Major works.

Music for 30 theatre performances including Īsa pamācība mīlēšanā (A Short Instruction in Love), Atjautīgā aukle (The Ingenious Nanny), Šerloks Holmss (Sherlock Holmes), Brands (Brand), Džons Neilands (John Neiland), Elizabete – Anglijas karaliene (Elizabeth – Queen of England), Grāfs Monte Kristo (The Count of Monte Cristo), Dāmu paradīze (Paradise of Ladies), Melanholiskais valsis (The Melancholic Waltz) etc. and for puppet theatre performances Runčuks Punčuks (The Belly Tomcat), Velniņi (The Two Imps), Ceturtais skriemelis (The Fourth Vertebra) etc. Music for radio performances and plays.  Music for more than 30 movies, including "The Devil's Servants", "The Devil's Servants at the Devil's Mill" ("Vella kalpi Vella dzirnavā"), "Tauriņdeja" ("The Butterfly Dance"), "Melnā vēža spīlēs" ("In the Pincers of the Black Lobster"), "Dāvana vientuļai sievietei" ("A Present for a Lonely Woman"), "My Frivolous Friend" ("Mans draugs – nenopietns cilvēks"), "Theater" ("Teātris") after S. Maugham novel, "A Limousine the Colour of Midsummer's Eve", "The Mills of Fate" ("Likteņdzirnas"), for the series "Long Road in the Dunes" etc.  Approx. 300 works, including instrumental versions of songs, arrangements of folk songs, versions on familiar themes, arrangements of classical composer works.  (c)MicRec / Daiga Mazvērsīte

Politics.

Raimonds Pauls was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR and served as Minister of Culture in the Latvian government from 1988 to 1993. In 1993 he became an advisor to the President of Latvia. In 1998, he was elected a Member of the Saeima, the Latvian parliament, initially as leader of the New Party. Before the 2002 elections he joined the People's Party and was elected on its party's list in 2002 and 2006. Pauls ran in the 1999 presidential election and received the highest number of votes, but below the required majority. He chose to decline the post.  After Latvia re-established independence, Pauls continued his musical work, most notably working with "Dzeguzīte", the most popular children's group in Latvia at the time. In 1996, he went on a tour with singer Laima Vaikule, which included concert locations in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and New York City.

Works.

As of 2004, Pauls has composed music for six musical films and musical theaters, three ballets and over 50 movies and theater performances. CDs with Pauls's music have been released in several countries outside Latvia, including Russia, Finland and Japan. On 2006 he has recorded a double-album of jazz music My Favourite Melodies / So Many Stars - a long-awaited venture of the pianist into the jazz genre.

Ojārs Raimonds Pauls (born 12 January 1936 in Iļģuciems, Riga, Latvia) is a Latvian composer and piano player who is well known in Latvia, Russia, post-Soviet countries and world-wide. He was the Minister of culture of Latvia from 1988 to 1993.

Raimonds Pauls, né à Riga le, est sans doute le compositeur letton contemporain le plus connu. Outre ses performances au piano il est l'auteur de nombreuses compositions pour d'autres groupes et de chanteurs lettons. On le surnomme Maestro en référence à la chanson du même nom composée à ses débuts pour Alla Pougatcheva. Il a composé également pour Viktors Lapčenoks, Mirdza Zīvere, Nora Bumbiere, Aija Kukule, Laima Vaikule, Jaak Joala.


Early years.

Menzies was born in New Haven, Connecticut to Scots immigrant parents, Charles A. and Helen originally from Aberfeldy, Scotland. He studied at Yale and the University of Edinburgh, and after serving in the United States Army during World War I he attended the Art Students League of New York.

Career.

Menzies joined Famous Players-Lasky, later to evolve into Paramount Pictures, working in special effects and design. He quickly established himself in Hollywood with his elaborate settings for "Robin Hood" (1922), "The Thief of Bagdad" (1924), "The Bat" (1926), "The Dove" (1927), "Sadie Thompson" (1928), and "Tempest" (1928). In 1929, Menzies formed a partnership with producer Joseph M. Schenck to create a series of early sound short films visualizing great works of music, including a 10-minute version of Dukas's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and created the production design and special effects for Schenck's feature film "The Lottery Bride" (1930).  Menzies's work on "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1938) prompted David O. Selznick to hire him for "Gone with the Wind" (1939). Selznick's faith in Menzies was so great that he sent a memorandum to everyone at Selznick International Pictures who was involved in the production reminding them that "Menzies is the final word" on everything related to Technicolor, scenic design, set decoration, and the overall look of the production.  "Production designer" (which is sometimes used interchangeably with "art director") was coined specifically for Menzies, to refer to his being the final word on the overall look of the production; it was intended to describe his ability to translate Selznick's ideas to drawings and paintings from which he and his fellow directors worked.  Menzies was the director of the burning of Atlanta sequence in Gone with the Wind. He also re-shot the Salvador Dalí dream sequence of Alfred Hitchcock's "Spellbound" (1945).  In addition, Menzies directed dramas and fantasy films. He made two science-fiction films: "Things to Come" (1936), based on H.G. Wells' work for producer Alexander Korda which predicted war and technical advancement; and "Invaders from Mars" (1953), which mirrored many fears about aliens and outside threats to humanity in the 1950s.

Death.

Shortly after completing his work as an associate producer on "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956), Menzies died of cancer. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Accolades.

At the first Academy Awards, held on May 16, 1929, Menzies won for Best Art Direction for "The Dove" and "Tempest". The following year he was nominated in the same categories for his work on "Bulldog Drummond", "Alibi", and "The Awakening", but lost to Cedric Gibbons.  At the 12th Academy Awards held on February 29, 1940, Menzies won an Academy Honorary Award "for outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood" in the production of "Gone With the Wind".  In 2005, Menzies was in the first group of art directors and production designers inducted into the Art Directors Guild Hall of Fame.

DVD release.

In October 2009, Alpha Video released the public domain collection "The Fantastic World of William Cameron Menzies" on DVD, which included four early experimental films created by Menzies and Joseph M. Schenck, shorts that visualize great works of classical music:  According to Dave Kehr, "The Wizard's Apprentice" "clearly influenced Disney's version in "Fantasia".

William Cameron Menzies (July 29, 1896 – March 5, 1957) was an American film production designer (a job title he invented) and art director as well as a film director and producer during a career spanning five decades. He earned acclaim for his work in silent film, and later pioneered the use of color in film for dramatic effect.

William Cameron Menzies est un décorateur, réalisateur, producteur et scénariste de cinéma américain, né le à New Haven, et mort le, à Los Angeles. Il remporte un Oscar lors de la première cérémonie en 1929.


Biography.

Carmi Charney was born in New York City. His father, Rabbi Bernard (Baruch) Charney, was the principal of Yeshiva of Central Queens, a Jewish day school. The family spoke Hebrew at home. Charney studied at Yeshiva University and Columbia University. In 1946, he worked with orphan children in France whose parents were murdered in the Holocaust.He moved to Israel in 1948, just before the outbreak of the 1947–1949 Palestine war. He died in 1994. The first initial T is the English equivalent of the Hebrew letter tet, which Carmi adopted as it is the first letter of his original family name as written in Hebrew.

Literary career.

Carmi's books translated into English include "Blemish and Dream" (1951), "There are no black Flowers" (1953), "The Brass Serpent" (1961), "Somebody Like You" (1971), and "At The Stone Of Losses" (1983).  He was also translator of Shakespeare to Hebrew. His translations include "Midsummer Night's Dream", "Measure For Measure", "Hamlet", "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Othello". He co-edited "The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself", together with Stanley Burnshaw and Ezra Spicehandler. His major critical work was as editor and translator of "The Penguin book of Hebrew Verse", a chronological anthology that spans 3,000 years of written Hebrew poetry. He wrote the preface to a collection of Gabriel Preil's poems, "Sunset Possibilities and Other Poems" (1985).  T. Carmi was also the pseudonymous co-author jointly with Shoshana Heyman, "Kush" (short for the acronym of Carmi ve(and) Shoshana - in hebr.) of the classic Israeli children's book "Shmulikipod." A sick boy laments that he has no one for company but the donkeys on his pajamas. Relief comes in the form of a visit from a somewhat short-tempered hedgehog (Hebr. "kipod") named Shmulik. After a few messy misadventures that never leave the playpen, Shmulik flees; the book concludes, "And Shmulikipod walked, and walked, and walked, and walked..."

T. Carmi () (December 31, 1925 – November 20, 1994) was the literary pseudonym of Carmi Charney, an American-born Israeli poet.

T. Carmi (ט. כרמי ; de son vrai nom Carmi Tscharny), né le à New York et mort le, et un poète et traducteur israélien.


Career.

Van Reenen began his football career at UVV Utrecht, where he made 30 goals in 37 games. His debut for UVV took place on October 3, 1926 when he was 17 years old in the second game of the season in the away game against FC Hilversum was incident in the second half for center forward Kan. The rest of the season he played all games. His first goals Van Reenen scored on 17 October 1926. In the away match won 2-0 against V.O.C.s He made two goals. His goal after 22 minutes was the first of an endless series. Only sixteen years later he made his 303rd enlaatste goal. Van Reenen is the first Dutch player who broke the 300 league goals border at the highest level. In his second season, Van Reenen was like many young players with a check. He was drafted but seven times and made just one goal. The first four games he was still in the base but then was only sporadically used him. In his third and final season with UVV Van Reenen jogged occasionally injured. UVV was almost the whole season down and eventually relegated. Despite the team turned bad and constantly changing compositions came Van Reenen still managed still in the field to 10 goals in 13 games. In his time at Van Reenen UVV came three appearances with one goal against Ajax. He apparently impressed enough to be allowed to play at Ajax in 1929 after the degradation of UVV. At Ajax he played on September 15, 1929 (debut against DFC) until October 18, 1942 (against Blauw-Wit Amsterdam). After Van Reenen had stopped all actually after the 1939-1940 season he later sometimes turn up as Ajax was in distress. Van Reenen eventually stopped at 33 with football.

