Etymology.

The precise meaning of the name "Gangtok" is unclear, though the most popular meaning is "hill cut".

History.

Like the rest of Sikkim, not much is known about the early history of Gangtok. The earliest records date from the construction of the hermitic Gangtok monastery in 1716. Gangtok remained a small hamlet until the construction of the Enchey Monastery in 1840 made it a pilgrimage center. It became the capital of what was left of Sikkim after an English conquest in the mid-19th century in response to a hostage crisis. After the defeat of the Tibetans by the British, Gangtok became a major stopover in the trade between Tibet and British India at the end of the 19th century. Most of the roads and the telegraph in the area were built during this time.  In 1894, Thutob Namgyal, the Sikkimese monarch under British rule, shifted the capital from Tumlong to Gangtok, increasing the city's importance. A new grand palace along with other state buildings was built in the new capital. Following India's independence in 1947, Sikkim became a nation-state with Gangtok as its capital. Sikkim came under the suzerainty of India, with the condition that it would retain its independence, by the treaty signed between the Chogyal and the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. This pact gave the Indians control of external affairs on behalf of Sikkimese. Trade between India and Tibet continued to flourish through the Nathula and Jelepla passes, offshoots of the ancient Silk Road near Gangtok. These border passes were sealed after the Sino-Indian War in 1962, which deprived Gangtok of its trading business. The Nathula pass was finally opened for limited trade in 2006, fuelling hopes of economic boom.  In 1975, after years of political uncertainty and struggle, including riots, the monarchy was abrogated and Sikkim became India's twenty-second state, with Gangtok as its capital after a referendum. Gangtok has witnessed annual landslides, resulting in loss of life and damage to property. The largest disaster occurred in June 1997, when 38 were killed and hundreds of buildings were destroyed.

Geography.

Gangtok is located at (coordinates of Gangtok head post office). It is situated in the lower Himalayas at an elevation of. The town lies on one side of a hill, with "The Ridge", a promenade housing the Raj Bhawan, the governor's residence, at one end and the palace, situated at an altitude of about, at the other. The city is flanked on east and west by two streams, namely Roro Chu and Ranikhola, respectively. These two rivers divide the natural drainage into two parts, the eastern and western parts. Both the streams meet the Ranipul and flow south as the main Ranikhola before it joins the Teesta at Singtam. Most of the roads are steep, with the buildings built on compacted ground alongside them. Most of Sikkim, including Gangtok, is underlain by Precambrian rocks which contains foliated phyllites and schists; slopes are therefore prone to frequent landslides. Surface runoff of water by natural streams ("jhora") and man-made drains has contributed to the risk of landslides. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the town falls under seismic zone-IV (on a scale of I to V, in order of increasing seismic activity), near the convergent boundary of the Indian and the Eurasian tectonic plates and is subject to frequent earthquakes. The hills are nestled within higher peaks and the snow-clad Himalayan ranges tower over the town from the distance. Mount Kanchenjunga (8,598 m or 28,208 ft)—the world's third-highest peak—is visible to the west of the city. The existence of steep slopes, vulnerability to landslides, large forest cover and inadequate access to most areas have been a major impediment to the natural and balanced growth of the city.  There are densely forested regions around Gangtok, consisting of temperate, deciduous forests of poplar, birch, oak, and elm, as well as evergreen, coniferous trees of the wet alpine zone. Orchids are common, and rare varieties of orchids are featured in flower shows in the city. Bamboos are also abundant. In the lower reaches of the town, the vegetation gradually changes from alpine to temperate deciduous and subtropical. Flowers such as sunflower, marigold, poinsettia, and others bloom, especially in November and December.

Climate.

Gangtok features a monsoon-influenced subtropical highland climate (Köppen: "Cwb"). Because of its elevation and sheltered environment, Gangtok enjoys a mild, temperate climate all year round. Like most Himalayan towns, Gangtok has five seasons: summer, monsoons, autumn, winter, and spring. Temperatures range from an average maximum of in summer to an average minimum of in winter. Summers (lasting from late April to June) are mild, with maximum temperatures rarely crossing. The monsoon season from June to September is characterised by intense torrential rains often causing landslides that block Gangtok's land access to the rest of the country. Rainfall starts to rise from pre-monsoon in May, and peaks during the monsoon, with July recording the highest monthly average of. In winter temperature averages between and. Snowfall is rare, and in recent times, Gangtok has received snow only in 1990, 2004, 2005 and 2020. Temperatures below freezing are also rare. During this season the weather can be unstable, and change abruptly from bright sunshine and clear skies to heavy rain within a couple of hours. During spring and autumn the weather is generally sunny and mild. Owing to its elevation, Gangtok is often enveloped in fog during the monsoon and winter months.

Economy.

Gangtok is the main base for Sikkim tourism. Summer and spring seasons are the most popular tourist seasons. Many of Gangtok's residents are employed directly and indirectly in the tourism industry, with many residents owning and working in hotels and restaurants.  Ecotourism has emerged as an important economic activity in the region which includes trekking, mountaineering, river rafting and other nature oriented activities. An estimated 351,000 tourists visited Sikkim in 2007, generating revenue of about Rs 50 crores (Rs 500 millions).  The Nathula Pass, located about from Gangtok, used to be the primary route of the wool, fur and spice trade with Tibet and spurred economic growth for Gangtok till the mid-20th century. In 1962, after the border was closed during the Sino-Indian War, Gangtok fell into recession. The pass was reopened in 2006 and trade through the pass is expected to boost the economy of Gangtok. The Sikkim government is keen to open a Lhasa–Gangtok bus service via Nathula pass. Sikkim's mountainous terrain results in the lack of train or air links, limiting the area's potential for rapid industrial development. The government is the largest employer in the city, both directly and as contractors.  Gangtok's economy does not have a large manufacturing base, but has a thriving Cottage industry in watch-making, country-made alcohol and handicrafts. Among the handicrafts are the handmade paper industry made from various vegetable fibres or cotton rags. The main market in Gangtok provides many of the state's rural residents a place to offer their produce during the harvest seasons. The majority of the private business community is made up of Marwaris and Biharis. As part of Sikkim, Gangtok enjoys the status of being an income-tax free region as per the state's 1948 Income tax law. As Sikkim is a frontier state, the Indian army maintains a large presence in the vicinity of Gangtok. This leads to a population of semi-permanent residents who bring money into the local economy. The Sikkim government started India's first online lottery "Playwin" to boost government income, but this was later closed by a ruling from the Sikkim High Court.  Agriculture is a large employer in Sikkim and in 2003 the Sikkim state government declared the goal of converting the whole sector to organic production. The goal of 100% organic was achieved in 2016. This achievement offers new export opportunities to grow the agriculture sector, to achieve premium prices and new opportunities for agritourism.

Civic administration.

Gangtok is administered by the Gangtok Municipal Corporation (GMC) along with the various departments of the Government of Sikkim, particularly the Urban Development and Housing Department (UDHD) and the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED). These departments provide municipal functions such as garbage disposal, water supply, tax collection, license allotments, and civic infrastructure. An administrator appointed by the state government heads the UDHD.  As the headquarters of East Sikkim district, Gangtok houses the offices of the district collector, an administrator appointed by the Union Government of India. Gangtok is also the seat of the Sikkim High Court, which is India's smallest High Court in terms of area and population of jurisdiction. Gangtok does not have its own police commissionerate like other major cities in India. Instead, it comes under the jurisdiction of the state police, which is headed by a Director General of Police, although an Inspector General of Police oversees the town. Sikkim is known for its very low crime rate. Rongyek jail in Gangtok is Sikkim's only central jail.  Gangtok is within the Sikkim Lok Sabha constituency that elects a member to the Lok Sabha (Lower House) of the Indian Parliament. The city elects one member in the Sikkim state legislative assembly, the Vidhan Sabha. The Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) won both the parliamentary election in 2009 and the state assembly seat in the 2009 state assembly polls.

Utility services.

Electricity is supplied by the power department of the Government of Sikkim. Gangtok has a nearly uninterrupted electricity supply due to Sikkim's numerous hydroelectric power stations. The rural roads around Gangtok are maintained by the Border Roads Organisation, a division of the Indian army. Several roads in Gangtok are reported to be in a poor condition, whereas building construction activities continue almost unrestrained in this city lacking proper land infrastructure. Most households are supplied by the central water system maintained and operated by the PHED. The main source of PHED water supply is the Rateychu River, located about from the city, at an altitude of. Its water treatment plant is located at Selep. The river Rateychu is snow-fed and has perennial streams. Since there is no habitation in the catchment area except for a small army settlement, there is little environmental degradation and the water is of very good quality. 40 seasonal local springs are used by the Rural Management and Development Department of Sikkim Government to supply water to outlying rural areas.  Around 40% of the population has access to sewers. However, only the toilet waste is connected to the sewer while sullage is discharged into the drains. Without a proper sanitation system, the practice of disposing sewage through septic tanks and directly discharging into "Jhora"s and open drains is prevalent. The entire city drains into the two rivers, Ranikhola and Roro Chu, through numerous small streams and Jhoras. Ranikhola and Roro Chu rivers confluence with Teesta River, the major source of drinking water to the population downstream. The densely populated urban area of Gangtok does not have a combined drainage system to drain out the stormwater and wastewater from the buildings. The estimated solid waste generated in Gangtok city is approximately 45 tonnes. Only around 40% of this is collected by UDHD, while the remainder is indiscriminately thrown into "Jhora", streets and valleys. The collected waste is disposed in a dump located about from the city. There is no waste collection from inaccessible areas where vehicles cannot reach, nor does any system of collection of waste exist in the adjoining rural areas. The city is under a statewide ban on the use of polythene bags.

Transport.

Road.

