Eurozone

The eurozone, officially called the euro area, is a monetary union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender. The monetary authority of the eurozone is the Eurosystem. Eight members of the European Union continue to use their own national currencies, although most of them will be obliged to adopt the euro in the future.
The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Other EU states (except for Denmark) are obliged to join once they meet the criteria to do so. No state has left, and there are no provisions to do so or to be expelled. Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City have formal agreements with the EU to use the euro as their official currency and issue their own coins. Kosovo and Montenegro have adopted the euro unilaterally, but these countries do not officially form part of the eurozone and do not have representation in the European Central Bank (ECB) or in the Eurogroup.
The ECB, which is governed by a president and a board of the heads of national central banks, sets the monetary policy of the zone. The principal task of the ECB is to keep inflation under control. Though there is no common representation, governance or fiscal policy for the currency union, some co-operation does take place through the Eurogroup, which makes political decisions regarding the eurozone and the euro. The Eurogroup is composed of the finance ministers of eurozone states, but in emergencies, national leaders also form the Eurogroup.
Since the financial crisis of 2007–2008, the eurozone has established and used provisions for granting emergency loans to member states in return for enacting economic reforms. The eurozone has also enacted some limited fiscal integration: for example, in peer review of each other's national budgets. The issue is political and in a state of flux in terms of what further provisions will be agreed for eurozone change.
Territory.
European Union member states.
In 1998, eleven member states of the European Union had met the euro convergence criteria, and the eurozone came into existence with the official launch of the euro (alongside national currencies) on 1 January 1999. Greece qualified in 2000, and was admitted on 1 January 2001 before physical notes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002, replacing all national currencies. Between 2007 and 2015, seven new states acceded.
Dependent territories of EU member states — outside EU.
Three of the dependent territories of EU member states not part of the EU have adopted the euro:
Non-member usage.
With formal agreement.
The euro is also used in countries outside the EU. Four states – Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City — have signed formal agreements with the EU to use the euro and issue their own coins. Nevertheless, they are not considered part of the eurozone by the ECB and do not have a seat in the ECB or Euro Group.
Akrotiri and Dhekelia (located on the island of Cyprus) belongs to the United Kingdom, but there are agreements between the UK and Cyprus and between UK and EU about their partial integration with Cyprus and partial adoption of Cypriot law, including the usage of euro in Akrotiri and Dekhelia.
Several currencies are pegged to the euro, some of them with a fluctuation band and others with an exact rate.
For example, the West African and Central African CFA francs are pegged exactly at 655.957 CFA to 1 EUR.
In 1998, in anticipation of Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, the Council of the European Union addressed the monetary agreements France had with the CFA Zone and Comoros and ruled that the ECB had no obligation towards the convertibility of the CFA and Comorian francs.
The responsibility of the free convertibility remained in the French Treasury.
Other.
Kosovo* and Montenegro officially adopted the euro as their sole currency without an agreement and, therefore, have no issuing rights. These states are not considered part of the eurozone by the ECB. However, sometimes the term "eurozone" is applied to all territories that have adopted the euro as their sole currency. Further unilateral adoption of the euro (euroisation), by both non-euro EU and non-EU members, is opposed by the ECB and EU.
Historical eurozone enlargements and exchange-rate regimes for EU members.
The chart below provides a full summary of all applying exchange-rate regimes for EU members, since the European Monetary System with its Exchange Rate Mechanism and the related new common currency ECU was born on 13 March 1979. The euro replaced the ECU 1:1 at the exchange rate markets, on 1 January 1999. During 1979–1999, the D-Mark functioned as a de facto anchor for the ECU, meaning there was only a minor difference between pegging a currency against ECU and pegging it against the D-mark.
The eurozone was born with its first 11 member states on 1 January 1999. The first enlargement of the eurozone, to Greece, took place on 1 January 2001, one year before the euro had physically entered into circulation. The next enlargements were to states which joined the EU in 2004, and then joined the eurozone on 1 January in the year noted: Slovenia (2007), Cyprus (2008), Malta (2008), Slovakia (2009), Estonia (2011), Latvia (2014), and Lithuania (2015).
All new EU members joining the bloc after the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 are obliged to adopt the euro under the terms of their accession treaties. However, the last of the five economic convergence criteria which need first to be complied with in order to qualify for euro adoption, is the exchange rate stability criterion, which requires having been an ERM-member for a minimum of two years without the presence of "severe tensions" for the currency exchange rate.
In September 2011, a diplomatic source close to the euro adoption preparation talks with the seven remaining new member states who had yet to adopt the euro (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania), claimed that the monetary union (eurozone) they had thought they were going to join upon their signing of the accession treaty may very well end up being a very different union entailing much closer fiscal, economic and political convergence. This changed legal status of the eurozone could potentially cause them to conclude that the conditions for their promise to join were no longer valid, which "could force them to stage new referendums" on euro adoption.
Future enlargement.
Eight countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden) are EU members but do not use the euro. Before joining the eurozone, a state must spend at least two years in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II). As of September 2020, the Danish central bank, Bulgarian central bank, and Croatian central bank participate in ERM II.
Denmark obtained a special opt-out in the original Maastricht Treaty, and thus is legally exempt from joining the eurozone unless its government decides otherwise, either by parliamentary vote or referendum. The United Kingdom likewise had an opt-out prior to withdrawing from the EU in 2020.
The remaining seven countries are obliged to adopt the euro in future, although the EU has so far not tried to enforce any time plan. They should join as soon as they fulfill the convergence criteria, which include being part of ERM II for two years. Sweden, which joined the EU in 1995 after the Maastricht Treaty was signed, is required to join the eurozone. However, the Swedish people turned down euro adoption in a 2003 referendum and since then the country has intentionally avoided fulfilling the adoption requirements by not joining ERM II, which is voluntary. Bulgaria and Croatia joined ERM II on 10 July 2020.
Interest in joining the eurozone increased in Denmark, and initially in Poland, as a result of the 2008 financial crisis. In Iceland, there was an increase in interest in joining the European Union, a pre-condition for adopting the euro. However, by 2010 the debt crisis in the eurozone caused interest from Poland, as well as the Czech Republic, to cool.
Expulsion and withdrawal.
In the opinion of journalist Leigh Phillips and Locke Lord's Charles Proctor, there is no provision in any European Union treaty for an exit from the eurozone. In fact, they argued, the Treaties make it clear that the process of monetary union was intended to be "irreversible" and "irrevocable". However, in 2009, a European Central Bank legal study argued that, while voluntary withdrawal is legally not possible, expulsion remains "conceivable." Although an explicit provision for an exit option does not exist, many experts and politicians in Europe, have suggested an option to leave the Eurozone should be included in the relevant treaties.
On the issue of leaving the eurozone, the European Commission has stated that "[t]he irrevocability of membership in the euro area is an integral part of the Treaty framework and the Commission, as a guardian of the EU Treaties, intends to fully respect [that irrevocability]." It added that it "does not intend to propose [any] amendment" to the relevant Treaties, the current status being "the best way going forward to increase the resilience of euro area Member States to potential economic and financial crises. The European Central Bank, responding to a question by a Member of the European Parliament, has stated that an exit is not allowed under the Treaties.
Likewise there is no provision for a state to be expelled from the euro. Some, however, including the Dutch government, favour the creation of an expulsion provision for the case whereby a heavily indebted state in the eurozone refuses to comply with an EU economic reform policy.
In a Texas law journal, University of Texas at Austin law professor Jens Dammann has argued that even now EU law contains an implicit right for member states to leave the Eurozone if they no longer meet the criteria that they had to meet in order to join it. Furthermore, he has suggested that, under narrow circumstances, the European Union can expel member states from the eurozone.
University of California, Berkeley professor of Economics and Political Science Barry Eichengreen, argued in 2007 that "Europe’s leap to monetary union was a mistake...compounded by...including [in the union] also...Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece," and that "although a breakup was not impossible...it was unlikely," given the technical, political and above all economic obstacles. "On the first minute that word got out," Eisengreen argued, "that the [Greek] government was discussing the possibility [of a Grexit] investors would sell their Greek stocks and bonds" and there "would be a full-fledged financial panic... a full-out bank run." In 2011, he still believed the probability of Grexit was "very low" and in case of any bank run "the Greek government would almost certainly receive support for its banks from its European Union partners and the European Central Bank, because, in his view, more financial crises in other European countries are... the last thing that German business wants." As he put it, "the German economic miracle of the last ten years can be summed up in one word: exports. And the country’s export competitiveness has been greatly enhanced by a euro exchange rate that has been kept down at reasonable levels by the fact that Germany shares the currency with other weaker economies."
In Greece's case, one additional obstacle presented by analysts is that if Greece were to replace the euro with a new national currency, this would not be possible to achieve quickly enough. Paper banknotes must be printed and coins minted, which would take about "six months." The changeover, according to a blogger in "The Economist", would likely require bank deposits to be converted from euros to the new currency and this prospect could lead to money leaving the country as well as Greek residents withdrawing cash from the banks, causing a bank run and necessitating capital controls. This was not only a blogger statement, as Greece actually had tendencies of bank runs, and capital controls were in effect, without any decision of withdrawal, only media rumours of it.
Administration and representation.
The monetary policy of all countries in the eurozone is managed by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Eurosystem which comprises the ECB and the central banks of the EU states who have joined the eurozone. Countries outside the eurozone are not represented in these institutions. Whereas all EU member states are part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), non EU member states have no say in all three institutions, even those with monetary agreements such as Monaco. The ECB is entitled to authorise the design and printing of euro banknotes and the volume of euro coins minted, and its president is currently Christine Lagarde.
The eurozone is represented politically by its finance ministers, known collectively as the Eurogroup, and is presided over by a president, currently Paschal Donohoe. The finance ministers of the EU member states that use the euro meet a day before a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) of the Council of the European Union. The Group is not an official Council formation but when the full EcoFin council votes on matters only affecting the eurozone, only Euro Group members are permitted to vote on it.
Since the global financial crisis of 2007–2008, the Euro Group has met irregularly not as finance ministers, but as heads of state and government (like the European Council). It is in this forum, the Euro summit, that many eurozone reforms have been decided upon. In 2011, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy pushed for these summits to become regular and twice a year in order for it to be a 'true economic government'.
Reform.
In April 2008 in Brussels, future European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker suggested that the eurozone should be represented at the IMF as a bloc, rather than each member state separately: "It is absurd for those 15 countries not to agree to have a single representation at the IMF. It makes us look absolutely ridiculous. We are regarded as buffoons on the international scene". In 2017 Juncker stated that he aims to have this agreed by the end of his mandate in 2019. However, Finance Commissioner Joaquín Almunia stated that before there is common representation, a common political agenda should be agreed upon.
Leading EU figures including the commission and national governments have proposed a variety of reforms to the eurozone's architecture; notably the creation of a Finance Minister, a larger eurozone budget, and reform of the current bailout mechanisms into either a "European Monetary Fund" or a eurozone Treasury. While many have similar themes, details vary greatly.
Economy.
Inflation.
HICP figures from the ECB, taken from May of each year:
Interest rates.
Interest rates for the eurozone, set by the ECB since 1999. Levels are in percentages per annum. Between June 2000 and October 2008, the "main refinancing operations" were variable rate tenders, as opposed to fixed rate tenders. The figures indicated in the table from 2000 to 2008 refer to the minimum interest rate at which counterparties may place their bids.
Public debt.
The following table states the ratio of public debt to GDP in percent for eurozone countries given by EuroStat. The euro convergence criterion is 60%.
Fiscal policies.
The primary means for fiscal coordination within the EU lies in the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines which are written for every member state, but with particular reference to the 19 current members of the eurozone. These guidelines are not binding, but are intended to represent policy coordination among the EU member states, so as to take into account the linked structures of their economies.
For their mutual assurance and stability of the currency, members of the eurozone have to respect the Stability and Growth Pact, which sets agreed limits on deficits and national debt, with associated sanctions for deviation. The Pact originally set a limit of 3% of GDP for the yearly deficit of all eurozone member states; with fines for any state which exceeded this amount. In 2005, Portugal, Germany, and France had all exceeded this amount, but the Council of Ministers had not voted to fine those states. Subsequently, reforms were adopted to provide more flexibility and ensure that the deficit criteria took into account the economic conditions of the member states, and additional factors.
The Fiscal Compact (formally, the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union), is an intergovernmental treaty introduced as a new stricter version of the Stability and Growth Pact, signed on 2 March 2012 by all member states of the European Union (EU), except the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, and Croatia (subsequently acceding the EU in July 2013). The treaty entered into force on 1 January 2013 for the 16 states which completed ratification prior of this date. As of 1 April 2014, it had been ratified and entered into force for all 25 signatories.
Olivier Blanchard suggests that a fiscal union in the EZ can mitigate devastating effects of the single currency on the EZ peripheral countries. But he adds that the currency bloc will not work perfectly even if a fiscal transfer system is built, because, he argues, the fundamental issue about competitiveness adjustment is not tackled. The problem is, since the EZ peripheral countries do not have their own currencies, they are forced to adjust their economies by decreasing their wages instead of devaluation.
Bailout provisions.
The financial crisis of 2007–2008 prompted a number of reforms in the eurozone. One was a U-turn on the eurozone's bailout policy that led to the creation of a specific fund to assist eurozone states in trouble. The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) were created in 2010 to provide, alongside the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a system and fund to bail out members. However the EFSF and EFSM were temporary, small and lacked a basis in the EU treaties. Therefore, it was agreed in 2011 to establish a European Stability Mechanism (ESM) which would be much larger, funded only by eurozone states (not the EU as a whole as the EFSF/EFSM were) and would have a permanent treaty basis. As a result of that its creation involved agreeing an amendment to TEFU Article 136 allowing for the ESM and a new ESM treaty to detail how the ESM would operate. If both are successfully ratified according to schedule, the ESM would be operational by the time the EFSF/EFSM expire in mid-2013.
In February 2016, the UK secured further confirmation that countries that do not use the Euro would not be required to contribute to bailouts for Eurozone countries.
Peer review.
In June 2010, a broad agreement was finally reached on a controversial proposal for member states to peer review each other's budgets prior to their presentation to national parliaments. Although showing the entire budget to each other was opposed by Germany, Sweden and the UK, each government would present to their peers and the Commission their estimates for growth, inflation, revenue and expenditure levels six months before they go to national parliaments. If a country was to run a deficit, they would have to justify it to the rest of the EU while countries with a debt more than 60% of GDP would face greater scrutiny.
The plans would apply to all EU members, not just the eurozone, and have to be approved by EU leaders along with proposals for states to face sanctions before they reach the 3% limit in the Stability and Growth Pact. Poland has criticised the idea of withholding regional funding for those who break the deficit limits, as that would only impact the poorer states. In June 2010 France agreed to back Germany's plan for suspending the voting rights of members who breach the rules. In March 2011 was initiated a new reform of the Stability and Growth Pact aiming at straightening the rules by adopting an automatic procedure for imposing of penalties in case of breaches of either the deficit or the debt rules.
Criticism.
Nobel prize-winning economist James Tobin thought that the euro project would not succeed without making drastic changes to European institutions, pointing out the difference between the US and the eurozone. Concerning monetary policies, the US central bank FRB aims at both growth and reducing unemployment, while the ECB tends to give its first priority to price stability under the Bundesbank's supervision. As the price level of the currency bloc is kept low, the unemployment level of the region has become higher than that of US since 1982.
When it comes to fiscal policies, 12 percent of the US federal budget is used for transfers to states and local governments. Also, when a state has financial or economic difficulties, a fair amount of money is automatically transferred to the state. The US government does not impose restrictions on state budget policies. This is different from the fiscal policies of the eurozone, where Treaty of Maastricht requires each eurozone member country to run its budget deficit smaller than 3 percent of its GDP.
In February 2019, a study from the Centre for European Policy concluded that while some countries had gained from adopting the euro, several countries were poorer than they would have been had they not adopted it, with France and Italy being particularly affected. The authors argued that this was down to its effect on competitiveness; usually countries would devalue their currencies to make their exports cheaper on the world market but this was not possible due to the common currency.
Economic policemen.
In 1997, Arnulf Baring expressed concern that the European Monetary Union would make Germans the most hated people in Europe. Baring suspected the possibility that the people in Mediterranean countries would regard Germans and the currency bloc as economic policemen.


