title: Paul Scofield

text: Scofield was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1956 New Year Honours. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for "A Man for All Seasons" and was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for "Quiz Show". Theatrical accolades include a 1962 Tony Award for "A Man for All Seasons".


title: Paul Scofield

text: In 1969, Scofield became the sixth performer to win the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for "Male of the Species". He accomplished this in only seven years (1962–1969), which is still a record.


title: Paul Scofield

text: He was also one of only nine actors to win both the Tony and the Oscar for the same role on stage and film, for "A Man for All Seasons".


title: Paul Scofield

text: Scofield declined the honour of a knighthood on three occasions, but was appointed CBE in 1956 and became a Companion of Honour in 2001. In 2002 he was awarded the honorary degree of D. Litt by the University of Oxford.


title: Paul Scofield

text: When asked the reason for his decision to decline the knighthood, Scofield responded, "I have every respect for people who are offered [a knighthood] and accept it gratefully. It is just not an aspect of life that I would want." Gary O'Connor described being knighted as, "The kind of honour from which [Scofield] instinctively recoiled. Never the actor before the part he plays."


title: Paul Scofield

text: In 2004, a poll of actors of the Royal Shakespeare Company, including Ian McKellen, Donald Sinden, Janet Suzman, Ian Richardson, Antony Sher and Corin Redgrave, acclaimed Scofield's Lear as the greatest Shakespearean performance ever. Scofield appeared in many radio dramas for BBC Radio 4, including in later years plays by Peter Tinniswood: "On the Train to Chemnitz" (2001) and "Anton in Eastbourne" (2002). The latter was Tinniswood's last work and was written especially for Scofield, an admirer of Anton Chekhov. He was awarded the 2002 Sam Wanamaker Prize.


title: Paul Scofield

text: Paul Scofield married actress Joy Mary Parker on 15 May 1943. They had met while he played Hamlet to her Ophelia. Scofield later said "Joy and I simply decided to be married. We were both of age and were determined. Any doubts from our families were overruled, and they were the usual ones – too young, etc. We had a week out at the end of "The Moon Is Down" tour, married during that week, and went straight into the Whitehall Theatre."


title: Paul Scofield

text: Paul and Joy Scofield had two children: Martin (born 1945) who became a senior lecturer in English and American literature at the University of Kent and Sarah (born 1951). When asked by Garry O'Connor how he wished to be remembered, Scofield responded "If you have a family, that is how to be remembered." Filmmaker Michael Winner once described the Scofields as "one of the few very happily married couples I've ever met."


title: Paul Scofield

text: Scofield died from leukaemia on 19 March 2008 at the age of 86 at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, East Sussex, England. His memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey on the first anniversary of his death. His wife Joy died four years later on 7 November 2012, aged 90.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Telephone numbers in Italy are managed by the Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM), a national regulatory authority for the communication industry located in Rome.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Italian telephone numbers are defined by an open telephone numbering plan that assigns subscriber telephone numbers of six to eleven digits. In addition, other short codes are used for special services. The plan is organized by types of services, indicated by the first digit. Geographic landline numbers start with the digit "0", while mobile telephone numbers start with "3". Four types of emergency services use three-digit telephone numbers in the group "11X", including 112 for the Carabinieri. Other initial digits denote other services, such as toll-free numbers.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: The dialing procedures for callers mandate that the full telephone number is always dialed, including the area code, which is called "prefix" ("prefisso" in Italian). Since 1998, the leading "0" of landline numbers has to be included also when calling from abroad, in contrast with the practice in many other countries.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: The country code for calling Italy from abroad is "39". For calling foreign destinations from Italy, the international call prefix is "00", as is standard in most European countries.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Italian regulations prescribe no fixed rules for grouping the digits of telephone numbers for printing or display. Various grouping schemes are commonly used and a telephone number is likely to be written or pronounced differently by different people. Commonly used formatting or punctuation characters include the space character, the dot, full stop, and the hyphen.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Landline numbers start with the digit "0" and are 6 to 11 digits long, although they are rarely shorter than 9. They are composed of a variable length prefix followed by a variable length subscriber number.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Prefixes are assigned on a geographical basis, starting from the north of the country; for example: Rome has prefix "06", Milan has "02", Naples has "081", and Turin has "011".


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Mobile telephone numbers start with the digit "3" and are generally ten digits long. It is still possible, but rare, to find nine-digit numbers, which were the first to be assigned.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: The group of the first three digits of a mobile telephone number ("prefix") identifies the mobile network operator that assigned the number, but since 2002, mobile number portability is possible and thus any number can end up being managed by any carrier.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Some network operators allow the caller to insert additional digits for redirecting calls to voice mail. For example, dialing, "363397550176" might connect to the voice mail service of the telephone number "3397550176". The extra digits vary based on the network operator managing the service.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Emergency and service numbers start with the digit "1". Four emergency numbers are currently in use, but a process has been started to consolidate them with "112", previously assigned to the gendarmerie, already the unique emergency number in some areas. Calls to 112 are answered within seconds and in multiple languages.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Special-rate numbers start with "8" and include toll-free numbers (called "green numbers", "numeri verdi" in Italian, starting with "80..."), shared-rate numbers ("84...") and premium-rate services ("89...").


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Numbers starting with "4" are used for network-specific phone services like voice mailbox and various information services; they can be free, non-premium or premium.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Finally 7 is used for internet services such as virtual fax numbers and dial up internet access ("70...").


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Numbers starting with the digits "2", "6" and "9" are currently unassigned and reserved for future purposes.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: In the past it was possible to omit the prefix when calling from a landline to another landline in the same area. The digit "0" was the trunk code and it had to be removed when calling from abroad.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: This changed in 1998, with a transition period lasting from 19 June to 31 December. The new dialing procedures require dialing the full number for all calls. The main advantage is the availability of millions of previously reserved phone numbers. The change was widely advertised with a campaign named "Fissa il prefisso" ("Attach the prefix").


