Agustín Fernando Muñoz, Duke of Riánsares

Early life.

Muñoz was born at Tarancón, in the Province of Cuenca, in New Castile. His father was the keeper of an "estanco" or office for the sale of the tobacco of the government monopoly.

Marriage to the Regent of Spain.

Muñoz enlisted in the royal bodyguard, and attracted the attention of Maria Christina. According to one account, he distinguished himself by stopping the runaway horses of her carriage; according to another, he only picked up her handkerchief; a third and scandalous explanation of his fortune has been given. Maria Christina's husband, King Ferdinand VII of Spain died on 28 September 1833, and on 29 December 1833 she and Muñoz were privately married.  If Maria Christina had officially made the marriage public, she would have forfeited the regency; but her relations with Muñoz were perfectly well known within the Spanish court. When on 13 August 1836 the soldiers on duty at the summer palace La Granja mutinied and forced the regent to grant a constitution, it was generally, though wrongly, believed that they overcame her reluctance by seizing Muñoz, whom they called her "guapo", or fancy man, and threatening to shoot him. In 1840 Maria Christina found her position intolerable; she renounced the regency and left Spain with Muñoz. In 1842 Maria Christina purchased the Château de Malmaison as their residence. In 1843, on the overthrow of General Baldomero Espartero they returned to Spain.

Public recognition of the marriage.

In 1844, Muñoz's stepdaughter Queen Isabella II was declared to be of age. On 23 June 1844 Isabella gave to Muñoz the title "duque de Riánsares", to which was attached a Grandeza de España; the title came from the river Ánsares, near Muñoz's birthplace in Tarancón. On 12 October 1844 Isabella gave official consent to the marriage between her mother and Muñoz, and it was publicly performed. In 1846 Isabella made Muñoz a Knight of the Golden Fleece. On 30 May 1846 she gave Muñoz a second title, "marqués de San Agustín". Muñoz was made a Captain General, the highest rank in the Spanish Army. In 1847 Louis Philippe, King of the French, gave Muñoz the title "duc de Montmorot"; he also invested Muñoz with the Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur.  Until driven from Spain with Maria Christina by the revolutionary movement of 1854, Muñoz is credibly reported to have applied himself to making a large fortune out of railway concessions and by judicious stock exchange speculations. Of political ambitions he had none. All authorities agree that he was not only good-looking, but kind and well-bred.  Muñoz died in 1873, five years before his wife, at his home, Villa Mon Désir in Le Havre, near Sainte-Adresse, in France. His remains are buried in the crypt of the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Riánsares, several kilometres outside Tarancón.

Children.

Muñoz and Maria Christina had several children:

Don Agustin Fernando Muñoz y Sánchez (4 May 180811 September 1873), Duke of Riánsares and Montmorot, Marquis of San Agustín, was the second and morganatic husband of Maria Christina, Regent of Spain.

Agustín Fernando Muñoz y Sánchez, Herzog von Riánsares (* 4. Mai 1808 in Tarancón, Provinz Cuenca; † 11. September 1873 in Le Havre) war der morganatische Ehemann von Maria Christina von Neapel-Sizilien, der Königin und Regentin Spaniens.


Biography.

At age 13, Prangenberg was studying to be a gold- and silversmith. After three and a half years of study and a year working for a small company, he attended a "werkkunstchule" (school for crafts) until the age of 23. Once he was finished with his studies he began working at a glass factory, making designs for wine glasses and vases. At this point, he began dabbling with his own independent drawing and painting. From the age of 26 to 29, he continued freelancing at various glass factories and became a father of two. At this time, he also became critically engaged with the surrounding art world in Cologne and Düsseldorf, visiting galleries and museums frequently and seeing art by leading visionaries such as Jasper Johns and Yves Klein. By the age of 30, Prangenberg felt confident that he was making art that was uniquely his. On a whim, he contacted museum curator Johannes Cladders who began championing his work immediately and connecting him to other curators and dealers. By the 1980s, he becomes a full-time artist, moving organically between watercolor, sculpture, and oil painting, sometimes simultaneously. Throughout his artistic career he always kept a fine eye on material and sought to experiment with how his own hand could change the surface of an abstract painting or bulbous sculpture.

Artistic Style.

Prangenberg's initial forays into art making were in the 1980s and his interests were focused primarily on color and structure. His medium of choice was watercolor on paper or canvas and his easel of choice was in fact not an easel at all, but the floor. Only after he was done would he stretch the painting over stretcher bars. He continued using this process until 2007. According to John Yau, these early paintings were "planes of luminous color inhabited by geometric forms, which seem to have been scooped out." Yau may have made use of the words "scooped out" because Prangenberg was using an impasto technique, applying the paint in a thick manner that allowed the surfaces to be cut into.  By the 1990s, Prangenberg was also working with sculpture. Annegret Laabs, writing in 2008 in the artist's monograph, "Norbert Prangenberg: Venustas et Fortuna," explained: “Up to the mid-1990s, the focus of his ceramic works was to be found in large, bulbous, hollow forms, usually lying on their side, which were characterized by the independent movement of the glass flux that surrounds the terracotta when it is fired, and which ultimately merges light and darkness, the visible and the imaginary, or, indeed, keeps them apart.” However, after the mid-1990s, Pragnenberg rotates these large scale, monumental sculptures so that they are standing, mimicking a standing human body. Yet, they maintain the same spontaneous, playful, organic nature of the ones resting on their sides. His sculptures also show an interest in materiality; in certain parts of the clay forms you can see where his fingerprints have affected the surface by way of holes, notches, and incisions.  In the 2000s, he switched up his painting and sculpting techniques substantially. In 2007, he stopped painting with watercolors directly on the floor and focused, instead, on oil painting on easels. These abstract paintings tended to have distinct areas within the composition. This way of making a painting within a painting informed his later ceramic sculptures. In 2012, he was awarded a six-week residency in the ceramics studio at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers. Though he was battling liver cancer at the time, he churned out many small scale works. Writing about the works in 2014, Roberta Smith noted that his "small, ebullient tabletop works convey a wildness typical of kindergarteners." Going one step further, Ben La Rocco wrote of the pieces: “One finds tiny landscapes, portrait heads, a stag, what looks like fragments of architecture, byzantine patterning, abstractions, and other bits of imagery painted into the glazes, creating a miniature exhibition of painting within the sculpture exhibition.” In fact, Prangenberg named these works exclusively either "Kopf" (head) or "Landschaft" (landscape), perhaps encouraging us to look past the initial estimate of abstraction. Additionally, many of them had smaller surfaces with painting on them; it was as if many works of art made up one small sculpture.

Exhibitions.

Solo Exhibition.

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1988–1989 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996–1997 1997 1998 1998–1999 1999 2000 2001–2002 2002 2003 2003–2004 2004 2004–2005 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2012–2013 2013 2014 2016–2017  2017

Group Exhibitions.

1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1987–1988 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1995 1996 1996–1997 1997 1997–1998 1998–1999 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002–2003 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2007–2008 2008 2009 2009–2010 2010 2011 2011–2012 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016  2016–2017

Norbert Prangenberg (June 23, 1949 — June 29, 2012) was an abstract painter, sculptor, and engraver who was born in Nettseheim, just outside of Cologne, Germany. Though he had no formal training and did not fully engage with art until his 30s, Prangenberg did finally come up with a style that was uniquely his own, not fitting comfortably into the neo-expressionist or neo-geo movements of his time, in the 1970s and 1980s. At this time, he was considered a major figure in contemporary German art. Though he got his start with abstract paintings, he also became known for making sculptures of all sizes; and while his work initially appears abstract, the titles given sometimes allude to the human body or a landscape. As a trained gold- and silversmith, as well as a glassblower, he always showed an attention to materials and how they could be physically engaged with. He was interested in how his own two hands could affect the painting or sculpture's surface. Traces of the artist's hand appear literally throughout his entire oeuvre, before he lost the battle with liver cancer in 2012.

Norbert Prangenberg (* 23. Juni 1949 in Nettesheim bei Köln; † 29. Juni 2012 in Krefeld) war ein deutscher Maler, Grafiker, Bildhauer und Glasdesigner.


History.

The inaugural WPA event in 2008, with prizes totaling US$400,000 (₱18,860,000), was held at the Philippine International Convention Center, Manila, September 29 through October 5, 2008. There were 128 players competing, representing 44 countries. Vice-President of the Philippines Noli de Castro made the ceremonial opening break shot, witnessed by officials of the WPA, International Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines, and tournament organizer Raya Sports.  In the final, England's Darren Appleton defeated Nineteen-year-old Wu Chia-ching, who was using a borrowed cue stick, winning $100,000. Appleton was also quoted as saying: "Pool is an easy choice for me as a sport as I have to choose among boxing, football and pool among others. But this victory is sweeter for me and I have to dedicate this to my parents, whose relationship is in the rocks. With the $100,000 grand prize, first, I have to give some to my parents, because we had a difficult way of living."  WPA president Ian Anderson would later announce: "This early, there's a strong clamor for the WTBC and it will definitely be back next year in Manila. It will be staged October of next year and there's also the Philippine Open to be held June 2009. I think Manila is the best place to go in hosting pool and it is living up to its billing as the pool Mecca in Asia." The event would later take place in 2009, being won by Finn Mika Immonen, and then again in 2011 by Dutchman Huidji See. A later event, was reimagined by boxer Manny Pacquiao, with the event being won by Taipei's Ko Pin-yi.  On July 30, 2018, the WPA announced the return of the World Ten-ball Championship. Initially, the event was set to take place in the Philippines, but was postponed later.

Winners.

The following is a list of WPA World Ten-Ball Champions.

The WPA World Ten-ball Championship is a professional ten-ball pocket billiards (pool) tournament sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association. The event has been held in the Philippines since its inception, with events played in 2008, and 2009, before missing 2010, and played in 2011. The event was resurrected in 2015, by boxer Manny Pacquiao, campaigning to the World Pool Association for the event to be moved from Metro Manila to General Santos. An event for 2018 was announced in June 2018, but was postponed to 2019.

Die WPA-10-Ball-Weltmeisterschaft (offiziell: "WPA World 10-Ball Championship") ist die von der World Pool-Billiard Association ausgetragene Weltmeisterschaft in der Poolbillarddisziplin 10-Ball.


