Early life.

James Butler Hickok was born May 27, 1837, in Homer, Illinois, (present-day Troy Grove, Illinois) to William Alonzo Hickok, a farmer and abolitionist, and his wife Polly Butler. His father was said to have used the family house, now demolished, as a station on the Underground Railroad.  Hickok was the fourth of six children. William Hickok died in 1852, when James was 15.  Hickok was a good shot from a young age and was recognized locally as an outstanding marksman with a pistol.  Photographs of Hickok appear to depict dark hair, but all contemporaneous descriptions affirm that it was red. (Red objects appear black in early photographs, as the photographic processes were insensitive to red light.)  In 1855, at age 18, James Hickok fled Illinois following a fight with Charles Hudson, during which both fell into a canal (each thought, mistakenly, that he had killed the other). Hickok moved to Leavenworth in the Kansas Territory, where he joined "General" Jim Lane's Free State Army (also known as the Jayhawkers), a vigilante group active in the new territory. While a Jayhawker, he met 12-year-old William Cody (later known as Buffalo Bill), who despite his youth served as a scout just two years later for the U.S. Army during the Utah War.

Nicknames.

While in Nebraska, James Hickok was derisively referred to by one man as "Duck Bill" for his long nose and protruding lips. He grew a moustache following the McCanles incident and in 1861 began calling himself Wild Bill. He was also known before 1861 by Jayhawkers as "Shanghai Bill" because of his height and slim build.  Hickok used his late brother's name, William Hickok, from 1858 and the name William Haycock during the Civil War. Most newspapers referred to him as William Haycock until 1869. He was arrested while using the name Haycock in 1865. He afterward resumed using his given name, James Hickok. Military records after 1865 list him as Hickok but note that he was also known as Haycock. In an 1867 article about his shoot-out with Davis Tutt, his surname was misspelled as Hitchcock.

Early career.

Mauled by a bear.

In 1857, Hickok claimed a 160-acre (65-ha) tract in Johnson County, Kansas (near present-day Lenexa). On March 22, 1858, he was elected one of the first four constables of Monticello Township. In 1859, he joined the Russell, Majors and Waddell freight company, the parent company of the Pony Express.  In 1860, he was badly injured by a bear while driving a freight team from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico. According to Hickok's account, he found the road blocked by a cinnamon bear and its two cubs. Dismounting, he approached the bear and fired a shot into its head, but the bullet ricocheted off its skull, infuriating it. The bear attacked, crushing Hickok with its body. Hickok managed to fire another shot, wounding the bear's paw. The bear then grabbed his arm in its mouth, but Hickok was able to grab his knife and slash its throat, killing it.  Hickok was severely injured, with a crushed chest, shoulder and arm. He was bedridden for four months before being sent to Rock Creek Station in the Nebraska Territory to work as a stable hand while he recovered. The freight company had built the stagecoach stop along the Oregon Trail near Fairbury, Nebraska, on land purchased from David McCanles.

McCanles shooting.

On July 12, 1861, David McCanles went to the Rock Creek Station office to demand an overdue property payment from Horace Wellman, the station manager. McCanles reportedly threatened Wellman, and either Hickok (who was hiding behind a curtain) or Wellman killed him. Hickok, Wellman, and another employee, J.W. Brink, were tried for killing McCanles but were found to have acted in self-defense. McCanles may have been the first man Hickok killed. Hickok subsequently visited McCanles' widow, apologized for the killing, and offered her $35 in restitution, all the money he had with him at the time.

Civil War service.

After the Civil War broke out in April 1861, James Hickok became a teamster for the Union Army in Sedalia, Missouri. By the end of 1861, he was a wagon master, but in September 1862 he was discharged for unknown reasons. He then joined General James Henry Lane's Kansas Brigade and, while serving with the brigade, saw his friend Buffalo Bill Cody, who was serving as a scout.  In late 1863 he worked for the provost marshal of southwest Missouri as a member of the Springfield detective police. His work included identifying and counting the number of troops in uniform who were drinking while on duty, verifying hotel liquor licenses, and tracking down individuals who owed money to the cash-strapped Union Army.  Buffalo Bill claimed that he encountered Hickok disguised as a Confederate officer in Missouri in 1864. Hickok had not been paid for some time and was hired as a scout by General John B. Sanborn by early 1865. In June, Hickok mustered out and went to Springfield, where he gambled. The 1883 "History of Greene County, Missouri" described him as "by nature a ruffian... a drunken, swaggering fellow, who delighted when 'on a spree' to frighten nervous men and timid women."

Lawman and scout.

Duel with Davis Tutt.

While in Springfield, Hickok and a local gambler named Davis Tutt had several disagreements over unpaid gambling debts and their mutual affection for the same women. Hickok lost a gold watch to Tutt in a poker game. The watch had great sentimental value to Hickok and he asked Tutt not to wear it in public. They initially agreed not to fight over the watch, but when Hickok saw Tutt wearing it, he warned him to stay away. On July 21, 1865, the two men faced off in Springfield's town square, standing sideways before drawing and firing their weapons. Their quick-draw duel was recorded as the first of its kind. Tutt's shot missed, but Hickok's struck Tutt through the heart from about away. Tutt called out, "Boys, I'm killed" before he collapsed and died.  Two days later, Hickok was arrested for murder. The charge was later reduced to manslaughter. He was released on $2,000 bail and stood trial on August 3, 1865. At the end of the trial, Judge Sempronius H. Boyd told the jury they could not find Hickok acted in self-defense if he could have reasonably avoided the fight. However, if they felt the threat of danger was real and imminent, he instructed they could apply the unwritten law of the "fair fight" and acquit. The jury voted to clear Hickok, resulting in public backlash and criticism of the verdict.  Several weeks later, an interview Hickok gave to Colonel George Ward Nichols, a journalist known as the creator of the Hickok legend, was published in "Harper's New Monthly Magazine". Under the name "Wild Bill Hitchcock", the article recounted the "hundreds" of men whom Hickok had personally killed and other exaggerated exploits. The article was controversial wherever Hickok was known, and several frontier newspapers wrote rebuttals.

Deputy U.S. marshal in Kansas.

In September 1865, Hickok came in second in the election for city marshal of Springfield. Leaving Springfield, he was recommended for the position of deputy federal marshal at Fort Riley, Kansas. This was during the Indian Wars, in which Hickok sometimes served as a scout for General George A. Custer's 7th Cavalry.  In 1865, Hickok recruited six Native Americans and three cowboys to accompany him to Niagara Falls, where he put on an outdoor demonstration called "The Daring Buffalo Chasers of the Plains". Since the event was outdoors, he could not compel people to pay, and the venture was a financial failure. The show featured six buffalo, a bear and a monkey and one show ended in disaster when a buffalo refused to act, prompting Hickok to fire a bullet in the sky. This angered the buffalo and panicked audience members, causing the animals to break free of their wire fencing and chase audience members, some of which were trampled. The incident helped contribute to the overall failure of the show.

Killings of Native Americans.

Henry M. Stanley, of the "Weekly Missouri Democrat", reported Hickock to be "an inveterate hater of Indians", perhaps to enhance his reputation as a scout and Indian fighter, but it is difficult to separate fact from fiction considering his recruitment of Native Americans to cross the nation in order to appear in his own Wild West show. Witnesses confirm that while working as a scout at Fort Harker, Kansas, on May 11, 1867, he was attacked by a large group of Indians, who fled after he shot and killed two. In July, Hickok told a newspaper reporter that he had led several soldiers in pursuit of Indians who had killed four men near the fort on July 2. He reported returning with five prisoners after killing ten. Witnesses confirm that the story was true to the extent the party had set out to find whoever had killed the four men, but the group returned to the fort "without nary a dead Indian, [never] even seeing a live one".

Move to Hays, Kansas.

In December 1867, newspapers reported that Hickok had come to stay in Hays City, Kansas. He became a Deputy U.S. marshal, and on March 28, 1868, he picked up eleven Union Army deserters who had been charged with stealing government property. Hickok was assigned to bring the men to Topeka for trial, and he requested a military escort from Fort Hays. He was assigned William F. Cody, a sergeant, and five privates. They arrived in Topeka on April 2. Hickok remained in Hays through August 1868, when he brought 200 Cheyenne Indians to Hays to be viewed by "excursionists".

Work as a scout.

On September 1, Hickok was in Lincoln County, Kansas, where he was hired as a scout by the 10th Cavalry Regiment, a segregated African-American unit. On September 4, Hickok was wounded in the foot while rescuing several cattlemen in the Bijou Creek Basin who had been surrounded by Indians. The 10th Regiment arrived at Fort Lyon in Colorado in October and remained there for the rest of 1868.

Marshal of Hays, Kansas.

In July 1869, Hickok returned to Hays and was elected city marshal of Hays and sheriff of Ellis County, Kansas, in a special election held on August 23, 1869. Three sheriffs had quit during the previous 18 months. Hickok may have been acting sheriff before he was elected; a newspaper reported that he arrested offenders on August 18, and the commander of Fort Hays wrote a letter to the assistant adjutant general on August 21 in which he praised Hickok for his work in apprehending deserters.  The regular county election was held on November 2, 1869, and Hickok, running as an independent, lost to his deputy, Peter Lanihan, running as a Democrat, but Hickok and Lanihan remained sheriff and deputy, respectively. Hickok accused a J.V. Macintosh of irregularities and misconduct during the election. On December 9, Hickok and Lanihan both served legal papers on Macintosh, and local newspapers acknowledged that Hickok had guardianship of Hays City.

Killings as sheriff.