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: It was originally intended to replace the leading "0" with "4" for landlines. This was scheduled for implementation commencing 29 December 2000, but never happened. Instead, "4" was assigned to identify network services.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: Several other smaller changes occurred over the years: for example the prefix for toll free numbers changed from "167" to "800" in 1999.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: The Italian municipality Campione d'Italia, an exclave within the Swiss canton of Ticino, uses the Swiss telephone network and is part of the Swiss numbering plan, with local numbers using the +41 91 numbering range, although some Italian numbers are in use by the municipal council, which use the same +39 031 numbering range as the town of Como.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: The Italian enclave San Marino has its own country code 378, but landline numbers can be reached using the Italian country code as well: the prefix "0549" is assigned to San Marino. Dialing either "+378xxxxxx" or "+390549xxxxxx" will reach the same number. Mobile phone customers are sometimes assigned Italian phone numbers.


title: Telephone numbers in Italy

text: The country code 379 is assigned to Vatican City, but it is not used: telephone numbers in Vatican City are integrated into the Italian numbering plan. Vatican landline telephone numbers are in the form "+3906698xxxxx", "+39" being the country code for Italy and "06" the prefix for Rome.


title: Surrealistic Pillow

text: Surrealistic Pillow is the second album by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane, released by RCA Victor on February 1, 1967. It is the first album by the band with vocalist Grace Slick and drummer Spencer Dryden. The album peaked at number three on the "Billboard" album chart and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album is considered to be one of the quintessential works of the early psychedelic rock and 1960s counterculture eras.


title: Surrealistic Pillow

text: "My Best Friend" was released as the first single in January 1967, but reached only #103 on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart. Two singles were released later in the year; "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" peaked respectively at number five and number eight on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and are the band's only Top 40 hits on that chart.


title: Surrealistic Pillow

text: "Today" was not released as a single but was played often on college radio and rock stations and remains one of their most popular songs. It was also recorded by jazz saxophonist Tom Scott for his 1967 album "The Honeysuckle Breeze"; this version was sampled in the song "They Reminisce Over You" by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth.


title: Surrealistic Pillow

text: Original drummer Alexander "Skip" Spence left the band in mid-1966. He was soon replaced by Dryden, an experienced Los Angeles jazz drummer and the half-nephew of Charlie Chaplin. New female vocalist Slick, formerly with another San Francisco rock band the Great Society, joined the Airplane in the fall of 1966. Slick, Dryden, male lead vocalist-guitarist-songwriter and founder of band Marty Balin, guitarist-vocalist-songwriter Paul Kantner, lead guitarist (and occasional vocalist) Jorma Kaukonen, and bassist Jack Casady formed the core of the best-known line-up of the group, which remained stable until Dryden's departure in early 1970.


title: Surrealistic Pillow

text: Some controversy exists as to the role of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia in the making of the album. His reputed presence on several tracks is denied by producer Rick Jarrard, but he is credited on the RCA label copy and received credits on the "Flight Log" compilation and the "Jefferson Airplane Loves You" box set. In the sleeve notes for "Early Flight", a 1974 compilation album of previously unreleased material, manager Bill Thompson writes only that Garcia was "listed as 'spiritual advisor' on the album cover [and] played one of the guitars" on "In The Morning", a Kaukonen composition that was released on "Early Flight" and subsequently included on the 2003 reissue of "Surrealistic Pillow". Garcia himself recalled in a mid-1967 interview that he played the high lead on "Today" in addition to playing guitar on two other songs ("Plastic Fantastic Lover" and "Comin' Back to Me") and rearranging "Somebody to Love". He also played on "J.P.P. McStep B. Blues" (included on "Early Flight" and the 2003 reissue) and may have played on "How Do You Feel". Kaukonen has opined that Garcia was essentially the producer who arranged the songs for the group. More recently, in his biography, he says, "I used to think about him as co-producer, but now that I really know what a producer is, the producer of that record was Rick Jarrard. Jerry was a combination arranger, musician, and sage counsel." A comment by Garcia about the music being "as surrealistic as a pillow is soft" also reportedly inspired the album title.


title: Surrealistic Pillow

text: Jefferson Airplane's fusion of folk rock and psychedelia was original at the time, in line with musical developments pioneered by the Byrds, the Beach Boys, the Mamas & the Papas, Bob Dylan, the Yardbirds, and the Beatles, among other mid-1960s rock bands. "Surrealistic Pillow" was the first blockbuster psychedelic album by a band from San Francisco, announcing to the world the active bohemian scene that had developed there starting with the Beats during the 1950s, extending and changing through the 1960s into the Haight-Ashbury counterculture. Subsequent exposure generated by the Airplane and others wrought great changes to that counterculture, and by 1968 the ensuing national media attention had precipitated a very different San Francisco scene than had existed in 1966. San Francisco photographer Herb Greene photographed the band for the album's cover art.


title: Surrealistic Pillow

text: The album was originally released on LP record by RCA Victor in different stereo (LSP-3766) and mono (LPM-3766) editions. The stereo mixes include heavier use of reverberation effects than the mono. The mono version was deleted in the late 1960s and remained unavailable until 2001. The first United Kingdom release replaced some of the original songs with tracks from the group's first US LP, "Jefferson Airplane Takes Off".


title: Surrealistic Pillow

text: In 2003, the album was ranked number 146 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, and dropping to number 471 in the 2020 revised list. It was voted number 174 in Colin Larkin's "All Time Top 1000 Albums".


title: Surrealistic Pillow

text: In January 2017, "Somebody to Love" received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, while "White Rabbit" received a platinum certification.


title: Surrealistic Pillow

text: The first Compact Disc releases were in Japan in 1987 and the US in 1988. A 2001 re-issue by RCA was released as a limited edition gold CD and contained both the stereo and mono recordings. Both mixes were later included as part of the "Ignition" box set on a standard aluminum CD.


title: Surrealistic Pillow

text: Another stereo reissue appeared on August 19, 2003, with six bonus tracks, including the mono A-sides of "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit". The 2003 reissue was produced by Bob Irwin.


title: Racing Point Force India

text: Racing Point Force India Formula One Team was the title under which Racing Point UK made a late entry into the 2018 Formula One World Championship. The team used the constructor name "Force India", competed under a British licence and was based in Silverstone, United Kingdom.


