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<mask> (born 5 April 1967) is a theatre and artistic director. She has been artistic director of London's Royal Court Theatre since April 2013. Prior to that she was founding artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland, and before that artistic director of the UK new writing touring theatre company Paines Plough. Her career has been characterised by significant involvement with new writing. Early life and career
<mask> was born in Redhill, Surrey but moved to Scotland at 6 weeks old, where she lived in Clackmannanshire until the age of 7, when her father's work took her around the world. Her father is a chemical engineer and her mother a nurse. She is the eldest of three children.<mask> was privately educated. <mask> studied Drama at Manchester University, and soon discovered she favoured directing over acting. "I really realised, very quickly, that what I wanted to be was a director, because I'm not a very good actor, and I saw people who were incredible actors, but what I was really excited about was the bigger picture, and the overall-- and putting something together," she said in 2011. After her initial degree, Featherstone also did an MA in Directing at the University, in association with Manchester's Contact Theatre. Professional theatre
Featherstone's first work in professional theatre followed, as an assistant director at the Royal Court in 1990 on Martin Crimp's No One Sees the Video. She gained a place on the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme, under which she spent two years from 1992 to 1994, first as Assistant Director and then Associate Director, based at West Yorkshire Playhouse, then under the artistic directorship of Jude Kelly. She then became resident director at the Octagon Theatre Bolton from 1994 to 1996 and worked at Northern Stage, then became Literary Associate for the Bush Theatre from 1996 to 1997.Television script editor
In the mid-1990s, <mask> returned to TV script editing and programme development, having worked for a time as a script editor for Central TV immediately after University. Whilst a script editor at United Productions, <mask> conceived, after attending a friend's wedding in Yorkshire, with writer Ashley Pharoah, the series Where the Heart Is, revolving around the lives of district nurses in a close-knit Yorkshire community. The programme debuted in 1997. She was also involved in the development of the pathologist drama Silent Witness, first broadcast in 1996, for which she was credited as script editor for the first two episodes. Paines Plough Artistic Director
<mask> was artistic director of Paines Plough, a theatre company based in the UK that specialises in new plays and touring, from 1997 to 2004. Immediately prior to her appointment, the company was not thriving. Early on, <mask> appointed writers Mark Ravenhill as literary manager and Sarah Kane as writer-in-residence, and developed an atmosphere seen as welcoming to writers.Within two years of her appointment, the company had increased audiences by over 100%. World premieres of Anna Weiss, a study of false memory syndrome by Mike Cullen, Crave, written by Kane on love and loss, Sleeping Around, a 1990s update of La Ronde, and The Cosmonaut's Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union by David Greig, helped build Paines Plough's reputation. Under Featherstone the company was noted for its commitment to theatrical activity outside London in the UK regions, and willingness to experiment and collaborate with other theatre companies such as Frantic Assembly and Graeae. Her hiring of John Tiffany as associate director was also considered a significant contribution to the company's success. By the time of Featherstone's departure from Paines Plough in 2004, the company was being described as "a major force for new writing" and "a national and international force in British theatre", staff had doubled from four to eight, she had turned round the company's deficit and turnover had risen to £0.5m per year. National Theatre of Scotland Artistic Director and Chief Executive
After Scottish devolution in 1997, long-discussed plans for a national theatre for Scotland began to come to fruition. In 2000, the Scottish Executive invited the Scottish Arts Council (SAC) to conduct a feasibility study into a Scottish national theatre, and an SAC independent working group subsequently reported in May 2001.The model for a National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) that was resolved upon was a commissioning theatre, a "theatre without walls", with no need for a new theatre building or a permanent company of actors, but making use of existing theatre buildings, actors and technical staff to create new work to be staged in venues throughout Scotland and internationally. In September 2003, the Scottish Executive announced confirmed funding of £7.5m for the establishment of the NTS, with £3.5m for the year April 2004 to March 2005 and £4m for the following year. Robert Findlay, once chief executive of Scottish Radio Holdings, was appointed as chairman, and once a board had also been appointed, the search for the first artistic director for the NTS began. Featherstone's appointment
The job of Director of the NTS, to combine the roles of director, chief executive and artistic director, was advertised in May 2004. NTS chairman Findlay said at the time, "We want someone of clearly outstanding ability. Now it's possible that person will not be working in Scotland at the moment, and then again they may very well be." He also said that the new director would have to be an outstanding individual."We are looking for a genius," he said. "We need somebody who has wide experience of theatre production, development and nurturing new writing as well as good administrative and financial skills. We are casting the net wide." The person specification for the job identified an Artistic Director who, amongst other things, was "a visionary, with.... the ability to bring together diverse talents to create something very special". Featherstone read the advertisement for the post. "I thought the vocabulary of the board was fascinating. I thought they spoke the language of true creativity.It was radical, it was challenging. I applied," she recalled in August 2004. From an initial 30 applications for the post to run the NTS, a short-list of six directors was interviewed. In 2011, <mask> reflected: "when this job came up, I'd been running a small-scale touring company up to that point, and actually, the National Theatre of Scotland is just a large scale touring company – Paines Plough – and I'd been running that company, and so I just kind of imagined what I would do, if that company had a national responsibility". Comments <mask> made soon after her appointment also indicated her thoughts of what the NTS should be. "I want to make the experience something that audiences benefit from, that makes people want urgently to go to the theatre. It has to be work that is remarkable and life-enhancing, and it has to be about setting high standards with the first big plays," she said in August 2004."I see it as my responsibility to put the most exciting work on stage that I possibly can. ... Some of it will be new, but we will do classic plays if they have a new spin on them, plays that will tour around Scotland and be strong enough to tour internationally." Nonetheless, the focus would be local. "This is my vision," she said. "I want the scale of show that Britain today rarely exports. But I think the place to start is home.I believe good theatre in Scotland should explore the psyche of the nation, and when that work is created well, it will be universal." Working with Scotland's existing theatre community would be "about finding ways of putting people together to come up with ideas, and then supporting those ideas, making a series of connections that create chemistry." <mask> retrospectively summarised her vision for the NTS in 2012, "For me, when I started, the task was to prove Scotland could create and sustain an outward-looking, modern, contemporary national theatre, and that is what my task was." Findlay announced <mask>'s appointment on 29 July 2004 at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Her English background did not concern the appointment board. "We were looking for someone who was the best person to take Scottish theatre forward – Romanian, English, we weren't concerned," Findlay said. "Everything she said struck a chord with us.Her ideas were exciting and vibrant. We wanted someone with an international dimension. I think we've got that." Featherstone said: "This is a life-changing moment for me personally, I also believe for theatre, and for Scotland. So many people have put years of thinking, work, ideas, discussion, pain and ambition into this idea. I carry on my shoulders the weight of these ambitions and these ideas and I promise I will not let any of you down." She added: "I am honoured to be charged with the historic responsibility of developing and achieving the founding vision for the National Theatre of Scotland.The company will build upon all that is vibrant, dynamic and ground-breaking in Scotland and the Scottish theatre scene, to create life-changing theatre for all to enjoy", and said she intended to produce "exciting epic productions, state-of-the-nation productions, which will make us proud to be alive". Building the organisation
<mask> took up her post at the NTS – then housed in an empty temporary office in Hope Street, Glasgow on 1 November 2004. She later recalled: "There was a 'zero' moment – walking into my office with my mobile phone and a Muji notebook, no furniture and a copy of The Herald. I was sitting on the floor, reading the paper, with my notebook, and thinking: 'I have got to start a national theatre.'" <mask> began building a team. This included John Tiffany, who had worked with her at Paines Plough and prior to that was Literary Director of Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre, as Associate Director of New Work; Neil Murray, since 1999 executive producer of Glasgow's Tron Theatre, as the NTS's Executive Director; playwright David Greig, as dramaturg ("He will be discussing plays, suggesting plays, working with international writers, helping set up translations and looking at ways we can work on existing Scottish plays," <mask> said); playwright and poet Liz Lochhead as an artistic associate; and Simon Sharkey, then artistic director of Cumbernauld Theatre, as associate director of NTS Learn (set up to foster and support a culture of creative learning throughout Scotland embedded in all areas of the NTS's work and programme, to "open up great theatre experiences to as many people as possible across Scotland"). <mask> and the team undertook intensive engagement with theatre professionals and groups throughout Scotland and began developing ideas and strategy.In late 2005, <mask> commented, "I have spent many hours debating the notion of a 'national theatre' and the responsibility that entails. It is not, and should not be, a jingoistic, patriotic stab at defining a nation's identity through theatre. In fact, it should not be an opportunity to try to define anything. Instead, it is the chance to throw open the doors of possibility, to encourage boldness. I hope our programme goes some way to realising these ambitions. I hope we will make Scotland proud." National Theatre of Scotland's inaugural season
On 2 November 2005, <mask> unveiled the National Theatre of Scotland's inaugural programme to a packed audience at the Tramway in Glasgow, having announced it the previous day.The season included ten first night shows on the theme of Home, Black Watch scheduled for August 2006, and various other productions. Home
"We spent a long time thinking of how to present our opening night and finally came up with 'Home'", Featherstone commented the week before launch. "We asked 10 of our best directors to create a piece of theatre around the word 'Home' – commonly thought of as one of the most evocative words in the English language." She added: "We could have opened with a well-known play, in one of the well-known theatres in the central belt, with a famous actor on stage, but we felt this historic moment warranted something more epic, more unusual and, importantly, we have all the time in the world to do great productions like that in the months and years to come. We want people to realise the NTS relates to the people of Scotland and for people to feel that they have ownership of it. We have an opportunity to define what theatre, or a national theatre, can and should be." "No single piece of theatre in a single venue should have to take the responsibility of defining or of being the opening night for the NTS," she said."So we thought, 'What is the opposite of that?' The opposite is about ten directors, it is about taking a word, 'Home', which can be domestic or political and creating a work that is all over Scotland, so it has resonance for all the communities it is in. We are not setting up some kind of elite theatre that you will hear about that took place in Edinburgh for 20 nights. This is about saying this really is your national theatre and we want you to be a part of it." The 10 experimental site-specific shows were staged simultaneously in non-theatre locations all across Scotland, with an "official first night" of 25 February 2006. Each production was allocated a budget of £60,000, and up to 10,000 free tickets were available. In 2008, Featherstone reflected: "Home was an early statement of intent.We wanted to cut through all the stultifying speculation as to what the first production would be, who would be in it, where it would be, and instead give 10 directors the opportunity to create theatre across the whole of Scotland. It required everyone involved to step outside their comfort zone, something which has been a constant and sometimes terrifying trademark of our existence so far." Black Watch