In September 1869, his first month as sheriff, Hickok killed two men. The first was Bill Mulvey, who was rampaging through town, drunk, shooting out mirrors and whisky bottles behind bars. Citizens warned Mulvey to behave, because Hickok was sheriff. Mulvey angrily declared that he had come to town to kill Hickok. When he saw Hickok, he leveled his cocked rifle at him. Hickok waved his hand past Mulvey at some onlookers and yelled, "Don't shoot him in the back; he is drunk." Mulvey wheeled his horse around to face those who might shoot him from behind, and before he realized he had been fooled, Hickok shot him through the temple.  The second killed by Hickok was Samuel Strawhun, a cowboy, who was causing a disturbance at 1 a.m. in a saloon on September 27 when Hickok and Lanihan went to the scene. Strawhun "made remarks against Hickok," and Hickok killed him with a shot through the head. Hickok said he had "tried to restore order". At the coroner's inquest into Strawhun's death, despite "very contradictory" evidence from witnesses, the jury found the shooting justifiable.  On July 17, 1870, Hickok was attacked by two troopers from the 7th U.S. Cavalry, Jeremiah Lonergan and John Kyle (sometimes spelled Kile), in a saloon. Lonergan pinned Hickok to the ground, and Kyle put his gun to Hickok's ear. When Kyle's weapon misfired, Hickok shot Lonergan, wounding him in the knee, and shot Kyle twice, killing him. Hickok lost his re-election bid to his deputy.

Marshal of Abilene, Kansas.

On April 15, 1871, Hickok became marshal of Abilene, Kansas. He replaced Tom "Bear River" Smith, who had been killed on November 2, 1870.  The outlaw John Wesley Hardin arrived in Abilene at the end of a cattle drive in early 1871. Hardin was a well-known gunfighter and is known to have killed more than 27 men. In his 1895 autobiography, published after his death, Hardin claimed to have been befriended by Hickok, the newly elected town marshal, after he had disarmed the marshal using the road agent's spin. However, Hardin was known to exaggerate. In any case, Hardin appeared to have thought highly of Hickok.  Hickok later said he did not know that "Wesley Clemmons" was Hardin's alias and that he was a wanted outlaw. He told Clemmons (Hardin) to stay out of trouble in Abilene and asked him to hand over his guns, and Hardin complied. Hardin claimed that when his cousin, Mannen Clements, was jailed for killing two cowhands, he persuaded Hickok to arrange for his escape.

Attempt at arrest of Hardin.

In August 1871, "Wild Bill" Hickok sought to arrest Hardin for killing Charles Couger in an Abilene hotel "for snoring too loud". Hardin left Kansas before Hickok could arrest him. A newspaper reported, "A man was killed in his bed at a hotel in Abilene, Monday night, by a desperado called Arkansas. The murderer escaped. This was his sixth murder."

Shootout with Phil Coe.

Hickok and Phil Coe, a saloon owner and acquaintance of Hardin's, had a dispute that resulted in a shootout. The Bull's Head Saloon in Abilene had been established by the gambler Ben Thompson and Coe, his partner, businessman and fellow gambler. The two entrepreneurs had painted a picture of a bull with a large erect penis on the side of their establishment as an advertisement. Citizens of the town complained to Hickok, who requested that Thompson and Coe remove the bull. They refused, so Hickok altered it himself. Infuriated, Thompson tried to incite John Wesley Hardin to kill Hickok, by exclaiming to Hardin that "He's a damn Yankee. Picks on rebels, especially Texans, to kill." Hardin was in town under his assumed name Wesley Clemmons but was better known to the townspeople by the alias Little Arkansas. He seemed to have respect for Hickok's abilities and replied, "If Bill needs killing why don't you kill him yourself?" Hoping to intimidate Hickok, Coe allegedly stated that he could "kill a crow on the wing". Hickok's retort is one of the West's most famous sayings (though possibly apocryphal): "Did the crow have a pistol? Was he shooting back? I will be."  On October 5, 1871, Hickok was standing off a crowd during a street brawl when Coe fired two shots. Hickok ordered him to be arrested for firing a pistol within the city limits. Coe claimed that he was shooting at a stray dog, and then suddenly turned his gun on Hickok, who fired first and killed Coe. Hickok caught a glimpse of someone running toward him and quickly fired two more shots in reaction, accidentally shooting and killing Abilene Special Deputy Marshal Mike Williams, who was coming to his aid. This event haunted Hickok for the remainder of his life. There is another account of the Coe shootout: Theophilus Little, the mayor of Abilene and owner of the town's lumber yard, recorded his time in Abilene by writing in a notebook which was ultimately given to the Abilene Historical Society. Writing in 1911, he detailed his admiration of Hickok and included a paragraph on the shooting that differs considerably from the reported account:  Hickok was relieved of his duties as marshal less than two months after accidentally killing Deputy Williams, this incident being only one of a series of questionable shootings and claims of misconduct.

Later life.

In 1873, Buffalo Bill Cody and Texas Jack Omohundro invited Hickok to join their troupe after their earlier success. Hickok did not enjoy acting, and often hid behind scenery. In one show he shot the spotlight when it focused on him. He was released from the group after a few months.  In 1876, Hickok was diagnosed by a doctor in Kansas City, Missouri, with glaucoma and ophthalmia. Although he was just 39, his marksmanship and health were apparently in decline, and he had been arrested several times for vagrancy, despite earning a good income from gambling and displays of showmanship only a few years earlier.

Marriages.

Martha Jane Cannary, known popularly as Calamity Jane, claimed in her autobiography that she was married to Hickok and had divorced him so he could be free to marry Agnes Lake, but no records have been found that support her account. The two possibly met for the first time after Jane was released from the guardhouse in Fort Laramie and joined the wagon train in which Hickok was traveling. The wagon train arrived in Deadwood in July 1876. Jane confirmed this account in an 1896 newspaper interview, although she claimed she had been hospitalized with illness rather than in the guardhouse.  On March 5, 1876, Hickok married Agnes Thatcher Lake, a 50-year-old circus proprietor in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. Hickok left his new bride a few months later, joining Charlie Utter's wagon train to seek his fortune in the goldfields of South Dakota.  Shortly before Hickok's death, he wrote a letter to his new wife, which read in part, "Agnes Darling, if such should be we never meet again, while firing my last shot, I will gently breathe the name of my wife—Agnes—and with wishes even for my enemies I will make the plunge and try to swim to the other shore."

Death.

On August 1, 1876, Hickok was playing poker at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. When a seat opened up at the table, a drunk man named Jack McCall sat down to play. McCall lost heavily. Hickok encouraged McCall to quit the game until he could cover his losses and offered to give him money for breakfast. Although McCall accepted the money, he was apparently insulted.  The next day, Hickok was playing poker again. He usually sat with his back to a wall so he could see the entrance, but the only seat available when he joined the game was a chair facing away from the door. He twice asked another man at the table, Charles Rich, to change seats with him, but Rich refused.  McCall entered the saloon, walked up behind Hickok, drew his Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army.45-caliber revolver, and shouted, "Damn you! Take that!" before shooting Hickok in the back of the head at point-blank range.  Hickok died instantaneously. The bullet emerged through his right cheek and struck another player, riverboat Captain William Massie, in the left wrist. Hickok may have told his friend Charlie Utter and others who were traveling with them that he thought he would be killed while in Deadwood.

Jack McCall's two trials.

McCall's motive for killing Hickok is the subject of speculation, largely concerning McCall's anger at Hickok's having given him money for breakfast the day before, after McCall had lost heavily.  McCall was summoned before an informal "miners' jury" (an ad hoc local group of miners and businessmen). He claimed he was avenging Hickok's earlier slaying of his brother, which may have been true. (A man named Lew McCall was killed by an unknown lawman in Abilene, Kansas, but it is not known whether or not the two McCall men were related.) McCall was acquitted of the murder, which prompted editorializing in the "Black Hills Pioneer": "Should it ever be our misfortune to kill a man... we would simply ask that our trial may take place in some of the mining camps of these hills." Calamity Jane was reputed to have led a mob that threatened McCall with lynching, but at the time of Hickok's death, Jane was actually being held by military authorities.  After bragging about killing Hickok, McCall was re-arrested. The second trial was not considered double jeopardy because of the irregular jury in the first trial and because Deadwood was in Indian country. The new trial was held in Yankton, the capital of the Dakota Territory. Hickok's brother, Lorenzo Butler, traveled from Illinois to attend the retrial. McCall was found guilty and sentenced to death.  Leander Richardson, a reporter, interviewed McCall shortly before his execution and wrote an article about him for the April 1877 issue of "Scribner's Monthly". Butler spoke with McCall after the trial and said McCall showed no remorse.  Jack McCall was hanged on March 1, 1877 and buried in a Roman Catholic cemetery. The cemetery was moved in 1881, and when McCall's body was exhumed, the noose was found still around his neck.

Dead man's hand.

Hickok was playing five-card stud or five-card draw when he was shot. He was holding two pairs: black aces and black eights as his "up cards". The identity of the fifth card (his "hole card") is the subject of debate.

Burial.

Charlie Utter, Hickok's friend and companion, claimed Hickok's body and placed a notice in the local newspaper, the "Black Hills Pioneer", which read: Almost the entire town attended the funeral, and Utter had Hickok buried with a wooden grave marker reading: Hickok is known to have fatally shot six men and is suspected of having killed a seventh (McCanles). Despite his reputation, Hickok was buried in the Ingelside Cemetery, Deadwood's original graveyard. This cemetery filled quickly, and in 1879, on the third anniversary of Hickcock's original burial, Utter paid to move Hickok's remains to the new Mount Moriah Cemetery. Utter supervised the move and noted that, while perfectly preserved, Hickok had been imperfectly embalmed. As a result, calcium carbonate from the surrounding soil had replaced the flesh, leading to petrifaction. One of the workers, Joseph McLintock, wrote a detailed description of the re-interment. McLintock used a cane to tap the body, face, and head, finding no soft tissue anywhere. He noted that the sound was similar to tapping a brick wall and believed the remains weighed more than. William Austin, the cemetery caretaker, estimated, which made it difficult for the men to carry the remains to the new site. The original wooden grave marker was moved to the new site, but by 1891 it had been destroyed by souvenir hunters whittling pieces from it, and it was replaced with a statue. This, in turn, was destroyed by souvenir hunters and replaced in 1902 by a life-sized sandstone sculpture of Hickok. This, too, was badly defaced, and was then enclosed in a cage for protection. The enclosure was cut open by souvenir hunters in the 1950s, and the statue was removed. Hickok is currently interred in a ten-foot (3 m) square plot at the Mount Moriah Cemetery, surrounded by a cast-iron fence, with a U.S. flag flying nearby. A monument has been built there.