Taxis are the most widely available public transport within Gangtok. Most of the residents stay within a few kilometres of the town centre and many have their own vehicles such as two-wheelers and cars. The share of personal vehicles and taxis combined is 98% of Gangtok's total vehicles, a high percentage when compared to other Indian cities. City buses comprise less than one percent of vehicles. Those travelling longer distances generally make use of share-jeeps, a kind of public taxis. Four wheel drives are used to easily navigate the steep slopes of the roads. The long cable car with three stops connects lower Gangtok suburbs with Sikkim Legislative assembly in central Gangtok and the upper suburbs.  Gangtok is connected to the rest of India by an all-weather metalled highway, National Highway 10, earlier known as National Highway 31A, which links Gangtok to Siliguri, located away in the neighbouring state of West Bengal. The highway also provides a link to the neighbouring hill station towns of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, which are the nearest urban areas. Regular jeep, van, and bus services link these towns to Gangtok. Gangtok is a linear city that has developed along the arterial roads, especially National Highway 31A. Most of the road length in Gangtok is of two lane undivided carriageway with footpath on one side of the road and drain on the other. The steep gradient of the different road stretches coupled with a spiral road configuration constrain the smooth flow of vehicular as well as pedestrian traffic.

Rail.

The nearest railhead connected to the rest of India is the station of New Jalpaiguri (NJP) in Siliguri, situated via NH10 away from Gangtok. Work has commenced for a broad gauge railway link from Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim that is planned for extension to Gangtok.

Air.

Pakyong Airport is a greenfield airport near Gangtok, the state capital of Sikkim, India. The airport, spread over, is located at Pakyong town about 35 km (22 mi) south of Gangtok. At 4500 ft, Pakyong Airport is one of the five highest airports in India. It is also the first greenfield airport to be constructed in the Northeastern Region of India, the 100th operational airport in India, and the only airport in the state of Sikkim.  The airport was inaugurated by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 September 2018 and the first commercial flight operations from the airport began on 4 October 2018 between Pakyong and Kolkata.

Demographics.

According to the Provisional Population Totals 2011 census of India, the population of Gangtok Municipal Corporation has been estimated to be 98,658. Males constituted 53% of the population and females 47%. The Gangtok subdivision of the East Sikkim district had a population of 281,293, Gangtok has an average literacy rate of 82.17%, higher than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 85.33%, and female literacy is 78.68. About 8% of Gangtok's population live in the nine notified slums and squatter settlements, all on Government land. More people live in areas that depict slum-like characteristics but have not been notified as slums yet because they have developed on private land. Of the total urban population of Sikkim, Gangtok Municipal Corporation has a share of 55.5%. Including Gangtok, East District has a share of 88% of the total urban population. The quality of life, the pace of development and availability of basic infrastructure and employment prospects has been the major cause for rapid migration to the city. With this migration, the urban services are under pressure, intensified by the lack of availability of suitable land for infrastructure development.  Ethnic Nepalis, who settled in the region during British rule, comprise the majority of Gangtok's residents. Lepchas, native to the land, and Bhutias also constitute a sizeable portion of the populace. Additionally, a large number of Tibetans have immigrated to the town. Immigrant resident communities not native to the region include the Marwaris, Biharis and Bengalis.  Hinduism and Buddhism are the most significant religions in Gangtok. Gangtok also has a sizeable Christian population and a small Muslim minority. The North East Presbyterian Church, Roman Catholic Church and Anjuman Mosque in Gangtok are places of worship for the religious minorities. The town has not been communalised, having never witnessed any sort of inter-religious strife in its history. Nepali is the most widely spoken language in Sikkim as well as Gangtok. English and Hindi being the official language of Sikkim and India respectively, are also widely spoken and understood in most of Sikkim, particularly in Gangtok. Other languages spoken in Gangtok include Bhutia (Sikkimese), Tibetan and Lepcha.

Culture.

Apart from the major religious festivals of Dashain, Tihar, Christmas, Holi etc., the diverse ethnic populace of the town celebrates several local festivals. The Lepchas and Bhutias celebrate new year in January, while Tibetans celebrate the new year ("Losar") with "Devil Dance" in January–February. The "Maghe sankranti", "Ram Navami" are some of the important Nepalese festivals. "Chotrul Duchen", "Buddha Jayanti", the birthday of the Dalai Lama, Loosong, Bhumchu, Saga Dawa, Lhabab Duechen and Drupka Teshi are some other festivals, some distinct to local culture and others shared with the rest of India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet.  A popular food in Gangtok is the "momo", a steamed dumpling containing pork, beef and vegetables cooked in a doughy wrapping and served with watery soup. Wai-Wai is a packaged snack consisting of noodles which are eaten either dry or in soup form. A form of noodle called "thukpa", served in soup form is also popular in Gangtok. Other noodle-based foods such as the chowmein, thenthuk, fakthu, gyathuk and wonton are available. Other traditional Sikkimese cuisine include shah-phaley (Sikkimese patties with spiced minced meat in a crisp samosa-like case) and Gack-ko soup. Restaurants offer a wide variety of traditional Indian, continental and Chinese cuisines to cater to the tourists. "Churpee", a kind of hard cheese made from cow's or yak's milk is sometimes chewed. "Chhang" is a local frothy millet beer traditionally served in bamboo tankards and drunk through bamboo or cane straws.  Football (soccer), cricket and archery are the most popular sports in Gangtok. The Paljor Stadium, which hosts football matches, is the sole sporting ground in the city. Thangka—a notable handicraft—is an elaborately hand-painted religious scroll in brilliant colours drawn on fabric hung in a monastery or a family altar and occasionally carried by monks in ceremonial processions. "Chhaams" are vividly costumed monastic dances performed on ceremonial and festive occasions, especially in the monasteries during the Tibetan new year.

City institutions.

A centre of Buddhist learning and culture, Gangtok's most notable Buddhist institutions are the Enchey monastery, the Do-drul Chorten stupa complex and the Rumtek Monastery. The Enchey monastery is the city's oldest monastery and is the seat of the Nyingma order. The two-hundred-year-old baroque monastery houses images of gods, goddesses, and other religious artifacts. In the month of January, the "Chaam", or masked dance, is performed with great fanfare. The Do-drul Chorten is a stupa which was constructed in 1945 by Trulshik Rimpoché, head of the Nyingma order of Tibetan Buddhism. Inside this stupa are complete set of relics, holy books, and "mantras". Surrounding the edifice are 108 "Mani Lhakor", or prayer wheels. The complex also houses a religious school.  The Rumtek Monastery on the outskirts of the town is one of Buddhism's most sacred monasteries. The monastery is the seat of the Kagyu order, one of the major Tibetan sects, and houses some of the world's most sacred and rare Tibetan Buddhist scriptures and religious objects in its reliquary. Constructed in the 1960s, the building is modeled after a similar monastery in Lhasa, Tibet. Rumtek was the focus of international media attention in 2000 after the seventeenth Karmapa, one of the four holiest lamas, fled Lhasa and sought refuge in the monastery.  The Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, better known as the Tibetology Museum, houses a huge collection of masks, Buddhist scriptures, statues, and tapestries. It has over two hundred Buddhist icons, and is a centre of study of Buddhist philosophy. The Thakurbari Temple, located in the heart of the city, established in 1935 on a prime piece of land donated by the then Maharaja of Sikkim, is one of the oldest and best-known Hindu temples in the city. The Ganesh Tok and the Hanuman Tok, dedicated to the Hindu gods Ganpati and Hanuman and housing important Hindu deities, are located in the upper reaches of the city. The Himalayan Zoological Park exhibits the fauna of the Himalayas in their natural habitats. The zoo features the Himalayan black bear, red pandas, the barking deer, the snow leopard, the leopard cat, Tibetan wolf, masked palm civet and the spotted deer, amongst the others. Jawaharlal Nehru Botanical Gardens, near Rumtek, houses many species of orchid and as many as fifty different species of tree, including many oaks.

Education.

Gangtok's schools are either run by the state government or by private and religious organizations. Schools mainly use English and Nepali as their medium of instruction. The schools are either affiliated with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education, Central Board of Secondary Education or the National Institute of Open Schooling. Notable schools include the Tashi Namgyal Academy, Paljor Namgyal Girls School, Holy Cross School, Taktse International School and Kendriya Vidyalaya.  Colleges conferring graduate degrees include Sikkim Government College, Sikkim Government Law College and Damber Singh College. Sikkim University established in 2007 is functioning in Gangtok; the university has been allotted land in neighbouring Yang Yang town for establishment of its own campus. The university offers a diverse range of courses and has a number of institutes affiliated to it. from here is the headquarters of the Sikkim Manipal University, which houses Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences and Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology. The Indira Gandhi National Open University also has a regional center in the city. There are other institutions offering diplomas in Buddhist literature, catering and other non-mainstream fields. District Institute of Education and Training and State Institute of Education conduct teacher training programs.

Media.

More than 50 newspapers are published in Sikkim. Multiple local Nepali and English newspapers are published, whereas regional and national Hindi and English newspapers, printed elsewhere in India, are also circulated. The English newspapers include "The Statesman" and "The Telegraph", which are printed in Siliguri; "The Hindu" and "The Times of India", which are printed in Kolkata. "Sikkim Herald", the newsweekly of the Government of Sikkim is published in thirteen languages of the state.  Gangtok has two cinema halls featuring Nepali, Hindi and English-language films. The town also has a public library.  The main service providers are "Sikkim Cable", "Nayuma", "Dish TV" and "Doordarshan". All India Radio has a local station in Gangtok, which transmits various programs of mass interest. Along that, other three fm stations Nine fm, Radio Misty and Red fm are the four radio stations in the city. BSNL, Vodafone, Jio and Airtel have the four largest cellular networks in the town with 4G services available within the city limits. There is a Doordarshan TV station in Gangtok.

