Battle.

Highland Brigade trapped.

The Highlanders had advanced to within of the Boer trenches when the Boers opened fire; the British had no time to reform from their compact quarter columns into a fighting formation. Wauchope instructed the brigade to extend its order, but in the face of such close-range Boer fire, the changing formation was thrown into disarray and confusion. General Wauchope was killed by almost the first volley, as was Lieutenant-Colonel G. L. J. Goff, the commanding officer of the Argylls. The men at the head of the brigade disentangled themselves from the dead and most of them fled. Some of the Black Watch at the head of the column charged the Boer trenches; a few broke through, but as they climbed Magersfontein Hill they were engaged by their own artillery and Boer parties, including one led by General Cronje himself, who had been wandering the "kopje" since 01:00, and were subsequently killed or captured. Others were shot while entangled in the wire fence in front of the trenches. Conan Doyle points out that 700 of the British casualties that day occurred in the first five minutes of the engagement.  An attempt was made to outflank the trenches on the right where a number of Boers were taken prisoner, but this action was soon blocked by the redeployment of Boer elements. After sunrise, the remnants of the four battalions of the Highland Brigade were unable to advance or retreat due to Boer rifle fire. The only movement at that time was a team led by Lt. Lindsay, who managed to bring the Seaforth's Maxim forward to provide a degree of fire support. Later the Lancers were able to bring their Maxim forward and into action as well. Methuen ordered all available artillery to provide fire support; the howitzers engaged at and the three field batteries at a range of. The Horse Artillery advanced to the southern flank in an attempt to enfilade the trenches. With all guns engaged, including the 4.7-inch naval gun commanded by Captain Bearcroft RN, the Highlanders were given some respite from the Boer small-arms fire, and some men were able to withdraw. As with the preliminary barrage of the previous evening, most of the shot was however again directed at the facing slopes of the hills rather than the Boer trenches at their foot.

Reinforcements arrive.

As the day progressed, British reinforcements that were originally left to guard the camp near the Modder River started to arrive—first the Gordon Highlanders and later the 1st and 2nd Coldstream Guards. At the same time, Cronjé launched a fresh attack on the British southern (right) flank in an attempt to extend a salient to the left and behind the remaining Highlanders, cutting them off from the main British force. Initially the Seaforths attempted to stem this attack and ran into the Scandinavian Corps, which they quickly neutralised. The Seaforths then had to regroup, which prevented them from further action to halt the Boer attempts to encircle the Highland Brigade. The Grenadier Guards, with five companies of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, were moved to counter the attack. The British only showed some sign of success after the freshly arrived battalions of the Coldstream Guards were committed too. But once the Coldstreams were committed, Methuen had engaged all of his reserves.  The remaining Highlanders, now under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Hughes-Hallet of the Seaforths, had been lying prone under a harsh summer sun for most of the day with the Boers still attempting to encircle them from the south. In the late afternoon, those who remained alive stood up and fled west towards the main body of British troops. This unexpected move left many of the field guns which had been advanced to the front line over the course of the morning exposed to the Boers. Only a lack of initiative on the part of the Boers saved the guns from being captured. The gap created by the hurried withdrawal of the Highland Brigade was filled by the Gordons and the Scots Guards.

Scandinavian volunteers.

The Scandinavian Volunteer Corps ("Skandinaviska Kåren") was not a true corps but rather a unit the size of a company, consisting of foreign volunteers. Approximately half of the Corps (refer to the Order of battle) was ordered to hold a forward position in the gap between the high ground held by Cronje and De la Rey's forces during the night of 10–11 December. The rest of the force was entrenched in defensive positions some further north-east. In the early morning hours of 11 December, General Cronje ordered Commandant Tolly de Beer to abandon the outpost, but for some reason the order did not reach the Scandinavian section, which was left on its own. Save for seven men, this section was destroyed while valiantly holding back the attack of the Seaforth Highlanders, who were in the process denied access between the hills and prevented from reaching the Boer guns. Cronje understood the significance of this stand, and said in a subsequent letter to Kruger that "next to God we can thank the Scandinavians for our victory".

Final retreat.

In the late afternoon, a Boer messenger bearing a white flag arrived at a Scots Guard outpost to say that the British could send ambulances to collect their wounded lying in front of the trenches at the foot of the hills. Royal Army Medical Corps and Boer medical orderlies treated the wounded until the truce was broken by fire from the British naval gun, Captain (RN) Bearcroft not having been informed of the temporary armistice. A British medical orderly was sent to the Boers with apologies, and the truce was reinstated. When the truce was officially over, G Battery RHA, the 62nd Field Battery, and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were tasked to screen the reorganisation and withdrawal of some of the British troops.  The Boer guns, which had not yet seen action that day, opened fire on the cavalry at about 17:30 and the center of the British attack began to fall back. Men instinctively withdrew to beyond the range of the Boer guns; Methuen decided that a total withdrawal was preferable to his troops spending the night near the Boer trenches. Battalions and remnants of battalions retreated throughout the night and were mustered for roll call at the Modder River camp the next morning.

Aftermath.

Tactical dispositions.

The Boers halted Methuen's advance to relieve the siege of Kimberley, defeated his superior force and inflicted heavy losses, particularly on the Highland Brigade. The British were forced to withdraw to the Modder River to regroup and to await further reinforcements. Unlike previous occasions, where the Boers withdrew after an engagement, this time Cronje held the Magersfontein defence line, knowing that Methuen would again be forced to continue his advance along his logistical railway "lifeline".

Losses.

The British lost 22 officers and 188 other ranks killed, 46 officers and 629 other ranks wounded, and one officer and 62 other ranks missing. Of this, the Highland Brigade suffered losses of 747 men being killed, wounded, and missing. Among the battalions, the Black Watch suffered the most severely, losing 303 officers and other ranks. On 12 December, when British ambulances again went forward to collect the dead and remaining wounded, they found Wauchope's body within of Cronjé's trenches. The British camp at Modder River, and subsequently at Paardeberg, created ideal conditions for the spread of typhoid fever. By the time the British reached Bloemfontein, an epidemic had broken out amongst the troops, with 10,000–12,000 taken ill, and 1,200 deaths in the city. The disease ultimately took more British lives during the war than were lost through enemy action.  The animosity that the troops on the ground felt towards their leadership is captured in this contemporary poem by a soldier of the Black Watch:  Boer losses are disputed. The official British account of the battle records 87 killed and 188 wounded, while later accounts record a total loss of 236 men. As with the Boers, several different figures regarding the strength of the Scandinavian outpost exist. British sources quote 80 men and Scandinavian sources between 49 and 52 men. Uddgren records 52 men based on identified names, consisting of 26 Swedes, 11 Danes, 7 Finns, 4 Norwegians, and 4 of unknown nationality, of whom all but five were either killed, wounded or captured.

Strategic consequences.

The week from 10 to 17 December 1899 rapidly became known to troops in the field—and to politicians in Britain—as "Black Week", during which the British suffered three defeats: the battles of Stormberg in the Cape Midlands and Colenso in Natal, as well as the Battle of Magersfontein. The defeat at Magersfontein caused much consternation in Britain, particularly in Scotland, where the losses to the Highland regiments were keenly felt. Wauchope was well known in Scotland, having stood as a Parliamentary candidate for Midlothian in the general election of 1892.  The reverberations of the Black Week defeats led to the hasty approval of large reinforcements being sent to South Africa, from both Britain and the Dominions. Although Cronje temporarily defeated the British and held up their advance, General Lord Roberts was appointed as overall Commander in Chief in South Africa; he took personal command on this front, and at the head of an army reinforced to 25,000 men, he relieved Kimberley on 15 February 1900. Cronje's retreating army was surrounded and forced to surrender at the Battle of Paardeberg on 27 February 1900.  Lord Methuen later salvaged his reputation and career through successes he achieved against George Villebois-Mareuil at the Battle of Boschoff. However, he was the only general captured by the Boers during the war.

Victoria Cross awards.

Three Victoria Cross citations were made for the action at Magersfontein:

Order of battle.

British Forces.

The 3rd Highland Brigade was attached to the 1st Infantry Division from the 9th Infantry Division The below units were deployed for communication line protection duties and as such were under command of Major-General Methuen.

The Battle of Magersfontein ( ) was fought on 11 December 1899, at Magersfontein near Kimberley, South Africa, on the borders of the Cape Colony and the independent republic of the Orange Free State. British forces under Lieutenant General Lord Methuen were advancing north along the railway line from the Cape in order to relieve the Siege of Kimberley, but their path was blocked at Magersfontein by a Boer force that was entrenched in the surrounding hills. The British had already fought a series of battles with the Boers, most recently at Modder River, where the advance was temporarily halted.

La bataille de Magersfontein est la deuxième bataille de la "semaine noire" de la Deuxième Guerre des Boers. Elle se déroula le à, à proximité de Kimberley aux frontières de la Colonie du Cap et de l'État libre d'Orange. Le Général Piet Cronje et ses troupes boer vainquirent les troupes de l'Empire britannique commandées par Lord Methuen.