International football.

Despite his great talent, Van Reenen played only two matches for the Dutch national team scoring no goals.

Piet van Reenen born (17 January 1909 – 8 June 1969) was a Dutch former professional footballer who was a prolific goalscorer at Ajax. With 278 goals in 240 matches from 1929 to 1943, he is the club's all-time top goal scorer. He was also the club's top goal scorer for 9 consecutive seasons, from 1929–30 to 1937–38.

Petrus (Piet) van Reenen (né à Utrecht le - mort à Amsterdam le ) était un footballeur néerlandais. Il joua notamment pour l'Ajax Amsterdam. Il termina 9 fois meilleur buteur de l'Ajax de 1929 à 1938. Il fait partie du Club van 100.


Biography.

Early life.

Christie was born in the Partick area of Glasgow and raised in Blantyre by his mother and grandparents, becoming an anarchist at a young age. He ascribes this to his grandmother's influence, "Basically, what she did was provide a moral barometer which married almost exactly with that of libertarian socialism and anarchism, and she provided the star which I followed." He joined the Anarchist Federation in Glasgow in 1962, at the age of 16. He became active in CND campaigns, attracted to the more militant approach of the Direct Action Committee and Committee of 100 and took part in the confrontational Faslane Naval Base CND demonstration on 14 February 1963, among others.

Attempt to assassinate Franco.

On the last day of July 1964, an 18-year-old Christie departed London for Paris, where he picked up plastic explosives from the anarchist organisation Defensa Interior.  Before he left England, he was interviewed for a television programme with Malcolm Muggeridge, a known MI6 contact, and asked whether he felt the assassination of Franco would be right. He answered that it would; when the programme was broadcast after his arrest in Spain, these comments were edited out.  Christie hitchhiked into Spain and was arrested in Madrid on 11 August 1964 in possession of explosives. He faced a military trial and a possible execution sentence by garrote, but was instead sentenced to twenty years in prison. An accomplice, Fernando Carballo Blanco, was sentenced to thirty years' imprisonment. He served three years in Carabanchel Prison, where he studied for A-Levels and was brought into contact with anarchist prisoners, including Miguel García García, Luis Andres Edo and Juan Busquets. Christie was later freed. The official reason given by Francoist Spain was that it was due to a plea from Christie's mother.

Back in Britain.

After his release he continued his activism in the British anarchist movement, re-formed the Anarchist Black Cross and "Black Flag" with Albert Meltzer, was acquitted of involvement with the Angry Brigade, and started the publishing house Cienfuegos Press, which for a number of years he operated from the remote island of Sanday, Orkney, where he also edited and published a local Orcadian newspaper, "The Free-Winged Eagle".  Christie has had various writing and journalistic jobs including as editor of an unauthorised British edition of "Pravda" and "Argumenty i Fakty" ("Arguments and Facts International") in the late years of the Soviet Union and the early years of the Russian Federation.

Published work.

An updated and single-volume version of his autobiography "Granny Made Me an Anarchist" was published in 2004 by Scribner. It had previously been published in three parts, the other titles being "General Franco Made Me a Terrorist", and "Edward Heath Made Me Angry". Christie attracted criticism from some fellow anarchists for making a gestural protest vote against Labour and its war in Iraq by voting for George Galloway's Respect - The Unity Coalition in the European Parliament elections that year. Christie has written articles attacking freemasonry.  He also wrote, with Meltzer, "The Floodgates of Anarchy", which includes an early version of the political compass. His other books include "Stefano Delle Chiaie: Portrait of a Black Terrorist", (on Italian neo-fascist terrorist Stefano Delle Chiaie, founder of "Avanguardia Nazionale" and member of P2 masonic lodge) and "We, the Anarchists! A study of the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI) 1927-1937" (2000).  As a publisher Christie founded Cienfuegos Press in 1972 and edited the "Cienfuegos Anarchist Review" (c. 1977–1982), Refract Publications (1982), The Meltzer Press (1996) and Christiebooks/Christiebooks.com/Read 'N' Noir. He also edited "The Hastings Trawler", a monthly magazine that ran from 2005 to 2006.  Christie also translated into English the biography of Francisco Sabate Llopart, "Sabate: An Extraordinary Guerrilla", by Antonio Téllez Solá.

Stuart Christie (born 10 July 1946) is a Scottish anarchist writer and publisher. When aged 18, Christie was arrested while carrying explosives to assassinate the Spanish caudillo, General Francisco Franco. He was later alleged to be a member of the Angry Brigade, but was acquitted of related charges. He went on to found the Cienfuegos Press publishing house and in 2008 the online Anarchist Film Channel, which hosts films and documentaries with anarchist and libertarian socialist themes.

Stuart Christie, né le, est un militant anarchiste et révolutionnaire internationaliste écossais. Il est connu pour avoir participé à la résistance des Républicains espagnols contre Franco.


History.

Baidu Baike was launched in April 2006. After 20 days, it had more than 300,000 registered users and more than 100,000 articles, surpassing the number in Chinese Wikipedia. it had 16 million articles and more than 6.9 million editors.  Baidu's William Chang said at WWW2008, the conference of the World Wide Web Consortium, "There is, in fact, no reason for China to use Wikipedia... It's very natural for China to make its own products." When searching with the search engine Baidu, the link of the corresponding entry in Baidu Baike, if exists, will be put as the first result or one of the first results.

Community.

There are three organized groups within Baidu Baike community. The Baike Elite Team consists of about 340 core contributors that are directed by Baidu and serve as community liaisons. There is also a group of campus ambassadors made of students and an expert team with over 2,500 members, including university professors.

Partnerships.

Baidu Baike engages in partnerships with cultural institutions in China and abroad to digitize cultural heritage. In late 2017, Baidu signed an agreement in China to create "2,000 online digital museums" in the next three years. In early 2018, partnerships were expanded to cover 1,000 Spanish cities and tourist sites, including the Camino de Santiago, the Sagrada Família and the Prado Museum.

Controversies.

Censorship.

Being in the jurisdiction of the Chinese government, Baidu is required to censor content on their encyclopedia in accordance to relevant governmental regulations. All editors need to register accounts using their real names before editing, and administrators filter edits before they go public. This censorship has attracted criticism.

Copyright infringement allegations.

In 2007, Florence Devouard, then Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, said that "They [Baidu Baike] do not respect the license at all, [...] That might be the biggest copyright violation we have. We have others." Users of the Chinese Wikipedia created a list of entries allegedly infringing Wikipedia's copyright. The Wikimedia Foundation decided not to pursue any legal action, In response to criticism, Baidu stressed that Baike is a platform for user-generated content.

Baidu Baike (; ) is a Chinese-language collaborative online encyclopedia owned by the Chinese technology company Baidu. It was launched in April 2006. After 20 days, it had more than 300,000 registered users and more than 100,000 articles, surpassing the number in Chinese Wikipedia. it had 16 million articles and more than 6.9 million editors.

Baidu Baike () est une encyclopédie en ligne chinoise hébergée par le moteur de recherche Baidu. La version test a été lancée le 20 avril 2006 et, trois semaines plus tard, l'encyclopédie comptait plus de articles, Elle compte 5,4 millions d'articles en octobre 2012, ce qui en fait la deuxième plus importante encyclopédie en chinois par le nombre d'articles, derrière Hudong mais loin devant Wikipédia en chinois.


History.

In the mid-1800s, Catholic priests took the existing LSF and ASL and combined the two to promote education of deaf children and adolescents. Several decades later, under the influence of Western thought, oralism became the primary mode of instruction in Quebec and the rest of North America. There, students were subjected to environments that discouraged and often outright banned LSQ use, instead promoting the use of whatever residual hearing the student had if any. Such an approach had varying effects where audism lead to lower literacy rates as well as lower rates of language acquisition seen in children sent to residential schools at an early age.  Around the 1960s, several schools for the Deaf were established in Montreal in response to the failed audistic education: Institution des Sourds de Montréal, Institution des Sourdes-Muettes, Institut des Sourds de Charlesbourg, none of which exist any longer. However, the MacKay School for the Deaf has existed since 1869 serving the anglophone and ASL-speaking communities in Montreal. Since the 1960s, there has been a growing population of LSQ speakers in Quebec and spreading across Canada. Due to the close nature of French and LSQ, Deaf members of francophone communities tend to learn LSQ even though ASL tends to be the majority language around those communities. Ontario has passed legislation making it the only region in Canada that recognizes LSQ in any capacity, noting that "The Government of Ontario shall ensure that [ASL, LSQ and First Nations Sign Language] may be used in the courts, in education and in the Legislative Assembly."  There have been calls to modify Quebec's Charter of the French Language to include provisions for LSQ. However, all bills have been rejected for one reason or another leaving the status of LSQ up in the air for Quebec and the rest of Canada.

Official status.

LSQ is recognized as an official language in Ontario only in domains of education, legislation and judicial activities after the passing of Bill 213 within the Ontario Legislative Assembly. Across the rest of Canada, there is no protection or oversight for the language as neither federal, provincial nor territorial governments recognize LSQ as a language other than Ontario.  In Quebec in 2002 following the passing of Bill 104, recommendations presented to Commission of the Estates-General were rejected. In 2013, the Québec Cultural Society for the Deaf presented additional recommendations during discussions on the update of Bill 14 which would ultimately modify the Charter of the French Language. Three recommendations were proposed modifying the Charter such that LSQ is recognized along the same lines as done for the language and culture of North American Aboriginal Peoples and the Inuit of Quebec. The first was noting that LSQ is the primary language of communication for Deaf Quebecois, the second that deaf youths be taught bilingually (French/LSQ) in all cadres of education and the third that French be rendered accessible to all d/Deaf people within the province. Bill 14 was never voted on by the National Assembly due to the minority party being unable to amass enough support from other parties.

