title: Hyder Ali

text: Mysore's titular ruler Krishnaraja died in April 1766, while Hyder was in Malabar. Hyder had left orders that Krishnaraja's son Nanjaraja Wodeyar be invested should that happen, and he only later came to formally pay his respects to the new rajah. He took advantage of this opportunity to engage in a sort of house cleaning: the raja's palace was plundered, and its staff reduced to the point where virtually everyone employed there was also a spy for Hyder Ali.


title: Hyder Ali

text: After the Battle of Buxar the British led by Hector Monro decided to support the Maratha Confederacy against the Shah Alam II, the Nawabs and Mysore.


title: Hyder Ali

text: As the power struggle between Mysore and the Peshwa continued it soon began to involve the British and other European trading companies.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Being himself a former ally of the French, Hyder Ali expected the support of the British against the Marathas, but such support never materialized.


title: Hyder Ali

text: In 1766 Mysore began to become drawn into territorial and diplomatic disputes between the Nizam of Hyderabad and the East India Company, which had by then become the dominant European power on the Eastern Indian coast. The Nizam, seeking to deflect the Company from their attempts to gain control of the Northern Circars, made overtures to Hyder Ali to launch an invasion of the Carnatic. Company representatives also appealed to Hyder Ali, but he rebuffed to them. The Nizam then ostensibly struck a deal with the Company administration in the Madras Presidency for their support, but apparently did so with the expectation that when Hyder Ali was prepared for war, the deal with the British would be broken. This diplomatic manoeuvring resulted in the start of the First Anglo-Mysore War in August 1767 when a company outpost at Changama was attacked by a combined Mysore-Hyderabad army under Hyder Ali's command. Despite significantly outnumbering the British force (British estimates place the allied army size at 70,000 to the British 7,000), the allies were repulsed with heavy losses. Hyder Ali moved on to capture Kaveripattinam after two days of siege, while the British commander at Changama, Colonel Joseph Smith, eventually retreated to Tiruvannamalai for supplies and reinforcements. There Hyder Ali was decisively repulsed on 26 September 1767. With the onset of the monsoon season, Hyder Ali opted to continue campaigning rather than adopting the usual practice of suspending operations because of the difficult conditions the weather created for armies. After over-running a few lesser outposts, he besieged Ambur in November 1767, forcing the British to resume campaigning. The British garrison commander refused large bribes offered by Hyder Ali in exchange for surrender, and the arrival of a relief column in early December forced Hyder Ali to lift the siege. He retreated northward, covering the movements of the Nizam's forces, but was disheartened when an entire corps of European cavalry deserted to the British. The failures of this campaign, combined with successful British advances in the Northern Circars and secret negotiations between the British and the Nizam Asaf Jah II, led to a split between Hyder Ali and the Nizam. The latter withdrew back to Hyderabad and eventually negotiated a new treaty with the British company in 1768. Hyder Ali, apparently seeking an end to the conflict, made peace overtures to the British, but was rebuffed.


title: Hyder Ali

text: In early 1768, the Bombay Presidency in Bombay organised an expedition to Mysore's Malabar coast territories. Hyder Ali's fleet, which the British reported as numbering about ten ships, deserted en masse, apparently because the captains were unhappy with the oustering of their British admirals and some even demanded the return of Ali Raja Kunhi Amsa II, but Hyder Ali chose a cavalry commander Lutf Ali Beg as fleet commander. Owing to a British bluff, Lutf Ali Beg also withdrew much of the Mangalore garrison to move on what he perceived to be the British target, Onore. The British consequently captured Mangalore with minimal opposition in February. This activity, combined with the loss of the Nizam as an ally, prompted Hyder Ali to withdraw from the Carnatic, and move with speed to Malabar. Dispatching his son Tipu with an advance force, Hyder Ali followed, and eventually re-took Mangalore and the other ports held by the over-extended British forces. He also levied additional taxes as punishment against local malabari Nair chieftains which were then stripped of rights and authority.


title: Hyder Ali

text: After his reconquest, Hyder Ali learned that the Mangalorean Catholics had helped the British in their conquest of Mangalore, behaviour he considered treasonous. He summoned a Portuguese officer and several Christian priests from Mangalore to suggest an appropriate punishment to impose on the Mangalorean Catholics for their treachery. The Portuguese officer suggested the death penalty for those Catholics who helped the British as a typical punishment for the betrayal of one's sovereign in Catholic nations. But Hyder Ali exhibited a diplomatic stance and instead imprisoned those Christians who were condemned for treachery. He afterwards opened negotiations with the Portuguese, and reached an agreement with them that removed suspicion from the clergy and other Christians. The Mangalorean Catholic community flourished during the rest of Hyder Ali's reign.


title: Hyder Ali

text: During Hyder Ali's absence from the Carnatic, the British recovered many places that Hyder Ali had taken and only weakly garrisoned, and advanced as far south as Dindigul. They also convinced the Marathas to enter the conflict, and a large force of theirs, under the command of Morari Rao, joined with Colonel Smith at Ooscota in early August 1768. This army then began preparations to besiege Bangalore, but Hyder Ali returned to Bangalore from Malabar on 9 August, in time to harass the allies before the siege could begin. On 22 August, Hyder Ali and his Mysore forces attacked the Maratha camp during the Battle of Ooscota, but was repulsed when faced with the large Maratha reinforcements. Hyder Ali was then foiled in an attempt to prevent the arrival of a second British column at the allied camp; the strength of these combined forces convinced him to retreat from Bangalore toward Gurramkonda, where he was reinforced by his brother in law. He also attempted diplomatic measures to prevent a siege of Bangalore, offering to pay ten lakhs rupees and grant other land concessions in exchange for peace. The Company administration countered with a list of demands that included payments of tribute to the Nizam and several land concessions to the East India Company. Hyder Ali specifically refused to deal with Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah, his nemesis in the Carnatic. The negotiations failed to reach common ground.


title: Hyder Ali

text: On 3 October, Hyder Ali, while moving his army from Guuramkonda back toward Bangalore, surprised a small garrison of Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah's men at a rock fort call Mulwagal, near Ooscota. British reinforcements were sent, and Colonel Wood was able to recover the lower fort but not the upper. The next day he went out with a few companies of men to investigate movements that might have been cover for enemy reinforcements. This small force, numbering four companies, was surrounded by Hyder Ali's entire army in the Battle of Mulwagal. A strategem by another officer, Colonel Brooks, prevented the loss of this detachment; Colonel Brooks and another two companies dragged two cannons to the top of a nearby rise, and Brooks called out "Smith! Smith!" while firing the cannons. Both sides interpreted this to mean that Colonel Smith was arriving in force, and Hyder's troops began to retreat. This enabled Colonel Wood to join with Brooks and other reinforcements from Mulwagal before Hyder Ali realised his tactical error. Hyder Ali renewed his attack, but was eventually repulsed with heavy losses: he was estimated to lose 1,000 men while the British lost about 200. The severity of the conflict convinced Colonel Smith that he would be unable to effectively besiege Bangalore without first inflicting a major defeat on Hyder Ali in open battle. Company officials blamed Smith for the failure to decisively defeat Hyder Ali, and recalled him to Madras. Hyder Ali took the opportunity to besiege Hosur, and Colonel Wood marched in relief of the town. As Wood approached, Hyder Ali raised the siege, sneaked around Wood's column, and attacked his baggage train in a battle near Bagalur. Hyder Ali successfully captured supplies and arms, and drove Wood in disgrace toward Venkatagiri. Wood was consequently recalled and replaced by Colonel Lang.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Hyder Ali then raised additional forces in Mysore and went on the offensive. In November 1768 he split his army into two, and crossed the ghats into the Carnatic, regaining control of many minor posts held by the British. En route to Erode Hyder Ali overwhelmed one contingent of British, who were sent as prisoners to Seringapatam when it was established that one of its officers was serving in violation of a parole agreement. After rapidly establishing control over much of the southern Carnatic, his march approached Madras. This prompted the British to send an envoy to discuss peace; because of Hyder Ali's insistence that the Nawab of the Carnatic be excluded from the negotiations, they went nowhere. Hyder Ali then surprised Company authorities by taking a picked force of 6,000 cavalry and a small number of infantry, and made in three days a forced march of to the gates of Madras.


title: Hyder Ali

text: This show of force compelled the Company to negotiate further. Hyder Ali, who was seeking diplomatic leverage against the Marathas, wanted an alliance of mutual defence and offence. The Company refused to accede to an offensive military treaty; the treaty signed at Madras on 29 March 1769, restored the "status quo ante bellum", except for Mysore's acquisition of Karur, and also included language that each side would help the other defend its territory. In summarising Hyder Ali's conduct of the war, biographer Lewin Bowring notes that he "evinced high qualities as a tactician and the sagacity of a born diplomatist."


title: Hyder Ali

text: When Hyder took over the Malabar territories, he took advantage of the coastal access to develop relations with trading partners overseas. To this end he established port tariffs that were biased against European traders and preferential for Mysorean and Arab traders. Beginning in 1770 he sent ambassadors to Abu Hilal Ahmad bin Said in Muscat and Karim Khan in Shiraz, then the capital of Persia, seeking military and economic alliances.


title: Hyder Ali

text: In a 1774 embassy to Karim Khan, the ruler of Persia, he sought to establish a trading post on the Persian Gulf. Karim responded by offering Bandar Abbas, but nothing further seems to have passed between them on the subject. Karim Khan later did send 1,000 troops to Mysore in 1776 in response to another embassy in 1775.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Nursullah Khan, Hyder's ambassador, had more success in Muscat, where a trading house was established in 1776.