Dialects.

One source supports the claim that Northwest Maidu had at least nine dialects, designated today according to the locality in which each was spoken. These dialects were: Otaki; Mikchopdo; Cherokee; Eskeni; Pulga; Nemsu; Feather Falls; Challenge; and Bidwell Bar. Lexicon of each remains scant. In addition, there may have been many family variations within each dialect group; thus, certainly there was no one Konkow language, but Konkow means a phonologically distinct pronunciation from what is popularly defined as 'Maidu' or 'Mountain Maidu', namely in terms of stress patterns on lexicon. According to limited historical data, by the turn of the 19th century there were only four of these dialects still being spoken.

Alternate names.

The name "Konkow" has been variously spelled "Concow" and "Konkau". The language is also known as Maidu ("Meidoo"), "Holólupai, Michopdo, Nákum, Secumne (Sekumne), Tsamak, Yuba," and the pejorative "Digger".

Modern Konkow.

Since 2002, a dialect which could be called "Modern Konkow," based on what is conventionally called the Cherokee dialect of Konkow, has come into limited use by some California Native Americans with cultural and familial ties to the old Konkow tribe. This dialect is primarily based on the dialect as learned by Mary Jones, one of the last speakers of Old Konkow, who learned the dialect that was spoken in the vicinity of Cherokee, California. It is being promulgated with a DVD-based course of study called "Twenty-two Lessons in the Koyoongk'awi Language".  As of 2010,.mp3 learning materials of the Mechoopda dialect were also available, based on old recordings of Emma Cooper, made during the 1940s as a part of the war effort. Also based on the Emma Cooper recordings, a "Konkow Toddler" app was released for iPhone, iPad, and other iOS devices in July 2012.  Materials for study of the Northwest Maidu language, including the 22-lesson course mentioned above, have been made available on the website of the Konkow Maidu Cultural Preservation Association.

Phonology.

Consonants.

The affricate /t͡sʼ/ may also be realized as [t͡ʃ~t͡ʃʼ] allophonically.

Vowels.

Vowel length is also present.

The Northwest Maidu language (also called Concow-Maidu, Konkow — or Koyoomk'awi, in the language itself) is a part of the Maiduan language group. The word "koyoo" means, "meadow", with the additional'm' being the adjective form of the word. 'Koyoo+ [m, adj.] k'awi + [m, adj.] Ma'a [tribe].' It is spoken in California. It is severely endangered, with three remaining elders who learned to speak it as a first language, one of whom is deaf. As part of an effort to regain official recognition as a federally recognized tribe, an effort to provide language instruction amongst the descendants of the original tribe and affiliated family members has begun.

Le konkow (de "kójom kʾawi" - le pays de la vallée) est une langue amérindienne de la famille des langues maiduanes parlée aux États-Unis, dans le Nord de la Californie dans la région de la rivière Feather et de la partie adjacente de la vallée de Sacramento. La langue est quasiment éteinte.


Early years.

Chessman was born Carol Whittier Chessman in St. Joseph, Michigan, the only child of Hallie Lillian (née Cottle) and Serl Whittier Chessman, both devout Baptists. (Carol was, at the time, a popular name for boys of Danish descent; but Chessman later changed the spelling himself to Caryl.) In 1922, the family relocated to Glendale, California. Chessman's father became despondent after failing at each of a series of jobs, and attempted suicide twice. In 1929 Chessman's mother was paralyzed as the result of a car accident. As a child, Chessman battled asthma, which left him weak, and he also contracted encephalitis, which he later claimed changed his personality. After recovering he began to rebel against his parents' strict Baptist upbringing by committing petty crimes. The family was hit hard by the Depression, and Chessman later recalled that he stole food and other items as an adolescent to help his parents. During his teen years—as the stealing continued—he changed the spelling of his first name from "Carol" to "Caryl."  In July 1937 Chessman was caught stealing a car and sent to Preston School of Industry (also known as Preston Castle), a reform school in Northern California. He was released in April 1938, only to return a month later after stealing another car. In October 1939 Chessman was sent to the Los Angeles County Road Camp after yet another car theft. It was there that he met a group of young criminals known as the "Boy Bandit Gang." After his release from the road camp he joined the gang and, in April 1941, was arrested in connection with a number of gang-related robberies and shootouts with police. As the gang's leader, Chessman was convicted of robbery and sent to San Quentin State Prison, then transferred to the California Institution for Men in Chino. He escaped in October 1943 but was arrested a month later. Convicted on another robbery charge, Chessman was sentenced to five years to life and served the minimum, mostly at Folsom State Prison. He was released in December 1947 and returned to Glendale.

Crimes and conviction.

In the first three weeks of January 1948, a number of robberies and thefts were reported throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area. On January 3, two men robbed a haberdashery in Pasadena with a.45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. On January 13, a 1946 Ford Coupe was stolen from a Pasadena street. On January 18, a man driving a car described as a 1947 Ford coupe used a red light to stop a vehicle near Malibu Beach, then used a.45 caliber pistol to rob the vehicle's occupants. Later that day a second couple was robbed in the same manner near the Rose Bowl. Police quickly began to suspect a common perpetrator, and Los Angeles newspapers dubbed the suspect "The Red Light Bandit." On January 19, a third couple was robbed as they sat parked on a hill in West Pasadena, and the woman, Regina Johnson, was forced to perform oral sex on her assailant. On January 22, a fourth couple returning home from a church dance was pulled over on Mulholland Drive. The assailant dragged the woman, 17-year-old Mary Alice Meza, a short distance to his vehicle. Her boyfriend then drove away and was pursued by the assailant. After an unsuccessful attempt to force the male victim off the road, the perpetrator drove Meza to a secluded area where he forced her to engage in oral and anal sex, threatening to kill her boyfriend if she did not comply.  The following day, police in North Hollywood attempted to stop a 1946 Ford coupe matching the description given by Meza and her boyfriend, and also by witnesses to a robbery at a clothing store in Redondo Beach earlier that day. After a high-speed chase the vehicle's occupants, Chessman and David Knowles, were captured and arrested. After a 72-hour interrogation, during which Chessman later claimed he was beaten and tortured, Chessman confessed to the "Red Light Bandit" crimes. He was also positively identified by the rape victims, Johnson and Meza. In late January 1948 Chessman was indicted on 18 counts of robbery, kidnapping, and rape. After a three-week trial in May, he was convicted on 17 of the 18 counts, and was sentenced to death. Chessman's accomplice, Knowles, was tried and convicted as an accessory in the store robberies, but his conviction was reversed on appeal in 1950 due to an absence of direct incriminating evidence and "impermissible abuse of the law."

Appeals and controversy.

Part of the controversy surrounding the Chessman case stemmed from the state's unusual application of the death penalty. At the time, under California's version of the "Little Lindbergh Law," a crime that involved kidnapping with bodily harm could be considered a capital offense. Two of the counts against Chessman alleged that he dragged Johnson 22 feet from her car before demanding oral sex, and that he abducted Meza against her will, driving her a considerable distance before raping her. The court ruled that both actions fit the law's definition of kidnapping with bodily harm, thus making Chessman eligible for the death penalty under the law. The law was repealed by the time his trial began but was in effect at the time of the crimes; the repeal was not applied retroactively.  Chessman asserted his innocence from the outset, arguing throughout the trial and the appeals process that he was alternately the victim of mistaken identity, or of a conspiracy to frame him. (He claimed to know the identity of the real perpetrator, but refused to reveal it.) He further alleged that the confession he signed during his initial police interrogation was coerced through force and intimidation.  Over the course of nearly twelve years on death row Chessman filed dozens of appeals, acting as his own attorney, and successfully avoided eight execution deadlines, often by a few hours. Most appeals were based on assertions that he was forced to go to trial unprepared; that the trial itself was unfair; that confessions obtained by force and intimidation and promises of partial immunity were used in evidence against him; that California's "Little Lindbergh Law" was unconstitutional; and that the transcript of record forwarded upon appeal to the state supreme court was incomplete, and important parts of the proceedings were missing or incorrectly recorded. In 1957 the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the State of California to conduct a full review of the transcripts. The review concluded that the transcripts were substantially accurate.  Chessman also took his case to the public through letters, essays and books. His four books, "Cell 2455, Death Row", "Trial by Ordeal", "The Face of Justice", and "The Kid Was a Killer", became bestsellers. He sold the rights to "Cell 2455, Death Row" to Columbia Pictures, which made a 1955 film of the same name, directed by Fred F. Sears, with William Campbell as Chessman. Chessman's middle name, Whittier, was used as the surname of his alter ego protagonist in the film. The manuscript of his fourth book, "The Kid Was a Killer," was seized by San Quentin warden Harley O. Teets in 1954 as a product of “prison labor." It was eventually returned to Chessman in late 1957, and published in 1960.  Chessman's books and public campaign ignited a worldwide movement to spare his life, while focusing attention on the larger question of the death penalty in the United States, at a time when most Western countries had abandoned it, or were in the process of doing so. The office of California Governor Pat Brown was flooded with appeals for clemency from noted authors and intellectuals from around the world, including Aldous Huxley, Ray Bradbury, Norman Mailer, Dwight MacDonald, and Robert Frost, and from such other public figures as former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Christian evangelist Billy Graham.  The Chessman affair put Brown, an opponent of the death penalty, in a difficult position. He was unable to grant Chessman executive clemency as the California Constitution required the commutation of a two-time felon's death sentence to be ratified by the California Supreme Court, which declined ratification by a vote of 4-3. After a long period of inaction Brown finally issued a 60-day stay a few hours before the February 19, 1960 scheduled execution. He issued the stay, he said, out of concern that the execution could threaten the safety of President Dwight D. Eisenhower during an official visit to South America, where the Chessman case had inflamed anti-American sentiment.