Gangtok () is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest town of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the East Sikkim district. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayan range, at an elevation of. The town's population of 100,000 are from different ethnicities such as Bhutia, Lepchas and Indian Gorkhas. Within the higher peaks of the Himalaya and with a year-round mild temperate climate, Gangtok is at the centre of Sikkim's tourism industry.

Gángtók ("Gántók") je hlavní město indického státu Sikkim. Leží v pohoří Siválik v nadmořské výšce okolo 1650 metrů, protékají jím řeky Ranikhola a Roro Ču (přítoky Tisty). Náleží do distriktu Východní Sikkim. Má necelých sto tisíc obyvatel, mezi nimiž převažují Nepálci, Lepčové a Bhútiové.


Origins.

Stevens, known as Tom, was born in Castle Street, Berkhamsted, the son of William and Ann Stevens. His father was a labourer. Thomas had an older sister, Bridget, and younger, Jane. He went to Bourne Charity School, then became an apprentice grocer. His father emigrated to Missouri in 1868 but returned when his wife became ill and before the rest of the family could also go to America. Tom went with a half-brother but without his parents and sisters in 1871 and the rest of the family followed two years later. They moved to Denver and then to San Francisco, where he learned to ride a bicycle.  "Adventure Cyclist" described him as "a man of medium height, wearing an oversized blue flannel shirt over blue overalls, which were tucked into a pair of leggings at the knee [and] tanned'as a nut.'A mustache protruded from his face." It said: "A two-year stint in a Wyoming railroad mill ended when he was run out of town after it became known that he was importing British labourers in exchange for part of their salaries. He later found work in a Colorado mine where he came up with the idea of riding a bicycle across the country."

Around the World.

America.

In 1884 he acquired a black-enameled Columbia 50-inch 'Standard' penny-farthing with nickel-plated wheels, built by the Pope Manufacturing Company of Chicago. He packed his handlebar bag with socks, a spare shirt, a raincoat that doubled as tent and bedroll, and a pocket revolver (described as a "bull-dog revolver", perhaps a British Bull Dog revolver) and left San Francisco at 8 o'clock on 22 April 1884. From Sacramento, Stevens travelled through the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. En route, he was greeted by members of local bicycle clubs, most prominently the president of a chapter of the League of American Wheelmen in Laramie, Wyoming. He had never seen North America east of the Mississippi. He reached Boston after 3,700 miles on wagon trails, railways, canal towpaths and public roads, to complete the first transcontinental bicycle ride on 4 August 1884.  "Harper's" reported: "More than one-third of the route followed by Mr. Stevens had to be walked. Eighty-three and a half days of actual travel and twenty days' stoppage for wet weather, etc., made one hundred and three and a half days occupied in reaching Boston, the distance by wagon-road being about 3,700 miles. He followed the old California trail most of the way across the plains and mountains, astonishing the Indians, and meeting with many strange adventures."  Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who heard Stevens speak at the Massachusetts Bicycle Club, said: "He seemed like Jules Verne, telling his own wonderful performances, or like a contemporary Sinbad the Sailor. We found that modern mechanical invention, instead of disenchanting the universe, had really afforded the means of exploring its marvels the more surely. Instead of going round the world with a rifle, for the purpose of killing something – or with a bundle of tracts, in order to convert somebody – this bold youth simply went round the globe to see the people who were on it; and since he always had something to show them as interesting as anything that they could show him, he made his way among all nations."

Europe.

Stevens passed the winter in New York and contributed sketches of his transcontinental trip to "Outing", a cycling magazine. It made him a special correspondent and sent him on the steamer "City of Chicago" to Liverpool. He landed there 10 days later, on 9 April 1885. He left his bicycle in the underground storerooms of the London and North Western Railway and went by train to London to arrange his crossing of Europe and investigate conditions in Asia. He was helped by an interpreter at the Chinese embassy who discouraged him from riding across Upper Burma and China.  He returned to Liverpool on 30 April 1885 and on 4 May made a formal start to his ride at Edge Hill church, where several hundred people watched him leave. He wrote:  It began raining within minutes.  He rode, wearing a white military helmet through England, passing through Berkhamsted, where he had been born. He recorded that roads in England were better than in America. He took the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe to cross to France and continued through Germany, Austria, Hungary (where he picked up a temporary cycling companion with whom he shared no language), Slavonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Rumelia, Turkey.  In Constantinople he rested among people who had heard of America, refitted with spare spokes, tires and other parts and a better pistol (a.38 calibre Smith & Wesson), waited for reports of banditry to subside, and then pedalled off through Anatolia, Armenia, Kurdistan, Iraq and Iran, where he waited out the winter in Teheran as a guest of the Shah.

Afghanistan.

Having been refused permission to travel through Siberia, he set off on 10 March 1886 through Afghanistan although its borders were closed to foreigners and its guards had a fierce reputation. Upon entering the country, Stevens was arrested. As guards took him to his place of detainment, he entertained them with a demonstration of his bicycle, pedalling far ahead of them until an officer caught up on horse and had him wait for the on-foot soldiers to catch up.  He was kept in a villa where he was fed well and gifted new boots, and soap and biscuits imported from England. A fine horse was kept in the garden aside his quarters that me might enjoy looking at it.  Finally ejected from Afghanistan, Stevens was accompanied back to Persia. Again, he was allowed to speed ahead of his captors so long as he stopped and waited for them occasionally. Eventually, however, the soldiers grew nervous and disassembled his bicycle, strapping the pieces to a packhorse, which later laid upon the larger wheel, breaking many spokes, the most severe damage the penny-farthing experienced upon the trip. Afghan gunsmiths drilled new wholed and stretched new spokes. Some spokes remained subpar, though sufficient to complete the thousands of miles yet ahead.

Asia.

He took a Russian steamer across the Caspian to Baku; rail to Batoum; steamer to Constantinople and India. In the Red Sea his knowledge of mules was useful to the British Army. He cycled across India, noting that the weather was always hot and the Grand Trunk Road was excellent wheeling and free from bandits. Much of his description of life in India, however, suffers from being based on the opinions of experts rather than his own observations. Another steamer brought him from Calcutta to Hong Kong and southern China. He pedalled to eastern China, encountering great difficulty in asking directions in a language he couldn't pronounce. A Chinese official gave him refuge from rioters who were angry over a war with the French. From the coast he took a steamer to Japan, where he delighted in the calm of that country. The bicycle part of his journey around the world ends 17 December 1886, at Yokohama. His itinerary accounts "DISTANCE ACTUALLY WHEELED, ABOUT 13,500 MILES". Stevens returned by steamer to San Francisco, in January 1887.  Stevens' travels through Japan were reported in the "Jijishinpou" newspaper. Along the way, Stevens sent a series of letters to "Harper's Magazine" detailing his experiences and later collected those experiences into a two-volume book of 1,000 pages, "Around the World on a Bicycle", which is available in a single-volume paperback and publicly available at digital library projects. The price of an original has been estimated at between $US300 and $US400  The Pope Company preserved Stevens's bicycle until World War II, when it was donated to a scrap drive to support the war effort.

The search for Stanley.

The "New York World" asked Thomas in 1888 to join its search in East Africa for the explorer Henry Morton Stanley. Stanley had travelled up the Congo but a year and a half had passed without news. Stevens called it "a grand opportunity; the one chance, mayhap, of a lifetime, to spring into fame on the stage of African exploit. How would "I Found Stanley" look in the libraries with "I Found Livingstone"?"  Stevens left New York by ship on 5 January 1889. His instructions, he said, were:  Stevens led a six-month expedition, writing for the newspaper of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and hunting big game. He found Stanley's camp in a race with the rival "New York Herald" and wrote his book, "Scouting for Stanley in East Africa" It concluded:  Stevens then reported from Russia, sailed the rivers of Europe, and investigated miracles claimed by Indian ascetics. His conclusions that "the stories of travelers, from Marco Polo to the latest witness of Indian miracles...are quite true" were greeted with scepticism and his career faltered. A planned tour of London with his Indian photographs fell through.

Return to England.

Stevens returned to England around 1895 and married Frances Barnes (née Nation), widowed mother of the actresses Irene and Violet Vanbrugh. He became manager of the Garrick Theatre in London. He died in London of cancer of the bladder and was buried at St Marylebone Cemetery in East Finchley, London.  His publications also include:

Thomas Stevens (born 24 December 1854, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, died London, 24 January 1935) was the first person to circle the globe by bicycle. He rode a large-wheeled Ordinary, also known as a penny-farthing, from April 1884 to December 1886. He later searched for Henry Morton Stanley in Africa, investigated the claims of Indian ascetics and became manager of the Garrick Theatre in London.

Thomas Stevens (24. prosince 1854, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, Anglie – 24. ledna 1935, Londýn,) byl prvním člověkem, který na jízdním kole, konkrétně na vysokém kole značky Ordinary, dokončil jízdu kolem světa, na níž se vydal 22. dubna 1884, a kterou dokončil 17. prosince 1886. V pozdějších letech vedl pátrání po Henrym Mortonovi Stanleyovi v Africe, prováděl zkoumání tvrzení indických asketiků a nakonec se stal ředitelem londýnského divadla Garrick Theatre.


Early life.

Antonis was born in the suburb of Bankstown, Sydney of Greek descent.  He first received media attention in Australia when he was 10 years old when he won a football talent competition on Channel 7 television show Today Tonight, winning a trip to Madrid to make a training skills DVD with David Beckham. Frank Farina, former Socceroos coach and judge of the Channel 7 competition said: "His juggling is very good, he pulled out a squash ball and started juggling that and didn't drop it once, he is very impressive." He also obtained a sponsorship from Adidas because of his exceptional juggling skills.  Former Australian international Alex Tobin described him as "one of the most outstanding young players that I have seen" and "of immense talent without a doubt." He has also been touted as natural successor to Tim Cahill and Brett Holman in the Australian national team.  In addition to holding an Australian passport, Antonis also holds a Greek passport.