Population.

The population of any sign-language-speaking community is difficult to ascertain due to a variety of factors, namely imprecise census data and lack of connection with the communities themselves. The same is true in Canada with LSQ speakers where census data through StatsCan captures basic information that renders comprehension of the situation difficult as the numbers do not accurately portray the language population. StatsCan reports as of 2011 just 455 speakers of LSQ, however it is estimated that 2.6% (or 5,030 people) of Quebec’s population possessed hearing deficiency. That is not to say that every person with hearing loss signs LSQ, but it also misses the many people who use LSQ daily who are also hearing: Children of Deaf Adults, interpreters, etc.

Geographic distribution.

LSQ is used primarily within Quebec. Outside, the largest communities of LSQ users is in Sudbury, Ottawa and Toronto with smaller notable communities in parts of New Brunswick. Additionally, LSQ can be found in francophone communities across the country, but no real data has been collected on hard numbers.  In Montreal, LSQ is displaced in certain areas by ASL where it co-habitates. Generally, ASL can be found in anglophone communities, however it is not uncommon to meet people bilingual in ASL and LSQ in much the same way one would meet a bilingual English-French person. While ASL is growing within Montreal, LSQ is still a strong language in the city, supported by speakers from across the province.

Quebec Sign Language, known in French as Langue des signes québécoise or Langue des signes du Québec (LSQ), is the predominant sign language of deaf communities used in francophone Canada, primarily in Quebec. Although named Quebec sign, LSQ can be found within communities in Ontario and New Brunswick as well as certain other regions across Canada. Being a member of the French Sign Language family, it is most closely related to French Sign Language (LSF), being a result of mixing between American Sign Language (ASL) and LSF. As LSQ can be found near and within francophone communities, there is a high level of borrowing of words and phrases from French, but it is far from creating a creole language. However, alongside LSQ, signed French and Pidgin LSQ French exist, where both mix LSQ and French more heavily to varying degrees.

La langue des signes québécoise (LSQ) est la langue principale utilisée dans les communautés sourdes du Québec. Malgré son nom, la LSQ se retrouve hors du Québec. Étant membre de la famille francosigne, elle est surtout apparentée à la langue des signes française (LSF). La LSQ tire son origine du contact entre la LSF et la langue des signes américaine (ASL). Bien que beaucoup de mots et d'emprunts au français se trouvent souvent dans la LSQ, elle est loin d'être une langue créole. À côté de la LSQ, le français signé et le pidgin français-LSQ existent aussi.


History.

Formation and "96 Tears".

The band members were children of migrant farmers who settled in Michigan. The original trio, consisting of Larry Borjas (guitar), Robert Martinez (drums), and Bobby Balderrama (lead guitar), encountered one another and were motivated by surf rock musical acts Link Wray and Duane Eddy to form a group in 1962. The band played locally with the same line-up until the influence of the British Invasion with groups stressing lead vocals and dynamic stage performances. Rudy Martinez, aka Question Mark, was known for his dancing ability and was suggested to the band as he was Robert Martinez's brother. Question Mark was an eccentric figure, publicly stating that his soul had originated from Mars and that he once walked on Earth with the dinosaurs. "?" quickly cemented himself as the group's creative force, and they began to develop a blend of gritty rock and roll and pop rock with a repertoire that encompassed compositions penned by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. To correspond with the new line-up, the band took the name? and The Mysterians, which was inspired by the 1957 science fiction film "The Mysterians". When the band recruited keyboard player Frank Rodriguez, who was a part of another local group, the Trespassers, it was pivotal in Question Mark and the Mysterians' overall sound, especially in their song "96 Tears".  In February 1966, the band auditioned for an independent record label, resulting in the demos "Are You For Real?" and "I'll Be Back", which were only released later and boasted for their very good sound quality in the 1999 album "More Action". Afterwards, Larry Borjas and Robert Martinez received draft notices and opted to enlist to avoid being sent to Vietnam. The remaining band members continued while Rodriguez improvised an organ riff, and "?" introduced a composition he had been developing for a while in his head. Auditioning for a replacement drummer resulted in Eddie Serrato, originally trained in traditional Mexican music, joining the group. On March 13, 1966, Question Mark and the Mysterians recorded "96 Tears" along with "Midnight Hour" for the small Pa-Go-Go label with Fernando Aguilar, a bassist who was soon replaced by Frank Lugo.  When released in April 1966, "Midnight Hour" was originally the A-side for the band's debut single; however, "?" promoted the record across Michigan, encouraging radio stations to play "96 Tears" instead. CKLW, a major station in Windsor, Ontario, extensively played the song, thus generating a number one regional hit. The song drew the attention of Neil Bogart, president of Cameo-Parkway Records. The success of the song was attributed to the Vox Continental riff, and, as critic Greg Shaw explained, the simplicity and precise execution. Bogart purchased the rights to "96 Tears", distributed it on a national scale, and promoted the band by booking television appearances on "American Bandstand" and "Where the Action Is". On October 29, 1966, after a steady climb up the charts, the single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week before being overtaken by The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville". It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.

Other chart successes.

The next two singles for "Question Mark and the Mysterians", "I Need Somebody" and "Can't Get Enough of You Baby", also charted, but were nowhere near as successful as "96 Tears". These were compiled on the album "96 Tears" along with a handful of other songs.  Question Mark and the Mysterians' second album, "Action", featured the band at the peak of its musicianship, but the album was not a commercial success. The band then briefly recorded with Capitol Records, Tangerine Records and Super K. The band lineup changed as the original members left for other projects. Mel Schacher, future bass player for Grand Funk Railroad, briefly became the bass guitarist along with Frank Montoya on guitar and Jeff McDonald on drums until Richard Schultz took over on bass and co-wrote several songs with Question Mark; including "She Goes to Church on Sunday", which was licensed to Paul McCartney's publishing company.

1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

In the early 1970s, Question Mark and the Mysterians reformed with a different lineup consisting of two guitars and no keyboards. The band attracted the attention of rock critic Dave Marsh, who coined the term "punk rock" in a 1971 "Creem Magazine" article about Question Mark.  In 1984, the original lineup of Question Mark and the Mysterians held a reunion concert in Dallas, Texas. Original drummer Robert Martinez returned and replaced Eddie Serrato on drums after Serrato became ill with multiple sclerosis. The Dallas concert did not lead to a full revival for the band, but the concert was recorded and released by the New York record label ROIR, "96 Tears Forever: The Dallas ReUnion Tapes".  In 1992, Question Mark collaborated with rap artist Saltine aka The Mad Rapper on a hip hop remake of "96 Tears". The single was released on Pandisc Records following a huge industry buzz on radio. "Billboard" magazine gave the single a thumbs up.  In 1997, Question Mark and the Mysterians reformed again. They collaborated with New York promoter Jon Weiss, who made the band headliners at CaveStomp garage rock festivals. The festivals featured many revived 60's garage and psychedelic acts.  In 1998, the cover version of "Can't Get Enough of You, Baby" by Smash Mouth reached number 14 on the US record charts.

Re-release of "96 Tears".

During the 1990s, Question Mark and the Mysterians wanted to re-release their now out-of-print albums "96 Tears" and "Action", but were unable to because the song rights now belonged to record executive Allen Klein. In 1997, the band re-recorded their original 1966 album and released it on the Collectables Records label.  In 1998, Frank Rodriguez rejoined the band on keyboards and Question Mark and the Mysterians released the new live album "Do You Feel It, Baby?" on Norton Records and achieved moderate sales. In 1999, the band released a new studio album, "More Action", produced and recorded in New York City, with the album design by Michael Calleia at Industrial Strength Design. This design caused controversy as it was not approved by Question Mark prior to the release. Coinciding with the album release, Question Mark dissolved his business relationship with Weiss, allegedly due to dissatisfaction with the record and other business issues.

Collaborations.

In 2000, Question Mark began a collaboration with New York guitarist and rock promoter Gary Fury. This collaboration led to a series of live concerts featuring Question Mark with a backing band led by Fury, featuring musicians from other garage bands in the New York area. The first backing band lineup included Jim "Royale" Baglino of The Casino Royales and later Monster Magnet on bass, Sam Steinig of the Philadelphia band Mondo Topless on keyboards and original Mysterians drummer Robert Martinez. The new group billed itself as "Question Mark and the Mysterymen" and played the Limelight in New York and the Black Cat in Washington, D.C.  In 2002, Question Mark returned to New York to headline a two-night garage rock festival at the CBGB club. The band lineup featured Question Mark, Fury, Robert Martinez, Keith Hartel on bass and former Pat Benatar/David Johansen band and current E Street Band keyboardist Charlie Giordano. This new band was billed as "Question Mark and The New Mysterians". The new band created a multi-track recording in CBGB's studio, which is still unreleased.  On January 10, 2007, a fire destroyed Question Mark's house in Clio, Michigan, destroying all of his memorabilia and killing the Yorkshire Terrier dogs that he bred as his business. To help Question Mark, his friends held several benefit shows for him, with Question Mark and the Mysterians performing at some of these events.  In May 2007, Question Mark and Gary Fury revived their musical collaboration for a benefit show at New York's Highline Ballroom. The backup group, known as The Playthings, featured Fury on guitar, Jim Baglino on bass, Jimi Black of Cheetah Chrome and Sylvain Sylvain on drums, and Brian Leonard on keyboards. The concert encore featured CBS Orchestra leader Paul Shaffer on keyboards and Robert Martinez on drums.  Guitarist Dennis Dean Lack joined the band in 1985, and was Question Mark's main guitarist and music director, and still collaborates on new songs with Question Mark into 2017. Lack has been active in the band off and on for over 13 years; he now resides in Northern Michigan.