Execution.

Brown's stay of execution, along with Chessman's last appeals, ran out in April 1960, and Chessman finally went to the gas chamber at San Quentin Prison on May 2, twenty-five days before his 39th birthday. According to some sources, a last-minute attempt by a California Supreme Court justice to implement a new stay pending a habeas corpus motion failed when a court secretary misdialed the prison switchboard's phone number. By the time the call was received and routed to the execution chamber, the execution had already begun and could not be halted. During the execution Chessman vigorously nodded his head, a pre‐arranged signal to reporters that he was experiencing pain. Chessman's body was cremated, as per his wishes, at the Mount Tamalpais Mortuary and Cemetery in San Rafael, California. He requested that his ashes be interred with his parents' at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, but Forest Lawn refused the request on "moral grounds." His ashes were buried at the Mount Tamalpais Cemetery, then disinterred in 1974 by Chessman's attorney Rosalie Asher and scattered off the coast of Santa Cruz Island.  Chessman was dubbed "the first modern American executed for a non-lethal kidnapping." His time on death row – eleven years and ten months – was then the longest ever in the United States, a record that was broken in the post-"Furman v. Georgia" era on March 15, 1988, when Willie Darden, Jr. was executed in Florida's electric chair. Several months after Chessman's execution, Billy Monk was executed on November 21, 1961 for kidnapping two women, attempting to rape the first and raping the second, and was the last to be executed for a non-lethal kidnapping in the United States.

In popular culture.

The author Dominique Lapierre visited Chessman several times during his incarceration. Lapierre was then a young reporter working for a French newspaper. His account of Chessman appears in the book "A Thousand Suns."  Artist Bruce Conner created his sculpture "Child" in 1959-60 as an homage to Chessman.  Chessman's execution is referenced in Lucio Fulci's 1969 giallo "One on Top of the Other", in which the character of George Dumurrier (Jean Sorel) is prepared to be executed in San Quentin's gas chamber. Not only were these sequences shot on location in San Quentin, but several of the prison personnel who were responsible for Chessman's death acted in them; a fact that was especially highlighted in the film's trailer.  In 1977, Alan Alda starred in an NBC television movie about Chessman's life, titled "Kill Me If You Can." This was sometimes shown, subsequently, as "The Caryl Chessman Story."  The song "The Ballad of Caryl Chessman," written by the hit songwriting team of Al Hoffman and Dick Manning, and which includes the chorus "let him live, let him live, let him live," was a minor hit single for Ronnie Hawkins two months before Chessman's execution.  Country music star Merle Haggard stated in an interview in 1995 that many years earlier, when he was a prison inmate, observing Chessman's preparations for his execution helped to set him on the straight and narrow.  "Chessman," a 2016 play by Joe Rodota, tells the story of the execution from the viewpoint of Governor Pat Brown.  The song "Broadway Melody of 1974" by the rock group Genesis, off their album "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", contains the following lyrics: ""Caryl Chessman sniffs the air and leads the parade, he knows, in a scent, you can bottle all you made.""  Mexican Professional Luchador, "Chessman, the red light killer," from AAA, is named after Caryl Chessman.

Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27, 1921 – May 2, 1960) was a convicted robber, kidnapper and rapist who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes committed in January 1948 in the Los Angeles area. Chessman was convicted under a loosely interpreted "Little Lindbergh law" – later repealed, but not retroactively – that defined kidnapping as a capital offense under certain circumstances. His case attracted worldwide attention, and helped propel the movement to end the use of capital punishment in the state of California.

Caryl Whittier Chessman (né le 27 mai 1921 à Saint-Joseph dans le Michigan, mort le 2 mai 1960 à la prison d'État de San Quentin en Californie) est un condamné à mort américain qui réussit à attirer l’attention de l’opinion publique sur son propre cas, et plus généralement sur la peine de mort aux États-Unis grâce à trois livres qu'il écrivit en prison en attente de son exécution dans la chambre à gaz (qu’il réussit à repousser à de nombreuses reprises, certains de ses sept sursis durant quatre jours).


Life.

Wang Guangyi was born in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province in 1957. Wang's father was a railway worker in northeastern China. Like many other people, Wang experienced the influence of the Cultural Revolution and had to work in a rural village for three years. He too became a railway worker. Wang tried for four years to get into a college. After several failed attempts, he enrolled at Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts. He graduated from the oil painting department of the academy in 1984. He lives and works in Beijing, China.

Artwork.

His work is considered in China to be in the Political Pop genre; some consider this an error.

Early works – Mid-1980s.

The North Pole is a recurring theme in Wang Guangyi's early works; it is seen not in relation to its geographic characteristics, but as a symbolic place where a new faith is born, a place in which the individual must deal principally with himself but without freeing himself from the social. Working on the Frozen North Pole cycle (1984-1985), the group of young Artists of the North of which Wang Guangyi was a part, chose to confront themselves with Western philosophy. In his Post Classical series (1986-1988) Wang Guangyi worked on a synthetic revision of the great works of Western art tied to themes of religion, morality, faith and ideology. These paintings use various grey tones and encapsulate the human figure and its environment without many details. Wang Guangyi's objective consisted in elaborating a style that deviated from that of classic art, an expressive strategy which derived from his reading of Gombrich.

Great Criticism, 1990-2007.

Great Criticism is Wang Guangyi's most famous cycle of works. These works use propaganda images of the Cultural Revolution and contemporary logos from Western advertisements. Wang Guangyi began this cycle in 1990 and ended it in 2007 when he became convinced that its international success would compromise the original meaning of the works, namely that political and commercial propaganda are two forms of brainwashing.

1990s.

The series and installations VISA (1995-1998), Passport (1994-1995), and Virus Carriers (1996-1998) contain images of infants, grown adults and dogs accompanied by their respective names, places, dates of birth and genders. The aforementioned titles of these works are then imprinted upon these images. By forefronting the bureaucratic procedures tied to moving from one country to another, these works reveal that the organization of the State enacts its own defenses when evaluating the potential danger of individuals. Wang Guangyi perceives a well-established climate of reciprocal suspicion and looming danger, which ripened during the Cold War and still persists today, even if it has lost the oppressiveness born of forced indoctrination. Wang Guangyi's reflection deals with the relationship that Power has with the individual, on which it maintains control by increasing collective fears to then propose itself as a bastion against unknown dangers that could suddenly strike against defenseless people. The artist maintains that through these forms of psychological pressure, a tacit agreement that provides protection against the contagion of new viruses in exchange for the renouncement of a part of one's freedom is forged between the Power and the individual.

2000s.

During the 2000s the relationship between Wang Guangyi's works and the transcendent increased. In fact the title given to the Materialist series (2001-2005) is not contradictory. This series of sculptures made from the images of twelve workers, farmers and soldiers that were taken from propaganda images. According to Wang Guangyi these propaganda images bring to light that the main force of the people, the anger expressed by their movements, derives from faith in ideology. With these sculptures the artist attempts to put an image to the general feeling of the people while referencing dialectic materialism - Materialist is a term that has particular import in Chinese history in that it summarizes the socialist ideology. At the same time, the artist also sees another level of meaning within the work. In art, things that possess certain conceptual qualities are called “the object”, which in Chinese has the same root as the word “materialist”, Wang Guangyi has also represented the great political (Lenin, Stalin, Mao), spiritual (Christ) and spiritual and political leaders (John XXIII), as well as the philosophers whose thought continues to exert its influence today (Marx and Engels) in series of oil paintings entitled New Religion (2011). The images seem taken from photographic negatives, and though the artist uses a traditional oil painting technique in these works, the ambiguity created by the reference to photography breaks the familiarity that the spectator has with them, thereby opening up interpretations as to their meaning. Through this cycle of works Wang Guangyi has asked himself about the commonalities between the great utopias, the fascination that they exert on humans, and why all men feel the need to find figures on which to place their faith. The installations that make up the cycle Cold War Aesthetics (2007-2008) contain historical reconstructions of the Cold War period. In these works, Wang Guangyi deals with the psychological effects of the propaganda that was characteristic of the Chinese political climate of that time. In order to evoke a psychological reaction, the artist makes the spectators feel the emotion, climate and mentality of that era.