Saeed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan () (born 1965 in Al Ain) is an Emirati politician, Abu Dhabi's Ruler's Representative, and member of Al Nahyan family of Abu Dhabi.
He is the son of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder and first president of United Arab Emirates.
He is the half brother of the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
He was the chairman of Abu Dhabi's Seaports Department. He was a member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council
Football.
He succeeded his brother Sheikh Khalifa as the chairman of Al-Wahda Club. His brother Sheikh Mansour is the chairman of Al-Jazira Club and owner of Manchester City.


National Aviation Intelligence Integration Office

The National Aviation Intelligence Integration Office (NAI2O) is the lead organization for coordinating and integrating the United States Government's (USG) Intelligence Community (IC) perspective on civil aviation issues. NAI20 brings together the Global Aviation Community Of Interest (GACOI) to improve civil aviation safety and security through communication and intelligence/information sharing in order to produce integrated and actionable aviation intelligence.
The concept of the NAI2O originated in the findings of The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as The 9/11 Commission), The Intelligence Reform and Terror Prevention Act (IRTPA), Presidential directives, and additional USG and IC aviation security plans. The goal is to support national policy and decision makers on aviation issues and perform actions as directed by The Office of the Director of National Intelligence's (ODNI) Strategic Guidance. NAI2O accomplishes this, in part by orchestrating Inter-Agency (IA) & IC collaboration on the collection & production of all relevant and appropriate information required to fully inform USG leaders, thus enabling clear & concise policy and resource decisions to be made in an efficient manner.
Partners.
Collaboration is the key to the focusing efforts. Current partners include:
Location.
NAI2O is located in Southeast Washington, DC on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB).
Related Links.
National Strategy for Aviation Security
Remarks as delivered by The Honorable James R. Clapper Director of National Intelligence
International Air Transportation Association (IATA) Cyber Security Panel


Former Bank of England, Bristol

The Former Bank of England () is a historic building at 13/14 Broad Street in Bristol, England. It was built as the site of a branch of The Bank of England.
It was built in 1844-47 by Charles Robert Cockerell
with a Doric pseudo-portico of three bays recessed between low pavilions: the attic storey is arcaded with a triangular pediment
It has been designated by Historic England as a grade I listed building.
The building is now used as the Bristol Citizens Advice Bureau.


United States Assistant Secretary of State

Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs manage diplomatic missions within their designated geographic regions, plus one assistant secretary dealing with international organizations. Assistant secretaries usually manage individual bureaus of the Department of State. When the manager of a bureau or another agency holds a title other than assistant secretary, such as "director," it can be said to be of "assistant secretary equivalent rank." Assistant secretaries typically have a set of deputies, referred to as deputy assistant secretaries (DAS).
History.
From 1853 until 1913, the assistant secretary of state was the second-ranking official within the U.S. Department of State. Prior to 1853, the chief clerk was the second-ranking officer, and after 1913, the counselor was the second-ranking position, though the assistant secretary continued to be a position until 1924. From 1867, the Assistant Secretary of State was assisted by a second assistant secretary of state, and from 1875, by a third assistant secretary of state. Specific duties of the incumbents varied over the years and included such responsibilities as supervising the Diplomatic and Consular Bureaus, general supervision of correspondence, consular appointments, administration of the Department, and supervision of economic matters and various geographic divisions.
Overview.
Today, the title of the second-ranking position is the Deputy Secretary of State, with the next tier of State Department officials bearing the rank of Under Secretary of State.
The following is a list of current offices bearing the title of "Assistant Secretary of State":
The following roles also possess a rank equivalent to Assistant Secretary:
Second Assistant Secretary of State.
The "Consular and Diplomatic Appropriations Act" for the year ending June 30, 1867 authorized the president to appoint a second assistant secretary of state. Duties of incumbents varied less over the years than did those of the other assistant secretary positions. Responsibilities included: supervision of correspondence with diplomatic officers; preparation of drafts of treaties, conventions, diplomatic notes, and instructions; detailed treatment of current diplomatic and political questions; approval of correspondence for the signature of the secretary or acting secretary; and consultation on matters of diplomatic procedure, international law and policy, and traditional practices of the Department. The Foreign Service Act of 1924 abolished numerical titles for assistant secretaries of state. Only two people held the position from 1866 to 1924.
Third Assistant Secretary of State.
A federal appropriations act for the year ending Jun 30, 1875 (Jun 20, 1874; 18 Stat. 90), authorized the president to appoint a third assistant secretary of state. The secretary of state was authorized to prescribe the duties of the assistant secretaries and other Department of State employees, "and may make changes and transfers therein when, in his judgment, it becomes necessary." The third assistant secretary's duties varied over the years, including such diverse assignments as: supervision of several geographic divisions; oversight of the bureaus of accounts and appointments; international conferences and commissions; and ceremonials and protocol, including presentation to the president of chiefs of foreign diplomatic missions. The Foreign Service Act of 1924 (May 24, 1924; 43 Stat 146) abolished numerical titles for assistant secretaries of state.