The originals.

In between these shows, Question Mark was still occasionally active with the original Mysterians. In 2001, Question Mark and the original Mysterians returned to New York City to play guitarist Steven Van Zandt's Underground Garage live event, selling out the Village Underground venue.  In 2006, the original members of? and the Mysterians were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

Influence.

Many 1960s garage bands played "96 Tears" in their live performances. Cover versions of "96 Tears" have been recorded by a number of bands and musicians, including Aretha Franklin, Thelma Houston, Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop, The Texas Tornadoes, Eddie and the Hot Rods, the Stranglers, and Garland Jeffreys.

In the 2010s.

On February 24, 2011, former Mysterians drummer Eddie Serrato (born Eduardo Serrato, December 5, 1945) died from a heart attack at age 65.  In October 2017, lead guitarist Robert Balderrama was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

? and the Mysterians (also rendered Question Mark and the Mysterians) are an American garage rock band of Mexican descent from Bay City and Saginaw in Michigan who were initially active between 1962 and 1969. Much of the band's music consisted of electric organ-driven garage rock and an enigmatic image inspired by the 1957 Japanese science fiction film "The Mysterians". In addition, the band's sound was also marked by raw-resonating lead vocals of "?" (Question Mark, the stage name of Rudy Martínez), making Question Mark and the Mysterians one of the earliest groups whose musical style is described as punk rock. Through their music, the group was recognized as a template for similar musical acts to follow.

Question Mark and the Mysterians, aussi écrit? and the Mysterians, est un groupe de garage rock américain, originaire de Bay City, dans le Michigan. Formé en 1962, le groupe est principalement connu pour le titre "96 Tears", un classique du garage rock qui se classe premier du "Billboard" en 1966.


Club career.

Safri started his youth career at Olympique de Casablanca. The following year, he was promoted to the senior squad. He was a midfielder best known for his passing and tackling ability.  In 2001, he joined Coventry City where he played until 2004, scoring once against Sheffield Wednesday. In December 2003, he had come under fire after breaking the leg of Sunderland player Colin Healy. The next season, he joined Norwich City for an initial fee of £500,000 in the summer of 2004, after the Canaries had been promoted to the Premier League.  Safri became popular among the Norwich fans towards the end of the 2004–05 campaign and during the 2005–06 season following a series of impressive performances. He scored a 40-yard strike against Newcastle United in April 2005 during the team's fight against relegation from the Premiership. Safri was linked with a move to Feyenoord in the summer of 2005, but stayed at Carrow Road.  As a tribute to the player, Norwich City supporters devised a song which was sung regularly at home games, to the tune of Status Quo's 'Rocking all over the world' -  "Here we are, here we are and here we go, Youssef's better than Juninho, Moroccan all over the world!"  Following the 3–1 defeat at Plymouth Argyle in September 2006, Safri and teammate Dickson Etuhu were reported to have traded punches on the team bus during their return journey to East Anglia, although these reports are now thought to have been discredited. After Peter Grant was appointed Norwich manager in October 2006, Safri was not a regular selection. There was speculation that he would leave the club in January 2007, fuelled by his comments in the Eastern Daily Press on 29 December 2006 in which Safri indicated that he would seek a transfer if Grant continued to use him as a substitute. Safri remained at Carrow Road until the end of the 2006–07 season, but after falling out with manager Peter Grant, Grant stated in the press on 1 August that Safri would not play for the club again.  On 2 August 2007 he signed for Norwich's championship rivals Southampton on a two-year contract for a fee rumoured to be of the order of £250,000. On 24 October 2007 he was sent off in the 90th minute of Southampton's away defeat to Bristol City, for a heavy tackle on Lee Johnson, whose subsequent reaction to Safri pushing him by all accounts was exaggerated, resulting in a straight Red.  On 7 July 2008 he joined Qatar Sports Club, for a fee in the region of £300,000, stating his desire to move to the Persian Gulf region as the reason behind the move.

International career.

Safri was a key player with the Moroccan national team during the 2004 African Nations Cup, and was a member of the national squad competing at 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Coaching career.

At the end of 2013 season he retired and started a role of assisting coach in his first club Raja Casablanca. In the following 2015/16 season, he was assistant manager of Jamal Sellami at Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi.  In May 2018, Safri returned to Raja Casablanca, again as assistant manager, this time under manager Juan Carlos Garrido. Garrido was sacked on 28 January 2019, and Safri was appointed caretaker manager. It lasted for two days, before Patrice Carteron was appointed. Safri however, left the club on 12 June 2019. In November 2019, Safri returned to Raja Casablanca.

Personal life.

Safri is a Muslim.

Youssef Safri (, born 3 January 1977) is a Moroccan former footballer who currently is an assistant coach for Raja Casablanca. Scorer of an absolute belter for Norwich against Newcastle.

Youssef Safri, né le 3 janvier 1977 à Casablanca, est un footballeur international marocain devenu entraîneur. Durant sa carrière de joueur, entre 1997 et 2013, il évolue au poste de milieu de terrain, comme milieu ralayeur. Actuellement, il occupe le poste d'entraîneur-adjoint au Raja Club Athletic.


Biography.

The son of a secretary to King Henri III of France, Garnier was born in Paris in 1606. He attended the Collège de Clermont in Paris and joined the Jesuit seminary in Clermont in September 1624.  After his novitiate, he returned to the College of Clermont as Prefect. After finishing his studies in rhetoric and philosophy, he spent two years teaching at the College of Eu as a teacher. Completing years of studies in language, culture and theology, he was ordained as a priest in 1635. His father initially forbade him from travelling to Canada where he would face almost certain death as a missionary, but he was eventually allowed to go. Embarking on March 25, 1636, he described the crossing in a letter to his father,  We gave Viaticum to a sailor who had fallen from the top of the mizzenmast to the deck. He was well-disposed to die. However, as I saw him in great discomfort, unable to sleep, I gave him my cabin and went in with Father Chastelain in his, but the sick man found this cabin too stuffy so the next day I occupied it again but left him my mattress so he could sleep even in the midst of the cannons. Hearing this, the Captain made me take one of his.  He reached the colony of New France in June. He travelled immediately to the Huron mission with fellow Jesuit Pierre Chastellain. By early August he had arrived among the Nipissings.  He served for the rest of his life as a missionary among the Huron, never returning to France. The Huron nicknamed him "Ouracha", or "rain-giver", after his arrival was followed by a drought-ending rainfall. He was greatly influenced by fellow missionary Jean de Brébeuf, and was known as the "lamb" to Brebeuf's "lion". In 1639 and 1640 he wintered in the land of the Petun. From 1641 to 1646 Garnier was at the Saint-Joseph mission.  There were raids between Iroquois and Huron forces. When he learned that Brébeuf and Lalemant were killed in March 1649 by Iroquois after a raid on a Huron village, Garnier knew he too might soon die. On December 7, 1649, he was killed by musket fire from the Iroquois during an attack on the Petun village where he was living.  Charles Garnier was canonized in 1930 by Pope Pius XI with the other seven Canadian Martyrs (also known as the North American Martyrs.) His feast day is October 19.

Charles Garnier, S.J., (baptised at Paris, May 25, 1606 – December 7, 1649) was a Jesuit missionary working in New France. He was killed by Iroquois in a Petun (Tobacco Nation) village on December 7, 1649.

Saint Charles Garnier, né en 1606 à Paris et mort le à Etharita au pays des Pétuns, est un prêtre jésuite français et missionnaire en Nouvelle-France où il est mort pour la foi (martyr). Canonisé le, il est liturgiquement commémoré le 7 décembre, et avec les autres martyrs canadiens le 19 octobre et le 26 septembre au Canada.


History.

Ridgefield was first settled by English colonists from Norwalk and Milford in 1708, when a group of settlers purchased land from Chief Catoonah of the Ramapo tribe. The town was incorporated under a royal charter from the Connecticut General Assembly issued in 1709. Ridgefield was descriptively named. The most notable 18th-century event was the Battle of Ridgefield on April 27, 1777. This American Revolutionary War skirmish involved a small colonial militia force (state militia and some Continental Army soldiers), led by, among others, General David Wooster, who died in the engagement, and Benedict Arnold, whose horse was shot from under him. They faced a larger British force that had landed at Westport and was returning from a raid on the colonial supply depot in Danbury. The battle was a tactical victory for the British but a strategic one for the Colonials because the British would never again conduct inland operations in Connecticut, despite western Connecticut's strategic importance in securing the Hudson River Valley. Today, the dead from both sides are buried together in a small cemetery on Main Street on the right of the entrance to Casagmo condominiums: "...foes in arms, brothers in death...". The Keeler Tavern, a local inn and museum, features a British cannonball still lodged in the side of the building. There are many other landmarks from the Revolutionary War in the town, with most along Main Street.  In the summer of 1781, the French army under the Comte de Rochambeau marched through Connecticut, encamping in the Ridgebury section of town, where the first Catholic mass in Ridgefield was offered.  For much of its three centuries, Ridgefield was a farming community. Among the important families in the 19th century were the Rockwells and Lounsburys, which intermarried. They produced two Connecticut governors, George Lounsbury and Phineas Lounsbury. The Ridgefield Veterans Memorial Community Center on Main Street, also called the Lounsbury House, was built by Gov. Phineas Chapman Lounsbury around 1896 as his primary residence. The Lounsbury Farm near the Florida section of Ridgefield is one of the only remaining operational farms in Ridgefield.  In the late 19th century, spurred by the new railroad connection to its lofty village and the fact that nearby countryside reaches above sea level, Ridgefield began to be discovered by wealthy New York City residents, who assembled large estates and built huge "summer cottages" throughout the higher sections of town. Among the more noteworthy estates were Col. Louis D. Conley's "Outpost Farm", which at one point totaled nearly, some of which is now Bennett's Pond State Park; Seth Low Pierrepont's "Twixthills", more than, much of which is now Pierrepont State Park; Frederic E. Lewis's "Upagenstit", that became Grey Court College in the 1940s, but is now mostly subdivisions; and Col. Edward M. Knox's "Downesbury Manor", whose included a 45-room mansion that Mark Twain often visited.  These and dozens of other estates became unaffordable and unwieldy during and after the Great Depression, and most were broken up. Many mansions were razed. In their place came subdivisions of one- and lots that turned the town into a suburban, bedroom community in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. However, strong planning and zoning has maintained much of the 19th- and early 20th-century charm of the town, especially along its famous mile-long Main Street.  In 1946, Ridgefield was one of the locations considered for the United Nations secretariat building, but was not chosen due to its relative inaccessibility.