Criticism.

Wang Guangyi, like others such as Fang Lijun, has become a millionaire, one of China's "nouveau riches". Such painters, with their large studios and expensive houses and cars, are in China called "bopu dashi" or "pop masters". Wang Guangyi's successful career and fast growing wealth have drawn criticism. Some have questioned his artistic value, along with the price of his works. Some critics claim that Wang "has lost his artistic ingenuity, gives in to the market, and has also become dependent on repeating his already successful works".

Solo exhibitions.

Wang Guangyi has had a number of solo exhibitions, including:

Wang Guangyi (; born 1957) is a Chinese artist. He is known as a leader of the new art movement that started in China after 1989, and for his "Great Criticism" series of paintings which use images of propaganda from the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and contemporary brand names from western advertising.

Wang Guangyi (né en 1957 à Harbin, dans la province du Heilongjiang, dans le nord-est de la Chine), est un peintre, sculpteur et créateur d'installations chinois contemporain.


Playing career.

Club.

Cooper helped Dr. Crokes win the 2000 Kerry Senior Football Championship at the age of 17, beating An Ghaeltacht in the final.  Dr. Crokes reached the Kerry Senior county final again in 2005 and 2006, but were defeated on both occasions by South Kingdom. However, South Kingdom are a divisional side and not a club so Dr. Crokes qualified to represent the Kerry in the Munster Senior Club Football Championship. In 2006 Dr. Crokes won the Munster Club Championship, beating The Nire of Waterford in the final. They advanced to the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship after beating Moorefield of Kildare after a replay in the semi-final, and faced Crossmaglen of Armagh in the 2007 All-Ireland Club final. The game finished in a draw. Crossmaglen won the replay to claim their fourth All-Ireland title. In 2010 Cooper played against Austin Stacks in Tralee in the Championship final finally giving Dr. Crokes the title after the three losses in finals. Cooper and Crokes were back again the year after to win back to back county titles. They secured the Kerry title in 2011, 2012 and 2013 to make it five in a row.  In February 2014, Cooper suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in the All-Ireland Club Championship semi-final against Castlebar Mitchels which kept him out of action for the remainder of 2014. On 27 November 2016, Cooper won his fifth Munster club title beating the Nire in the final by 3-15 to 0-6 with Cooper scoring two points. Dr. Crokes went on to reach the 2017 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Final on 17 March 2017 and won the game against Slaughtneil by 1-9 to 1-7 at Croke Park. Cooper scored 1-2 in the final and claimed his first All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship title.

Inter-county.

Cooper was first called up to the Kingdom team in 2002 and made his National Football League debut against Laois. He continued his rise in that year's Championship, making his debut against Limerick on 12 May en route to the 2002 All-Ireland final, where they faced Armagh. Armagh defeated Kerry in the final by 1-12 to 0-14 with Copper scoring a point. Cooper was awarded his first All Star award in 2002.  In 2003 Kerry won a Munster Senior Football Championship, but were knocked out of the All-Ireland Championship by Tyrone at the semi-final stage losing by 0-13 to 0-6.  2004 proved to be a good year for Cooper. Kerry won the 2004 National League, with victory over Galway in the final on 2 May. They also defended their Munster title, before going on to win the All-Ireland Championship – beating Mayo in the final by 1-20 to 2-9. Cooper scored 1–05 in the final, including a goal where he caught a ball and ran at the Mayo defence before slotting the ball low to the net. Cooper received his second All Star in 2004 and was named the Texaco Footballer of the Year.  Kerry won their third consecutive Munster Championship in 2005, beating old rivals Cork in the decider. Kerry reached an All-Ireland final, this time against Tyrone. After a bright start, Cooper was injured in a clash with Tyrone goalkeeper Pascal McConnell which limited his involvement. Tyrone won the game 1–16 to 2–10. Cooper won a third All Star award in 2005.  In the 2006 Championship Cork defeated Kerry in the Munster final. Kerry advanced to the All-Ireland final, where they once again met Mayo. Kerry won the game by 13 points and Cooper was again one of Kerry's main contributors scoring 1–02. He was the Kerry captain for part of that year, although the other captain Declan O'Sullivan was restored as captain for the All-Ireland final. After winning the game, the Sam Maguire Cup was lifted by both O' Sullivan and Cooper.  In 2007 Cooper played with Kerry regaining their Munster Championship title after an enthralling game against Cork, which Kerry won 1–15 to 1–13. Having been quiet for long spells, he burst into life and in a five-minute period scored 1–02. After beating Dublin by two points in the semi-final, Kerry progressed to face their bitter rivals Cork in the first ever all-Munster All-Ireland final. Kerry comfortably beat Cork 3–13 to 1–09, to become the first team to retain the title since Cork themselves 17 years before. Cooper got the goal that put Kerry in the driving seat, rising to fist the ball over the onrushing Alan Quirke. Cooper finished the game with 1-05. He received his fourth All Star and was nominated as one of three contenders for 2007 Footballer of the Year. He was also named on the GPA Team of the Year.  Kerry reached the 2008 National League final, but were beaten by Derry on a 2-13 to 2-9 scoreline. Cork beat Kerry in the 2008 Munster final. Kerry nevertheless advanced to the 2008 All-Ireland final, to face Tyrone for the third time in six years. Tyrone once again came out on top winning by four points. Cooper scored six points in the final and won his fifth All Star award that year and was once again named on the GPA Team of the Year.  In 2009, Cooper was dropped from the starting Kerry 15 for the qualifier game against Antrim on 26 July, due to a breach of team discipline. Cooper came on against Antrim and made an immediate impact notching 4 frees in another win for Kerry. Kerry progressed to face Dublin in the quarter final on 3 August, a Dublin side who had won their fifth Leinster Championships in a row. Within a minute Cooper had Kerry in front with a goal and were 1–13 to 0–03 ahead at the break. The game ended with Kerry on top and Cooper silently announcing his return to form with a haul of 1–08. Cooper and Kerry brushed Meath aside in a low-key semi-final before they faced against Cork in the final. Kerry won the final 0–16 to 1–09, with Cooper scoring six points and winning his fourth All Ireland Medal.  In April 2010, Cooper sustained a serious eye injury in a NFL Division 1 win over Monaghan. He tore a duct in one of his eyes: doctors in Kerry expressed concern about his condition. He collided with Monaghan defender Darren Hughes after seven minutes and required treatment on and off the field. However, he returned to the Kerry team for the championship. After winning the Munster Championship, beating Limerick in the final, Kerry progressed to the All-Ireland quarter final, facing historic rivals Down but lost by 1-16 to 1-10 with Copper scoring seven points in the game.  The 2011 championship ended in final day disappointment for Cooper. Kerry, in control of the final having been 4 points up in the closing minutes, succumbed to rivals Dublin, who outscored Kerry by 1–3 to 1 point in the final stages to win the cup for the first time since 1995.  The 2012 championship saw Kerry lose to Cork in the Munster semi-final but go on to play Donegal in the All-Ireland quarter-final on 5 August. Kerry lost the game by 1-12 to 1-10 with Copper scoring four points.  Kerry won the Munster Championship in 2013 with Copper getting 1-3 in the final on 7 July at Fitzgerald Stadium. Kerry defeated Cavan in the All-Ireland quarter-finals before losing to Dublin in the semi-final by 3-18 to 3-11 with Copper scoring four points in the game.  In February 2014, Cooper suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in the All-Ireland Club Championship semi-final against Castlebar Mitchels which kept him out of action for most of 2014. He was named as a substitute for Kerry in the 2014 All-Ireland Final against Donegal which Kerry went on to win by 2-9 to 0-12.  Copper won his eight Munster Championship medal on 18 July 2015 when Kerry defeated Cork in the final by 1-11 to 1-6 after a replay. They defeated Kildare in the All-Ireland quarter-finals by 7-16 to 0-10 with Copper getting 2-3 before defeating Tyrone in the semi-final by 0-18 to 1-11, Copper getting two points. In the final against Dublin on 20 September, Copper scored didn't get on the score sheet as Kerry lost by 0-9 to 0-12 in very wet conditions.  In 2016, Kerry reached the Munster Final again and played Tipperary, winning by 3-17 to 2-10. Cooper went off injured in the first half of the game with a collarbone injury. He missed the quarter final win against Clare but returned for the epic semi-final against Dublin on 28 August. Dublin won by 0-22 to 2-14 after coming back from conceding two first half goals. Cooper scored five points in what would turn out to be his last game for Kerry.  On the 4 April 2017, Cooper announced his retirement from inter county football at the age of 33. In 85 Championship games for Kerry he scored 23 goals and 283 points, and in 60 league games he scored 12 goals and 165 points.

International rules.

Cooper has represented Ireland in the International Rules Series, in 2005. However, he has declined any invitation to represent Ireland in the hybrid game since, as he claims not to have enjoyed the experience; 2005 was a year when the series was marred by violence and intimidation.