title: Racing Point Force India

text: The team was formed in August 2018 when investors purchased the assets of Sahara Force India F1 team, which was operating under administration. The consortium of investors included André Desmarais, Jonathan Dudman, John D. Idol, John McCaw Jr., Michael de Picciotto and Silas Chou named Racing Point UK Ltd. and were led by Lawrence Stroll, the father of then-Williams F1 driver Lance Stroll. The team made its competitive debut at the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix.


title: Racing Point Force India

text: On 27 July 2018, Force India Formula One Team Limited, the operator of Force India Formula One Team for eleven seasons, was put into administration. By 2 August 2018 its assets were purchased by Racing Point UK Limited, a company created by a group of investors led by Lawrence Stroll. The new company created a new constructor with the assets and entered the sport prior to the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix, taking the vacated entry of the original Force India team.


title: Racing Point Force India

text: In December 2018, the FIA's first release of the 2019 Formula One World Championship entry list confirmed that Racing Point intended to drop the Force India name, and would contest the 2019 championship as a new constructor named Racing Point F1 Team.


title: Racing Point Force India

text: In the build-up to the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix, the team was unsure if they would be able to race as the consortium that won the bid to buy Force India team had to get the approval of 13 Indian banks that had financial claims on the team. The full approval arrived after the deadline, so the consortium purchased the old team's assets rather than buy the team itself. The newly-formed team then had to apply for participation in the Formula One World Championship under a new name while retaining the chassis name as part of the new constructor name – thus resulting in the adding of "Racing Point" to the "Force India" chassis constructor's name. The FIA excluded the former Force India entry from the championship "due to its inability to complete the season", and welcomed the new entity (Racing Point Force India F1 Team) that was able to race in the Belgian Grand Prix, but was not allowed to retain any points of the old team. The drivers, however, were able to keep their points in the Drivers' Championship. Under a special agreement, and with unanimous approval of the nine other teams, the new team was allowed to keep the prize money the old team had earned in the preceding years under the Sahara Force India name.


title: Racing Point Force India

text: At the Belgian Grand Prix, Force India achieved 3rd and 4th place during a qualifying which was hit by rain during the final part. In the race they managed 5th and 6th place, thereby collecting 18 points allowing them to take the 9th place in the Constructors' Championship at the conclusion of their first Grand Prix. They finished the next race in Italy in 6th and 7th, therefore jumping to 7th in the Constructors' Championship, ahead of Sauber, Toro Rosso and Williams. The Singapore Grand Prix was a disaster for the team with no points finishing as Sergio Pérez collided with his team mate Esteban Ocon on the opening lap. Ocon retired instantly before Pérez collided with Sergey Sirotkin and finished the race 16th. Racing Point Force India collected 52 points in total in the 2018 season and finished the season in 7th, 4 points ahead of Sauber and 7 points behind McLaren.


title: MyFreeCams

text: MyFreeCams (MFC) is an American website providing live webcam performances by models, typically featuring nudity and sexual activity often ranging from striptease and erotic talk to masturbation with sex toys.


title: MyFreeCams

text: MFC was launched in 2004, and by 2010 was described by industry group XBIZ as "one of the world's largest adult webcam communities." It was reported as having more than 100,000 models and more than five million members. CNBC reported the opinion of an adult industry talent agent that models on the site can make "between $75,000 and $100,000 per month", leading some established porn stars into becoming webcam models. In 2014 it was reported to be "the 344th most visited site on the internet", Like many cam sites, MyFreeCams features a large number of Romanian, Colombian, Czech, Filipina, Ukrainian and Russian performers, though "on the performer side there are more Americans on MyFreeCams" than on other sites.


title: MyFreeCams

text: In 2018, MyFreeCams had acquired 75% ownership of Felix International Limited, the parent company of OnlyFans, a subscription service. Ukrainian-American businessman Leonid Radvinsky, owner of MyFreeCams, has since became the director of OnlyFans. After this, OnlyFans became increasingly focused on not safe for work (NSFW) content and "gained a pop culture reputation for being a hive of pornography".


title: MyFreeCams

text: MyFreeCams occasionally facilitates special events for models. For example, in January 2019 the company arranged a private concert for models only, featuring a performance by rapper Cardi B.


title: MyFreeCams

text: In 2018, the Government of India blocked MyFreeCams, among other porn websites, after a Uttarakhand High Court court order demanding the same in a rape case where the perpetrators said they were motivated to do so after watching online pornography.


title: MyFreeCams

text: MFC is used mostly by amateur webcam models, or camgirls, who earn money for their performances on the site. Customers of the site can purchase virtual tokens, which can be used to tip performers or watch private shows. Customers can use text-based live chat to talk to each other or in each performer's channel. The performers use a webcam and microphone to broadcast live video and audio to their channel. Both members and performers can send private messages and mail to each other.


title: MyFreeCams

text: The website does impose some restrictions on the activities performed by models on cam. For example, in February 2015 a webcam model who had been charged with a misdemeanor for broadcasting an MFC show from a public library at the Oregon State University, was "banned from MyFreeCams for violating their guidelines and filming in a public place." Although no police charges were laid, the site also banned a model who engaged in similar activity at branches of the Windsor, Ontario Public Library over a three-month period.


title: MyFreeCams

text: The XBIZ Award for Live Cam Site of the Year was awarded to MFC in 2011, 2012, and 2013. It was additionally named one of the top 50 Industry Newsmakers of 2011 by XBIZ. In 2014, MyFreeCams.com won an AVN award for Best Live Chat Website.


title: Ben Schnetzer

text: Benjamin Schnetzer (born February 8, 1990) is an American actor. He was nominated for two British Independent Film Awards for his performance in the film "Pride" (2014).


title: Ben Schnetzer

text: Schnetzer was born and raised in New York City, the son of actors Stephen Schnetzer and Nancy Snyder. He graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.


title: Ben Schnetzer

text: In 2010, Schnetzer appeared in an episode of "Law & Order" and had a supporting role in the ABC series "Happy Town".


title: Ben Schnetzer

text: As he began appearing in British films, Schnetzer was praised for his "superb mastery of accents". During his final year at Guildhall, he landed the role of Max Vandenburg in the film adaptation of "The Book Thief" (2013). The following year, he starred as activist Mark Ashton in the historical film "Pride", for which he received critical acclaim and two BIFA nominations. That same year, he played English-Greek Oxford University student Dimitri Mitropoulos in "The Riot Club".