History.

Australian airExpress was established in early 1992 as a domestic air freight company with the ability of pick-up and delivery services using both vans and trucks. AaE started operations on 1 August 1992. It was established as a joint venture between Australia's largest airline Qantas (50%), and government-owned postal provider Australia Post (50%) as a main competitor to the then Ansett Australia. AaE operated more than 50 nightly inter-capital freighter services. AaE used freight capacity on Qantas domestic flights and also dedicated cargo services operated on its behalf by several different companies, principally using Boeing 727 aircraft. Australian airExpress began the phasing out of the 727s in September 2006 and they were replaced by specially converted Boeing 737 aircraft that were formerly part of the Qantas fleet, operated by Qantas subsidiary Express Freighters Australia. The first Boeing 737 entered service on 24 October 2006. On 2 October 2012, Qantas announced it would acquire Australia Post's 50% interest in AaE, in return for Australia Post acquiring Qantas' 50% interest in Star Track Express.  Australian airExpress was absorbed into Qantas Freight during February 2013. As a result, its own website ceased to exist but some of its operations are still continuing as the air division of Star Track Express.

Operations.

AaE flight operations were somewhat complex and varied. "Next Flight" services used space on the next available scheduled Qantas passenger flights. Items carried for Overnight, 2 Day Economy and Off-Peak deliveries were flown on both Qantas and Australian airExpress aircraft operated by Express Freighters Australia, National Jet Systems subsidiary National Jet Express, and Pel-Air. The company did not service the Northern Territory 'overnight' from Sydney. Due to the three different service providers, AaE flights operated using different flight numbers and callsigns. The Express Freighters Australia Boeing 737s used Qantas flight numbers and callsigns as the ground handling was done by Qantas/Express Freighters, while National Jet Express used the aircraft registration as their callsign and used the IATA designator XM for its flight numbers (and used the ICAO designator XME). Pel-Air flights also used XM flight numbers but had no specific callsigns. AaE also had an international Division called Australian airExpress International.

Destinations.

In February 2008 Australian airExpress operated freight services to the following domestic scheduled destinations:

Fleet.

The following aircraft were operating on behalf of Australian airExpress in December 2011:

Australian airExpress was a logistics company based in Melbourne, Australia. It operated freight-only services within Australia using aircraft operated by Express Freighters Australia (a subsidiary of Qantas), National Jet Systems and Pel-Air; and a fleet of land vehicles. Its main base was Melbourne Airport. Australian airExpress was absorbed into Qantas Freight during February 2013.

Australian air Express (AaE) war eine australische Luftfrachtgesellschaft mit Sitz in Melbourne. Sie betrieb ein Luftfrachtnetz innerhalb Australiens u. a. mit geleasten Flugzeugen von Qantas, NationalJet und Pel-Air. Die Hauptbasis befand sich am Melbourne Airport.


History.

The first section of the Porrentruy–Boncourt–Delle line was opened on 23 September 1872 by the "Chemin de fer Porrentruy–Delle" (PD). This connected in Delle with the Montbéliard–Audincourt–Morvillars–Delle railway, which was opened on 29 June 1868 by the Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM). With the cession of Alsace to the German Empire in 1871, Delle became the northernmost border station between Switzerland and France. The PD was taken over by the Chemins de fer du Jura bernois (French for "Bernese Jura Railway", JB) on 16 August 1876. The JB quickly developed into the largest railway company in the Bernese Jura as the result of its rapid construction and the purchase of two other railway companies.  The JB opened the Delémont–Glovelier section on 15 October 1876. The line was connected with the former PD line on 30 March 1877 with the opening of the Glovelier–Porrentruy section, which has elaborate engineering structures. This connection with the rest of the Swiss standard gauge network also marked the beginning of a boom in rail traffic via the Delle border station. The Chemins de fer de l'Est (l'Est), which had lost part of its network and access to Basel with the cession of Alsace, opened the Belfort–Morvillars link, which branches from the Paris–Mulhouse in Danjoutin, on 13 August 1877. L'Est also built its own second track between Morvillars and Delle. The owner of the Delémont–Delle line changed its name several times in the next few years: the JB was renamed the Jura–Bern–Luzern (JBL) on 1 July 1884 and the JBL then merged with the Western Switzerland–Simplon Company ("Compagnie de la Suisse Occidentale et du Simplon", SOS) on 1 January 1890 to form the Jura–Simplon Railway ("Compagnie des Chemins de Fer Jura–Simplon", JS). The JS was one of the five major private railway companies in Switzerland, which were nationalised and integrated to form the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) on 1 May 1903. In addition to international passenger trains, it was used by freight trains from France via Delle in particular, as the old access to Basel ran through Alsace and thus through German territory. In order to avoid the additional customs clearances, trains were routed via Delle to Delémont and on to Basel or to Biel. In terms of the volume of goods in transit, Porrentruy station ranked fourth in 1913. The line between Delémont and Biel was considerably shortened with the commissioning of the Grenchenberg Tunnel in 1915. SBB electrical operations under 15 kV 162⁄3 Hz AC was recorded on the Delémont–Delle line on 15 May 1933 and the SBB also electrified the short section between the state border and Delle station. With the nationalisation of the PLM and L'Est on 1 January 1938, the French connecting lines became the property of the SNCF. After the outbreak of the Second World War, the border traffic via Delle came to a standstill. Rail traffic was resumed after the Second World War and Switzerland and France agreed to build a new border station in Delle in 1948. On the French side, however, a downturn began and the last double-track section between Morvillars and Delle was dismantled in 1953 to reduce maintenance costs. Rather than carrying out the intended electrification of the line, the SNCF finally electrified the line to instead in 1957. A new border station was opened in Delle in 1967 despite all the problems. Over time, Delle gradually lost its importance as a border crossing to the electrified border crossings in Basel, Les Verrières and Vallorbe. The last through trains between Delémont and Belfort—with good connections to long-distance trains to Paris—were abandoned on 26 September 1992 and the SNCF closed the Belfort–Delle line for passenger transport. Cross-border freight traffic on the Boncourt–Delle section was discontinued by the SBB on 30 June 1993 and in the same year the SNCF also completely closed the Morvillars–Delle section. From a timetable change on 27 May 1995, the SBB ceased to operate to Delle station from the Swiss side. With the abolition of passenger traffic, the Boncourt–Delle section was closed and de-electrified on 1 June 1996. Since the former Delle border station was disused, virtually all the tracks of the sprawling station were dismantled in 1996 and 1997. On 16 September 1996, the NPZ regional service between Porrentruy and Delémont ran into locomotive Re 4/4 II 11304 running from Delémont to Glovelier in Courfaivre. 30 people were injured, two of them seriously. The driver of the NPZ was distracted by young people who obstructed the door lock. After 2000, the first proposals were made to reactivate the Belfort–Delle line and resume cross-border passenger traffic. Following the launch of the LGV Rhin-Rhône, the Belfort – Montbéliard TGV station on the Belfort–Delle line is now served by regional trains from Belfort and Switzerland, which run over the old line. The 1.6 km-long Boncourt–Delle section was reactivated as a first symbolic step. The costs of around CHF 1.3 million were primarily borne by the Franche-Comté region and the canton of Jura, with financial contributions from France, Switzerland, the EU, the RFF, the SBB, SNCF and the municipality of Delle. The partially overgrown line had to be cleared and the substructure renewed for the reopening. A new track was laid in the previously trackless Delle station and the line was re-electrified. After an official inauguration ceremony on 8 December by the SBB, SNCF and the municipality of Delle, cross-border rail traffic was resumed by the SBB from the timetable change on 10 December 2006. Originally scheduled for the 2017 timetable change, the Belfort–Delle line has been reactivated and thus allows the route from Porrentruy to Belfort to be operated again. There is also a connection to the TGV network at Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station in Meroux. After delays, the official reopening took place on 6 December 2018 and regular operations on the Belfort–Delle line were resumed at the 9 December timetable change.

Engineering structure.

The Combe Mara viaduct near St-Ursanne was built between 1875 and 1876 by the Decker brothers from Cannstatt in Württemberg. At 50 metres high, it swings in a gentle curve over the valley. Originally built as a five-pillar viaduct with steel trusses, it was reinforced with additional pillars between 1929 and 1930.

Rail services.

Since December 2004, trains on line S3 of the Basel Regional S-Bahn have run from Basel to Porrentruy. Between December 2010 and 2015, another half-hourly service departed from Delémont to Glovelier with connections in Delémont to the ICN and the RegioExpress services. Since the 2014 timetable, RegioExpress services run every hour between Delle, Delémont and Biel / Bienne; these were extended in the 2019 timetable to Meroux (Belfort-Montbéliard TGV).

The Delémont–Delle railway is a standard gauge railway line in the canton of Jura and belongs to the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). The 40 kilometre-long line from Delémont via Glovelier, Porrentruy and Boncourt and the French border to Delle was opened in three stages from 1872 and 1877.

Die Bahnstrecke Delémont–Delle ist eine normalspurige Eisenbahnstrecke im Schweizer Kanton Jura und gehört den Schweizerischen Bundesbahnen (SBB). Die 40 Kilometer lange Strecke von Delémont über Glovelier, Porrentruy und Boncourt über die Grenze ins französische Delle wurde zwischen 1872 und 1877 in drei Etappen eröffnet.


History.

The first building was erected around 1020 in Romanesque style. Built out of granite and continuously modified by adding new structures, the cathedral is an extremely composite building. The rebuilding in Gothic style dates mainly from the 15th and 16th centuries. In this period the nave and the ornate gateway at the northern end of the north transept – whose twelve niches, according to Breton custom, were supposed to accommodate the Apostles – were built high. The northern tower is the main remnant of the former Romanesque building, while the vaults and the choir were built between 1771 and 1774.

Architecture.

Dimensions.

The horizontal dimensions of the building can be derived from the ground plan. (Data on the heights are not available for the moment). The building is one of the largest on the French Atlantic coast.

Exterior.