title: Hyder Ali

text: During the final years of his reign Hyder Ali also planned to send an embassy to the Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III, but it was his son Tipu Sultan who succeeded in making direct contact with Istanbul.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Hyder, believing he would be supported by the British in conflict with the Marathas, began demanding tribute payments from smaller states on the frontiers between Maratha and Mysore territories, and refused to pay tributes demanded by the Marathas. The Marathas responded in November 1770 with an invasion by an army of 35,000 men. Pursuant to their treaty, Hyder requested British assistance. The Company refused, and Hyder retreated, slashing and burning as he went to deny the bounty of the land to the Marathas. The Marathas captured much of north-eastern Mysore, and consolidated their gains during the monsoon season. Hyder offered to pay some of the tribute demanded, but his offer was rejected as insufficient, and the Marathas renewed the offensive after the monsoons. They advanced to the vicinity of Seringapatam, and then feinted a withdrawal to the north. When Hyder followed, they turned in force, and claimed to inflict serious casualties on Hyder's army, and captured most of its baggage. They then fruitlessly besieged Seringapatam for five weeks, before abandoning the effort and instead took Bangalore. Hyder again appealed to the British for help, but their pre-conditions and proposed terms were unacceptable to him, and an attempt by Hyder to get them to go on the offensive scuttled the negotiations. In 1772 Hyder finally sued for peace. He agreed to pay 3.6 million rupees in tribute arrears, and 1.4 million rupees in annual tribute, and ceded territory all the way to Bangalore. Upon his return to Seringapatam after the peace was concluded, Hyder learned that Nanjaraja, the titular ruler of Mysore, had been engaged in secret communications with the Marathas. Hyder ordered Nanjaraja strangled, and placed his brother Chamaraja on the throne.


title: Hyder Ali

text: The peace with the Marathas was short-lived. The Peshwa Madhavrao I died late in 1772, beginning a struggle for his succession. In 1773, Hyder used this opportunity to send Tipu with an army to recover territories lost to the Marathas to the north, while he descended into Coorg, which provided a more secure route to the Malabar territories he wanted to recover from the Marathas. A claimant to the Coorg throne had asked for Hyder's assistance in 1770 when he was pre-occupied with the Marathas. He quickly captured Coorg's capital, Merkara, imprisoning Raja Vira Rajendra. He installed a Brahmin as Governor to collect revenues before continuing to Malabar, where by the end of 1774 he had recovered all his lost territory. The Coorgs rose in rebellion against his Governor, upon which Hyder returned to Coorg, crushed the rebellion, and hanged most of the ring-leaders. This did not stop the restive Coorgs from becoming a continuing problem for Hyder, and for, Tipu after his death.


title: Hyder Ali

text: In 1776 the young Raja Chamaraja Wodeyar VIII died. To choose a successor, Hyder had all of the children of the royal family brought together, and watched them play. A child, also named Chamaraja Wodeyar IX, chose to play with a jewelled dagger, and was supposedly selected on that basis as the new Raja of Mysore.,


title: Hyder Ali

text: By March 1775, the leadership situation at Poona, the Maratha capital, had stabilised, and the Marathas joined an alliance with the Nizam of Hyderabad to oppose Hyder. The Maratha army was routed by one of Hyder's Generals in 1776, and Hyder either bribed or sufficiently threatened the Nizam's military leaders so that they withdrew from the campaign. This only temporarily halted the conflict, which was fought with renewed vigor until 1779. Hyder successfully extended his domain to the Krishna River after a lengthy siege of Dharwad. In a controversial action, Hyder in 1779, dealt harshly with Madakari Nayaka, the ruler of Chitradurga. Madakari had supported Hyder in earlier conflicts, but in 1777 had changed allegiance to the Marathas. After seizing Chitradurga, Hyder sent Madakari Nayaka to Seringapatam as a prisoner, where he died. Hyder further sent 20,000 of Madakari's followers to Seringapatam, where the boys among them were allegedly forcibly converted to Islam and formed into so-called "chela" battalions in the Mysorean army.


title: Hyder Ali

text: During the lengthy conflict with the Marathas, Hyder had several times requested the assistance of the East India Company, and it had each time been refused, in part due to the influence at Madras, of Hyder's enemy, the Nawab of Arcot. The British had also angered the Marathas by repudiating treaties, with whom they were at war for much of the 1770s, and they had also upset the Nizam of Hyderabad Asaf Jah II over their occupation of Guntur.


title: Hyder Ali

text: In 1771, Maratha envoys had approached Hyder with a proposal to ally against the Company, with the goal of wresting control of eastern India from their rule. Since Hyder was at the time still attempting alliance with the British, he informed them of this offer, noting that he thought the Marathas would gain too much power and even threaten his own position under those circumstances. The Marathas, still at war with the British, renewed an offer of alliance in 1779. In this case, the alliance was to include the Nizam. His decision to join this alliance was prompted by two British actions. The first was the British capture by capitulation of the west-coast port of Mahé, part of a concerted effort by the British to capture all French outposts following the 1778 French entry into the American Revolutionary War. Hyder received much of his French-supplied equipment through this French-controlled port, and had provided troops for its defence. Furthermore, the action had provoked the Nairs on the Malabar coast to rise in rebellion again, although Hyder had quickly put this down. The second offence was the movement of British troops through territory under his control (and also other territory controlled by the Nizam) from Madras to Guntur. There was a skirmish in the hills, and the British detachment ended up retreating to Madras.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Hyder Ali began rebuilding his navy in 1778. Employing Joze Azelars, a Dutchman, he had built eight ketches with masts and 40 cannons and eight smaller dhows. When the war broke out in 1779, Azelars noted that the Brahmans and their allies made every possible effort to halt progress of the newly rebuilt navy based at Bhatkal.


title: Hyder Ali

text: The alliance planned to make virtually simultaneous attacks on British holdings all throughout India, while the Marathas agreed to honour Hyder's claims to territories he currently held north of the Tungabhadra River and reduced the amount of tribute he was required to pay under earlier agreements. Hyder expected to receive assistance from the French, especially in the Carnatic, the territory he sought to conquer. However, diplomatic actions by Governor Warren Hastings and the Company successfully convinced both the Nizam and the Marathas not to take up arms, and Hyder ended up fighting the war on his own.


title: Hyder Ali

text: He successfully gained alliances with Ali Raja Bibi Junumabe II of Cannanore Arakkal Kingdom and the Muslim Mappila community and later even met with Muslim Malays from Malacca, who were in Dutch service.


title: Hyder Ali

text: The army Hyder assembled was one of the largest seen in southern India, estimated to number 83,000. Carefully co-ordinating the actions of his subordinate commanders, he swept down the Eastern Ghats onto the coastal plain in July 1780, laying waste the countryside. Due to Hyder's secrecy and poor British intelligence, officials in Madras were unaware of his movements until the fires of burning villages just away were seen in Madras. Hyder himself organised the Siege of Arcot, while detaching his son "Karim Khan Sahib" to take Porto Novo. The movement in August of Sir Hector Munro with a force of over 5,000 from Madras to Kanchipuram (Conjeevaram) prompted Hyder to lift the siege of Arcot and move to confront him. Word then arrived that Munro was awaiting the arrival of reinforcements from Guntur under Colonel William Baillie, so he sent a detachment under Tipu to intercept them, and eventually followed in strength himself, when Munro sent a force from his army to meet Baillie. Tipu and Hyder surrounded Baillie's force, and compelled the surrender of about 3,000 men in the Battle of Pollilur on 10 September; it was the first effective use of rocket artillery and made a strong impression upon the British. Hyder then renewed the siege of Arcot, which fell in November.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Shortly after the outbreak of hostilities, Governor Hastings had sent General Sir Eyre Coote south from Bengal to take charge of British forces opposing Hyder. He arrived at Madras in November to take command from Munro. Coote marched into the Carnatic, and eventually occupied Cuddalore. After being re-supplied there, he besieged Chidambram, where an assault on the fort was repulsed.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Hyder had in the mean-time descended into Tanjore, with severe consequences. After extracting the allegiance of the Maratha king Thuljaji, Hyder plundered the country, destroying cattle and crops. The economic output of Tanjore is estimated to have fallen by 90% between 1780 and 1782. Hyder's ravages were followed by alleged expeditions of plunder launched by the Kallars. The economic devastation wrought by these attacks was so severe that Tanjore's economy did not recover until the start of the 19th century; the era is referred to in local folklore as the "Hyderakalam".


title: Hyder Ali

text: With General Coote at Cuddalore, Hyder then made a forced march to interpose his army between Chidambram and Cuddalore, cutting Coote's supply line. Coote marched to face him, and won a decisive victory in the Battle of Porto Novo on 1 July 1781; Coote estimated that Hyder lost 10,000 men in the battle. Hyder then dispatched Tipu in an attempt to prevent the junction of Coote's army with reinforcements from Bengal. This failed, and in late August the two armies met again at Pollilur, chosen by Hyder as a place to make a stand, because it was the site of his victory over Baillie the previous year. Hyder was defeated this time, although the battle was not decisive. While Coote re-grouped and searched for provisions, Hyder took the opportunity to besiege Vellore. Madras authorities convinced the ageing Coote to put off his retirement and relieve the fortress there. Hyder and Coote met in battle at Sholinghur, near Vellore. Hyder's artillery was ineffective, and the re-provisioned Vellore, which had been on the brink of surrender.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Lord Macartney, who had recently arrived to take the Governorship of Madras, also brought news that Britain was at war with the Dutch. Consequent to this, the Company was instructed to seize Dutch holdings in India, and Macartney had ordered a detachment from Tanjore, under Colonel Braithwaite, to capture the main Dutch post at Negapatam. Hyder made an agreement with the Dutch to provide troops for its defence, but was himself forced away from Negapatam by Braithwaite. The British took Negapatam after a three-week siege in October and November 1781. This setback forced Hyder to withdraw from most of Tanjore.