title: Ben Schnetzer

text: Schnetzer starred as Brad Land alongside Nick Jonas in "Goat", a 2016 film about college hazing. That same year, he starred as Ross in "Punk's Dead" as well as appearing in "Warcraft" and "Snowden". He played British-Kenyan journalist Dan Eldon in the biopic "The Journey Is the Destination".


title: Ben Schnetzer

text: Schnetzer returned to television in 2018 with a role as Marcus Goldman in the Epix miniseries adaptation of Joël Dicker's "The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair". He made his Broadway debut in "The Nap" at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. He had film roles in "Entebbe", "The Grizzlies", "The Death & Life of John F. Donovan", and "Saint Judy" in 2018 as well as "The Giant" in 2019. Nell Meadow of RogerEbert.com called Schnetzer's performances "exceptional" in a 2020 review of "The Grizzlies" and praised ability to disappear into his roles in "The Book Thief", "Snowden", and "Pride".


title: Ben Schnetzer

text: In 2020, Schnetzer was cast as protagonist Yorick Brown in the 2021 FX on Hulu adaptation of the post-apocalyptic comic "". He has an upcoming role in the Netflix science fiction series "The Three-Body Problem".


title: Ben Schnetzer

text: In September 2022, Schnetzer will play Eli in the European premiere of "Eureka Day" at The Old Vic in London.


title: Ben Schnetzer

text: Schnetzer is in a relationship with theatre director from Newcastle upon Tyne Kate Hewitt. They have a daughter, born 2021.


title: Alexis Flores

text: Alexis Flores (born July 18, 1975) is a Honduran fugitive, murderer and child rapist wanted for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of five-year-old Iriana DeJesus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2000. Flores is the 487th fugitive to be placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.


title: Alexis Flores

text: Flores was born in Honduras in 1975, although he has used dates of birth ranging from 1975 to 1982. Flores has a large surgical scar on his neck as a result of an injury sustained in Hurricane Mitch in Honduras in 1998.


title: Alexis Flores

text: In summer 2000, a homeless drifter known as "Carlos" (or "Carlo") had been given shelter, clothing and work as a handyman by Hunting Park, Philadelphia, resident Jorge Contreras. On August 3, five days after being reported missing, the body of five-year-old Iriana DeJesus was found in the basement of an empty apartment building where "Carlos" is believed to have stayed. She had been sexually assaulted, strangled and wrapped in a trash bag. A T-shirt bearing a distinct political logo was found near Iriana's body with her blood on it. When police questioned Contreras about the shirt, he recognized it as one of the articles of clothing he had lent to "Carlos," who had not been seen in the area since the girl was reported missing. "Carlos" then became wanted for questioning and a sketch of him was profiled on "America's Most Wanted".


title: Alexis Flores

text: Flores was arrested for shoplifting in Arizona in 2002. Two years later, police came to Flores' residence in response to a noise complaint. After giving fraudulent identity documents to police, Flores was arrested for possession of a forgery device, a felony in Arizona. When he was arrested, Flores had a welcoming demeanor, was friendly, and cooperated with the police during questioning. Upon entering his apartment for further investigation, officers noticed pornography spread out across the floors. Flores told immigration officials that he had lived in Schaumburg, Illinois, prior to living in Phoenix. He was incarcerated for 60 days and deported to Honduras after his release in June 2005.


title: Alexis Flores

text: In 2006, Flores' DNA sample taken in Arizona was added to the Combined DNA Index System. In March 2007, his DNA sample positively matched DNA found at the crime scene in Philadelphia. It has been determined that "Carlos" and Flores are the same person.


title: Alexis Flores

text: On March 22, 2007, a local arrest warrant was issued in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Flores was charged with murder and various other felonies. On the same date, a federal arrest warrant for Flores was issued in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.


title: Alexis Flores

text: Flores was added to the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on June 2, 2007. He replaced Shauntay Henderson on the list. There is a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to Flores' capture offered by the FBI. He is also the subject of an Interpol Red Notice. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous. Flores is fluent in Spanish and English, and is believed to be either in his native Honduras or to have returned to the United States.


title: Puff pastry

text: Puff pastry, also known as , is a flaky light pastry made from a laminated dough composed of dough (') and butter or other solid fat ('). The butter is put inside the dough (or vice versa), making a "" that is repeatedly folded and rolled out before baking.


title: Puff pastry

text: The gaps that form between the layers left by the fat melting are pushed (leavened) by the water turning into steam during the baking process.


title: Puff pastry

text: Modern puff pastry, used nowadays in European cuisine was created in France. The oldest recipe of puff pastry in France was written in a charter by bishop Robert of Amiens in 1311. However, the first recipe of the technique of "tourage" (the action of putting a piece of butter inside the dough and folding several time the dough) was published in 1651 by François Pierre La Varenne in "." But it is considered that the invention of this technique was an idea of the famous painter Claude Gellée when he was an apprentice baker in 1612. The story goes that Lorrain was making a type of very buttery bread for his sick father, and the process of rolling the butter into the bread dough created a croissant-like finished product. The modern French puff pastry was then developped and improved by the chef M. Feuillet and Antonin Carême.


title: Puff pastry

text: If the modern puff pastry was invented in France, Arabs and Greeks use a different kind of puff pastry, since many centuries, like Greek phyllo. They create separated thin sheets of dough spread with olive oil and use them in different kind of pastries like baklava.


title: Puff pastry

text: Puff pastry also has a long history in Spain, perhaps through Arab or Moorish influences: the first known recipe of puff pastry using butter or lard and following the arab technique of making each layer separately, appears in the Spanish recipe book ("Book on the art of cooking") written by Domingo Hernández de Maceras and published in 1607. Maceras, the head cook in one of the colleges of the University of Salamanca, already distinguished between filled puff pastry recipes and puff pastry tarts, and even mentions leavened preparations. Francisco Martínez Motiño, head chef to Philip II of Spain (1527–1598), also gave several recipes of puff pastry in his published in 1611. In this book, puff pastry is abundantly used, particularly to make savoury game pies. In his novel "El Buscón" (published in 1627 but written in 1604), the Spanish writer Francisco de Quevedo caustically suggests that the puff pastry pies sold at the inn of some Simón de Paredes in Madrid were being adulterated with human flesh.