The façade was carved in 1857 in a neo-Gothic style. Outside, in front of the central pillar of the large gate, stands a statue of the Dominican friar St. Vincent Ferrer, from Valencia. His activities in the 15th century greatly influenced Christianity in Vannes. The northern façade opens onto the garden of the cloister (ruins from the 16th century) and the "Rue des chanoines" ("Street of the Canons") through the beautiful portal at the top of the north transept, built in a Flamboyant late Gothic style (1514), and decorated with twelve niches designed to house statues of the twelve apostles. The cross, visible close to the northern façade, dates back to the 15th century and was brought from the cemetery.

Interior.

During the Middle Ages, the floor of the cathedral had been covered by tombstones. For hygienic reasons, only the tradition of burying the bishops in their episcopal church has been preserved. However, some tombstones have been returned and can be seen today. The cathedral has only retained tombs dating back to the 17th century. Two bishops' tombs can be found in the crypt under the choir.  The building contains the following features:  Positions 9, 10, 11, 13 and 17 are the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (closed to visitors), the Chapel of Our Lady "de Pitié", the Chapel in the apse, the Calvary and the Chapel of St. Louis respectively.

In literature.

In the novels of Alexandre Dumas, the musketeer Aramis appears at one point as Bishop of Vannes and logically must have served in this very cathedral.

Vannes Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Peter in Vannes, Brittany, France. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Vannes.

Die Kathedrale von Vannes, französisch Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Vannes, ist eine römisch-katholische Kathedrale in Vannes, der Hauptstadt des französischen Départements Morbihan. Sie trägt darüber hinaus den Titel einer Basilica minor.


Toy line.

The Lady Lovely Locks toyline was created by Mattel and produced from 1987 to 1989. The toyline consists of character dolls that are approximately 8.5 inches tall, with certain dolls having long, colorful locks. Most dolls came with three to four Pixietails (small plastic squirrel-like animals with long silky tails). The Pixietails could be worn in the hair of either Lady Lovely Locks or the child. Additional items in the toyline were other pets and setting playsets.

Animated series.

Lady Lovely Locks is the princess of the Kingdom of Lovely Locks. She and her friends are aided by the Pixietails in keeping the kingdom safe from its enemies. Among the hero characters of the show are Lady Lovely Locks, Maiden Fair Hair, Maiden Curly Crown, the Pixietails, Prince Strong Heart, Shining Glory, Silky Pup (a puppy), and Silky Mane (a pony). The main villains are Duchess Ravenwaves, Hairball and Comb Gnomes, the latter of whom tend to speak in rhyme. The show was cancelled after one season.  The series was produced by the French and Japanese animators of "Rainbow Brite" and "Jem", among other cartoons of the '80s. The music of the series was composed by Shuki Levy and Haim Saban and supervised by Marty Wereski. The original "Lady Lovely Locks" theme song was composed by Shuki Levy and produced by the music department of Saban Productions and performed by Donna De Lory. The original full theme song can be heard on Shuki Levy's official website.  Hi-Tops released five "Lady Lovely Locks" videos in the '80s. More recently, the videos re-appeared on the market. They resurfaced as part of the DVD set "Girls Rule Vol. 1" which included the following cartoon series: "Jem", "Rainbow Brite" and "Lady Lovely Locks". Several of the episodes are also available on a DVD in the "Biggest DVD Ever" series for "Lady Lovely Locks". Two episodes have never been collected except on the Australian VHS edition.  The series episodes are as follows:

Characters.

The Pixietails.

The Pixietails are fairy-like animals, who help Lady Lovely Locks when she is in need for a problem or someone's in trouble. Lady's Pixietails are rabbit-like creatures, FairHair's Pixietails are chipmunk/squirrel-like creatures and CurlyCrown's Pixietails are bird-like creatures.

Dragons.

Dragons exist in the kingdom. They can breathe fire and have wings to fly with. Instead of eggs, newborn dragons are born from the Dragon Tree. A plant called Dragon’s Hair has some connection.

Books.

A number of tie-in books were released alongside the toyline and animated series. Among these books are "An Enchanting Fairy-Tale Adventure", "For the Love of Lovely Locks", "Lady Lovely Locks Original Story" (1987), "Silkypup Saves the Day", "Silkypup's Butterfly Adventure" (1987) and "The Golden Ball".

Pop culture.

In the eighth season episode of the series "That '70s Show", "Killer Queen", the character Randy says: "Donna, Hyde's already given me a nickname. It's Mrs. Lady Lovely Locks." This is an anachronism, as the "Lady Lovely Locks" line of products were not produced until after the mid-1980s.

German audio tapes.

In Germany, ten audio tapes were produced by label Europa, which extended on and continued the story lines that were never resolved by the short running TV-show. Not only did the tapes dive into Lady's childhood, they also resolved Prince StrongHeart's curse by turning him human, featured the couple's wedding, the birth of their daughter, as well as the infant's kidnapping by Duchess RavenWaves and her glorious rescue. While each character had her or his own voice actor, the series was narrated by Hans Paetsch. The voice actors differed from those used in the animated series.

Releases.

In Germany the first 3 episodes (6 counting the way Germans numbered them) were released on 3 VHS tapes, containing just the plain episodes dubbed in German with the intro and outro scenes as well as a TV commercial for the Lady Lovely Locks toy series.  On 13 November 2015 the entire series has been released on DVD in Germany containing both, German and English audio (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) under the name "Lady Lockenlicht" which translates into "Lady Locks Light". It uses the broadcast TV material as seen on German television, which is 1:1 identical to the English video material except that it is converted to PAL and therefore slightly faster than the original NTSC format (PAL-SpeedUp).

Lady Lovely Locks and the Pixietails is a character property created by American Greetings Corporation (creators of Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, and Popples among others) in the mid-1980s. The characters were licensed for a toyline by Mattel, and for a syndicated animated television series by DiC Animation City in 1987. However, only 20 episodes were produced in all.

Lady Lockenlicht (engl.: "Lady Lovely Locks") ist die Hauptfigur einer Spielzeugserie, die von Mattel in den Jahren 1987 bis 1989 produziert wurde. Parallel dazu erschien bei DiC Entertainment eine 20 Episoden umfassende Zeichentrickserie. Die deutsche Version der Lady-Lockenlicht-Zeichentrickfilme wurde Ende der 1980er Jahre auf RTL, eingebettet in der Fernsehsendung Li-La-Launebär, ausgestrahlt. Zielpublikum waren Mädchen im Alter von fünf bis zehn Jahren.


History.

Genesis.

The DDO owes its existence almost entirely to the efforts of one man, Clarence Chant. Chant had not shown an early interest in astronomy, but while attending University College, University of Toronto he became interested in mathematics and physics, eventually joining the university as a lecturer in physics in 1892. Over the next several years he worked as a schoolteacher and civil servant. During a later leave of absence he earned his PhD from Harvard University and did postdoctoral work in Germany.  Chant joined the Astronomical and Physical Society of Toronto in December 1892; it was eventually renamed the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 1902. Chant became president of the Society, serving between 1904 and 1907. Throughout the 1890s, Chant was concerned about how little the University did for astronomy, and in 1904 he proposed adding several undergraduate courses for fourth-year students, and six such courses were added to the 1905 calendar.  With courses now officially on the books, Chant started looking for a proper telescope. Previously the university had hosted the Toronto Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory, which had been run by the Meteorological Office of the Ministry of Marine and Fisheries. The observatory, built in 1840, had contained the high-quality Cooke Refractor, but the Observatory was now surrounded by new university buildings, rendering it useless for astronomy. The Meteorological Office had already decided to abandon the site and turn the building over to the university, but they were taking the telescope with them to their new location at 315 Bloor Street West. Even if the university had been able to secure time on the instrument, which was highly likely, it was at this time quite a small instrument in comparison to those being built around the world.  The same problem of encroachment that had led to the observatory falling into disuse led Chant to conclude that there was no suitable location on the university grounds for a new observatory, and he started looking for off-campus sites. While looking, he started getting quotes for a new instrument from Warner & Swasey in Cleveland, Ohio, who had provided the mount for the recently opened Dominion Observatory in Ottawa. In 1910 Chant finally found the perfect location, a plot of land near what is today Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue. The land had originally been set aside by the city for the Isolation Hospital, but this was never constructed and it now lay empty. Chant convinced the city to become involved in the Royal Astronomical Observatory, but the outbreak of World War I put the project on hold, and in 1919 it was cancelled outright.

Dunlap involvement.

Chant then turned to the local business community in hopes of finding funding. Similar collaborations had been very successful in the United States, but Chant found an entirely different reception in Canada and nothing seemed forthcoming. His fortunes changed in 1921 when Chant delivered a public lecture on Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke, which had recently been visible in Canada. One of the attendees was Hollinger Mines co-founder, lawyer (1863–1924), who was bitten by the astronomy bug as a result of the lecture, and expressed an interest in Chant's efforts to build a large observatory. Before making any firm financial commitment, however, Dunlap died in October 1924 at age 61 "(also see )". Chant approached his widow, Jessie Dunlap, in late 1926 with the idea of erecting an observatory as a monument to her husband. Mrs. Dunlap promised to "keep it in [her] heart for consideration, for it appeals to me tremendously."  By this point the original site was well within the rapidly growing city's lit areas, and no longer suitable for astronomy. A site much further from the city was needed, to ensure it too would not be crowded out. The first site studied was outside Aurora, Ontario, but it was decided that it was too far from the university for casual travel. Another site near Hogg's Hollow was also studied, but was not easily accessible. The eventual site was selected while Chant was studying topographical maps with fellow astronomer Reynold Young, finding a suitable spot north of the city. The site was a short distance east of Yonge Street, and the Canadian Northern Ontario Railway line ran along the western end of the site. When Chant took Dunlap to see the site for the first time, she stated "this is the place!" and authorized its purchase for C$28,000.

Construction.