Early career.

Antonis began his football career at St Christopher's Soccer Club in Bankstown before moving to Sydney Olympic and Marconi.  Antonis signed a five-year contract with Everton at just 14 years of age, but his contract was terminated due to FFA's implementation of FIFA's rule prohibiting the overseas transfers of players under the age of 18.

Club career.

Sydney FC.

On 22 June 2010, he made his debut for Sydney in a friendly game against Macarthur Rams at Campbelltown Stadium. Then on 5 July 2010, he signed 3-year contract by Sydney FC. Antonis made his competitive debut for Sydney FC against Wellington Phoenix on 11 September 2010. The game ended with a 2-1 loss. Antonis scored his first goal for Sydney FC on 16 February 2013 against Adelaide United.  After rupturing a muscle in his thigh, Antonis was out for 9 months which denied his move overseas. He finally returned to the senior squad in February 2014, the game of his return against Perth Glory, he scored his first goal since returning from injury.

Speculation and trials.

After signing with Sydney FC, he was linked with possible moves to Everton, Inter Milan and Marseille. Much of the speculation was based on his close personal ties with Everton and Socceroo star Tim Cahill, and further sparked by a 25-minute cameo in a friendly match for Sydney FC against Everton at ANZ Stadium on 10 July 2010. In February 2012, Antonis reiterated his commitment to Sydney FC and the remainder of his three-year contract, stating that he is more than happy being at the club.  In April 2012, Antonis travelled to Germany to trial with Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach as a potential replacement for Roman Neustadter.  At the conclusion of the 2012-13 season, Antonis was approached by Dutch club FC Utrecht for a trial only for Sydney FC to accept bid from Italian Serie A club, Parma. He signed a four-year deal after Parma triggered a release clause in his two-year deal. The deal never went through and Antonis to Sydney FC.

PAOK.

The 21-year-old returned to Sydney from the Sky Blues' preseason camp on the Gold Coast with News Corp reporting a $500,000 bid for the midfielder from PAOK FC.  Greek sources stated that Antonis spoke at length with former Danish international and Technical Director of PAOK Frank Arnesen on the prospects of completing the move to his ancestral country and the planning of PAOK's title aspirations that season.  Terry Antonis made his debut for PAOK in the Greek Cup match away to Chania on 3 December 2015, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute for Eyal Golasa. He made his Greek Super League debut on 21 February 2016 away to Panathinaikos as an 84th-minute replacement for Giannis Mystakidis.

Loan to Veria.

After struggling to find a break into the starting team at PAOK, Antonis was loaned out to battling Greek Super League outfit Veria FC which is coached by Georgios Georgiadis, a former PAOK favourite as a player and interim coach. Antonis moved on a one-year loan to Veria on 31 August 2016. Terry Antonis made his first appearance for Veria on 16 October 2016 as an 88th-minute substitute for Sisinio González Martínez in the Greek Super League match away to Atromitos.

Loan to Western Sydney Wanderers.

After facing the same problems at Veria in struggling to break into a starting position like at PAOK, he was returned straight back to them and was immediately loaned back to Australia to former Asian Champions Western Sydney Wanderers FC for the remainder of the 2016–17 A-League season. Terry Antonis made his debut for the Western Sydney Wanderers in the away A-League match against the Brisbane Roar on 28 January 2017 as a 77th minute substitute for Mitch Nichols.

VVV-Venlo.

After his successful short-lived loan spell with WSW, on his return to Greece, PAOK made it clear to Antonis that he wasn't in their future plans and eventually on 8 July 2017, it was announced Antonis had moved to the Netherlands and signed with Eredivisie side VVV-Venlo on a two-year deal.

Melbourne Victory.

Following his release by VVV-Venlo, on 3 January 2018, Antonis signed a 2.5 year contract with A-League club Melbourne Victory.

International career.

Antonis was part of the final squad for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup but he did not get any actual game time during the tournament. On 23 December 2015, Antonis was included to Australia U-23 national team manager's Aurelio Vidmar selections for Olympic Games 2016 qualifiers, which took place in Doha.

Lefteris "Terry" Antonis (; born 26 November 1993) is an Australian association football player who plays for the Suwon Samsung Bluewings as a midfielder.

Eleftherios "Terry" Antonis (řecky Eλευθέριος Αντώνης; * 26. listopadu 1993, Bankstown, Austrálie) je australský fotbalový záložník a reprezentant řeckého původu, který působí v klubu PAOK FC.


History.

Biometric devices have been used by man over a long period of time. Non-automated biometric devices have used us since 500 BC as it was seen that Babylonian business transactions were recorded on clay tablets that included fingerprints. Automation in Biometric devices was first seen in the 1960s. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the 1960s, introduced the Indentimat, which started checking for fingerprints to maintain criminal records. The first systems measured the shape of the hand and the length of the fingers. Although discontinued in the 1980s, the system set a precedent for future Biometric Devices.

Subgroups.

The characteristic of the human body are used to access information by the users. According to these characteristics, the sub-divided groups are:

Uses.

Workplace.

Biometrics are being used to establish better and accessible records of the hours employee's work. With the increase in "Buddy Punching" (a case where employees clocked out coworkers and fraudulently inflated their work hours) employers have looked towards new technology like fingerprint recognition to reduce such fraud. Additionally, employers are also faced with the task of proper collection of data such as entry and exit times. Biometric devices make for largely fool proof and reliable ways of enabling to collect data as employees have to be present to enter biometric details which are unique to them.

Immigration.

As the demand for air travel grows and more people travel, modern day airports have to implement technology in such a way that there are no long queues. Biometrics are being implemented in more and more airports as they enable quick recognition of passengers and hence lead to lower volume of people standing in queue's. One such example is of the Dubai International Airport which plans to make immigration counters a relic of the past as they implement IRIS on the move technology (IOM) which should help the seamless departures and arrivals of passengers at the airport.

Handheld and personal devices.

Fingerprint sensors can be found on mobile devices. The fingerprint sensor is used to unlock the device and authorize actions, like money and file transfers, for example. It can be used to prevent a device from being used by an unauthorized person.

Present day biometric devices.

Personal signature verification systems.

This is one of the most highly recognised and acceptable biometrics in corporate surroundings. This verification has been taken one step further by capturing the signature while taking into account many parameters revolving around this like the pressure applied while signing, the speed of the hand movement and the angle made between the surface and the pen used to make the signature. This system also has the ability to learn from users as signature styles vary for the same user. Hence by taking a sample of data, this system is able to increase its own accuracy.

Iris recognition system.

Iris recognition involves the device scanning the retina of the subject and then cross referencing that to data stored on the database. It is one of the most secure forms of authentication, as while fingerprints can be left behind on surfaces, iris prints are extremely hard to be stolen. Iris recognition is widely applied by organisations dealing with the masses, one being the Aadhaar identification carried out by the Government of India to keep records of its population. The reason for this is that iris recognition makes use of iris prints of humans, which hardly evolve during one's lifetime and are extremely stable.

Problems with present day biometric devices.

Biometric spoofing.

Biometric spoofing is a method of fooling a biometric identification management system, where a counterfeit mold is presented in front of the biometric scanner. This counterfeit mold emulates the unique biometric attributes of an individual so as to confuse the system between the artifact and the real biological target and gain access to sensitive data/materials.  One such high-profile case of Biometric spoofing came to the limelight when it was found that German Defence Minister, Ursula von der Leyen's fingerprint had been successfully replicated by Chaos Computer Club. The group used high quality camera lenses and shot images from 6 feet away. They used a professional finger software and mapped the contours of the Ministers thumbprint. Although progress has been made to stop spoofing. Using the principle of pulse oximetry- the liveliness of the test subject is taken into account by measure of blood oxygenation and the heart rate. This reduces attacks like the ones mentioned above, although these methods aren't commercially applicable as costs of implementation are high. This reduces their real world application and hence makes biometrics insecure until these methods are commercially viable.

Accuracy.

Accuracy is a major issue with biometric recognition. Passwords are still extremely popular, because a password is static in nature, while biometric data can be subject to change (such as one's voice becoming heavier due to puberty, or an accident to the face, which could lead to improper reading of facial scan data). When testing voice recognition as a substitute to PIN-based systems, Barclays reported that their voice recognition system is 95 percent accurate. This statistic means that many of its customers' voices might still not be recognised even when correct. This uncertainty revolving around the system could lead to slower adoption of biometric devices, continuing the reliance of traditional password-based methods.

Future.

Researchers are targeting the drawbacks of present-day biometric devices and developing to reduce problems like biometric spoofing and inaccurate intake of data. Technologies which are being developed are-

A biometric device is a security identification and authentication device. Such devices use automated methods of verifying or recognising the identity of a living person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic. These characteristics include fingerprints, facial images, iris and voice recognition.

Biometrické zařízení zajišťuje bezpečenostní identifikaci a autentizaci. Takové zařízení měří jedinečné biologické charakteristiky subjektu (biometrie), například otisky prstů, obraz obličeje, snímek sítnice nebo lidský hlas, pro jednoznačné určení identity. Ty poskytují řízení přístupu k bezpečnostně citlivým oblastem jako jsou například počítačové systémy nebo jiné oblasti s omezeným přístupem.


Early life.

