Legal rules regarding consideration.

There are a number of common issues as to whether consideration exists in a contract:

History and comparative law.

Systems based on Roman law (including Germany and Scotland) do not require consideration, and some commentators consider it unnecessary and have suggested that the doctrine of consideration should be abandoned, and estoppel used to replace it as a basis for contracts. However, legislation, rather than judicial development, has been touted as the only way to remove this entrenched common law doctrine. Lord Justice Denning famously stated that "The doctrine of consideration is too firmly fixed to be overthrown by a side-wind".  The reason that both exist in common law jurisdictions is thought by leading scholars to be the result of the combining by 19th-century judges of two distinct threads: first the consideration requirement was at the heart of the action of assumpsit, which had grown up in medieval times and remained the normal action for breach of a simple contract in England and Wales until 1884 when the old forms of action were abolished; secondly, the notion of agreement between two or more parties as being the essential legal and moral foundation of contract in all legal systems, was promoted by the 18th-century French writer Pothier in his "Traite des Obligations", much read (especially after translation into English in 1805) by English judges and jurists. The latter chimed well with the fashionable will theories of the time, especially John Stuart Mill's influential ideas on free will, and got grafted on to the traditional common law requirement for consideration to ground an action in assumpsit.  Civil law systems take the approach that an exchange of promises, or a concurrence of wills alone, rather than an exchange in valuable rights is the correct basis. So if A promises to give B a book and B accepts the offer without giving anything in return, B would have a legal right to the book and A could not change her mind about giving it to B as a gift. However, in common law systems the concept of "culpa in contrahendo", a form of estoppel, is increasingly used to create obligations during pre-contractual negotiations. Estoppel is an equitable doctrine that provides for the creation of legal obligations if a party has given another an assurance and the other has relied on the assurance to his detriment.

Monetary value of consideration.

Generally, courts do not inquire whether the deal between two parties was monetarily fair—merely that each party passed some legal obligation or duty to the other party. The dispositive issue is the presence of consideration, not the adequacy of the consideration. The values between consideration passed by each party to a contract need not be comparable.  For instance, if A offers B $200 to buy B's mansion, luxury sports car, and private jet, there is still consideration on both sides. A's consideration is $200, and B's consideration is the mansion, car, and jet. Courts in the United States generally leave parties to their own contracts and do not intervene. The old English rule of consideration questioned whether a party gave the "value of a peppercorn" to the other party. As a result, contracts in the United States have sometimes have had one party pass nominal amounts of consideration, typically citing $1. Thus, licensing contracts that do not involve any money at all often cite as consideration, "for the sum of $1 and other good and valuable consideration."  However, some courts in the United States may take issue with nominal consideration, or consideration with virtually no value. Some courts have since thought this was a sham. Since contract disputes are typically resolved in state court, some state courts have found that merely providing $1 to another is not a sufficiently legal duty, and therefore no legal consideration passes in these kinds of deals, and consequently, no contract is formed. However, this is a minority position.

Pre-existing legal duties.

A party that "already" has a legal duty to provide money, an object, a service, or a forbearance, does not provide consideration when promising merely to uphold that duty. That legal duty can arise from law, or obligation under a previous contract.  The prime example of this sub-issue is where an uncle gives his thirteen-year-old nephew (a resident of the NY) the following offer: "if you do not smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol until your 18th birthday, then I will pay you $5,000". On the nephew's 18th birthday, he tells the uncle to pay up, and the uncle does not pay. In the subsequent lawsuit, the uncle wins, because the nephew, by U.S. criminal law, already had a duty to refrain from smoking cigarettes while under 18 or drink alcohol while under age 21.  The same applies if the consideration is a performance for which the parties had previously contracted. For example, A agrees to paint B's house for $500, but halfway through the job A tells B that he will not finish unless B increases the payment to $750. If B agrees, and A then finishes the job, B still only needs to pay A the $500 originally agreed to, because A was already contractually obligated to paint the house for that amount.  An exception to this rule holds for settlements, such as an accord and satisfaction. If a creditor has a credit against a debtor for $10,000, and offers to settle it for $5,000, it is still binding, if accepted, even though the debtor had a legal duty to repay the entire $10,000.  Pre-existing duties relating to at-will employment depend largely on state law. Generally, at-will employment allows the employer to terminate the employee for good or even no reason, and allows the employee to resign for any reason. There are no duties of continued employment in the future. Therefore, when an employee demands a raise, there is no issue with consideration because the employee has no legal duty to continue working. Similarly, when an employer demands a pay-cut, there is also no contractual issue with consideration, because the employer has no legal duty to continue employing the worker. However, certain states require additional consideration other than the prospect of continued employment, to enforce terms demanded later by the employer, in particular, non-competition clauses.

Bundled terms.

Contracts where a legally valueless term is bundled with a term that does have legal value are still generally enforceable.  Consider the uncle's situation above. If the same uncle had instead told his 13-year-old nephew the following offer: "if you do not smoke cigarettes, do not drink alcohol, swear or play cards for money (gamble) before your 21st birthday, then I will pay you $5,000". On the nephew's 21st birthday, he asks the uncle to pay up, and this time, in the subsequent lawsuit, the nephew may win. Although the promise of not drinking alcohol and gambling while under the age of 21 was not valuable consideration (it was already legally prohibited), most states allow smoking by age 18 and swearing, while some consider it vulgar, is not illegal at any age. Even though smoking is legally restricted until age 18, it is legal for those above 18, and thus the promise to forbear from it entirely has legal value. However, the uncle would still be relieved from the liability if his nephew drank alcohol, even though "that" consideration is valueless, because it was paired with something of legal value; therefore, adherence to the entire, collective agreement is necessary.

Past consideration.

Generally, past consideration is not a valid consideration and has no legal value. Past consideration is consideration that has already flowed from the promisee to the promisor. That is, the promisee's act or forbearance predates the promisor's promise. Past consideration therefore cannot be used as a basis when claiming damages.  An exception to this rule is where there is a duty owed to a third party. An act done before the giving of a promise to make a payment or to confer some other benefit can sometimes be consideration for the promise. For this to hold, three conditions must be satisfied (Pao On v Lau Yiu Long [1980]):

Option contracts and conditional consideration.

Generally, conditional consideration is valid consideration.  Suppose A is a movie script writer and B runs a movie production company. A says to B, "buy my script." B says "How about this – I will pay you $5,000 so that you do not let anyone else produce your movie until one year from now. If I do produce your movie in that year, then I will give you another $50,000, and no one else can produce it. If I do not produce your movie in that year, then you're free to go." If the two subsequently get into a dispute, the issue of whether a contract exists is answered. B had an option contract—he could decide to produce the script, or not. B's consideration passed was the $5,000 down, and the possibility of $50,000. A's consideration passed was the exclusive rights to the movie script for at least one year.

In settlements.

Suppose B commits a tort against A, causing $5,000 in compensatory damages and $3,000 in punitive damages. Since there is no guarantee that A would win against B if it went to court, A may agree to drop the case if B pays the $5,000 compensatory damages. This is sufficient consideration, since B's consideration is a guaranteed recovery, and A's consideration is that B only has to pay $5,000, instead of $8,000.

Consideration is a concept of English common law and is a necessity for simple contracts but not for special contracts (contracts by deed). The concept has been adopted by other common law jurisdictions.

合同代价(英语:"consideration"),又称做约因,是普通法系合同法中的重要概念,其内涵是一方为换取另一方做某事的承诺而向另一方支付的金钱代价或得到该种承诺的承诺。


Naming.

Carl Linnaeus chose the name "Rangifer" for the reindeer genus, which Albertus Magnus used in his "De animalibus", fol. Liber 22, Cap. 268: "Dicitur Rangyfer quasi ramifer". This word may go back to the Saami word "raingo". Linnaeus chose the word "tarandus" as the specific epithet, making reference to Ulisse Aldrovandi's "Quadrupedum omnium bisulcorum historia" fol. 859–863, Cap. 30: De Tarando (1621). However, Aldrovandi and Konrad Gesner – thought that "rangifer" and "tarandus" were two separate animals. In any case, the "tarandos" name goes back to Aristotle and Theophrastus.  The use of the terms Reindeer and caribou for essentially the same animal can

Taxonomy and evolution.

The species' taxonomic name, "Rangifer tarandus", was defined by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The woodland caribou subspecies' taxonomic name "Rangifer tarandus caribou" was defined by Gmelin in 1788.  Based on Banfield's often-cited "A Revision of the Reindeer and Caribou, Genus Rangifer" (1961), "R. t. caboti" (the Labrador caribou), "R. t. osborni" (Osborn's caribou—from British Columbia) and "R. t. terraenovae" (the Newfoundland caribou) were considered invalid and included in "R. t. caribou".  Some recent authorities have considered them all valid, even suggesting that they are quite distinct. In their book entitled "Mammal Species of the World", American zoologist Don E. Wilson and DeeAnn Reeder agree with Valerius Geist, specialist on large North American mammals, that this range actually includes several subspecies.  Geist (2007) argued that the "true woodland caribou, the uniformly dark, small-maned type with the frontally emphasised, flat-beamed

Subspecies.