Notable nearby graves.

It has been reported that Calamity Jane was buried next to Hickock, according to her dying wish. Four of the men on the self-appointed committee who planned Calamity's funeral (Albert Malter, Frank Ankeney, Jim Carson, and Anson Higby) later stated that, since Hickok had "absolutely no use" for Jane in this life, they decided to play a posthumous joke on him by laying her to rest by his side.

Pistols known to have been carried by Hickok.

Hickok's favorite guns were a pair of Colt 1851 Navy Model (.36 caliber) cap-and-ball revolvers. They had ivory grips and nickel plating and were ornately engraved with "J.B. Hickok–1869" on the backstrap. He wore his revolvers butt-forward in a belt or sash (when wearing city clothes or buckskins, respectively), and seldom used holsters per se; he drew the pistols using a "reverse", "twist" or cavalry draw, as would a cavalryman.  At the time of his death Hickok was wearing a Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Army Revolver, a newly released, five-shot, single-action,.32-caliber weapon. Bonhams auction company offered this pistol at auction on November 18, 2013, in San Francisco, California, described as Hickok's Smith & Wesson No. 2, serial number 29963, a.32 rimfire with a six-inch barrel, blued finish, and varnished rosewood grips. The gun did not sell because the highest bid of $220,000 was less than the reserve set by the gun's owners.

In popular culture.

Hickok has remained one of the most popular and iconic figures of the American Old West, and is still frequently depicted in popular culture, including literature, film, and television.

Films.

Paramount Pictures' Western silent film "Wild Bill Hickok" (released on November 18, 1923) was directed by Clifford Smith and stars William S. Hart as Hickok. A print of the film is maintained in the Museum of Modern Art film archive.  The movie "The Plainsman" (1936), starring Gary Cooper as Wild Bill Hickok, features the relationship between Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane as its main plot line. It is a loose adaptation of Hickok's life ending with his infamous aces and eights card hand.  In the movie "Little Big Man" (1970), Wild Bill Hickok was played by Jeff Corey.  "The White Buffalo" (1977), starring Charles Bronson as Wild Bill Hickok, tells a tale of Hickok's hunt for a murderous white buffalo that follows him in his nightmares.  A highly fictional film account of Hickok's later years and death, titled "Wild Bill" (1995), stars Jeff Bridges as Hickok and David Arquette as Jack McCall, and was written and directed by Walter Hill.  A semi-fictionalized version of Hickok's time as Marshal of Abilene Kansas, titled "Hickok" (2017), stars Luke Hemsworth as Hickok, Trace Adkins as the Bulls Head saloon keeper Phil Coe, Kris Kristofferson as Abilene mayor George Knox, and Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau as John Wesley Hardin. It was written by Michael Lanahan and directed by Timothy Woodward Jr.

Television.

A Screen Gems television series, "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok", with Guy Madison in the starring role and Andy Devine as sidekick Pete "Jingles" Jones, ran for eight seasons from 1951 through 1958, first in syndication and then on CBS for the last three seasons.  Two actors portrayed Hickok on the syndicated anthology series "Death Valley Days". Charles Carlson was cast in the 1962 episode, "The Truth Teller", which focuses on the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867. Rhodes Reason portrays Hickok in "A Calamity Called Jane", in which Calamity and Hickok argue over her masculine wardrobe and manners. The segment concludes with Hickok's assassination by Jack McCall in a saloon in Deadwood.  [Lloyd Bridges]] portrayed Hickok in an episode of "The Great Adventure" titled "Wild Bill Hickok - The Legend and the Man," which aired on 3 January 1964. Coincidentally, Bridges's son, Jeff, would also play Hickok years later in the aforementioned film "Wild Bill".  In episodes 1-4 of the HBO dramatic television series "Deadwood", which aired from 2004 to 2006, Hickok, portrayed by Keith Carradine, is shown arriving in Deadwood with Charlie Utter and Calamity Jane, with the Deadwood camp inhabitants aware of Hickok's celebrity status as a gunfighter and lawman. The series shows Hickok as a self-destructive, compulsive gambler who is eventually murdered while playing poker and subsequently laid to rest in Deadwood's cemetery.  In the early 1990s ABC television series "Young Riders", a fictional account of Pony Express riders, Hickok is portrayed by Josh Brolin.

Memorials and honorable distinctions.

Hickok's birthplace is now the Wild Bill Hickok Memorial and is a listed historic site under the supervision of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. The town of Deadwood, South Dakota re-enacts Hickok's murder and McCall's capture every summer evening.  In 1979, Hickok was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

James Butler Hickok (May 27, 1837August 2, 1876), better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk hero of the American Old West known for his work across the frontier as a drover, wagon master, soldier, spy, scout, lawman, gunfighter, gambler, showman, and actor. He earned a great deal of notoriety in his own time, much of it bolstered by the many outlandish and often fabricated tales. Some contemporaneous reports of his exploits are known to be fictitious, but they remain the basis of much of his fame and reputation, along with his own stories.

Wild Bill Hickok (né James Butler Hickok le à Troy Grove en Illinois, et mort le à Deadwood, Dakota du Sud) est une figure emblématique de l'Ouest américain.


History.

Background and initial years.

During the 1990s, the government of Switzerland decided that the nation's military enterprises needed to be restructured, a view which led to the passing of the Federal Act on Federal Armaments Companies (FArmCA) in 1997. In accordance with this act, a new entity, known as "RUAG Switzerland Ltd", was established to bring together four former state-run enterprises: "SE Schweizerische Elektronikunternehmung AG", "SF Schweizerische Unternehmung für Flugzeuge und Systeme AG", "SM Schweizerische Munitionsunternehmung AG", and "SW Schweizerische Unternehmung für Waffensysteme AG". Prior to this merger, these companies were comprehensively restructured with the intention of making them competitive commercial enterprises. RUAG formally commenced operations on 1 January 1999.  Even prior to its establishment, RUAG was confronted by a severe challenge in the form of dwindling orders from the Swiss Armed Forces due to post-Cold War defense cuts having greatly diminished military spending. Recognising its overdependence on the Swiss military, which initially accounted for 86 percent of RUAG's sales, the company adopted a long-term strategy of diversification, progressively expanding its activities in the military and civil sectors both inside Switzerland and on the global market. This expansion went beyond only organic growth, necessitating numerous acquisitions, often focused in specific fields, such as aircraft and helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO); command, information and communication systems; simulation and training systems; and small-calibre ammunition.  Positive results were soon achieved. During 2000, RUAG's Aerospace division reported 39 per cent growth in sales on the third-party market, which were generated from various programmes of aircraft manufacturers, including Airbus, Boeing and Pilatus. Other business included MRO services to foreign Northrop F-5 fighter aircraft, repair work on AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles for the United States Air Force and production of payload fairings for the US's Atlas V launch vehicle. RUAG's Land Systems division was also had optimism in the civilian sector, performing component assembly for injection moulding machines used in compact disc production. By the end of 2001, RUAG had reached a turning point, reporting 8 per cent overall growth for that financial year despite a sustained decline in the domestic defence sector; these gains were achieved upon the international market, particularly within the civilian sector.  RUAG was negatively impacted by the Great Recession that started during 2008, soon thereafter reporting a significant drop in orders from the civilian sector, particularly for aerostructures and MRO services, as well as its automotive and semiconductor interests. Consolidated profit was hit by CHF 160 million of write-downs, causing a negative EBIT of CHF 113 million – the first deficit recorded in RUAG's operational history. Around this time, RUAG made a strategic move into the space industry, which had been previously a tiny area of the business. In 2008, it acquired "Saab Space" and its subsidiary "Austrian Aerospace"; during the following year, RUAG also bought the "Oerlikon Space AG", and subsequently created its RUAG Space division, Europe's largest independent space supplier.

2010s.

By 2010, RUAG's aviation division comprised three core areas: military MRO, business aviation, and special mission aircraft; of these, business aviation reportedly suffered a downturn following the Great Recession. The company made efforts to bolster its business aviation activities, focusing on providing MRO services to end users. In 2019, RUAG decided to sell its business aviation facilities in Geneva and Lugano to Dassault Aviation; the company stated that it was part of a strategic alignment, instead concentrating resources on its aerostructures and space programmes.  RUAG has progressively expanded the range of military aircraft that it provides MRO services for. During 2012, it competed against EADS to provide aircraft support services to the German military. In 2014, the company partnered with Finnish firm Patria to offer MRO services to McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet operators worldwide. During the 2010s, RUAG performed a major modernisation of the Swiss Air Force's Airbus Helicopters AS332 Super Puma helicopter fleet, and has subsequently promoted this capability for other operators.  During the 2010s, RUAG Aerostructures became a tier-one supplier of aircraft fuselage sections, wing components, flaps, and other elements for both civilian and military aircraft. It is a long-term supplier to aerospace giant Airbus, having delivered in excess of 9,000 Airbus A320 family fuselage sections by January 2020. On 19 December 2019, the two companies concluded a six-year arrangement for RUAG to manufacture the center fuselage section, flooring and side shells of the A320 at a rate of 60 sections per month at its plants in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany; Eger, Hungary; and Emmen, Switzerland. In addition to its work for Airbus, other customers of RUAG Aerostructures include Boeing, Bombardier Aviation, Dassault Aviation, GE Aviation, Pilatus Aircraft, and Saab AB.

Do 228NG.