Born in Dysart, Fife, Scotland, Stuart was the youngest of nine children. His father William Stuart was a retired army captain serving as a customs officer. Stuart's parents died in his early teens and so he came under the care of relatives. He graduated from the Scottish Naval and Military Academy as a civil engineer before emigrating to Australia at the age of 23. Stuart was a slight, delicately built young man, standing about 5' 6" tall (168 cm) and weighing less than 9 stone (about 54 kg).  In January 1839 he arrived aboard the barque "Indus" at the three-year-old frontier colony of South Australia, at that time little more than a single crowded outpost of tents and dirt-floored wooden huts. Stuart soon found employment with the colony's Surveyor-General, working in the semi-arid scrub of the newly settled districts marking out blocks for settlers and miners.

Charles Sturt's protégé.

The Surveyor General of South Australia, Stuart's superior officer, was the famous explorer Captain Charles Sturt, who had already solved the mystery of the inland-flowing rivers of New South Wales, in the process reaching and naming the Darling River, travelling the full length of the Murrumbidgee, and tracing the Murray to the sea. Stuart remained with the Survey Department until 1842 and then worked in the Mount Lofty Ranges as a private surveyor and grazier.  In 1844 Captain Sturt embarked on an expedition into the arid interior, and engaged Stuart as a draughtsman. Sturt's expedition penetrated further north than any previous attempt, at the cost of great hardship. Instead of the hoped-for inland sea, the explorers found two of the most fearsome arid areas anywhere in Australia: Sturt Stony Desert and the Simpson Desert. After his second-in-command James Poole died of scurvy, Sturt appointed Stuart in his place. Both men survived to return to Adelaide, but suffered greatly from scurvy. Sturt never really recovered and soon returned to England; the younger Stuart was unable to work or travel for a year.  Stuart returned to his trade as a private surveyor, spending more and more time in remote areas, and moving to Port Lincoln for several years before moving again to the northern Flinders Ranges where he worked for the wealthy pastoralists William Finke, James Chambers, and John Chambers, exploring, prospecting for minerals, and surveying pastoral leases.  It is claimed that he was a member of Stephen Hack's expedition of May and June 1857 looking for grazing country north and west of Streaky Bay and a private expedition to Lake Gairdner with Anthony Forster (later to become editor of "The Register") in 1858.

First expedition.

On 14 May 1858, with financial backing from William Finke, Stuart set off on the first of his six major expeditions. His aim was to find minerals, a land which the Aborigines called Wingillpinin, and new grazing land in the north-west of South Australia. Stuart set out from John Chambers' station Oratunga, taking as companions two of Chambers' employees (a white man named Forster and a young Aboriginal man), half a dozen horses, and rations for six weeks, all provided by Chambers, a pocket compass and a watch. From the Flinders Ranges, Stuart travelled west, passing to the south of Lake Torrens, then north along the western edge of Lake Torrens. He found an isolated chain of semi-permanent waterholes which he named Chambers' Creek (now called Stuart Creek). It later became crucially important as a staging post for expeditions to the arid centre of the continent.  Continuing to the north-west, Stuart reached the vicinity of Coober Pedy (not realising that there was a fantastically rich opal field underfoot) before shortage of provisions and lack of feed for the horses forced him to turn towards the sea 500 kilometres to the south. A difficult journey along the edge of the Great Victorian Desert brought Stuart to Miller's Water (near present-day Ceduna) and from there back to civilisation after four months and 2,400 kilometres. This expedition made Stuart's reputation and brought him the award of a gold watch from the Royal Geographical Society.

Second expedition.

Soon after his return from his first expedition, Stuart applied for a pastoral lease at Chambers Creek. Considered the discoverer, he was already entitled to a lease, but wanted rights to a larger area. As a bargaining chip in the negotiation process, Stuart offered to do the surveying himself and in April 1859 he set off with a party of three men and 15 horses. This gained for him the firm support and confidence of the Governor of South Australia, Richard Graves MacDonnell, himself a keen explorer. The Chambers Creek survey complete, Stuart explored to the north again, aiming to reach the border between South Australia and what is now the Northern Territory (at that time still a part of New South Wales). Although still well supplied with rations and not short of water, the expedition turned back about 100 kilometres short of the border because they had no more horse shoes (an essential item in that arid, stony region). Importantly, however, Stuart had found another reliable water supply for future attempts: a "beautiful spring" fed by the then-unknown Great Artesian Basin. He wrote: He returned in July with reports of "wonderful country"an extraordinary description of territory that is now barely able to support a few cattle.

Third expedition.

At around this time in Australia, exploration fever was reaching a peak. Several factors contributed. At "home" (as Australians still called Britain), public attention was focussed on the search for the source of the Nile, with the competing expeditions of Speke, Burton and Baker all contending for the honour of discovery. Like the interior of Africa, inland Australia remained an embarrassing blank area on the map and although the long-held dreams of a fertile inland sea had faded, there was an intense desire to see the continent crossed. This was the apex of the age of heroic exploration.  Additionally, there was the factor of the telegraph. Invented only a few decades earlier, the technology had matured rapidly and a global network of undersea and overland cables was taking shape. The line from England had already reached India and plans were being made to extend it to the major population centres of Australia in Victoria and New South Wales. Several of the mainland colonies were competing to host the Australian terminus of the telegraph: Western Australia and New South Wales proposed long undersea cables; South Australia proposed employing the shortest possible undersea cable and bringing the telegraph ashore in Australia's Top End. From there it would run overland for 3,000 kilometres south to Adelaide. The difficulty was obvious: the proposed route was not only remote and (so far as European settlers were concerned) uninhabited, it was simply a vast blank space on the map.  At much the same time, the wealthy rival colony Victoria was preparing the biggest and most lavishly equipped expedition in Australia's history; the Victorian Exploring Expedition, to be led by Robert O'Hara Burke. The South Australian government offered a reward of £2,000 to any person able to cross the continent through the centre and discover a suitable route for the telegraph from Adelaide to the north coast. Stuart's friends and sponsors, James & John Chambers and Finke, asked the government to put up £1,000 to equip an expedition to be led by Stuart. The South Australian government, however, ignored Stuart and instead sponsored an expedition led by Alexander Tolmer, which failed miserably, failing to travel beyond the settled districts.  Meanwhile, Stuart was entangled with other problems. Some of the land he had claimed and surveyed in the Chambers Creek district on his second trip had in fact already been explored and claimed by people attracted to the area by reports of Stuart's first trip. Stuart needed to return to Chambers Creek to re-survey his claims. He left Adelaide with a small party in August 1859. Having surveyed his own claim and several new claims on behalf of his sponsors, Stuart spent the spring and summer exploring the area west of Lake Eyre, finding several more artesian springs. Working through the severe heat of summer, Stuart experienced trouble with his eyes because of the glare, and after some time enduring half rations, all but one of his men refused to leave camp. Contemptuously, Stuart sent them home.  William Kekwick, his remaining companion, was reputed for his steadfastness and would stay with Stuart for the remainder of his career, usually organising the supply bases while Stuart scouted ahead. Kekwick went south for provisions and more men, returning with 13 horses, rations for three months, however only a single man; Benjamin Head.

Fourth expedition.

On 2 March 1860 the three men left Chambers Creek, aiming to find the centre of Australia. As always, Stuart travelled light, taking only as much as could be carried on a few pack horses. The secret to successful exploration, in Stuart's view, was to travel fast and avoid the delays and complications that always attend a large supply train.  By the time they reached Neales River (near present-day Oodnadatta) unexpected rain had ruined most of their stores and they continued on half-rations – something that Head, who had started the trip as a big man and weighed twice as much as Stuart, found difficult to adjust to. Water became more and more difficult to find and scurvy began to set in. Stuart's right eye was failing. Nevertheless, they found a major watercourse in early April which Stuart named the Finke River, and followed it north-west over the South Australian border to the MacDonnell Ranges, which he named after Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell, Governor of South Australia, on 12 April 1860. On 22 April 1860, according to Stuart's calculations, the party reached the centre of the continent. Stuart wrote: In fact the mountain became known as Central Mount Stuart after Stuart himself, not his mentor Sturt, and geographers no longer regard it as the true centre of Australia. Nevertheless, it retains its symbolic value.  The explorers were unable to progress much further north. Lack of water forced them back again and again. Stuart's scurvy was growing worse, Head was now half his original weight, and only Kekwick remained capable of heavy work. Then, on 22 May, it rained. With water now available nearly every day, they made good mileage and by mid June were able to reach a riverbed which Stuart named Tennant's Creek (now the site of the township Tennant Creek). The worst of the country was now behind them and they were only about 800 km from the coast.  From here, however, progress seemed impossible. A four-day excursion to the north-west found no water at all and they had to retreat. After giving the horses a week to recover, they tried heading due north. They found another creek (later named Attack Creek) but were blocked by heavy scrub. Unlike those further south, the Warramunga Aboriginal people were hostile. On 26 June they raided the explorers' camp. One stole the shoeing rasp (which Stuart was able to recover); others threw boomerangs at the horses and set fire to the grass around the camp. Like Sturt (and unlike some of the other Australian explorers) Stuart generally got on well with the Aboriginal people he encountered but he was unable to negotiate with this group and considered it unsafe to continue. That night, with even the indefatigable Kekwick complaining of weakness, the explorers abandoned their attempt to reach the north coast and reluctantly turned south.  It was 2,400 kilometres to Adelaide, all three men had scurvy, supplies were very short, the horses were in poor condition, and the country was drying out. Nevertheless, the party pressed on at Stuart's customary rapid pace. They reached the safety of Chambers Creek in August. A few days earlier, on 20 August 1860, the larger Burke and Wills expedition had finally left Melbourne.  Stuart reached Adelaide in October 1860. Although he had narrowly failed to cross the continent, his achievement in determining the centre was immense, ranked with John Hanning Speke's discovery of the source of the Nile. Stuart had solved that which he attempted with Capt. Sturt 15 years earlier – the riddle of the nature of the centre of the great Australian continent. He was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's Patron's Medal – becoming only the second person to receive both the Patron's Medal and a gold watch (the other was Dr Livingstone). Belatedly, even the South Australian government started to recognise Stuart's abilities, and was honoured with a public breakfast at White's Rooms in Adelaide.