The canonical "Mammal Species of the World" (3rd ed.) recognises 14 subspecies, two of which are extinct.  The table above includes "R. tarandus caboti" (Labrador caribou), "R. tarandus osborni" (Osborn's caribou – from British Columbia) and "R. tarandus terraenovae" (Newfoundland caribou). Based on a review in 1961, these were considered invalid and included in "R. tarandus caribou", but some recent authorities have considered them all valid, even suggesting that they are quite distinct. An analysis of mtDNA in 2005 found differences between the caribou from Newfoundland, Labrador, southwestern Canada and southeastern Canada, but maintained all in "R. tarandus caribou".  There are seven subspecies of reindeer in Eurasia, of which only two are found in Fennoscandia: the mountain reindeer ("R. t. tarandus") in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia and the Finnish forest reindeer ("R. t. fennicus") in Finland and Russia.  Two subspecies are found only in North America: the Porcupine caribou ("R. t. granti") and the Peary caribou ("R. t. pearyi"). The barren-ground caribou ("R. t. groenlandicus") is found in western Greenland, but the larger herds are in Alaska, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.  According to Grubb, based on Banfield and considerably modified by Geist, these subspecies and divisions are considered valid: the "caribou" or woodland caribou division, which includes "R. t. buskensis", "R. t. caribou", "R. t.

Physical characteristics.

Antlers.

In most populations both sexes grow antlers; the reindeer is the only cervid species in which females grow them as well as males. Androgens play essential role in cervids antler formation. The antlerogenic genes in reindeer have more sensitivity to androgens in comparison with other cervids.  There is considerable variation between subspecies in the size of the antlers (e.g. they are rather small and spindly in the northernmost subspecies), but on average the bull reindeer's antlers are the second largest of any extant deer, after the moose. In the largest subspecies, the antlers of large males can range up to in width and in beam length. They have the largest antlers relative to body size among living deer species. Antler size measured in number of points reflects the nutritional status of the reindeer and climate variation of

Pelt.

The colour of the fur varies considerably, both between individuals and depending on season and subspecies. Northern populations, which usually are relatively small, are whiter, while southern populations, which typically are relatively large, are darker. This can be seen well in North America, where the northernmost subspecies, the Peary caribou, is the whitest and smallest subspecies of the continent, while the southernmost subspecies, the boreal woodland caribou, is the darkest

Heat exchange.

Blood moving into the legs is cooled by blood returning to the body in a countercurrent heat exchange (CCHE), a highly efficient means of minimising heat loss through the skin's surface. In the CCHE mechanism, in cold weather, blood vessels are closely knotted and intertwined with arteries to the skin and appendages that carry warm blood with veins returning to the body that carry cold blood causing the warm arterial blood to exchange heat with the cold venous blood. In this way, their legs for example are kept cool, maintaining the core body temperature nearly higher with less heat lost to the environment. Heat is thus recycled instead of

Hooves.

The reindeer has large feet with crescent-shaped, cloven hooves for walking in snow or swamps. According to the Species at Risk Public Registry (SARA), woodland Reindeer hooves adapt to the season: in the summer, when the tundra is soft and wet,

Size.

The females usually measure in length and weigh. The males (or "bulls" as they are often called) are typically larger (to an extent which varies between the different subspecies), measuring in length and usually weighing. Exceptionally large males have weighed

Clicking sound.

The knees of many subspecies of reindeer are adapted to produce a clicking sound as they walk. The sounds originate in the tendons of the knees and may be audible from ten meters away. The frequency of the knee-clicks is one of a range of signals that establish relative positions on a dominance scale among

Eyes.

A study by researchers from University College London in 2011 revealed that reindeer can see light with wavelengths as short as 320 nm (i.e. in the ultraviolet range), considerably below the human threshold of 400 nm. It is thought that this ability helps

Biology and behaviour.

Seasonal body composition.

Reindeer have developed adaptations for optimal metabolic efficiency during warm months as well as for during cold months. The body composition of reindeer varies highly with the seasons. Of particular interest is the body composition and diet of breeding and non-breeding females between seasons. Breeding females have more body mass than non-breeding females between the months of March and September with a difference of around 10 kg more than non-breeding females. From November to December, non-breeding females have more body mass than breeding females, as non-breeding females are able to focus their energies towards storage during colder months rather than lactation and reproduction. Body masses of both breeding and non-breeding females peaks in September. During

Reproduction and life-cycle.

Reindeer mate in late September to early November and the gestation period is about 228–234 days. During the mating season, males battle for access to females. Two males will lock each other's antlers together and try to push each other away. The most dominant males can collect as many as 15–20 females to mate with. A male will stop eating during this time and lose much of his body reserves.  To calve, "females travel to isolated, relatively predator-free areas such as islands in lakes, peatlands, lakeshores, or tundra." As females select the habitat

Social structure, migration and range.

Some populations of North American caribou, for example many herds in the barren-ground caribou subspecies and some woodland caribou in Ungava and Labrador, migrate the farthest of any terrestrial mammal, travelling up to a year, and covering. Other North American populations, the boreal woodland caribou for example, are largely sedentary. The European populations are known to have shorter migrations. Island herds such as the subspecies "R. t. pearsoni" and "R. t. platyrhynchus" make local movements. Migrating reindeer can be negatively affected by parasite loads. Severely infected individuals are weak and probably have shortened lifespans, but parasite levels

Ecology.

Distribution and habitat.

Originally, the reindeer was found in Scandinavia, eastern Europe, Greenland, Russia, Mongolia and northern China north of the 50th latitude. In North America, it was found in Canada, Alaska, and the northern conterminous USA from Washington to Maine. In the 19th century, it was apparently still present in southern Idaho. Even in historical times, it probably occurred naturally in Ireland. During the late Pleistocene era, reindeer occurred as far south as Nevada and Tennessee in North America and as far south as Spain in Europe. Today, wild reindeer have disappeared from these areas, especially from the southern parts, where it vanished almost everywhere. Large populations of wild reindeer are still found in Norway, Finland, Siberia, Greenland, Alaska and Canada.  According to the Grubb (2005), "Rangifer tarandus" is "circumboreal in the tundra and taiga" from "Svalbard, Norway, Finland, Russia, Alaska (USA) and

Diet.

Reindeer are ruminants, having a four-chambered stomach. They mainly eat lichens in winter, especially reindeer lichen – a unique adaptation among mammals – they are the only large mammal able to metabolise lichen owing to specialised bacteria and protozoa in their gut. They are the only animals (except for some gastropods) in which the enzyme lichenase, which breaks down lichenin to glucose, has been found. However, they also eat the leaves of

Predators.

A variety of predators prey heavily on reindeer, including overhunting by people in some areas, which contributes to the decline of populations.  Golden eagles prey on calves and are the most prolific hunter on the calving grounds. Wolverines will take newborn calves or birthing cows, as well as (less commonly) infirm adults.  Brown bears and polar bears prey on reindeer of all ages, but like the wolverines they are most likely to attack weaker animals, such as calves and sick reindeer, since healthy adult reindeer can usually outpace a bear. The grey wolf is the most effective natural predator of adult reindeer and sometimes takes large numbers, especially during the winter. Some wolf packs as well as individual grizzly bears in Canada may follow and live off of a particular reindeer

Other threats.

White-tailed deer ("Odocoileus virginianus") commonly carry meningeal worm or brainworm, a nematode parasite that causes reindeer, moose ("Alces alces"), elk ("Cervus canadensis"), and mule deer ("Odocoileus hemionus") to develop fatal neurological symptoms which include a loss of fear of humans. White-tailed deer that carry this worm are partly immune to it.

Conservation.

Current status.

While overall widespread and numerous, some subspecies are rare and at least one has already gone extinct. As of 2015, the IUCN has classified the reindeer as Vulnerable due to an observed population decline of 40% over the last ≈25 years. According to IUCN, "Rangifer tarandus" as a species is not endangered because of its overall large population and its widespread range.  In North America, "R. t. dawsoni" is extinct, "R. t. pearyi" is endangered, "R. t. caribou" is designated as threatened and some individual populations are

Boreal woodland caribou (COSEWIC designation as threatened).

Ongoing human development of their habitat has caused populations of woodland caribou to disappear from their original southern range. In particular, caribou were extirpated in many areas of eastern North America in the beginning of the 20th century. Woodland caribou were designated as threatened in 2002. Environment Canada reported in 2011 that there were approximately 34,000 boreal woodland caribou in 51 ranges remaining in Canada (Environment Canada, 2011b). Professor Marco Musiani of the University of Calgary said in a statement that "The woodland caribou is already an endangered

Peary caribou (COSEWIC designation as endangered).

In 1991 COSEWIC assigned "endangered status" to the Banks Island and High Arctic populations

Relationship with humans.