Geography.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which is land and, or 1.52%, is water. The town is bordered by the towns of North Salem and Lewisboro in Westchester County, New York to the west, Danbury to the north, Wilton to the south and Redding to the east.  The town has a Metro-North Railroad station called Branchville in the Branchville corner of town. The census-designated place (CDP) corresponding to the town center covers a total area of, of which 0.16% is water. Other locales within the town include Titicus on Route 116 just north of the village; Ridgebury in the northern section of town; Scotland, which is south of Ridgebury; Farmingville, located northeast and east of the town center; Limestone, located northeast of the town center; Flat Rock, located south of the town center; and Florida, located just north of Branchville.

Geology.

Ridgefield consists of hilly, rocky terrain, ranging from above sea level (at Pine Mountain) to at Branchville. Its average village elevation is above sea level. The landscape is strewn with countless rocks deposited by glaciers, and among the town's bodies of water is Round Pond, formed in a kettle left by the last glacier 20,000 years ago. Another interesting body of water in the town is Lake Mamanasco an 86 acre lake near Ridgefield High School. A particularly interesting feature is Cameron's Line, named for Eugene N. Cameron, who discovered that rocks west of the line differed greatly from those east of it. This fault line was formed some 250 million years ago by the collision of "Proto North America" and "Proto Africa", and there are still occasional light earthquakes felt along its length. The line bisects the southern half of the town, running generally north of West Lane, across the north end of the village, past the south end of Great Swamp and generally easterly into Redding in the Topstone area. North of Cameron's Line, the town is rich in limestone. The mineral was extensively mined, and remnants of several limekilns exist today. Also mined here in the 19th century was mica, pegmatite, and quartz. Gold, as well as gemstones such as garnet and beryl, have been found here, and dozens of minerals have been unearthed at the old Branchville Mica Quarry. Uraninite, a source of uranium, is found here, too.

Demographics.

As of the census of 2000, there were 23,643 people, 8,433 households, and 6,611 families residing in the town. The population density was 686.7 people per square mile (265.1/km2). There were 8,877 housing units at an average density of 257.8 per square mile (99.5/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.12% White, 0.62% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 2.08% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.97% of the population.  There were 8,433 households out of which 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.6% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.21.  In the town, the population was spread out with 30.6% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.  The median income for a household in the town was $107,351, and the median income for a family was $127,981 (these figures had risen to $125,909 and $154,346 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $50,236 for females. The per capita income for the town was $51,795. About 1.3% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, 5.3% of those age 65 or over.  As of the census of 2000, there were 7,212 people, 2,933 households, and 1,994 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,125.2 people per square mile (434.4/km). There were 3,078 housing units at an average density of 480.2 per square mile (185.4/km). The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.52% White, 0.54% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 2.44% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races, while 2.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.  There were 2,933 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. Of all households, 28.5% were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05.  In the CDP the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males.  The median income for a household in the CDP was $81,179, and the median income for a family was $127,327. Males had a median income of $93,084 versus $47,232 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $46,843. 3.2% of the population and 1.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 1.6% of those under the age of 18 and 6.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Arts and culture.

The Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra, formerly called the Ridgefield Symphony Youth Orchestra, has performed at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center.  The Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra began as the "Ridgefield Symphonette" in 1965 with 20 players, only a third of them professionals. It became fully professional by the end of the decade and today has 75 musicians and draws soloists of international reputation. In 1984, Maxim Shostakovich, then a Ridgefielder, conducted a sold-out concert of music by his father, Dmitri Shostakovich, with the composer's grandson, Dmitri, performing as piano soloist.  The Keeler Tavern Museum preserves an early 18th-century house that, by the time of the Revolution, had become a tavern and inn. The tavern was a center of community activities, an early post office, and a stop on the northern New York to Boston post road. In the early 20th century, it was the home of noted architect Cass Gilbert. The tavern is open several days a week, offers tours, and has a gift shop.  The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is a leading venue for the world's best contemporary artists. Its exhibitions have attracted national attention and respect. The museum was redesigned and expanded in 2004, and offers many special programs, including concerts. The Ridgefield Playhouse, opened in December 2000, is housed in the former Ridgefield Alternate High School auditorium, and was remodeled as a playhouse. It is the year-round venue for dozens of concerts and other performances, many by internationally known artists. The Playhouse also shows movies, many of them first-run.  Weir Farm National Historic Site, which straddles the Ridgefield-Wilton border, preserves much of the farm of J. Alden Weir (1852–1919), a painter of the American Impressionism style. The property was later used by his son-in-law, Mahonri Young (1877–1957), noted sculptor and a grandson of Brigham Young. The site includes the Weir Farm Art Center and a gallery, and many special events take place there, including shows by visiting artists in residence. Weir Farm is one of only two official National Park Service units in the state.  The Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance was founded as the Ridgefield Studio of Classical Ballet in 1965 by Patricia Schuster. In 2002 it became the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. The Conservatory is home to three pre-professional performance companies: the Ridgefield Civic Ballet, The Junior Dance Ensemble, and the Contemporary Dance Ensemble. The conservatory presents "The Nutcracker" annually at the Ridgefield Playhouse. Thrown Stone Theatre Company is a professional theatre company in town that focuses primarily on new work.  Located at the intersection of West Lane and Route 35, the Peter Parley Schoolhouse (c. 1750), also known as the Little Red Schoolhouse or the West Lane Schoolhouse, is a one-room schoolhouse in use by the town until 1913. The site and grounds are maintained by the Ridgefield Garden Club. The building is open certain Sundays and displays the desks, slates, and books the children used.  Ridgefield's public open space includes Aldrich Park, Bennett's Pond State Park, Brewster Farm, Florida Refuge, Hemlock Hills/Lake Windwing, Pine Mountain, Seth Low Pierrepont State Park, and the Weir Farm National Historic Site. Its public open spaces make up, accounting for 23% of the towns overall land.  Ridgefield Golf Course is the town's municipal 18 hole golf course designed by George Fazio and Tom Fazio and opened in 1974.  The town's largest industry is Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, whose United States headquarters are located in the Ridgebury section of town.  In 2006, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree selected to be displayed in New York's Rockefeller Center for the Christmas season came from Ridgefield.  The town also features a skatepark, owned by the town and maintained by the town's parks and recreation service, in which both skateboarding and aggressive inline skating are done. In 2010 the skatepark was rebuilt and expanded as a result of the need to expand the Ridgefield Playhouse parking lot.

On the National Register of Historic Places.

Part of the town center is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as Ridgefield Center Historic District. The district was added to the Register in 1984 and includes representations of mid-19th-century revival, Late Victorian, and Colonial revival architectural styles. Noted architect Cass Gilbert purchased historic Keeler Tavern within the district and renovated it for his use as a summer home. Roughly bounded by Pound Street, Fairview Avenue, Prospect Ridge, and Whipstick Roads, the district was added on October 7, 1984. In addition to the town center historic district, there are a number of individual properties and at least one other historic district in the town that are NRHP-listed:

Government.

Ridgefield has a traditional New England Board of Selectmen–Town Meeting form of government, which is created by Town Charter and approved by the voters. The Charter calls for an annual Town and Budget Meeting to be held on the first Monday of May each year. The following are the elective offices of the Town of Ridgefield: Board of Selectmen, Town Clerk, Town Treasurer and Tax Collector. The following are the elective boards and commissions of the Town of Ridgefield: Board of Education, Planning and Zoning Commission, Board of Appeals on Zoning, Board of Tax Review, Board of Police Commissioners and Board of Finance. The chief executive is The First Selectman, who also serves a legislative function as a member of the Board of Selectmen. The current First Selectman, Rudy Marconi (D), was first elected in 1999.

Education.

Ridgefield has nine public schools and two private schools. The public schools are managed by Ridgefield Public Schools. The six public elementary schools are Veterans Park, Branchville, Farmingville, Scotland, Barlow Mountain, and Ridgebury. Scotts Ridge Middle School (Ridgefield's newest school) and East Ridge are the town's two middle schools. The high school is Ridgefield High School. The high school's teams are called the Tigers.  Ridgefield's Roman Catholic schools are St. Mary, serving preschool through eighth grade, and St. Padre Pio Academy, serving kindergarten through eighth grade and run by the Society of St. Pius X.  Ridgefield Academy is a co-educational, independent school serving preschool through eighth grade, situated on a turn-of-the-20th-century estate on West Mountain that was once home to the Congregation de Notre Dame.  There are also various preschools and a Montessori school.

Notable people.