During 2003, RUAG acquired the type certificate for the Dornier Do 228. In December 2007, RUAG announced its intention to launch a modernized version of the Do 228, which it designated as the "Do 228 Next Generation", or Do 228 NG. At the 2008 Berlin Air Show, HAL agreed to supply the first three component sets — fuselage, wings and tail — for €5 million, as a part of an €80 million ($123 million) ten-year contract. Final assembly for the aircraft is performed in Germany; however, most airframe subassemblies, such as the wings, tail and fuselage, are produced by HAL in India. RUAG decided to suspend production of the Do 228 NG after the completion of an initial batch of eight aircraft in 2013. In 2014, RUAG and Tata Group signed an agreement for the latter to become a key supplier of the program. Production was restarted in 2015, with deliveries of four per year planned from 2016. the assembly line is reportedly capable of producing a maximum of 12 aircraft per year.

Structure.

The RUAG has the following operational divisions:

RUAG Holding (originally Rüstungs Unternehmen Aktiengesellschaft; Joint Stock Defense Company) is a Swiss company specialising in aerospace engineering and the defense industry. Its headquarters are located in Bern, while it also has numerous production sites in Switzerland (Nyon, Aigle, Thun, Bern, Emmen, Altdorf, Zürich and Interlaken), Germany (Oberpfaffenhofen, Hamburg Wedel and Fürth), Sweden (Gothenburg, Linköping and Åmotfors), Hungary (Sirok, Eger), Austria (Vienna, Berndorf) and United States (Tampa and Titusville), and sales companies in Australia, UK, France, Belgium, Brazil and Malaysia.

RUAG Holding AG est une entreprise internationale active dans les domaines de l'aérospatial et de la défense, fondée le et dont l'actionnaire unique est la Confédération suisse.


History.

The company was founded in 1947 in Verdun, Quebec by Rolland Jeanneau. Many independent grocery stores joined the company to form Magasins Lasalle Stores Ltée. In 1952, Magasins Lasalles Stores Ltée change its name to Épiceries Lasalle Groceteria. The company had 43 affiliated grocery stores at the time. In 1955, they were 50 franchised stores and the company with a revenue of $2 million. The company gained fame in 1956 through an advertisement in "La Presse" which showed turkeys sold for 39 cents. That year, mayor Jean Drapeau was already talking about implementing in Montreal a rapid transit system to be called the Montreal Metro. This inspired the company to create a division called Metro. Other grocery stores joined the company bringing its number of stores to 73 in 1957 with revenue of $10 million.  Because of the success of the Metro division, the company renamed itself Metro-Lasalle in 1963. In 1972, Metro-Lasalle changed its name to Metro-Ltée. Metro merged with the Marché Richelieu grocery chain in 1975 to become Groupe Metro-Richelieu Inc in 1976.  In the early 1980s, Metro went through harder times due to fierce competition from Provigo and the recession. Metro merged with Epiciers Unis Inc. and took on the name Metro-Richelieu Inc. (dropping the "Groupe" from its name). During the rest of the 1980s, it fared better and entered the Montreal Stock Exchange in 1986.  Metro suffered from the early 1990s recession. A restructuring plan was established, a new logo was created and changes were brought in the management team. Metro acquired 48 of 112 Steinberg supermarkets when that company went bankrupt in 1992. These stores were rebranded as Super C and Metro stores. Metro entered the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1993. It acquired Loeb Stores from Loblaws in 1999. The Metro Plus banner was established in the early 2000s. Some of the stores were converted to Super C, while others continued to operate as Loeb. The Super C stores in Ontario were converted to Food Basics. In 2009, the company converted all Loeb stores to Metro.

Mergers and acquisitions.

On July 19, 2005, Metro, Inc. announced that it had reached an agreement with The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. and its subsidiary, A&P Luxembourg S.à.r.l., to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of A&P Canada, for an acquisition price of $1.7 billion, consisting of $1.2 billion in cash and $500 million in the form of treasury shares of Metro. The purchase was completed on August 15, 2005, and after beating out Sobeys in a bidding war, Metro now has a network in Quebec and Ontario of 573 conventional and discount food stores, and 256 pharmacies.  On August 7, 2008, Metro announced it would invest $200 million consolidating the company's conventional food stores under the Metro banner. Over a period of 15 months, all Dominion, A&P, Loeb, the Barn, and Ultra Food & Drug banners were converted to the Metro name. Food Basics stores were not affected as it competes in the discount food segment.Metro now holds the second largest market share in the food distribution and retailing business in Quebec and Ontario with nearly $11 billion in sales and more than 65,000 employees. Its stores operate under the banners Metro, Metro Plus, Super C, Food Basics, Marché Ami, Les 5 Saisons and Marché Adonis. Its pharmacies operate under the banners Brunet, The Pharmacy, Clini-Plus, and Drug Basics.  In 2017, Metro acquired Canadian meal kit service, Miss Fresh.  In May 2018, Metro closed a $4.5 billion (CAD) acquisition of the Quebec drug chain Jean Coutu Group, making it one of Canada’s largest retailers and distributors of food and drugs.

Loyalty programs.

Stores under the Metro and Metro Plus banners offer one of the following loyalty programs:  In spring 2015, Metro agreed to drop its exclusivity on the Air Miles program in Ontario; as a result, Sobeys stores throughout that province now offer Air Miles rewards in parallel with Metro. However, Sobeys (which now also owns Safeway Canada) did not reciprocate, and Metro continues to be unable to offer Air Miles in either Quebec or Thunder Bay.

Corporate governance.

Members of the board of directors of Metro Inc. are: Réal Raymond (Chair), Marc Guay (Administrateur), Maryse Bertrand, François J. Coutu, Michel Coutu, Stephanie Coyles, Marc DeSerres, Claude Dussault, Russell Goodman, Christian W.E. Haub, Eric R. La Flèche, Christine Magee, Marie-José Nadeau, and Line Rivard.

Locations.

Ontario.

128 locations:

Quebec.

131 Metro locations:  89 Metro Plus locations:  220 total

Metro Inc. is a Canadian food retailer operating in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The company is based in Montreal, Quebec with head office at 11011 Boulevard Maurice-Duplessis. Metro is the third largest grocer in Canada, after Loblaw Companies Limited and Sobeys.

Metro inc. est une entreprise de distribution alimentaire et pharmaceutique au Canada. En 2017, son chiffre d'affaires était de 13,2 milliards de dollars canadiens et elle employait. Suite à l'acquisition du Groupe Jean Coutu officialisée en, Metro annonce un chiffre d'affaires de 16 milliards de dollars et.


Origins.

Fidel Castro's rise to power had been watched by the CIA since 1948. As he rose to power, the CIA became increasingly concerned with his actions and political views. In the late 1950s, CIA began gathering more intelligence on Castro, suspecting that he had allegiance to communism. The organization could not initially discover hard evidence that Castro was a communist. However, the CIA remained concerned with how Castro's government took pro-communist stances. CIA intelligence concluded that Castro's close confidants, Ernesto Che Guevara and Raul Castro Ruz, both had communist tendencies. General C. P. Cabell noted in November 1959 that while Castro was not a communist he allowed free opportunity to the communist party in Cuba to grow and spread its message. Nonetheless, by December plans were already being tossed around between high ranking US Foreign Policy Officials that called for overthrowing the Castro government. An official report from the CIA states that, by March 1960, the United States had already decided that Fidel Castro must be displaced. Due to the United States' fear of repercussions from the United Nations, the plan was kept at the highest level of secrecy, and as thus, "plausible deniability" was made a key focal point in American clandestine service policy.  Formal Authorization for Action  The government formally authorized the operation on March 17, 1960, when President Eisenhower signed off on a CIA paper entitled “A Program of Covert Action Against the Castro Regime.” A declassified report by the Inspector General Lyman Kirkpatrick details the history of the operation, and states that the presidential order gave the agency authorization to create an organization of exiled Cubans to manage opposition programs, begin a “propaganda offensive” to draw support for the movement, create an intelligence gathering network inside Cuba, and to “develop a paramilitary force to be introduced into Cuba to organize, train and lead resistance groups against the Castro regime. The propaganda offensive employed the use of radio broadcasts and leaflets to be passed around. This measure was solely aimed at propagating support for the provisional government. The CIA’s budget estimation for this covert operation was approximately $4.4 million. The paper signed by Eisenhower was also the sole report issued by the government throughout the entire project. This highlights the U.S. Government’s secrecy in carrying out the operation as well as its policy of plausible deniability. This program required the agency to work around the clock and collect a large amount of detail-specific information, as well as to cooperate with other agencies. To secure the needed financial backing, the “Bender Group” was developed as an organization that would provide American businessmen a secret avenue through which to trade with Cuban groups. On May 11, 1960, the Bender Group came to an agreement with group called Frente Revolucionario Democratico (FRD). Propaganda activities included using print and radio mediums to broadcast anti-Castro messages. These programs were launched all over Latin America. Large amounts of real estate were purchased by the agency for use in this operation. A base of operations was established in Miami on May 25, by using a “New York career and development firm” and “a Department of Defense contract” as

Planning.