title: Hyder Ali

text: In January 1782, General Coote, his health failing, again set out to re-provision Vellore. Hyder did not prevent the re-supply, but shadowed the British back toward Tripassore, offering battle near Sholinghur. Coote successfully manoeuvred away from Hyder without battle. In February, Hyder detached Tipu with a sizeable force to recover Tanjore. Intelligence failures led the main British garrison to become surrounded by this superior force; Colonel Brathwaite and 2,000 men surrendered. Hyder was also pre-occupied by bad news from the west. A Mysorean force that had been besieging Tellicherry was broken, with its commander and his siege guns captured, and Coorg and Malabar were also descending into open rebellion. Hyder consequently sent forces west to deal with these matters, and was preparing to follow himself when word arrived on 10 March that a French force had landed at Porto Novo. Hyder immediately sent Tipu from Tanjore to meet with them, and followed himself from Arcot. At this time he had a celebrated meeting with the French Admiral Suffren, and the allies agreed on a plan to establish Cuddalore as a French base. Cuddalore was occupied without resistance on 8 April, and Hyder's army, joined by the French, marched toward Permacoil, which fell in May. Coote responded by marching toward Arni, where Hyder had a major supply depot. Hyder and the French had been considering an assault on Wandiwash, but abandoned that idea and marched to face Coote. They skirmished there on 2 June. In August the British landed a force on the Malabar coast, to which Hyder responded by sending additional troops under Tipu to the west. The onset of the monsoon season then suspended most military activity on the eastern plain, and Hyder established his camp near Chittoor.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Hyder, who had suffered from a cancerous growth on his back, died in his camp on 6 December 1782. Some other accounts record it as 7 December 1782 and some historical accounts in the Persian language record the death in dates ranging from Hijri 1 Moharram 1197 to Hijri 4 Moharram 1197 in the Islamic calendar. The differences in recorded dates may be due to the lunar calendar and the differences in moon sightings in the surrounding kingdoms.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Hyder's advisers tried to keep his death a secret until Tipu could be recalled from the Malabar coast. Upon learning of his father's death Tipu immediately returned to Chittoor to assume the reins of power. His accession was not without problems: he had to put down an attempt by an uncle to place Tipu's brother Abdul Karim on the throne. The British learned of his death within 48 hours of its occurrence, but the dilatory attitude of Coote's replacement, James Stuart, meant that they were unable to capitalise on it militarily.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Hyder Ali was buried at the Gumbaz in Seringapatam, the mausoleum raised by his son Tipu Sultan in 1782–84.


title: Hyder Ali

text: In 1763, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan established their first naval fleet on the Malabar Coast, under the command of Ali Raja Kunhi Amsa II a large and well armed fleet consisting of 10 dhows and 30 larger ketches in the Indian Ocean, in his attempts to conquer islands that had withstood the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. In 1763 his allies, the Ali Rajas, sailed from Lakshadweep and Cannanore carrying on board sepoys and on its pennons the colours and emblems of Hyder Ali, and captured the Maldives.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Ali Raja returned to Mysore to pay homage to Hyder Ali, presenting him the captured and blinded Sultan of the Maldives Hasan 'Izz ud-din. Outraged at this excess, Hyder Ali stripped Ali Raja of the command of his fleet.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Hyder Ali, like his son Tipu Sultan protected foreign merchant ships, and the Mysore navy is even known to have protected and convoyed Chinese merchant ships in the region.


title: Hyder Ali

text: In 1768, Hyder Ali lost two grabs and 10 gavilats in a naval skirmish with forces of the East India Company. He was left with eight garbs and ten galivats, most of them damaged beyond repair.


title: Hyder Ali

text: On 19 February 1775, two of Hyder Ali's ketches attacked , which drove them off after a brief exchange of fire.


title: Hyder Ali

text: On 8 December 1780 Edward Hughes attacked Hyder Ali's fleet causing considerable damage once again. Mysore is known to have lost some of the best ships it ever constructed in that naval-battle at Mangalore. But the British were unable to stop Suffren's fleet in 1781.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Hyder Ali was an innovator in the military use of rockets, which were used against positions and territories held by the East India Company during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. Although rocket technology originated in China and had made its way to India and Europe by the 13th century, development of accurate cannons had sidelined rockets as a military technology in Europe. Rocket technology was already in use when Hyder's father served (he commanded a company of 50 rocketmen), but it was Hyder who improved them and significantly expanded their use in the military. Technological innovations included the use of high-quality iron casing (better than was then available in Europe) for the combustion chamber, enabling the use of higher-powered explosive charges. He also organised companies of rocketmen who were experienced in aiming rockets based on the size of the rocket and the distance to the target. Rockets could also be mounted on carts that improved their mobility and made possible the firing of large numbers of them all at once. Rockets developed by Hyder and Tipu led to a renaissance of interest in the technology in Britain, where William Congreve, supplied with rocket cases from Mysore, developed what became known as Congreve rockets in the early 19th century.


title: Hyder Ali

text: In Hyder's time the Mysorean army had a rocket corps of as many as 1,200 men, which Tipu increased to 5,000. At the 1780 Battle of Pollilur, during the second war, Colonel William Baillie's ammunition stores are thought to have been detonated by a hit from one of Hyder's rockets, contributing to the British defeat.


title: Hyder Ali

text: The peak of Mysore's economic power was under Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan in the post-Mughal era of the mid-late 18th century. They embarked on an ambitious program of economic development, aiming increase the wealth and revenue of Mysore.


title: Hyder Ali

text: Details are sketchy on Hyder's personal life. He had at least two wives. His second wife was Fatima, the mother of Tipu, his brother Karim, and a daughter. He may have also married the sister of Abdul Hakim Khan, the Nawab of Savanur; Bowring describes it as a marriage, but Punganuri Rao's translator, citing Wilks, claims this was a "concubine marriage". Karim and the daughter were both married to Abdul Hakim's children to cement an alliance in 1779.


title: Steve Stevens

text: Steve Stevens (born Steven Bruce Schneider; May 5, 1959) is an American guitarist. He is best known as Billy Idol's guitarist and songwriting collaborator, and for his lead guitar work on the theme to "Top Gun" – "Top Gun Anthem" – for which he won a Grammy in 1987: Best Pop Instrumental Performance.


title: Steve Stevens

text: Stevens has played for Michael Jackson, Ric Ocasek, Robert Palmer, and many others. Stevens was in Vince Neil's band from 1992 to 1994, touring and recording on his album "Exposed". Stevens was a founding member of the supergroup Bozzio Levin Stevens, which released "Black Light Syndrome" in 1997 and "Situation Dangerous" in 2000. He brought Spanish flamenco guitar stylings to the song "Pistolero" (1999) for the trance group Juno Reactor. During 2012–2016, Stevens appeared with Kings of Chaos. His "Steve Stevens" group headlined the closing performance at the Musikmesse in Frankfurt, Germany, in April 2016. He is also a television personality on the E! show "Married to Rock", alongside his wife, Josie Stevens.


title: Steve Stevens

text: His solo album releases include "Atomic Playboys" (1989), "Flamenco a Go-Go" (1999), and "Memory Crash" (2008).


title: Shibuya

text: Shibuya (渋谷区 "Shibuya-ku") is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station.


title: Shibuya

text: As of April 1, 2022, it has an estimated population of 228,906 and a population density of 15,149.30 people per km (39,263.4/sq mi). The total area is 15.11 km (5.83 sq mi).


title: Shibuya

text: The name "Shibuya" is also used to refer to the shopping district which surrounds Shibuya Station. This area is known as one of the fashion centers of Japan, particularly for young people, and as a major nightlife area.


title: Shibuya

text: Shibuya was historically the site of a castle in which the Shibuya family resided from the 11th century through the Edo period. Following the opening of the Yamanote Line in 1885, Shibuya began to emerge as a railway terminal for southwestern Tokyo and eventually as a major commercial and entertainment center.


title: Shibuya

text: The village of Shibuya was incorporated in 1889 by the merger of the villages of Kami-Shibuya, Naka-Shibuya and Shimo-Shibuya within Minami-Toshima County (Toyotama County from 1896). The village covered the territory of modern-day Shibuya Station area as well as the Hiroo, Daikanyama, Aoyama, and Ebisu areas. Shibuya became a town in 1909. The town of Shibuya merged with the neighboring towns of Sendagaya (which included the modern Sendagaya, Harajuku and Jingumae areas) and Yoyohata (which included the modern Yoyogi and Hatagaya areas) to form Shibuya-ku suburban ward upon being absorbed into Tokyo City in 1932. Shibuya became an urban special ward under the Local Autonomy Act in 1947.


title: Shibuya

text: The Tokyu Toyoko Line opened in 1932, making Shibuya a key terminal between Tokyo and Yokohama, and was joined by the forerunner of the Keio Inokashira Line in 1933 and the forerunner of the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line in 1938. One of the best-known stories concerning Shibuya is the story of Hachikō, a dog who waited on his late master at Shibuya Station every day from 1923 to 1935, eventually becoming a national celebrity for his loyalty. A statue of Hachikō was built adjacent to the station, and the surrounding Hachikō Square is now the most popular meeting point in the area.


title: Shibuya

text: During the occupation of Japan, Yoyogi Park was used as a housing compound for U.S. personnel known as "Washington Heights." The U.S. military left in 1964, and much of the park was repurposed as venues for the 1964 Summer Olympics. The ward itself served as part of the athletics 50 km walk and marathon course during the 1964 games.


title: Shibuya

text: Shibuya has achieved great popularity among young people since the late 70s. There are several famous fashion department stores in Shibuya. Shibuya 109 is a major shopping center near Shibuya Station, particularly famous as the origin of the "kogal" subculture. Called "Ichi-Maru-kyū," which translates as 1–0–9 in Japanese, the name is actually a pun on that of the corporation that owns it — Tōkyū (which sounds like 10–9 in Japanese; this is numerical substitution, a form of goroawase wordplay). The contemporary fashion scene in Shibuya extends northward from Shibuya Station to Harajuku, where youth culture reigns; Omotesandō, the zelkova tree- and fashion brand-lined street; and Sendagaya, Tokyo's apparel design district.


title: Shibuya

text: During the mid 90s, Shibuya also became known as the center of the IT industry in Japan. It was often called "Bit Valley" in English, a pun on both "Bitter Valley", the literal translation of "Shibuya", as well as bit, the computer term for binary digits.


title: Shibuya

text: The East Wing of a mixed-used skyscraper Shibuya Scramble Square was completed in August 2019. Shibuya's new gateway Shibuya Fukuras was completed in October 2019.


title: Shibuya

text: During the early morning of January 1, 2019, a 21-year-old man named Kazuhiro Kusakabe drove his minicar into a crowd of pedestrians celebrating New Year's Day on Takeshita Street. The man claimed his actions were a terrorist attack, and later stated that his intention was to retaliate against the usage of the death penalty for Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult members. The man attempted to flee but was soon apprehended by authorities in a nearby park.


title: Shibuya

text: Shibuya includes many well-known commercial and residential districts such as Daikanyama, Ebisu, Harajuku, Hiroo, Higashi, Omotesandō, Sendagaya, and Yoyogi.