Triggered by an article she read in the Glasgow Herald shortly after she took up her appointment with the NTS in November 2004, Featherstone asked writer Gregory Burke to follow the unfolding story of the Black Watch regiment – the oldest Highland regiment, which was being merged with other Scottish regiments. The production, about a group of young soldiers from the Fife-based regiment in Basra, was developed from interviews Burke did one Sunday afternoon in a pub in Dunfermline with six soldiers who had served in Iraq. This was developed into loosely connected scenes and ultimately the finished play. Directed by Tiffany, Black Watch opened as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2006, as a site-specific work performed at the University of Edinburgh's Drill hall. The play was an immediate popular and critical success.The production subsequently won multiple awards including Olivier Awards, has toured repeatedly since with productions on five continents, and has been adapted for television by the BBC. <mask>'s response to the play's success recognises its contribution to the National Theatre of Scotland's brand. In 2007, writing in the introduction to the published edition of the script, <mask> commented: "If the non-building-based model of the NTS can create something so universal, so powerful and so pertinent, we really do have the opportunity here to create a cultural landmark. Not a monument to the past, but rather a breathing, flexible, challenging and bold movement for the future." "I feel relieved we have Black Watch and I adore it," she said in 2012, reflecting on her tenure at the NTS. "I have never felt insecure that we are the company that made Black Watch – I would rather that than people not knowing who we were. It is an extraordinary piece of theatre.Every time I see it I think, 'God, it is still ahead of its time.' But even more than that, the visceral effect it has on the audience reaffirms theatre again and again." Royal Court Artistic Director
<mask>'s appointment as artistic director of the Royal Court was announced in May 2012 and she took over in April 2013. Personal life
<mask> is married to Danny Brown, a TV scriptwriter and former stand-up comedian. They have two children, a son (born around 1999) and a daughter (born around 2001). Theatre productions directed

External links

References

Artistic directors
English theatre directors
Living people
1967 births
People from Redhill, Surrey
People educated at the Old Palace School

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<mask> (born October 19, 1973) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd United States Under Secretary of the Army. He was the first veteran of the Iraq War to be elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing  from 2007 to 2011. <mask> is a former anchor of Taking the Hill on MSNBC. <mask> is currently a Senior Managing Director at Ankura Consulting in Philadelphia and the Distinguished Chair of Innovation at the United States Military Academy. <mask> was confirmed by voice vote as Under Secretary of the Army by the U.S. Senate on December 18, 2015, after having been nominated for the position by the President on August 5, 2015. <mask> was sworn into the post on January 4, 2016. <mask> was considered by the leadership of the Presidential transition of Joe Biden to serve as the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs, after having previously been considered for the same post by President Obama in 2014.Denis McDonough, former White House Chief of Staff was chosen instead. Early life and education
<mask> was born in Philadelphia and raised in that city's Northeast area, the son of a city police officer and a legal secretary. As a high school student, <mask> worked weekends as a security guard in the rowdy "700 Level" of Veterans Stadium during Philadelphia Eagles and Temple University football games. <mask> graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School in Northeast Philadelphia. He attended Bucks County Community College before enrolling at King's College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, where he was captain of the ice hockey team, Student Government President and a member of the Sigma Kappa Sigma fraternity. <mask> was a cadet in the U.S. Army ROTC at the neighboring University of Scranton, graduating from Scranton's Royal Warriors Battalion in 1996. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from King's College in 1996, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve.In lieu of going directly into the active duty Army with a Reserve commission, he remained in the inactive Army Reserve while attending law school and working part-time as a legislative aide to a member of the Pennsylvania state legislature. <mask> attended law school at the Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg, earning a J.D. in 1999. He became a member of the Trial Advocacy Honor Society and president of the St. Thomas More Society at Widener. Career
During law school, he worked in the office of the Philadelphia District Attorney, and later as a leader in the Harrisburg Civil Law Clinic, a legal aid society serving the poor, while concurrently serving as a drilling JAG officer in the Army Reserve. He also served as the legislative aide to Thomas Tangretti, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Westmoreland County. He taught American politics and government at Mount Saint Mary's University.After returning from active duty, <mask> joined Cozen O'Connor, a large U.S. law firm based in Philadelphia. In 2010, <mask> joined the National Leadership Society Omicron Delta Kappa, along with Peyton Manning and Joe Paterno. Military service

<mask> attended The JAG School at the University of Virginia and entered U.S. Army JAG Corps. In 2000, <mask> went on active duty in the Army, serving as a judge advocate and then joining the military faculty at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he taught constitutional law. He has also lectured at the U.S. Air Force Academy, the International Institute for Humanitarian Rights in Sanremo, Italy, and at Widener University. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, <mask> volunteered for overseas deployment, serving in Bosnia (2002) and in Baghdad during the Iraq War (2003–04). While in Baghdad as a JAG Corps attorney with the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, <mask> worked to reconstruct the justice system and helped prosecute Sheik Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad, a lieutenant of Muqtada al-Sadr.Prior to being assigned to the 82nd, <mask> qualified as a Basic Parachutist and graduated the Air Assault course. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in Iraq. Following his service in Iraq, he returned to Fort Bragg and continued his service as a JAG officer before being released from active duty in 2004. Awards and decorations

<mask>'s personal decorations include:

 Bronze Star Medal
 Meritorious Service Medal
 Army Commendation Medal
 Army Achievement Medal
 Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
 National Defense Service Medal
 Iraq Campaign Medal
 Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
 Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
 Army Service Ribbon
 Presidential Unit Citation

Political campaigns

2006 election

In 2005, <mask> decided to challenge Republican incumbent Representative Mike Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district as a Fighting Dem, building his campaign around "Murphy Plans" for Iraq, ethics reform, online protection, and a GI Bill of Rights. On May 16, 2006, he won the Democratic primary with about 65% of the vote, against Andrew Warren, a former county commissioner and ex-Republican who badly trailed <mask> in campaign funds. Polls taken in October 2006 generally showed a tight race between <mask> and Fitzpatrick. On election day, <mask>'s campaign, led by campaign manager Scott Fairchild and GOTV Director Brent Welder, engaged in a massive get-out-the-vote effort with over 2000 volunteers knocking on 160,000 doors.The resulting high turnout in Democratic lower Bucks County and Philadelphia, combined with surprisingly strong returns for <mask> in Republican upper Bucks County, was enough to push <mask> over Fitzpatrick 125,656 to 124,138. <mask> narrowly lost the Bucks County portion of the district (116,669 to 115,645), but decisively won the Philadelphia County portion (6,024 to 5,048) and the Montgomery County portion (3,987 to 2,421). Overall, he received 50.3% of the vote. <mask> was helped by a large national Democratic "wave" that swept 31 new Democrats into Congress, enabling the Democrats to win control of the U.S. House for the first time since 1994. <mask> was only the third Democrat elected to represent Bucks County in American history. He was the first since Peter Kostmayer lost re-election in 1992. 2008 election