Ridgefield has been associated with many people in different fields. A brief summary includes the late actor Robert Vaughn and actor/playwright Harvey Fierstein, who lives in town. Authors have included Eugene O'Neill, Howard Fast, Cornelius Ryan, and Maurice Sendak. In August 2016, the Maurice Sendak Memorial Highway was dedicated in honor of Sendak on Route 35 in town from the intersection of Limestone Road to the intersection of Route 7. Ridgefield is home to American portrait artist John Howard Sanden. Cartoonist Roz Chast, a frequent "New Yorker" magazine contributor, lives in town, as does singer Judy Collins. Conductor Maxim Shostakovich once lived in town, as did "Time" magazine owner Henry Luce and his wife, Clare Boothe Luce, who was also a playwright and Congresswoman, and comedian Chris Elliott. A notable metropolitan opera singer from the early 20th century, Geraldine Farrar, lived in a house on West Lane.  Kurt Waldheim, the former secretary-general of the United Nations, rested in town at the estate of a friend, and Theodore Sorensen, former advisor to President John F. Kennedy, was once a town resident. Ira Joe Fisher, a poet who is also a weatherman on CBS television, lives in town, as does veteran newsman Morton Dean and author and journalist Todd Brewster. Curt Onalfo, former head coach of the Kansas City Wizards, D.C. United and LA Galaxy, went to Ridgefield High School.  Silvio Bedini (1917–2007), a noted historian of American science, was born in Ridgefield and wrote the definitive history of Ridgefield, "Ridgefield in Review" (1958).  Callum Man (2003–present) a homegrown Ridgefield native turned teenage author.

Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 24,638 at the 2010 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place.

Ridgefield est une ville située dans le comté de Fairfield, dans l'État du Connecticut, aux États-Unis. Lors du recensement de 2010, Ridgefield avait une population totale de.


History.

Historically, Bijar has been part of the Garrus administration unit. Before the creation of Zanjan province by the Pahlavi regime (after WWI), the wider region of Garrus covered Suhreward, the birthplace of Shahab al-Din Suhrewardi, the famous Persian philosopher of illumination.  The city was mentioned in the 15th century as a village belonging to Shah Ismail, the first ruler of the Safavid dynasty; Bijar became a town during the 19th century. During World War I it was besieged and occupied by Russian, British, and Ottoman troops who, with the aid of the 1918 famine, halved the pre-war population of 20,000.

Architecture.

The historical fort of Qam Cheqay (45 km NE of Bijar) probably dates back to the Median era and is the oldest castle in the Kurdistan province. The castle had been used until the Sasanid era and it is an example of the ancient architecture of Kurdistan.  Another historical building, Emamzadeh Aqil, located in Hasan Abad (Yasukand) 45 km east of Bijar, is one of the remaining Seljuk buildings. This square building (6*6.5 m) with a collapsed dome houses Islamic religious texts written in Kufic script.  During the Mongol invasion of Iran in the 13th century, Genghis Khan (1162–1227) occupied Bijar and built Genghis Castle near the city. It is now a ruin on the Bijar—Sanandaj road.  Bijar's bazaar, with its unique design, is one of the attractions of the city. The roofed bazaar built in the Qajar era is much younger than the old Safavid-era bazaar of Sanandaj, the Kurdistan capital. The bazaar of Bijar consists of a main north–south roofed pathway, an eastern section (Timcheh-e Haj Shahbaz) and a western section (Timcheh-e Amir Toman).

Rugs.

Bijar has enjoyed fame for its carpets since the Achaemenid era (550–330 BCE). Present day carpets and rugs have 100–200 Turkish knots per inch and are distinguished by their stiff and heavy wool foundation, created by "wet weaving" and beating the threads together with a special metal tool. Bijar carpets are famously stronger and longer-lasting than any others. They are made by Kurdish women in the villages around the town. The loom is set vertically against the side of the house. The designs have strong clear colours and have never been out of fashion with overseas buyers. Nowadays dyes are high quality synthetics.  The motifs are mainly floral adaptations of classical Persian designs. Herati and boteh motifs are common, as are central medallions and sometimes representations of animals and willows. These are set against a dark background of blue, red or green. In relation to the size of the carpet, borders are small, with up to eight bands.

Education.

The Iranian Payame Noor University has opened a branch in Bijar-e Garrus and the Garrus Research Center is affiliated with the university.

Notable Bijaris.

Prominent politicians and army officers in the Iranian army have come from Bijar. Amir Nezam Garrusi (1820–1900) was born in Bijar to a Kabudvand family. As colonel of the Garrus Regiment, he took part in Muhammad Ali Shah's unsuccessful Herat Campaign. As a diplomat in Paris, he had dinners with Napoleon. He later acted as an Iranian diplomat to the Sublime Porte. General Garrusi joined in the 1880 suppression of the Kurdish uprising by the Sheikh Ubeydullah of Neri. He also played a part in the murder of Cewer Agha, the predecessor of Simko, the Kurdish leader.  The family of Rear Admiral Gholamali Bayandor (1898–1941) came from Bijar.  Among academic figures from Bijar is Dr Kamran Nejatollahi (1953–1978), a young civil engineering professor in the Polytechnic University of Tehran (now Amirkabir). He was killed during a peaceful sit-in at the university, presumably by Savak snipers. He is now regarded as an early martyr of the Islamic revolution and is buried among "political dissidents" in Behesht-e Zahra in Teheran.  The poet Fazel-Khan Garrusi (1784–1843) was born into a Bijar family before moving to Teheran.  Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, the spokesman of the former Khatami government, was born and raised in Bijar. He was the governor of Kurdistan Province 1997–2001, but has been in prison since the disputed 2009 presidential election.  Farhad Aslani (1966– ) the actor was born in Bijar.  Other prominent Bijaris include bodybuilding champion Baitollah Abbaspour (1979– ) and footballer Eshaq Sobhani (1984– ).  Mr Shahriari, the prominent Iranian TV personality, comes from Bijar.  In June 2008, 21-year-old Hana Abdi, former student of Payame Noor University in Bijar and a member of the Azarmehr Organization of Women of Sanandaj, was sentenced to prison for five years but released after 15 months. The Iranian Revolutionary Court had charged her with "enmity against God" and "gathering and colluding to harm national security".

Bījār (; ) is a city and capital of Bijar County, Kurdistan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 47,926, in 14,970 families. Ethnically the population is predominantly Kurdish-speaking both Sunni and Shia Kurds.

Bidjar (ou Bijar ; en / "Bijâr" ; en kurde : Bîcar) est une ville de la province du Kordestan en Iran. Elle avait une population estimée à en 2006. Elle fait partie du comté de Bidjar.


History.

Before 1124.

The first christian missionaries arrived in the 7th century. The first parish church dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul was constructed in the current "Sint Michielsstraat". After the Viking raids in 836, the church was damaged and restored, and subsequently dedicated to Saint Michael. In the 10th century, a group of 12 secular canons were connected to this church. They would dedicate all of their time to the Liturgy of the Hours, and mainly opposed the beliefs of the established Roman Catholic Church. Upon hearing of their dissent behavior, the bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai (to which Antwerp belonged at the time) then sent Norbert of Xanten to discipline them. In 1124, Norbert of Xanten convinces 4 of the secular canons to start a norbertine abbey and thus the parish church becomes a monastery church, known as St. Michael's Abbey. The 8 other secular canons prefer to keep their freedom and move to a different location, a chapel dedicated to Our Lady, the Virgin Mary.  This chapel becomes Antwerp's new parish church, and is located between the Saint Michael residential area, and an older settlement around the area of Het Steen.

Our Lady’s church.

Becoming more popular, the chapel is demolished and replaced by a much bigger romanesque church. The three-aisled nave corresponded in width to the cathedral's current central aisle, the inner and partly the middle aisles. The cloverleaf-shaped eastern section with a full aisle had a width of no less than 42 m. In 1294, the church gets a "novum opus" extension, indicating the first signs of gothic architecture.

Our Lady's cathedral.

In 1352, construction was begun on a new Our Lady’s church which would become the largest Gothic church in Belgium. In the beginning, it was to be provided with two towers of equal height. In 1521, after nearly 170 years, the new church of Our Lady was ready. The south tower reached only as far as the third-string course.  During the night of 5–6 October 1533, the new church was largely gutted by fire, however Lancelot II of Ursel managed to save the building. The completion of the second tower was therefore delayed, which led to its ultimate postponement. Moreover, the church only became the cathedral of the bishopric of Antwerp in 1559 but lost this title again from 1801 to 1961, following the Concordat of 1801. During the Iconoclasm of 20 August 1566 (part of the Beeldenstorm at the start of the Eighty Years' War), Protestants destroyed a large part of the cathedral interior. Later, when Antwerp came under Protestant administration in 1581, a number of artistic treasures were once again destroyed, removed or sold. The restoration of Roman Catholic authority came in 1585 with the fall of Antwerp.  In 1794 the French revolutionaries who conquered the region plundered Our Lady’s Cathedral and inflicted serious damage. Around 1798, the French administration intended to demolish the building but after each blow, the cathedral was able to recover. In 1816, various important works of art were returned from Paris, including three Rubens masterpieces. Over the course of the 19th century, the church was completely restored and refurnished.  Between 1965 and 1993, a complete restoration took place.

Musical life.

At the beginning of the 15th century, the cathedral's choir started developing an active musical life, and as a result, the cathedral's importance in the history of music soon soared. Johannes Ockeghem, one of the most important composers of the 15th century, served here as a vicar-singer in 1443, and so did Jacob Obrecht between 1492 and 1497. Organists who worked at the cathedral include Henry Bredemers (1493–1501), who went on to become a teacher to Philip the Handsome's children and the renowned English composer John Bull (1615–1628), who fled to Flanders from his home country escaping justice. From 1725 to 1731 Willem de Fesch served as Kapelmeester, followed from 1731 to 1737 by Joseph-Hector Fiocco, and from 1737 by André-Joseph Blavier. Lesser known but locally important figures, such as Jacobus Barbireau and Andreas Pevernage, also worked at the cathedral.

Significant architectural details.

The church's one finished spire is high, the highest church tower in the Benelux. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor commented that the spire should be kept under glass, and Napoleon compared the spire to Mechlin lace. The largest bell in the tower requires 16 bell ringers.  The west portal features statues which include the missionary Saint Willibrord. He is thought to have spent time in Antwerp in the 7th century.