The reindeer has an important economic role for all circumpolar peoples, including the Saami, the Nenets, the Khants, the Evenks, the Yukaghirs, the Chukchi and the Koryaks in Eurasia. It is believed that domestication started between the Bronze and Iron Ages. Siberian reindeer owners also use the reindeer to ride on (Siberian reindeer are larger than their Scandinavian relatives). For breeders, a single owner may own hundreds or even thousands of animals. The numbers of Russian reindeer herders have been drastically reduced since the fall of the Soviet Union. The sale of fur and meat is an important source of income. Reindeer were introduced into Alaska near the end of the 19th century; they interbred with the native caribou subspecies there. Reindeer herders on the Seward Peninsula have experienced significant losses to their herds from animals (such as wolves) following the wild caribou during their migrations.  Reindeer meat is popular in the Scandinavian countries. Reindeer meatballs are sold canned. Sautéed reindeer is the best-known dish in Sápmi. In Alaska and Finland, reindeer sausage is sold in supermarkets and grocery stores. Reindeer meat is very tender and lean. It can be prepared fresh, but also dried, salted and hot- and cold-smoked. In addition to meat, almost all of the internal organs of reindeer can be eaten, some being traditional dishes. Furthermore, "Lapin Poron liha", fresh reindeer meat completely produced and packed in Finnish Sápmi, is protected in Europe with PDO classification.  Reindeer antlers are powdered and sold as an aphrodisiac, or as an nutritional or medicinal supplement, to Asian markets.  The blood of the caribou was supposedly mixed with alcohol as drink by hunters and loggers in colonial Quebec to counter the cold. This drink is now enjoyed without the blood as a wine and whiskey drink known as "Caribou".

Reindeer and indigenous peoples.

Wild reindeer are still hunted in Greenland and in North America. In the traditional lifestyle of the Inuit people, the Northern First Nations people, the Alaska Natives, and the Kalaallit of Greenland, reindeer is an important source of food, clothing, shelter and tools.  The Caribou Inuit are inland-dwelling Inuit in present-day Nunavut's Keewatin Region, Canada, now known as the Kivalliq Region. They subsisted on caribou year-round, eating dried caribou meat in the winter. The Ihalmiut are caribou Inuit that followed the Qamanirjuaq barren-ground caribou herd.  There is an Inuit saying in the Kivalliq Region:  Elder Chief of Koyukuk and chair for the Western Arctic Caribou Herd Working Group Benedict Jones, or K’ughto’oodenool’o’, represents the Middle Yukon River, Alaska. His grandmother was a member of the Caribou Clan, who travelled with the caribou as a means to survive. In 1939, they were living the traditional life style at one of their hunting camps in Koyukuk near the location of what is now the Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge. His grandmother made a pair of new mukluks in one day. K’ughto’oodenool’o’ recounted a story told by an elder, who "worked on the steamboats during the gold rush days out on the Yukon." In late August the caribou migrated from the Alaska Range up north to Huslia, Koyukuk and the Tanana area. One year when the steamboat was unable to continue they ran into a

Reindeer husbandry.

The reindeer is the only domesticated deer in the world, though it may be more accurate to consider reindeer as semi-domesticated. Reindeer in northern Fennoscandia (northern Norway, Sweden and Finland) as well in the Kola Peninsula and Yakutia in Russia, are all semi-wild domestic reindeer ("Rangifer tarandus f. domesticus"), ear-marked by their owners. Some reindeer in the area are truly domesticated, mostly used as draught animals (nowadays commonly for tourist entertainment and races, traditionally important for the nomadic Sámi). Domesticated reindeer have also been used for milk, e.g. in Norway.  There are only two genetically pure populations of wild reindeer in Northern Europe: wild mountain reindeer ("Rangifer tarandus tarandus") that live in central Norway, with a population in 2007 of between 6,000 and 8,400 animals; and wild Finnish forest reindeer ("Rangifer tarandus fennicus") that live in central and eastern Finland and in Russian Karelia, with a population of about 4,350, plus 1,500 in Arkhangelsk and 2,500 in Komi.  DNA analysis indicates that reindeer were independently domesticated in Fennoscandia and Western Russia (and possibly Eastern Russia). Reindeer have been herded for centuries by several Arctic and sub-Arctic peoples, including the Sami, the Nenets and the Yakuts. They are raised for their meat, hides and antlers and, to a lesser extent, for milk and transportation. Reindeer are not considered fully domesticated, as they generally roam free on pasture grounds. In traditional nomadic herding, reindeer herders migrate with their herds between coastal and inland areas according to an annual migration route and herds are keenly tended. However, reindeer were not bred

In history.

Reindeer hunting by humans has a very long history and wild reindeer "may well be the species of single greatest importance in the entire anthropological literature on hunting."  Both Aristotle and Theophrastus have short accounts – probably based on the same source – of an ox-sized deer species, named "tarandos", living in the land of the Bodines in Scythia, which was able to change the colour of its fur to obtain camouflage. The latter is probably a misunderstanding of the seasonal change in reindeer fur colour. The descriptions have been interpreted as being of reindeer living in the southern Ural Mountains

Santa Claus's reindeer.

Around the world, public interest in reindeer peaks in the Christmas period. According to folklore, Santa Claus's sleigh is pulled by flying reindeer. These were first named in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas", where they are called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet,

In mythology and art.

Among the Inuit, there is a story of the origin of the caribou, Inuit artists from the barren lands, incorporate depictions of caribou—and items made from caribou antlers and skin—in carvings, drawings, prints and sculpture.  Contemporary Canadian artist Brian Jungen's, of Dunne-za First Nations ancestry, commissioned an installation entitled "The ghosts on top of my head" (2010–11)

Heraldry and symbols.

Several Norwegian municipalities have one or more reindeer depicted in their coats-of-arms: Eidfjord, Porsanger, Rendalen, Tromsø, Vadsø and Vågå. The historic province of Västerbotten in Sweden has a reindeer in its coat of arms. The present Västerbotten County has very different borders and uses the reindeer combined with other symbols in its coat-of-arms. The city of Piteå also has a reindeer. The logo for Umeå University features three reindeer.

The reindeer ("Rangifer tarandus"), also known as the caribou in North America, is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. This includes both sedentary and migratory populations. "Rangifer" herd size varies greatly in different geographic regions. The Taimyr herd of migrating Siberian tundra reindeer ("R. t. sibiricus") in Russia is the largest wild reindeer herd in the world, varying between 400,000 and 1,000,000. What was once the second largest herd is the migratory boreal woodland caribou ("R. t. caribou") George River herd in Canada, with former variations between 28,000 and 385,000. As of January 2018, there are fewer than 9,000 animals estimated to be left in the George River herd, as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "The New York Times" reported in April 2018 of the disappearance of the only herd of southern mountain caribou in the contiguous United States with an expert calling it "functionally extinct" after the herd's size dwindled to a mere three animals.

驯鹿(学名"Rangifer tarandus"),又名角鹿。是鹿科驯鹿属下的唯一一种动物。


Life and career.

Early years 1868–1894.

Emanuel Lasker was born on December 24, 1868, at Berlinchen in Neumark (now Barlinek in Poland), the son of a Jewish cantor. At the age of eleven he was sent to Berlin to study mathematics, where he lived with his brother Berthold, eight years his senior, who taught him how to play chess. Berthold was among the world's top ten players in the early 1890s. To supplement their income Emanuel Lasker played chess and card games for small stakes, especially

Chess competition 1894–1918.

Matches against Steinitz.

Rebuffed by Tarrasch, Lasker challenged the reigning World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz to a match for the title. Initially Lasker wanted to play for US$5,000 a side and a match was agreed at stakes of $3,000 a side, but Steinitz agreed to a series of reductions when Lasker found it difficult to raise the money. The final figure was $2,000, which was less than for some of Steinitz's earlier matches (the final combined stake of $4,000 would be worth over $495,000 at 2006 values). Although this was publicly praised as an act of sportsmanship on Steinitz's part, Steinitz may have desperately

Tournament successes.

Influential players and journalists belittled the 1894 match both before and after it took place. Lasker's difficulty in getting backing may have been caused by hostile pre-match comments from Gunsberg and Leopold Hoffer, who had long been a bitter enemy of Steinitz. One of the complaints was that Lasker had never played the other two members of the top four, Siegbert Tarrasch and Mikhail Chigorin – although Tarrasch had rejected a challenge from Lasker in 1892, publicly telling him to go and win an international tournament first. After the match, some commentators, notably Tarrasch, said Lasker had won mainly because Steinitz was old (58 in 1894).  Emanuel Lasker answered these criticisms by creating

Matches against Marshall and Tarrasch.

Lasker's match record was as impressive between his 1896–97 re-match with Steinitz and 1914: he won all but one of his normal matches, and three of those were convincing defenses of his title.  In 1906 Lasker and Géza Maróczy agreed to terms for a World Championship, but the arrangements could not be finalised, and the match never took place.  Lasker's first world championship match since 1897 was against Frank Marshall in the World Chess Championship 1907. Despite his aggressive style, Marshall could not win a single game, losing eight and drawing seven (final score: 111⁄2−31⁄2).  Lasker then played Tarrasch in the World Chess Championship 1908, first at Düsseldorf then at Munich. Tarrasch firmly believed the game of

Matches against Janowski.