<mask> faced Republican Tom Manion, a retired Marine Corps Reserve Colonel and executive at Johnson & Johnson, as well as independent Tom Lingenfelter.Significant national attention was drawn to the race because of both candidates' connections to the Iraq War. <mask> was a strong critic of Bush's war strategy, while Manion, whose son (1st Lt Travis Manion, USMC) was killed in Iraq in April 2007, supported the Iraq War Surge. Congressman <mask> won election to a second term with 57 percent of the vote. He won re-election to a second term by increasing his margin in Democratic Lower Bucks County while at the same time winning many rural townships in Upper Bucks and keeping his margin down in Central Bucks. During the campaign, <mask> received support from many nationally known figures including George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, and Ben Affleck. 2010 election

<mask> was defeated by Republican nominee and former U.S. Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, whom <mask> had previously defeated in 2006.<mask> lost to Fitzpatrick by 7 points. 2012 Pennsylvania Attorney General race
On April 20, 2011, <mask> announced his candidacy for Attorney General of Pennsylvania. His announcement was accompanied by over thirty endorsements from prominent elected officials and organizations across the state. On January 14, 2012 the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee met in State College to determine its statewide endorsements for the 2012 primary season. No candidate got the two-thirds majority necessary to be endorsed by the state party, but <mask> led on both ballots, winning 161 votes (50.6 percent) on the first ballot and 191 votes (60.4 percent) on the second ballot. The political website PoliticsPA reported that "<mask>'s strong performance can be credited to years of ground work and party building; many members spoke of times that he had visited their counties and supported their local party." <mask> was nominated by Montgomery County chairman Marcel Groen.On April 24, 2012, <mask> was defeated 53-47 by Kathleen Kane in the primary election for Pennsylvania Attorney General. He did well in the Philadelphia area and the City of Pittsburgh but lost much of the rest of the Central and Southwestern parts of the state. U.S. House of Representatives

During his time in Congress, <mask> served on the House Armed Services Committee and was on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; he later became a member of the Appropriations Committee. <mask> was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate to conservative Democratic representatives. In 2008, he was not only one of the first members of Congress to support then Senator Obama; he was the first to actually campaign for him. <mask> opposed the Iraq War troop surge of 2007. He was a cosponsor, with Senator Barack Obama and Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA), of the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007, which aimed to develop a plan to redeploy American troops out of Iraq starting May 1, 2007.The bill was incorporated into the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, but was vetoed by President George W. Bush. On February 13, 2008, he was the only member of the House to vote against a resolution congratulating the New York Giants for the team's victory in Super Bowl XLII. "As a former 700-level security guard and lifelong Eagles fan, I couldn't, in good conscience, vote for the New York Giants ... The only thing worse would have been a resolution honoring the Dallas Cowboys", <mask> stated. In the 2007 congressional vote rankings by the non-partisan National Journal, <mask> scored a 56.5 liberal rating and a 43.5 conservative rating, which is considered "centrist" in the Journal's rankings. In July 2009, <mask> became the lead advocate for a bill that would repeal the Defense Department's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy concerning open gays in the armed forces. In 2008 and 2009, <mask> spearheaded an effort to build the Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, after decades of Congressional inaction.The cemetery officially opened on December 7, 2009. In April 2010, the IMPROVE act (Improving Medicare Policy for Reimbursements through Oversight and Efficiency) was signed into law. <mask> authored the bi-partisan bill to help eliminate fraud in the health care system and protect taxpayer dollars. The IMPROVE act was endorsed by the AARP, the National District Attorneys Association, the Credit Union National Association, and the American Bankers Association

In May 2010, the Officer Daniel Faulkner Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act of 2010 passed the house. <mask> sponsored the bill which would assist children whose parent or guardian died as a result of performing service as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew. Voting record

Abortion
<mask> supports abortion rights. He garnered a 100% rating from NARAL and "supported the interests of Planned Parenthood 100 percent in 2008."Consumer protection
<mask> authored the Student Credit Card

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 Transparency Act of 2009 which said students can be taken advantage of by credit card companies. The bill accomplished this goal by requiring universities and credit card companies to disclose contracts for student credit cards. <mask> garnered significant praise for his support of the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the face of significant special interest opposition. <mask>'s office worked with the Secret Service to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars for victims of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. <mask> received national praise for his efforts on behalf of Madoff's victims. Don't Ask Don't Tell
<mask> was a leader in the effort to repeal the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy that removed 13,000 service members from the American military for their sexual orientation. <mask> worked tirelessly to convince fellow moderate Democrats to support the issue despite the political risk involved.<mask> was quoted in The Advocate as saying: “I’m a nice guy, but I’m not in this to make friends. I’m in this to make public policy to make our military stronger and keep our families safe at home. We have paratroopers going down in Baghdad who do not have Arabic translators to back them up because Congress 16 years ago didn’t have the guts to do what’s right. He introduced a bill in the House to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell on December 14, 2010. The bill was approved in a strong bipartisan vote of 250-175 in the House, with the support of 15 House Republicans, including <mask>'s home-state colleagues Todd Platts and Charlie Dent. Economy
<mask> voted for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Fiscal responsibility
In July 2010, the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act was signed into law by President Obama.Congressman <mask> introduced the original bill in 2007, and partnered with Democrats and Republicans alike to get the bill passed. The bill enacted stricter standards among federal agencies to identify improper payments and recover taxpayer dollars that were misspent. By holding government agencies accountable, the law helped eliminate a significant portion of the $98 billion in wasteful government spending each year. The IPERA has cut Medicare errors in half, and has led to the recovery of over $2 billion in overpayments to contractors per year. In total, <mask>'s bill has saved taxpayers over $17 billion so far. The OMB projects that the IPERA will save $50 billion over five years. Gun rights
<mask> has a permit to carry concealed firearms and considers the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, but with regulation.In 2007, he co-sponsored legislation that would re-authorize a Federal ban on assault weapons. The following year he signed onto H.R. 861, a bill to establish national concealed-carry reciprocity. Also in 2008, <mask> was an original co-sponsor of legislation that would repeal the District of Columbia's ban on semi-automatic weapons and mandatory handgun registration. Health care
<mask> voted for the Affordable Health Care for America Act on November 7, 2009. <mask> authored the IMPROVE act (Improving Medicare Policy for Reimbursements through Oversight and Efficiency) to help eliminate fraud in the health care system and protect taxpayer dollars. The bill was signed into law in 2010.He co-authored the bill with a fellow Army JAG and congressman, Tom Rooney. Law enforcement
<mask> sponsored the Officer Daniel Faulkner Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act of 2010 passed the House. Congressman <mask> sponsored the bill which would assist children whose parent or guardian died as a result of performing service as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew. <mask> voted to keep 150,000 police officers and firefighters on the job after their funding was threatened in 2010. In response to this vote, the President of the Philadelphia-area Fraternal Order of Police said: "It's thanks to <mask> and this measure that Pennsylvania cops can stay on the job, working to keep families safe"