Province.

Cooper played for Munster in the Railway Cup in 2002 and 2004.

Colm "the Gooch" Cooper (born 3 June 1983) is an Irish Gaelic footballer whose league and championship career with the Kerry senior team spanned fifteen years from 2002 to 2017.

Colm Cooper (en anglais) ou Colm Cúipéir (en irlandais) (né le 3 juin 1983 à Killarney) est un joueur irlandais de football gaélique. Il joue pour le club de Dr Crokes GAA et l’équipe du Kerry GAA avec lequel il a gagné trois All-Ireland.


Origins and influences.

"Chanson réaliste" grew out of the "cafés-concerts" and cabarets of the Montmartre district of Paris during the 1880s. Home to such theatrical landmarks as the Moulin Rouge, and Le Chat Noir, Montmartre became a centre for hedonistic and brazen entertainment from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.  Although the "chanson réaliste" was a musical genre dominated by female vocalists, one of its earliest performers—and credited by some as "the creator" or "the father" of genre—was cabaret singer and comedian Aristide Bruant. Bruant began a career at Le Chat Noir in 1885 and his vaudeville-inspired mix of song, satire and entertainment became very popular with the bourgeoisie slumming in the poorer Montmartre district. His compositions were also different in that they included the everyday language and slang used by the commoners.  Borrowing elements of the "comédie en vaudeville", the "chanteuses réalistes" (realist singers [female]) often wore black dresses, red lipstick and white face makeup—their faces highlighted with stark lighting, set against a modest, almost bare backdrop—all done to draw audiences' attention to the singers' emotive facial expressions.  In contrast to the picturesque "chanson" which was popular in post-World War II France—with its songs of love, cobbled Parisian streets, and the sound of the accordion—the "chanteuses réalistes" sang songs of loss, hopelessness and abandonment; their songs dealt with life in the poorer Parisian faubourgs, and the thugs, pimps, prostitutes, and orphans who called them home; its themes of poverty and the criminal underworld, as well as its sociopolitical commentary, were influenced by the works of such literary realists and naturalist writers as Émile Zola, Jean Richepin and Paul Bourget.

The performers.

The "chanson réaliste" sentimentalised the plight of poor and dispossessed women, such as prostitutes, waitresses, failed singers in cheap bars, orphans, single mothers and the like. Some of the performers of the genre were also known to have lived the part—both Édith Piaf and Fréhel sang in the streets as children, were teenage mothers and lost their children very young—and many shortened their lives with drugs, alcohol and illness: Yvonne George lived an excessive lifestyle and died at the age of 34; Fréhel became an alcoholic at an early age, attempted suicide at 19 and eventually died in poverty; Piaf suffered from addictions to morphine and alcohol and died of cancer.  However, given the dramatic and melancholy aspects of "chanson réaliste", the withered and diseased aspect of their appearance became an integral part of the show. Piaf, for example, was known for her waif-like stage presence and became tightly identified with her role; she was, however, critical of the style:  Another common theme of the "chanson réaliste" was motherhood, particularly the mother-son relationship; such songs were a speciality of the singer Berthe Sylva, whose songs dealt with such topics as dying mothers, mothers worrying about their sons at war, sons placing flowers on a mother's grave, and songs about the mundane experiences of a bored housewife.  Other women known for performing in the "chanson réaliste" style include:

Chanson réaliste (, "realist song") refers to a style of music performed in France primarily from the 1880s until the end of World War II. Influenced by literary realism and the naturalist movements in literature and theatre, "chanson réaliste" dealt with the lives of Paris's poor and working-class.

La chanson réaliste est un genre musical apparu en France au début du, et popularisé pendant l'entre-deux-guerres par des interprètes principalement féminines comme Fréhel, Damia ou Édith Piaf. Les thèmes récurrents de ses chansons traitent de sujets dramatiques empreints d'une noirceur certaine, souvent inspirés par le quotidien des quartiers populaires de Paris. Leurs personnages sont généralement prisonniers de leur misère, de leur condition sociale (basse), de leur passion amoureuse...


Early life.

Brenly attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and was a member of the Bobcat baseball team. By the time Brenly graduated in 1976, he had earned All-America honors and matched Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt's school-record 10 home runs in a single season.  Bob Brenly's only curtain call in baseball occurred during a minor league game (teams and date unknown). Brenly's team was on the road, and the home team's fans designated him as the game's "Beer Batter," where if the player struck out, beer in the stadium would be sold at half price for the rest of the inning. Brenly struck out three times that game, and the fans stood on their feet and cheered for him after the third time as he came back out from the dugout and acknowledged the crowd.

Major League baseball career.

Brenly was not drafted but signed as an amateur free agent by the San Francisco Giants in 1976. He made his major league debut in 1981 at the age of 27. He replaced Milt May as the Giants starting catcher in 1983 and posted a.224 batting average along with 7 home runs and 34 runs batted in. Brenly had his best season offensively in 1984 when, he was hitting for a.318 batting average at mid-season to earn a spot as a reserve player for the National League in the 1984 All-Star game. He finished the season with a career-high.291 batting average with 20 home runs and 80 runs batted in. Brenly won the 1984 Willie Mac Award for his spirit and leadership. In 1986, Brenly led National League catchers with a.995 fielding percentage, committing only 3 errors as a catcher in 101 games as the Giants improved from last place the previous season to finish third in the National League Western Division. Also in 1986, Brenly broke up a perfect game attempt by pitcher Don Carman on August 20 by leading off the ninth inning with a double.  Although Brenly was a good defensive catcher, he also has the dubious distinction of committing 4 errors in one inning while playing as a substitute third baseman during a game on September 14, 1986, against the Atlanta Braves. Already suited up to catch, he was asked to man third base when the regular player was unavailable. Three errors were on ground balls and one on a throw, with the throwing error coming on the same play as one of the ground ball errors. Brenly atoned for his mistakes by hitting a fifth-inning home run. He then hit a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning to tie the game and finally hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game.  Brenly was playing first base during a Giants-Mets game on September 3, 1986 when Keith Hernandez hit a sharp grounder to pitcher Terry Mulholland. The ball got stuck in Mulholland's glove so Mulholland tossed the glove with the baseball to Brenly for the out.  Brenly led National League catchers in 1987 with 83 assists and posted a.267 batting average with 18 home runs and 51 runs batted in as, the Giants won the National League Western Division title. In the only post-season appearance of his career in the 1987 National League Championship Series, Brenly hit.235 with 1 home run and 2 runs batted in as the Giants were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals in a seven-game series.  During the 1988 season, Brenly caught only 69 games and was released at the end of the season. In 1989, Brenly became a free agent and signed a contract to play for the Toronto Blue Jays. After half a season with the Blue Jays, he was released on July 18 and, re-signed to play for the Giants. After 12 more games with the Giants, he retired at the end of the 1989 season at the age of 35.

Career statistics.

In a 9-year career, Brenly played in 871 games, accumulating 647 hits in 2615 at bats for a.247 career batting average along with 91 home runs and 333 runs batted in. He ended his career with a.984 fielding percentage as a catcher.

Managing and coaching career.

Brenly served as a coach for the Giants under manager Roger Craig and then stayed on when Dusty Baker replaced Craig as manager. He replaced Buck Showalter as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks after the 2000 season, and led the Diamondbacks to the 2001 World Series title in his first season as a manager. Although the team repeated as Western Division champions in 2002, a slide which left the team in last place in mid-2004 led to Brenly's dismissal.

Broadcasting career.

He later returned to being a baseball analyst for Fox (where Brenly had worked from 1996 to 2000 and called the 1996 and 1998 World Series alongside Joe Buck and Tim McCarver and the ALCS and All-Star Game in 1997 and 1999). He was then hired in November 2004 to replace Steve Stone as a color analyst for televised Chicago Cubs games. Brenly teamed with play-by-play announcer Len Kasper. He had previously teamed with Harry Caray, Thom Brennaman, and Ron Santo during the 1990 and 1991 seasons on radio. He often jokes about his mediocre playing career. Brenly is often referred to by his nickname, "BB" and was rumored to be in the running for several managerial positions for the 2008 season, though nothing materialized. Brenly was in the running for the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers managerial position and was said to be the favorite, but the job went to Ken Macha instead.  In 2007, Brenly served as a game analyst during postseason broadcasts on the TBS cable television network. He covered the Yankees–Indians series in the ALDS and the Rockies–Diamondbacks series in the NLCS alongside Chip Caray and Tony Gwynn. On September 13, 2008, Brenly signed a four-year extension worth $3.5 million to continue his role as color analyst for Cubs games.  Brenly again worked Division Series post-season coverage for TBS in 2009-2013 with Dick Stockton as his play-by-play partner each year.  He opted out of an extension to his contract with the Cubs and WGN television on October 17, 2012.  On October 18, 2012, he signed a five-year deal as the TV color commentator for the Diamondbacks.