Fifth expedition.

James Chambers put forward a plan for Stuart and Kekwick to return north with a government-provided armed guard to see them past the difficulties at Attack Creek. The government prevaricated and quibbled about cost, personnel, and ultimate control of the expedition, but eventually agreed to contribute ten armed men and £2,500; and put Stuart in operational command. (In contrast, the Burke and Wills expedition had cost £9,000 to establish. That expedition had already reached the Darling River in northern New South Wales.)  Stuart left Chambers Creek with a dozen men, 49 horses and rations for 30 weeks on 1 January 1861. It was high summer in South Australia and the worst possible time for travelling. Stuart was soon forced to send two men and the five weakest horses back. The heat was extreme and the party often delayed while Stuart searched for fodder and water. They were still in northern South Australia on 11 February, the day that Burke and Wills reached the Gulf of Carpentaria. With difficulty, Stuart's party had reached the MacDonnell Ranges when heavy rains came, allowing them to press on northwards at a much better pace. They reached Attack Creek on 24 April 1861, this time finding no sign of the hostile tribesmen that had blocked the last attempt. At about the same time – and unknown to Stuart's party, of course – Burke, Wills and King reached their base camp at Cooper Creek only to find it deserted. The fourth member of their party, Charles Gray, was already dead; Wills and then Burke perished within a few more days, leaving only King to be sustained by the kindness of the local Aborigines.  Stuart still planned to march north-west towards the known region of Victoria River, which had been mapped by Augustus Charles Gregory in 1858. Leaving the main expedition to rest, he led a series of small parties in that direction, but was blocked by thick scrub and a complete lack of water. After a great deal of effort, the scouting parties managed to find another watering point further north and Stuart moved the main body up. Over the next two weeks Stuart made three more attempts to find a practicable route over the plains to the north-west, but without success. Finally, he decided to try heading due north. He was rewarded with the discovery of "a splendid sheet of water" wide and long which he named "Newcastle Water, after his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, Secretary for the Colonies".  For five more weeks the party camped at Newcastle Waters while Stuart tried to find a north-westward route to take them to Victoria River and thus the sea. The local Aboriginal people were unfriendly, lighting fires around the camp and spooking the horses, and Kekwick had to mount an armed sentry with instructions to fire warning shots whenever they came near. Provisions were running short and both men and horses were in poor condition. Finally, on 1 July 1861, exactly six months after they had left Chambers Creek, Stuart ordered a return. In the relative cool of the southern winter, they travelled fast, reaching the settled regions of South Australia in September.  When Stuart learned that Burke and Wills were missing he immediately offered to join the search for them. The first rescue teams had left some time earlier, however, and soon returned with the news that no less than 7 members of the largest and best-equipped expedition in Australia's history had died.  Public exploration mania had cooled considerably. Although Stuart had now led five expeditions into the arid centre of Australia and crossed all but the last few hundred miles of the continent without losing a man, the South Australian government was initially reluctant to back a sixth effort. However, the prospect of establishing a route for an overland telegraph line became a significant factor. The government finally provided £2,000 at the last minute on condition that Stuart took a scientist with him. James & John Chambers along with William Finke remained the principal private backers.

Sixth expedition.

Stuart's sixth expedition was officially launched at James Chambers' home at North Adelaide on 23 October 1861. Their first stop, before they had reached the town of Gawler, was forced by trouble with their horses. One reared, striking Stuart's temple with its hoof, rendering him unconscious then trampling his right hand, dislocating two joints and tearing flesh and nail from the first finger. At first it was feared amputation would be necessary, but Stuart and Waterhouse (the naturalist, appointed by the Government) were able to catch up with the rest of the party at Moolooloo (one of the Chambers brothers' stations) five weeks later. However they did not leave Chambers Creek until 8 January 1862. One of the party, John W. Woodforde, son of the City Coroner, was dismissed by Stuart for insubordination, having refused to be parted with his greatcoat, and, contrary to Stuart's instructions, for keeping a personal diary. The party comprised 10 men and 71 horses. Benjamin Head, veteran of the fourth expedition, was still too ill to accompany them. The party made good time to Newcastle Waters, reaching that point on 5 April, and experiencing conflict with the local Aborigines once again. Here they rested for a week before Stuart led a scouting party north, finding good water for the main body to move up to. The next stage, however, proved more difficult. Five times Stuart and his scouts tried to find a route towards Victoria River without success. Finally he headed north rather than north-west and was rewarded with a series of small waterholes leading to Daly Waters, about 150 kilometres north of Newcastle Waters.  Stuart made one last attempt to reach Victoria River before continuing north into the Top End. On 9 June he reached a territory that had already been mapped and on 1 July the Mary River. Finally, on 24 July 1862 Stuart reached the beach at Chambers Bay (east of present-day Darwin). He and his Companions had crossed the continent from south to north.  The ten successful members of the party are listed here with their age on the day of the expedition's departure from North Adelaide.

Character and last days.

By current standards Stuart was physically a small, wiry man, but in fact he was of average build of western European men at that time. He had a full dark beard and sometimes wore moleskin trousers and an unfashionable long-tailed blue coat with brass buttons and cabbage-tree hat. He was able to endure privations and possessed a fierce determination which overrode any thought of personal comfort. He was not particularly gregarious; he had some good friends but seemed happiest away from crowds. He was a Freemason, being initiated in the Lodge of Truth, Adelaide, No. 649 on 1 August 1859, and retained membership until shortly before he returned to England. Another reference has him being inducted into the Lodge of Truth, North Adelaide, No. 933, on 5 April 1860.  Many years of hard conditions combined with malnutrition, scurvy, trauchoma and other illnesses had rendered him practically blind, in pain and in such poor health that he spent some (900 km) of the return journey of his last expedition (1861–1862) being carried on a litter between two horses. He never recovered his health. He prepared his diaries for publication and on 23 April 1864 left aboard "Indus" for Britain, initially to visit his sister in Scotland. He died in London two years later, and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery.

Recognition.

While Stuart was responsible for naming a large number of topographical features for friends, backers and fellow explorers, he was sparing in the use of his own name. Central Mount Stuart, which he reckoned to be the geographical centre of Australia, he had designated "Central Mount Sturt" to honour his friend Charles Sturt. Places named after Stuart include:  A statue by James White honouring Stuart can be found in Victoria Square, Adelaide, while in Darwin, both a statue and a monument celebrate his achievements.  In March 2010, the McDouall Stuart Lodge of Freemasons in Alice Springs commissioned a 4-metre high ferro-concrete statue of Stuart for donation to the Alice Springs Town Council to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Stuart's fourth expedition, during which he had reached the centre of the continent. The statue is located in a heritage precinct near the old hospital.  In England, Stuart is commemorated by a blue plaque on the house where he lived and died in Kensington, London, No. 9 Campden Hill Square. In 2011 his grave in Kensal Green cemetery, London, was refurbished to its former glory. In Dysart, Scotland there is also a blue plaque on the house where he was born. The property, John McDouall Stuart View, is available as a holiday let, restored and owned by Fife Historic Buildings Trust.

Associates.

Among those who shared Stuart's travails were:

John McDouall Stuart (7 September 18155 June 1866), often referred to as simply "McDouall Stuart", was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers.

John McDouall Stuart (7. září 1815 – 5. června 1866) byl skotský objevitel a jeden z nejvýznamnějších průzkumníků australského vnitrozemí.


History.

Bottom-fermented beer started to appear in the Cologne region in the early 17th century and its popularity threatened the business interest of the brewers of Cologne, who only produced top-fermented beers. In response, the town council of Cologne in 1603 forced young brewers to swear an oath ""that you prepare your beer, as of old, from good malt, good cereals, and good hops, well-boiled, and that you pitch it with top-yeast, and by no means with bottom yeast."" In 1676 and again in 1698, the council again tried to legislate against bottom-fermented beer by forbidding its sale within the city walls. However, by 1750, Cologne brewers were competing against bottom-fermented beers by using a hybridized brewing process, first brewing their beer using top-fermenting yeast but then aging the beer in cold cellars like bottom-fermented beer.  This type of beer was first called in 1918 to describe the beer that had been brewed by the Sünner brewery since 1906, developed from the similar but cloudier variant (for "white" in the Kölsch dialect). By the start of World War II Cologne had more than forty breweries; only two were left by the end of the war.  In 1946, many of the breweries managed to re-establish themselves. In the 1940s and 1950s, still could not match the sales of bottom-fermented beer, but in the 1960s the style began to rise in popularity in the Cologne beer market. From a production of only in 1960, Cologne's beer production peaked at in 1980. In the 21st century, price increases and changing drinking habits caused economic hardship for many of the traditional corner bars () and smaller breweries, and by 2005 output had declined to.  In 1986, the brewers of Cologne agreed upon the Kölsch Konvention, which set out the brewing process that had to be used, and restricted the use of "Kölsch" to breweries that were within of Köln. In 1997, became a product with protected geographical indication (PGI), expanding this protection to the entire EU. Currently thirteen breweries in and around Cologne meet this convention, anchored by,, and "". Smaller brewers include and.  Exports of to the United States, Russia, China and Brazil are increasing. Exported does not need to strictly comply with the Provisional German Beer Law, the current implementation of the Reinheitsgebot.

Serving.

In Cologne, is traditionally served in a tall, thin, cylindrical glass called a ("pole" or "rod"). The server, called a, carries eleven or twelve "Stangen" in a "Kranz" ("wreath"), a circular tray resembling a crown or wreath. Instead of waiting for the drinker to order a refill, the "Köbes" immediately replaces an empty "Stange" with a full one, marking a tick on the coaster under the "Stange". If the drinker does not want another refill, he or she places the coaster on top of the empty "Stange" and pays for the number of beers marked on the coaster.