Post-Congressional career
After being defeated for re-election in November 2010, <mask> became a partner at Philadelphia law firm Fox Rothschild in the litigation department and an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law. On April 26, 2011, <mask> was awarded the John F. Kennedy Jr. Award from the Brown University Democrats. In June 2011, President Obama appointed <mask> to the United States Military Academy's Board of Visitors.On March 20, 2013, <mask> made his first official appearance as an MSNBC contributor on The Rachel Maddow Show. <mask> served as an expert on American politics, international affairs and military issues. In 2016, <mask> was inducted into the inaugural class of the Army ROTC Hall of Fame, along with Colin Powell, George C. Marshall, and Mark Milley. <mask> serves on several boards, including the Independence Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the Widener University School of Law National Advisory Board, and he is the Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee Platform Committee. In 2020, the Student Veterans of America honored <mask> with the Eisenhower Distinguished Public Service Award. Department of the Army
<mask> was nominated for the position of Under Secretary of the Army by the President Obama on August 5, 2015. He was confirmed by voice vote on December 18, 2015, and was sworn into the post on January 4, 2016.Shortly after being sworn in as the Under Secretary of the Army, <mask> assumed the role of Acting Secretary of the Army. <mask> served in the role for five months while Eric Fanning awaited confirmation. During his tenure as Acting Secretary, <mask> developed a reputation for being a "Soldier's Secretary." He became well-known to soldiers for visiting units across the world, participating in physical training sessions, and for engaging them directly via social media and personally written army-wide emails. As the 32nd Under Secretary of the Army and Acting Secretary of the Army, he led the Army's 1.3 million employees and managed its $148 billion budget. On January 29, 2016, <mask> issued a formal directive opening all combat arms positions to females. He also doubled the maternity and paternity leave available to troops to 12 weeks and was instrumental in ending the ban on transgender people serving in the Army.After Fanning's confirmation, <mask> resumed his service as the Under Secretary of the Army. To better connect active troops and Veterans, <mask> worked with Under Secretary of Defense Peter Levine to allow 18.8 million honorably discharged Veterans to shop online at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). AAFES’s analysis projects total exchange sales increasing across of wide range of possibility, from a low of $226 million annually to a high of $1.13. billion This would generate $60 million to $108 million annually in added dividends to support MWR and quality of life programs, without any increase in taxpayer support of base stores. Military Healthcare Administration
<mask> adamantly campaigned to fight the stigma within the military associated with seeking mental health treatment. <mask>'s key mental health initiative was the development of multidisciplinary behavioral health teams to be embedded into Soldier work areas. The behavioral health teams streamlined mental health services for Soldiers and allowed mental health care providers to form close relationships with deployable unit leaders.As Secretary, <mask> oversaw the implementation of the world's largest intranet platform - Army Knowledge Online 2.0 - which allowed Soldiers to seamlessly access their medical records online. After leaving the Department of the Army, <mask> continued to advise corporations on ways to more efficiently and effectively deliver healthcare services to Veterans. In 2020, <mask> was named Chair of the Government Advisory Board for the Cerner Corporation, facilitating a partnership with the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to modernize their electronic healthcare records. <mask> also serves as a strategic advisor to Northwell Health, the largest health provider for Veterans in New York State aside from the VA. Academia
<mask> served as a senior national security fellow at the Center For American Progress until his return to government service as Under Secretary of the Army. <mask> was a fellow with the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago in Fall 2014. <mask> has served as an adjunct professor of law at Widener University in Pennsylvania, and as a professor of constitutional law at West Point.Personal life
<mask> married Jennifer Safford on June 17, 2006, they divorced in 2019. They have two children named Jack and Maggie. In 2010, <mask> was given the Fenn Award by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library's New Frontier Award Committee. The award is presented to a distinguished young elected official in honor of Dan Fenn, the Kennedy Library's first director and a former member of President Kennedy's staff. On May 12, 2015, <mask> was a survivor of the derailment of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia. He suffered minor injuries, and was credited with assisting first responders in rescuing individuals trapped in his car. Several media outlets referred to his actions as "heroic".<mask> served as the host of Taking The Hill on MSNBC from 2013 to 2015. <mask> earned an international CLIO Award in October 2014 for his partnership with Grammy Award-winning band Imagine Dragons and the Wounded Warrior Project by highlighting positive veterans stories on their road to recovery on his MSNBC show. <mask> was featured prominently in the HBO documentary The Strange History of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. <mask> was included for his role in leading the effort to repeal the policy. He was also featured in the Discovery Channel documentary Taking The Hill, which told the story of the 50 veterans of the Global War on Terrorism who ran for Congress in 2006. Ben Affleck has credited <mask> for being a major inspiration for his portrayal of the character Stephen Collins in the 2009 movie State of Play. <mask> served as a military consultant for Thank You for Your Service (2017) and the upcoming Call of Duty film.<mask> authored an autobiography entitled Taking the Hill: From Philly to Baghdad to the United States Congress; it was published by Henry Holt and Co. (February 19, 2008);

References

External links

<mask> for Pennsylvania Attorney General

Profile at SourceWatch

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1973 births
21st-century American politicians
American military lawyers
United States Army personnel of the Iraq War
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
Judge Advocate General's Corps, United States Army
King's College (Pennsylvania) alumni
LGBT rights activists from the United States
Living people
Members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Military personnel from Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Democrats
People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Politicians from Philadelphia
The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School alumni
United States Army officers
United States Secretaries of the Army
United States Under Secretaries of the Army
University of Scranton alumni
Widener University Commonwealth Law School

masks:
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Murphy
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Patrick Murphy
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<mask> (born 1985, Tighina) is a former Moldovan tax inspector and political prisoner. He was arrested by representatives of the unrecognized Transnistria (the breakaway region of Moldova) in March 2010, being accused of high treason and espionage on behalf of Moldova. In February 2011, a court in Transnistria sentenced him to 14 years in prison. Among the institutions involved in his release in October 2011 were the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, World Organization Against Torture, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the European Court of Human Rights. Biography

<mask> was a former employee of the Tighina-based Tax Inspectorate. He and his family live in Tighina town. <mask> was arrested by representatives of the so-called Ministry of Security of the breakaway republic of Transnistria on March 20, 2010, being accused of treason and espionage for Moldova.His family was not informed about his arrest and fate for two weeks. On April 21, 2010 Promo-LEX lodged the case of <mask> <mask> before the European Court of Human Rights. On June 15, 2010, the participants at the European Partnership Fair for Civil Society Organizations in Moldova, in Chişinău, agreed on a Resolution concerning the situation of <mask> <mask> and Ernest Vardanean. According to the World Organization Against Torture,

His parents, Stela Surchicean and Alexandru Viniţchi, began a hunger strike in front of the Russian Embassy in Chişinău, on June 12, 2011. They called on the government of the Russian Federation to intervene on behalf of their son. On June 22, 2011, it was reported that the Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Philip Remler, met <mask> and confirmed that he was in good condition. Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat met the mother of <mask>, Stela Surchicean, on June 22.The ambassador of the Russian Federation, Valeri Kuzmin, when contacted by <mask>'s parents, recommended that they address the authorities of Transnistria, rather than the international community. On June 25, 2010, the 14th day of the hunger strike, the mother of <mask> <mask> was admitted to the gastroenterology department of the Republican Hospital in Chişinău. Her husband, Alexandru Viniţchi, continued to protest outside the Russian Embassy; he said that he will stay there until he enters a coma. The parents decided to end hunger strike after his mother met with <mask> <mask> and talked for more than an hour and after the agreement from the separatist authorities to allow him to have his own defending lawyer. Stela Surchicean was accompanied by an OSCE representative who was not allowed to participate at the meeting. But the two parents cannot go back home in Bender because they feel in danger: "We were threatened in front of the OSCE representatives that if we go home we might end up in jail. Even if we have two houses in the Transnistrean region, we are now homeless."In December 2010, the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Victor Osipov has called on the foreign partners involved in the Transnistria conflict settlement process to enhance efforts so as to release <mask> <mask> and Ernest Vardanean. Official letters to this effect were sent to the diplomats representing Russia, Ukraine, the United States, the European Union and the OSCE, Kazakhstan (which chairs the OSCE in 2010). A similar message was sent to the special representative of the Council of Europe, as this organization plays an important role in the protection of human rights in Europe. On February 9, 2011, as a result of a hidden trial, being deprived of elementary rights such as legal assistance and meetings with his relatives, <mask> was sentenced by the Supreme Court of the Transnistrian region to 14 years in prison. <mask> <mask> was subsequently transferred to the Tiraspol Penitentiary no.2, where he was detained in poor health. According to the World Organization Against Torture,

On July 17, 2011, the World Organization Against Torture issued a statement, expressing its concern about the physical and mental state of <mask> <mask>. His pardon request was rejected in August 2011.<mask> <mask> was released from prison in the evening of October 31, 2011. On November 2, 2011, Prime Minister Vlad Filat held a meeting with <mask> <mask>. On November 2, 2011, at the meeting with Cazacu, Navanethem Pillay said that the United Nations strongly backs the people detained in the Transnistrian region, noting that the United Nations had also advocated the release of <mask> <mask>. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights noted that initially, the meeting was scheduled at the Tiraspol-based prison. Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat said Igor Smirnov, Transnistria's separatist leader, freed Cazac as a result of ongoing negotiations about Moldova and Transnistria that include officials from Russia, the United States and the European Union. See also
 Human rights in Transnistria