Personal life.

Bob Brenly married Joan Brenly on August 10, 1974; they have two children. Their son Michael was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2004 (out of high school) and 2008 (out of UNLV) as a catcher. He played in the Cubs and Boston Red Sox minor league systems in all or parts of eight seasons spanning 2008–2015. After retiring from the Portland Sea Dogs in May 2015, the younger Brenly took a position as the assistant bullpen catcher in the Boston organization.

Robert Earl Brenly (born February 25, 1954) is an American baseball sportscaster and a former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a catcher with the San Francisco Giants. After retiring as a player, he worked as a broadcaster with the Chicago Cubs, then as a coach with the Giants, then as a broadcaster for Fox. He was hired to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2001 season, and won the franchise's only championship his first year. In 2004, he was released by the Diamondbacks and again became a broadcaster with the Cubs until 2012. He now serves as a color commentator for Diamondbacks broadcasts.

Robert Earl Brenly (né le à Coshocton, Ohio, États-Unis) est un ancien joueur et gérant dans les ligues majeures de baseball.


History.

The Royal Frederiksborg Stud was founded in 1562 under King Frederik II, who populated it with the Neapolitan horse and the Iberian forerunners of the Andalusian horse. As the Norfolk Roadster and Arab-bred horses gained popularity later on, they, too, were selected to stand at the royal stud. As a courtly mount, the Frederiksborg had to be agile and trainable for the courtiers' pursuits in "haute ecole" and warfare, stylish and high-stepping for parades and court ceremonies, and strong and uniform in appearance to trot before the royal carriages. By the 18th century, the Frederiksborger enjoyed such particular fame that the Danes began to export them in great numbers. They contributed to the formation of the heavy warmbloods, but also to the Lipizzaner. A grey Frederiksborger stallion born in 1765, "Pluto", became a foundation stallion in the breed.  The popularity of the breed took its toll, and in 1839, the royal stud was closed. The breeding of Frederiksborgers continued with private breeders, though the needs of the people reshaped the horse to some degree. Instead of a luxury item, the horses were redirected to be more suitable for the stagecoach and agricultural work. In 1939, efforts to re-establish the breed were started, adding East Friesian, Oldenburgs, Thoroughbreds, and Arabians later. The modern Danish Warmblood often traces back to the Frederiksborger through the female lines, though the pedigrees of these horses are mostly German. Nevertheless, as the Danish breeders made use of German and Swedish horses, some part-Frederiksborger mares made their way back into the breeding population. So to do the Holsteiner "Manfreid" ("Markgraf"), Swedish "Rousseau" (Herzog), and the Hanoverians "Atlantic" ("Abglanz"), "Ergo" ("Abendjaeger"), and "Boheme" ("Bolero"). Otherwise, the Frederiksborger has been purebred for the past century, which accounts for their uniform type.

Characteristics.

Today, the numbers of Frederiksborgers are low, but the remaining examples are handsome horses. They are most often vividly marked flaxen chestnuts, though bays, buckskins, palominos, and greys are seen, as well. They usually have sabino-type markings and many have rabicano roaning, as well.  In conformation and type, the Frederiksborger was "ahead of its time", so the horses express great quality and are quite uniform. The muzzle is wide and the straight lines of the head often border on convex. The neck is powerful and usually crested, and is set high on strong shoulders. The withers are not high, and the back, while long, has a strong loin. The hindquarters are broad and deep and the croup is level. The level topline and high-set neck of the Frederiksborger belie its showy trot. The legs are solid and square, a little more than half the horse's height. The tail is well-carried.  The gaits of the Frederiksborger are expressive and powerful, with natural self-carriage. The trot is the best gait and is showy with a long stride. The walk is diligent and open, and the canter is sufficient. Most Frederiksborgers are willing jumpers, though calm-natured horses are less likely to be concerned about knocking rails.

Uses.

Frederiksborgers are best in harness and compete up to the international levels of combined driving. They are also suitable horses for amateurs, as they are not selected for sensitivity. Some individuals are successful in competitive dressage and show jumping, as well.

Medical issues.

Frederiksborgers are early-maturing, long-lived, and sound reproductively and structurally well into their old age. The greatest concern facing the health of the Frederiksborger is inbreeding due to a limited gene pool. However, studbook inspections are intended to safeguard the breed against weakness; a horse with a known genetic disorder is not approved to breed.

The Frederiksborger is Denmark's oldest horse breed. They were tremendously popular throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods and were considered luxury items. Today, the breed is rare, but has a loyal following. Stallions and mares undergo studbook inspections before being allowed to breed. They are most often chestnut with white markings.

Le Frederiksborg () est une race de chevaux de selle originaire au Danemark. Ses origines sont anciennes puisque la race a été fondée au dans les haras royaux danois du même nom. La race est très réputée au pour la cavalerie et la haute école puis tombe progressivement dans l'oubli à la suite d'une exportation massive des meilleurs sujets et un engouement de plus en plus fort pour les chevaux de type Pur-sang. Sauvée par des éleveurs privés, avec une réorientation progressive vers l'attelage et la selle, la race reste confidentielle et ses effectifs sont faibles.


History.

The first flag of Nevada was created by Governor John Sparks and Col. Harry Day in 1905. It was based strongly on Nevada's natural resources of gold and silver. The blue of the flag was based directly on the color of the flag of the United States.  The current flag had its origin in a design contest announced in 1926. The winning design, by Louis Shellback III, was subjected to some revision in the state legislature, where there was disagreement between the two houses over the placement of the word "Nevada" on the flag. A compromise was reached, and in 1929 Governor Fred B. Balzar signed into law a bill adopting the new flag. In 1989, however, a legislative researcher discovered that the bill as sent to and signed by the Governor did not accurately reflect the 1929 legislative agreement. The flag used from 1929 until it was revised in 1991 displayed the letters of the word "Nevada" in a complete circle around the flag's single star, with the "N" of Nevada at the uppermost tip of the star indicating its "northern" position in the civil war, and with each of the other letters of the word Nevada located in the spaces between the remaining points of the star, displaying near each junction of the star's pentagonal center. Thus "Nevada" was spelt from the "N" at the top, radiating clockwise E, V, A, D, A, in the spaces between the star's points. A law enacted in 1991 directed that the word "Nevada" appear below the star and above the sagebrush sprays, thus producing the current design.

The flag of the U.S. state of Nevada consists of a cobalt blue field with a variant of the state's emblem in the upper left hand corner. The emblem contains a silver star (a reference to the state's nickname, The Silver State), below which appears the state's name. Above the star is a golden-yellow scroll with the words "Battle Born", one of the state's mottos (in reference to Nevada becoming a state during the American Civil War). Below the star and state name are two sprays of green sagebrush (the state flower) with yellow flowers.

Le drapeau du Nevada est le drapeau officiel de l'État américain du Nevada. Il se compose d'un fond bleu avec une étoile blanche dans le coin supérieur gauche, encerclée par le nom de l'état en bas, au-dessus se trouve un ruban avec l'inscription « Battle Born » (littéralement "né de la bataille"), indiquant que le Nevada est devenu un État pendant la Guerre de Sécession. En dessous de l'étoile il y a deux brins verts de Artemisia tridentata (la fleur du Nevada) avec des fleurs jaunes.


Background.

In February 1941, a force of commandos under Colonel Robert Laycock were sent to the Middle East to carry out raids in the eastern Mediterranean. This force became known as 'Layforce' after their commander and initially they were drawn from 'A' Troop from No. 3 Commando, No. 7 Commando, No. 8 (Guards) Commando and No. 11 (Scottish) Commando, with additional personnel being drawn from No. 50 Commando and No. 52 Commando upon their arrival in Egypt in March.  Laycock held the rank of a colonel (rather than brigadier) on the staff, because his command was not formally and organisationally a full brigade, with all its supporting elements; although, with a strength of over 2,000 men, it was equivalent. For reasons of security, the commandos were organised into four battalions and were renamed: No. 7 Commando became 'A' Battalion, No. 8 (Guards) became 'B' Battalion, No. 11 (Scottish) became 'C' Battalion, and No. 50 and No. 52 were amalgamated to form 'D' Battalion. Together they were to operate as a brigade of the British 6th Division, part of Middle East Command. Each battalion was placed under the command of a lieutenant colonel and consisted of: a headquarters; a signals section; a specialist equipment section equipped with a form of collapsible canoe known as a 'folbot'; and two commando companies with five troops, each troop consisting of 50 men.

Prelude.