title: Puff pastry

text: The production of puff pastry dough can be time-consuming, because it must be kept at a temperature of approximately 16 °C (60 °F) to keep shortening from becoming runny, and must rest in between folds to allow gluten strands time to link up and thus retain layering.


title: Puff pastry

text: where formula_2 is the number of finished layers, formula_3 the number of folds in a single folding move, and formula_4 is how many times the folding move is repeated. For example, twice-folding (i.e. in three), repeated four times gives formula_5 layers. Chef Julia Child recommends 73 layers for regular "pâte feuilletée" and 729 (i.e. 3) layers for "pâte feuilletée fine" (in Volume II of her "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" textbook).


title: Puff pastry

text: Commercially made puff pastry is available in grocery stores. Common types of fat used include butter, vegetable shortenings, lard and margarine. Butter is the most common type used because it provides a richer taste and superior mouthfeel. Shortenings and lard have a higher melting point therefore puff pastry made with either will rise more than pastry made with butter, if made correctly. Puff pastry made in this manner will, however, often have a waxy mouthfeel and more bland flavor. Specialized margarine formulated for high plasticity (the ability to spread very thin without breaking apart) is used for industrial production of puff pastry.


title: Puff pastry

text: Since the process of making puff pastry is generally laborious and time-intensive, faster recipes are fairly common: known as "blitz", "rough puff", or "flaky pastry". Many of these recipes combine the butter into the "" rather than adding it in the folding process and are thus similar to a folded short crust.


title: Puff pastry

text: Puff pastry can also be leavened with baker's yeast to create croissants, Danish pastry, Spanish milhoja, or Portuguese empanadilla; though such preparations are not universally considered puff pastries.


title: Puff pastry

text: Puff pastry differs from phyllo (filo) pastry, though puff pastry can be substituted for phyllo in some applications. Phyllo dough is made with flour, water, and fat and is stretched to size rather than rolled. When preparing phyllo dough, a small amount of oil or melted fat (usually butter) is brushed on one layer of dough and is topped with another layer, a process repeated as often as desired. When the phyllo bakes it becomes crispy, but since it contains somewhat less water, does not expand to the same degree as puff pastry. Puff pastry also differs from Austrian strudel dough, or Strudelteig, which more closely resembles phyllo.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Yang Yuhuan (; 26 June, 719 – 15 July 756), often known as Yang Guifei (, with "Guifei" being the highest rank for imperial consorts during her time), and known briefly by the Taoist nun name Taizhen () was the beloved consort of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang during his later years. She is known as one of the Four Beauties of ancient China.


title: Yang Guifei

text: During the An Lushan Rebellion, as Emperor Xuanzong and his cortege were fleeing from the capital Chang'an to Chengdu, the emperor's guards demanded that he put Yang to death because they blamed the rebellion on her cousin Yang Guozhong and the rest of her family. The emperor capitulated and reluctantly ordered his attendant Gao Lishi to supervise her forced suicide.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Yang was born in 719 during the Tang Dynasty, early in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. Her great-great-grandfather Yang Wang () was a key official during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, and, after the fall of the Sui Dynasty, served one of the contenders to succeed Sui, Wang Shichong; Yang Wang was then killed when Wang Shichong was defeated by Tang forces in 621. Yang Wang was from Huayin (; in modern Weinan, Shaanxi), but his clan subsequently relocated to Yongle (; in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi).


title: Yang Guifei

text: Yang's father Yang Xuanyan () served as a census official at Shu Prefecture (; in modern Chengdu, Sichuan), and his family went there with him. He appeared to have had no sons, but had four daughters who were known to history—Yang Yuhuan and three older sisters. Yang Xuanyan died when Yang Yuhuan was still young, so the latter was raised by her uncle Yang Xuanjiao (), who was a low-ranking official at Henan Municipality (; modern Luoyang).


title: Yang Guifei

text: In 733, fourteen-year-old Yang Yuhuan married Li Mao, the Prince of Shou and the son of Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Wu. She thus carried the title of Princess of Shou. After Consort Wu died in 737, Emperor Xuanzong was greatly saddened by the death of his then-favorite concubine. Some time after that, however, Princess Yang somehow came into Xuanzong's favor and the Emperor decided to take her as his consort. However, since Princess Yang was already the wife of his son, Emperor Xuanzong stealthily arranged her to become a Taoist nun, with the tonsured name Taizhen, in order to prevent criticism that would affect his plan of making her his concubine. Yang then stayed, for a brief moment, as a Taoist nun in the palace itself, before Emperor Xuanzong made her an imperial consort after bestowing a new wife on his son Li Mao. Yang became the favorite consort of the Emperor.


title: Yang Guifei

text: In 745, after Emperor Xuanzong gave the daughter of the general Wei Zhaoxun () to Li Mao as his new wife and princess, he officially made Taizhen an imperial consort—with the newly restored rank of "Guifei", which was greater than the previously highest rank of "Huifei", carried by Consort Wu. He bestowed posthumous honors on her father Yang Xuanyan and granted her mother the title of Lady of Liang. He also gave high offices to her uncle Yang Xuangui () and cousins Yang Xian () and Yang Qi (). Since 745, all within the imperial court and the palace had treated her as like new empress (像皇后, Xiàng huánghòu), and bowed to her as if she was the most powerful woman in land (Tiānxià Mǔ, 天下母). Her three older sisters were conferred the ranks of Ladies of Han, Guo, and Qin, and it was said that whenever the noble women were summoned to imperial gatherings, even Emperor Xuanzong's highly honored sister Li Chiying (), the Princess Yuzhen, did not dare to take a seat more honorable than theirs. Emperor Xuanzong also gave his favorite daughter Princess Taihua (born of Consort Wu) to Yang Qi in marriage. The five Yang households—those of Yang Xian, Yang Qi, and the Ladies of Han, Guo, and Qin—were said to be exceedingly honored and rich, and all of the officials fought to flatter them.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Around the same time, Consort Yang introduced her second cousin Yang Zhao (whose name was later changed to Yang Guozhong) to Emperor Xuanzong. Yang Zhao, who flattered the emperor, rose quickly in the ranks.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Consort Yang became so favored that whenever she rode a horse, the eunuch Gao Lishi would attend her. 700 laborers were conscripted to sew fabrics for her. Officials and generals flattered her by offering her exquisite tributes. In 746, she angered Emperor Xuanzong by being jealous and rude to him, and he had her sent to her cousin Yang Xian's mansion. Later that day, however, his mood was such that he could not eat, and he battered his servants for minor offenses. Gao knew that he missed Consort Yang, and requested that the treasures in Consort Yang's palace be sent to her. Emperor Xuanzong agreed, and sent imperial meals to her as well. That night, Gao requested that Emperor Xuanzong welcome Consort Yang back to the palace, a request that Emperor Xuanzong easily agreed to. Thereafter, she was even more favored, and no other imperial consort drew his favor.