References

External links
 Moldova: Parents of <mask> <mask> demand a Russian intervention for their son’s release
 The parents of <mask> <mask> risk entering a coma
 Promo-LEX expresses concern at the increasingly dramatic situation of the two political prisoners - <mask> <mask> and Ernest Vardanean
 A Moldovan citizen, <mask> <mask>, whom the Tiraspol breakaway authorities sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment, was released today, due to joint efforts by Moldova's leadership, government and national competent institutions, with the support of the international partners involved in the process of settling the conflict with the Transnistrian region. Radio Free Europe, Transnistria authorities free Moldovan man jailed for 'spying'
 Prime Minister Vlad Filat today held a meeting with a tax inspector of the Tighina Fiscal Inspectorate, <mask> <mask>, who had been unlawfully arrested by the state security ministry of the breakaway Transnistrian republic
 Ilie Cazac is free!Moldovan premier meets UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

1985 births
Living people
People from Bender, Moldova
Moldova State University alumni
Moldovan prisoners and detainees

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<mask> ( ; born 20 October 1959) is an Irish actress. Born to a family with deep roots in the performing arts, Cusack has been involved as a performer since a young age. She has served with the UK's two leading theatre companies, the  Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre and has performed in a long line of major stage productions since the mid-1980s. She has made numerous appearances on television including a long-running role as Dr. Kate Rowan in the UK series Heartbeat (1992–1995) which made her a household name and favourite. She has often worked as a voice actress on radio, and her film credits include a starring role in In Love with Alma Cogan (2011). Early life
The daughter of the Irish actor <mask>, she is the sister of <mask> and <mask>, and half-sister of <mask>. She has two brothers, <mask>, a television producer, and <mask>, Producer for the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain.<mask>'s husband is the actor Finbar Lynch; they have a son, Calam. Education
<mask> <mask> was educated bi-lingually through Irish and English in Dublin. Originally she trained as a professional flautist, winning a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music, subsequently working as a freelance musician with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra and Concert Orchestra before winning a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama to train as an actress. Cusack left the school after one year without completing the course because she was offered her first professional acting job at the Gate Theatre in Dublin, playing the juvenile lead in their summer play. Acting career
Cusack was then offered the role of Irina in Kasparov Wrede's production of Three Sisters at Royal Exchange, Manchester, before playing Desdemona in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Othello opposite Ben Kingsley and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet opposite Sean Bean. Cusack came to the wider public's attention when she starred as Dr. Kate Rowan in the popular 1990s television drama series Heartbeat (1992–1995), set in the 1960s in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Her character died from leukaemia in series 5 leaving her policeman husband Nick, played by Nick Berry, a widower.She had decided to leave the show after becoming pregnant. <mask> was nominated in the category of Best Actress in a TV Drama in 2004 at the Irish Television and Film awards IFTA for her role in the Cartlon Television TV film Too Good to be True. Niamh was nominated for a Whatsonstage.com Award in 2012 in the Best Supporting Actress in a Play category for her role in Playboy of the Western World at the Old Vic. In January 2013, she was nominated for a BBC Audio Drama Award in the Best Supporting Actress category for The Man with Wings by Rachel Joyce, produced by Gordon House, Goldhawk Essential Productions for Radio 4. <mask> played Molly Bloom in James Joyce's Ulysses for BBC Radio 4 which aired a new 9-part adaptation dramatised by Robin Brooks, produced and directed by Jeremy Mortimer. The series began on Bloomsday (16 June) 2012. In 1989 Cusack took the part of an actress, Valerie Saintclair, in the ninth episode of the first series of Agatha Christie's Poirot entitled The King of Clubs.Other television acting credits also include Christine Fletcher in Always and Everyone (1999–2002), a British accident and emergency medical series alongside Martin Shaw; Grace Haslett in the miniseries State of Mind alongside Andrew Lincoln; Julie Flynn in the one off drama Rhinoceros alongside Robson Green and the small but important role of Beatrix Potter in the TV series The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends (1992–1995). She played Wodehouse's Bobbie Wickham in the ITV series Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993). She played a character in an Agatha Christie's Marple series ("4:50 from Paddington", 2004), and has starred in episodes of Midsomer Murders (2008) and A Touch of Frost (2009) and the film The Closer You Get (2000), alongside Sean McGinle, for which she was nominated for an IFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Film. Cusack starred opposite Sean Bean in the 1986 RSC production of Romeo and Juliet. Throughout the 1990s Cusack worked regularly on the London stage in a series of leading roles including Nora Clitheroe in Sam Mendes's acclaimed production of The Plough and the Stars (Young Vic) opposite Judi Dench, Rosalind in As You Like It (Barbican), Flora in Tom Stoppard's Indian Ink (Aldwych) and The Maids (Donmar Warehouse). In the summer of 2003, she appeared as Portia in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice at the Chichester Festival Theatre, directed by Gale Edwards. In 2004, Cusack joined the National Theatre for a stage adaptation (by Nicholas Wright) of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials as Serafina Pekkala.The production also featured Anna Maxwell Martin, Ben Wishaw and Patricia Hodge. In 2007, <mask> returned to National Theatre to appear in Victoria Benedictsson's The Enchantment, and played Alison Ellis in Crestfall by Mark O'Rowe at Theatre503. In 2009, she played Maggie in the first major revival in London of Brian Friel's multi award-winning Dancing at Lughnasa alongside her husband Finbar Lynch at the Old Vic. In 2010, she played Catherine Dickens in Andersen's English, a play by Sebastian Barry. In 2011, she appeared in The Painter by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, opposite Toby Jones and followed it with the role of Edith Davenport in Cause Célèbre by Terence Rattigan and The Widow Quin in The Playboy of the Western World by J.M. Synge, both at the Old Vic. In August 2012, <mask> <mask> rejoined the National Theatre to create the role of Siobhan in the world première of the stage adaptation of Mark Haddon's book The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-Time adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott.The show premièred on 2 August 2012. It also starred Luke Treadaway as Christopher, Nicola Walker as his mother Judy, Paul Ritter as his father Ed and Una Stubbs as Mrs. Alexander. The production, which ran until late October 2012, was broadcast live to cinemas worldwide on 6 September 2012 through the National Theatre Live programme. The nominations for the 2013 Olivier Awards, which recognise excellence in professional productions staged in London, were announced on 26 March 2013; The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time secured the most nominations with eight, including Best New Play, Best Director (Elliott), Best Actor (Treadaway), Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and other categories including Best Set Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Sound Design and Best Choreographer. The show transferred to the Apollo Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue, London on 1 March 2013 with <mask> reprising her role of Siobhan. Following a period in film and television including the  films Testament of Youth, Departure, Chick Lit and The Ghoul and the television series Rebellion, Cusack returned to the London stage in 2016 as Paulina in The Winter's Tale at the Globe and Owen McCafferty's Unfaithful at Found 111 in the West End. In 2017, she was cast in the leading role of Lenú in the world première of the stage adaptation of the multi award-winning tetralogy of books My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante at the Rose Theatre which transferred to the Olivier Theatre of the Royal National Theatre in 2019.In between the transfer in 2018, <mask> returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company in another leading role as Lady Macbeth opposite Christopher Eccleston which transferred to London's Barbican Theatre. In the first stage adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Remains of the Day by Barney Norris, <mask> was cast as Miss Kenton, the role previously made famous on screen by Emma Thompson. During this busy period of theatre work, Cusack returned to the small screen as Janine in the acclaimed 4-part series The Virtues directed by Shane Meadows. In April 2020, Cusack was scheduled to make her long-awaited début at the Abbey Theatre in Brian Friel's Faith Healer opposite Aidan Gillen and directed by Joe Dowling. Due to COVID-19, the production has been temporarily postponed. Personal life
Cusack is married to the actor Finbar Lynch. They met when rehearsing in Dublin in the theatre production of Three Sisters in 1990.They have one son, actor Calam Lynch. <mask> is a keen athlete, has run the London Marathon for the charity St Joseph's Hospice in East London and cycles everywhere. Filmography
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
|- style="text-align:center;"
! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film
|- style="text-align:center;"
! style="background:#ccc;"| Year
! style="background:#ccc;"| Film
! style="background:#ccc;"| Role
!style="background:#ccc;"| Notes
|-
| 1988 || Paris by Night || Jenny Swanton ||dir. David Hare
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| 1990 || Fools of Fortune || Josephine ||dir. Pat O'Connor
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| 1992 || The Playboys || Brigid Maguire ||
|-
| 2000 || The Closer You Get || Kate || dir. Aileen Ritchie
|-
| 2007 ||  Matterhorn || Marie || Short film
|-
| 2009 || Five Minutes of Heaven || Alistair's Mum - 1975 ||dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel
|-
|rowspan=2|2010 || The Kid || 1980 school nurse ||
|-
|Hereafter || Marcus' foster mother || dir. Clint Eastwood
|-
| 2011 || In Love with Alma Cogan || Sandra ||dir. Tony Britten
|-
| 2012 || The Best of Men || Sister Edwards || dir.Tim Whitby
|-
| 2014 || Testament of Youth || Sister Jones ||dir. James Kent
|-
| 2015 || Departure (2015 film)|Departure || Sally ||
|-
|rowspan=2|2016|| Chicklit || Claire ||dir. Tony Britten
|-
| The Ghoul || Fisher ||dir. Gareth Tunley
|- style="text-align:center;"
|-
| 2020 || Returning || Mum || dir. Lucy Bridger
|-
| 2021 || The Little People || Maeve || dir. Jon Wright
|-
! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Television
|- style="text-align:center;"
!style="background:#ccc;"| Year
! style="background:#ccc;"| Title
! style="background:#ccc;"| Role
!