The U.S. Defense Department's Joint Chiefs of Staff saw the project's ultimate objective to be to provide adequate justification for U.S. military intervention in Cuba. They requested that the Secretary of Defense assign them responsibility for the project, but Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy retained effective control.  Throughout the years, many individuals suspect that Robert F. Kennedy was carrying out a pledge to eradicate the Jupiters from Turkey in exchange for the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba. The removal of the Jupiter missile system in Turkey in exchange for the removal of Soviet missiles in Cuba was seen by many as an even trade of sorts when considering the capabilities of each to deliver a strike to an enemy on either side of the Cold War.  On January 8, 1960 General Cabell, the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (DDCI), held a joint briefing on Cuba for the Department of State and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During this meeting Colonel L. K. White had mentioned that Fidel Castro was going to need to be dealt with. At this time the DDCI also discussed the need to increase covert and semi-covert programs aimed at Castro. These programs included psychological warfare, political action, economic action, and para-military action. By the 18th of January, the DDCI had come up with various Cuban operations. Later it was discussed that a separate branch should be created to handle everything about the anti-Castro movement. The White House division organized Branch 4 (WH/4)as the new task force to run Cuban Operations. The task force included 40 personnel, with 18 at headquarters, 20 at the Havana station, and two at Santiago base. The state department was concerned that if Castro were overthrown, then the people to come after him would be worse than him – primarily Che Guevara and Raul Castro. So they proposed a way of getting a better leader that they approved of in his place. The CIA began to worry that their involvement with the anti-Castro movement would lead to an anti-US movement. On March 14 of 1960, Dulles presented a “General Covert Action Plan for Cuba” that would focus only on the Cuban problems. Guerrilla capacity in the anti-Castro groups both in and out of Cuba was discussed.  Richard Bissell, Deputy Director for Plans, asked Sheffield Edwards, Director of Security, if Edwards could establish contact with the U.S. gambling syndicate that was active in Cuba. The objective clearly was the assassination of Castro although Edwards claims that there was a studied avoidance of the term in his conversation with Bissell. Bissell recalls that the idea originated with J.C. King, then Chief og WH Division, although King now recalls having had only limited knowledge of such a plan and at a much later date – about mid-1962.  The Anti-Castro Revolutionary Council, consisting of a group of Cubans, released a press statement at a conference in New York City on March 22, 1961. The press statement announced the unification of forces against Castro and outlining the platform of their mission. The objectives consisted of overthrowing the “Communist tyranny which enslaves the people of Cuba.” The press statement listed the prerogatives for agrarian policy, economic policy, systems of law, education reform, military structure, etc. It was a comprehensive plan. The press statement was implemented as another propaganda tool that the CIA felt could further their mission.  There were prerequisites for those recruited and enlisted by the CIA: they must be pro-Western, anti-Communist, politically neutral and capable of gathering other Cuban support. Specific goals were identified for Cubans on-boarded to the Cuban Opposition Front, the principal goal is to restore the 1940 Cuban constitution. The Cuban Opposition Front's purpose can be summarized as 1) to act as a beacon to attract other anti-Castro groups, 2) to serve as a scapegoat in case covert operations were discovered, and 3) to act as a potential replacement to Castro after his fall. For the Cuban Operation, the CIA made a list of potential guerilla fighters within the Cuban provinces. There were seven groups consisting each of anywhere between 180 and over 4,000 possible defectors. They consisted of political prisoners and guerillas that the CIA believed could be convinced to enlist in the operations against Castro. In response to the Soviet Union's increasing amount of weaponry as well as a growing influence of the Communist Party in Cuba, as early as June 1960, there were 500 Cuban exiles being trained as paramilitary members in order to execute the Bay of Pigs invasion, with some of those exiles being trained in Panama. Due to a recent declassification of thousands of pages from the CIA in 2011 (50th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion), it is now known that the CIA task force in charge of the paramilitary could succeed without a full-scale invasion with support from the US military. According to Peter Kornbluh, this was the most important revelation of the declassification of the official history of the CIA.  On April 12, 1961 the CIA prepared a full report on the Cuban Operation that outlined its orientation and concept. The plot against Castro would be characterized by the appearance of a “growing and increasingly effective internal resistance, helped by the activities of defeated Cuban aircraft and by the infiltration of weapons and small groups of men.” (Cuban Operation) The report further emphasized particular

Execution.

The CIA operation was based at the Caribbean Admission Center at Opa-Locka, Florida. and even at one point enlisted the aid of the Mafia (who were eager to regain their Cuban casino operations) to plot an assassination attempt against Castro; William Harvey was one of the CIA case officers who directly dealt with mafioso John Roselli. The mafioso John Roselli was introduced to the CIA by former FBI Agent Robert Mahue. Mahue had known Roselli since the 1950s and was aware of his connection to the gambling syndicate. Under the alias "John Rawlson," Roselli was tasked with recruiting Cubans from Florida to help in the assassination of Castro.  Professor of History Stephen Rabe writes that "scholars have understandably focused on...the Bay of Pigs invasion, the US campaign of terrorism and sabotage known as Operation Mongoose, the assassination plots against Fidel Castro, and, of course, the Cuban Missile Crisis. Less attention has been given to the state of US-Cuban relations in the aftermath of the missile crisis." Rabe writes that reports from the Church Committee reveal that from June 1963 onward, the Kennedy administration intensified its war against Cuba while the CIA integrated propaganda, "economic denial," and sabotage to attack the Cuban state as well as specific targets within. One example cited is an incident where CIA agents, seeking to assassinate Castro, provided a Cuban official, Rolando Cubela Secades, with a ballpoint pen rigged with a poisonous hypodermic needle. At this time, the CIA received authorization for 13 major operations in Cuba, including attacks on an electric power plant, an oil refinery, and a sugar mill. Rabe has argued that the "Kennedy administration... showed no interest in Castro's repeated request that the United States cease its campaign of sabotage and terrorism against Cuba. Kennedy did not pursue a dual-track policy toward Cuba... The United States would entertain only proposals of surrender." Rabe further documents how "Exile groups, such as Alpha 66 and the Second Front of Escambray, staged hit-and-run raids on the island... on ships transporting goods...purchased arms in the United States and launched...attacks from the Bahamas."  Harvard Historian Jorge Domínguez states that Operation Mongoose's scope included sabotage actions against a railway bridge, petroleum storage facilities, a molasses storage container, a petroleum refinery, a power plant, a sawmill, and a floating crane. Domínguez states that "only once in [the] thousand pages of documentation did a US official raise something that resembled a faint moral objection to US government-sponsored terrorism." Actions were subsequently carried out against a petroleum refinery, a power plant, a sawmill, and a floating crane in a Cuban harbor to undermine the Cuban economy.  The Cuban Project was originally designed to culminate in October 1962 with an "open revolt and overthrow of the Communist regime." This was at the peak of the Cuban Missile Crisis, wherein the U.S. and the USSR came alarmingly close to nuclear war over the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, verified by low flying aircraft on photographic missions and ground surveillance photography. The operation was suspended on October 30, 1962, but 3 of 10 six-man sabotage teams had already been deployed to Cuba.  Dominguez writes that Kennedy put a hold on Mongoose's actions as the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated (as pictures of Soviet nuclear weapons stationed on the North shore of Cuba were obtained by American intelligence via satellite reconnaissance), but "returned to its policy of sponsoring terrorism against Cuba as the confrontation with the Soviet Union lessened." However, Noam Chomsky has argued that "terrorist operations continued through the tensest moments of the missile crisis", remarking that "they were formally canceled on October 30, several days after the Kennedy and Khrushchev agreement, but went on nonetheless". Accordingly, "the Executive Committee of the National Security Council recommended various courses of action, "including ‘using selected Cuban exiles to sabotage key Cuban installations in such a manner that the action could plausibly be attributed to Cubans in Cuba’ as well as ‘sabotaging Cuban cargo and shipping, and [Soviet] Bloc cargo and shipping to Cuba."  Operation Mongoose consisted of a program of covert action,

Assassination proposals.

In April 1967, the Inspector General issued a report on the various plots conceived to assassinate Fidel Castro. The report separates plots out into several time frames starting with “prior to August 1960” and ending with “Late 1962 until well into 1963”. While confirmed, the assassination plots are an “imperfect history”, and due to the “sensitivity of the operations being discussed”, “no official records were kept regarding planning, authorizations, or the implementation of such plots”. A key form of documentation used to construct the timeline of plots was oral testimony collected years after the plots were originally planned.

Prior to August 1960.

The Inspector General report details “at least three, and perhaps four, schemes that were under consideration” during a time range between March and August 1960. It is speculated that all of the schemes considered at this time could have been in the planning process at the same time. The first plan in this time frame involved an attack on the radio station Castro used to “broadcast his speeches with an aerosol spray of a chemical that produced reactions similar to those of lysergic acid (LSD)”. Nothing came of this plot, because the chemical could not be relied on to produce the intended effects.  Jake Esterline claimed that a box of cigars, which was treated with chemicals, was also considered in the plot to assassinate Castro. The scheme was that the chemical would produce “temporary personality disorientation”, and having “Castro smoke one before making a speech” would result in

August 1960 to April 1961.

In August 1960, the CIA initiated the first phase of a plan entitled “Gambling Syndicate”. Richard Bissell had CIA contact Robert Maheu pull in Johnny Roselli, a member of the syndicate of Las Vegas. Maheu, disguised as a personal relations executive for a company suffering severe financial losses in Cuba due to Castro's actions, offered Roselli $150,000 for the successful assassination of Castro. Roselli provided involved a co-conspirator, “Sam Gold”, later to be identified as Chicago gangster Sam Giancana and “Joe, the courier”, identified later as Santos Trafficante, the Cosa Nostra chieftain of Cuba.  Additionally, Dr. Edward Gunn recalled receiving a box of cigars that he was tasked with poisoning; however, the

April 1961 to late 1961.

The plan to assassinate Castro by poison pill was canceled after the Bay of Pigs; Furthermore, the Inspector General's report speculates that this attempt failed because Castro no longer visited the restaurant where the pill was supposed to be administered to him.  The second phase of the Gambling Syndicate operation began in May 1961 with Project ZRRIFLE, which was headed

Late 1961 to late 1962.

Conflicting accounts in the Inspector General's report of how later events during this time period played out make it difficult

Late 1962 until well into 1963.

As the months of 1962 went by, Verona constructed a team of three men to strike at Castro; however, the plans were cancelled twice with the Inspector General's report citing “’conditions inside’... then the October missile crisis threw plans awry”. The conclusion Harvey drew to this is that “the three militia never did leave for Cuba”. The connections between Roselli and the CIA fell apart once Harvey had been notified that Roselli was on the FBI's watch list.  In his 1987 "Reflections on the Cuban Missile Crisis," Raymond L. Garthoff wrote that, “By November 8 the United States had begun perceptibly to stiffen its insistence” on various issues not resolved by the October 28 Kennedy-Khrushchev agreement, “including what the Soviets could only see as an effort to backpedal on what was, for them, the key question remaining: American assurances not to attack Cuba. On that date, a Cuban covert action sabotage team dispatched from the United States successfully blew up a Cuban industrial facility.” Garthoff said that sabotage had been planned before the October 28 agreement and was beyond recall when the Kennedy administration realized it was still in progress, However,

Legacy.