Fred C. Ainsworth

Frederick Crayton Ainsworth (September 11, 1852 – June 5, 1934) was a surgeon in the United States Army who eventually rose to the position of Adjutant General. A gifted administrator, Ainsworth revolutionized government record-keeping methods following his initial appointment in 1886 to the Record and Pensions Division of the War Department, making them vastly more efficient. Ainsworth's talents were quickly recognized, and he was given administrative responsibility over more and more government departments, thus accumulating considerable power and eventually becoming the dominant figure in the Department of War.
In the later stages of his career, Ainsworth, once a great innovator, became resistant to further reform proposed by the civilian leadership and was eventually forced from office in 1912 with the threat of court-martial for insubordination. Even after retirement however, he continued to exercise considerable influence through his political connections in Washington.
The Army later honored him by naming one its World War II troopships after him, the .
Biography.
Ainsworth was born in Woodstock, Vermont on September 11, 1852, son of Crayton and Harriet (Carroll) Ainsworth, grandson of Roswell Moulton Ainsworth, and a descendant of Edward Ainsworth of England, and Woodstock, Connecticut. In 1874 he received his medical degree from the University of the City of New York (now New York University). In December 1874 Ainsworth joined the Army Medical Corps as an Assistant Surgeon. He served initially in Arkansas and the Southwest United States.
He was promoted to surgeon with the rank of captain on November 10, 1879. In 1885 he was appointed recorder of the Army Medical Examining Board. His talents as an administrator resulted in his 1886 appointment as chief of the Army's Records and Pension Division in office of the Army Surgeon General.
Ainsworth's success in reorganizing the Records and Pension Division led to promotion to major on February 27, 1891. He resigned his medical corps commission and was appointed a colonel with continued duty as head of the Records and Pension Office on May 27, 1892, and chief of the same with the rank of brigadier-general on March 2, 1899.
He devised and introduced the index record card system by means of which all military and medical records are immediately available. In 1904 he was promoted to major general, with appointment as military secretary over a Records and Pension Office that continued to grow as it took on duties formerly performed by the office of the Army's adjutant general. In 1907 Ainsworth was appointed adjutant general, effectively taking on the rest of that office's responsibilities.
Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and Army Chief of Staff Leonard Wood proposed reorganizing the Army staff so that department heads reported to the chief of staff, and were not individually responsible to the Secretary of War or to Congress. Ainsworth vehemently opposed this change, until the possibilities of suspension and court martial led to his retirement in 1912.
Ainsworth died in Washington, D.C. on June 5, 1934, and he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 3, Lot 1389.
USNS "Fred C. Ainsworth" (T-AP-181), a World War II and Korean War troop carrier, was named for him.