title: Shibuya

text: In 2015, as the council passed "Ordinance for Promoting Respect of Gender Equality and Diversity in the Ward", Shibuya Ward became the first Japanese municipality that issues same-sex partnership certificates. According to this ordinance, same-sex couples who live in Shibuya are allowed "to rent apartments together, and have gained hospital visitation rights as family members". The ordinance was intended to bring three benefits to same-sex couples: "(1) rental housing within the ward (co-signing of tenancy agreements for municipal/public housing), (2) medical institutions within the ward (hospital visitation and medical decision-making rights as family members), and (3) employment conditions within the ward (e.g. family benefits, congratulations and condolence leave)". In order to apply for the certificate, couples must be 20-years-old or older residents of Shibuya Ward and have to state that "their relationship is based on love and mutual trust" in a notarized document. Koyuki Higashi (a former member of the Takarazuka Revue) and Hiroko Masuhara (an entrepreneur), a lesbian couple, were the first to receive this certification. Since the Shibuya Ward passed the ordinance, seven other municipalities in Japan have begun offering similar certificates.


title: Shibuya

text: The BBC notes that the ordinance has little binding legal force, saying it "amounts to a moral obligation on Shibuya businesses, which will not be penalised if they do not recognise the certificate", though their names will be posted on the ward's website if they violate the ordinance. Shimizu says the system "is not equivalent to marriage, as it does not accord same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples when it comes to inheritance, joint filing of taxes, or social welfare". As it requires at least a hundred thousand yen to apply for the certificate, it can be restrictive to some couples. Shimizu argues that Shibuya Ward has been criticized for pinkwashing as "while passing this ordinance, the administration also moved to expel the homeless in Miyashita Park and other parks in the ward". Pointing out that the mayor of Shibuya Ward in an interview stated that this is not a matter of human rights, but of diversity, Yuri Horie claimed that the term of diversity seems to be used to divide citizens into the good and the bad; it raises only the ones who contribute to the consumeristic society as representer of "diversity of sexuality" while excluding the useless ones. Yuki Tsuchiya, a lesbian activist, also argues that LGBT individuals are used to promote the ward.


title: Shibuya

text: Shibuya is famous for its scramble crossing, called Shibuya Crossing. It is located in front of the Shibuya Station Hachikō exit and stops vehicles in all directions to allow pedestrians to inundate the entire intersection. Shibuya Crossing is the "world’s busiest pedestrian crossing", with upwards 3,000 people at a time. The statue of Hachikō, a dog, between the station and the intersection, is a common meeting place and almost always crowded.


title: Shibuya

text: On the southwest side of Shibuya station, there is another popular meeting place with a statue called "Moyai". The statue resembles a Moai statue, and it was given to Shibuya by the people of Niijima Island in 1980.


title: Shibuya

text: The main station in Shibuya is Shibuya Station. The southern half of Shinjuku Station, including the New South Entrance, is located in Shibuya.


title: Shibuya

text: Calpis, Casio, Mixi, Niwango, Nihon Dempa Kogyo, and Tokyu Corporation have their headquarters in Shibuya. East Japan Railway Company have their headquarters in Yoyogi, Shibuya. 81 Produce has its headquarters in Tomigaya, Shibuya.


title: Shibuya

text: At one time Smilesoft had its headquarters in the CT Sasazuka Building in Shibuya. In May 1985 the headquarters of Bandai Visual moved to Shibuya. In March 1990 the headquarters moved to Shinjuku.


title: Shibuya

text: A.D. Vision - Tokyo, Y.K., the Japanese subsidiary of A.D. Vision, was in Shibuya. Acclaim Entertainment once had its Tokyo office in the Nomora Building. The Japanese subsidiary of Titus Interactive, Titus Japan K.K., had its head office on the eighth floor of the Kotubuki Dogenzaka Building in Dōgenzaka. The former animation studio; Group TAC was also located here.


title: Shibuya

text: The operates public elementary and junior high schools, while Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education operates public senior high schools.


title: Shibuya

text: Shibuya operates several public libraries, including the Central Library, the Nishihara Library, the Shibuya Library, the Tomigaya Library, the Sasazuka Library, the Honmachi Library, and the Rinsen Library. In addition, the Yoyogi Youth Hall houses the Yoyogi Library Room.


title: Ronald McNair

text: Ronald Erwin McNair (October 21, 1950 – January 28, 1986) was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He died during the launch of the Space Shuttle "Challenger" on mission STS-51-L, in which he was serving as one of three mission specialists in a crew of seven.


title: Ronald McNair

text: Prior to the "Challenger" disaster, he flew as a mission specialist on STS-41-B aboard "Challenger" from February 3 to 11, 1984, becoming the second African American and the first Baháʼí to fly in space.


title: Ronald McNair

text: McNair was born October 21, 1950, in Lake City, South Carolina, to Pearl M. and Carl C. McNair. He had two brothers, Carl and Eric A. McNair.


title: Ronald McNair

text: In the summer of 1959, he refused to leave the segregated Lake City Public Library without being allowed to check out his books. After the police and his mother were called, he was allowed to borrow books from the library; the building that housed the library at the time is now named after him. A children's book, "Ron's Big Mission", offers a fictionalized account of this event. His brother Carl wrote Ronald's official biography, "In the Spirit of Ronald E. McNair—Astronaut: An American Hero".


title: Ronald McNair

text: In 1971, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering physics, magna cum laude, from the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. At North Carolina A&T, he studied under professor Donald Edwards, who had established the physics curriculum at the university.


title: Ronald McNair

text: In 1976, he received a PhD degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the guidance of Michael Feld, becoming nationally recognised for his work in the field of laser physics. Also in 1976, he won the AAU Karate gold medal. He would subsequently win five regional championships and earn a 5th degree black belt in karate.


title: Ronald McNair

text: McNair received four honorary doctorates, as well as a score of fellowships and commendations. He became a staff physicist at the Hughes Research Lab in Malibu, California.


title: Ronald McNair

text: In 1978, McNair was selected as one of thirty-five applicants from a pool of ten thousand for the NASA astronaut program. He was one of several astronauts recruited by Nichelle Nichols as part of a NASA effort to increase the number of minority and female astronauts. He flew as a mission specialist on STS-41-B aboard "Challenger" from February 3 to 11, 1984, becoming the second African American to fly in space.


title: Ronald McNair

text: Following the STS-41-B mission, McNair was selected for STS-51-L as one of three mission specialists in a crew of seven. The mission launched on January 28, 1986. He was killed when "Challenger" disintegrated nine miles above the Atlantic Ocean, 73 seconds after liftoff. The disintegration also killed six other crew members.


title: Ronald McNair

text: He was initially buried at Rest Lawn Memorial Park in Lake City, South Carolina. His remains were disinterred in 2004 and moved to Ronald E. McNair Memorial Park, located elsewhere in Lake City.


title: Ronald McNair

text: Before his last fateful space mission, he had worked with the composer Jean-Michel Jarre on a piece of music for Jarre's then-upcoming album " Rendez-Vous". It was intended that he would record his saxophone solo onboard the "Challenger", which would have made McNair's solo the first original piece of music to have been recorded in space (although the song "Jingle Bells" had been played on a harmonica during an earlier Gemini 6 spaceflight). However, the recording was never made, as the flight ended in the disaster and the deaths of its entire crew. The final track on "Rendez-Vous", "Last Rendez-Vous," has the subtitle "Ron's Piece," and the liner notes include a dedication from Jarre: "Ron was so excited about the piece that he rehearsed it continuously until the last moment. May the memory of my friend the astronaut and the artist Ron McNair live on through this piece." McNair was supposed to have taken part in Jarre's "Rendez-vous Houston" concert through a live feed from the orbiting Shuttlecraft.