Chant immediately started ordering a telescope, selecting a instrument from Grubb, Parsons and Company in England. This would make it the second-largest telescope in the world, second only to the instrument at Mount Wilson Observatory. It was, however, only slightly larger than the one that had recently gone into service for the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in British Columbia, at. The observatory building itself started construction, and the eighty-ton sixty-one-foot (18.6 m) copper dome was built by Grubb and Parsons in 1932 and arrived in 1933. The administration building, a few hundred feet from the main observatory, also started construction and designed by Mathers & Haldenby Architects. The mirror blank (the two outermost inches (5 cm) of the mirror are not used) was supplied by Corning Incorporated and cast in Pyrex from a batch of glass that Corning also used to produce the mirror for Palomar Observatory. Chant and Mrs. Dunlap attended the pouring of the mirror at the factory in Corning, NY in June 1933. The mirror was annealed, then shipped to Grubb-Parsons in England for polishing. The telescope was completed in time for the finished mirror's return in May 1935.  The official opening was on 31 May 1935, Chant's 70th birthday. The opening ceremony was attended by notables such as Sir Frank Dyson, former Astronomer Royal, and former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, who praised the Observatory as "a gift to science all over the world." Chant retired the same day and moved into Observatory House, the original pre-Confederation farmhouse (built in 1864 for Alexander Marsh and known also as Elms Lea Alexander Marsh) just to the south of the administration buildings, where he spent his remaining years. In May, 1939 the train carrying King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother on their cross-Canada tour paused on the railway below the observatory, the largest telescope in the commonwealth.  Grubb-Parsons built four more 1.88-metre telescopes with similarities to the instrument in Richmond Hill: for Radcliffe Observatory near Pretoria, Mount Stromlo Observatory in Australia, Helwan Observatory in Egypt, and an observatory in Okayama Prefecture in Japan. The South African instrument was disassembled and moved to Sutherland, Northern Cape in the 1970s because of light pollution. The original telescope mirror at Helwan was replaced by Zeiss in 1997, and the telescope at Mount Stromlo was destroyed by fire in 2003. A 1.93-metre Grubb-Parsons telescope at Haute-Provence Observatory with a higher-resolution spectrograph was used to discover an extrasolar planet orbiting the star 51 Pegasi in 1995.  The three smaller domes on the top of the DDO administration building are used for smaller instruments. Soon after the observatory opened in 1935, a 50 cm Cassegrain reflector telescope was installed in the southern dome. The Cooke Refractor had been out of use since the Meteorological Office had given it to Hart House, but it was little used and was moved into the northern dome in 1951 to be used by undergraduates. Much later, in 1965, a similar 60 cm Cassegrain was added to the central dome.

Operations.

From 1946 to 1951 the observatory director was Frank Scott Hogg, who was joined at the DDO by his wife Helen Sawyer Hogg. After her husband's death, Helen continued at the observatory, surveying globular clusters to gauge their distance, publishing a major catalog of variable stars in clusters. Her weekly 'With the Stars' column in the Toronto Star was published from 1951 to 1981. In 1959 and 1966 staff astronomer Sidney van den Bergh composed a database of dwarf galaxies known as the David Dunlap Observatory Catalogue.  In collaboration with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Dr. Donald MacRae established a radio astronomy observatory on the observatory grounds in 1956. The DDO work led to the 1963 measurement of the absolute flux density of Cassiopeia A at 320 MHz, a radiometric standard. The DDO also built an 18 m radio telescope in Algonquin Park in northern Ontario, co-locating it at the site of the larger Algonquin Radio Observatory. This instrument was actively used until 1991, when budget cuts led to it being abandoned. It was later used by a private group as part of a SETI project, Project TARGET, and has reported moved to a site outside Shelburne, Ontario.  In 1960 observatory operations formed the narrative framework of the NFB short film "Universe". The film was nominated for the 33rd Academy Awards in the category of best documentary, short subject in 1961. "Universe" was shown at the 1964 New York World's Fair where it was seen by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, who were starting work on the film that eventually became "". "Universe" featured future DDO director Donald MacRae and was narrated by Stanley Jackson.  Tom Bolton was hired as a postdoctoral fellow at the DDO in 1970. In 1971 he used data from the Uhuru X-ray observatory, and Naval Research Laboratory sounding rockets launched from White Sands Missile Range to find the optical companion star to the X-ray source Cygnus X-1. Those X-ray telescopes had a certain degree of accuracy, but follow-up optical-wavelength studies of possible companions were required to eliminate a shortlist of many stars in the same area of sky. Bolton observed the star HDE 226868 independently of the work by Louise Webster and Paul Murdin, at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, who could not prove that star was Cygnus X-1's optical companion. The high dispersion of the telescope's spectrograph, combined with the aperture was adequate to prove the star was the source of the X-ray emissions and that its behaviour was inconsistent with a normal eclipsing star.

Shifting locations.

With the rapid growth of university funding in the 1960s more offices were being built in the downtown campus, and with the opening of the McLennan Labs more and more of the department moved into the new facilities. The Administration Building at the DDO headquartered the Astronomy Department until the 1960s, although the weekly department meetings continued to be held there until 1978. The main library was shifted downtown in 1983. The Cooke Refractor, now almost unused, was later donated to the Canada Science and Technology Museum in 1984.  The main reflector at the DDO remained a major instrument into the 1960s, but in the end even the "remote" location Chant had selected was being encroached on by urban sprawl. Although some consideration was given to moving the telescope to a new site, in the end it was decided the funds would be better spent on a smaller instrument in a much better location. This led to the building of a 60 cm instrument at Las Campanas in Chile in 1971, creating the University of Toronto Southern Observatory (UTSO). It was at this location that University of Toronto telescope operator Ian Shelton discovered Supernova 1987A, the first supernova visible to the naked eye in more than 350 years. The UTSO was later closed in 1997 to re-allocate funds to a share of the Gemini Observatory, and the 60 cm telescope was moved to El Leoncito in Argentina, where the University has a 25% share in observation time. While University operations continued at the DDO, international observers used about 50% of observing time there.

Closure, sale, re-development and re-opening.

By the mid-1990s, the observatory remained the largest single-mirror site in Canada, but it was considered small by modern standards. The cutting edge of Canadian university astronomy studies was involved in some of the world's largest observatories: the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter Array and the Gemini Observatory. None of these telescopes are located in Canada. After the UTSO was closed, in 1998 the Canadian Astronomical Society, a society of university astronomers, published a long range plan emphasizing the study of the origins of structure in the universe, a task well-suited to cutting-edge telescopes but ill-suited to the DDO. The long-range plan suggested the future of observatories such as the DDO lay in public outreach programs and training. In 2005 Canadian universities joined a partnership to build the Thirty Meter Telescope, expected to cost more than $1 billion.  In September 2007, the University stated it planned to sell the DDO property owing to light pollution. The university's governing council voted on the issue during the week of 1 November 2007, and agreed to sell the site to the highest bidder. The of land in the midst of a very large subdivision area was expected to fetch $100 million, some of which the university planned to use to found a Dunlap Institute to continue astronomical research. The sale was called a "cash grab" by Richmond Hill Mayor David Barrow, also stating "There's all kinds of opportunities here that they're just blowing off because they want the money. After 70 years, they're just walking away without looking over their shoulder at what they're leaving behind. That's our disappointment."  For the purposes of the sale, the land was partitioned into a 71 ha Parcel A and a 5 ha Parcel B, upon which sits the Elvis Stojko Hockey Arena and also a park with a 200-metre-wide solar system model. The arena is leased by the Town, now from the new owner, until 2015.  At the end of June 2008, the university completed the sale of both parcels of the property to Corsica Development Inc., a subsidiary of Metrus Development Inc. for $70 million, a lower price than expected. Observatory staff were laid off and faculty reassigned to the downtown St. George campus. The Town of Richmond Hill planned a hearing with the Conservation Review Board of Ontario to argue for protection of the western 48% of the property including the observatory buildings under the Ontario Heritage Act; at the hearing, the Richmond Hill Naturalists argued for 100% designation of the property, all the buildings and their contents, and the Observatory Hill Homeowners Association argued for the protection of the heritage woodlots and arboretums. Corsica Development Inc. was also represented before the CRB. Preliminary hearings took place on September 3 and October 15, 2008. Corsica Development Inc. is administered by Metrus in conjunction with The Conservatory Group and Marel Contracting. At the same time, the RASC-TC were selected over the DDOD to manage and operate the observatory.  The Conservation Review Board hearing to determine the extent of the Cultural Heritage Landscape designation to be afforded to the Dunlap site took place in Richmond Hill between January 15 to 23, 2009, and the Board recommendation was published on June 4. The Board recommended preservation of the observatory buildings and up to 80% of the property as a cultural heritage landscape. On September 29, 2009 Richmond Hill Town Council voted unanimously in favour of the designating by-law. The Town proceeded with a number of public meetings and reports in late 2009 to craft guidelines for the conservation, planning and design of the property. Corsica Development Inc. undertook an archaeological survey of the property. On April 15, 2010 stemming from an incident on the property in November 2009, Corsica Development Inc. pleaded guilty in York Region court to 17 counts of cutting a tree without a permit and was issued a fine of $44,880. The company also planted 100 new trees on the property as part of the judgment.  In January 2009, Corsica published the website observatoryhill.ca describing the property, stating, "[We] are in the process of looking for an astronomy club to occupy the observatory and welcome proposals for consideration." On April 22, 2009 Corsica and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada announced an agreement allowing the RASC to provide public education and outreach programs at the observatory, and to operate the 1.88m telescope. On June 14, the RASC Toronto Centre published the website www.theddo.ca, to make tickets available for public astronomy nights at the observatory starting on July 18. Astronomy events at the observatory continued, such as Perseid meteor shower events that drew high attendance and media coverage. These new operations continued through 2016, combined with opportunities such as use of the observatory for location shoots of the Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel) series Warehouse 13 and the NBC television series Hannibal.  In May 2013, after continued debate and appeals for mediation between the town of Richmond Hill and Metrus/Corsica, the Ontario Municipal Board handed down a decision to support official plan amendment 270, the mediated settlement that set aside 56 percent of the site's land to residents for a future public park. Corsica would be allowed to build 530 homes on the eastern portion of the site. Combined with the previous purchase by the Town of Richmond Hill of the Elvis Stojko Arena and surrounding land for $19.5 million, a total of 11 acres of the original 189-acre property is owned by the town. A further legal appeal by the Richmond Hill Naturalists to preserve the entire site from development was launched in August 2013 and was ultimately unsuccessful. The group was eventually ordered to pay some of the developers' court costs in September 2015.  In November 2014, the David Dunlap Observatory Defenders group chairperson and founder Karen Cilevitz resigned from her position after being elected to be local councillor for the region's Ward (Ward 5). The organization then formed a new group, the Friends of the David Dunlap Observatory Park, to function as the public stakeholder entity for site advocacy, public engagement and community outreach. In response, in December 2014 both the RASC-TC and the DDOD published editorial letters in the Richmond Hill Liberal, both claiming to be the "true" parties responsible for upkeep and operation of the Observatory.  In April 2015, Corsica (having changed their name to DG Group) announced plans to transfer ownership of the observatory buildings to the RASC. Despite RASC-TC's status as a registered charitable corporation, some parties to the 2012 five-party OMB settlement argued that the donation placed the future of the observatory in doubt, because RASC was not a government agency. In March 2016, the dispute was resolved through transfer of ownership of the property to the town of Richmond Hill.  On 20 July 2016, the RASC-TC declined to continue negotiations to lease the property for exclusive use and to continue to provide outreach programs at the heritage site. This led to the Town inviting proposals from 35 organizations to continue programming and maintenance of the site. Five applicants submitted proposals, including the York Region Astronomical Association (members of the RASC-TC who had been using, maintaining and programming the site), the RASC-TC, and the DDOD.  In October 2016, the Town of Richmond Hill approved a master plan to turn 40 hectares of the Observatory lands into a "destination park," focusing on astronomy, while adding walking paths, 4 tennis courts, an amphitheatre and a low-light level "Star Path" self-illuminating pathway. A feasibility study for a planetarium on the site was also commissioned. The project is expected to cost $54 million over 15–20 years.  In October 2017, the Town announced it would pursue a joint partnership with the RASC-TC and the DDOD to continue to provide educational and public outreach programming, ending the interim programming provided by the YRAA. Partnerships will also take place with Western University for a summer space camp program, and YLab for an adult education program.