title: Yang Guifei

text: In 747, when the military governor ("jiedushi") An Lushan arrived at the capital Chang'an to meet Emperor Xuanzong, Emperor Xuanzong showed him much favor and allowed him into the palace. He had An honor Consort Yang as mother and Consort Yang's cousins and sisters as his brothers and sisters.


title: Yang Guifei

text: In 750, Consort Yang again offended Emperor Xuanzong with her words, and he sent her back to her clan. The official Ji Wen () told Emperor Xuanzong that he had overreacted, and Emperor Xuanzong regretted his actions. He again sent imperial meals to her, and she wept to the eunuchs delivering the meal, stating:


title: Yang Guifei

text: She cut off some of her hair and had the hair taken back to Emperor Xuanzong. Emperor Xuanzong had Gao escort her back to the palace, and thereafter had even greater love for her.


title: Yang Guifei

text: In 751, An Lushan again visited Chang'an. On An's birthday on 20 February, 751, Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Yang rewarded him with clothing, treasures, and food. On 23 February, when An was summoned to the palace, Consort Yang, in order to please Emperor Xuanzong, had an extra-large infant wrapping made, and wrapped the obese An in it, causing much laughter among the ladies in waiting and eunuchs. When Emperor Xuanzong asked what was going on, Consort Yang's attendants joked that Consort Yang gave birth three days before and was washing her baby Lushan. Emperor Xuanzong was amused by the comic situation and rewarded both Consort Yang and An greatly. Thereafter, whenever An visited the capital, he was allowed free admittance to the palace, and there were rumors that he and Consort Yang had an affair, but Emperor Xuanzong discounted the rumors.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Consort Yang's cousin, Yang Guozhen, had been serving—remotely—as commander of Jiannan Circuit (; headquartered in modern Chengdu, Sichuan). In 752, following Nanzhao incursions against Jiannan Circuit, chancellor Li Linfu wanted to send Yang Guozhong to Jiannan to personally supervise defenses against the Nanzhao attacks. Consort Yang interceded on Yang Guozhong's behalf, and Yang Guozhong did not actually report to Jiannan.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Yang Guozhong and An Lushan soon were in conflict, and Yang Guozhong repeatedly acted provocatively, such as arresting and executing staff members from An's mansion in Chang'an.


title: Yang Guifei

text: In 755, An finally rebelled and marched his troops toward the capital. In order to try to placate the populace, which believed that Yang Guozhong's conflict with An Lushan had provoked the rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong considered passing the throne to his crown prince, Li Heng. Yang Guozhong, who was not on good terms with the prince, feared this development, and persuaded Consort Yang and her sisters, the Ladies of Han, Guo, and Qin, to speak against it. Emperor Xuanzong, for the time being, did not abdicate the throne.


title: Yang Guifei

text: In 756, Yang Guozhong forced General Geshu Han to engage An Lushan, at least partly out of fear that the general himself might attempt to usurp the throne. Geshu Han was defeated and Tong Pass, the last major imperial defense, fell to An's forces. With the situation becoming desperate, Yang Guozhong suggested fleeing to Chengdu, the capital of Jiannan Circuit. On 14 July, Emperor Xuanzong, along with Consort Yang, her family, and his immediate clan members, secretly left Chang'an, heading toward Chengdu. With him were Yang Guozhong, his fellow chancellor Wei Jiansu, the official Wei Fangjin (), the general Chen Xuanli, and some eunuchs and ladies in waiting close to him.


title: Yang Guifei

text: On 15 July, Emperor Xuanzong's cortege reached Mawei Courier Station (, in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi). The imperial guards were hungry and angry at Yang Guozhong. Tibetan emissaries, who had followed the emperor, were also complaining to Yang Guozhong that they had not been fed. General Chen Xuanli believed that Yang Guozhong's actions had provoked this disaster and reported to Li Heng that he planned to accuse Yang Guozhong.


title: Yang Guifei

text: In this tense situation, soldiers of the imperial guard declared that Yang Guozhong was planning treason in collaboration with the Tibetan emissaries. They killed Yang Guozhong, his son Yang Xuan (), Consort Yang's sisters, the ladies of Han and Qin, and Wei Fangjin. (Wei Jiansu was severely injured and nearly killed, but was spared at the last moment.) Yang Guozhong's wife Pei Rou () and his son Yang Xi (), along with Consort Yang's sister, the Lady of Guo, and her son Pei Hui () tried to flee, but were killed. The soldiers then surrounded Emperor Xuanzong's pavilion and refused to leave, even after the Emperor came out to comfort them and ordered them to disperse.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Emperor Xuanzong then sent Gao Lishi to ask General Chen Xuanli for his advice. Chen's reply was to urge the Emperor to put Consort Yang to death. Initially the Emperor refused, but after Wei E (, Wei Jiansu's son) and Gao Lishi spoke in agreement with Chen, the Emperor eventually agreed. He had Gao take Consort Yang to a Buddhist shrine and allow her a forced suicide, considered a more dignified death than execution. When Consort Yang's body was shown to Chen and the other imperial guard generals, the soldiers dispersed and prepared to continue the journey. Consort Yang was buried at Mawei, without a coffin, but with masses of fragrance wrapped in purple blankets.