title: Ronald McNair

text: McNair was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004, along with all crew members lost in the "Challenger" and "Columbia" disasters.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: The Battle of Poltava (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated a Swedish army, under the command of Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld. The battle put an end to the status of the Swedish Empire as a European great power, as well as its eastbound expansion, and marked the beginning of Russian hegemony in Northern Europe.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: During the course of six years in the initial stages of the war, King Charles XII and the Swedish Empire had defeated almost all participants in the anti-Swedish coalition, which initially consisted of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Denmark-Norway and the Tsardom of Russia. The latter under Tsar Peter I's rule was the only one still undefeated. Charles XII therefore chose to invade Russia in the autumn of 1707 and march towards Moscow with a large Swedish army. However, the campaign was complicated by harsh weather conditions and by the Russians applying scorched earth tactics and surprise attacks, which forced Charles XII to interrupt his march on Moscow and instead march south to establish winter quarters in Ruthenia with the help of Ivan Mazepa, hetman of the Cossack Hetmanate Zaporizhian Host.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: After the extremely harsh Great Frost of 1708–1709, the weakened Swedish army resumed operations in the spring of 1709 and began a siege of the fortress of Poltava, an important trading center and military depot on the Vorskla. Meanwhile, a numerically superior Russian army of 75,000–80,000 men commanded by Peter, advanced to Poltava in order to relieve the siege. The two armies clashed, and ended with the Swedes being defeated and fleeing the battlefield. Charles and Mazepa retreated with 1,500 men south to the river Dnieper, which they crossed, thus managing to escape the Russians and established themselves in the Ottoman Empire. The rest of the army was forced to surrender to the Russians at the village of Perevolochna on 11 July 1709.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: The Battle of Poltava, as well as the subsequent capitulation, ended in a decisive victory for Peter I and became the greatest military catastrophe in Swedish history. It marked a turning point in the continuation of the war in favour of the anti-Swedish coalition, which as a result of the battle was revived and with renewed vigor attacked the weakened Swedish Empire on several fronts. The battle thus marked the end of Sweden's time as the dominant power in Northern Europe, a position which after the war was taken over by the Russian Empire. The battle is therefore of crucial importance in the history of Sweden as well as Russia and Ukraine.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: Charles XII had led Swedish forces to early victories in North Zealand (Summer 1700) and in the Battle of Narva in November 1700. However, it took six years for him to defeat Augustus II of Saxony-Poland. Peter I withdrew from Poland in the spring of 1706, and offered to cede his Baltic possessions to Sweden except St. Petersburg, but Charles refused. Peter subsequently adopted a scorched-earth policy in order to deprive the Swedish forces of supplies.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: Charles ordered a final attack on the Russian heartland with a possible assault on Moscow from his campaign base in Poland. The Swedish army of almost 44,000 men left Saxony on 22 August 1707 and marched slowly eastwards. Charles took the field in November after waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Continuing east, he crossed the Vistula River on 25 December 1707, then continued through a hostile Masuria and took Grodno on 26 January 1708 after Russian troops had abandoned the city. At the time the Russians had been occupied with a large rebellion of Don Cossacks, known as the Bulavin Rebellion (1707–1708). This revolt was contained in part by the forces of the Cossack Hetmanate led by Hetman Ivan Mazepa. The Swedes continued to the area around Smorgon and Minsk, where the army went into winter quarters. Charles left 8,000 dragoons under Major General Ernst Detlof von Krassow in western Poland.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: Poor weather and road conditions kept the Swedish troops in winter quarters until June 1708. In July the Swedes defeated Marshal Boris Sheremetyev's forces at the Battle of Holowczyn and advanced to the Dnieper River. During the spring General Lewenhaupt in Courland had been ordered to gather supplies and march his army of about 12,000 men to join Charles' forces. However, his departure from Mitau was delayed until late June and consequently he only joined Charles' forces on 11 October.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: Rather than winter in Livonia or wait for Lewenhaupt, Charles decided to move southwards into Ukraine and join Mazepa, who had decided to rebel against Peter. Peter sent Sheremetev to shadow the Swedish army. Lewenhaupt followed south and was attacked while crossing a river near a small village that gave name to the Battle of Lesnaya, losing the supply train and half of his force. In need of resupply, Charles moved towards Baturyn, Mazepa's headquarters, but Russian troops under Aleksandr Menshikov reached the city first. Anticipating the Swedish arrival, Menshikov ordered the merciless massacre of the population, razing the city and destroying or looting arms, ammunition and food.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: By the spring of 1709 Charles' force had shrunk to half of its original size. After the coldest winter in Europe in over 500 years, Charles was left with 20,000 soldiers and 34 cannons. Short of supplies, he laid siege to the Russian fortress at Poltava on the Vorskla River on 2 May 1709. Peter's force of 80,000 marched to relieve the siege. Upon his arrival, Peter built a fortified camp on the Vorskla, 4 km north of Poltava. While observing the Russian position on 20 June, Charles was struck in the foot by a stray bullet that wounded him so severely that he could not stand. In addition, Charles' last hope of reinforcement expired, as the Swedish forces under von Krassow had turned aside to deal with the anti-Swedish Sandomierz Confederation in Poland.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: Between the Russian and Swedish forces the Yakovetski and Budyschenski woods formed a corridor, which the Russians defended by building six forts across the gap. Peter, in addition, ordered four more redoubts built so the entire system of ten forts would have a "T" shape, providing flanking fire to a Swedish advance. Two of the redoubts were still being constructed on the morning of the battle, but 4,000 Russians manned the remaining eight, with 10,000 cavalry under General Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov stationed behind them.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: Because of his wound, Charles turned over operational command to Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld. Four columns of infantry and six columns of cavalry were to form during the night, 600 meters south of the redoubts, intending to attack before dawn in order to swiftly bypass the redoubt system and hit the Russian fort. The infantry was in place by 2:30 a.m. but the cavalry arrived late, having lost their way. Riding forward, Axel Gyllenkrok observed the Russians at work on the two nearest redoubts and rode back to inform Rehnskiöld. A reconnoitre by Major General Wolmar Anton von Schlippenbach was discovered by the Russians and the alarm was sounded by the firing of a pistol. Having lost the element of surprise, and without sufficient cannon to breach the fortifications, Rehnskiöld consulted with Charles, Carl Piper and Lewenhaupt on whether or not to proceed with the assault. By the time Rehnskiöld decided to proceed with the attack by quoting, "In the name of God then, let us go forward", it was nearly 4:00 a.m. on 28 June (Swedish calendar) and dawn was already approaching. The Swedes in Carl Gustaf Roos' column quickly overran the first two redoubts, killing every Russian soldier inside them, but by 4:30 a.m. the attempts to take the third redoubt stalled.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: Lewenhaupt's ten battalions on the right bypassed the first four redoubts entirely, advancing to the back line and, with the aid of cavalry, took some redoubts while bypassing others. Two of Roos' rear battalions joined them, indicating that issued orders lacked clarity as to whether to avoid the redoubts or attack them in series. The cavalry on the left wing, commanded by Major General Hamilton and an infantry regiment, advanced by passing the redoubts on the left and charged the Russian cavalry, forcing them to retreat. It was 5:00 a.m. when the left and right wings of the Swedish army made it past the back line of redoubts, sending the Russian cavalry in retreat. However, Rehnskiöld ordered his cavalry to stop their pursuit and Lewenhaupt, already advancing towards the fort, to withdraw to the west. There they awaited Roos' battalions for two hours, while the Russian cavalry and Ivan Skoropadsky's Cossacks waited to the north, with 13 Russian battalions deployed north of their camp and ten to the south, anticipating a Swedish advance.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: General Roos and six battalions (one-third of the Swedish infantry) became isolated while attempting to take the third Russian redoubt. After suffering severe casualties from several assault attempts, Roos led the remaining 1,500 of his original 2,600 men into the Yakovetski woods to the east at 6:00 a.m. The Russians reoccupied the first two redoubts and launched a two-pronged attack by ten regiments around 7:00 a.m., forcing Roos to retreat towards Poltava and take refuge in an abandoned fort by 9:00 a.m. when he could not make it to the Swedish siege works. Roos was forced to surrender his command at 9:30 a.m.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: The Swedes continued to wait for Roos' troops to return, unaware of their surrender. As time went by Peter led the 42 battalions of Russian infantry—22,000 soldiers—into an advance out of the fortified camp, supported by 55 three-pounder cannons and 32 guns on the ramparts of the fort. Ten regiments of dragoons formed under Lieutenant General Adolf Fredrik Bauer on the Russian right and six regiments under Menshikov on the left. Just west of the camp the Russians were faced by 4,000 Swedish infantry, formed into ten battalions with four three-pounders, and the cavalry under Major General Carl Gustaf Creutz in the rear. The Russians slowly moved forward to engage. According to Charles and reports from other Swedish officers, the weather at that time was already very hot and humid, with the sun obscured by smoke from the Russian cannons in the fort.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: At 9:45 a.m. Rehnskiöld ordered Lewenhaupt and the Swedish line to move forward, advancing towards the Russian line, which started firing its cannons at 500 meters. When the Swedes were 50 meters from the Russian line, the Russians opened fire with their muskets from all four ranks. Advancing to within 30 meters of the Russian line, the Swedes fired a volley of their own and charged with their muskets and pikemen, and the Russian first line retreated towards their second line. The Swedes seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough and needed the cavalry under Creutz to break the Russian lines. Unfortunately for the Swedes, Creutz's and the other cavalry units were unable to reform completely in time. With the Russian line longer than the Swedish line, the Swedish infantry on the left flank lagged behind the right and finally threw down their weapons and fled. As the Swedish right flank was still advancing, a gap began to open in the Swedish line which the Russians filled and the battle turned into a Cannae variation. Barely able to gather his cavalry squadrons, Creutz tried to advance on the right flank, but the Russian battalions were able to form into hollow squares, while Menshikov's cavalry outflanked the Swedes and attacked them from the rear. At this point the Swedish assault had disintegrated and no longer had organized bodies of troops to oppose the Russian infantry or cavalry. Small groups of soldiers managed to break through and escape to the south through the Budyschenski woods, while many of the rest were overwhelmed, ridden down or captured.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: Realizing they were the last Swedes on the battlefield, Charles ordered a retreat to the woods, gathering what remaining forces he could for protection, including the remnants of Creutz's detachment. The Russians halted at the edge of the woods and their artillery fire stopped; only the Cossacks and Kalmycks roamed the plains south of the woods. Emerging from the woods at around noon, Charles—on horseback after his litter was destroyed, and protected by a square of a couple of thousand men—headed to Pushkaryovka and his baggage train 5 km to the south, reaching it after 1:00 p.m., by which time the battle was over.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: Charles gathered the remainder of his troops and baggage train and retreated to the south later that same day—at about 7:00 p.m., abandoning the siege of Poltava. Lewenhaupt led the surviving Swedes and some of the Cossack forces to the Dnieper River, but was doggedly pursued by the Russian regular cavalry and 3,000 Kalmyk auxiliaries and forced to surrender three days later at Perevolochna on 1 July.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: High-ranking Swedes captured during the battle included Field Marshal Rehnskiöld, Major Generals Schlippenbach, Stackelberg, Hamilton and Prince Maximilian Emanuel, as well as Piper. Peter the Great held a celebratory banquet in two large tents erected on the battlefield. Voltaire assumed Peter's reason for this, in raising a toast to the Swedish generals as war masters, was to send a message to his own generals about disloyalty. Two mass graves contained the Russian dead, 500 meters southwest of their camp. Previously defeating Peter, Charles had gone so far as to pay the Russian troops. Peter instead took many Swedes, with great pride, and sent them to Siberia.