Wieß.

"Wieß" (transliterated as, for "white" in the Kölsch dialect) is a cloudy, unfiltered version of "Kölsch".

Outside the EU.

As noted above, is a product which has a protected geographical indication (PGI) in the EU. This protection is not recognized outside the jurisdiction of the EU, and many breweries outside the EU produce and market beer as "kolsch" or "kölsch" with varying degrees of authenticity.

Since 1997, the term "Kölsch" has had a protected geographical indication (PGI) within the European Union, indicating a beer that is made within of the city of Cologne and brewed according to the "Kölsch Konvention" as defined by the members of the Cologne Brewery Association (Kölner Brauerei-Verband). Kölsch is one of the most strictly defined beer styles in Germany: according to the Konvention, it is a pale, highly attenuated, hoppy, bright (i.e. filtered and not cloudy) top-fermenting beer, and must be brewed according to the.

Kölsch je typ piva, který se vaří v Kolíně nad Rýnem a okolí. Pivo prochází svrchním kvašením a dozrává v chladnu. Má bledou, slámově žlutou barvu a jemnou ovocnou chuť a vůni. Obsahuje méně chmele než jiná německá piva. Obsah alkoholu se pohybuje podle výrobce mezi 4,4 % a 5,2 %.


Development.

In its first two years of production, the R6 was criticised by the press for the R4-derived engine's lack of power in the heavier R6. In part because of this, the R6 had worse fuel economy than the larger and outdated Renault 8, which had a bigger engine and better performance as well.

1970.

However, an additional version of the R6 using the 1.1 litre Cléon-Fonte engine (an engine used in the Renault 8 since 1962) was unveiled at the 1970 Paris Motor Show and was widely regarded as a big improvement. Power was increased from. The smaller engined model continued to be available until June 1979; it was sold as the Renault 6 L after August 1977.  The new car also had higher equipment levels as well a new gearbox, cooling system and front disc brakes. The new cooling system necessitated a supplementary grille beneath the original one (in the place occupied by the license plate of the R6-850), while the disc brakes meant slightly redesigned rims with openings in them. For the Spanish market the R6 was made available with a engine, due to vehicles over receiving higher taxation under Spanish regulations. Later, a engine was fitted, and from 1981 the unit appeared in the 6 GTL. The one-litre version has DIN and this engine was also fitted to Spanish-built 5s and 7s.<ref name="TAM80/81"></ref> The R6 continued to be built in Spain until 1986, with a total of 328,000 cars built there.  In 1973 the Teilhol/ACL-built 6 Rodéo appeared. This was an open, plastic-bodied utility vehicle in the style of the Citroën Méhari, which was sold by selected Renault dealers. A four-wheel-drive system by Sinpar was also available to the Rodéo as well as the 6 saloon.

Facelift.

In June 1973 the R6 was revamped with square headlights, new rear lights, a plastic grille, and new bumpers. The front indicator lights also moved from between the bumper and the headlights to the bumper itself. The mechanicals remained untouched. In 1978 there was a very mild facelift, with a black grille being the most obvious change.

International production.

Production and sales in France and most of Europe ended in 1980 with no direct successor, but in Spain and Argentina the car was still produced and sold until 1986. Renault had launched a similar-sized hatchback, the Renault 14, in 1976 - aiming it directly at Volkswagen's highly successful new Golf, which popularised the hatchback bodystyle on cars of this size more than any other model in Europe at this time.  In Argentina, where the car was built by IKA-Renault, the original design (without the additional grille seen on European 1100s) continued until it received a facelift in 1978 along with a name change to "6 GTL". This meant a one-piece black grille, including the headlight surrounds, as well as black bumpers. Meanwhile, a 1397 cc engine (M1400) with SAE was fitted to the Argentinian-made cars. From 1969 until 1978 it was fitted with an 1118 cc version of the Cléon engine (M1100) with. In total, 80,869 R6s were built in Argentina, with the pre-facelift model accounting for 57,534 (71 percent) of the total.  In Colombia the car was discontinued in 1984, when the Renault 9 started production.

The Renault 6 is a C-segment small family car produced by the French automaker Renault between 1968 and 1986. The Renault 6 (R6) was launched at the 1968 Paris Motor Show, and was intended to be an upmarket alternative to the Renault 4 that would compete with the Citroën Ami 6 and the recently launched Citroën Dyane. It used a similar dashboard-mounted gear-lever and over-the-engine linkage to that used in the Renault 4 and the small Citroëns with which it competed. The R6 used the R4 platform as well as its engine and was technically near-identical, but its hatchback body was larger and more modern. Visually it resembled the larger Renault 16.

Renault 6 je automobil nižší střední třídy, který vyráběla francouzská automobilka Renault v letech 1968 až 1980. Uvedený byl v roce 1968 na Paris Motor Show a byl určen jako luxusnější alternativa k modelu Renault 4, který měl konkurovat modelům Citroën Ami 6 a Citroën Dyane. Používal platformu R4 i jeho 845 cm3 motor a technicky s ním byl téměř identický, ale jeho karoserie typu hatchback byla delší a modernější. Vizuálně se podobal modelu R16.


Coat of arms.

In 1529 is registered by the King Ferdinand I of Habsburg, the family crest and is granted the noble predicate "z "Velišova"". It is composed as follows: Blue shield - in the shield are three small yellow finials with weathervanes - two of finials are crossed up and third is through them vertically overturned. On the shield is tournament helmet - on helmet are hanging yellow and blue blankets. Above this all are three small finials with weathervanes.

Veliš village.

The first mention of Veliš dates back to 1143 during the reign of Vladislav II of Bohemia, when the bishop of Prague, Jan I, bought by Benes son of Marco two plots in Velis and donated them to the Strahov Monastery, where he had previously abbot. The country's history is closely connected with the history of the castle. The castle ruins are on Veliš hill above the village Velis. During its existence many were the owners: John of Luxembourg, the family of Vartemberks, Albrecht von Wallenstein, George of Bohemia and the family of Schlick. Since 1500 there have been over a hundred years kept the Basel Compacts. In the late 16th century, the owner William Trcka Lipa has performed the work to complete the castle. The castle besieged by the Swedes during the Thirty Years' War but without success. By imperial order, the castle was demolished in 1658 to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy troops, but previously had now fallen into disuse. Although they were already considerably damaged the castle ruins, the greatest destruction occurred in the 19th century due to a basalt quarry, which was active in the early years of the 17th century.  To get an idea the castle of Velis, we must rely on the images and paintings of the era. According to one of the drawings the main tower of the castle was covered with a gable roof with battlements, and was located about half of the castle. They were also two buildings completed two smaller towers, one of which was attached to the eastern chapel. To the north was the construction of a tunnel and various loopholes. The access road to the western gate was protected by palisades. Only small remnants of the walls of the ramparts, towers and palaces remain of the castle, which is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.  "It came from Thuringia (Germany). He was a monk in the Strahov monastery, where he was renowned for his piety. For this reason, the Princess Elizabeth chose him as pastor of the court.

History.

After the death of Bishop Frederick was selected by the jury as the new Bishop of Prague, with the support of the Duchess and her husband Frederick. He was appointed bishop probably in Mainz, the Archbishop of Mainz Christian von Buch. During his short pontificate occurred Lateran Council III. He died in 1182."

Bibliography.

Czech Language German language Archives in Latin - Czech

Velišovští z Velišova is a Czech noble family. The family counted politicians, military and ecclesiastical among its numbers. It is related to many other noble families, including Markwartinger, Přemyslid, Waldstein and Wartenberg. All nobles from Wartenberg were laid, except the branch Welischensi, since the race was Weseli the direct lineage of Wartenberg.

Velišovští z Velišova je český šlechtický rod. V průběhu staletí některé větve rodiny dosáhly vyšších titulů, zatímco jiné zůstaly rytířskými.


Career.

Richard Schmidt rowed for "Ruderverein Treviris 1921" in Trier, Germany. At the junior level, he won two medals at the World Rowing Junior Championships in 2004 and 2005. In 2007, he rowed in the men's World Rowing U23 Championships in Glasgow in the coxless four together with Sebastian Schmidt, Fokke Beckman and Kristof Wilke in which they won a gold medal. During Autumn of 2007, the team managed to take home second place at the European Rowing Championships in Poznań after taking a long break from the sport.  In 2008, Schmidt rowed with Fokke Beckman at the World Cup opener in Munich in the coxless pair and at the end of the season was nominated to row for the German eight in the U23 World Championship, in which the team placed fourth. During this time, the positioning of the German eight boat was reorganised prior to the 2008 Olympic Games, Schmidt was nominated as a substitute for Beijing. He then moved on to the semi-finals with Marco Neumann, Gregor Hauffe, and in the coxless four as Filip Adamski and were ill. The newly composed team had surprisingly reached the finale, however, Neumann was then replaced with Jochen Urban. The boat finished in 6th place.  In the new Olympic cycle, the coxless four formed the core of the newly founded German eight, with which Schmidt won his first international title at the 2009 World Rowing Championships. In 2010, he rowed in the champion coxless pair for the first time with Kristof Wilke. The German eight in which he firmly established himself as a rower, rowed in the European Championships in September and then the World Championships in November. With Schmidt on board, the German team won their third consecutive title at the 2011 World Championships. At the 2012 Olympics in London, the favoured German eight won the gold medal with a boat consisting of Filip Adamski,, Eric Johannesen, Maximilian Reinelt, Richard Schmidt, Lukas Müller, Florian Mennigen, Kristof Wilke and coxswain Martin Sauer.  After the success at the Olympics, Richard Schmidt continued his career in rowing and remained a fixed part of the German eight who are now noted as strong, permanent rivals against the British Rowing team. During the years 2013 to 2015, the German team was able to win gold each year consecutively at the European Rowing Championships. In the World Championship finals, for the last three years the eight from the United Kingdom was faster and took three gold medals, the German eight placed second each year. So the German eight with Schmidt on board, therefore, won three consecutive silver medals.