In 1909 Lasker drew a short match (two wins, two losses) against Dawid Janowski, an all-out attacking Polish expatriate. Several months later they played a longer match in Paris, and chess historians still debate whether this was for the World Chess Championship. Understanding Janowski's style, Lasker chose to defend solidly so that Janowski unleashed his attacks too soon and left himself vulnerable. Lasker easily

Match against Schlechter.

Between his two matches against Janowski, Lasker arranged another World Chess Championship in January–February 1910 against Carl Schlechter. Schlechter was a modest gentleman, who was generally unlikely to win the major chess tournaments by his peaceful inclination, his lack of aggressiveness and his willingness to accept most draw offers from his opponents (about 80% of his games finished by a draw).  At the beginning, Lasker tried to attack but Schlechter had no difficulty defending, so that the first four games finished in draws. In the fifth game Lasker had a big advantage, but committed a blunder that cost him the game. Hence at the middle of the match Schlechter was one point ahead. The next four games were drawn, despite fierce play from both players. In the sixth Schlechter managed to draw a game being a pawn down. In the seventh Lasker nearly

Abandoned challenges.

In 1911 Lasker received a challenge for a world title match against the rising star José Raúl Capablanca. Lasker was unwilling to play the traditional "first to win ten games" type of match in the semi-tropical conditions of Havana, especially as drawn games were becoming more frequent and the match might last for over six months. He therefore made a counter-proposal: if neither player had a lead of at least two games by the end of the match, it should be considered a draw; the match should be limited to the best of thirty games, counting draws; except that if either player won six games "and" led by at least two games before thirty games were completed, he should be declared the winner; the champion should decide the venue and stakes, and should have the exclusive right to publish the games; the challenger should deposit a forfeit of US$2,000 (equivalent to over $250,000 in 2020 values); the time limit should be twelve moves per hour; play should be limited to two

Academic activities 1894–1918.

Despite his superb playing results, chess was not Lasker's only interest. His parents recognized his intellectual talents, especially for mathematics, and sent the adolescent Emanuel to study in Berlin (where he found he also had a talent for chess). Lasker gained his abitur (high school graduation certificate) at Landsberg an der Warthe, now a Polish town named Gorzów Wielkopolski but then part of Prussia. He then studied mathematics and philosophy at the universities in Berlin, Göttingen (where David Hilbert was one of his doctoral advisors) and Heidelberg.  In 1895 Lasker published two mathematical articles in "Nature". On the advice of David Hilbert he registered for doctoral studies at Erlangen during 1900–1902. In 1901 he presented his doctoral

Other activities 1894–1918.

In 1896–97 Lasker published his book "Common Sense in Chess", based on lectures he had given in London in 1895.  In 1903, Lasker played in Ostend against Mikhail Chigorin, a six-game match that was sponsored by the wealthy lawyer and industrialist Isaac Rice in order to test the Rice Gambit. Lasker narrowly lost the match. Three years later Lasker became secretary of the Rice Gambit Association, founded by Rice in order to promote the Rice Gambit, and in 1907 Lasker quoted with approval Rice's views on the convergence of chess and military strategy.  In

Match against Capablanca.

In January 1920 Lasker and José Raúl Capablanca signed an agreement to play a World Championship match in 1921, noting that Capablanca was not free to play in 1920. Because of the delay, Lasker insisted on a final clause that allowed him to play anyone else for the championship in 1920, that nullified the contract with Capablanca if Lasker lost a title match in 1920, and that stipulated that if Lasker resigned the title Capablanca should become World Champion. Lasker had previously included in his agreement before World War I to play Akiba Rubinstein for the title a similar clause that if he resigned the title, it should become Rubinstein's.  A report in the "American Chess Bulletin" (July–August 1920 issue) said that Lasker had resigned the world title in favor of Capablanca because the conditions of the match were unpopular in the chess world. The "American Chess Bulletin" speculated that the conditions were not sufficiently unpopular to warrant resignation of the title, and that Lasker's real concern was that there was not enough financial backing to justify his

European life and travels.

Lasker was in his early 50s when he lost the world championship to Capablanca, and he retired from serious match play afterwards; his only other match was a short exhibition against Frank James Marshall in 1940, which Lasker lost. After winning the Moravská Ostrava 1923 chess tournament (without a single loss), the New York 1924 chess tournament (11⁄2 points ahead of Capablanca) and finishing second at Moscow in 1925 (11⁄2 points behind Efim Bogoljubow, 1⁄2 point ahead of Capablanca), he effectively retired from serious chess. During the Moscow 1925 chess tournament, Lasker received a telegram informing him that the drama written by himself and his brother Berthold, "Vom Menschen die Geschichte" ("History of Mankind"), had been accepted for performance at the Lessing theatre in Berlin. Lasker was so distracted by this news that he lost badly to Carlos Torre the same day. The play, however, was not a success.  In 1926, Lasker wrote "Lehrbuch des Schachspiels", which he re-wrote in English in 1927 as "Lasker's Manual of Chess". He also wrote books on other games of mental skill: "Encyclopedia of Games" (1929) and "Das verständige Kartenspiel" (means "Sensible Card Play"; 1929; English translation

Return to the United States and death.

In August 1937, Martha and Emanuel Lasker decided to leave the Soviet Union, and they moved, via the Netherlands, to the United States (first Chicago, next New York) in October 1937. They were visiting Martha's daughter, but they may also have been motivated by political upheaval in the Soviet Union. In the United States Lasker tried to support himself by

Assessment.

Playing strength and style.

Lasker was considered to have a "psychological" method of play in which he considered the subjective qualities of his opponent, in addition to the objective requirements of his position on the board. Richard Réti published a lengthy analysis of Lasker's play in which he concluded that Lasker deliberately played inferior moves that he knew would make his opponent uncomfortable. W. H. K. Pollock commented, "It is no easy matter to reply correctly to Lasker's bad moves."  Lasker himself denied the claim that he deliberately played bad moves, and most modern writers agree. According to Grandmaster Andrew Soltis and International Master John L. Watson, the features that made his play mysterious to contemporaries now appear regularly in modern play: the g2–g4 "Spike" attack against the Dragon Sicilian; sacrifices to gain positional advantage; playing the "practical" move rather than trying to find the best move; counterattacking and complicating the game before a disadvantage became serious. Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik said, "He realized that different types of advantage

Influence on chess.

Lasker founded no school of players who played in a similar style. Max Euwe, World Champion 1935–1937 and a prolific writer of chess manuals, who had a lifetime 0–3 score against Lasker, said, "It is not possible to learn much from him. One can only stand and wonder." However, Lasker's pragmatic, combative approach had a great influence on Soviet players like Mikhail Tal and Viktor Korchnoi.  There are several "Lasker Variations" in the chess openings, including Lasker's Defense to the Queen's Gambit, Lasker's Defense to the Evans Gambit (which effectively ended the use of this gambit in tournament play until a revival in the 1990s), and the Lasker Variation in the McCutcheon Variation of the French Defense.  One of Lasker's most famous games is Lasker–Bauer, Amsterdam 1889, in which he sacrificed both bishops in a maneuver later repeated in a number of games. Similar sacrifices had already been played by

Work in other fields.

Lasker was also a mathematician. In his 1905 article on commutative algebra, Lasker introduced the theory of primary decomposition of ideals, which has influence in the theory of Noetherian rings. Rings having the "primary decomposition property" are called "Laskerian

Friends and relatives.

Lasker was a good friend of Albert Einstein, who wrote the introduction to the posthumous biography "Emanuel Lasker, The Life of a Chess Master" from Dr. Jacques Hannak (1952). In this preface Einstein expresses

In popular culture.

In Michael Chabon's alternate history mystery novel, "The Yiddish Policemen's Union", the murdered man, Mendel Shpilman (born during the 1960s),

Tournament results.

The following table gives Lasker's placings and scores in tournaments. The first "Score" column gives the number of

Match results.

Here are Lasker's results in matches. The first "Score" column gives the number of points on the total possible. In the second "Score" column, "+" indicates the number of won games, "−" the number of losses, and "=" the number of draws.

Emanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champion in history. In his prime, Lasker was one of the most dominant champions, and he is still generally regarded as one of the strongest players ever.

伊曼纽·拉斯克(,1868年-12月24日-1941年-1月11日),德国国际象棋选手、数学家及哲学家,连续27年夺得世界国际象棋冠军。拉斯克在青年时期便已是举足轻重的冠军,也普遍公认是史上最优秀的选手之一。


Early life.