Contemporaries.

The DDO main instrument was the second-largest telescope in the world when it began operation in 1935. Some of the largest telescopes in 1935 were: Later in the 1930s, an 82 inch telescope was completed at McDonald Observatory in Texas. By the end of the next decade Dunlap's was still the fourth largest, due to the opening of the Hale Telescope in 1948. However, the telescope has remained the largest telescope in Canada until 1992, when the somewhat unique UBC-Laval LMT 2.65 m (104 in) came online. However, the LMT is a zenith telescope that only points up, using a liquid metal mirror.

Trivia.

The Observatory is featured multiple times in the NBC television series "Hannibal". The administration building resembles the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. The Observatory is also featured on the Netflix production of "The Umbrella Academy".

The David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) is an astronomical observatory site just north of Toronto, in Richmond Hill, Ontario, housed on a estate. Formerly owned and operated by the University of Toronto, from its establishment in 1935 until 2008; the observatory is now managed by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Toronto Centre (RASC-TC), and the David Dunlap Observatory Defenders (DDOD). Its primary instrument is a 74-inch (1.88 m) reflector telescope, at one time the second-largest telescope in the world, and still the largest in Canada. Several other telescopes are also located at the site, which formerly also included a small radio telescope. The legacy of the David Dunlap Observatory continues in the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, a research institute at the University of Toronto established in 2008.

Das David Dunlap Observatory ist ein astronomisches Observatorium der University of Toronto im Norden der Stadt in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Es befindet sich auf einem ca. 76 Hektar großen Gelände.


Early life.

Di Meglio was born in Toulouse.

Career.

125cc World Championship.

2003.

When Di Meglio turned 15 years old, he decided to accept offers by the Italian Freesoul Racing Team on Aprilia to debut in the 125cc world championship in 2003. Although he managed to score points, including 13th place at Catalunya, it was a difficult season for him, crashing often and not achieving good results. Later, at the mid-season, he was offered by the Italian MetaSystem Rg Service to replace Italian veteran Andrea Ballerini, but this time the team was on Honda, he tried to attempt to achieve his goals, but he failed to improve and didn't score any championship points.

2004.

After a disappointing 2003, Di Meglio vowed to salvage a wrecked debut. He signed with Globet.com Racing on Aprilia alongside Gino Borsoi for the 2004 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. The start was promising with a front-row start and a fifth-place finish at South Africa, but he failed to be consistent due to several crashes.

2005.

Di Meglio stayed with the same team for, but his team joined forces with Team Scot which runs on Honda machinery, the same team that helped Andrea Dovizioso win the 125cc World Championship. Di Meglio was their official rider on board on a factory Honda RS125RW along with Fabrizio Lai but it was under the Kopron Racing World name. His performance improved, scoring points regularly. He performed heroically at the French Grand Prix by fighting for a podium position, finishing fourth and making his home fans happy and entertained. However, it was his podium finish in the wet British Grand Prix by finishing second place behind Julián Simón, which gave him a reputation as a wet weather expert. He also finished a credible fourth place in the hot Qatar Grand Prix ahead of future 125cc champion Thomas Luthi. The high point of the season for the Frenchman was his controversial win at the Turkish Grand Prix, when Mika Kallio crashed and race leader Luthi had run wide to avoid him.

2006.

He joined the Fédération Française de Motocyclisme's world championship team run by Alain Bronec for. The FFM Honda GP 125 team also provided him with a factory bike just like the previous season, but despite his big ambitions and a factory bike, he suffered an injury, and scored in only four races that resulted in eight points. He left the team immediately for Team Scot the following year after Portugal as the result of his performance with the team.

2007.

For, Di Meglio returned to Team Scot, the team that had helped him win his first Grand Prix in 2005. He was teamed with the young Italian Stefano Musco. In the first few races, he managed to score championship points. He had a very bad crash during the qualifying session of the Spanish Grand Prix, breaking his collarbone and was forced to miss the Turkish Grand Prix as a result. He returned in China to a fourteenth-place finish and followed that with a ninth place at Le Mans. A front row start at Mugello did not come to much either as he crashed out on the third lap of the race. After this, several disappointing race results followed except in the wet race at Donington, where he finished in sixth place and in Japan, where he finished fourth despite crashing out of second place while chasing race leader Mattia Pasini.

2008.

For, he was offered to ride with the Finnish Ajo Motorsport, teamed with Dominique Aegerter. He returned to Aprilia machines, but officially rides for Aprilia's sister Piaggio company, Derbi. He is riding the Derbi RSA 125 factory bike. His campaign started slowly within Qatar finishing in fourth, beaten to the podium at the line by Stefan Bradl. In Spain and Portugal, Di Meglio picked up minor points and trailed title contender Simone Corsi, but starting in China, Corsi's pace started to slip away including a crash from a minor incident with Lorenzo Zanetti and reigning world champion Gábor Talmácsi struggling that allow Di Meglio to take full advantage. A win in the shortened French Grand Prix started a consistent run lasting until at San Marino where he crashed out while fighting for third place with Corsi. At the Australian Grand Prix, Di Meglio became the only second Frenchman to win the world championship after Arnaud Vincent.

250cc World Championship.

2009.

For, he moved up to the 250cc class with the Aspar Racing Team, alongside Álvaro Bautista. In his debut race in Qatar he qualified third but dropped to 11th on lap 1, before fighting back. He ran fifth in the later stages, but aggressively passed Bautista on the final lap before passing Raffaele de Rosa for third. He did not take another top five finish until round ten at Donington, but hit form from this point on. He took pole at Indianapolis, and claimed second place at Estoril in a photo-finish with Héctor Barberá. He was fighting for top rookie honours with de Rosa but lost out to him as a result of crashing out in Valencia while de Rosa finished third.

Moto2 World Championship.

2010.

The saw the debut of the Moto2 class as the new intermediate class of Grand Prix racing, replacing the 250cc class. Di Meglio failed to take full advantage of it, with several poor race finishes in the first three races of the season and a crash at Mugello. Di Meglio took his first points-scoring finishes at British and Dutch rounds with seventh and eighth respectively. Despite his good results at those rounds, he failed to be competitive again until Australia where he finished in sixth place, having started on the front row.

2011.

In, Di Meglio moved to Tech3's Moto2 programme, finishing in 23rd place.

2012.

In, Di Meglio split his season between the Speed Up, MZ, and Kiefer Racing teams. He ultimately improved to 22nd place in the championship.

2013.

Di Meglio switched to the JiR team for on Motobi-sponsored machinery. He finished the season in 20th position.

MotoGP World Championship.

2014.

Di Meglio made his premier-class debut in with Avintia Racing. He finished his rookie season in 25th place with 9 points, last of all the season regular riders.

2015.

For 2015, Di Meglio was retained by Avintia, this time riding a one-year-old Ducati GP14. Despite scoring fewer points than the previous season, he made a slight improvement to finish in 24th place on the season. At the close of the season, Di Meglio was dropped by Avintia in favour of compatriot Loris Baz.

FIM Endurance World Championship.

2016–2017.

Following his dismissal from the MotoGP class, Di Meglio moved to endurance racing in the FIM Endurance World Championship with the successful French GMT94 Yamaha team, partnering riders Niccolò Canepa and David Checa. The team achieved wins at the 24 Heures Motos, Oschersleben 8 Hours, and 8 Hours of Slovakia Ring, leading GMT94 to their third team's championship and helping Yamaha to the manufacturer's championship. As Di Meglio did not compete in the first race of the season, the Bol d'Or, he was classified 3rd in the rider's championship behind his teammates and members of the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team.

2017–2018.

The following season, Di Meglio remained with GMT94 and teammates Canepa and Checa. The team achieved one win at the Bol d'Or and ultimately finished the season in 2nd place behind F.C.C. TSR Honda France.

2018–2019.

For 2018–2019, Di Meglio switched to F.C.C. TSR Honda France, replacing compatriot Alan Techer to partner Joshua Hook and Freddy Foray. They achieved wins at the Bol d'Or and Oschersleben 8 Hours, finishing the teams' and riders' championships in 2nd place behind Team SRC Kawasaki France.

MotoE World Cup.

2019.

In late 2018, Di Meglio was confirmed to be rejoining the Grand Prix paddock as part of the inaugural MotoE season, racing for Marc VDS. He achieved a third-place podium in the German opener, followed by a grand slam in Austria (pole, win, and fastest lap), but subsequent retirements and poor finishes relegated him to just 6th position at the conclusion of the season.