masks:
Niamh Cusack
Cyril Cusack
Sinéad Cusack
Sorcha Cusack
Catherine Cusack
Paul Cusack
Pádraig Cusack
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Niamh
Cusack
Cusack
Cusack
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Niamh
Cusack
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texts:
<mask> FRS (25 December 1796 – 11 November 1858) was an English industrial chemist. He was also an entrepreneur, sharing the risk of major industrial developments with famous ironmaster Isaac Lowthian Bell and cable manufacturer Robert Stirling Newall. Although known in his time for his 1833 patent "An improved method for separating silver from lead", a process that bears his name, he is best remembered today for his daguerreotype photographs taken in 1840. Among these is the earliest known photograph of the Niagara Falls. Biography

<mask> was the son of <mask>, a shopkeeper in the country town of Alston, Cumberland, and his wife <mask>; they were Quakers. He was educated at local private schools. He was interested in science from an early age, doing experiments with electricity when he was 17, and also studying the chemistry of metals.He began his working life by helping his father in his shop in Alston. In around 1825 he worked for Anthony Clapham, a soap maker in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In 1825 he became assay master (a tester of the purity of gold or silver coins) to the Greenwich Hospital Commissioners, back at Alston. In continuing experiments in metallurgy, he discovered the basis of his method of separating silver from lead in 1829, but had too little money to go any further. In 1831 he became works manager at Thomas Wentworth Beaumont's lead works. The greater income allowed him to continue his experiments on silver refining until he had a workable process. In 1834 he resigned from Beaumont's works, and with <mask> and George Burnett, set up a new chemical works at Felling, near Gateshead.It employed around 300 men. <mask> process

<mask> patented his process for enriching silver bearing lead in 1833. It exploited the fact that in molten lead containing traces of silver the first metal to solidify out of the melt is lead, leaving the remaining liquid richer in silver. <mask>'s equipment consisted basically of nothing more complex than a row of about 8–9 iron pots, which were heated from below. Some lead, naturally containing a small percentage of silver, was loaded into the central pot and melted. This was then allowed to cool. As the lead solidified, it was skimmed off and moved to the next pot in one direction, and the remaining metal which was now richer in silver was then transferred to the next pot in the opposite direction.The process was repeated from one pot to the next, the lead accumulating in the pot at one end and metal enriched in silver in the pot at the other. The level of enrichment possible is limited by the lead-silver eutectic and typically the process stopped around 600 to 700 ounces per ton (approx 2%), so further separation is carried out by cupellation. The patent process, known as pattinsonisation, earned <mask> £16,000 in royalties. The earlier process of "cupellation" had required at least 8 ounces (250 grams) of silver per ton of lead to be economic. Cupellation involved removing the lead from a silver-rich alloy by oxidising the lead to litharge, leaving the silver behind. <mask>'s process was economic with as little as 2 to 3 ounces (about 75 grams) of silver per ton. Daguerreotypes

In about 1840, <mask> travelled to Canada in the hope of setting up a mining business, stopping at the Niagara Falls long enough to make the earliest known photograph of the falls, a daguerreotype which survives (2009) in the collection of Newcastle University.It was once believed that the small figure standing silhouetted with a top hat was added by an engraver working from imagination as well as the daguerreotype as his source, but the figure is clearly present in the photograph. Because of the very long exposure required, of ten minutes or more, the figure is assumed by Canada's Niagara Parks agency to be <mask> himself. The image is left-right inverted, and taken from the Canadian side. <mask> made other photographs of the Horseshoe Falls as well as of Rome and Paris. These were then transferred to engravings to illustrate Noël Marie Paymal Lerebours' Excursions Daguerriennes (Paris, 1841–1864). Aside from being the first known photograph of the Falls, <mask>'s image is also the earliest known surviving photograph of any part of Canada, which wouldn't become a nation for another 27 years. Other inventions

In 1841 <mask> patented two other chemical processes, one for making lead carbonate, and the other for manufacturing "magnesia alba", a white magnesium oxide.In 1849 he patented his process for making a new white lead pigment, lead oxychloride. His lead oxychloride process became a profitable industrial reality in 1850, when <mask> and his partners (and sons-in-law) Isaac Lowthian Bell and Robert Benson Bowman established a chemical company at Washington, County Durham. Under an 1850 Indenture, Charles William Vane, Marquis of Londonderry, <mask> and Bell declared themselves "chemical manufacturers and co-partners in trade". Honours and achievements

In 1838 <mask> became vice-president of the chemical section of the British Association. He was a fellow of the Geological Society and also of the Royal Astronomical Society. <mask> was made a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) on 3 June 1852 for his metallurgical work. Family life

<mask> married Phoebe Walton on 25 December 1815, having been baptised by the vicar of Alston, Benjamin Jackson, as a member of the Church of England on 23 December 1815 in a public house, the Angel Inn at Alston, as Phoebe's family would not accept marriage to a "Quaker".He took his mother's surname <mask> at the baptism. <mask>'s three daughters married, respectively, the ironmaster Isaac Lowthian Bell, the bookseller and publisher Robert Benson Bowman, and the cable manufacturer Robert Stirling Newall. The brothers-in-law, and <mask> himself, shared several different business partnerships. In addition, all three brothers-in-law were members of Tyneside Naturalists' Field Club and the Natural History Society of Northumberland. He died on 11 November 1858. He was buried in Washington, County Durham churchyard. He was survived by his son, also named <mask>, and three daughters.Two other sons, Walter and Thomas, died before him. References

Bibliography

External links
 University of Cambridge: DSpace: <mask> <mask>
 Newcastle University: <mask> daguerrotypes
 Walrus Magazine: <mask>'s Daguerreotype of the Niagara Falls, 1840 (9 web pages on the discovery, <mask>, his images etc.) 1796 births
1858 deaths
19th-century English photographers
English metallurgists
Fellows of the Royal Society
Photographers from Northumberland