title: Battle of Poltava

text: Charles and Mazepa escaped with about 1,500 men to Bendery, Moldavia, then controlled by the Ottoman Empire. Charles spent five years in exile there before he was able to return to Sweden in December 1715. During this time, even handicapped, he retained his magisterial calm demeanor under fire, fighting his way out of several situations. The high vizier of the Turks was eventually paid off, with much intrigue and espionage involved and plots within plots, at one point involving a ransom of the Russian crown jewels, according to Charles' prison translator.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: José Delfín Fernández Gómez (July 31, 1992 – September 25, 2016) was a Cuban-American professional baseball pitcher who played four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a member of the Miami Marlins from 2013 until his death in 2016. He stood tall and weighed during his playing career. He was affectionately known as "Niño" to his teammates and fans due to the youthful exuberance with which he played the game.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández was born in Santa Clara, Cuba. He made three unsuccessful attempts at defecting to the United States before he finally succeeded in 2008. He enrolled at Braulio Alonso High School in Tampa, Florida, and was selected by the Marlins in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft. Fernández made his MLB debut with the Marlins on April 7, 2013. He was named to the 2013 National League All-Star Team, and won the National League (NL) Rookie of the Month Award in July and August. After the season, he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award and finished third in Cy Young Award balloting. He underwent Tommy John surgery during the 2014 season and was named to his second All-Star Game in 2016.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández was the captain when he and two other men were killed in a pre-dawn boating crash into a jetty off the coast of Miami Beach, Florida, on September 25, 2016.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández grew up in Santa Clara, Cuba, where he lived on the same street as his friend and future Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop Aledmys Díaz. They played for the same youth baseball team, and Díaz's father and uncle encouraged Fernández's mother to bring him to the ballpark. Fernández commented that he pursued a professional baseball career because Díaz's uncle had been an influence early in his life.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Ramón Jiménez, Fernández's stepfather, defected from Cuba in 2005, settling in Tampa, Florida. On three occasions, José unsuccessfully attempted to defect; each failed defection attempt was followed by a prison term. On his fourth attempt in 2007, José successfully defected at age 15 with his mother and sister. José's mother fell overboard when the boat hit turbulent waters, and he dove into the water to save her life. They reached Mexico and then moved to Tampa in 2008.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Ramon knew Orlando Chinea, a coach who lived in the Tampa area. Chinea had trained some of Cuba's top pitchers before he defected to Tampa. Ramon had José train with Chinea. He attended Braulio Alonso High School in Tampa, Florida. Playing on the high school baseball team, José was part of the Florida Class 6A state champions in his sophomore and senior seasons. Before his senior year in 2011, the Florida High School Athletic Association ruled that Fernández was ineligible, as he entered the ninth grade while in Cuba in 2006 and had therefore exhausted his eligibility. MLB's Cincinnati Reds were prepared to sign Fernández as an international free agent to a $1.3 million signing bonus. Fernández won an appeal and was declared eligible for his senior year, ending Cincinnati's pursuit. As a senior, Fernández pitched to a 13–1 win–loss record with a 2.35 earned run average (ERA) and 134 strikeouts. He also threw two no-hitters. He was committed to play baseball at the University of South Florida.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: The Florida Marlins selected Fernández 14th overall in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft. Fernández signed with the Marlins, receiving a $2 million signing bonus. After he signed with the Marlins, he made one start for the Gulf Coast Marlins of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, and one start for the Jamestown Jammers of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Pitching for the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the Class A South Atlantic League (SAL) to start the 2012 season, Fernández threw the first six innings of a combined no-hitter. He was twice named the SAL pitcher of the week. Fernández was named to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game. After pitching to a 7–0 win–loss record and a 1.59 ERA in 14 games for Greensboro, the Marlins promoted Fernández to the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League. He finished the 2012 season with a 14–1 win–loss record, a 1.75 ERA, and 158 strikeouts in 134 innings pitched at Greensboro and Jupiter. He was named the Marlins' Minor League Pitcher of the Year.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Prior to the 2013 season, "Baseball America" ranked Fernández as the Marlins' best prospect and the fifth best prospect in all of baseball. The Marlins invited Fernández to spring training but sent him to minor league camp before the season began. However, they chose to add Fernández to their 25-man Opening Day roster, due in part to injuries to Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Álvarez. Also, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria hoped that promoting Fernández would buy him goodwill with the fans, following a fire sale the previous offseason. He was planned to be limited to approximately 150 to 170 innings during the 2013 season in order to protect his development. He was the second youngest National League player that season, older only than the Nationals' Bryce Harper.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández made his major league debut on April 7 against the New York Mets at Citi Field. He pitched five innings, allowing one run on three hits with eight strikeouts. He became the seventh pitcher since 1916 under the age of 21 who recorded at least eight strikeouts in his MLB debut. Fernández had a rough outing against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 27. Rays' manager Joe Maddon took to Twitter soon after watching Fernández pitch, saying, "José Fernández might be the best young pitcher I've ever seen, at that age. I believe he will go far."


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: On July 6, 2013, Fernández was selected to represent the Marlins for the National League All-Star team. He pitched a perfect 6th inning in the 2013 All-Star Game in which he struck out Dustin Pedroia, got Miguel Cabrera to pop out, and struck out Chris Davis. With this performance, Fernández is one of only three pitchers in the history of the All-Star Game who struck out two batters prior to their 21st birthday for their All-Star debut, the other two being Dwight Gooden and Bob Feller.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández struck out 13 batters in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 28, earning the 3–2 victory. With Fernández's 14-strikeout performance against the Cleveland Indians on August 3, 2013, he became just the sixth pitcher since 2000 to strike out 13 or more batters in consecutive games. He established the Marlins' rookie record for most strikeouts in one game. For his performance in July 2013, Fernández was named the Rookie of the Month for the National League, leading all qualified rookie pitchers in ERA. He followed up his July by compiling a 1.15 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched in August, which resulted him in receiving a second consecutive Rookie of the Month Award.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández's rookie season was considered historic as his 4.2 Wins Above Replacement placed him in the Top 10 player seasons among those under 21 years old since 1900. Fernández's Adjusted ERA+ of 174 on the season also placed him in the Top 10 all-time for pitchers under the age of 21, and he became only the fourth pitcher to record this feat in the past century. His strikeout rate is the highest in his league, pacing the National League at 9.81 strikeouts per nine innings.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: At the time after his last start of his rookie season, Fernández was in the top 10 of many pitching statistics in the National League, including sixth in strikeouts (187), first in strikeouts per nine innings (9.75) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.759), second in ERA (2.19) and Adjusted ERA+ (176), and third in WAR (6.3). Fernández won the "Sporting News" Rookie of the Year Award and the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He came in third place in the Cy Young Award voting behind Adam Wainwright and winner Clayton Kershaw.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández started his sophomore campaign as the Opening Day starter for the Marlins, making him the youngest Opening Day starting pitcher since Dwight Gooden in 1986. Fernández recorded nine strikeouts while walking none, and he joined Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, Ferguson Jenkins, Walter Johnson, and Cy Young as the only pitchers to do so on Opening Day. On May 12, Fernández was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a right elbow sprain. An MRI revealed that the elbow had a torn ulnar collateral ligament, which prematurely ended Fernández's 2014 season. He underwent Tommy John surgery on May 16. He made eight starts, going 4–2 with a 2.44 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 2014.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández began the 2015 season on the 15-day disabled list but was later moved to the 60-day disabled list to continue recovery from Tommy John surgery. It was announced by the Marlins on June 15 that he would make his season debut on July 2. In his debut, Fernández recorded six strikeouts in six innings. He also hit a home run. Fernández returned to the disabled list in August with a biceps strain in his pitching arm. He returned to the mound in September and set a major league record for consecutive wins at home by a single pitcher with his seventeenth such win on the 25th of that month.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: To aid his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Fernández cut back on the use of his fastball during spring training in 2016 and began working on his secondary pitches. Appearing as a pinch hitter in the 12th inning against the Atlanta Braves on July 1, Fernández doubled in two runs to put the Marlins ahead 7–5, which ended up being the final score. He became just the second pitcher in Marlins history to produce a game-winning hit, following Dennis Cook on August 1, 1997. Fernández appeared in the 2016 MLB All-Star Game.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández pitched his last game on September 20. He threw eight shutout innings in a 1–0 win against the division-leading Nationals, striking out 12 batters and allowing just three hits with no walks. Afterwards, Marlins infielder Martín Prado recalled that Fernández told a teammate it was "the best game he ever pitched".


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: He finished 2016 with an MLB-leading 12.49 strikeouts per nine innings and a new Marlins' season record of 253 strikeouts in innings. He won 16 games, the best of his four-year career, while losing eight, with a 2.86 ERA. He had the highest line drive percentage allowed (28.0%) of all major league pitchers. He also had the lowest percentage of balls pulled against him (33.3%) among major league pitchers, and led major league pitchers in lowest contact percentage (67.5%). For his career, he had a 38–17 win–loss record for a winning percentage and a 2.58 ERA.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández had four pitches in his repertoire: a four-seam fastball that averaged and topped at , a slurve at , a changeup at , and an occasional sinker at .


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández considered his grandmother, Olga, the "love of his life". After six years apart, Olga and José were reunited in Miami after the 2013 baseball season. Fernandez married Alejandra Baleato Marichal, his high school sweetheart, in December 2012 in Tampa, Florida. The couple divorced in 2014. On April 24, 2015, he became a citizen of the United States.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: On September 20, 2016, five days prior to his death, Fernández announced that his girlfriend Maria Arias was pregnant with their child. Fernández's daughter was born in February 2017.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Fernández was good friends with teammate Dee Strange-Gordon. Strange-Gordon paid tribute to him on the day after his death by wearing Fernández's batting helmet and standing in the right-hand batter's box for the first pitch from Mets' starter Bartolo Colón. He then switched sides and hit a lead-off home run, which was his only home run of the year. After rounding the bases, Strange-Gordon wept as he pointed to the sky as a tribute to his deceased friend.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: On September 25, 2016, Fernández died in a pre-dawn boating crash when the boat he was piloting was speeding at 56.48 knots (65 mph) and struck the Government Cut north rock jetty off Miami Beach, Florida. The U.S. Coast Guard found the boat, "Kaught Looking", at about 3:00 a.m., overturned on the jetty near South Pointe Park, and found Fernandez and two other men, Eduardo Rivero and Emilio Jesus Macias, dead at the scene. A Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) official confirmed that Fernández had died from the blunt impact of the crash. The commission received a toxicology report from the medical examiner of Miami-Dade County, but opted not to release the results. On October 28, 2016, ESPN obtained the autopsy and toxicology reports, which determined that Fernández had cocaine in his system and was legally drunk (DWI) at the time of the crash.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: The Marlins canceled their game against the Atlanta Braves that day. Teams around the major leagues honored Fernández, paying tribute with a league-wide moment of silence and the display of his jersey No. 16. The Miami Dolphins also observed a moment of silence before their Sunday football game against the Cleveland Browns. The next day, all players wore his jersey for the final time for that night's game, a 7–3 win over the New York Mets. The City of Miami and the Marlins held a public memorial and funeral procession for Fernández on September 28. His ashes were scattered at sea on October 2.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: In a search warrant affidavit, Miami-Dade County authorities stated that a strong odor of alcohol was found on the three men who died in the crash, and evidence indicated that the boat's skipper was speeding and driving with "recklessness" that was "exacerbated by the consumption of alcohol". The toxicology report determined that cocaine and twice the legal limit of alcohol were in Fernández's system at the time of his death. In February 2017, the families of Eduardo Rivero and Emilio Jesus Macias sued Fernández's estate for $2 million each, claiming negligence and personal injury. The lawsuit was settled on July 31, 2018, for an undisclosed sum.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: On March 16, 2017, the final investigative report on the incident confirmed that Fernández was piloting the boat at the time of the incident "in a reckless manner, at an extremely high rate of speed, in the darkness of night, in an area with known navigational hazards such as rock jetties and channel markers." The report concluded that he was legally drunk, having a blood alcohol content of 0.147%, nearly double the legal limit of 0.08%. Fernández also had cocaine in his system and had committed multiple crimes, including involuntary manslaughter, boating under the influence, vessel homicide, and reckless or careless operation of a vessel. Fernández family attorney Ralph Fernandez (no relation to the deceased) challenged the findings of the final report, claiming that Fernández was framed as the boat pilot and that someone had spiked his drink with cocaine.