Raritan River Railroad

The Raritan River Rail Road was a shortline railroad in Middlesex County, New Jersey U.S., Founded in 1888, it was based in South Amboy, from which it ran west as far as New Brunswick. It served both passengers and freight in its heyday and operated profitably throughout much of its existence. The Raritan River was absorbed into Conrail in 1980, becoming a branch line of Conrail Shared Assets Operations. It terminates at U.S. Route 1 in North Brunswick.
History.
Construction.
The Raritan River Rail Road was built when the peak of the U.S. railroad building fever was subsiding in the late 1880s. It was intended to extend from South Amboy to Bound Brook and New Brunswick. On April 21, 1888, Articles of Incorporation were filed in New Brunswick for the Raritan River Rail Road, with $40,000 paid in capital, amounting to $2,000 per mile, and capital stock of $100,000. At the first meeting of the board of directors in April 1888, Edward H. Ripley was elected President, E. W. Harrison was appointed Chief Engineer, and a construction contract to build the railroad was awarded.
Construction started in Sayreville in May 1888 with 60 lb/yd (30 kg/m) rail, with a few trains running by the end of that same year. The line started in Sayreville, New Jersey, with a connection with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) over Suchs’ Pennsylvania Railroad siding. Suchs was a sand and clay industry that already had a very long siding from the Pennsylvania Railroad’s old C&A line in Sayreville (connected a few miles west of today's Browns Yard). When the line east from Sayreville to South Amboy was completed, a connection was made with the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) over the New York & Long Branch, providing the Raritan River Railroad with connections to the two larger railroads. The Raritan was extended westward from Milltown to New Brunswick in 1891 and a new PRR connection was constructed in South Amboy in 1901, permitting abandonment of the original PRR connection at Suchs' siding.
In 1888, the Raritan River Rail Road began operation with two 4-4-0 engines (No.1 and No.2) and twenty 20-ton gondola cars. These small cars were used by Suchs and Crossmans to move the sand and clay found in the area.
Disputes with workers and clashes with local landowners during construction of the Raritan River Railroad sparked sometimes heated conflict. On August 16, 1888, just four months after construction had started, an incident required summoning the local sheriff. One contractor, Charles Van Houghton of Jersey City, was hired to grade the road and lay stone culverts at South Amboy. Although Van Houghton was paid $5000 for the work, he was reported to have absconded without paying his workers their wages. The unpaid workers went on strike as a result, and the sheriff confiscated Van Houghton’s equipment so that the payroll could be met.
A Saturday night clash resulting in a death occurred in Sayreville, New Jersey, on May 5, 1889, which would become known thereafter as the "Sayreville Riot". A local brick manufacturer, Noah Furman, owned land needed by the railroad for extension of its line from Sayreville to South River. As reported by "The New York Times", a "frightful riot" ensued when gangs on both sides fought over the railroad's attempt to seize the land by force when negotiations had stalemated and Furman obtained a court injunction restraining the railroad from crossing his property and asserting eminent domain. One of the riot participants was killed in the melee. Afterwards, two Raritan Rail Road officials were charged with murder in connection with the riot.
Coverage of the Sayreville Riot arrests was sensationalized by the press, with the "New York Times" falsely reporting on September 16, 1889, that indictments of all officers of the Raritan River Railroad were expected in the case. The following day, the court in New Brunswick announced it was conducting an investigation into who leaked the rumor to the "Times". Some reporters were summoned to appear before the court to reveal their sources and explain how they obtained their information. It appears that all charges were eventually dropped. Later that year, on October 30, 1889, another labor dispute again required intervention by the sheriff when a sub-contractor's laborers rioted in South River due to not being paid their wages.
Early years.
As construction of the mainline was progressing west towards New Brunswick, the first two branch lines were built: in 1890, the Sayreville Branch to access the Sayre and Fisher Brick Yards near the mouth of the Raritan River; one mile (1.6 km) of the Serviss Branch in East Brunswick was started in 1891, in order to access the sand and clay needed by Sayre and Fisher. The third locomotive (No. 3) was purchased in 1890 and fourteen 30-ton freight cars were ordered.
By July 4, 1891, the RRRR's first train left Milltown, and shortly thereafter the line reached New Brunswick, having laid twelve miles (19 km) of mainline track. The railroad decided not to cross the Raritan River into New Brunswick to reach Bound Brook, due to the expense and lack of potential freight business at the time in the largely undeveloped area.
Between 1888-1898, the line had 3 engines, 34 freight cars, 6 passenger cars, of main line, and two branch lines.
After the line was built, both the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey started to buy stock in the Raritan. The Central acquired a 60% ownership share and the PRR 40%. Although wholly owned by the two bigger lines, the RRRR was locally managed from its headquarters on John Street in South Amboy.
In the 1890s, the RRRR continued upgrading its track, building stations, and generally upgrading its infrastructure. It acquired a number of small locomotives, adding to the roster as traffic increased. The first customers on the line were the brick companies, the clay and sand pits of Crossman's and Such's. In fact, Crossman's in Sayreville grew so large that an industrial narrow gauge line running in the pits brought the sand and clay to the connection with the RRRR.
Sayreville Junction was created almost at the midpoint of the line for storage and classifications of cars. RRRR trains would run straight from either the NYLB or PRR connection, and drop off the cars at Sayreville Junction, where they would be sorted for the runs either east or west at that point.
The 1900s saw the second branch line extended, the Serviss Branch was increased from one to four miles (6 km). This line ran from the RRRR main in East Brunswick, headed north, and curved back south towards South River again. In fact, the terminus of the Serviss Branch was just one mile (1.6 km) from the RRRR’s South River Station. This branch was built to service the many sand and clay pits that were opening along the area. Even a small brick yard was located at the end of this branch at Reid Street. During this same period, the current Sanford Street terminus in New Brunswick was finished, with elaborate brick passenger and freight stations. Two more engines were purchased to help with the increase in freight. Engines No.4 and No.5 were added to the roster in 1899 and 1900. A small batch of larger cars were ordered, five 40 ton cars. In about 1901, the first number 3 engine was replaced with a second, more powerful number 3.
In 1905 the South River Branch was built, two miles (3 km) south from the South River station. Engine No. 6 was added to the roster in 1905. By 1905, the Raritan River with its six locomotives had doubled its engine roster compared to the three engines it had in 1898. In around 1907, both engines No. 1 and No. 2 were replaced by more powerful engines, which were assigned the same numbers.
Freight traffic continued to grow substantially, necessitating larger gondolas. The Raritan River ordered forty-four 50 ton cars in 1910, for a total of 83 cars on its roster. Passenger service was never an important revenue source for the RRRR, which owned only six passenger cars in 1910. In Milltown, the Michelin Tire Company constructed a massive tire manufacturing complex employing more than 2,000 employees. Tons of raw materials and finished products rolled in and out of Milltown on the Raritan River.
The Milltown Station was a very busy place at train time. It had a Railway Express agent and priority packages were shipped on special rail cars attached to RRRR passenger trains for connections to other railroads, providing express rail shipment capability nationwide. Passenger traffic was also growing rapidly, so the RRRR purchased 12 passenger cars and 2 combine cars from the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1915. Engine number 7 was added to the roster in 1912, engine number 8 was added in 1914, and engines 9 and 10 were added in 1915, bringing the total number of locomotives on the Raritan River to ten. By 1917, this would further increase to a total of 15 engines on the RRRR.
During 1917, the Gillespie Branch was built into an isolated wooded area, to access the T Gillespie Powder Works. With Gillespie, DuPont, and Hercules all making munitions for World War I, it was a very busy time on the RRRR. At its peak, DuPont was supplying four 50-ton cars per day of weapons and/or munitions. The Gillespie site was destroyed by explosions on October 4, 1918.
In addition to munition plant shipments along the line, World War I also resulted in a substantial increase in passenger traffic. In 1917, two more Lackawanna passenger cars were added. In 1918, passenger traffic reached an all-time high, with 22 daily passenger trains and 7 extra trains on Sundays. The Raritan River had 15 Engines and 16 passenger cars, as well as about 83 freight cars, moving 9,000 passengers per day and 1.5 million tons of freight and war materials in 1918.
Interbellum.
After the war ended, traffic subsided and engine number 8 was retired. In 1919, a new 12-stall roundhouse and shops were built near Stevens Avenue.
The 1920s saw a decline in freight and passengers, with increased competition from buses, cars, and trucks beginning to have an adverse effect upon the RRRR. In 1924, Moody's listed the Raritan as having only 50 freight cars, 44 50-ton and 6 40-ton. All 30-ton and 20-ton cars were scrapped. By 1925, only six of the 14 former Lackawanna passenger cars remained on the RRRR's roster. Locomotive #11 was wrecked and engines No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6 were scrapped. The Milltown spur, or Fresh Ponds Spur, was built in 1925 to access a sand and clay pit just south of Milltown. By the late 1920s, engines No. 1 and No. 2 were also scrapped. By the end of 1929, the Raritan River Railroad had just eight working engines.
The Great Depression accelerated the downturn in business on the Raritan. The Michelin Tire Company closed its Milltown plant in early 1930, devastating the small town. Most of the sand and clay pits also shut down during those times, and service on the Serviss Branch was almost non-existent. Revenue traffic fell by half and passenger service was reduced considerably, to just four daily trains by 1930, compared to 22 in 1917. By the mid-1930s, the RRRR had only two ex-Lackawanna Railroad passenger coaches remaining of the original fourteen. The last two original 4-wheeled cabooses were scrapped. Engine No. 7 was scrapped in 1933; engine No. 12 was scrapped in 1937.
As of April 27, 1936, the Raritan River had only one scheduled round-trip passenger train, operating daily except Sundays between Parlin and New Brunswick. It left New Brunswick as Train #2 at 6:35 am, making stops at Milltown and South River, and arrived at Parlin 6:55 am. Return train #7 departed Parlin at 3:50 pm, arriving at 4:44 pm. On weekdays, the Raritan River also operated a through single tripper from Stevens Avenue in South Amboy as #1, at 5:45 am, making stops at Bergen Hill, Parlin, South River, and Milltown, arriving at New Brunswick 6:24 am.
By 1937, the multitude of sand, clay, and brick industries that contributed greatly to the Raritan River's success in the early years were virtually all gone. But Crossman's and Whitheads' did survive, and were starting to grow again. About half of the 50-ton gondola freight cars purchased in 1910 and used to service these industries were scrapped by 1937. The last combination passenger car, No. 22, was also scrapped in 1937, ending baggage service on the Raritan River Railroad and leaving the line with just one passenger car, No. 27.
The first two Lackawanna cabooses appeared on the line in 1937, numbers 5 and 6.
In 1938, the end of an era was reached on the Raritan River Railroad as passenger service was discontinued altogether after a half century of service. The last passenger train pulled out from the New Brunswick station on April 17, 1938. This closure allowed the Raritan to eventually tear down the Bergen Hill station and consolidate all business to the Parlin Station. The former Milltown and New Brunswick passenger stations were converted to freight stations.
The North Jersey Chapter of the NRHS sponsored a special excursion train on May 28, 1938, over the Raritan to mark the passing of regular scheduled passenger service. The special train left New Brunswick at 2:40 pm, stopped at the Lawrence Brook Trestle for photos, then proceeded up the Serviss Branch where it parked at Hendersons Siding just away from the Route 18 crossing. Many motorists stopped and gazed at the strange passenger train, as the Serviss Branch never had regularly scheduled passenger service. The special then proceeded back down the main and headed to South River, where participants observed the only manually hand-cranked swing bridge in New Jersey. They then proceeded to Sayreville Junction, where they witnessed the passing of a freight train, and the switching of freight cars. Eventually the group made it to South Amboy where they were given a tour of the RRRR shops and roundhouse area. The special then "high-balled" back to New Brunswick, with special permission granted to reach .
In 1938, a new engine appeared on the line, the first time in almost 23 years since the prior engine purchases in 1916 during World War I. The economic recovery by the late 1930s resulted in an increase in freight, necessitating the purchase of another engine, numbered 8 after the one that had been scrapped in 1919.
World War II.
The 1940s brought World War II, and its associated increase in freight traffic. Another engine was added to the line in 1941, numbered 7 after the one scrapped in 1937. After the war's end, the RRRR purchased six surplus USRA engines for only $100,000, allowing the retirement of the line's elderly locomotives. In 1947, locomotive No. 15 was involved in a wreck at the PRR connection, and scrapped on the spot.
Post-war.
The 1950s brought dieselization to the RRRR, as the remaining ex-USRA engines were replaced with six EMD SW900 engines. The retirement of steam also meant that the roundhouse could be closed, reducing expenses considerably for the shortline. The Serviss Branch was abandoned and scrapped in 1956, after being dormant for almost a decade. The Fresh Ponds spur in Milltown was also removed.
A temporary boost in tonnage on the Raritan occurred because of construction of the New Jersey Turnpike, which generated fill material and sand movements. With Crossmanns' help, the RRRR built a small loop track in Crossmans pits and moved hundreds of cars of sand. Major online shippers included National Lead, DuPont, Hercules, and Johnson & Johnson.
The industrial base of the East Coast was moving away, and this affected the RRRR along with all other eastern railroads. By 1964, all Less-Car-Load (LCL) freight was eliminated, and agents in the freight stations were dropped. By now most coal traffic was gone. The Raritan River acquired a damaged N&W boxcar after an insurance company write-off, and rebuilt it as No. 100 for non-interchange usage, to move freight back and forth between on-line companies.
Although both parents of the RRRR, the CNJ and the Penn Central were bankrupt, the Raritan River remained solvent and continued to benefit from a major new industrial complex named Highview, which was built in East Brunswick with many spurs and industries connected. The old Serviss Branch was re-laid for two miles (3 km) and renamed the East Brunswick branch to serve Continental Bakery, which received many shipments of flour by rail. Sunshine Biscuit opened a plant at the end of the Gillespie Branch, and they too received flour by the RRRR. The South River Branch was upgraded, as well as the trackage in New Brunswick, for a new customer starting a rail-to-truck transfer there. The old Michelin Tire complex was rented and some freight traffic was generated there. The Raritan River also derived revenue from high per diem rates, leasing 100 fifty-foot box cars in 1975.
The Raritan River had its best revenue year in 1979, with operating revenues amounting to $1,968,671. The Raritan put an emphasis on customer service and benefited from having longtime online customers such as Dupont and Hercules (Formally Smokeless Powder Company) going back to the 1910s. Sunshine Biscuit kept the Gillespie branch alive, just as Continental Baking kept the East Brunswick branch active. This allowed continued rail service to a number of small and infrequent shippers, which would otherwise have been ended.
With the creation of Conrail in April 1976 to take over the failing eastern railroads, the then-profitable Raritan River was supposed to be included along with their bankrupt parent railroads. The RRRR resisted inclusion in Conrail and took court action to forestall it. Four years later, on April 24, 1980, the Raritan River Railroad merged into the Conrail system.
Conrail Sayreville Secondary.
Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CRCX) is jointly owned CSX and Norfolk Southern. Once merged into the Conrail system, the Raritan River Railroad mainline was renamed Conrail's Sayreville Secondary, and would be switched out of Conrail's Browns Yard near Bordentown Avenue. This required major upgrades to Browns Yard, as all classifications and storage were performed there instead of Sayreville Junction.
The old wooden and outdated steel cabooses were sold, and replaced with steel Conrail cabooses. The remaining 97 leased fifty-foot box cars were re-numbered and absorbed into the Conrail system. The six EMD SW900s were re-numbered for Conrail and did switch the RRRR line for a few years, but were eventually scrapped in 1984. Most union employees were assimilated into the Conrail System. The clerical and managerial staff were all terminated. Of the 56 employees on the payroll in 1980, 30 would be offered jobs with Conrail, 26 would not.
Conrail closed the shops in South Amboy, with the engines now left idling in Parlin, to the discomfort of neighbors. The interchange in South Amboy for the PRR was closed in 1976. Later, Conrail extended the Gillespie Branch to cross Bordentown Avenue and connect directly with Browns Yard, enabling abandonment of the South Amboy connection with the ex-CNJ NY&LB. The line was then cut back to the Phoenix Spur, which still receives freight today in the form of scrap steel. The South River Branch was abandoned in the early 1980s. The abandoned engine shop eventually burned down in 1983.
The New Brunswick and Parlin stations were demolished by the early 1990s. The Milltown spur to the old Michelin Tire Complex has been severed from the Mainline, but still remains crossing Main Street (and has been re-laid after repaving) The Milltown spur as well as the Michelin Complex are listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. The RRRR Mainline currently terminates at Silverline Windows in North Brunswick, just under the Route 1 Bridge.
In the 1980s and the 1990s, some of the largest customers finally stopped shipping by rail: Dupont no longer receives freight and their siding is now disconnected from the main; and National Lead, at one time the Raritan River's largest customer, is today closed and listed as a brownfield site. Hercules is still connected, but only receives an occasional box car, not the significant tonnage it once shipped. Both the Sunshine Biscuit and Continental Baking plants have shut down. The Gillespie Branch now only survives since it connects the main to Conrail’s Browns Yard. The East Brunswick branch is still connected, and a few customers are still connected, but none are receiving freight currently. In the Highview Industrial Complex in East Brunswick, only one customer still receives freight. The South River Branch was abandoned in the early 1980s.
Plans to expand the Rail-to-Truck transfer facility in the Raritan River's New Brunswick facilities were dropped by Conrail, despite support for the project by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and New Brunswick. As a result, the entire complex was eventually demolished and the wye area in New Brunswick was sold and redeveloped with townhouses.
By the late 1990s, the last customer in New Brunswick, Squibb, stopped getting tank cars. The former Johnson and Johnson plant in Milltown is now used by Silverline Windows, which receives many covered hoppers of plastic pellets. In October 2014, siding at the former National Lead site was reactivated for the shipment of radiologically contaminated soils to out-of-state disposal facilities.
The only remaining station is in Milltown; still proudly displaying its original sign: "Raritan River Railroad – Freight Station". It is in a deteriorating condition and there are plans being made by the Raritan River Chapter of the NRHS and the Borough of Milltown to move it to another location and restore it. The current owner, attorney James Curran, has indicated he would "consider donating it." The RRRR logo can still be seen through the rust on the Manual Swing Bridge in South River.