title: Yang Guifei

text: In 757, Prince Li Heng, who had taken the throne as Emperor Suzong, recaptured Chang'an and welcomed ex-Emperor Xuanzong, then "Taishang Huang" (retired emperor) back to the capital. Emperor Xuanzong went through Mawei on his way back to Chang'an. He wanted to locate Consort Yang's body and rebury her with honor. The official Li Kui spoke against it, pointing out that the imperial guard might again mutiny if he did so. However, Emperor Xuanzong secretly sent eunuchs to rebury her with a coffin. When they found the body, it had decomposed, but the fragrance bag buried with her was still fresh. The eunuchs returned with the fragrance bag, and upon its presentation to Emperor Xuanzong, he wept bitterly. When he returned to Chang'an, he had a painter create a picture of Consort Yang in a secondary palace, and often went there to view the portrait.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Yang was known for having a larger figure, in an era of Chinese history where such body types were preferred. Because of that, Yang is often compared and contrasted with Empress Zhao Feiyan, who is known for being a slender person. This, in turn, led to the four-character idiom "huanfei yanshou" (), describing the physical range of the types of beauties between Zhao and Yang.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Modern-day description of Yang's physical size differs. She has been variously described as "rotund", "well rounded", "full-bodied", "portly", and "obese". However, some consider the description of Yang as an obese woman to be either a misinterpretation of ancient Chinese texts, or a misapplication of modern standards on body size.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Lychee was a favorite fruit for Yang, and the emperor had the fruit, which was only grown in southern China, delivered by the imperial courier's fast horses, whose riders would take shifts day and night in a Pony Express-like manner, to the capital. Most historians believe the fruits were delivered from modern Guangdong, but some believe they came from modern Sichuan.


title: Yang Guifei

text: A copy of the outline of her right hand still exists, having been carved on a large stone at the site of the Xi'an Palace.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Yang was granted use of the Huaqing Pool which had been the exclusive private pool of previous Tang emperors.


title: Yang Guifei

text: Yang's story has been often retold. While some literature describes her as the author of much misfortune, other writings sympathize with her as a scapegoat. In the following generation, a long poem, "Chang hen ge" (""), was written by the poet Bai Juyi describing Emperor Xuanzong's love for her and perpetual grief at her loss. It became an instant classic, known to and memorized by Chinese schoolchildren far into posterity.


title: Yang Guifei

text: The story of Yang and the poem also became highly popular in Japan and served as sources of inspiration for the classical novel "The Tale of Genji" which begins with the doomed love between an emperor and a consort, Kiritsubo, who is likened to Yang. Noh plays have been staged based on her story. A Japanese rumour states that Yang had been rescued, escaped to Japan and lived her remaining life there. In Japanese, she is known as "Yōkihi".