Meucci was born at Via dei Serragli 44 in the San Frediano borough of Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (now in the Italian Republic), on 13 April 1808, as the first of nine children to Amatis Meucci and Domenica Pepi. Amatis was at times a government clerk and a member of the local police, and Domenica was principally a homemaker. Four of Meucci's siblings did not survive childhood.  In November 1821, at the age of 15, he was admitted to Florence Academy of Fine Arts as its youngest student, where he studied chemical and mechanical engineering. He ceased full-time studies two years later due to insufficient funds, but continued studying part-time after obtaining employment as an assistant gatekeeper and customs official for the Florentine government.
 In May 1825, because of the celebrations for the childbirth of Marie Anna of Saxony, wife of Leopold II Grand Duke of Tuscany, he conceived a powerful propellant mixture for flares. Unfortunately the fireworks went out of Meucci’s control causing damages and injuries in the celebration’s square. Meucci was arrested and suspected of conspiracy against the Grand Duchy.
 Meucci later became employed at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence as a stage technician, assisting Artemio Canovetti.  In 1834 Meucci constructed a type of acoustic telephone to communicate between the stage and control room at the Teatro of Pergola. This telephone was constructed on the principles of pipe-telephones used on ships and still functions. He married costume designer Esterre Mochi, who was employed in the same theatre, on 7 August 1834.

Havana, Cuba.

In October 1835, Meucci and his wife emigrated to Cuba, then a Spanish province, where Meucci accepted a job at what was then called the Teatro Tacón in Havana (at the time, the greatest theater in the Americas). In Havana he constructed a system for water purification and reconstructed the Gran Teatro. In 1848 his contract with the governor expired. Meucci was asked by a friend's doctors to work on Franz Anton Mesmer's therapy system on patients suffering from rheumatism. In 1849, he developed a popular method of using electric shocks to treat illness and subsequently experimentally developed a device through which one could hear inarticulate human voice. He called this device "telegrafo parlante" (talking telegraph).  In 1850, the third renewal of Meucci's contract with Don Francisco Martí y Torrens expired, and his friendship with General Giuseppe Garibaldi made him a suspect citizen in Cuba. On the other hand, the fame reached by Samuel F. B. Morse in the United States encouraged Meucci to make his living through inventions.

Move to Staten Island, New York.

On 13 April 1850, Meucci and his wife emigrated to the United States, taking with them approximately 26,000 pesos fuertes in savings (approximately $500,000 in 2010 dollars), and settled in the Clifton area of Staten Island, New York.  The Meuccis would live there for the remainder of their lives. On Staten Island he helped several countrymen committed to the Italian unification movement and who had escaped political persecution. Meucci invested the substantial capital he had earned in Cuba into a tallow candle factory (the first of this kind in America) employing several Italian exiles. For two years Meucci hosted friends at his cottage, including General Giuseppe Garibaldi, and Colonel Paolo Bovi Campeggi, who arrived in New York two months after Meucci. They worked in Meucci's factory.  In 1854, Meucci's wife Esterre became an invalid due to rheumatoid arthritis. Meucci continued his experiments.

Electromagnetic telephone.

Meucci studied the principles of electromagnetic voice transmission for many years and was able to transmit his voice through wires in 1856. He installed a telephone-like device within his house in order to communicate with his wife who was ill at the time. Some of Meucci's notes written in 1857 describe the basic principle of electromagnetic voice transmission or in other words, the telephone:  Translated: Meucci devised an electromagnetic telephone as a way of connecting his second-floor bedroom to his basement laboratory, and thus being able to communicate with his wife. Between 1856 and 1870, Meucci developed more than 30 different kinds of telephones on the basis of this prototype.  A postage stamp was produced in Italy in 2003 that featured a portrait of Meucci. Around 1858, artist Nestore Corradi sketched Meucci's communication concept. His drawing was used to accompany the stamp in a commemorative publication of the Italian Postal and Telegraph Society.  Meucci intended to develop his prototype but did not have the financial means to keep his company afloat in order to finance his invention. His candle factory went bankrupt and Meucci was forced to unsuccessfully seek funds from rich Italian families. In 1860, he asked his friend Enrico Bandelari to look for Italian capitalists willing to finance his project. However, military expeditions led by Garibaldi in Italy had made the political situation in that country too unstable for anybody to invest.

Bankruptcy.

At the same time, Meucci was led to poverty by some fraudulent debtors. On 13 November 1861 his cottage was auctioned. The purchaser allowed the Meuccis to live in the cottage without paying rent, but Meucci's private finances dwindled and he soon had to live on public funds and by depending on his friends. As mentioned in William J. Wallace's ruling, during the years 1859–1861, Meucci was in close business and social relations with William E. Ryder, who invested money in Meucci's inventions and paid the expenses of his experiments. Their close working friendship continued until 1867.  In August 1870, Meucci reportedly was able to capture a transmission of articulated human voice at the distance of a mile by using a copper plate as a conductor, insulated by cotton. He called this device the "telettrofono". While he was recovering from injuries that befell him in a boiler explosion aboard a Staten Island ferry, the "Westfield", Meucci's financial and health state was so bad that his wife sold his drawings and devices to a second-hand dealer to raise money.

Patent caveat.

On 12 December 1871 Meucci set up an agreement with Angelo Zilio Grandi (Secretary of the Italian Consulate in New York), Angelo Antonio Tremeschin (entrepreneur), Sereno G.P. Breguglia Tremeschin (businessman), in order to constitute the Telettrofono Company. The constitution was notarized by Angelo Bertolino, a Notary Public of New York. Although their society funded him with $20, only $15 was needed to file for a full patent application. The caveat his lawyer submitted to the US Patent Office on 28 December 1871 was numbered 3335 and titled "Sound Telegraph". The following is the text of Meucci's caveat, omitting legal details of the Petition, Oath, and Jurat:

Analysis of Meucci's caveat.

Meucci repeatedly focused on insulating the electrical conductor and even insulating the people communicating, but does not explain why this would be desirable. The mouth piece is like a "speaking trumpet" so that "the sound concentrated upon the wire" is communicated to the other person, but he does not say that the sound is converted to variable electrical conduction in the wire. "Another instrument is also applied to the ears," but he does not say that variable electrical conduction in the wire is to be converted to sound. In the third claim, he claims "a sound conductor which is also an electrical conductor, as a means of communication by sound" which is consistent with acoustic sound vibrations in the wire that somehow get transmitted better if electrical conductors such as a wire or metallic tube are used."  Meucci emphasizes that the conductors "for mouth and ears... must be metallic", but does not explain why this would be desirable. He mentions "communication with the ground" but does not suggest that a ground return must complete a circuit if only "the wire" (singular, not plural) is used between the sender's mouth piece and the receiver's ear piece, with one or the other person being electrically insulated from the ground by means of glass insulators ("...consists in isolating two persons... by placing them upon glass insulators; employing glass, for example, at the foot of the chair or bench on which each sits, and putting them in communication by means of a telegraph wire").  Robert V. Bruce, a biographer of Bell, asserted that Meucci's caveat could never have become a patent because it never described an electric telephone.

Conflicting opinions of Meucci biographers.

According to Robert V. Bruce, Meucci's own testimony as presented by Schiavo would demonstrate that the Italian inventor did not understand the basic principles of the electric telephone, either before Bell patented it, or for several years after Bell patented it.  Other researchers have pointed to inconsistencies and inaccuracies in Bruce's account of the invention of the telephone, firstly with the name used by Meucci to describe his invention – Bruce referred to Meucci's device as a 'telephone', not as the 'telettrofono'. Bruce's reporting of Meucci's purported relationship with Dr. Seth R. Beckwith has been deemed inaccurate; Meucci and his legal representative had cautioned Beckwith against misusing Meucci's name for financial gain, vis-à-vis the company Beckwith founded in New Jersey.  Not only did Beckwith's Globe Telephone Co. base its claims against the Bell Telephone Company on Meucci's caveat, but the claims were also supported by approximately 30 affidavits, which stated that Meucci had repeatedly built and used different types of electric telephones several years before Bell did.  English historian William Aitken does not share Robert V. Bruce's viewpoint. Bruce had indirectly referred to Meucci as "the silliest and weakest impostor", while Aitken went so far as to define Meucci as the first creator of an electrical telephone.  Other recognition of Meucci's work in the past came from the International Telecommunication Union, positing that Meucci's work was one of the four precursors to Bell's telephone, as well as from the Smithsonian Institution, which listed Meucci as one of the eight most important inventors of the telephone in a 1976 exhibit.  Meucci and his business partners hired an attorney (J. D. Stetson), who filed a caveat on behalf of Meucci with the patent office. They had wanted to prepare a patent application, but the partners did not provide the $250 fee, so all that was prepared was a caveat, since the fee for that was only $20. However, the caveat did not contain a clear description of how the asserted invention would actually function. Meucci advocates claim the attorney erased margin notes Meucci had added to the document.

Telettrofono Company.