Operations (2015).
Under Conrail the old RRRR lines remaining 5 customer, keep the line active. Steel, bricks, and plastic, and the occasional box car, can be spotted. Trains still run almost daily from Browns Yard.
Gerdau Steel in Sayreville is on the eastern end of the old Phoenix Spur and still receiving steel. Bricks, one of the commodities moved in significant quantities in the Raritan's beginning, are still shipped on the line to Riverside Supply. Mauser is the only company left in the East Brunswick Highview complex still receiving freight. The East Brunswick spur is no longer connected to the main line. Of almost a dozen spurs once in East Brunswick, only one still receives freight. On the western end, Silverline Windows still receives 1-2 cars of plastic pellets per week. Trains run very seldom to Silverline.
Future.
New Jersey Transit and Middlesex County, New Jersey, are studying potential future light rail options in the New Brunswick, New Jersey, area to alleviate traffic congestion, including the former Raritan River Railroad right-of-way which parallels the busy Route 18 highway corridor into New Brunswick. The future of the Milltown station and what's left of the Raritan River looks bright as the Raritan River Chapter of the NRHS tries to preserve the last remaining station and eventually gather the remaining cars and one engine along with other artifacts. Other historical societies in the area such as Tri State Railway Historical Society, Pine Creek Railroad, and the Quakertown Station Historical Society are also doing their part in preserving the surviving rolling stock for years to come.


Margaret Burnham

Margaret Burnham (born 1944) is a professor at Northeastern University School of Law and the founder of the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project there.
Career.
Burnham's legal practice included serving as an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
In 1970, Burnham worked with CPUSA lawyer John Abt to defend Angela Davis and later wrote the foreword to Abt's memoir.
In 1977, she became the first African American woman Judge in Massachusetts, serving in as an Associate Justice of the Boston Municipal Court until 1982.
In 2008, she was one of the lawyers in a landmark federal lawsuit against Franklin County, Mississippi for their law-enforcement agents' involvement in the 1964 Ku Klux Klan kidnapping, torture and killing of two 19-year-olds, Henry Dee and Charles Eddie Moore.


John Henniker-Major, 8th Baron Henniker

John Patrick Edward Chandos Henniker-Major, 8th Baron Henniker (19 February 1916 – 29 April 2004), known as Sir John Henniker-Major from 1965 to 1980, was a British peer, civil servant, and diplomat.
Early life and military service.
Henniker was the eldest son of John Ernest de Grey Henniker-Major, 7th Baron Henniker, and Molly Burnet. He was educated at Stowe and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he gained a First in Modern Languages. He entered the Foreign Office in 1938, completing the entrance examinations at the top of his intake. He was appointed Third Secretary that year. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Henniker was released for military service. He was commissioned as an officer into the Rifle Brigade, eventually rising to the rank of Major. During the war he served in the Western Desert campaign, being wounded in Libya and hospitalised in Cairo. In 1943 he joined Fitzroy Maclean's mission in Yugoslavia (Macmis) whilst on secondment to the Special Operations Executive and appointed as a British Liaison Officer (BLO) to Koča Popović, the most prominent Partisan commander. In August 1943, the three men agreed the scope and tactics of the Operation Ratweek in central Serbia, which severely damaged German ambitions to withdraw troops from Greece and the southern Balkans. In 1945 he was awarded the Military Cross.
Diplomatic and later career.
After the war he returned to the diplomatic service and served at the British Embassy in Belgrade from 1945 to 1946, as Assistant Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin from 1946 to 1948, at the Foreign Office from 1948 to 1950 and at the British Embassy in Buenos Aires from 1950 to 1952. From 1953 to 1960 he was Head of the Personnel Department at the Foreign Office.
In 1960 Henniker was appointed Ambassador to Jordan, a post he held until 1962, and was then Ambassador to Denmark from 1962 to 1966. He served as Assistant Under-Secretary of State from 1966 to 1967 but declined the ambassadorships to Brazil and the Republic of Ireland as he wanted to stay in England. In 1968 he became Director-General of the British Council, which he remained until 1972, before being invited to resign by Lord Fulton on the pretext of his wife's failing health. Henniker devoted the later part of his life to charitable causes, especially in Suffolk where his family had their ancestral seat. In 1980 he succeeded as eighth Baron Henniker on the death of his 97-year-old father and assumed his seat in the House of Lords. In the Lords, he briefly served as a spokesman for the Liberal Democrats. He was made a CMG in 1956, a CVO in 1960 and a KCMG in 1965.
Family.
John Henniker-Major married Osla Benning in 1946. They had three children:
After his first wife's death in 1974 he married Julia Poland (née Mason) in 1976. He died in April 2004, aged 88, and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son, Mark.


Sujata Koirala

Sujata Koirala () born 9 February 1954 in Biratnagar) is a Nepalese politician and the only daughter of former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. She was made Foreign Minister under Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. Sujata was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister on October 12, 2009. She has a daughter named Melanie Koirala Jost.
Career.
Koirala is the Immediate Chief of the International Relations Department of Nepali Congress and a member of the Central Working Committee. She is the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal. She is the second women to become deputy prime minister in Nepal. The first, Shailaja Acharya, was Koirala's niece.
International Affiliations.
Koirala is an active member of several international committees including the following:


Archibald Douglas, 2nd Earl of Forfar

Archibald Douglas, 2nd Earl of Forfar, 3rd Earl of Ormond (25 May 1692 – 8 December 1715) was a Scottish peer.
He was the only son of Archibald Douglas, 1st Earl of Forfar, and Robina Lockhart, the daughter of Sir William Lockhart of Lee and Robina Sewster. He inherited the titles Earl of Forfar and Earl of Ormond at the age of 20 on 11 December 1712, upon the death of his father.
He was Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of Foot ("The Buffs") from 1713 until his death in 1715 and served as the Envoy to Prussia in 1714. He served on the Hanoverian side during the Jacobite rising of 1715 and led the 3rd Regiment at the Battle of Sheriffmuir (3 December 1715), where he was wounded in 17 places. He later died of his wounds in Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland, on 8 December 1715, at the age of 23. He was later buried in Bothwell Church on the family estates in Bothwell.
He died unmarried with neither issue nor heirs.


Miguel Kast

Michael Kast Rist (December 18, 1948 - September 18, 1983), commonly known as Miguel Kast, was a German-born Chilean economist of the Chicago Boys group. Minister of State of Augusto Pinochet and President of the Central Bank in the same administration.
Upon getting his Master in Economics at University of Chicago, Miguel Kast joined Odeplan (1973), the state agency that led many public policy and economic changes after 1973. At Odeplan, Miguel Kast focused most of his energies on creating the "map of extreme poverty", which would become the cornerstone of Chile's social development programs. In 1978 he became the head of Odeplan and used his position to involve young professionals in the struggle against poverty by making them join Odeplan and by sending them to the country's outer regions to get insight into the real problems of Chile.
In 1980 Miguel Kast became Labor Minister under the Military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and in April 1982 he became President of the Central Bank of Chile.
This was a complicated moment in Chile's economy; the exchange rate was fixed at 39 pesos per dollar and Chile's big economic groups had liabilities with their own banks. As a Central Banker he worked to reduce the level of related loans (loans made to the owners of the banks). He also created a mechanism called the "Portfolio Sale" through which the Central Bank could buy high risk credits to commercial banks. By keeping a fixed exchange rate of 39 pesos per dollar, Miguel Kast hoped to protect local companies that had liabilities in dollars. However the central authority saw it otherwise and on June 13, 1982 decided to devalue the peso. This brought a sharp loss of international reserves and Miguel Kast decided in August 1982 to completely free exchange rate thus further devaluing the peso and bringing a new intervention from the central authority. Under this new threat of instability, Miguel Kast resigned from the Central Bank, effective on 2 September.
Towards the end of 1982 Kast wanted to leave the life of government and dedicate himself to the private business world and his professorships at the Catholic University, but it was at this same time that he began to feel unwell and to present signs of physical weakness and a pale appearance. In January 1983 he was diagnosed with bone cancer; it was at that very moment that Kast took refuge in his family and friends, but mainly in his Catholic faith. It was a fulminant cancer that took his life on September 18, 1983.
Two of his relatives are involved in politics too: his younger brother José Antonio, and one of his children, Felipe Kast.
Sources.
Official webpage of Fundacion Miguel Kast