Mike Di Meglio (born 17 January 1988) is a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and 2008 world champion in the 125cc class. In 2019, he will compete in the MotoE World Cup aboard an Energica Ego Corsa. Of Italian descent, his paternal grandfather was born in Lentini (Province of Siracusa).

Mike Di Meglio (* 17. Januar 1988 in Toulouse, Frankreich) ist ein französischer Motorradrennfahrer. In der Saison 2008 gewann er auf Derbi in der Klasse bis 125 cm3 der Motorrad-Weltmeisterschaft den WM-Titel.


Recent history.

In March 1953, as talks were proceeding with the French on the handing over of Hainan and territories south of Guangdong to the People's Republic of China, the Chinese State Council authorized the establishment of a separate "Guangdong Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority" as a county-level administrative division on Woody Island (Yongxing Dao). However, the island continued to support a threadbare population of fisherfolk at that time. In March 1959, during China's Cultural Revolution, when Revolutionary Committees were being set up across the country, this authority was upgraded to the "Guangdong Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Revolutionary Committee". In October 1984, the administration of Sansha consisting of Yong xing dao (Woody island) and other islands in the South China sea was transferred to Hainan. This coincided with the establishment of Hainan as a separate administrative region. In September 1988, the authority's name was officially changed to the "Hainan Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority". On 25 December 2006, Woody Island 'census-town's' first-ever "Residents' and Fishermen's Congress" was held. Three representatives at the township and village levels were selected to represent the census-town's Neighborhood Committee of the North and South Villages. The Neighborhood Committee began work on Woody Island the following day with an office at the Border Guards of the Paracels' Police Station. These were the first ever actual subdivisions created within the county-level authority. The prospect of the establishment of a "city" on Woody Island was first publicized on 19 November 2007 in a report by Mingpao, a Hong Kong-based newspaper, through a telephone interview with a Mr. Zhang of the Propaganda Department of Wenchang, Hainan. This report claimed that a county-level city was to be established by the PRC State Council in November 2007 to administer three disputed archipelagos in the South China Sea: the Paracel Islands, Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands) and the Spratly Islands. This was to replace the county-level "Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority". The city of Wenchang would provide supplies and logistics to the to-be-established city.  On 23 July 2012, the PRC Central Military Commission announced it had authorized the People's Liberation Army Guangzhou Military Command to form a "garrison command" in Sansha City. The troops would be responsible for managing the city's national defence mobilisation, military reserve, and carrying out military operations.  On 24 July 2012, the PRC officially established the city of Sansha in Yongxing Island.

Administrative divisions.

Sansha City has two districts, Xisha District and Nansha District. Xisha District administers the Xisha and Zhongsha islands and their surrounding waters, with the district government located on Yongxing Island. Nansha District administers the Nansha islands and their surrounding waters, with the district government located on Yongshu Jiao.  Sansha is governed by a municipal congress of 60 delegates directly elected, with a standing committee of 15 members. It is further subdivided into 3 islands-districts at county-level, 3 towns/management committees at the township-level, and further into 11 residential communities at village-level, based on the island groups:

Industries and facilities.

Less than 1000 people live in Sansha city (which is located on Woody Island, a small island in the Paracels). They tend to practice fishing, and selling products to the occasional cruise ship ("MV Qionghai 3" and "MV Sansha 1") whose tourists visit the island. In November 2016, the Hainan government started to allow large companies to register themselves in Sansha, by providing extensive tax benefits to them. This resulted in 157 large national and multinational companies registering themselves in Sansha.  In 2016, a government school and a public library were opened in the island, primarily for children of the islanders. In the same year, a desalinating plant was established to provide drinking water to the island's residents.  Airports are built on several islands in Sansha City, including Yongxing Island (woody island), Meiji Island, Yongshu Island and Zhubi Island, all of which are capable for planes sizing up to 4E standards, theoretically capable of landing Boeing 777s as diversion airports. In practice, only Yongxing Island see scheduled commercial services, onboard Boeing 737 operated by Hainan Airlines.

Initiatives.

"Greening the islands".

The second stage of a greening project for Sansha was announced on 30 June 2014. It states: "According to the investment plan, 18 million yuan (about 2.92 million U.S. dollars) will be used to build desalination systems and grow trees on Xishazhou Island (West Sand - NW Crescent Group) in the hope of turning the island into a new oasis." The article makes references to the greening of: It also mentions substantial infrastructure upgrades to Woody Island, including waste-water treatment, garbage aggregation and treatment, desalination (1 million litres/day) and upgrades to photovoltaic equipment.

Controversy and protests.

Because Sansha's jurisdiction comprises island groups that several nations besides the PRC claim as their own, the "city" is considered by some as controversial.  In 2007, the Foreign Ministry of Vietnam protested against the city's proposed establishment, which had been recently approved by the PRC's State Council, as Vietnam claims two of the three island groups that comprise Sansha. This was later followed by student demonstrations at the Chinese embassy in Hanoi, and at a consulate in Ho Chi Minh City.  Days prior to the official establishment of the city in late July 2012, Vietnam again stated its opposition and was joined in its protests by the Philippines. The United States Department of State also weighed in on the issue stating, "we remain concerned should there be any unilateral moves of this kind that would seem to prejudge an issue." The chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, Jim Webb, also made a statement regarding Sansha and questioned whether the city's creation was a violation of international law. While Senator Webb stated that the establishment of Sansha was China "creating a governmental system out of nothing", the Chinese government has included the island groups that comprise Sansha in its administrative structure since 1959. Before these island groups were under the nominal administration of Sansha, they were nominally administered by an administrative office under the provincial government of Hainan.  Western reaction to the 2012 declaration of the Chinese government elevating the administrative status of Sansha was not positive. The United States Department of State called the change in the administrative status of the territory "unilateral", and the move has received criticism from nations engaged in the South China Sea dispute, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam.  The centre of government for Sansha is located on Woody Island (Yongxing Dao) in the Paracels, where about 1,000 Chinese (PRC) reside. With a land area of 210ha, Woody Island is the largest contiguous land area in the South China Sea. The total land area of Sansha, which includes the islands in the Paracel and Spratly groups, is less than. Nationally, Sansha is the smallest prefecture-level city, by both population and land area, but the largest by total area, and is also the southernmost prefecture-level city of the PRC.  By January 2016, work was well advanced on developing a military base with a large harbour and a runway, with the reclaimed land covering. A civilian test flight to the runway was conducted by a China Southern Airlines passenger jet on 13 July 2016. On 16 February 2016, the New York Times reported that China had deployed HQ‐9 surface‐to‐air missiles on the island.  In late 2016, photographs emerged which suggested that Mischief Reef was armed with anti-aircraft weapons and a CIWS missile-defence system. In May 2018, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank, said satellite images showed China had deployed new military weapon platforms to Woody Island, the largest of the Paracels.

Sansha is a prefecture-level city of Hainan province of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is located on Woody Island and administers (actually or nominally) several island groups and undersea atolls in the South China Sea including the Spratly Islands, the Paracel Islands, Macclesfield Bank, Scarborough Shoal, and a number of other ungrouped maritime features. The entire territory is disputed, and the PRC's "de facto" control over the area varies.

Sansha () ist eine Stadt im Südchinesischen Meer und die dritte bezirksfreie Stadt der chinesischen Provinz Hainan. Sie wurde am 24. Juli 2012 aus der „Dienststelle der Xisha-, Nansha- und Zhongsha-Inseln“, einem halboffiziellen Sondergebiet Chinas gebildet, das bis dahin der Kreisebene gleichgestellt war. Nach Haikou, Sanya und Zhoushan ist Sansha die vierte bezirksfreie Stadt Chinas, die ausschließlich auf Inseln liegt.


Life and work.

Herring, born in London in 1795, was the son of a London merchant of Dutch parentage, who had been born overseas in America. The first eighteen years of Herring's life were spent in London, where his greatest interests were drawing and horses. In the year 1814, at the age of 18, he moved to Doncaster in the north of England, arriving in time to witness the Duke of Hamilton's "William" win the St. Leger Stakes horserace. By 1815, Herring had married Ann Harris; his sons John Frederick Herring Jr., Charles Herring, and Benjamin Herring were all to become artists, while his two daughters, Ann and Emma, both married painters. When she was barely of age in 1845 Ann married Harrison Weir.  In Doncaster, England, Herring was employed as a painter of inn signs and coach insignia on the sides of coaches, and his later contact with a firm owned by a Mr. Wood led to Herring's subsequent employment as a night coach driver. Herring spent his spare time painting portraits of horses for inn parlors, and he became known as the ""artist coachman"" (at the time). Herring's talent was recognized by wealthy customers, and he began painting hunters and racehorses for the gentry.  In 1830, John Frederick Herring, Senior left Doncaster for Newmarket, England, where he spent three years before moving to London, England. During this time, Herring might have received tuition from Abraham Cooper. In London, Herring experienced financial difficulties and was given financial assistance by W. T. Copeland, who commissioned many paintings, including some designs used for the Copeland Spode bone china. In 1840-1841, Herring visited Paris, painting several pictures, on the invitation of the Duc d’Orleans (the Duke of Orleans), son of the French King Louis-Phillipe.  In 1845, Herring was appointed Animal Painter to the Duchess of Kent, followed by a subsequent commission from the ruling Queen Victoria, who remained a patron for the rest of his life.

Late themes.

In 1853, Herring moved to rural Kent in the southeast of England and stopped painting horse portraits. He spent the last 12 years of his life at Meopham Park near Tonbridge, where he lived as a country squire. He then broadened his subject matter by painting agricultural scenes and narrative pictures, as well as his better-known sporting works of hunting, racing and shooting.  A highly successful and prolific artist, Herring ranks along with Sir Edwin Landseer as one of the more eminent animal painters of mid-nineteenth (19th) century Europe. The paintings of Herring were very popular, and many were engraved, including his 33 winners of the St. Leger and his 21 winners of the Derby. Herring exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1818–1865, at the British Institution from 1830–1865, and at the Society of British Artists in 1836-1852, where Herring became Vice-President in 1842.

John Frederick Herring Sr. (12 September 1795 – 23 September 1865), also known as John Frederick Herring I, was a painter, sign maker and coachman in Victorian England. He painted the 1848 "Pharoah's Chariot Horses" ("archaic spelling "Pharoah""). He amended his signature "SR" (senior) in 1836, with the growing fame of his teenage son (1 of 4) John Frederick Herring Jr.