Although upon Layforce's formation the commando concept was embryonic, when it embarked from the United Kingdom it had been intended that the force would be employed to carry out a campaign of harassment and dislocation against enemy forces in the Mediterranean. At the time that Layforce was raised, the British were largely in the ascendency in the theatre, having defeated the Italians; and it was felt that the commandos could be employed in the capture of the Greek island of Rhodes as part of Operation "Cordite". The arrival of the Afrika Korps in Cyrenaica and the invasions of Yugoslavia and Greece greatly changed the strategic outlook and by the time that Layforce arrived in Egypt in March, the situation had deteriorated. There was still a role for commando-style operations; and, arguably, a series of successful small-scale raids at vital points in the German rear areas might have forced Rommel to divert some of his offensive capability to defend his lines of communications. Circumstances undermined the Layforce concept almost as soon as it became established. Following the invasions of the Balkans, a large part of the British forces in North Africa were deployed to Greece in an attempt to turn back the German advance. Layforce was not sent, although the three infantry assault ships brought with them from the United Kingdom and which were invaluable in carrying out amphibious operations were taken from them due to a lack of resources in the theatre. This robbed the commandos of one of their most important capabilities; and, although later the "Glengyle" was released to Laycock's force, the other two ships were not, which severely constrained the forces that he could deploy. The British loss of air superiority severely hampered their ability to carry out landing operations, while the deployment of forces to Greece meant that the commandos became the only troops in general reserve; and as the strategic situation worsened it became increasingly difficult to employ them in the manner for which it had been intended, as they were called upon to reinforce the rest of the army elsewhere.

Operations.

Bardia.

In early April Laycock received orders to begin carrying out raids on the Afrika Korps' lines of communication along the North African coast. On 12 April they carried out a preliminary move to Alexandria, and three days later they received orders to carry out the Bardia raid and another on Bomba. 'A' and 'C' Battalions were dispatched to attack Bardia, while four Troops from 'B' Battalion embarked on a destroyer and headed for Bomba. The attacks had to be abandoned, however, due to high seas which would have made disembarking and re-embarking too dangerous.  A few days later it was decided to implement the attack on Bardia. This time, the raiders were drawn from 'A' Battalion (No. 7 Commando), and embarked upon "Glengyle". A number of naval support elements were attached, including three Royal Australian Navy destroyers (,, and ) and the anti-aircraft cruiser. Due to concerns about the force being attacked from the air, it was decided that the raid would take place under the cover of darkness; and, as a result, additional assets in the form of the submarine and a detachment from the Folboat Troop (later known as the Special Boat Section) under Roger Courtney were tasked with providing navigational assistance by marking both the anchorage and landing beach.  The raid was carried out on the night of 19/20 April 1941, but things went awry from the beginning. The submarine missed its rendezvous with the landing ship, having been strafed by an Allied aircraft shortly before. Problems with the release gear for the assault craft meant that some of the commando parties were late getting ashore, and another landed at the wrong beach.  The landings went ahead unopposed and the commandos moved to the various objectives that had been identified by intelligence. Little damage was done as a number of the targets proved not to exist or were not where they were thought to be. One party was able to damage a bridge, while another set a tyre dump on fire and blew up the breeches of a number of naval guns. Due to the delays during the landings and the need to depart while it was still dark, time ran out and the commandos were forced to withdraw. On the way back, an officer was shot when he failed to respond correctly when challenged by a sentry; while 67 men, not knowing that there were no assault craft at their beach due to the earlier error, were left behind and later captured.  Despite the lack of tangible success the raid was not a complete failure: the appearance of the commandos forced the Germans to divert the main part of an armoured brigade from Sollum in order to defend against further raids. Although there were still some elements of operational art that had to be refined, the raid demonstrated the strategic value that the commandos might have had within the theatre, if strategic imperatives and resource constraints had not served to derail the concept.

Crete.

On 6 April 1941 the Germans invaded Greece; less than a month later, on 28 April, the last Allied troops evacuated, having been unable to stop the German advance. On 20 May a German airborne assault on Crete began. The island fell to the Germans on 1 June; however, about a week before that there was still some hope that the tide could be turned. A decision was made to deploy the commandos from Layforce to the island to carry out raids on the German lines of communications with a view to either turning back the invasion or enabling an evacuation to take place.  On 25 May Layforce, consisting mainly of 'A' and 'D' Battalions with a detachment from 'B' Battalion ('C' Battalion (No. 11 (Scottish) Commando) had been sent to reinforce the garrison on Cyprus in case of a German invasion there), departed Alexandria and attempted to land on Crete. They were turned back by bad weather, however, and forced to return to Alexandria where they re-embarked upon the "Abdiel" to make another attempt. On the night of 26/27 May they landed in Suda Bay. Almost as soon as they landed, it was decided that they could not be employed in an offensive role and would instead be used to cover the withdrawal route towards Sphakia to the south. As such, upon landing they were ordered to leave all their heavy equipment, including radios and transport, behind. This was a role that they were poorly equipped for, though, as they were lacking in the indirect-fire-support weapons such as mortars or artillery and were armed only very lightly, mainly with rifles and a few Bren light machine guns.  Nevertheless, by sunrise on 27 May they had taken up a defensive position along the main road that led inland from Sphakia. From then until 31 May, they were engaged in carrying out a number of rearguard actions to enable the main body of troops to be taken off the beaches by the navy. Throughout the entire time they were almost constantly under aerial attack.  On 28 May the defenders began disengaging from the enemy and withdrawing along the pass through the central mountains that separated them from the port of Sphakia in the south. The defence of the pass fell to the Commandos along with two Australian infantry battalions (the 2/7th and 2/8th Battalions) and the 5th New Zealand Brigade. In the first two nights of the evacuation approximately 8,000 men were taken off, while on the third night, 30 May, covered by the Australians and Laycock's commandos, the New Zealanders were able to get off too.  For the commandos, the fighting was heaviest on that first day. During the height of the German attack on the pass, G Troop from 'A' Battalion (No. 7 Commando), under Lieutenant F. Nicholls, carried out a bayonet assault after a force of Germans took up a position on a hill on the Commando's left flank, from where they began to enfilade the entire position. Twice the Germans came at them and each time the attack was turned back by stubborn defence. Elsewhere that same day, however, Laycock's headquarters was ambushed; and in a rather confused action he and his brigade major, Freddie Graham, commandeered a tank in which they returned to the main body.  By 31 May the evacuation was drawing to a close and the commandos, running low on ammunition, rations and water, fell back towards Sphakia too. Laycock and some of his headquarters, including his intelligence officer Evelyn Waugh, managed to get out on the last ship to depart. The vast majority of the commandos were left behind on the island. Although some of them were later able to make their own way back to Egypt, by the end of the operation about 600 of the 800 commandos sent to Crete were listed as killed, missing, or wounded. Only 23 officers and 156 others managed to get off the island.

Syria.

On 8 June 1941 the Allies launched Operation "Exporter", the invasion of Vichy French controlled Syria and Lebanon. As a part of this operation, 'C' Battalion No. 11 (Scottish) Commando were tasked with seizing a crossing over the Litani River on 9 June ahead of the Allied advance. Embarking upon the "Glengyle" under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Richard R.N. Pedder (Highland Light Infantry), the plan called for the Commandos to land on the north bank of the river, near Kafr Bada, and attempt to seize the bridge that spanned the river there before the defenders could detonate the explosive charges that were believed to have been placed on the structure.  Upon arriving offshore, the raiding party waited until dawn to take to the water in order to conceal their approach as best as possible. The force was broken up into three detachments with Pedder commanding the centre, the second in command, Major Geoffrey Keyes commanding the right detachment and Captain George More commanding the left detachment. Although the landing was unopposed, the southern detachment under Keyes soon discovered that they had been put ashore by mistake on the wrong side of the river. As Pedder's detachment advanced on the target, the French colonial troops from the 22nd Algerian Tirailleurs that were defending the area opened fire and in the ensuing engagement Pedder was killed and a number of other officers in the centre detachment were wounded. Nevertheless, the detachment pressed on and, under the command of the Regimental Sergeant Major, they succeeded in securing one of the barracks buildings near the redoubt that formed the key to defence of the position. At the same time the left detachment under More captured a number of howitzers and field guns, as well as a number of prisoners, but as the initial surprise of the attack wore off, the defenders were able to organise themselves. The fighting became more intense, and as the French brought up mortars and artillery, a stalemate developed.  While this was going on, the right detachment under Keyes, having found itself on the wrong side of the river, made contact with an Australian battalion to the south which brought up a boat with which they could make a crossing. Due to the size of the boat, it had to make a number of trips before the detachment was on the northern side. Once that was complete Keyes was able to take command of the unit. After carrying out a reorganisation, he was able to launch an assault on the redoubt and by 13:00 they had captured it and secured the crossing.  Of the 406 men that landed, 130 were killed or wounded, including the commanding officer, in nearly 29 hours of fighting. Despite being outnumbered, and short on ammunition and food, they held their position long enough for the Australians to cross the river and continue with their advance to Beirut. A short time later, No. 11 Commando returned to garrison duty on Cyprus.

Tobruk.