In 1872, Meucci and his friend Angelo Bertolino went to Edward B. Grant, Vice President of American District Telegraph Co. of New York (not Western Union as sometimes stated), to ask for help. Meucci asked him for permission to test his apparatus on the company's telegraph lines. He gave Grant a description of his prototype and a copy of his caveat. After waiting two years, Meucci went to Grant and asked for his documents back, but Grant allegedly told him they had been lost.  Around 1873, a man named Bill Carroll from Boston, who had news about Meucci's invention, asked him to construct a telephone for divers. This device should allow divers to communicate with people on the surface. In Meucci's drawing, this device is essentially an electromagnetic telephone encapsulated to be waterproof.  On 28 December 1874, Meucci's Telettrofono patent caveat expired. Critics dispute the claim that Meucci could not afford to file for a patent or renew his caveat, as he filed for and was granted full patents in 1872, 1873, 1875, and 1876, at the cost of $35 each, as well as one additional $10 patent caveat, all totaling $150, for inventions unrelated to the telephone.  After Bell secured his patents in 1876 and subsequent years, the Bell Telephone Company filed suit in court against the Globe Telephone Company (amongst many others) for patent infringement. Purportedly too poor to hire a legal team, Meucci was represented only by lawyer Joe Melli, an orphan whom Meucci treated as his own son. While "American Bell Telephone Company v. Globe Telephone Company, Antonio Meucci, et al." was still proceeding, Bell also became involved with "The U.S. Government v. American Bell Telephone Company", instigated by the Pan-Electric Telephone Company, which had secretly given the U.S. Attorney General 10% of its shares, employed him as a director, and then asked him to void Bell's patent. Had he succeeded in overturning Bell's patent, the U.S. Attorney General stood to become exceedingly rich by reason of his shares.

Trial.

The Havana experiments were briefly mentioned in a letter by Meucci, published by "Il Commercio di Genova" of 1 December 1865 and by "L'Eco d'Italia" of 21 October 1865 (both existing today).  An important pieces of evidence brought up in the trial was Meucci's "Memorandum Book", which contained Meucci's noted drawings and records between 1862 and 1882. In the trial, Antonio Meucci was accused of having produced records after Bell's invention and back-dated them. As proof, the prosecutor brought forward the fact that the Rider & Clark company was founded only in 1863. At trial, Meucci said William E. Rider himself, one of the owners, had given him a copy of the memorandum book in 1862; however, Meucci was not believed.  On 13 January 1887, the United States Government moved to annul the patent issued to Bell on the grounds of fraud and misrepresentation. After a series of decisions and reversals, the Bell company won a decision in the Supreme Court, though a couple of the original claims from the lower court cases were left undecided. By the time that the trial wound its way through nine years of legal battles, the U.S. prosecuting attorney had died and the two Bell patents (No. 174,465 dated 7 March 1876 and No. 186,787 dated 30 January 1877) were no longer in effect, although the presiding judges agreed to continue the proceedings due to the case's importance as a "precedent".  With a change in administration and charges of conflict of interest (on both sides) arising from the original trial, the U.S. Attorney General dropped the lawsuit on 30 November 1897 leaving several issues undecided on the merits. During a deposition filed for the 1887 trial, Meucci claimed to have created the first working model of a telephone in Italy in 1834. In 1886, in the first of three cases in which he was involved, Meucci took the stand as a witness in the hopes of establishing his invention's priority. Meucci's evidence in this case was disputed due to lack of material evidence of his inventions as his working models were reportedly lost at the laboratory of American District Telegraph (ADT) of New York. ADT did not merge with Western Union to become its subsidiary until 1901.  Meucci's patent caveat had described a "lover's telegraph", which transmitted sound vibrations mechanically across a taut wire, a conclusion that was also noted in various reviews ("The court further held that the caveat of Meucci did not describe any elements of an electric speaking telephone...", and "The court held that Meucci's device consisted of a mechanical telephone consisting of a mouthpiece and an earpiece connected by a wire, and that beyond this the invention of Meucci was only imagination.") Meucci's work, like many other inventors of the period, was based on earlier acoustic principles and despite evidence of earlier experiments, the final case involving Meucci was eventually dropped upon his death.

Death.

Meucci became ill in March 1889, and died on 18 October 1889 in Clifton, Staten Island, New York.

Invention of the telephone.

There has been much dispute over who deserves recognition as the first inventor of the telephone, although Bell was credited with being the first to transmit articulate speech by undulatory currents of electricity. The has devoted a museum to Meucci making a chronology of his inventing the telephone and tracing the history of the two trials opposing Meucci and Bell. They support the claim that Antonio Meucci was the real inventor of the telephone. However, some scholars outside Italy do not recognize the claims that Meucci's device had any bearing on the development of the telephone. Tomas Farley also writes that, "Nearly every scholar agrees that Bell and Watson were the first to transmit intelligible speech by electrical means. Others transmitted a sound or a click or a buzz but our boys [Bell and Watson] were the first to transmit speech one could understand."  In 1834 Meucci constructed a kind of acoustic telephone as a way to communicate between the stage and control room at the theatre "Teatro della Pergola" in Florence. This telephone was constructed on the model of pipe-telephones on ships and is still functional.  In 1848 Meucci developed a popular method of using electric shocks to treat rheumatism. He used to give his patients two conductors linked to 60 Bunsen batteries and ending with a cork. He also kept two conductors linked to the same Bunsen batteries. He used to sit in his laboratory, while the Bunsen batteries were placed in a second room and his patients in a third room. In 1849 while providing a treatment to a patient with a 114V electrical discharge, in his laboratory Meucci is claimed to have heard his patient's scream through the piece of copper wire that was between them, from the conductors he was keeping near his ear. His intuition was that the "tongue" of copper wire vibrated just like a leave of an electroscope—which meant there was an electrostatic effect. To continue the experiment without hurting his patient, Meucci covered the copper wire with a piece of paper. Through this device he claimed to hear an unarticulated human voice. He called this device "telegrafo parlante" (talking telegraph).  On the basis of this prototype, some claim Meucci worked on more than 30 kinds of telephones. In the beginning, he was inspired by the telegraph. Different from other pioneers of the telephone—such as Charles Bourseul, Philipp Reis, Innocenzo Manzetti, and others—he did not think about transmitting voice by using the principle of the telegraph key (in scientific jargon, the "make-and-break" method). Instead, he looked for a "continuous" solution, meaning one that didn't interrupt the electric flux. In 1856, Meucci reportedly constructed the first electromagnetic telephone, made of an electromagnet with a nucleus in the shape of a horseshoe bat, a diaphragm of animal skin, stiffened with potassium dichromate and a metal disk stuck in the middle. The instrument was housed in a cylindrical carton box. He purportedly constructed it to connect his second-floor bedroom to his basement laboratory, and thus communicate with his invalid wife.  Meucci separated the two directions of transmission to eliminate the so-called "local effect"—using what we would call today a four-wire-circuit. He constructed a simple calling system with a telegraphic manipulator that short-circuited the instrument of the calling person to make a succession of impulses (clicks) that were louder than normal conversation. Aware that his device required a bigger band than a telegraph, he found some means to avoid the so-called "skin effect" through superficial treatment of the conductor or by acting on the material (copper instead of iron).  In 1864, Meucci claimed to have made what he felt was his best device, using an iron diaphragm with optimized thickness and tightly clamped along its rim. The instrument was housed in a shaving-soap box, whose cover clamped the diaphragm. In August 1870, Meucci reportedly obtained transmission of articulate human voice at a mile distance by using as a conductor a copper wire insulated by cotton. He called his device "telettrofono". Drawings and notes by Antonio Meucci with a claimed date of 27 September 1870 show that Meucci understood inductive loading on long distance telephone lines 30 years before any other scientists. The question of whether Bell was the true inventor of the telephone is perhaps the single most litigated fact in U.S. history, and the Bell patents were defended in some 600 cases. Meucci was a defendant in American Bell Telephone Co. v. Globe Telephone Co. and others (the court's findings, reported in 31 Fed. Rep. 729).  N. Herbert in his "History of the Telephone" said:  Judge Wallace's ruling was bitterly regarded by historian Giovanni Schiavo as a miscarriage of justice.

2002 U.S. Congressional resolution.

In 2002, on the initiative of U.S. Representative Vito Fossella (R-NY), in cooperation with an Italian-American deputation, the U.S. House of Representatives passed United States HRes. 269 on Antonio Meucci stating "that the life and achievements of Antonio Meucci should be recognized, and his work in the invention of the telephone should be acknowledged." According to the preamble, "if Meucci had been able to pay the $10 fee to maintain the caveat after 1874, no patent could have been issued to Bell." The resolution's sponsor described it as "a message that rings loud and clear recognizing the true inventor of the telephone, Antonio Meucci."  In 2002, some news articles reported that "the resolution said his 'telettrofono', demonstrated in New York in 1860, made him the inventor of the telephone in the place of Bell, who took out a patent 16 years later."  A similar resolution was introduced to the U.S. Senate but no vote was held on the resolution.  Despite the House of Representatives resolution, its interpretation as supporting Meucci's claim as "the" inventor of the telephone remains disputed, as the resolution only referred to "his work in the invention of" the telephone rather than a direct assertion that he was the inventor of the telephone.  The House of Commons of Canada responded ten days later by unanimously passing a parliamentary motion stating that Alexander Graham Bell was the inventor of the telephone.  The Italian newspaper "La Repubblica" hailed the vote to recognize Meucci as a belated comeuppance for Bell.