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Hugh Lee Pattinson
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Thomas Pattinson
Margaret Lee
John Lee
Pattinson
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texts:
<mask> "Libba<mask> (née Nevills) (January 5, 1893 – June 29, 1987) was an American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter. A self-taught left-handed guitarist, <mask> developed her own original style. She played a guitar strung for a right-handed player, but played it upside down, as she was left-handed. This position meant that she would play the bass lines with her fingers and the melody with her thumb. Her signature alternating bass style has become known as "Cotten picking". Early life
<mask> was born in 1893 to a musical family near Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in an area that would later be incorporated as Carrboro. Her parents were George Nevill (also spelled Nevills) and Louisa (or Louise) Price Nevill.<mask> was the youngest of five children. She named herself on her first day of school, when the teacher asked her name, because at home she was only called "Li'l Sis." By the age of 8, she was playing songs. At age 9, she was forced to quit school and began work as a domestic. At the age of 12, she had a live-in job at Chapel Hill. She earned a dollar a month, that her mother saved up to buy her first guitar. The guitar, a Sears and Roebuck brand instrument, cost $3.75 ().Although self-taught, she became proficient at playing the instrument, and her repertoire included a large number of rags and dance tunes. By her early teens, she was writing her own songs, one of which, "Freight Train", became one of her most recognized. She wrote the song in remembrance of a nearby train that she could hear from her childhood home. The 1956 UK recording of the song by Chas McDevitt and Nancy Whiskey was a major hit and is credited as one of the main influences on the rise of skiffle in the UK. Around the age of 13, <mask> began working as a maid along with her mother. On November 7, 1910, at the age of 17, she married <mask>. The couple had a daughter, Lillie, and soon after <mask> gave up guitar playing for family and church.<mask>, Frank and their daughter Lillie moved around the eastern United States for a number of years, between North Carolina, New York City, and Washington, D.C., finally settling in the D.C. area. When Lillie married, <mask> divorced Frank and moved in with her daughter and her family. Rediscovery
<mask> retired from playing the guitar for 25 years, except for occasional church performances. She did not begin performing publicly and recording until she was in her 60s. She was discovered by the folk-singing Seeger family while she was working for them as a housekeeper. While working briefly in a department store, <mask> helped a child wandering through the aisles find her mother. The child was Peggy Seeger, and the mother was the composer Ruth Crawford Seeger.Soon after this, <mask> again began working as a maid, this time for Ruth Crawford Seeger and Charles Seeger, and caring for their children, Mike, Peggy, Barbara, and Penny. While working with the Seegers (a voraciously musical family that included Pete Seeger, a son of Charles from a previous marriage), she remembered her own guitar playing from 40 years prior and picked up the instrument again and relearned to play it, almost from scratch. Later career and recordings
In the later half of the 1950s, Mike Seeger began making bedroom reel-to-reel recordings of <mask>'s songs in her house. These recordings later became the album Folksongs and Instrumentals with Guitar, which was released by Folkways Records. Since the release of that album, her songs, especially her signature song, "Freight Train" — which she wrote when she was a teenager — have been covered by Peter, Paul, and Mary, Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, Joe Dassin, Joan Baez, Devendra Banhart, Laura Gibson, Laura Veirs, His Name Is Alive, Doc Watson, Taj Mahal, Geoff Farina, and Country Teasers. Peggy Seeger took the song "Freight Train" with her to England, where it became popular in folk music circles. British songwriters Paul James and Fred Williams subsequently misappropriated it as their own composition and copyrighted it.Under their credit, it was then recorded by British skiffle singer Chas McDevitt, who recorded the song in December, 1956. Under advice from his manager (Bill Varley), McDevitt then brought in folk-singer Nancy Whiskey and re-recorded the song with her doing the vocal; the result was a chart hit. McDevitt's version influenced many young skiffle groups of the day, including The Quarrymen. Under the advocacy of the influential Seeger family, the copyright was eventually restored to <mask>. Nevertheless, it remains mis-credited in many sources. Shortly after that first album, she began playing concerts with Mike Seeger, the first of which was in 1960 at Swarthmore College. In the early 1960s, <mask> went on to play concerts with some of the big names in the burgeoning folk revival.Some of these included Mississippi John Hurt, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters at venues such as the Newport Folk Festival and the Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. The newfound interest in her work inspired her to write more songs to perform, and in 1967 she released a record created with her grandchildren, which took its name from one of her songs, "Shake Sugaree". The song featured 12-year-old Brenda Joyce Evans, <mask>'s great-grandchild, and future Undisputed Truth singer. Using profits from her touring, record releases and awards given to her for her own contributions to the folk arts, <mask> was able to move with her daughter and grandchildren from Washington, D.C., and buy a house in Syracuse, New York. She was also able to continue touring and releasing records well into her 80s. In 1984, she won the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording, for the album <mask> Live, released by Arhoolie Records. When accepting the award in Los Angeles, her comment was, "Thank you.I only wish I had my guitar so I could play a song for you all." In 1989, <mask> was one of 75 influential African-American women included in the photo documentary I Dream a World. <mask> died in June 1987, at Crouse-Irving Hospital in Syracuse, New York, at the age of 94. Guitar style
<mask> began writing music while toying with her older brother's banjo. She was left-handed, so she played the banjo in reverse position. Later, when she transferred her songs to the guitar, she formed a unique style, since on a 5-string banjo the uppermost string is not a bass string, but a short, high-pitched string which ends at the fifth fret. This required her to adopt a unique style for the guitar.She first played with the "all finger down strokes" like a banjo. Later, her playing evolved into a unique style of fingerpicking. Her signature alternating bass style is now known as "Cotten picking". Her fingerpicking techniques have influenced many other musicians. Discography

LPs
 Folksongs and Instrumentals with Guitar, Folkways Records (FG 3526), 1958
 Vol. 2: Shake Sugaree, Folkways Records (FTS 31003), 1967
 Vol. 3: When I'm Gone, Folkways Records (FA 3537), 1979

Recordings on CD
 Freight Train and Other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes, Smithsonian Folkways, 1958 (also known as Folksongs and Instrumentals with Guitar)
 Shake Sugaree, Smithsonian Folkways
 Live!, Arhoolie Records
 Vol.3: When I'm Gone, Folkways Records

Special collections
 Mike Seeger Collection (#20009), Southern Folklife Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Filmography

Video and DVD
 Masters of the Country Blues: <mask> and Jesse Fuller. Yazoo, 1960. <mask> with Mike Seeger. Vestapool Productions, 1994. Legends of Traditional Fingerstyle Guitar. Cambridge, Mass.: Rounder Records, 1994. Mike Seeger and <mask>. Sparta, N.J.: Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop, 1991. Jesse Fuller and <mask>. Newton, N.J.: Yazoo Video, 1992. Me and Stella: A Film about <mask>. New Brunswick, N.J.: Phoenix Films and Video, 1976.John Fahey, <mask>: Rare Performances and Interviews. Vestapool Productions, 1969, 1994. Rainbow Quest with Pete Seeger. Judy Collins and <mask>. Shanachie Entertainment, 2005. Libba <mask>: An Interview and Presentation Ceremony. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 1985.Homemade American Music. Aginsky Productions, 1980. <mask> in Concert, 1969, 1978, and 1980. Vetstapool Productions, 1969, 2003. The Guitar of <mask>. Sparta, N.J.: Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop, 2002. The Downhome Blues.Los Angeles: distributed by Philips Interactive Media, 1994. <mask> Portrait Collection. Public Broadcasting System, 1977–1985. Awards and honors
 In 1980, 1982, and 1987, <mask> was nominated for a Blues Music Award in the Traditional Blues Female Artist category. <mask> was a recipient of a 1984 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. In 1985, she won the Grammy Award in the Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording category for <mask> Live! In 1986, she was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Folk Recording category for her 20th Anniversary Concert album.Further reading
 Bastin, Bruce (1986). Red River Blues. Chicago: University of Illinois Press. Cohen, John; Marcus, Greil (2001). There Is No Eye: John Cohen Photographs. New York: PowerHouse Books. Cohn, Lawrence (1993).Nothing but the Blues: The Music and the Musicians. New York: Abbeville Press. Conway, Cecilia (1995). African Banjo Echoes in Appalachia. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. Escamilla, Brian (1996). Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music.Vol. 16. Harris, Sheldon (1979). Blues Who's Who. New York: Da Capa Press. Hood, Phil (1986). Artists of American Folk Music: The Legends of Traditional Folk, the Stars of the Sixties, the Virtuosi of New Acoustic Music.New York: Quill. Santelli, Robert (2001). American Roots Music. New York: Harry N. Abrams. Seeger, Mike. Liner notes accompanying Freight Train and Other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes, by <mask>. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Folkways, 1989 reissue of the 1958 album Folksongs and Instrumentals with Guitar.Smith, Jessie Carney (1993). Epic Lives: One Hundred Black Women Who Made a Difference. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. Smith, Jesse Carney, ed. (1992). Notable Black American Women. Detroit: Gale Research.Wenberg, Michael (2002). Elizabeth's Song. (Children's book.) Hillsboro, Oregon: Beyond Words Publishing. References

External links

 <mask> discography at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
 "Interview with Blues and Folk Singer <mask>" for the WGBH series Say Brother

 Clip of Cotten performing in 1969
 <mask>
 Elizabeth <mask> Freight Train
 North Carolina Highway Marker for <mask>