title: José Fernández (pitcher)

text: Prior to the investigative report, there had been talks about honoring Fernández with a statue, streets named after him, and plaques throughout the city. Today, a plaque showing his jersey No. 16, years of birth and death, and a black ribbon is displayed outside of LoanDepot Park.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: Chapterhouse: Dune is a 1985 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the last in his "Dune" series of six novels. It rose to No. 2 on "The New York Times" Best Seller list.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: A direct follow-up to "Heretics of Dune", the novel chronicles the continued struggles of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood against the violent Honored Matres, who are succeeding in their bid to seize control of the universe and destroy the factions and planets that oppose them.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: "Chapterhouse: Dune" ends with a cliffhanger, and Herbert's subsequent death in 1986 left some overarching plotlines of the series unresolved. Two decades later, Herbert's son Brian Herbert, along with Kevin J. Anderson, published two sequels – "Hunters of Dune" (2006) and "Sandworms of Dune" (2007) – based in part on notes left behind by Frank Herbert for what he referred to as "Dune 7", his own planned seventh novel in the "Dune" series.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: The Bene Gesserit find themselves the target of the Honored Matres, whose conquest of the Old Empire is almost complete. The Matres are seeking to assimilate the technology and superhuman skills of the Bene Gesserit, and exterminate the Sisterhood itself. Now in command of the Bene Gesserit, Mother Superior Darwi Odrade continues to develop her drastic, secret plan to overcome the Honored Matres. The Bene Gesserit are also terraforming the planet Chapterhouse to accommodate the all-important sandworms, whose native planet Dune had been destroyed by the Matres.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: Sheeana, in charge of the project, expects sandworms to appear soon. The Honored Matres have also destroyed the entire Bene Tleilax civilization, with Tleilaxu Master Scytale the only one of his kind left alive. In Bene Gesserit captivity, Scytale possesses the Tleilaxu secret of ghola production, which he has reluctantly traded for the Sisterhood's protection. The first ghola produced is that of their recently deceased military genius, Miles Teg. The Bene Gesserit have two other prisoners on Chapterhouse: the latest Duncan Idaho ghola, and former Honored Matre Murbella, whom they have accepted as a novice despite their suspicion that she intends to escape back to the Honored Matres.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: Lampadas, a center for Bene Gesserit education, has been destroyed by the Honored Matres. The planet's Chancellor, Reverend Mother Lucilla, manages to escape carrying the shared-minds of millions of Reverend Mothers. Lucilla is forced to land on Gammu where she seeks refuge with an underground group of Jews. The Rabbi gives Lucilla sanctuary, but to save his people from the Matres he must deliver her to them. Before doing so, he reveals Rebecca, a "wild" Reverend Mother who has gained her Other Memory without Bene Gesserit training.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: Lucilla shares minds with Rebecca, who promises to take the memories of Lampadas safely back to the Sisterhood. Lucilla is then "betrayed", and taken before the Great Honored Matre Dama, who tries to persuade her to join the Honored Matres, preserving her life in exchange for Bene Gesserit secrets. The Honored Matres are particularly interested in learning to voluntarily modify their body chemistry, a skill that atrophied among the Bene Gesserit who went out into the Scattering and evolved into the Honored Matres. From this, Lucilla deduces that the greater enemy that the Matres are fleeing from is making extensive use of biological warfare. Lucilla refuses to share this knowledge with the Matres, and Dama ultimately kills her.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: Back on Chapterhouse, Odrade confronts Duncan and forces him to admit that he is a Mentat, proving that he retains the memories of his many ghola lives. Meanwhile, Murbella collapses under the pressure of Bene Gesserit training, and realizes that she wants to be Bene Gesserit. Odrade believes that the Sisterhood made a mistake in fearing emotion, and that in order to evolve, they must learn to accept emotions. Murbella survives the spice agony and becomes a Reverend Mother. Odrade confronts Sheeana, discovering that Duncan and Sheeana have been allies for some time. Sheeana does not reveal that they have been considering the option of reawakening Teg's memory through imprinting, nor does Odrade discover that Sheeana has the keys to Duncan's no-ship prison.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: Teg is awakened by Sheeana using imprinting techniques. Odrade appoints him again as Bashar of the military forces of the Sisterhood for the assault on the Honored Matres. Odrade announces to the Bene Gesserit that Teg will lead an attack against the Honored Matres. She also makes clear her intention to share her memories with Murbella and Sheeana, making them candidates to succeed her as Mother Superior if she dies. Odrade meets with the Great Honored Matre while the Bene Gesserit forces under Teg attack Gammu with tremendous force. Teg uses his secret ability to see no-ships to secure control of the system, and victory for the Bene Gesserit seems inevitable. In the midst of this battle, Rebecca and the Jews take refuge with the Bene Gesserit fleet.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: Dama's chief advisor Logno assassinates Dama with poison and assumes control of the Honored Matres. Too late, Odrade and Teg realize they have fallen into a trap, and the Honored Matres use a mysterious weapon to turn defeat into victory, and capture Odrade. Murbella saves as much of the Bene Gesserit force as she can and they withdraw to Chapterhouse. Odrade, however, had planned for the possible failure of the Bene Gesserit attack and left Murbella instructions for a last desperate gamble. Murbella pilots a small craft down to the surface, announcing herself as an Honored Matre who, in the confusion, has managed to escape the Bene Gesserit with all their secrets. She arrives on the planet and is taken to the Great Honored Matre. Unable to control her anger, Logno attacks but is killed by Murbella.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: Awed by her physical prowess, the remaining Honored Matres are forced to accept her as their new leader. Odrade is also killed in the melee and Murbella shares with Odrade to absorb her newest memories, as they had already shared prior to the battle. Murbella's ascension to leadership is not accepted as victory by all the Bene Gesserit. Some flee Chapterhouse, notably Sheeana, who has a vision of her own, and arranges to have some of the new worms that have emerged in the Chapterhouse desert brought aboard the no-ship. Sheeana is joined by Duncan. The two escape in the giant no-ship, with Scytale, Teg and the Jews. Murbella recognizes their plan at the last minute, but is powerless to stop them.


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: "Chapterhouse: Dune" debuted at No. 5 and rose to No. 2 on "The New York Times" Best Seller list. Gerald Jonas of "The New York Times" noted that "Against all odds, the universe of "Dune" keeps getting richer in texture, more challenging in its moral dilemmas."


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: Dave Langford reviewed the novel for "White Dwarf" #65, and stated that "The hyper-acute characters are impressive, the resolution thoughtful and humane. Though initially I gave up after "Children", "Heretics" and "Chapter House" have partially Restored My Faith."


title: Chapterhouse: Dune

text: Two decades after Frank Herbert's death, his son Brian Herbert, along with Kevin J. Anderson, published two sequels – "Hunters of Dune" (2006) and "Sandworms of Dune" (2007) – based on notes left behind by Frank Herbert for what he referred to as "Dune 7", his own planned seventh novel in the "Dune" series.


title: Old Bailey

text: The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The street outside follows the route of the ancient wall around the City of London, which was part of the fortification's "bailey", hence the metonymic name.


title: Old Bailey

text: The Old Bailey has been housed in a succession of court buildings on the street since the sixteenth century, when it was attached to the medieval Newgate gaol. The current main building block was completed in 1902, designed by Edward William Mountford; its architecture is recognised and protected as a Grade II* listed building. An extension South Block was constructed in 1972, over the former site of Newgate gaol which was demolished in 1904.


title: Old Bailey

text: The Crown Court sitting in the Old Bailey hears major criminal cases from within Greater London. In exceptional cases, trials may be referred to the Old Bailey from other parts of England and Wales. As with most courts in England and Wales, trials at the Old Bailey are open to the public; however, they are subject to stringent security procedures.


title: Old Bailey

text: The court originated as the sessions house of the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of the City of London and of Middlesex. In addition to sessions court, the Old Bailey also held trials, similar to the traveling Courts of Assize held in other parts of England and Wales. The original medieval court was first mentioned in 1585; it was next to the older Newgate Prison, and seems to have grown out of the endowment to improve the gaol and rooms for the sheriffs, made possible by a gift from Richard Whittington. It was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt in 1674, with the court open to the weather to prevent the spread of disease.


title: Old Bailey

text: In 1734, it was refronted, enclosing the court and reducing the influence of spectators: this led to outbreaks of typhus, notably in 1750 when 60 people died, including the Lord Mayor and two judges. It was rebuilt again in 1774 and a second courtroom was added in 1824. Over 100,000 criminal trials were carried out at the Old Bailey between 1674 and 1834.


title: Old Bailey

text: In 1834, it was renamed as the Central Criminal Court and its jurisdiction extended beyond that of London and Middlesex to the whole of the English jurisdiction for trials of major cases. His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service manages the courts and administers the trials but the building itself is owned by the City of London Corporation, which finances the building, the running of it, the staff and the maintenance out of their own resources.