Garibaldi–Meucci Museum.

The Order of the Sons of Italy in America maintains a Garibaldi–Meucci Museum on Staten Island. The museum is located in a house that was built in 1840, purchased by Meucci in 1850, and rented to Giuseppe Garibaldi from 1850 to 1854. Exhibits include Meucci's models and drawing and pictures relating to his life.

Other inventions.

This list is also taken from Basilio Catania's historical reconstruction.

Patents.

"US patent images in TIFF format"

Antonio Santi Giuseppe Meucci (, ; 13 April 1808 – 18 October 1889) was an Italian inventor and an associate of Giuseppe Garibaldi, a major political figure in the history of Italy. Meucci is best known for developing a voice-communication apparatus that several sources credit as the first telephone. Meucci set up a form of voice-communication link in his Staten Island, New York, home that connected the second-floor bedroom to his laboratory. He submitted a patent caveat for his telephonic device to the U.S. Patent Office in 1871, but there was no mention of electromagnetic transmission of vocal sound in his caveat. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for the electromagnetic transmission of vocal sound by undulatory electric current. Despite the longstanding general crediting of Bell with the accomplishment, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities supported celebrations of Meucci's 200th birthday in 2008 using the title "Inventore del telefono" (Inventor of the telephone). The U.S. House of Representatives also honored Meucci in a resolution in 2002 for having had some role in the development of the telephone, although the U.S. Senate did not join the resolution and the interpretation of the resolution is disputed.

安东尼奥·穆齐(,1808年-4月13日-1889年-10月18日),意大利发明家,被视为电话的最早发明者。


Origin.

The term "referee" originated in association football. Originally the team captains would consult with each other in order to resolve any dispute on the pitch. Eventually this role was delegated to an "umpire". Each team would bring their own partisan umpire allowing the team captains to concentrate on the game. Later, the referee, a third "neutral" official was added; this "referee" would be "referred to" if the umpires could not resolve a dispute. The referee did not take his place on the pitch until 1891, when the umpires became linesmen (now assistant referees). Today, in many amateur football matches, each side will still supply their own partisan assistant referees (still commonly called club linesmen) to assist the neutral referee appointed by the governing football association if one or both assistant referees are not provided. In this case, the role of the linesmen is limited to indicating out of play and cannot decide off side.

Examples.

Australian rules football.

An umpire is an official in the sport of Australian rules football. Games are overseen by one to three field umpires, two to four boundary umpires, and two goal umpires.

Bandy.

A game of bandy is officiated by a referee, the authority and enforcer of the rules, whose decisions are final. The referee may be assisted by one or two assistant referees.

Baseball and softball.

In baseball and softball, there is commonly a head umpire (also known as a plate umpire) who is in charge of calling balls and strikes from behind the plate, who is assisted by one, two, three, or five field umpires who make calls on their specific bases (or with five umpires the bases and the outfield). On any question, the head umpire has the final call.

Basketball.

In international basketball and in college basketball, the referee is the lead official in a game, and is assisted by either one or two umpires. In the National Basketball Association, the lead official is referred to by the term "crew chief" and the two other officials are "referees". All of the officials in a basketball game are generally accepted to have the same authority as the lead official and therefore they are collectively known as the "officials" or "referees".

Boxing.

In boxing a referee is the person who enforces the rules during the fight. He gives instructions to the fighters, starts and stops the count when a competitor is down, and makes the determination to stop a fight when a competitor cannot continue without endangering his health.

Cricket.

In cricket, the match referee is an off-field official who makes judgements concerning the reputable conduct of the game and hands out penalties for breaches of the ICC Cricket Code of Conduct. On-field decisions relevant to the play and outcome of the game itself are handled by two on-field umpires, although an off-field third umpire may help with certain decisions.

Cue sports.

In cue sports, such as billiards and snooker, matches are presided over by a referee. The referee will determine all matters of fact relating to the rules, maintain fair playing conditions, call fouls, and take other action as required by these rules. (Source: World Pool-Billiard Association)

Cycling.

A commissaire is an official in competitive cycling.

Fencing.

A fencing match is presided over by a referee. The referee must award a point to the fencer with right of way during the final action in the event of a double touch in foil and saber. A typical bout has one head referee and a video referee and at the request of a fencer can also have two visual referees.

Field hockey.

An umpire in field hockey is a person with the authority to make decisions on a hockey field in accordance with the laws of the game. Each match is controlled by two such umpires, where it is typical for umpires to aid one another and correct each other when necessary.

Figure skating.

A referee in figure skating sits in the middle of the judges panel and manages and has full control over the entire event.The referee represents the International Skating Union at international events. Referees for international events are trained by the International Skating Union. There are two levels of referee, International Referee and ISU Referee, with ISU Referees ranking higher.  In Synchronized Ice Skating, there are two Referees. One, sits with the Judges as with ordinary competition and operates a touch screen computer, inputing deductions and marking the skaters. The other, known as the Assistant Referee — Ice, stands by the barrier where the teams enter the ice. The ARI monitors ice conditions, communicates with the event Referee and supervises teams.

Floorball.

A floorball game is controlled by two referees with equal power.

Football (American and Canadian).

An American football (or Canadian football) referee is responsible for the general supervision of the game and has the final authority on all rulings. The referee is assisted by up to six other officials on the field. These officials are commonly referred to as "referees" but each has a title based on position and responsibilities during the game: referee, head linesman ("down judge" in the NFL), line judge, umpire, back judge, side judge, and field judge. In the modern XFL, an additional "ball judge", who wears a red hat, is on the field, but does not have the power to call penalties.

Football (association).

An association football (soccer) match is presided over by a referee, whom the Laws of the Game give "full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed" (Law 5). The referee is oftentimes assisted by two assistant referees, and sometimes by a fourth official. In UEFA football 2 additional assistant referees are used, each one standing next to a goal post and directly behind the goal line, to watch for fouls occurring within the penalty area and to see if the ball enters the goal.

Football (Gaelic).

There are usually 7 officials in Gaelic football. A main referee follows the play around the field and has the final authority on decisions such as fouls, throws and card-issuing, un-disputable by players. The main play referee is assisted by two linesmen, who make decisions on who gains possession when the ball goes out of the field of play, and can also advise the referee on off-the-ball events such as a fight or an illegal tackle. As well as the referee and two linesmen, there are two umpires at each end of the field of play who stand on either side of the goal post and raise a white flag for a point, or a green flag for a goal respectively, also calling wides and square-balls. An umpire can also advise the referee on off-the-ball incidents, but does not hold as much authority as a linesman. In recent times, technology called 'Hawk-eye' can be used if both the umpires and referee are unsure of whether a point has been scored or not, though this technology is not widely available.

Golf.

Golf is often played without referees. According to the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA of America, "few golfers are fully qualified to serve as referees." A golf referee must remain alert during matches and enforce the rules of golf.

Handball.

According to the International Handball Association, team handball games are officiated by two referees with equal authority who are in charge of each match. They are assisted by a timekeeper and a scorekeeper. (Source: International Handball Association, Rules of the Game, 1 August 2005).

Hurling.

There are usually 7 officials in hurling. A main referee follows the play around the field and has the final authority on decisions such as fouls, throws and card-issuing, un-disputable by players. The main play referee is assisted by two linesmen, who make decisions on who gains possession when the ball goes out of the field of play, and can also advise the referee on off-the-ball events such as a fight or an illegal tackle. As well as the referee and two linesmen, there are two umpires at each end of the field of play who stand on either side of the goal post and raise a white flag for a point, or a green flag for a goal respectively, also calling wides. Any umpire can also advise the referee on off-the-ball incidents, but does not hold as much authority as a linesman. At inter-county senior games and other important matches, an eighth official, the "Sideline Official", receive substitution notes and holds up the number of substituted players and the amount of additional time, similar to a soccer fourth official. In recent times, technology called Hawk-Eye can be used if both the umpires and referee are unsure of whether a point has been scored or not, although this technology is not widely available.

Ice hockey.

Games of ice hockey are presided over by on-ice referees, who are generally assisted by on-ice linesmen. The combination of referees and linesman varies from league to league. A few leagues, including the NCAA, are starting to refer to linesmen as assistant referees. In addition, off-ice officials administer to specific functions such as goal judge, penalty timekeeper, game timekeeper, statistician, official scorer and, at the highest professional levels, instant replay official.

Korfball.

In korfball, it is the referee's responsibility to control the game and its environment, to enforce the rules and to take action against misbehaviour. He is assisted by an assistant referee, who alerts the referee to out balls and fouls and may have other tasks determined by the referee, and where possible by a timekeeper and scorer.

Lacrosse.

A lacrosse match is presided over by a crew of either two, three, or in some cases four on-field officials. In two-man crew, a Referee and an Umpire are utilized. In a three-man crew, a Referee, Umpire, and Field Judge are utilized. The Referee shall always have the final ruling on any and all matters. For games of significance a four-man crew can be used which includes a three-man crew plus a Chief Bench Official who has jurisdiction over the bench area including the timekeeper. The professional outdoor league in the United States utilizes four on-field officials in order to be able to better keep up with the increased pace of play.