Major works of art.

The cathedral possesses some major works of art :  Two of these artworks were confiscated by Napoleon and moved to France, "The Raising of the Cross" (which was actually the main altar piece of the St Walburga church) and "The Descent from the Cross", but were returned to the cathedral in the 19th century.

Burials.

Inside the Cathedral some important graves still can be found, amongst them family members of the noble houses of Rubens, Fourment, Goubau, Tucher, Plantin, Moretus, de Borrekens, etc. Some stones were resited there after Saint-Michael's abbey church was lost.

The Cathedral of Our Lady () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been 'completed'. In Gothic style, its architects were Jan and Pieter Appelmans. It contains a number of significant works by the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, as well as paintings by artists such as Otto van Veen, Jacob de Backer and Marten de Vos.

La cathédrale Notre-Dame (en néerlandais "Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal") à Anvers ("Antwerpen") en Belgique, dédiée à la Vierge Marie, est la cathédrale du diocèse du même nom. Construite de 1352 à 1521 elle est un des cinq monuments religieux majeurs de la ville d'Anvers (Belgique) avec l’église Saint-Charles-Borromée, l’église Saint-André, l’ et l’église Saint-Paul.


Names.

The town's Punic name (, probably pronounced "Kirthan", with a hard, breathy /th/ sound) is probably "not" the Punic word meaning "town", which was written with a Q (i.e., qoph) rather than a K (kaph). Instead, it is likely a Punic transcription of an existing Berber placename. This was later Latinized as Cirta. Under Julius Caesar, the Sittian settlement was known as Coloniarum Cirtensium; Pliny also knew it as ("Cirta of the Sittians"). Under Augustus, in 27 or 30, its official name was Colonia Julia Juvenalis Honoris et Virtutis Cirta; this was sometimes reduced to ("Julian Cirta"), 'Colonia Cirta or simply Cirta. This name was rendered as by the historians Diodorus Siculus, Polybius, Appian, Cassius Dio, and Procopius and by the geographers Ptolemy and Strabo.  After its refounding as Constantina () by Constantine the Great after 312, Cirta became known as Constantine. Following its Muslim conquest, it was known as Qusantina.

History.

Numidian Kingdom.

Cirta was the capital of the Berber kingdom of Numidia, an important political, economic, and military site west of the mercantile empire run by the Phoenician settlement of Carthage to its east.  During the second of Rome's wars against Carthage, the 203 Battle of Cirta was a decisive victory for Scipio Africanus. The kingdom remained an independent Roman ally following the destruction of Carthage in the Third Punic War, but Roman commercial influence and political involvement grew.  When King Micipsa died in 118, a civil war broke out between the king's natural son Adherbal and his adoptive son Jugurtha. Adherbal appealed for Roman help and a senatorial commission brokered a seemingly successful division of the kingdom between the two heirs. Jugurtha followed this mediation, however, by besieging Cirta and killing both Adherbal and the Romans who defended him. Rome then persecuted the Jugurthine War against his reunited Numidian state to assert their hegemony over the region and to secure the protection of its citizens abroad.  As Cirta rebuilt in the 1st century, its population was quite diverse: native Numidians alongside Carthaginian refugees and Greek, Roman, and Italian merchants, bankers, settlers, and army veterans. This expatriate community made it an important business hub of Rome's African holdings, even while it remained technically outside the lands of the Roman Republic.

Roman Empire.

Cirta fell under direct Roman rule in 46, following Julius Caesar's conquest of North Africa. P. Sittius Nucerinus was chosen by Caesar to romanize the locals. His men, the "Sittians" (""), were Campanian legionaries who controlled Cirta's lands on Rome's behalf.  Together with the colonies at Rusicade, Milevum, and Chullu, their Cirta formed an autonomous territory within "New Africa". Its magistrates and municipal assembly were those of the confederation. Cirta administered fortifications ("") in the High Plains and at the north end of the colonies: Castellum Mastarense, Elephantum, Tidditanorum, Cletianis, Thibilis, Sigus, and others.  In 27 and 26, the area's administration was restructured under Augustus, who split Cirta into communities () separating the Numidians from the Sittiani and other newly settled Romans.  With the expansion of the Roman limes, this colony at Cirta was at the center of the most Romanized area of Roman Africa. It was protected by the Fossatum Africae stretching from Sitifis and Icosium (present-day Algiers) to Capsa on the Gulf of Gabès. Robin Daniel estimates that by the end of the 2nd century, Cirta had nearly 50,000 inhabitants. Christianity arrived early on: while little remains of African Christianity before 200, records of Christians martyred at Cirta existed by the mid-3rd century. It became the chief town of an ecclesiastical district. Around 305, the Synod of Cirta was held to elect a new bishop, accidentally precipitating the Donatist movement. After the dissolution of its confederation of colonies in the 4th century, Cirta recovered its role as a capital when it headed the territory of Numidia Cirtensis created under Diocletian.  The city was destroyed after a siege by Rufius Volusianus, the "praefectus praetorio" of the "augustus" Maxentius; Maxentius's forces defeated the imperial claimant Domitius Alexander in 310. Constantine the Great rebuilt under his own name after 312 and his own victory over Maxentius in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Constantine made Constantina the capital of all Roman Numidia. In 320 the bishop of Cirta was accused of having handed over () Christian texts to the authorities during the Diocletianic Persecution, which had begun in 303 in Cirta. The bishop Silvanus was a Donatist and was prosecuted in December 320 by Domitius Zenophilus, the consularis and proconsul of Africa; the records of the proceedings () are preserved in the, a text collected in the "Optatan Appendix". A cave for the practice of Mithraism also existed in the 4th century.  In 412, Cirta was host to another important Christian council, overseen by StAugustine. According to Mommsen, Cirta was fully Latin-speaking and Christian by the time the Vandals arrived in 430.  Under the emperor, the city walls were reinforced and the city was named capital of its region with a resident commander (""). Cirta was part of the Byzantine Africa from 534 to 697.

Islamic conquest.

During the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, Constantine was unsuccessfully defended by the Berber queen Kahina. Although many Roman, Byzantine, and Vandal cities were destroyed during the expansion of the Caliphate, Constantine survived in reduced form with a small Christian community as late as the 10thcentury. The town's further development is detailed under the article Constantine.

Bishops.

The bishopric of Cirta was venerable and prominent in the African church. Several of its bishops are known:

Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was the capital city of the Berber kingdom of Numidia; its strategically important port city was Russicada. Although Numidia was a key ally of the ancient Roman Republic during the Punic Wars (264–146BC), Cirta was subject to Roman invasions during the 2nd and 1st centuriesBC. Eventually it fell under Roman dominion during the time of Julius Caesar. Cirta was then repopulated with Roman colonists by Caesar and Augustus and was surrounded by a "confederation of free Roman cities" such as Tiddis, Cuicul, and Milevum. The city was destroyed in the beginning of the 4thcentury and was rebuilt by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, who gave his name to the newly constructed city, Constantine. The Vandals damaged Cirta, but emperor reconquered and improved the Roman city. It declined in importance after the Muslim invasions, but a small community continued at the site for several centuries. Its ruins are now an archaeological site.

Cirta est une cité antique berbère numide qui correspond au cœur historique de la ville de Constantine en Algérie. Dès le capitale des Numides massæssyles elle est conquise en 203 av. J.-C. par leurs rivaux les Numides massyles menés par Massinissa qui en fait la capitale du royaume de Numidie. Plus tard lors de la conquête romaine elle devient la capitale de la province romaine de "Numidia cirtensis". Au, restaurée par l'empereur Constantin, elle prend le nom de "Constantina", et devient la capitale de la province de "Numidia Constantina" et le siège d'un consul romain.


1649–1653.

Rump Parliament.

The Rump was created by Pride's Purge of those members of the Long Parliament who did not support the political position of the Grandees in the New Model Army. Just before and after the execution of King Charles I on 30 January 1649, the Rump passed a number of acts of Parliament creating the legal basis for the republic. With the abolition of the monarchy, Privy Council and the House of Lords, it had unchecked executive and legislative power. The English Council of State, which replaced the Privy Council, took over many of the executive functions of the monarchy. It was selected by the Rump, and most of its members were MPs. However, the Rump depended on the support of the Army with which it had a very uneasy relationship. After the execution of Charles I, the House of Commons abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords. It declared the people of England "and of all the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging" to be henceforth under the governance of a "Commonwealth", effectively a republic.

Structure.

In Pride's Purge, all members of parliament (including most of the political Presbyterians) who would not accept the need to bring the King to trial had been removed. Thus the Rump never had more than two hundred members (less than half the number of the Commons in the original Long Parliament). They included: supporters of religious independents who did not want an established church and some of whom had sympathies with the Levellers; Presbyterians who were willing to countenance the trial and execution of the King; and later admissions, such as formerly excluded MPs who were prepared to denounce the Newport Treaty negotiations with the King.  Most Rumpers were gentry, though there was a higher proportion of lesser gentry and lawyers than in previous parliaments. Less than one-quarter of them were regicides. This left the Rump as basically a conservative body whose vested interests in the existing land ownership and legal systems made it unlikely to want to reform them.

Issues and achievements.

For the first two years of the Commonwealth, the Rump faced economic depression and the risk of invasion from Scotland and Ireland. By 1653 Cromwell and the Army had largely eliminated these threats.  There were many disagreements amongst factions of the Rump. Some wanted a republic, but others favoured retaining some type of monarchical government. Most of England's traditional ruling classes regarded the Rump as an illegal government made up of regicides and upstarts. However, they were also aware that the Rump might be all that stood in the way of an outright military dictatorship. High taxes, mainly to pay the Army, were resented by the gentry. Limited reforms were enough to antagonise the ruling class but not enough to satisfy the radicals.  Despite its unpopularity, the Rump was a link with the old constitution and helped to settle England down and make it secure after the biggest upheaval in its history. By 1653, France and Spain had recognised England's new government.