Following their involvement in the rearguard actions on Crete, a detachment of five officers and 70 other ranks from No. 8 Commando were sent to Tobruk, which was at the time under siege. In June, as the Eighth Army launched Operation "Battleaxe" in an attempt to relieve the garrison from the east, it was decided that the commandos would carry out a raid on an Italian position that was dominating the forward positions of the Indian 18th Cavalry. The position, which was known as the Twin Pimples, consisted of two small hills that sat close together and from where the Italians were able to observe the Allied lines. For a number of days prior to carrying out the raid, the commandos carried out patrols with the Indians to become familiar with the ground and to practice moving over the terrain at night. Finally on the night of 17/18 July they attacked.  It was a raid that was typical of what the men had been trained for, but which they had rarely been able to conduct since arriving in the Middle East. It proved to be highly successful, being well-planned and executed, with a carefully laid deception plan. Under the cover of darkness the commandos managed to sneak up behind the hills, moving thorough the Italian forward positions unchallenged. In the end they advanced to within 30 yards before they were challenged, and when they finally were, the force rushed the Italian defenders and quickly overwhelmed them. They then withdrew from the position just before the defenders called in an artillery barrage on the position and returned to the garrison holding Tobruk. They suffered five casualties in the raid, one of whom later died of his wounds.

Disbandment.

By late July 1941 the operations that Layforce had undertaken had severely reduced its strength and under the circumstances reinforcements were unlikely. The operational difficulties that had been exposed during the Bardia raid, the changing strategic imperatives of the situation in the Middle East, and the failure of the high command to fully embrace the commando concept had largely served to make the force ineffective. As a result, the decision was made to disband Layforce. Many of the men went back to their previous regiments following the decision, while others chose to remain in the Middle East and subsequently joined other special forces units that were raised later.  Laycock travelled to London to discuss with the War Office his concerns about the way in which his force had been treated. Upon hearing about its disbandment later, British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill—a great advocate for the commandos—ordered the formation of the Middle East Commando, made up from the commandos that had remained in the theatre. When Laycock returned from England he found that, although the Middle East Commando had indeed been set up, there were very few men for him to command. What men there were, were formed into six troops. The embryonic Special Air Service, then known as L Detachment, were designated Nos. 1 and 2 Troops, while 60 men from the disbanded No. 11 (Scottish) Commando made up No. 3 Troop. The men of No. 51 Commando formed Nos. 4 and 5 Troops, and the Special Boat Section made up No. 6 Troop, under Roger Courtney. These designations, however, were largely ignored as the men referred to themselves by their old designations.  In November, as part of Operation "Crusader", an offensive aimed at relieving the besieged garrison at Tobruk, No. 3 Troop of Middle East Commando was involved in Operation "Flipper", an attempt to raid Erwin Rommel's headquarters in Libya and kill the German commander. The raid was part of a larger operation involving Stirling's L Detachment and the SBS to penetrate behind the German lines and cause disruption in the rear areas in order to assist in the general offensive. In the end, however, the raid failed and only two men—one of whom was Laycock himself—managed to return to British lines. The commander, Lt. Col. Geoffrey Keyes, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his leadership and bravery during the raid.  Although the Middle East Commando remained in existence after this—largely in an effort to placate Churchill—its personnel were mainly absorbed into larger formations. Many of these men joined the Special Air Service, which was expanded by Stirling with Churchill's approval. Laycock was promoted to brigadier and put in charge of the Special Service Brigade, Middle East Command, replacing Brigadier Charles Haydon.

Layforce was an ad hoc military formation of the British Army consisting of a number of commando units during the Second World War. Formed in February 1941 under the command of Colonel Robert Laycock, after whom the force was named, it consisted of approximately 2,000 men and served in the Middle Eastern theatre of operations. Initially tasked with conducting raiding operations to disrupt Axis lines of communication in the Mediterranean it was planned that they would take part in operations to capture the Greek island of Rhodes.

La brigade spéciale Layforce, du nom de son commandant le lieutenant-colonel Robert Laycock, était une unité britannique de commandos durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale.


Early life.

Patricia Helen Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. She attended Roehampton Sacred Heart Convent School in London and Maplehurst Sacred Heart Convent School in Bronxville, New York. In 1945, she received a bachelor of arts degree from Rosemont College, where she was active in both directing and acting in theatrical productions.  She was considered the most sophisticated, yet also the most introverted, of her parents' five daughters. Since childhood she had a fascination with travel and Hollywood. In time she would become a world traveler, so much so that as a young girl she was given assignments by the independent and foreign press to write of her travels. Her ongoing fascination with Hollywood was fueled by her father's stories and adventures there as a movie mogul heading RKO Pictures. After graduating from Rosemont College, she moved to Hollywood in hopes of becoming a movie producer and director like her father.  Her father apparently believed that she could do as much, once saying, "Pat is the one with head for business. She could really run this town if she put her mind to it."  She worked as a production assistant on patriotic and religious productions such as singer Kate Smith's radio program and Father Peyton's "Family Rosary Crusade". When she was 22 years old, Lawford was the producer of "I Love to Eat", on NBC-TV; it was the first cooking program on network television.

Personal life.

She met English actor Peter Lawford through her sister Eunice in the 1940s. They met again in 1949, and again in 1953. They courted briefly and officially announced their engagement in February 1954. They married on April 24, 1954, at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Thomas More in New York City, twelve days before her thirtieth birthday. They settled in Santa Monica, California, and often socialized with actress Judy Garland and her family. Garland gave birth to her son Joseph at the same hospital and on the same day Kennedy gave birth to her son Christopher.  The couple had four children, all born in Santa Monica, California: Christopher Lawford (1955-2018), Sydney Maleia Lawford (b. 1956), Victoria Francis Lawford (b. 1958), and Robin Elizabeth Lawford (b. 1961).  Despite the glamorous persona Lawford presented, their relationship suffered strains as early as their brief engagement. Lawford had difficulty adjusting to Kennedy's steadfast Catholicism and her family's larger-than-life image. Kennedy could not tolerate Lawford's heavy drinking, extramarital affairs, and gradual addiction to drugs. Shortly after her brother Jack's death, she filed for a legal separation, and the couple was officially divorced in February 1966. She never remarried.

Later years.

After her divorce, Kennedy battled alcoholism and suffered from tongue cancer. She worked with the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, as well as with the National Center on Addiction, and was a founder of the National Committee for the Literary Arts, for which she arranged a series of author lectures and scholarships.

Death.

Kennedy died of pneumonia at age of 82 on September 17, 2006 in her Manhattan home. She was buried in Southampton Cemetery.

Patricia Helen Kennedy Lawford (May 6, 1924 – September 17, 2006) was an American socialite and the sixth of nine children of Rose and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. She was a sister of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Senator Ted Kennedy. Pat wanted to be a film producer, a profession not readily open to young women in her time. She married English actor Peter Lawford in 1954, but they divorced in 1966.

Patricia Kennedy Lawford ( - ) est une personnalité américaine, membre de la célèbre Famille Kennedy et sœur cadette du président John Fitzgerald Kennedy.


The description of the subspecies "varonai".

The form "varonai" was described by in a Cuban publication, and further review is needed to determine its validity. Claims have been put forth relating to the obscurity or presumed non-existence of this original description. Buden and Olson ("Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology," 477 (1989)), not reviewing the description, drew attention to Bond, who cited "varonai" to a different Cuban publication.  "Olson received a reprint of this from Regalado. The only indication of the source on this is printed at the top of page 87: "Centre" [sic] "Agricola," No. 2 mayo-agosto/1981.' This is the citation given by Garrido et al. [serial "Poeyana"] (1986), whereas Bond [Ibid] (1982:12) cites the original description of "Torreornis inexpectata varonai" Regalado as 'Rev. Minist Educ. Sup. Rep. Cuba, 8, Nov. 2, 1981, pp. 87–106.,' that, apart from the initial page number being the same, would seem to be a different publication."  However, they failed to mention or cite Morton and Gonzalez Alonso ("Wilson Bulletin," 1982, vol. 94/4), who make reference to "varonai" and where "Centro Agricola" is cited. Dickinson ("Howard and Moore Complete Checklist," (2003)) also suggested that there was "an element of doubt" as to whether or not the description was published. However, copies of the serial dating to 1981 and earlier are currently deposited in the Smathers Library of the University of Florida.  The bird's song is described as "metallic high-pitched trill at intervals tziii-tzziii-tzziii... and quiet tic-tic-tic". In the dry seasons the Zapata population feeds on seeds and flowers primarily, as well as, insects, spiders, snails and their eggs. In the wet season the Zapata sparrow is known to eat small lizards. It is thought to breed between March and June.  Typical threats are wildfires in the dry season, drainage of wetlands, and destruction of habitat due to agriculture and tourism.

The Zapata sparrow ("Torreornis inexpectata") is a medium-sized grey and yellow bird that lives in the grasslands of the Zapata Swamp and elsewhere on the island of Cuba. Measuring about in length, it is grey and yellow overall with a dark reddish-brown crown and olive-grey upperparts.

Le Bruant de Zapata (Torreornis inexpectata) est une espèce de passereau de la famille Passerellidae. C'est la seule espèce du genre Torreornis.