After Operation Mongoose was ended, the Kennedy Administration made some attempts to mend relations with the Cuban government. As some documents released by the National Security Archive reveal, this happened fairly soon after the project ended. One document comes in the form of an options paper from a Latin American specialist about how to fix relations. The document begins by suggesting that, through the CIA's attempts to off Castro and topple the government, they had "been looking seriously only at one side of the coin" and that they could try the reverse side and try "quietly enticing Castro over to us." The document goes on to push for further studies into how exactly they would go about improving relations. The document also states the two possible outcomes that would come along with a better relationship with Cuba. The document states, "In the short run, we would probably be able to neutralize at least two of our main worries about Castro: the reintroduction of offensive missiles and Cuban subversion. In the long run, we would be able to work on eliminating Castro at our leisure and from a good vantage point." The effort to mend the relationships would be framed heavily by the negative relations formed due to Operation Mongoose.  One issue that caused distrust between the relations of US-supported Cubans and the Agency was a "shaky" front due to no real agreement among the Cubans and the Agency. "The Cuban leaders wanted something to say about the course of paramilitary operations" according to an inspection done by Inspector General Pfeiffer. Questions arose within this inspection that included, "If the project had been better conceived, better organized, better staffed and better managed, would that precise issue ever had to be presented for Presidential decision at all?" According to General Pfeiffer. Further investigation proved that the 1,500 men would not have been enough from the start against Castro's large military forces, as well as Agencies' lack of "top-flight handling," which altogether led to the complete failure of Operation Mongoose as well as the Bay of Pigs invasion.  A commission led by General Maxwell E. Taylor, known as the Taylor

Media portrayals.

In the Oliver Stone film "JFK", Operation Mongoose is portrayed in flashback sequences as a training ground where, among others, Lee Harvey Oswald becomes versed in anti-Castro militia tactics.

The Cuban Project, also known as Operation Mongoose, was a covert operation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) against Fidel Castro's government in Cuba that was officially authorized on November 30, 1961 by President Kennedy. The name Operation Mongoose had been agreed at a prior White House meeting on November 4, 1961. The operation was led by United States Air Force General Edward Lansdale and went into effect after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion.

L'opération Mongoose (terme anglais désignant une mangouste), aussi appelée « Projet Cubain » ("The Cuban Project"), est le nom donné aux actions initiées le 30 novembre 1961 par le président américain John F. Kennedy et menées par la CIA.


Rasterisation of 3D images.

Rasterisation is one of the typical techniques of rendering 3D models. Compared with other rendering techniques such as ray tracing, rasterisation is extremely fast and therefore used in most realtime 3D engines. However, rasterisation is simply the process of computing the mapping from scene geometry to pixels and does not prescribe a particular way to compute the color of those pixels. The specific color of each pixel is assigned by shading (which in moderns GPUs is completely programmable). Shading may be based on physical laws, their approximations or purely artistic intent.  The process of rasterising 3D models onto a 2D plane for display on a computer screen ("screen space") is often carried out by fixed function (non-programmable) hardware within the graphics pipeline. This is because there is no motivation for modifying the techniques for rasterisation used at render time and a special-purpose system allows for high efficiency.

Triangle rasterization.

A common representation of digital 3D models is polygonal. Before rasterization, individual polygons are broken down into triangles, therefore a typical problem to solve in 3D rasterization is rasterization of a triangle. Properties that are usually required from triangle rasterization algorithms are that rasterizing two adjacent triangles (i.e. those that share an edge)  This leads to establishing rasterization rules to guarantee the above conditions. One set of such rules is called a top-left rule, which states that a pixel is rasterized if and only if  A "top" edge is an edge that is exactly horizontal and lies above other edges, and a "left" edge is a non-horizontal edge that is on the left side of the triangle.  This rule is implemented e.g. by Direct3D and many OpenGL implementations (even though the specification doesn't define it and only requires a consistent rule).

Quality.

Quality of rasterization can be improved by antialiasing which creates "smooth" edges. We also sometimes talk about sub-pixel precision which takes into account positions on a finer scale than the pixel grid and can produce different results even if the endpoints of a primitive fall into same pixel coordinates, producing smoother movement animations. Simple or older hardware, such as PlayStation 1, lacked sub-pixel precision in 3D rasterization.

Rasterisation (or rasterization) is the task of taking an image described in a vector graphics format (shapes) and converting it into a raster image (a series of pixels, dots or lines, which, when displayed together, create the image which was represented via shapes). The rasterised image may then be displayed on a computer display, video display or printer, or stored in a bitmap file format. Rasterisation may refer to the technique of drawing 3D models, or the conversion of 2D rendering primitives such as polygons, line segments into a rasterized format.

La rastérisation, ou matricialisation, est un procédé qui consiste à convertir une image vectorielle en une image matricielle destinée à être affichée sur un écran ou imprimée par un matériel d'impression.


The Mediterranean Neolithic.

This pottery style gives its name to the main culture of the Mediterranean Neolithic: Cardium pottery culture or Cardial culture, or impressed ware culture, which eventually extended from the Adriatic sea to the Atlantic coasts of Portugal and south to Morocco.  The earliest impressed ware sites, dating to 6400–6200 BC, are in Epirus and Corfu. Settlements then appear in Albania and Dalmatia on the eastern Adriatic coast dating to between 6100 and 5900 BC. The earliest date in Italy comes from Coppa Nevigata on the Adriatic coast of southern Italy, perhaps as early as 6000 cal B.C. Also during Su Carroppu culture in Sardinia, already in its early stages (low strata into Su Coloru cave, c. 6000 BC) early examples of cardial pottery appear. Northward and westward all secure radiocarbon dates are identical to those for Iberia c. 5500 cal BC, which indicates a rapid spread of Cardial and related cultures: 2,000 km from the gulf of Genoa to the estuary of the Mondego in probably no more than 100–200 years. This suggests a seafaring expansion by planting colonies along the coast.  Older Neolithic cultures existed already at this time in eastern Greece and Crete, apparently having arrived from the Levant, but they appear distinct from the Cardial or impressed ware culture. The ceramic tradition in the central Balkans also remained distinct from that along the Adriatic coastline in both style and manufacturing techniques for almost 1,000 years from the 6th millennium BC. Early Neolithic impressed pottery is found in the Levant, and certain parts of Anatolia, including Mezraa-Teleilat, and in North Africa at Tunus-Redeyef, Tunisia. So the first Cardial settlers in the Adriatic may have come directly from the Levant. Of course it might equally well have come directly from North Africa, and impressed pottery also appears in Egypt. Along the East Mediterranean coast impressed ware has been found in North Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.  Cardial and Epicardial fossils that were analysed for ancient DNA were found to carry the rare mtDNA (maternal) basal haplogroup N*, supporting an early Neolithic maritime colonization of Mainland Europe through Cyprus and the Aegean Islands by Near-Eastern farmers.

Cardium pottery or Cardial ware is a Neolithic decorative style that gets its name from the imprinting of the clay with the shell of the cockle, an edible marine mollusk formerly known as "Cardium edulis" (now "Cerastoderma edule"). These forms of pottery are in turn used to define the Neolithic culture which produced and spread them, mostly commonly called the "Cardial culture".

La culture de la céramique cardiale, ou simplement le "Cardial", est une phase ancienne du Néolithique d'une partie du pourtour méditerranéen, principalement le sud de la France, le nord ouest de l'Italie, la côte orientale de l'Espagne, et la côte atlantique du Maroc, datée du Elle est caractérisée par la production de céramique cardiale. Ce style décoratif tire son nom des empreintes réalisées sur l'argile fraîche des poteries à l'aide d'un coquillage, le "Cardium edule". L'apparition du Cardial en France méridionale correspond probablement à une évolution locale de la culture de la céramique imprimée, qui est elle-même issue de la migration de populations d'agriculteurs-éleveurs qui atteignent l’ouest du bassin méditerranéen à partir de 6 000 Les études génétiques montrent une origine balkanique de ces populations. Le Cardial succède au Castelnovien.


Origins.

He was the son of Godfrey II and Lutgarde of Sulzbach. He was still an infant at his succession (therefore called "dux in cunis") of which a few Brabantian vassals sought to take advantage to become independent of the duke (Wars of Grimbergen, 1141–1159).

Career.

On 30 March 1147, Godfrey was present at the coronation of Henry Berengar, son of Conrad III of Germany, in Aachen. When Conrad left on Crusade, war began anew in 1148. Peace was elusive until the election of Conrad's successor, Frederick Barbarossa. By marriage to Margaret, daughter of Henry II of Limburg, Godfrey united two powerful and antagonistic houses in the region.  In 1159 Godfrey ended the war with the Berthout, lords of Grimbergen, by burning their impressive motte at Grimbergen. In 1171, Godfrey was at war with Hainaut, but was defeated. In 1172, he bought the County of Aarschot from its wayward count Godfried III, which in future generations would give rise to the dynasty of the Dukes of Aarschot that remain to this day. In 1179, he gave his son Henry in marriage to a niece of Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders.  Between 1182 and 1184 Godfrey went on a Jerusalem campaign. In the interim, Barbarossa granted Henry the title "Duke of Brabant". Godfrey died in 1190, on 10 or 21 August. He left an increased territory and built the fortress of Nedelaer (near Vilvoorde). The ducal title was transmitted to his son at the Diet of Schwäbisch Hall (September 1190).

Marriages and children.

Godfrey married twice:

Godfrey III (1142 – died 21 August 1190) was count of Louvain (or Leuven), landgrave of Brabant, margrave of Antwerp, and duke of Lower Lorraine (as Godfrey VIII) from 1142 to his death.

Godefroid de Louvain, né vers 1140, mort le 10 ou le, est comte de Louvain, landgrave de Brabant, marquis d'Anvers puis duc de Basse-Lotharingie ("dit" Godefroy ) de 1142 à 1190.