Reforms.

Though the Church of England was retained, episcopacy was suppressed and the Act of Uniformity 1558 was repealed in September 1650. Mainly on the insistence of the Army, many independent churches were tolerated, although everyone still had to pay tithes to the established church.  Some small improvements were made to law and court procedure; for example, all court proceedings were now conducted in English rather than in Law French or Latin. However, there were no widespread reforms of the common law. This would have upset the gentry, who regarded the common law as reinforcing their status and property rights.  The Rump passed many restrictive laws to regulate people's moral behaviour, such as closing down theatres and requiring strict observance of Sunday. This antagonised most of the gentry.

Dismissal.

Cromwell, aided by Thomas Harrison, forcibly dismissed the Rump on 20 April 1653, for reasons that are unclear. Theories are that he feared the Rump was trying to perpetuate itself as the government, or that the Rump was preparing for an election which could return an anti-Commonwealth majority. Many former members of the Rump continued to regard themselves as England's only legitimate constitutional authority. The Rump had not agreed to its own dissolution; their legal, constitutional view it was unlawful was based on Charles' concessionary Act prohibiting the dissolution of Parliament without its own consent (on 11 May 1641, leading to the entire Commonwealth being the latter years of the Long Parliament in their majority view).

Barebone's Parliament, July–December 1653.

The dissolution of the Rump was followed by a short period in which Cromwell and the Army ruled alone. Nobody had the constitutional authority to call an election, but Cromwell did not want to impose a military dictatorship. Instead, he ruled through a 'nominated assembly' which he believed would be easy for the Army to control since Army officers did the nominating.  Barebone's Parliament was opposed by former Rumpers and ridiculed by many gentries as being an assembly of 'inferior' people. However, over 110 of its 140 members were lesser gentry or of higher social status. (An exception was Praise-God Barebone, a Baptist merchant after whom the Assembly got its derogatory nickname.) Many were well educated.  The assembly reflected the range of views of the officers who nominated it. The Radicals (approximately 40) included a hard core of Fifth Monarchists who wanted to be rid of Common Law and any state control of religion. The Moderates (approximately 60) wanted some improvements within the existing system and might move to either the radical or conservative side depending on the issue. The Conservatives (approximately 40) wanted to keep the status quo (since Common Law protected the interests of the gentry, and tithes and advowsons were valuable property).  Cromwell saw Barebone's Parliament as a temporary legislative body which he hoped would produce reforms and develop a constitution for the Commonwealth. However, members were divided over key issues, only 25 had previous parliamentary experience, and although many had some legal training, there were no qualified lawyers.  Cromwell seems to have expected this group of 'amateurs' to produce reform without management or direction. When the radicals mustered enough support to defeat a bill which would have preserved the status quo in religion, the conservatives, together with many moderates, surrendered their authority back to Cromwell who sent soldiers to clear the rest of the Assembly. Barebone's Parliament was over.

The Protectorate, 1653–1659.

Throughout 1653, Cromwell and the Army slowly dismantled the machinery of the Commonwealth state. The English Council of State, which had assumed the executive function formerly held by the King and his Privy Council, was forcibly dissolved by Cromwell on 20 April, and in its place a new council, filled with Cromwell's own chosen men, was installed. Three days after Barebone's Parliament dissolved itself, the Instrument of Government was adopted by Cromwell's council and a new state structure, now known historically as The Protectorate, was given its shape. This new constitution granted Cromwell sweeping powers as Lord Protector, an office which ironically had much the same role and powers as the King had under the monarchy, a fact not lost on Cromwell's critics.  On 12 April 1654, under the terms of the Tender of Union, the "Ordinance for uniting Scotland into one Commonwealth with England" was issued by the Lord Protector and proclaimed in Scotland by the military governor of Scotland, General George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle. The ordinance declared that "the people of Scotland should be united with the people of England into one Commonwealth and under one Government" and decreed that a new "Arms of the Commonwealth", incorporating the Saltire, should be placed on "all the public seals, seals of office, and seals of bodies civil or corporate, in Scotland" as "a badge of this Union".

First Protectorate Parliament.

Cromwell and his Council of State spent the first several months of 1654 preparing for the First Protectorate Parliament by drawing up a set of 84 bills for consideration. The Parliament was freely elected (as free as such elections could be in the 17th century) and as such, the Parliament was filled with a wide range of political interests, and as such did not accomplish any of its goals; it was dissolved as soon as law would allow by Cromwell having passed none of Cromwell's proposed bills.

Rule of the Major-Generals and Second Protectorate Parliament.

Having decided that Parliament was not an efficient means of getting his policies enacted, Cromwell instituted a system of direct military rule of England during a period known as the Rule of the Major-Generals; all of England was divided into ten regions, each was governed directly by one of Cromwell's Major-Generals, who were given sweeping powers to collect taxes and enforce the peace. The Major-Generals were highly unpopular, a fact that they themselves noticed and many urged Cromwell to call another Parliament to give his rule legitimacy.  Unlike the prior Parliament, which had been open to all eligible males in the Commonwealth, the new elections specifically excluded Catholics and Royalists from running or voting; as a result, it was stocked with members who were more in line with Cromwell's own politics. The first major bill to be brought up for debate was the Militia Bill, which was ultimately voted down by the House. As a result, the authority of the Major-Generals to collect taxes to support their own regimes ended, and the Rule of the Major Generals came to an end. The second piece of major legislation was the passage of the Humble Petition and Advice, a sweeping constitutional reform which had two purposes. The first was to reserve for Parliament certain rights, such as a three-year fixed term (which the Lord Protector was required to abide by) and to reserve for the Parliament the sole right of taxation. The second, as a concession to Cromwell, was to make the Lord Protector a hereditary position and to convert the title to a formal constitutional Kingship. Cromwell refused the title as King, but accepted the rest of the legislation, which was passed in final form on 25 May 1657.  A second session of the Parliament met in 1658; it allowed previously excluded MPs (who had been not allowed to take their seats because of Catholic and/or Royalist leanings) to take their seats, however this made the Parliament far less compliant to the wishes of Cromwell and the Major-Generals; it accomplished little in the way of a legislative agenda and was dissolved after a few months.

Richard Cromwell and the Third Protectorate Parliament.

On the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658, his son, Richard Cromwell, inherited the title, Lord Protector. Richard had never served in the Army, which means he lost control over the Major-Generals that had been the source of his own father's power. The Third Protectorate Parliament was summoned in late 1658 and was seated on 27 January 1659. Its first act was to confirm Richard's role as Lord Protector, which it did by a sizeable, but not overwhelming, majority. Quickly, however, it became apparent that Richard had no control over the Army and divisions quickly developed in the Parliament. One faction called for a recall of the Rump Parliament and a return to the constitution of the Commonwealth, while another preferred the existing constitution. As the parties grew increasingly quarrelsome, Richard dissolved it. He was quickly removed from power, and the remaining Army leadership recalled the Rump Parliament, setting the stage for the return of the Monarchy a year later.

1659–1660.

After the Grandees in the New Model Army removed Richard, they reinstalled the Rump Parliament on May 1659. Charles Fleetwood was appointed a member of the Committee of Safety and of the Council of State, and one of the seven commissioners for the army. On 9 June he was nominated lord-general (commander-in-chief) of the army. However, his power was undermined in parliament, which chose to disregard the army's authority in a similar fashion to the pre–Civil War parliament. On 12 October 1659 the Commons cashiered General John Lambert and other officers, and installed Fleetwood as chief of a military council under the authority of the Speaker. The next day Lambert ordered that the doors of the House be shut and the members kept out. On 26 October a "Committee of Safety" was appointed, of which Fleetwood and Lambert were members. Lambert was appointed major-general of all the forces in England and Scotland, Fleetwood being general. Lambert was now sent, by the Committee of Safety, with a large force to meet George Monck, who was in command of the English forces in Scotland, and either negotiate with him or force him to come to terms.  It was into this atmosphere that General George Monck marched south with his army from Scotland. Lambert's army began to desert him, and he returned to London almost alone. On 21 February 1660, Monck reinstated the Presbyterian members of the Long Parliament'secluded' by Pride, so that they could prepare legislation for a new parliament. Fleetwood was deprived of his command and ordered to appear before parliament to answer for his conduct. On 3 March Lambert was sent to the Tower, from which he escaped a month later. Lambert tried to rekindle the civil war in favour of the Commonwealth by issuing a proclamation calling on all supporters of the "Good Old Cause" to rally on the battlefield of Edgehill. However, he was recaptured by Colonel Richard Ingoldsby, a regicide who hoped to win a pardon by handing Lambert over to the new regime. The Long Parliament dissolved itself on 16 March.  On 4 April 1660, in response to a secret message sent by Monck, Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda, which made known the conditions of his acceptance of the crown of England. Monck organised the Convention Parliament, which met for the first time on 25 April. On 8 May it proclaimed that King Charles II had been the lawful monarch since the execution of Charles I in January 1649. Charles returned from exile on 23 May. He entered London on 29 May, his birthday. To celebrate "his Majesty's Return to his Parliament" 29 May was made a public holiday, popularly known as Oak Apple Day. He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1661.

The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execution of Charles I. The republic's existence was declared through "An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth", adopted by the Rump Parliament on 19 May 1649. Power in the early Commonwealth was vested primarily in the Parliament and a Council of State. During the period, fighting continued, particularly in Ireland and Scotland, between the parliamentary forces and those opposed to them, as part of what is now referred to as the Third English Civil War.

Le Commonwealth est un régime instauré en Angleterre après l'exécution de Charles I. Ce terme peut difficilement se traduire par République au sens français du terme ; il s'agit plus largement d'une communauté humaine fondée sur l'idée de bien commun et de prospérité mutuelle.