1893 births
1987 deaths
American blues guitarists
American blues singers
American women guitarists
American folk guitarists
American folk singers
20th-century African-American women singers
Blues revival musicians
National Heritage Fellowship winners
Singers from North Carolina
Grammy Award winners
People from Carrboro, North Carolina
Piedmont blues musicians
Musicians from Syracuse, New York
Culture of Syracuse, New York
African-American guitarists
20th-century American guitarists
Guitarists from North Carolina
20th-century American women singers
Arhoolie Records artists
Folkways Records artists
20th-century American singers
20th-century American women guitarists

masks:
Elizabeth
" Cotten
Cotten
Cotten
Elizabeth
Cotten
Frank Cotten
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
Cotten
Cotten
Cotten
Cotten
Cotten
Cotten
Cotten
Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Cotten
Cotten
Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Cotten
Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
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Elizabeth Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten
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Elizabeth Cotten


texts:
<mask> () was a direct householder disciple of Swami Vivekananda and was the chronicler of "Diary of a Disciple" () which is one of the major sources of first-hand information on Vivekananda's biography and teachings in the later stage of his life. <mask> was intimately connected with the Ramakrishna Order throughout his life, and even before the return of Swami Vivekananda from the West in 1897 he had been associated with the old monastery in Alambazar and with the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. He was also a Sanskrit scholar and was a postmaster by profession in the British Government service. Early life
<mask> was born to <mask> and Vidhumukhi Devi in the village Kotapada in the district Faridpur in erstwhile Bengal province (now Bangladesh) on the Hindu holy day of Sivaratri on 21 February 1868. The parents were humble but pious and educated. <mask> was the eldest son of the family. His mother was well versed in scripture, and from his parents he got his interest in spirituality.He grew up as an orthodox Brahmin owing to the prevalent customs of the society. However, he was known to be kind and of charitable disposition at an early age. Education
In 1873, he passed school final examination. He loved Sanskrit most. In 1882, he passed entrance examination and earned a scholarship of Rs 10/-. He joined Jagannath College in Dhaka. His penned his first poem about this time, called Kavya Kusumanjali, in 1882-83.He passed First Arts (F.A) in 1883 and joined Metropolitan Institution run by Iswar <mask> Vidyasagar in Calcutta. Mahendranath Gupta, better known as "M", the author of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna was a teacher in this institute. However, there is no recorded history as to whether <mask> <mask> met "M" or any of the students of "M" who later became the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, at this time. He passed Bachelor of Arts (B.A) with honours in Sanskrit. He was the first graduate from his village. Marriage and Career
<mask> <mask>, according to the prevalent norms and culture, was married to Mokshadayini, at an early age, and had a son and three daughters from the marriage. In order to support his family, he, side by side along with his pursuing of his education, became a private tutor of a local landlord.He bore the educational expenses of his brother Ramesh <mask>, who was also a brilliant student. Subsequently, after graduation he joined the Government service under the then British rule, as a Deputy Post Master and continued with the same profession for the rest of his life. His biographer states that he was unjustly denied promotion throughout his career by the British officials owing to his uprightness and dignity in not acceding to their whims. He began his career as Deputy Post Master at Barrackpore Post Office, page 24. During his service he had to work in many places in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Introduction to Ramakrishna Vivekananda ideology
<mask> <mask> came in contact with Durga Charan Nag, also called Nag Mahasaya, a foremost householder disciple of Sri Ramakrishna in the early stage of his career. The latter introduced him to the ideology of Sri Ramakrishna and took him to Dakshineswar temple and to Alambazar Math where he met many direct monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, like Swami Brahmananda, Swami Turiyananda, Swami Ramakrishnananda, Swami Niranjanananda and Swami Premananda.He, being already well versed with Vedanta philosophy, was attracted by the holy life led by the monks, their erudition and their sincere aspiration after realization or direct perception of the Truth. He joined in the celebrations of the birth anniversaries of Sri Ramakrishna by the monks of the monastery and composed a hymn called Sri Ramakrishna Stavamala. Swami Vivekananda and his influence
<mask> <mask> met Swami Vivekananda in Priyanath Mukherjee's house in Baghbazar three or four days after the Swami set foot on Calcutta on 20 February 1897. Sarat was introduced to the Swami by Swami Turiyananda. Swami Vivekananda conversed with him in Sanskrit on Nag Mahasaya. After that he met Swami Vivekananda many times, initially in the Garden House of Gopal Lal Seal and Alambazar Math, and later in the newly established Belur Math, and became intimate with him who would affectionately call him as "Bangal", an epithet used for people from East Bengal. In May 1897 he was formally initiated by Swami Vivekananda.The Swami discoursed him on many topics of Vedanta. During the initial days of the Belur Math, <mask> <mask> attended many critical functions like the consecration of the Math premises with the urn containing the ashes of Sri Ramakrishna and the birthday celebration of Sri Ramakrishna in 1898. He was also well acquainted with the famous poet, playwright and a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, Girish <mask>h. He composed a book of hymns in Sanskrit on Sri Ramakrishna during one of the birthday celebrations. He met Swami Vivekananda for the last time in June 1902, a week before the latter died. During this period he often cooked and discussed on many spiritual topics. Most of the conversations which are of interest to people interested in Vedanta philosophy and its interpretation by Swami Vivekananda, are captured in the Diary of a Disciple.He was also present when Ramakrishna Mission was formally founded in the house of Balaram Bose on 1 May 1897. Influence of Nag Mahasaya
The person who influenced <mask> <mask> most after Swami Vivekananda was Durga Charan Nag, a saint and a householder disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. <mask> <mask> also wrote the only biography on Nag Mahasaya, called Life of Nag Mahasaya. He was present by the bedside of Nag Mahasaya when the latter died.Life of Nag Mahasaya

Later years
In the course of his service, Sarat had to travel throughout the province of Bengal, and he spread the ideals of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda in the places that he visited. He retired in 1933 from Head Post Office in Cuttack, Orissa. <mask> <mask> composed Sri Ramakrishna Panchali based on the life of Sri Ramakrishna. The revolutionaries of Bengal, most famous among them being Subhas <mask> had read Swami Vivekananda's conversations with his disciple on spiritual matters and drew their inspiration from the book.The bard of Bengal Mukunda Das, a famous poet, ballad singer, patriot and lyricist, was a friend of <mask> <mask> and sang the songs composed by the latter during theatrical performances in the villages. Sarat also started many devotees' association, study circles, societies in Ramakrishna Vivekananda ideology, wherever he was posted during his service. He maintained close contact with the monks of the Belur Math. Sri Sarada Devi, the spiritual consort of Ramakrishna had stayed in his house in Burdwan. He also established the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama in Midnapore, Bengal, in the house of the local landlord or Zamindar, during his stay in Midnapore as the chief executive of the Post Office there. Between 1914 and 1921 many direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna visited his house. Among them were Golap Ma, Yogin Ma, Swami Subodhananda, Swami Adbhutananda, Swami Saradananda and Gauri Ma.After retirement in 1933 he spent several years in Calcutta, and he suffered from poor eyesight. He wrote a commentary on Brahma Sutras as he was directed by Swami Vivekananda to do so. The work was edited by Swami Shuddhananda, another direct disciple of Swami Vivekananda. The last four years of his life, from 1939 to 1942 were spent in Baharampur in Murshidabad district of Bengal and also in his native village. Many dignitaries and monks of Ramakrishna Order used to visit his house. His last few years were spent in silent contemplation and devotion to a marble plaque of Sri Ramakrishna presented to him by Swami Vivekananda. In spite of his ailments, he did not miss an opportunity to spread the message of Sri Ramakrishna and Vivekananda whenever he received an invitation to do so on special occasions like birth anniversaries.He suffered from asthma and died on 23 August 1942. References

Bibliography

External links
 Diary of a Disciple First Part
Diary of a Disciple Second Part
 Diary of a DisciplePDF
 Life of Nag Mahasaya

Ramakrishna
Disciples and friends of Swami Vivekananda
1868 births
1944 deaths
Scholars from West Bengal

masks:
Sarat Chandra Chakravarty
Sarat Chandra
Sarat Chandra
Ramkamal Chakravarty
Sarat Chandra
Chandra
Sarat
Chandra
Sarat
Chandra
Chandra
Sarat
Chandra
Sarat
Chandra
Sarat
Chandra
Chandra Ghos
Sarat
Chandra
Sarat
Chandra
Sarat
Chandra
Chandra Bose
Sarat
Chandra