Attraction.

As initially conceived, the Submarine Voyage was to feature real fish and other sea creatures, though the idea proved to be unfeasible. A major portion of the ride simulated the voyage under the Arctic Ocean's polar ice cap undertaken by the nuclear submarine on August 3, 1958.

Ride.

The submarines followed a long guide rail through the following sections of the ride:

Getting under way.

As the guest enters the submarine, taped narrations play that help create an illusion that the guest is actually getting ready to submerge in a submarine. The Captain gives the order to clear the bridge and secure hatches and vents. When the last guest boards, the dock operators raise the ramps and secure the hatches. As the submarine leaves the dock, the Captain gives the "all ahead one-third" order.

Diving and lagoon.

As the submarine leaves the dock, it dives below the surface to view the undersea life of a tropical lagoon. The diving effect is accomplished by a dense curtain of small bubbles rushing towards the surface on a slight angle, giving the feeling that the submarine is moving forward and down. Guests can view seaweed, coral reefs, rock formations, and mysterious caves.  Some of the specific oceanic creatures on the voyage were:

Graveyard of Lost Ships.

After a quiet cruise through the lagoon, the navigation room receives word of a surface storm ahead. The submarine begins a dive, which takes it to 250 feet, a point safely below the violence of the turbulent hurricane. The submarine passes through the wreckage of other ships that have not fared so well. Ships from many periods of history lie barnacle-covered and decayed, including Greek, Roman, and Viking ships. A shark guards a treasure chest in the hold of a Venetian galley. Nearby, deep-sea divers work to carry other treasures to the surface.

North Pole.

Sonar detects a polar ice cap ahead, and the diving officer takes the ship deeper in order to clear the ice. The submarine travels directly beneath the North Pole. This is a recreation of the historic voyage of when it left Hawaii on July 22, 1958 and set its course for the North Pole.

The Bottom of the Sea.

After passing beyond the polar region, the submarine journeys to deeper waters where sunlight has never penetrated. Strange creatures can be sighted, including a giant squid and creatures that can change color at will.

Mermaids.

Mermaids can now be seen. Unlike the mermaids on the lagoon, these mermaids are animatronic creations.

Lost Continent of Atlantis.

The submarine continues and enters an area resembling the lost continent of Atlantis. There is some volcanic activity in this area, but the submarine travels safely between teetering columns.

Sea Serpent.

As the submarine safely leaves the area of volcanic disturbance, a sea serpent is sighted. The Captain calls the crew to man their battle stations and stand by for action. He then becomes convinced that he has been at sea too long when the comical cross-eyed laughing sea serpent appears.

Return to the Surface.

As the submarine reaches the surface, preparations are made for entering port. When all lines are secured, the "All ashore" is given and guests depart the submarine.

Vehicles.

The hulls (eight in all) for "one of the world's largest peacetime submarine fleets" cost $80,000 each to build. They were fabricated at Todd Shipyards in San Pedro, California, then transported to the "Disneyland Naval Yard" in Anaheim for outfitting under the direction of retired Admiral Joe Fowler. Technical data and advice regarding the design were provided by General Dynamics' Electric Boat Division, builder of the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered submarines, and also the first company in the world to manufacture submarines. The windows in the submarines, or portholes, were first cut out by hand—this cutout was then used to carve out the other windows on the submarine. The vessels were painted in military gray livery with black lower hulls until 1986, when the attraction was updated. The exterior color of the submarines was changed to yellow with white around the 'periscope towers' along with pastel blue or pastel pink trim on the hatch doors, periscope tower and lower hull. However, the newly painted subs' paint started peeling almost immediately and had to be repainted yet again within a few months. This time they were painted mustard yellow along with orange and black trim; the design would remain the same until the attraction closed in 1998. The yellow color made the submarines look like research submarines instead of the previous militarian gray and black subs. (The reason research subs are typically painted yellow is that yellow is one of the last colors to be visible at great depths.)  The vessels are not actual submarines as they do not submerge, but are in fact boats, where inside the 38-passenger (now 40-passenger) seating area was positioned below the water level. Portholes along the sides allowed guests to view the many underwater sights. Above the seating area was the conning tower, where the operator stood and controlled the sub's speed. The "diving" effect was made by bubble screens and using the waterfalls at the entrance to the caves that led the submarines into the cleverly disguised show building. The bubble jets can be seen from outside if one were to look just past the loading dock. In case of a broken porthole, a cushion in the conning tower could be used to plug the hole until the repair crew arrived. Atop of the show building are the majority of the Autopia tracks, some monorail tracks, trees and the currently derelict Rocket Rods/PeopleMover track.  During the attraction's opening in June 1959, the Disneyland fleet was christened by Mrs. Mildred Nelson, a former WAVE and wife of Chief Machinist Mate Stuart N. H. Nelson of.

Lagoon.

The lagoon that houses the ride requires of water to fill. It is difficult to maintain, since divers had to be sent underwater every night to clean up debris and fix the audio-animatronics whenever they broke down.  During the summers of 1965–1967, female cast members dressed in mermaid costumes could be seen sun-bathing themselves and performing synchronized swimming and underwater stunts for four hours each day. Disney ended this feature in 1967 after several mermaid performers reported health concerns related to the submarines' diesel exhaust fumes and the highly chlorinated water. In addition, tourists taking pictures of them would block the thoroughfare between the Matterhorn and the submarine lagoon. The mermaids received $1.65 an hour, which in 2018 dollars would be $13.15 an hour.  In 2005, an auction took place at the Disneyland Resort, where several pieces of the original attraction's scenery were sold, such as the shark fighting with the octopus on a rock. They were removed from the lagoon prior to the auction so new scenery for the updated Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage could be built into the lagoon.

Queue.

In and around 1982, the waiting line for the attraction had various spiels combined with sea chanties as mood music. Some of these sea chanties were:

Closing and re-opening.

In April of 1998, when the Orange County Register interviewed Disneyland president Paul Pressler regarding the attraction’s fate after rumors circulated about the attraction’s closure, Pressler stated: “We know in the future we need to do something in that location, but we have not made a decision on the subs, and we won’t make a decision until we know what we want to do in the future there.”  On September 7, 1998, the attraction closed, because Disneyland executives at that time considered it too costly to operate in relation to its capacity. The lagoon stood derelict, filled with water, for seven years, serving as nothing more than a scenic viewpoint. Many rumors went around over the years, saying that a proposed attraction based on the 2001 Disney animated film "" was going to replace Submarine Voyage in 2003. However, after the film’s poor box office performance, this was scrapped. Another rumor was that the lagoon was going to be destroyed in a similar fashion to the submarine lagoon of Walt Disney World's. In 2005, the lagoon was drained and construction began on a new attraction: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, which opened on June 11, 2007.

Similar attractions.

The successor of this attraction was the Jules Verne themed at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The attraction was given a Nautilus theme and a narration by Peter Renaday, whose voice was similar to that of actor James Mason, who portrayed Captain Nemo in the 1954 Disney film. The attraction was closed in 1994 for a "rehabilitation" period, but never reopened. Executive leadership felt that continual maintenance of the attraction was simply too costly. The space was cleared of ride elements, and in 2004, ten years after its closure, the water was drained. A small portion of the area was remade into [Pooh's Playful Spot] playground until April, 2010. The remaining open field backstage was ultimately paved over in 2010 to create new space for Fantasyland.  A similar voyage attraction now exists at the Tokyo DisneySea in Japan, using the same Nautilus theme from Florida, except instead of boats in water, it is a dark ride through a show building, in enclosed suspended cars ("mini-subs"). There was a walk-through of the Nautilus sets from the 1954 film at Disneyland from 1955 until 1966, when they were destroyed. However, an updated version of the walk-through was built in 1994 in Discoveryland in Disneyland Paris, known as Les Mystères du Nautilus, along with the construction of Space Mountain. The attraction involves not only an accurate recreation of the Nautilus interiors, but a mock attack from a large animatronic giant squid.  Legoland Windsor has a similar ride themed around Lego's Atlantis theme, named "Atlantis Submarine Voyage".

The Submarine Voyage was an attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The attraction features vehicles designed to resemble submarines. It first opened on June 14, 1959, as one of the first rides to require an E ticket. It was part of a major expansion of Tomorrowland, which included the Matterhorn Bobsleds roller coaster, an expanded version of Autopia, the Disneyland Monorail, and the Motor Boat Cruise. The Submarine Voyage closed on September 9, 1998; at that time, it was reported that the attraction would reopen with a new theme by 2003, but that did not occur. The attraction ultimately reopened in June 2007 themed to Disney and Pixar's "Finding Nemo", and now operates as Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

Submarine Voyage et 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea étaient des attractions des parcs Disneyland et Magic Kingdom sur le thème des voyages sous-marins. Il existe toujours une version améliorée de l'attraction au Tokyo DisneySea.


Name.

Originally it was known as the Städtisches Stadion () until 1945, when it was renamed Victory Stadium. In 1961, it returned to its original name until 1991, when it received the name Frankenstadion.  On 14 March 2006, the stadium was renamed easyCredit-Stadion for a period of five years, after a sponsorship deal with the German bank DZ Bank. Many fans of the 1. FC Nuremberg, led by the "Ultras Nuremberg" introduced on 1 April 2006, held demonstration against the name and symbolically renamed the stadium with its current name, in honour of one of the best players in the club's history, Max Morlock. On 14 February 2013, the stadium was renamed Grundig Stadion ( or ), after a sponsorship deal with Grundig.  In July 2016, the stadium's name changed back to Stadion Nürnberg after the city of Nuremberg could not find a new sponsor. From 1 July 2017, the stadium's name officially became Max-Morlock-Stadion.

Facilities.