John Frederick Herring, Sr. (* 1795 in London; † 1865 in Meopham bei Tonbridge), auch bekannt als "John Frederick Herring I", war ein britischer Maler im viktorianischen England. Er fügte seiner Signatur „SR“ (senior) im Jahr 1836 hinzu, als einer seiner vier Söhne, John Frederick Herring Jr., ebenfalls als Maler bekannt wurde.


History.

Torpedo boats were designed for missions that variously involved high speed, operating at night, low speed ambush, and manoeuvrability to allow them to get close enough to launch their torpedoes at enemy vessels. With no significant armour, the boats relied upon surprise and agility at high speed to avoid being hit by gunfire from bigger ships.  The British Royal Navy started developing particularly small, agile, and fast petrol-powered torpedo boats in the early 20th century, shortly before the beginning of the First World War. Known as coastal motor boats, these were only around 15 tons. They were joined by the Italian Navy's MAS boats, of 20-30 tons displacement. "MAS 15" was the only motor torpedo boat in history to sink a battleship, the Austro-Hungarian vessel "Szent István" in 1918.  In the Second World War, Britain fielded a variety of MTBs, which were operated by Coastal Forces.  A similar size boat with a different role in the Second World War was the BPB high-speed launch used by the RAF for air-sea rescue operations.  Diesel-powered MTBs entered the Royal Navy with the patrol boat in 1954. The last MTBs in the Royal Navy were the two s of 1958, which were capable of.

Specifications.

Many boats were designated MTBs. A variety of designs were adopted and built. For instance, a type, capable of, was shown in 1930.

British MTBs.

The following is an incomplete list of British motor torpedo boats:

Vosper "private venture boat".

Commander Peter Du Cane CBE, the managing director of Vosper Ltd, designed a motor torpedo boat as a private venture in 1936. She was completed and launched in 1937. She was bought by the Admiralty and taken into service with the Royal Navy as MTB 102.  The installed powerplant of three Isotta Fraschini 57-litre petrol engines delivered which gave her a speed of light and when carrying a full load. Armament was two torpedo tubes; depth charges, machine guns and 20mm Oerlikon were trialled on her.  "MTB 102" was the fastest wartime British naval vessel in service. She was at Dunkirk for the evacuation, where she served as Rear-Admiral Frederic Wake-Walker's flagship after the destroyer HMS "Keith" was sunk. She carried Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower when they reviewed the fleet before the Invasion of Normandy.

British Power Boat 60 ft MTB.

They were based on the British Power Boat BPB rescue craft and were originally designed for the Royal Air Force but reduced to in length. They could carry two torpedoes and achieve a maximum speed of. The Royal Navy ordered their first (of a total of 18) in 1936. These entered service as MTB numbers 1 to 12 and 14 to 19. In the early days of the war, they were painted with different numbers and photos distributed to the press to give the impression the Royal Navy had more than they actually did. One photo was sent to the American monthly "Popular Science" showing the number twenty-three.

Vosper 70 ft MTB.

Although various boat lengths were produced by Vosper for the Royal Navy, the "70 ft" boat was produced from 1940. The design was produced with modifications as MTBs 31-40, 57-66, 73-98, 222-245, 347-362, 380-395 and 523-537.  Using three Packard V1-12 marine engines, they were capable of around. Early models carried two torpedo tubes, two machine guns and two machine guns. They could also carry four depth charges.  The Vosper 70 was also used in other navies, such as Romania's, which acquired three in 1939, with NMS Viscolul the lead ship of the class.

Vosper types 1 and 2.

Between 1943 and 1945, two Vosper designs appeared, the "Vosper type I 73ft" and the type II.

Vosper type II.

This design remained in use after the war.

Fairmile D MTB.

The Fairmile D was a very large British MTB designed by Bill Holt and conceived by Fairmile Marine for the Royal Navy. Nicknamed "Dog Boats", they were designed to combat the known advantages of the German E-boats over previous British coastal craft designs. Larger than earlier MTB or motor gun boat (MGB) designs, the Fairmile D was driven by four Packard 12-cylinder 1250 horsepower supercharged patrol engines and could achieve 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph) at full load. The boat carried 5200 gallons of 100 octane gas for a range at maximum continuous speed of 506 nautical miles.

Canadian MTBs.

These boats were designed by Hubert Scott-Paine for the Canadian Power Boat Company, and used by the Royal Canadian Navy 29th MTB Flotilla. Originally designed as motor gun boats (MGBs), carrying a 6-pounder (57mm, 2.24 inch) to engage enemy small craft, they were re-designated MTBs.  Scott-Paine type G 70 foot boat

Post-war usage.

After the end of World War II a number of Royal Navy vessels were stripped and sold for use as houseboats. These included MGBs as well as MTBs. Many of these were moored in Langstone Harbour, Littlehampton, Hayling Island and Wootton Creek, although most have now disappeared from these locations. More MTB houseboats can be found at Shoreham-by-Sea (West Sussex), Cobden Bridge (Southampton) and Bembridge (Isle of Wight).

A motor torpedo boat is a fast torpedo boat, especially of the mid 20th century. The "motor" in the designation originally referred to their use of petrol engines, typically marinised aircraft engines or their derivatives, which distinguished them from other naval craft of the era, including other torpedo boats, that used steam turbines or reciprocating steam engines. Later, diesel-powered torpedo boats appeared, in turn or retroactively referred to as "motor torpedo boats" for their internal combustion engines, as distinct from steam powered reciprocating or turbine propulsion.

Die britischen Motortorpedoboote (engl.: Motor Torpedo Boat) wurden unter dem Akronym MTB bekannt. Es waren größtenteils hölzerne Schnellboote von rund 20 bis 24 m Länge und 40 bis 50 t Verdrängung, die mit wenigen Ausnahmen von Benzinmotoren angetrieben wurden. Überwiegend als Gleitboote ausgelegt, konnten sie bei ruhiger See zum Teil Geschwindigkeiten von weit über 40 Knoten (kn) (>74 km/h) erreichen. Die Bewaffnung bestand aus bis zu vier Torpedos, Maschinengewehren (MG) und teilweise Maschinenkanonen.


Club career.

Kane joined Blackburn Rovers as a youth in November 2004 and was subsequently a member of the squad that won the Premier Academy League in 2004–05. He then became a regular member of the Rovers reserve team before signing a two-year contract in 2006. In November 2006 he had a brief loan spell at Stockport County before joining Cercle Brugge on another loan deal in January 2007. In his first appearance for Cercle, Kane was voted man of the match by fans after a strong debut in a 2–0 win a debut against Zulte Waregem. On 10 February 2009, Kane signed a loan deal which took him to Carlisle United until the end of the season. On 22 May 2009, it was announced by Carlisle United manager Greg Abbott that a deal had been verbally agreed between Carlisle United and Premier League side Blackburn Rovers to make the loan move a permanent one. Kane will be signing a two-year-deal with the Cumbria based team. On 17 September 2009 Carlisle United agreed to send Kane to Darlington on a monthlong loan deal. In February 2011, having been released by Carlisle United, he signed for Belfast club Cliftonville, for whom he scored 11 minutes into his debut - a 2–0 away win over Newry City.  Following an impressive pre-season, he joined Ballymena United in July 2011 and made his debut against Lisburn Distillery in August 2011 but was sent-off late in the game. He scored his first goal for the Sky Blues against his former club, Cliftonville, in September at Solitude.

International career.

Together with Michael O'Connor, Marc Wilson and Darron Gibson, Kane is one of several footballers born in Northern Ireland, who were involved in a dispute between the Irish Football Association (IFA), which organizes football in Northern Ireland, and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), which organizes football in the Republic of Ireland, over international eligibility. A test case was taken by the IFA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which found that FIFA was correctly applying its player eligibility regulations in allowing such players to represent the FAI.

Northern Ireland.

Kane initially represented Northern Ireland at both under-18 and under-19 levels, before playing for the Republic of Ireland U21s during the 2006–07 season. He subsequently switched allegiances back to Northern Ireland and in November 2007 was called up for the senior team. He has also played for Northern Ireland U21s, becoming a regular member of the squad during the qualifying rounds for the 2009 European Under-21 Championship. To date he has played twice against Israel and in games against Luxembourg and Moldova. On 26 March 2008 he also played in a 3-1 friendly defeat against Romania.

Republic of Ireland.

During the 2006–07 season Kane also made five friendly appearances for the Republic of Ireland U21s, making his debut on 18 October 2006 in a 2–0 win against Luxembourg. Then in February 2007 he was selected for the Republic U-21 squad to play in the Madeira Cup, subsequently playing in two of the three games: a 1–0 win against Slovakia and a 2–2 draw with Madeira. On 27 March, he played in a 1–0 defeat against the Netherlands before making his final appearance for the Republic U-21s on 21 August 2007 in 2–2 draw with Germany.

Anthony Michael "Tony" Kane (born 29 August 1987) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for Ballymena United. As an international, Kane has represented both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland at under-21 level.

Anthony Michael „Tony“ Kane (* 29. August 1987 in Belfast) ist ein nordirischer Fußballspieler. Er besitzt auch die irische Staatsangehörigkeit.


Background and early political career.

Antonio Foscarini had two brothers, Alvise (1560–1617) and Girolamo (1561–1580), and three sisters, Caterina, Agnesina, and Luca Contarini. The Foscarini family lost a substantial part of their wealth, from the Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) and only the sons received financial support. His father Nicolò died in 1575, and his mother died in 1582, probably by suicide.  Antonio studied in Padua, where he made several lifelong friendships. From 1590 he and his remaining brother Alvise led the household, and in 1592 they agreed to share the considerable fortune of about 70,000 ducats that remained. The family property included estates in Padua, Mestrino, Verona and Venice, including the family home in San Polo. In 1595 Foscarini gained a seat in the Grand Council and in September 1597 was elected to the 'Savio agli Ordini', - the lowest level in the council of ministers the 'Collegio' - where he was witness to the factional infighting between 'conservatives' and 'innovators', the two opposing groups of the nobility. He became a supporter of the 'innovator' Paolo Sarpi.

Diplomatic career.