title: Old Bailey

text: The court was envisaged as that where only criminals accused of crimes committed in the City and Middlesex were tried. However, in 1856, there was public revulsion at complaints sent to police against doctor William Palmer that he was a poisoner and murderer. This led to fears that he could not receive a fair trial in his native Staffordshire. The Central Criminal Court Act 1856 was passed to enable his trial, and others with a public profile, to be held at the Old Bailey.


title: Old Bailey

text: The Old Bailey adjoined Newgate Prison until the jail's 1902 closure. Hangings were a public spectacle in the street outside until May 1868. The condemned would be led along Dead Man's Walk between the buildings, and many were buried in the walk itself. Large, rowdy crowds sometimes gathered and pelted the condemned with rotten fruit and vegetables and stones. After 28 people were crushed to death when a pie-seller's stall overturned, a secret tunnel was made between the prison and St Sepulchre's church opposite the crossroads, to allow the chaplain to minister to the condemned without having to force his way through crowds.


title: Old Bailey

text: The present building dates from 1902 and was officially opened by King Edward VII on 27 February 1907. It was designed by E. W. Mountford and co-occupies the site of the demolished prison. Above the main entrance is inscribed the admonition: "Defend the Children of the Poor & Punish the Wrongdoer".


title: Old Bailey

text: On the dome above the court stands the court's symbolic gilt bronze statue of Lady Justice by sculptor F. W. Pomeroy (made 1905–1906). She holds a sword in her right hand and the scales of justice in her left. The statue is popularly supposed to show blind Justice, but the figure is not blindfolded: the courthouse brochures explain that this is because Lady Justice was originally not blindfolded, and because her "maidenly form" is supposed to guarantee her impartiality which renders the blindfold redundant.


title: Old Bailey

text: During the Blitz of World War II, the Old Bailey was bombed and severely damaged, but reconstruction work restored most of it in the early 1950s. In 1952, the restored interior of the Grand or Great Hall of the Central Criminal Court was once again open. This hall (underneath the dome) is decorated with paintings commemorating the Blitz, as well as quasi-historical scenes of St Paul's Cathedral with nobles outside. Running around the entire hall are a series of axioms, some of biblical reference. They read:


title: Old Bailey

text: Between 1968 and 1972, a new South Block, designed by the architects Donald McMorran and George Whitby, was built to accommodate more modern courts.


title: Old Bailey

text: In 1973, the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional IRA exploded a car bomb in the street outside, killing one and injuring 200 people. A shard of glass is preserved as a reminder, embedded in the wall at the top of the main stairs.


title: Old Bailey

text: The hall (and its floor) was decorated with many busts and statues, chiefly of British monarchs, but also of legal figures, and those who achieved renown by campaigning for improvement in prison conditions from 1700 to 1900. This part of the building also housed the stenographers' offices until the stenographers were replaced by technology in March 2012.


title: Old Bailey

text: Until 2017, the court manager was known by the title of the "Secondary of the City of London", an ancient title of a City officer.


title: Old Bailey

text: All judges sitting in the Old Bailey are addressed as "My Lord" or "My Lady" whether they are High Court, circuit judges or recorders. The Lord Mayor and aldermen of the City of London are entitled to sit on the judges' bench during a hearing but do not participate in hearings. Where a ceremonial tradition is followed, a judge, sitting sole, sits off-centre in case the Lord Mayor were to decide to come in, who would take the centre chair. The most senior "permanent" judge of the Central Criminal Court has the title of Recorder of London, and their deputy has the title of Common Serjeant of London. The position of "Recorder of London" is distinct from that of a recorder, which is a part-time judicial office, holders of which sit part-time as judges of the Crown Court or County Court. Many criminal law advocates with QC/KC status and leading profiles sit as recorders across the London region. The recent Recorders of London have been:


title: Old Bailey

text: The court house originated as part of the City of London's borough judicial system, and it remains so. The Recorder and the Common Serjeant are City officers, and the Recorder is a member of the Common Council because he is also a member of the Court of Aldermen. The city's sheriffs and the Lord Mayor are justices there, but their jurisdiction is now nominal. The sheriffs are resident with the senior judges in the complex. In Court 1 are benches set aside for the committee of Bridge House Estates, the owner of the building.


title: Old Bailey

text: The Old Bailey has been mentioned and featured in numerous fictional works including film, video games and literature. Notable examples include "V for Vendetta" and its film adaptation, in which the title character demolishes it to gain the public's attention, and "Justice League" and its director's cut, in which Wonder Woman foils a terrorist bomb plot. In Agatha Christie's play, "Witness for the Prosecution", the murder trial of Leonard Vole is held at the Old Bailey. It is also a central location in "" and its sequel "", where many of the trials in the games' plot take place. "Rumpole of the Bailey" is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. Horace Rumpole, is an elderly London barrister who defends a broad variety of clients, often underdogs.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: Nerve is a 2016 American techno-thriller adventure film directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman and written by Jessica Sharzer, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Jeanne Ryan. The film stars Emma Roberts, Dave Franco and Juliette Lewis, and revolves around an online truth or dare game, which allows people to enlist as "players" or "watchers" and as the game progresses further, the players are contacted and invited to participate in more dangerous and risky dares than their prior ones.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: The film premiered at the SVA Theater on July 12, 2016 and was theatrically released on July 27, 2016, by Lionsgate. It received positive reviews from critics for its energy and the chemistry of its cast, and grossed over $85 million worldwide against a $19 million budget.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: High school senior Venus "Vee" Delmonico longs to leave Staten Island for college, but is avoiding telling her mother as they are still mourning the death of her older brother. Her friend Sydney becomes popular in "Nerve": an online reality game where people either enlist as "players" or pay to watch as "watchers". Players accept dares voted on by watchers, try to become the winner of that day, and receive monetary rewards.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: Sydney chastises Vee's unadventurous nature so Vee signs up as a player on "Nerve". She learns that all dares must be recorded on the player's phone, earned money will be revoked if a player fails or bails on a dare, and that "snitches get stitches."


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: Vee's first dare is to kiss a stranger at a diner. At the diner she kisses Ian, who dances and sings to Vee, revealing he's another player on a dare. The watchers dare Ian to take her into Manhattan on his motorcycle.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: In Manhattan they are dared to try on expensive formal attire. Their street clothes are stolen and the watchers dare them to leave the store, so they flee in their undergarments. They return to Ian's motorbike where they find the expensive clothes paid for by the watchers.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: Vee is dared to get a tattoo chosen by Ian, and Ian is dared to ride his motorbike through the city blindfolded at 60 mph, using Vee to steer his body; once completed, the two kiss. Vee and Ian become among "Nerve’"s top players.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: Jealous of Vee's rise of popularity on "Nerve", Sydney accepts a dare at a party to cross a ladder between two buildings, but she bails and is eliminated from the game. Vee catches Sydney making out with J.P., a boy Vee likes. After Vee and Sydney argue, Vee’s hacker friend, Tommy reveals that Ian was dared into making them argue. Vee breaks up her partnership with Ian, and then completes the ladder dare. Realising how dangerous "Nerve" is, Vee attempts to report the game to the police, but is disbelieved. As a result, Vee’s identity is removed. Popular player, Ty knocks Vee out to keep her in the game.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: Vee wakes up in a shipping container with "snitches get stitches" on the walls. She escapes and finds Ian, who confesses that he and Ty were players whose friend was killed in a dare. When they tried to alert the authorities, their families' jobs, bank accounts, and identities were confiscated. Vee has now joined them in the secret third category of the game: "prisoners". If a prisoner can reach and win the day’s final round, they regain everything.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: Sydney decides to help Tommy's hacker friends disable "Nerve" by altering the game's online code, but it is impossible to simply shut down "Nerve", as all the watchers phones and profiles act as a distributed server.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: Vee and Ian earn the two spots in the final dare, which takes place at Battery Weed. The winner will be whoever shoots the other with the handguns they’ve been given. Ian offers her the win, but when she also refuses to shoot, Ty jumps from the audience and takes Ian's place. He tells the watchers to vote wherever or not he should shoot Vee. The watchers vote for Ty to shoot Vee, so he shoots her in the stomach.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: Just then, Tommy and his hackers modify "Nerve’"s source code to decrypt the watcher's code names into their real names as well as sending them a message: "You are an accessory to murder". The watchers immediately all log out, closing all the servers and ending the game. Despondent over Vee's apparent death, Ian aims his gun at Ty, but Vee suddenly sits up, revealing that she and Ty had staged her murder to scare the watchers into disbanding "Nerve", shutting it down and becomes offline. Tommy's hacker friends restore the stolen money and identities.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: A few months later, Vee and Sydney have reconciled, Vee and Ian are a couple, and Vee is attending California Arts. Ian reveals his real name to be Sam whilst another person is secretly recording them on their phone.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: Directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost had previously dealt with similar themes in their documentary "Catfish". On their attraction to a film based around the Internet, they stated, "Most things aren’t black and white. The Internet is neither good nor bad; it just depends on how you use it", giving the example that the "Nerve" game could be both "a really empowering game, and it’s also the most awful thing that you can possibly imagine". The directors strived for a PG-13 rating, with Schulman stating "we wanted to make sure that younger teenagers could see it. We think it has an important message and they’ll dig it", with Joost adding "We weren’t interested in making a gross torture movie". In trying to keep the rating down, the directors axed a "sex dare" that "was ultimately just too dark and weird".


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: The film has also a lighter ending and theme than the book, as the novel deals with a much darker plot and ending.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: The team stated that the fast-changing nature of the Internet made it a tough subject to make a narrative feature about, with Joost noting that the app Periscope came out during the film development, which Joost called "like half-way to being Nerve".


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: In January 2015, it was announced that Emma Roberts and Dave Franco were set to star in the film. In April 2015, it was announced that Kimiko Glenn had joined the cast of the film, portraying the role of Emma Roberts' character's worried friend. The same day, it was announced that rapper Colson "Machine Gun Kelly" Baker had also joined the cast.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: Principal photography on the film began on April 13, 2015, in New York City. Production on the film concluded on June 5, 2015.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: The film premiered at the School of Visual Arts in New York City on July 12, where the cast attended. It was also screened on July 21 at Comic-Con. The film was originally scheduled for September 16, 2016, but was eventually theatrically released on July 27, 2016.


title: Nerve (2016 film)

text: "Nerve" grossed $38.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $46.5 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $85.2 million, against a budget of $19 million.