Comptroller of the Treasury

The Comptroller of the Treasury was an official of the United States Department of the Treasury from 1789 to 1817. According to section III of the Act of Congress establishing the Treasury Department, it is the comptroller's duty to
The first person to hold this office was Nicholas Eveleigh. It was also held for a time by Gabriel Duvall, who would later serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. The office was later several times renamed. It was the First Comptroller of the Treasury (1817–20), the Agent of the Treasury (1820–30), and Solicitor of the Treasury (1830–1934), and is now the Office of the General Counsel.
External links.
Eveleigh’s biographic note on the web page for the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774 - Present
https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=E000263


Mostowfi ol-Mamalek

Mirza Hasan Ashtiani, commonly known by the bestowed title Mostowfi ol-Mamalek (; 1871 – 1932) was an Iranian politician who served as Prime Minister on six occasions from 1910 to 1927.
Early life.
Mostowfi al-Mamalek came from an important aristocratic and well-known family of high-ranking bureaucrats during the Qajar era, originally from the province of Ashtian. The family are said to have their origins with the Safavids. Mostowfi's father was Mirza Yousof Mostowfi al-Mamalek, a bureaucrat of the Qajar court, Nasseraddin Shah's grand vizier and a Prime Minister. His father was also assigned to determine the new reaches of Tehran city when the population reached 150000. His grandfather was Mirza Hasan Mostowfi al-Mamalek I and was given the title of Mostofi al Mamalek under Mohammad Shah Qajar. Mostowfi was also second cousins with Mohammad Mossadegh.
One year before his father's death, Nasereddin Shah granted the title Mostowfi ol-Mamalek ("chief financier of the country") to the very young, Hasan. The Mostowfi ol-Mamalek family passed on the central office at the finance ministry from father to son throughout the 19th century and until the 1920s.
When the nobility started to ridicule Hasan for being given such an important job/title at such young age, Nasereddin Shah, convinced of the young boy's talents, added the title "Aaqaa" (Sir) to Hasan's titles, thereby obliging the nobility to call him "Sir" every time they addressed him. He was since frequently referred to simply as "Aaqaa" in political circles. However, there is a source that suggests that it was his generosity that earned him the title "Aaqaa", rather than it being bestowed upon him.
His education began at the age of five under tutelage of Mahmud Khan Malekalshoara. He studied all customary subjects such as Arabic grammar and literature, but he also had a good command of the French language.
In 1885, subsequent to his father's death, he undertook all his responsibilities under Mossaddegh's father, Mirza Hedayatollah Vizier daftar's supervision.
At the age of 18, he married Nasr-ol-Din Shah's granddaughter, Khanom Esmat el Molouk, and became a member of the royal family.
European travel and the creation of the Society for Humanity.
After a series of disagreements with the newly instated Mozaffar ad-Din Shah, Mostowfi al-Mamalek travelled to Paris from 1900 to 1907. During this period he visited many European countries and observed their systems of government. During his trips to Europe, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah gave him multiple invitations to return to Iran, however he declined. In the year 1907, after the Persian Constitutional Revolution and the death of Mozzafar ad-Din Shah, Mostowfi al-Mamalek returned to Iran accompanied by Ali Asghar Khan, who had just been appointed Prime Minister of Iran by Mohammad Ali Shah.
Soon after his return he set up a humanitarian society called the Society for Humanity, Jameeyate Ensaniat, with Mohammad Mossadegh as his deputy. The society met regularly at Mostowfi's residence and eventually became part of the inter-society confederation, with Mossadegh as their permanent representative.
Political career.
During the Persian Constitutional Revolution era, Mostowfi was appointed Minister 15 times, and Prime Minister 6 times. At various points in his career he held the positions of prime minister, minister of war, majlis member and minister without portfolio. This was impart due to the political turmoil in Iran at the time which often saw governments only last several months before being replaced.
Popularity and character.
Mostowfi has been considered as one of the most popular Iranian politicians of the 20th century. Like his father, Mostowfi is said to have carried himself as a gentleman and was considered kind, honest, steadfast, humble and generous. During his service to Iran Mostowfi stood up to British and Russian influence in Iran, especially during World War I, giving credence to his reputation as a person of character and integrity. It has been noted that, unlike some of his contemporaries, Mostowfi was patriotic and did not engage with foreign powers in order to preserve or boost his own financial or political standings.
Criticism.
Despite his perceived popularity Mostowfi has at times been criticized for being unable to form a strong government with the ability to exercise what it presented to the Majlis. It has also been suggested that on occasion Mostowfi showed a lack of strong leadership.
Imperial allegiances.
Sources disagree on his allegiances to foreign powers with some claiming he was a Russophile and others stating he favoured the Germans and Turks.
Prime minister.
The First Term.
Sometime after his return to Iran, Mostowfi became the minister of war until the bombardment of Majlis. Following the conquest of Tehran, first he was appointed the minister of finance in Sepahdar Azam's cabinet and then became the minister of Ahmad Shah’s court. Following to the resignation of Sepadar’s first cabinet, he became Ahmad Shah’s prime minister. Mostowfi’s first term as Prime Minister of Persia began in July 1910 during the 2nd Majlis. His party, Melliyoun Democrats, were mostly young, well educated and had traveled to Europe. They were in favour of the separation of church and state; taxing the landowners and businesses; adopting compulsory national service and borrowing internally instead of internationally. Mostowfi’s cabinet, backed by the Democrats, was known as the "Young Peoples’ Cabinet".
During his first term Mostowfi faced the issue of security in Iran. Multiple assassinations of political and religious figures occurred. Mostowfi decided to stop these assassinations and declared that all private citizens turn in their arms. Almost all pro-Democrat forces obliged, however some pro-Moderates forces ignored the order, including Sattar Khan. As a result of the pro-Moderates forces actions the government used the newly appointed Tehran police chief, Yeprem Khan to exercise the order. With this Mostowfi proved he was able to make tough decisions when necessary.
During his term in office the government received a letter from the British and Russian Ministers in Tehran complaining about the lack of security on the road between Bushehr- Shiraz- Isfahan. The British stated that the Irainan government had three months to rectify the problem. If they failed they would bring in 1500 Indian soldiers under British command to safeguard the route. Mostowfi's government responded by creating the Swedish Gendarmerie, seeing this as a way to keep Iran independent of British involvement in internal security.
With the death of the Regent in September 1910 Parliament was convened to elect the next Regent. The candidates were Mostowfi and Mirza Abolghasem Khan Naser ol Molk. Mostowfi lost the election.
The Second Term.
Mostowfi's second appointment as Prime Minister coincided with the onset of World War I. Iran had declared neutrality in the war and the country further reinforced its neutral stance by appointing Mostowfi, who was known to support neutrality. However, his government leaned towards the German and the Turks. It is important to note that being pro-German in this regard was simply seen as a political move to support a third nation that may aid in curbing the influence of the British and Russians in Iran.
Mostowfi approached the Russian authorities and asked that they withdraw their troops from Azerbaijan as their presence gave the Turks a reason to Invade. The Russians responded by asking what guarantees could be given that their withdrawal would not be followed by the insertion of the Turks. The absence of a centralized state in Iran can help explain why Mostowfi's cabinet, and the Shah, were both impotent on this matter.
In this second term Mostowfi also showed he was taking a stance in relation to the modernization of Iran. In the program of his second cabinet Mostowfi proposed the abolition of the old pensions system, completion of the new Code, the founding of a secular law school to train personnel for the Ministry of Justice, the founding of several schools for girls and new laws to govern telegraphic communications. These proposals were rejected by the Majlis in 1914.
Mostowfi was also elected as MP for Tehran, but resigned in order to become Prime Minister. His manifesto included several concepts that the Third Majlis passed including laws such as the Military Conscription Act, Ministry of Finance constitution bill and Real Estate tax law.
Mostowfi resigned from his position after both his neutral and withdrawal of Russian forces policies failed.
The Third Term.
In August 1915, less than six months after resigning, Mostowfi once again was Prime Minister. By the time he took office, German popularity had increased amongst the nationalists.
During the Third Majlis the Czarist Russian Army expeditionary force left Qazvin for Tehran.
Mostowfi therefore pursued a two edged policy. He began talks with the British for a loan and for the withdrawal of Russian forces. He also entered into secret negotiations with the Germans for a treaty of cooperation. Mostowfi suggested the Germans guarantee Iranian independence and territorial integrity. Mostowfi also attached a number of stipulations, including the Germans giving Iran a loan and providing officers. If these were all met, his government would be prepared to declare war on the Allies. He also stated that if all stipulations were not met he would have to stop all German activities in Iran.
In a show of good faith the Germans secured the withdrawal of Ottoman Forces and offered to help financially but did not agree to the stipulations. Due to the non-committal answer firm the Germans, the negotiations did not lead to a policy that could be executed. Additionally the Allies had discovered the secret negotiations.
By 7 November 1915, Russian troops were marching on the capital. The German envoy had left the day before and Mostowfi recommend that his deputies and the Shah to also leave and go to Qom. Forty-four deputies, newspaper editors and the Gendarmerie left for Qom. This was known as the ‘emigration’ with the hope of forming a government free of British and Russian Influence. The Shah having initially agreed, had his mind changed by the Russian and British Ministers in Tehran. With this change in mindset any chance of forming an independent government was gone. With the Shah in Tehran, Mostowfi tried to persuade the deputies to return. Mostowfi did not succeed in securing their return and so ended his third term.
The Fourth Term.
Mostowfi's fourth term of office as Prime Minister was marked by severe drought and famine that devastated the country. By some accounts 25% of those living in the North perished. This was accompanied by the Persian influenza epidemic of 1918 which was rapid and devastating.
The Fifth Term.
Mostowfi's fifth term began in January 1923. The First World War was over and the Russian Revolution was well established. Reza Khan who was then called Sardar Sepah had the post of Minister of War in Mostowfi's cabinet.
One of his most formidable opponents in politics at the time was Hassan Modarres who made numerous efforts to pull down Mostowfi's cabinet.
Mostowfi's cabinet finally collapsed under pressure from political opponents despite the full backing of Ahmad Shah Qajar. During the run-up to the elections for the 5th Majlis, Modarres and his followers in the Parliament were actively campaigning against Mostowfi's cabinet. They tabled a formal question to the government, which was customarily followed by a vote of confidence.
The ministers answered the questions convincingly. Mostowfi, who was not used to this kind of street politics, was said to be angry and disappointed. He delivered his most famous speech to Parliament, blaming members of Parliament for "giving and taking "ajil (dried nuts)", which in Persian means giving and taking bribes. He is believed to have said, "I have problems with my digestive system, and I do not take or give any "ajil"".
He was the first Prime Minister to call Parliamentarians corrupt instead of cajoling and flattering them. He and his ministers left the Parliament, went straight to the Shah and resigned.
Hassan Modarres went on to abolish the 1919 accord between Iran and the Great Britain.
The Sixth Term.
Despite his opposition to Mostowfi, Modarres was part of the party that encouraged Mostowfi to take his sixth term as Prime Minister. Reza Shah had been elected Shah and crowned. In order to legitimize his rule he needed a Prime Minister who had the confidence of the politicians and the general public, so he chose Mostowfi. Modarres believed that Mostowfi was one of the few people who might curb the excesses of the new Shah and his generals.
Mostowfi's sixth began in June 1926. During this term of office a number of important actions were taken, the most important event during this period had been the abolition of Capitulation on 9 May 1927. This would be the last major event that Mostowfi would be part of and this would be his last post. At the end of May 1927, Mostowfi resigned from office and from political life.
The Society for National Heritage.
The Society for National Heritage was formed in 1921 with the aim to preserve, protect and promote "Iran's patrimony". The society built a state museum, a state library and several mausoleums, which incorporated motifs from ancient Iranian architecture. The society was formed by modernist government officials and Westernized intellectuals, and Mostowfi was among them.
Death and legacy.
Mirza Hassan Mostowfi al Mamalek died of a heart attack on 27 August 1932. He was buried in the family mausoleum in Vanak village. The funeral procession was marked by the Armenian residents of Vanak carrying the coffin for a mile to the Mausoleum, followed by a procession of 80 or more cars. The mausoleum is currently on the grounds of Alzahra University.
Mostowfi had several children including a son, Mirza Yousof Mostowfi al-Mamalek II, who may have been named after his father.
His descendants now bear the surname "Mostofi al-Mamaleki", "Mostowfi", " Tahriri", "Dabiri".
Hassan Abad Square.
The square and the buildings around it were built in a ten-year period. Hassan Abad was built by Mirza Yousof Mostowfi al-Mamalek, Naser ed-Din Shah's vizier. He named the place after his son Mirza Hassan Mostofi al-Mamalek. It was inspired by the Renaissance architecture, and adapted from the works of Palladio, the famous Italian architect of the Renaissance period.
Following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the square was renamed to "31st of Shahrivar Square", however the new name did not stick and it is still known as the "Hassan Abad Square".