Foscarini began his political career as an envoy to the court of Henry IV of France in 1601 and was present at the king's marriage to Maria de Medici. On May 26, 1607 he was appointed as ambassador to France but did not assume the role until February the next year. In July 1610 he was made ambassador to England, but here too he delayed taking up the position until May 4 of the following year.  These delays in taking up his two appointments formed part of the accusations against him during his two trials, but it was found that he otherwise behaved fittingly. Accusations that he dressed poorly and was stingy were not trivial matters in the estates society. His opposition to the Pope and the Jesuit order was no secret.

First Arrest.

In February 1615 his secretary, Giulio Muscorno, denounced Foscarini before the Council of Ten, accusing him of selling state secrets to Spain. When Muscorno returned to Venice in March, his replacement, Giovanni Rizzardo, was requested to secretly gather evidence against Foscarini. Foscarini was arrested on his arrival in Venice in December. Three years later he was released without charge and formally absolved on July 30, 1618. In London between January 1616 and June 1617 his successor as ambassador to England, Gregorio Barbarigo, and his secretary Lionello, had searched in vain for evidence against him. In 1620 Foscarini was elected to the senate.

The Countess of Arundel and the Second Arrest.

In 1621, Alethea Howard, Countess of Arundel, reached Venice. She was the granddaughter of Elizabeth of Hardwick, a goddaughter of Queen Elizabeth I, and wife of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, a leading person at the court of King James I of England. Foscarini was a friend of the art-loving couple from London and visited the pair at the Palazzo Mocenigo on the Grand Canal where they were staying.  On April 8, 1622 Foscarini was arrested leaving the Senate. The Council of Ten accused him of meeting with ministers of foreign powers, both in Venice and abroad, and of betraying in words and in writing the most intimate secrets of the Republic. Foscarini was accused of disclosing state secrets to the secretary of Emperor Ferdinand II and to the nuncio of the Pope at the Arundel residence. The agents of the State Inquisition, Domenico and Girolomo Vano were the key witnesses. These, in turn, had received their information from Gian Battista, the servant of the Spanish Ambassador.  Sir Henry Wotton, England's ambassador to Venice, wrote to Arundel that the Senate would declare her an 'unwanted person' and advised her to leave the city immediately. Instead, she hurried to Wotton and requested an audience with Doge Antonio Priuli. She threatened the ambassador, whom she suspected of being involved in the action of the Council of Ten to call for her removal. In fact, she was not only admitted to the Doge, but he assured her that no one wanted to banish her, and promised to restore the honor of Foscarini by writing to London. Six months later she left Venice, bestowed with gifts from the Doge.

The Trial.

The account of the advocate Andrea Querini: The case against Foscarini was preceded by about twelve processes of small consequence that began with letters from England in 1605 written to the Supreme Tribunal by his secretary Giulio Muscorno. Foscarini was said to have incurred the hatred of the King and Court by imprudent discourse to the detriment of public affairs. He wrote to defend himself and Muscorno replied that he went in danger of his life from the ambassador. Subsequently, Foscarini was accused of corresponding with foreigners, and the greater part of the process turned upon this, but in the absence of real proof, only a caution was issued. In 1622, informers declared to the tribunal to have repeatedly seen Foscarini talking with the Spanish ambassador under a certain'sottoportico in Canareggio'. When questioned Foscarini did not deny the place or the hour but the person and the fact. A presumption of his guilt being established, he was condemned. Giovan Battista Nani describes these events in his "Historia della Republica Veneta," published in the latter half of the century, but his account contains inaccuracies, as Foscarini's arrival in England was after the beginning of May, 1611 and Muscorno's letters were sent in 1613.  Despite the assurances of the Doge given earlier to the Countess Arundel, Foscarini was convicted on April 22. He was strangled in jail and his body was, in the manner usual for those convicted of high treason, hung head down between the pillars in the Piazzetta. Before being so hung, his body had been dragged along the ground, from morning to dusk by one leg.

Rehabilitation.

Meanwhile, one of the inquisitors was suspicious and had interrogated the Spanish servant further, whereby he confessed to not having seen Foscarini in the Spanish ambassador's house. Girolamo, who had received a salary on May 23 for services not mentioned, and Domenico Vano, were both summoned and interviewed in August. They confessed to a conspiracy to discredit Foscarini, but the redacted court records reveal no motive, nor who may have been behind the conspiracy.  The Vano pair were convicted but before they were executed, the Foscarini nephews, Nicolò and Girolamo Foscarini, had petitioned the Council of Ten for further interrogation to reveal any co-conspirators, but this was declined. The English ambassador suspected this suggested either the statements of the convicted were of no value, or there were reasons of state.  On 16 January 1623, ten months after the Council of Ten had convicted Antonio Foscarini of high treason, he was exonerated of all charges by the same council.  The prosecutors were brought before the State Inquisition and the Council of Ten. The latter publicly acknowledged their error. Copies of the corresponding letters were sent to the Foscarini family and to all the estates in Europe.  Foscarini was exhumed and reburied with a state funeral. A statue was erected in the Foscarini Chapel in the church of San Stae on the Grand Canal. The Doge Marco Foscarini (1762-1763), a descendant of Antonio's brother Alvise, praised the Council of Ten for revoking its earlier judgment.

Background.

Antonio Foscarini was a follower of the so-called 'Giovani', a group in the Venetian nobility with sympathy for the Protestant rulers who supported them during the Thirty Years' War. When Foscarini was an ambassador to London, he made friends with Sir Henry Wotton (later to become British ambassador to Venice) and formed a formal alliance with England.  In addition, Venice had drawn the consequences in a lawsuit since 1605 and banished Theatines, Capuchins and Jesuits from its dominion. In return, the Pope had imposed on 17 April 1606, the Interdict on Venice. When this was abolished in 1607, the Jesuits were not allowed to return. The Venetian Republic challenged Papal authority and mistrusted the Jesuit order, with its strong Spanish ties. Venice resented Spanish power and her league with Florence, Milan and Naples. Savoy was the only other Italian state not subject to Spanish supremacy. Paolo Sarpi led an anti-papal group, opposing temporal privileges of the Pope.  The conflict between the 'Giovani' (the boys), and their opponents, 'Il Vecchi', (the ancients), also Papists was an important background to Foscarini's conviction. Until the death of Doge Leonardo Donato (1606-1612), 'the boys' dominated, but until 1631 they had intermittent influence.  The Habsburgs, leaders of the Counter-Reformation forces, involved Venice in a war under the leadership of Archduke Ferdinand, who in 1617 entered into the Treaty of Madrid. The Spanish Viceroy in Naples, the Duke of Osuna, refused to surrender. While his ships attacked Venetian merchants in the Adriatic, rumors circulated in Venice that the Spanish embassy was forming a core of supporters against the city. Many Venetians gathered before the embassy and the courts condemned more than a hundred men for treason. Three Spaniards were executed immediately.  The coup attempt sparked strong anti-Spanish sentiment in Venice even among pro-papal groups. Significantly Giambattista Bragadino, a member of the impoverished nobility, the so-called Barnabotti, having confessed to contact with the Spanish ambassador, was also executed. With the crowd surrounding the embassy, the Spanish Ambassador, the Marquess of Bedmar, decided to leave the city.  The denunciation of Antonio Foscarini by his secretary Giulio Muscarno, and subsequent arrest in 1615 had come in the midst of this crisis. He was eventually acquitted of selling information to the Spaniards but only after three years in detention. Muscarno was stripped of his office and sentenced to two years in prison.  Foscarini's second denunciation in 1622 may have arisen from first indictment, his Protestant sympathies, the antipathy of his secretary Muscarno, or the general fear of Spain's intrigue, but which of these, is impossible to ascertain.  Since 1310 the Council of the Ten dealt with cases of high treason. For both important dates, the day of the conviction (22 April 1622) and day of the rehabilitation (16 January 1623), the composition of the Council of the Ten is known. This Council of Ten, which had six councilors in addition to the Doge, consisted of ten senators, although a total of 17 men participated at the meetings. From their circle these determined three administrators of state, or 'Avogadori di Commun', one of whom would be a council of the Doge, the other two were elected by the senators. The three 'Avogadori' retained numerous informers, informants and henchmen, paid for from their own cash funds, and kept no records. The senate election to the Council were for one year terms, but the term commencement dates varied, so the Council composition changed monthly, but gradually.  Doge Antonio Priuli, Alvise Contarini, Francesco Molin and Battista Nani were all possible Papists, but the number of Papist members of the Council in 1622 cannot be determined.  In 1623, the presidents, (Capi), were Anzolo da Mosto, Marcantonio Mocenigo and Nicolò Contarini. According to Sarpi, Contarini was one of the brains of the Giovani, and Mocenigo supported them. Only Battista Nani, the third to sign the rehabilitation, was not one of them. Nani had been in the Council of Ten at the time of the sentencing of 1622, but had been one of four who voted for imprisonment and not execution.  Vincenzo Dandolo, like Nani, was present at both sessions. He was an old acquaintance of Contarini and probably owed him his Senate seat, and they had fought together in the Gradisca War 1615-1617. He had sought the harshest condemnation, and in 1623, voted for rehabilitation.  Whether the 'Giovani' and 'Papalisti' rivalry was behind the execution and rehabilitation is unknown. In 1622 Foscarini was so discredited that Paolo Sarpi had publicly declined the 100 ducats from the legacy of Foscarini, provided in his Will, on the eve of the execution for Sarpi's prayers. Sarpi may have rejected the inheritance in the belief of his guilt, or he may have feared for himself and his group.

Antonio Foscarini (c. 1570 in Venice – April 22, 1622) belonged to the Venetian nobility and was Venetian ambassador to Paris and later to London. He was the third son of Nicolò di Alvise of the family branch of San Polo and Maria Barbarigo di Antonio. In 1622 he was sentenced to death for high treason by the Council of Ten and executed.

Antonio Foscarini (* 1570 in Venedig; † 22. April 1622 ebenda) gehörte dem venezianischen Adel an und war Botschafter in Paris und London. Er war der dritte Sohn des Nicolò di Alvise des Familienzweiges von San Polo und der Maria Barbarigo di Antonio. 1622 wurde er vom Rat der Zehn wegen Hochverrats zum Tode verurteilt und hingerichtet.