The available facilities at the stadium include two changing rooms for players, changing rooms for coaches, referees. Also physician and treatment rooms are available. A 300 m2 press area, an area for press conferences, and three TV studios make the stadium a truly modern one. 1200 m2 makes up the VIP area with room for 800 guests. To compensate for the large number of seats there are 15,000 parking spaces with 205 for VIPs.  The stadium also has track and field facilities that follow international regulation. A full sprinkler system, that feeds the grass with rain water. The pitch is also heated, and lit with a floodlight system. There are two 60 m2 video walls that provide video to the fans. There is also a full power back up system, powered by diesel generators.

History.

Beginning in 1933, the National Socialists began to use the stadium as a marching area for the Hitler Youth. The fourth "Deutsche Kampfspiele", one of the biggest events organized by the Nazi Sports Body, took place in this stadium from 23–29 July 1934.  Following 1963, the stadium was reconditioned multiple times, so that it could meet the requirements for football in the Bundesliga.

Renovations.

Max-Morlock-Stadion has been renovated two times, once in 1988 to 1991, and then again renovation began again in 2002, to be ready in time for both the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 World Cup. The 2002 renovation cost €56.2 million; the cost is split between the city of Nürnberg, the State of Bavaria and the building society, which managed the stadium. The stadium has had its capacity increased to 48,548. this modernisation was designed and realized by HPP Architects. This was achieved by extending the southwest and northwest grandstand. The playing field was lowered by 1.30 metres in order to provide all seats an unrestricted view of the field. The Max Morlock place was developed as a place for fans to meet and enjoy something to eat; the total area of this place is 1,000 metres. In the summer of 2012, the capacity was increased to 50,000.

Concerts.

The Monsters of Rock Tour 1984, originally planned on the Zeppelinfield, took place in the Städtisches Stadion.  P!nk performed at the stadium on July 15, 2010 during the Funhouse Summer Carnival.

Transportation.

The stadium and the adjacent Nuremberg Arena are well serviced by public transportation to facilitate transport of fans from and to the various sports and musical events taking place there:  During mass sports and entertainment events, such as Bundesliga games or the annual Rock im Park festival, additional S-Bahn trains running between main station and Frankenstadion station are being put into service. Before the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Frankenstadion station had the length of its existing platform doubled and an additional platform built for that purpose.

2006 FIFA World Cup.

The stadium was one of the venues for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The following games were played at the stadium during the tournament:

Max-Morlock-Stadion is a stadium in Nuremberg, Germany, which was opened in 1928. It is located next to Zeppelinfeld. It also neighbors the Nuremberg Arena.

Le Max-Morlockstadion est un stade allemand mixte (football et athlétisme) situé à Nuremberg sur le site du "Reichsparteitagsgelände". C'est l'une des douze enceintes de la Coupe du monde de football de 2006.


Host selection.

During the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, two cities initially expressed interest in hosting the event; Melbourne, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand. Wellington withdrew its bid, citing the costs involved with matching the bid plan presented by Melbourne, which became the default host without members of the Federation going to vote.

Preparation and development.

Venues.

The following venues were used at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The sport(s) that were played at that venue are listed after it.

Cost.

Early concerns arose about the large cost of staging the Games, with projected costs likely to be over AUD 1 billion and a high likelihood the Victorian taxpayer would have to cover the expense. The cost was described in some local media as excessive. National Party leader Peter Ryan said that the Labor government should win "gold (medal) for burning money". However, not all of this money was wasted. The actual costs for hosting the games was AUD 1.144 billion and prior to the Games, accountants at KPMG were estimating that the gross income generated by this event could be as high as AUD 1.5 billion.

Development.

Melbourne's premier sporting ground, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), was redeveloped in preparation for the Games. An athlete's village in the inner suburb of Parkville housed approximately 7,000 athletes and support staff during the Games, and has been transformed into commercial housing with a distinctly eco-friendly image. The creation of this village attracted controversy, with critics claiming it was created by alienating public parkland, while proponents maintained that it represented the renewal of an otherwise derelict inner-city area.  The change from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time in Australian states that follow it was delayed from 26 March to 2 April for 2006 to avoid affecting the games. In addition, state and private schools amended their usual term times so as to allow the first term holidays to coincide with the Games.  Melbourne's public transport system – train, tram and bus – ran to altered timetables with some amended or substituted services for the duration of the Games. For the most part, timetabled services were unchanged but suffered due to higher loads.  For the first time ever, the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games appointed a Goodwill Partner, Plan International Australia.

Participating teams.

There were 71 countries, territories and bodies competing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The only difference between the 2006 games and the 2002 games was the absence of Zimbabwe, which withdrew from the Commonwealth of Nations.

Sports.

The 2006 Commonwealth Games included 17 sports, with 12 individual sports and 4 team sports. In total there are 245 events at the Games.

Opening ceremony.

Both the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Yarra River were centrepieces for the ceremony, which included many fireworks, and other spectacle. The Games were opened by Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen is also Head of State of a number of Commonwealth countries.

Closing ceremony.

Both the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Yarra River were again centrepieces for the ceremony. Samresh Jung of India was given the David Dixon Award at the closing ceremony. He was the "Best Athlete of the 18th Commonwealth Games". The games were closed by, Prince Edward.

Marketing.

Logo.

The logo of the 2006 Commonwealth Games is an image of 2 figures, which represents sport and culture, achievement and excellence, while the colours green, yellow, and red represents celebratory, fresh and youthfully optimistic character of Melbourne city. The two figures in the logo joined together to form a letter M, which is the initial letter of Melbourne, the games host city.

Mascot.

Karak was the mascot for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. He was modelled on a red-tailed black cockatoo, a threatened species within the host country, Australia.

Controversies.

Missing athletes.

On 20 March 2006 it was reported that two athletes had gone missing from the Commonwealth Games village: Tanzanian boxer Omari Idd Kimweri and Bangladeshi runner Mohammad Tawhidul Islam.  On 22 March 2006 it was reported that seven athletes from Sierra Leone (three women and four men) had also disappeared. A further seven Sierra Leonean athletes also went missing during the course of the Games, bringing the total runaway count to fourteen (two-thirds of the team). Victoria Police believed that they had fled to Sydney where the Sierra Leonean community is much larger than Melbourne's.  Two hours before the Closing Ceremony on 26 March, officials from the Cameroon team reported to police that nine of their members had also vanished.  These incidents were not without precedent: 27 athletes similarly disappeared from the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England (21 from Sierra Leone, 5 from Bangladesh and one from Pakistan), and over 80 athletes and officials overstayed their visas after the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.  On request of Sierra Leone officials, the Commonwealth Games Federation cancelled those athletes' Games accreditation, allowing the Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) to cancel their visas at midnight on 27 March, and begin investigating their disappearance. At 7.20 am on that day, New South Wales Police located six of the Sierra Leonean athletes in a house at Freshwater near Manly Beach in Sydney. All six indicated they wished to seek political asylum in Australia, and were granted bridging visas by DIMA while their refugee applications were arranged. The athletes claimed to have been subjected to violence and torture in their home country; seventeen-year-old Isha Conteh stated she could be forced into female genital cutting if she returned. On Tuesday 28 March, six further Sierra Leoneans turned themselves in to immigration authorities in Sydney and were also granted bridging visas.  Two of the missing Cameroonian athletes were later found in Perth, Western Australia.

The Stolenwealth Games.

The Stolenwealth Games were protests at the 1982 and 2006 Commonwealth Games. People were protesting because they believed that the Commonwealth Games lead to the erasure of indigenous people. There were also problems with land rights. These protests lead to the creation of the Global Indigenous Games.

The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 and 26 March 2006. It was the fourth time Australia had hosted the Commonwealth Games. It was also the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.

Ci-dessous se trouve le tableau des médailles des Jeux du Commonwealth de 2006, tenus à Melbourne en Australie. Les pays sont ordonnés selon le nombre de médailles d'or remportées, ensuite selon le nombre de médailles d'argent, finalement selon le nombre de médailles de bronze. Si le résultat est "ex æquo", les pays sont ordonnés selon l'ordre alphabétique.


History.

It was built by the order of Empress Goharshad, the wife of Shah Rukh of the Timurid dynasty in 1418 CE. The architect of the edifice was Ghavameddin Shirazi, who is responsible for so many of Shah Rukh's great buildings, with the architectural and decorative manpower supplied from Shiraz and Isfahan.  The mosque underwent some renovations during the Safavid and Qajar eras. It has four "iwans" and a courtyard measuring, as well as several "shabestans". Various inscriptions found on mosaic tile work inside the mosque and its courtyard mention the names of Safavid shahs such as Shah Abbas, Shah Soltan Hussayn, Shah Soleyman Safavid and describe their devotion to the Shrine and the contributions they made to the mosque.  The double-layered dome of the mosque was severely damaged in 1911 in bombings by troops of the Russian Empire. In the 1960s, over 5 centuries after its initial construction, the dome of Goharshad mosque was deemed to be in severe structural danger, damages caused by various earthquakes over time, the 1911 Russian bombings, and the attack on the mosque by Reza Shah during the 1935 rebellion required the dome to be rebuilt. Under the imperial orders of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the tiles from the ancient dome were removed in the 1960s and the external shell was dismantled. In order to address the structural dangers, a new external shell was built with an iron frame and cement covering. The dome was then re-tiled, in a similar fashion to the original. While such repairs were necessary, they permanently altered the historic identity of the mosque.  In the 1960s, the mosque's eastern iwan also received restoration work. It was pulled down to the foundations and rebuilt from concrete in the same aesthetic style as the original.  Following the event of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, expansions were planned for the entirety of the Shrine complex, a new courtyard named "Sahn-e-Qods" was added on to the back side of Gowharshad mosque, where the historic bazaar once had led up to.

Goharshad Mosque () is a grand congregational mosque built during the Timurid period in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran, which now serves as one of the prayer halls within the Imam Reza shrine complex.

La Mosquée Goharshad est une mosquée célèbre de Mechhed, capitale du Khorasan-e-razavi en Iran. Elle a été construite en 1418 sur une commande de Goharshad, l'épouse de Shah Rukh, grand émir des Timourides, et les plans en ont été faits par "Ghavameddin Shirazi".