Foreign housing exclusion

The foreign housing exclusion goes hand-in-hand with the foreign earned income exclusion. According to section 911(a) of the federal tax code, a qualified individual under either the bona fide residence test or the physical presence test will be able to exclude from the gross income the housing amount in a foreign country provided for by the employer. Note that "provided for by the employer" does not require that the employer actually procure the housing. If the housing is paid for out of wages paid by the employer, this will meet the test. However, housing expenses in excess of the wages or earnings from self-employment would not qualify.
The tax code defines the "housing amount" as the total of all qualified housing expenses less the "base housing amount." As a result, it is then important to define what is considered qualified housing expenses as well what the IRS mean by the base housing amount.
Qualification.
In order to qualify, housing expenses must be reasonable expenses incurred by the expatriate or their spouse and dependents if they live together in a foreign country. An exception to this rule would be if a second foreign household is maintained for the spouse and dependents due certain adverse and unhealthful conditions such as warfare or civil unrest. As a result, qualified housing expenses for both the first and second foreign home would include the following:
Outside of the above list, any other housing expenses are not considered qualified. In addition, the value of meals or lodging that is excluded from gross income will not be excludable for foreign housing exclusion purposes as this would be considered a double benefit. For example, it would not include:
Keep in mind that you cannot include any expenses that you have excluded from gross income, there is no double benefit, in short. There is also a limit on the amount of housing expenses one can incur, usually around 30% of the FEI exclusion times the number of days in the qualifying period, usually about $27,450 a year. You can sometimes get more than this standard limit if you live in a high-cost locality, these limits can be found on Form 2555.
Second foreign household.
If you have 2 foreign households, because your family cannot live near your work because of dangerous or unhealthful conditions, you may qualify for including the expenses of the second household. This can also include adverse living conditions including war, or if you need to live on a construction site or drilling rig.
Foreign Housing Deduction.
If you are not self-employed, even partially, you cannot take a housing deduction, although you may be eligible for exclusion, as mentioned earlier. If you are considered self-employed, then you can deduct the housing amount on line 36 of form 1040 and form 2555. If you are both employed and self-employed, you can deduct part of your housing amount and also exclude a portion of it.
Couples.
Determining a couples tax obligations matters if they are living together or separately.
Limitations.
Sections 911(c)(2)(A)(i) and 911(c)(2)(A)(ii) of the federal tax code limits the housing expenses eligible for the housing exclusion to 30% of the maximum foreign earned income exclusion. The result is then multiplied by the number of days in the qualifying period that fall within the tax year. For 2015, if the maximum foreign earned income exclusion is $100,800, eligible housing expenses for the year would be limited to $30,240 (30% of $100,800). However, qualified individuals living in high-cost neighborhoods are able to deduct more than the standard limit of $30,240 in 2015 but not more than the limits outlined in the Instructions for Form 2555.
In defining the base amount, section 911(c)(1)(B)(iii) of the federal tax code states that the amount is equal to 16% of the maximum foreign earned income exclusion multiplied by the number of qualifying days within the tax year. Once again, if the maximum foreign earned income exclusion for the 2015 tax year is $100,800, the base amount would be limited to $16,128 (16% of $100,800) for the year.
To illustrate, let's assume that an architect qualifies for the foreign earned income exclusion under the physical presence test with a qualifying period that includes all of 2015. He makes $69,000 through wages and had $18,000 in housing expenses. In determining the housing amount for the foreign housing exclusion, the housing expenses would meet the $30,240 limit for the year. However, $16,128 must be reduced from the $18,000 in order to arrive at the housing amount of $1,872 that is eligible for the foreign housing exclusion.
Conclusion.
It is important to reiterate that in order to take advantage of the housing exclusion, the housing amount must be paid for by employer-provided amounts or incurred from maintaining a qualified second foreign household. Secondly, if housing amounts are to be excluded, this must be calculated first before the foreign earned income exclusion can be determined. In other words, the housing amount must be deducted from the total foreign earned income to arrive at the excludable amount for foreign earned income exclusion purposes. Lastly, to choose the housing exclusion, Form 2555 is the only form allowed and must be completely filled out. Form 2555-EZ cannot be used to claim the foreign housing exclusion.


Ali ibn Hasan ibn Ajlan

Nūr al-Dīn ‘Alī ibn Ḥasan ibn ‘Ajlān al-Ḥasanī () was an Emir of Mecca from 1441 to 1443.
He was born around 807 AH (c. 1404/1405). His father was the Emir of Mecca Hasan ibn Ajlan.
He was appointed Emir of Mecca in place of his brother Barakat on Monday, 16 Jumada al-Awwal 845 AH (2 October 1441). News of his appointment reached Mecca on Wednesday morning, 14 Rajab 845 AH (29 November 1441). That evening Barakat left Mecca and the "dua" was made for the Emir, but no name was mentioned. The following night the "dua" was made in Ali's name. He himself entered Mecca on 2 Sha'ban (c. 16 December 1441). His diploma of investiture was dated 23 Jumada al-Thani (c. 8 November 1441).
Ali was deposed in favor of his brother Abu al-Qasim in Shawwal 846 AH (February 1443).


Bill Forsyth (diplomat)

William Douglass Forsyth (19093 March 1993) was an Australian public servant and diplomat. Over the course of his tenure, he was noted for his work both within the United Nations, and in promoting Southern Pacific countries internationally. In 1959, Forsyth was appointed Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, a role which he served in until 1961. During his appointment, he was also appointed Minister to Laos.
Forsyth died on 3 March 1993, aged 84, in Canberra.
Early life.
Forsyth was born in Casterton, Victoria where he spent his childhood. He attended Ballarat High School, and after graduation obtained his degree in political science and history.