Richard Schmidt (born 23 May 1987) is a German rower. He was part of the team that won the gold medal in the men's eight competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he and the team also have won three World Rowing Championship titles and also four European Rowing Championship titles.

Richard Schmidt (* 23. května 1987, Trier) je německý veslař. Na olympijských hrách 2012 v Londýně získal zlatou medaili na osmě.


Club career.

Bastia.

Kamano made his professional debut with Bastia on 9 August 2014 in a 3–3 home draw against Marseille, replacing Christopher Maboulou for the last 8 minutes. His first goal came on 20 December, putting Bastia ahead in an eventual 1–1 draw at Caen. He finished his first season with four goals in 24 games, and was sent off on 9 May 2015, in the first half of a 1–0 win at Rennes.  At the start of the following season, Kamano received two straight red cards in losses at Saint-Étienne and Lyon. He scored three goals, all in home and away 2–1 wins over Rennes; his brace at Roazhon Park in the final game on 14 May 2016, he ensured the 10th place for the Corsicans.

Bordeaux.

In July 2016, Kamano signed a four-year contract with Bordeaux, after previous trials with AIK, Villarreal, and Rennes and interest from Guingamp. The reported transfer was €2.5 million plus bonuses. On 26 October 2016, he made his Bordeaux debut in a 2–0 Coupe de la Ligue win against Championnat National side Châteauroux, also scoring his debut goal in the same game. On 30 October 2016, he made his league debut in a 0–0 away draw against Olympique Marseille. On 6 November 2016, he scored his first league goal for Bordeaux in a 2–1 home win against Lorient. Later that month, on 27 November 2016, he scored his first brace for Bordeaux in a 3–2 home win against Dijon, his first, a header in the 88th minute from a corner from Jaroslav Plašil and his second, a tap-in in the third minute of added time from a deflection off Jérémy Ménez's shot. In his debut season, Kamano got 17 starts in 30 games selected, providing four assists and netting in six goals. Playing largely on the left-hand side, he helped Bordeaux finish 6th in the league and qualify for next season's UEFA Europa League.  Kamano made his Europa League debut on 27 July 2017, playing full 90 minutes in both the legs of the third qualifying round match against Videoton. Bordeaux won the first leg 2–1 but bowed out of the tournament in the second leg after losing on away goals. At the end of the 2017–18 Ligue 1 season, he helped Bordeaux to another 6th place finish, scoring 8 goals in the process, and thus qualifying for another Europa League season. On 2 August 2018, he scored his debut goal in the Europa League in the 2nd leg of the second qualifying round match against Ventspils. On 20 September 2018, he made his Europa League group stage debut in a 1–0 away loss against Slavia Prague. On 8 November 2018, he scored his first goal in the Europa League group stage in a 1–1 home draw against Zenit Saint Petersburg. Bordeaux was not able to advance to the next round after finishing third in the group stage.

International career.

On 6 July 2013, Kamano made his national team debut in a 3–1 2014 CHAN qualification defeat against Mali. On 30 December 2014, he was named in coach Michel Dussuyer's 23-man squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. He made two late substitute appearances for the quarter-finalists. On 12 June 2015, he scored his first ever senior international goal in a 2–1 defeat against Swaziland in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.  On 13 June 2019, he was named in Guinea's 23-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. On 22 June 2019, he scored in his sides 2–2 opening match draw against Madagascar. Kamano scored from the spot, after Ibrahima Traoré was fouled inside the box, he was later subbed out in the 78th minute for Fodé Koita.

François Kamano (born 1 May 1996) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a striker for French club Bordeaux and the Guinea national team.

François Kamano (* 2. května 1996) je guinejský fotbalový útočník a reprezentant, v současnosti působí ve francouzském klubu SC Bastia.


Location.

Such a crater must be located at high latitude (close to a pole) and be on a body with very small axial tilt.  On the Moon, permanent shadow can exist at latitudes as low as 58°; approximately 50 permanently shadowed regions exist in the 58°- 65° latitude range for both lunar hemispheres.

Conditions inside craters.

Craters of eternal darkness might be advantageous for space exploration and colonization, as they could potentially preserve sources of water ice. For example, Rozhdestvenskiy crater shows indirect indications of water ice in its interior.  In some cases, peaks of eternal light are located nearby, that could be advantageous for solar power generation. For example, there are 2 peaks near Shackleton Crater that are illuminated a combined ~94% of a lunar year.  Permanently shadowed regions have a stable surface temperature. On the Moon, the temperature hovers somewhere at or below 50 degrees Kelvin. Another temperatures estimate is 25 K to 70 K. On the other hand, computer simulations show that powerful solar storms can charge up the soil in permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles, and may possibly produce "sparks" that could vaporize and melt the soil.

List.

Below is an incomplete list of such craters:  The Moon:  Mercury:  Many such craters also exist on Ceres.

Future missions.

Lunar Flashlight is planned to launch in 2021 as a secondary payload for the Artemis 1 mission.  A camera called ShadowCam is being built that will be able to take high-resolution images of Permanently Shadowed Regions. It is a NASA instrument that will fly on board the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) in 2022.

A crater of eternal darkness is a depression on a body in the Solar System within which lies a point that is always in darkness.

Kráter věčné tmy (anglicky "crater of eternal darkness") je označení pro bod na povrchu tělesa sluneční soustavy (obecně ale i mimo ni), který je díky své poloze a rotaci tělesa neustále odstíněn slunečnímu svitu.


Early years.

Batten began to play guitar at the age of 8 when her father bought her a "killer red and blue electric". Her early influences were the Beatles, B.B. King, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Jeff Beck.  Batten started to experiment with the two-handed tapping technique in 1978, having been inspired by Guitar Institute of Technology classmate Steve Lynch (who ended up playing for the band Autograph) while attending the Musicians Institute.

Musical career.

Batten has appeared on recordings such as Jeff Beck's "Who Else!" (1999) and "You Had It Coming" (2001), and Michael Sembello's "Heavy Weather" (1992). Her music video appearances include Jeff Beck ("Live in Japan"), Michael Jackson's "Moonwalker" ("Come Together"), Natalie Cole ("Wild Women Do"), and Sara Hickman's "Take It Like a Man" and Miguel Mateos's "Obsesión".  Batten played lead guitar and rhythm guitar on Michael Jackson's "Bad" (1987–1989), "Dangerous" (1992) and "HIStory" (1996–1997) world tours, and on his 1993 Super Bowl halftime performance, which was aired to over 1.3 billion people in 86 countries, the largest audience in television history for a live music performance. She was in Jeff Beck's touring band for three years starting in 1999, and appears on his albums "Who Else!" (1999) and "You Had It Coming".  Between 1994 and 1999 Batten worked with Dave Rodgers and Domino as featured guitarist on the Eurobeat songs "Sun City", "Music For the People", "Fly" and "Woa Woa Woa." Her writing and performing is uncredited on several other songs under the A-Beat C label. Her live Eurobeat appearances were limited to playing at the Tokyo Dome with Rodgers and Queen of Hearts.  In 2010 she recorded a solo for the song "Bad Girls" by Polish singer Doda.  She partnered on a melodic rock CD with vocalist Marc Scherer and producer Jim Peterik (formerly of Survivor) which was released in September 2017, entitled "BattleZone". All songs were written or co-written by Peterik. Special guests included saxophonist Mindi Abair and Chicago vocalist Bill Champlain. The song "Space and Time" was co-written with John Wetton, and "All Roads" was co-written with Sammy Hagar. Batten made videos for all songs on her YouTube channel.

Other work.

Batten has written two music books: "Two Hand Rock" (published by Hal Leonard) and "The Transcribed Guitar Solos of Peter Sprague" (self-published).  She also has three DVD/download courses available from TruefireDOTcom: "Rock Sauce for Lead Guitar", "Rock Sauce for Rhythm Guitar", and "50 Ultra Intervallic Guitar Licks You Must Know".  In 2019 she worked with Rodrigo Teaser, Michael Jackson's cover with the biggest tribute in the world, on special tribute edition: "10 years without Michael Jackson". This show had Jennifer and Lavelle Smith Jr, Michael Jackson choreographer and dancer for more than 20 years. In March/April 2020, she and Lavelle will do the first USA Tour of Rodrigo Teaser, with special shows that will be on places like Apollo Theater and Chevalier Theatre, the tickets are online and selling fast!

Awards and recognition.

In November 2011, Batten was featured on BBC Radio 4's series "Joan Armatrading's More Guitar Favourites".  Her work was given the "She Rocks Icon Award" in January 2016.

Personal life.

Batten enjoys creating stained and fused glass art, and steampunk art.

Jennifer Batten (born November 29, 1957) is an American guitarist who has worked as a session musician and solo artist. From 1987 to 1997 she played in all three of Michael Jackson's world tours, and from 1999 to 2001 she toured and recorded with Jeff Beck. She has released three studio albums: her 1992 debut, "Above Below and Beyond" (produced by former Stevie Wonder guitarist Michael Sembello), the worldbeat-influenced "" in 1997, and "Whatever", which was released on CD and DVD in Japan in September 2007 and worldwide in April 2008.

Jennifer Battenová (* 29. listopadu 1957, Montour Falls) je americká kytaristka. Vyvinula vlastní originální techniku obouručního tappingu, je vyhledávanou studiovou hudebnicí doprovázející umělce různých žánrů.