Lawn bowls.

A lawn bowls match is presided over by a bowls umpire or technical official. In games where single players compete, a marker is required to direct play and assist players with questions relating to the position of their bowls.

Mixed martial arts.

Rules in mixed martial arts (MMA) bouts are enforced by a referee who can give warnings and disqualifications should the rules be broken. The referee is also in charge of stopping fights when a fighter "cannot intelligently defend himself" in order to prevent him from incurring further damage, as well as making sure that submissions are released following a tapout and to pull fighters off an unconscious opponent. The referee is advised by a doctor and assistant referee who sit ringside.  The primary concern and job of an MMA referee is the safety of the fighters.

Motorsport.

Aside the race control who are responsible for the start, running and timekeeping of the race, each section of the circuit is presided by a team of marshals led by an observer, who also report incidents and technical mishap of the race.

Netball.

In the game of Netball the match at hand is Presided over by 2 umpires, typically female, with a comprehensive knowledge of the rules. There are also 2 timekeepers and 2 scorekeepers who inform the umpires, and players of time remaining, and scores.

Roller derby.

The game of roller derby is governed by a team of up to seven skating referees. (Only three are required due to the grass-roots nature of the sport, though the full seven are used whenever possible). The required referees are a head referee, who oversees the running of the entire game and has final say in any disputes, and who doubles as an inside pack referee, following alongside the main pack of skaters from inside the track and issuing and enforcing penalties for fouls or infringements of the rules; and two jammer referees who follow the two point-scoring players known as jammers. Additional referees fill the roles of a second inside pack ref and up to three outside pack refs, who perform similar duties to the inside pack refs, but from the outside of the track, and who rotate active duty in a relay-race style to avoid fatigue caused by the extra speed needed to keep pace with the pack from the outside. Non-skating officials complete the team by recording and communicating points and penalties and ensuring skaters serve their time accordingly. Only the team captains may engage in discussions with the referees by way of the head referee, over calls made. Referees are also responsible for ensuring the skaters are correctly wearing all regulation safety equipment.

Rowing.

In a regatta an umpire is the on-the-water official appointed to enforce the rules of racing and to ensure safety. In some cases an umpire may be designated specifically as starter, or otherwise the umpire starts the race from a launch and follows it to its end, ensuring that crews follow their proper course. If no infringements occur, the result is decided by a judge or judges on the waterside who determine the finish order of the crews.

Rugby league.

Rugby league games are controlled by an on field referee assisted by two touch judges, and often a video referee during televised games. With non-televised games in rugby league, the referee has 2 touch judges and 2 in-goal judges to assist. The referee and the touch judges cannot be contradicted by any player, but captains may discuss calls with them. In some rugby league competitions, most notably Australia's National Rugby League, public criticism of officials by players or coaching staff can result in fines being levied against the offending club.  The National Rugby League is also experimenting with a two-referee system: the control referee is primarily in charge of the play and calling penalties, and the assist referee, who communicates with the control referee but should not blow the whistle. The two referees exchange roles on changes of possession.

Touch football.

Touch football/touch rugby (commonly known as "touch") has a unique refereeing concept. As in most team sports, there is an on-field referee and referees on each of the two sideline. However, in touch football, the referees may interchange, similar to players, at appropriate times. Appropriate times may include when the play has moved close enough to the sideline for the referees to swap without the interrupting the play. This may occur during a set of six or during a change of possession. Other times that referees may interchange include after the awarding of touchdowns and penalties.  Touch is also one of the few remaining sports where referees wear metal badges on their chests to represent their official level within their governing organisation. In Australia, the highest referee level is 6, the lowest being 1. In New Zealand, the highest level is 4, the lowest being 1. Prior to level 1, there is an elementary level beginners. In Europe, the highest level is 5, the lowest being 1.

Rugby union.

Rugby union games are controlled by an on field referee assisted by two Assistant Referees (AR's), and often a Television Match Official (TMO) during televised games. The referee and the touch judges cannot be contradicted by any player, but captains may discuss calls with them.

Sailing.

Referee are rarely present during sailing races as decisions are normally referred to a jury-style protest committee after the race. However, sometimes in match race and in team racing an "umpire" is an on-the-water referee appointed to directly enforce the Racing Rules of Sailing. An umpire is also used in fleet racing to enforce Racing Rule 42 which limits the use of kinetics to drive the boat rather than the wind.

Shooting.

In practical shooting competitions within the IPSC, Range Officials acts as referees. The International Range Officers Association is the part of IPSC with the responsibility to train and certify range officials in order to ensure that matches are run safely, fair and according to the rules. The Range Officer (RO) is the lowest ranking referee, and the one issuing range commands and following the competitor during the Course of Fire. The Chief Range Officer (CRO) oversees the Range Officer, and has primary authority over the particular course. The overall authority for all officials in the entire match is held by the Range Master (RM).  If an athlete disagree with a call made by a Range Officer, he may consult the Chief Range Officer to challenge the call. If the call is still upheld, the matter may be brought to the Range Master. Finally, if the call is upheld by the Range Master, the athlete may lodge a formal protest to the Arbitration Committee. However, some referee calls may not be challenged by the athlete, particularly those regarding safe firearms handling.

Sumo.

A sumo match is overseen by a in the ring and five seated around the ring. All dress in traditional Japanese clothing, with higher-ranked referees wearing elaborate silk outfits. The referee oversees the pre-match rituals and the bout itself, including ruling on the winner of the bout and the winning technique used. If one of the umpires disagrees, then all the umpires confer to determine the winner of the bout.  Tradition holds that if one of the two top ranked "gyōji" has his decision overturned, he is expected to tender his resignation, although the Chairman of the Japan Sumo Association usually rejects the resignation.

Tennis.

In tennis an umpire is an on-court official, while a referee is an off-court official.

Underwater hockey.

An Octopush or underwater hockey match is presided over by two or three water referees in the pool, a chief referee on deck, and at least one timekeeper and one scorekeeper. Additional timekeepers can be used to track penalty times in highly contested matches. A tournament referee will arbitrate for chief referees, whilst protests will be adjudicated by at least three independent referees.

Volleyball.

A volleyball match is presided over by a first referee, who observes action from a stand, providing a clear view of action above the net and looking down into the court. The second referee, who assists the first referee, is at floor level on the opposite side of the net—and in front of the scorers' table. They are often referred to informally as the "up referee" and "down referee," respectively. While the first referee watches over actions involving the ball (and thus the attacking team), the second referee usually judges errors committed by the defending team, like touching the net.

Wrestling (amateur).

The international styles of amateur wrestling use a three-official system in which a referee conducts the action in the center of the mat while a judge and a mat chairman remain seated and evaluate the action from their stationary vantage points.  Collegiate wrestling uses a single referee in the center of the mat, or a head referee and an assistant.

Wrestling (professional).

In professional wrestling, the referee's on-stage purpose is similar to that of referees in combat sports such as boxing or mixed martial arts. However, in reality referees are participants in executing a match in accordance with its pre-determined outcome as well as any other events that are scripted to take place during the match. They also function as a conduit for communication between the wrestlers and backstage officials during matches.

Other uses.

Military.

In a military exercise or field training exercise, the umpire (or observer) is a non-participating officer tasked with monitoring personnel in the field. The umpire does not give orders to the soldiers being observed, nor does the umpire provide any information as to unreleased details of the exercise. Their role is strictly to observe and provide reviews of actions taken, especially where military personnel performed in an innovative way or showed selfless effort.

Role-playing games.

A gamemaster acts as an organizer, officiant for regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer role-playing game. They are more common in co-operative games in which players work together than in competitive games in which players oppose each other.

Attire.

Referees typically wear clothing to distinguish themselves from the players. Such uniforms may be distinctive, and some traditional uniforms have come to be symbolically associated with the position (even if newer, alternative uniforms are increasingly used). Notable examples include the traditional black uniform worn by association football referees, or the vertical black and white stripes worn by referees in many North American sports. These two traditional uniforms have led to the informal terms "the man in black" and "zebra," respectively. It is also not uncommon for referees to wear bright reflective shirts.

A referee or simply ref is the person of authority in a variety of sports who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on-the-fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known, in addition to referee, by a variety of other titles as well (often depending on the sport), including official, umpire, judge, arbiter, arbitrator, linesman, commissaire, timekeeper, touch judge or Technical Official (by the International Olympic Committee).

裁判,是在各种体育比赛中以中立态度负责管理比赛秩序,执行比赛规则,维护体育精神及担任公正第三人的官方人员。裁判需要在比赛进行过程中做出各种判决,比如罚球、警告或将球员驱逐出赛场。和裁判一起做工作的还有边线员、发号员、计时员、技术官员等。许多国际比赛中的裁判必须从比赛双方的国家以外的第三国中选出,以示独立、公正和无利益冲突。足球裁判由于多半穿黑色服装,因此经常称为“黑衣判官”,足球裁判的衣袋带有红牌及黄牌,以及一张比赛记录卡。