Nikola IX Frankopan

Nikola IX Frankopan (1584 - 15/16 April 1647) was a Croatian magnate who served as Ban of Croatia from 1617 until 1622. He was a member of the Tržac branch of the Frankopan noble family.
Biography.
As a son of Gašpar I Frankopan and Katarina Lenković, he was schooled in Graz, Ljubljana and Italy. During the division of his family's estates, he got Bosiljevo, Zvečaj and Novi Vinodolski. He was the cavalry captain of Krajina from 1602 to 1608, captain of Senj between 1612 and 1614. During the Uskok War, he was active in Kvarner, Istria, Furlania and Gorizia. In 1616, he was named "Ban of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia" by king Matthias, to whom he took an oath at his court. The Croatian Sabor appointed him cavalry captain of the Kingdom, but eventually forced him to relinquish the post following accusations of excessive force use. He died on 15 or 16 April 1647 in Vienna, where his body was embalmed, to be interred in Trsat.
Legacy.
He granted many churches and monasteries. He was particularly inclined towards education and sent one of his serfs from Bosiljevo to be schooled in Zagreb.
"Frangepaneum".
According to his will, a foundation "Frangepaneum" was established after his death in Zagreb. It was geared to secure education towards poor students "of Illyrian or Croatian nation" for the benefit of "our people". Nikola granted this institution Starý Jičín in Moravia and a sum of 19,000 forints as indebted by the king in order to maintain it. It was to be managed by the Jesuits under the supervision of the Bishop of Zagreb. The institute later grew into an aristocratic dormitory and during the 19th century, funds for only one cadet student were available.


SCOR SE

SCOR SE is a tier 1 reinsurance company providing Property and Casualty (P&C) and Life reinsurance solutions to its clients. It is one of the leading reinsurers in the world. Created in 1970 with the backing of the French government, its original name was "Société Commerciale de Réassurance", hence "SCOR". The SE acronym indicates that the company is a "Societas Europaea" (European company). In 2007, it became the first French listed company to use the SE acronym in its name.
History.
SCOR SE was founded in 1970 in Paris, France. SCOR today is the world's fourth largest reinsurer and has a presence in 160 countries worldwide with more than 3,000 employees.
In 1996, SCOR acquired the reinsurance business of Allstate.
In 2002, Denis Kessler was named the chairman and CEO after a near collapse of the company. Kessler was brought on board in order to restore the reinsurer's financial performance. Kessler made a number of acquisitions throughout his tenure. These include ReMark, Revios, Converium, Transamerica Re, and Generali US.
The firm's shares are listed on NYSE Euronext Paris and form part of the CAC Next 20 index. In 2007, SCOR de-listed itself from the New York Stock Exchange.
In May 2019, SCOR purchased Coriolis Capital, an insurance-linked securities fund manager. The purchase was finalized in September 2019, increasing the company's ILS portfolio to over $2 billion.
SCOR Foundation for Science.
In 2011, SCOR founded the SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science to support scientific research and risk-related knowledge.
Main operating lines.
The main companies of SCOR SE (officially typeset as SCOR) include SCOR Global P&C, which provides property and casualty reinsurance, SCOR Global Life, which provides life reinsurance, and SCOR Global Investments, an asset management company.
Business units.
SCOR consists of several business units:


Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad

The Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad (C&PD) was a railroad that operated in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It operated a main line between Columbia, Pennsylvania, and Port Deposit, Maryland, generally along the eastern shore of the Susquehanna River. It later acquired a branch line to Perryville, Maryland. The C&PD was subsequently purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and, since the 1999 breakup of Conrail, is owned by Norfolk Southern Railway.
History.
The C&PD, originally called the Washington and Maryland Line Railroad and then the Columbia and Maryland Line Railroad, was chartered in 1858. The C&PD began construction in 1866, as another rail line, a branch built by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B), approached Port Deposit from the southeast. The PRR, which controlled the PW&B, also purchased a controlling interest in the C&PD in 1866. The first completed section of the C&PD opened in 1868 and connected the newly built Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad at Rowlandsville (4 mi (6.4 km) north of Port Deposit) to the PW&B branch line. The remainder of the line to Columbia was completed in 1877, and all facilities were leased by the PW&B.
The company was reorganized as the Columbia and Port Deposit Railway in 1890. In 1893 the C&PD purchased the Perryville branch line from PW&B, and then PW&B purchased the C&PD.
Successor lines: Late 20th century to present.
The PW&B was merged into the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad (PB&W) in 1902, and the C&PD was merged into the PB&W in 1916. The PRR, which controlled all of these companies, labeled the line as the Port Road Branch and electrified the branch in 1938. (The Port Road branch designation continues on the line north of Columbia, to Marysville, along the Enola Branch.)
The PRR merged into Penn Central in 1968, and after the Penn Central bankruptcy in 1970, ownership of the line went to Conrail. Conrail removed electrification equipment on the branch in 1981. There are many remnants of the electrification along much of the line. As part of the Conrail break-up in 1999, the Port Road Branch was sold to Norfolk Southern.
Scheduled passenger service over the Port Road ended on October 29, 1978, when Amtrak re-routed the "National Limited"'s Washington section via Philadelphia.


Zhang Taofang

Zhang Taofang, (; 1931 – April 29, 2007) was a Chinese sniper during the Korean War. He is said to have 214 confirmed kills with 442 shots in 32 days with rifle without scope.
Korean War.
On January 11, 1953, Zhang, who had been enrolled in the army for no more than two years and together with soldiers of 8th company, 214th Regiment, 24th Corps, he was assigned to Triangle Hill, equipped with an old Mosin–Nagant without a PU scope.
After waiting 18 days at his position, Zhang spotted an enemy and immediately aimed and fired 12 shots, only to miss them all. This eager action attracted enemy fire, which almost killed him. After this, he carefully analyzed why he failed and figured out a technique using the iron sight to improve his shooting ability. He shot down one enemy the next day.
On February 15, he hit 7 enemies with 9 rounds, which surpassed the ratio of many experienced snipers. He achieved a total of 214 confirmed kills in 32 days.
According to the eighth issue of the People’s Liberation Army Pictorial in 2002: “Zhang Taofang started as a sniper from January 29, 1953 to May 25, lasting 3 months and 26 days. Except for training, participation in activities, and other activities, he had actually been shooting for 32 days, 442 rounds of ammunition were shot and 214 enemies were killed. In the same year, the PVA HQ awarded him the honorary title of "Second Class Sniper Hero" and he was later awarded the “First Class National Flag Medal” by the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea.
Later life.
Although Zhang has proven to be a successful infantryman, he was assigned to the pilot training program after Korean War.
After the Korean War in 1954, Zhang entered the Xuzhou 5th Aviation Preparatory School and the 1st Regiment of the Jinan Air Force 5th Aviation School, and became a PLA Air Force pilot. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1956. Served as a fighter pilot at the Air Force’s Gaomi No. 1 Training Base, flying MiG-15 and MiG-15 bison fighters. His body was then not adapted to high-altitude hypoxia due to the change of fighter models.
After being instructed by the PLAAF Commander Liu Yalou, Zhang Taofang became a member of the air defense force and served as the battalion commander of a certain unit of the air defense force. Later, he served as deputy instructor of Weifang Air Base Security Company, student of Shanghai Air Force Political School, instructor of Shandong Wei County Base Security Company, deputy chief of staff of the 9th Regiment of SHORAD Missile Regiment and deputy commander of the 9th Ground-to-Air Missile Regiment. In June 1985, he retired from military service.
On October 29, 2007, he passed away in Weifang, Shandong Province.
Media.
In 2003, Zhang was the topic of a China Central Television documentary.


Nancy Naples (politician)

Nancy A. Naples is an American government official and former investment banker. Naples was formerly Commissioner of Motor Vehicles in New York; she was appointed State Motor Vehicles Commissioner by then-Gov. George Pataki in January 2006 following a 12-year political career in Western New York. She served as a Cabinet member for the final year of Pataki's term. Naples was also formerly a member of the Board of Directors of Amtrak.
Naples was elected in 1993, 1997, and 2001 as County Comptroller of Erie County, New York. In 2004 she ran for Congress, narrowly losing to then-Democratic Assemblyman Brian Higgins by less than 1% for the right to succeed Republican Jack Quinn.
Naples had a twenty-year career on Wall Street, working at HSBC, Merrill Lynch, and Chemical Bank, and in her family's insurance company in Buffalo, before running for office. In 1998, it was reported that Pataki considered her as a running mate for lieutenant governor. In her capacity as Motor Vehicles Commissioner, Naples served as the Chairwoman of the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee.
In late 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Naples to the Board of Directors of the National Passenger Railroad Corporation (Amtrak). She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in March, 2008 for a five-year term.


Jago Eliot

Jago Nicholas Aldo Eliot, Lord Eliot (24 March 1966 – 15 April 2006) was the son of Peregrine Eliot, 10th Earl of St Germans, and Jacquetta Eliot, Countess of St Germans (née Lampson).
Biography.
In 1988, on the death of his grandfather, he became styled Lord Eliot. Educated at Millfield School, he was known for his hobbies of surfing and was the European body boarding champion in 1988.
Eliot was an early collaborator with Eddie Izzard at Covent Garden as a busker, he then moved to Brighton in the late 1980s where he inspired and promoted a number of nights at the ZAP club, including Fundamental and Pow Wow. He returned to Cornwall in the mid 1990s and in 2002 founded the Port Eliot Literature Festival, an annual event held in the grounds of the house.
Eliot worked with digital and creative projects, either with the Arts Council or the Port Eliot Literary Festival, and London Arts projects. Shortly before his death, Eliot had been awarded an Artist Fellowship in Creative Technology by Hewlett-Packard and was exploring invisible sculpture and 3D soundscapes.
He also began to develop strategies to ensure Port Eliot would continue to be a vibrant cultural laboratory, building on the legend of the Elephant Fayre and helping define the ethos of the Port Eliot Literary Festival, through conversations with friends such as Tom Hodgkinson of the Idler magazine. His passion for the arts saw him also involved with the A Foundation, through his Literati project and i-DAT with the A Conversation at Port Eliot in 2006. This was the first in a proposed series on emerging ideas in art, science and technology organised by Jago Eliot and The Institute of Digital Art and Technology at the University of Plymouth. The themes for this seminar were 'art and irrationality' and 'a geography of the immaterial'.
Marriage & children.
Eliot married former model Bianca Ciambriello. The couple were first "married" in the "Lost Vagueness" garden at the Glastonbury Festival, before a more formal ceremony at Port Eliot, the seat of the Eliot family. The alternative wedding is featured in Julian Temple's 2006 film Glastonbury. They had one son and twin daughters:
Death.
Eliot died on 15 April 2006. He was determined to have died from epilepsy, which he had developed in 2004.