title: Yang Guifei

text: In the novel "Dream of the Red Chamber", the two ladies beside the main character Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai had the images of Xi Shi and Yang Guifei. Both Lin and Xi Shi are sick and weak, Xue and Yang are plump and healthy. In chapter 30, Xue got angry because Jia said she is like Yang and she is chubby. The real reason is that Xue does not have a brother like Yang Guozhong.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Teemu Ilmari Selänne (; born July 3, 1970) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger. He began his professional career in 1989–90 with Jokerit of the SM-liiga and played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Winnipeg Jets, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche. Nicknamed "the Finnish Flash", Selänne is the highest scoring Finn in NHL history, and one of the highest overall; he retired in 2014 11th all-time with 684 goals and 15th with 1,457 points. He holds numerous team scoring records for both the Winnipeg/Arizona franchise and the Anaheim Ducks. His jersey number 8 was retired by the Ducks in 2015. In 2017 Selänne was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. On June 26, 2017, Selänne was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as the second Finn after Jari Kurri.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne was a first-round selection of the Jets, tenth overall, at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, but initially remained in Finland. He led the SM-liiga in scoring as part of Jokerit's Kanada-malja winning team in 1991–92 before moving to North America. He broke into the NHL by scoring 76 goals and 132 points in the 1992–93. It remains the league record for most goals and points by a rookie and earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy as the top first-year player in the NHL. He has scored 50 goals in a season three times and topped 100 points on four occasions. He played in 10 NHL All-Star Games, was named to four post-season All-Star teams and won the inaugural Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 1998–99 as the league's leading goal scorer. He was named recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2005–06 for perseverance and dedication to the game and was a member of the Ducks' 2007 Stanley Cup championship team.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Internationally, Selänne was a long-time member of the Finnish National Team. He played in five World Championships, winning a silver and bronze medal, and in three Canada Cup/World Cup of Hockey tournaments. A six-time Olympian, Selänne helped Finland win three bronze medals and, in 2006, a silver medal. He is the all-time leader in scoring at the Olympic ice hockey tournament with 43 points. A national star in his native country, Selänne is the subject of a top-grossing biographical documentary in Finland.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne was born on July 3, 1970, in Helsinki, Finland. He has a twin brother, Paavo and another brother, Panu. He was raised by his mother Liisa Viitanen (died 2018) and father Ilmari Selänne until they divorced in the late 1980s. The family lived for a time in Rauma before settling in Espoo around the time Teemu was 10 years old.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne played three sports as a youth: hockey, bandy and association football. He played hockey and football with and against Paavo, though his brother ultimately gave up on both sports in favour of field hockey, where he was a member of numerous Finnish and European championship teams. Teemu was small as a youth, creating in him a competitive spirit and drive to improve his skills. Focusing on hockey, he eventually joined the junior squad of Jokerit in Helsinki.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: As a young adult, Selänne attended business school for two years and served a mandatory one-year stint with the Finnish Defence Forces. During his tenure with Jokerit, he also spent three years as a kindergarten teacher. His experiences visiting kids at Helsinki's children's hospital led to him co-founding the Godfathers' Foundation, an organization that raises money for ill children.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne played three years of junior hockey in Jokerit's development program, culminating in 1987–88 with a 43-goal, 66 point season in 33 games and a Finnish Junior A championship. His performance prompted the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Winnipeg Jets to select him with their first-round pick, tenth overall, at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. Selänne attended training camp with the Jets, but returned to Finland owing to his military service.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: After graduating from junior hockey, Selänne joined Jokerit's senior team in the 1. Divisioona in 1988–89 and scored 69 points in 35 games. Jokerit moved up to the SM-liiga in 1989–90, and while Selänne missed the majority of the season due to a leg injury, he scored 12 points in 11 games played. Playing a full season in 1990–91, Selänne scored 33 goals and 58 points in 42 games. He was named the recipient of the Raimo Kilpiö trophy as the league's most gentlemanly player. Selänne's best season in the SM-liiga came in 1991–92 when he recorded 62 points in 44 games. With 39 goals, he won the Aarne Honkavaara trophy as top goal scorer. He added 17 points in ten playoff games, and scored the winning goal as Jokerit won the Kanada-malja as SM-liiga playoff champion.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: The Jets' organizational philosophy at the time was to allow their European draft picks to develop in their native countries, but by 1991, the franchise was working to bring him to Winnipeg. As Selänne had not yet signed a contract when he chose to play in North America for the 1992–93 season, he was considered a restricted free agent. The Calgary Flames signed him to an offer sheet on a three-year contract worth $2.7 million, $1.5 million higher than what the Jets had been offering. Though concerned about paying such a high salary, Winnipeg exercised its right to match the offer. Selänne made his NHL debut on October 6, 1992, and recorded two assists in a 4–1 Jets victory over the Detroit Red Wings. He scored his first career NHL goal two nights later against goaltender Jeff Hackett of the San Jose Sharks.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne scored his first career hat trick in his fifth contest and had 11 goals in his first 12 NHL games. He finished the season with 16 multi-goal games, including four hat-tricks and a four-goal game, en route to breaking the NHL record for goals by a rookie. He surpassed Mike Bossy's record of 53 goals on March 2, 1993, against the Quebec Nordiques and on March 23, scored his 110th point, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, to break Peter Šťastný's rookie points record. Selänne finished the season tied for fifth in scoring with 132 points, and his 76 goals tied with Alexander Mogilny for the League lead. His offensive exploits helped pull the Jets into the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs, where they lost a first-round matchup to the Vancouver Canucks. In recognition of his season, Selänne was voted the recipient of the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, was named to the first All-Star team and played in his first of ten career NHL All-Star Games.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Unable to maintain a similar pace in 1993–94—indeed, his rookie totals in goals and points would both prove his career-high by more than 20—Selänne's offensive production declined by 30 percent midway through the season. He scored his 100th career goal on January 12, 1994, against the Buffalo Sabres, reaching the milestone in his 130th game, the second-fastest in NHL history and only one game later than Bossy. Selänne finished the season with 54 points in 51 games, but missed the final 33 games of the season after suffering a severed Achilles tendon in a January 26 game against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The 1994–95 NHL lockout resulted in Selänne splitting the season between Jokerit and the Jets. While playing in Finland, Selänne was named to the tournament all-star team as Jokerit won the 1994 European Cup.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne's career in Winnipeg came to an end midway through the 1995–96 season. He was leading the Jets with 72 points when, on February 6, 1996, he was traded to Anaheim. The Mighty Ducks sent first-round draft picks Chad Kilger and Oleg Tverdovsky, along with a third-round selection at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, in exchange for Selänne, Marc Chouinard and a fourth-round draft pick. Selänne was upset when notified of the deal during practice and left the Winnipeg Arena without speaking to anyone.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Following a period of adjustment, Selänne gained an appreciation for his new team; he quickly came to call the deal the best thing that ever happened to him. He was paired with Paul Kariya, whom he met at the 1996 NHL All-Star Game, and the duo were counted on to lead the young franchise to a postseason berth for the first time. Selänne scored 36 points in 28 games with the Ducks, and combined with his Jets totals, finished the 1995–96 season with 108 points. He followed it up with a third 100-point season in 1996–97, finishing with 109, including 51 goals. He was named to the first All-Star team for a second time, while he and Kariya led the Mighty Ducks into the franchise's first playoff appearance in 1997. Despite being criticized as being a "one-line team", Anaheim defeated the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round before being eliminated by the Detroit Red Wings.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: The 1998 All-Star Game was Selänne's fifth, and after scoring a hat-trick, he became the first European player to be named the MVP in the All-Star Game's 46-year history. He finished the 1997–98 season with his third career 50-goal season; his total of 52 tied Peter Bondra for the NHL lead, and he scored his 500th career point on January 12, 1998, with an assist against the Los Angeles Kings. He was a finalist for both the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League's MVP (finishing third) and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for gentlemanly conduct (as the runner-up), and was named to the second All-Star team. The NHL created the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 1998–99 to be presented to the League's leading goal scorer; Selänne became its inaugural winner following a 47-goal season.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: An 85-point season followed in 1999–2000, and he was the Mighty Ducks' leading scorer with 59 points through 61 games in 2000–01. Anaheim, however, sat in last place in the Western Conference, and on March 5, 2001, chose to make a trade. Selänne was sent to San Jose in exchange for Jeff Friesen, Steve Shields and a second-round selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Selänne's debut with the Sharks was delayed by two weeks as he underwent minor surgery to remove loose cartilage in his knee the following day. After finishing the season with 13 points in 12 games with San Jose, Selänne led the Sharks with 29 goals in 2001–02. He also led the team in both goals (28; tied) and points (64) in 2002–03. As the Sharks fell out of the playoff race, they looked to make changes; the New Jersey Devils sought to acquire Selänne, but he exercised a no-trade clause in his contract and blocked the deal.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne then declined an option in his contract that would have paid $6.5 million in 2003–04 and instead opted to sign a one-year, $5.8 million contract with the Colorado Avalanche, where he was joined by former Anaheim teammate Paul Kariya. The pair chose to sign with the Avalanche together in the belief it was their best chance at winning the Stanley Cup. Their hope failed to materialize, however, as Selänne endured a disastrous season in which he scored only 16 goals and 32 points—the lowest totals of his career to that date—and was ultimately relegated to Colorado's fourth line, but was also held out of the lineup as a healthy scratch during a playoff game. He struggled throughout the year with knee problems that ultimately required surgery, his third such procedure, and with the 2004–05 season canceled by a labour dispute, took the time off to recover.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: A free agent when the NHL resumed play in 2005–06, Selänne returned to Anaheim by signing a one-year, $1 million contract with the Mighty Ducks. As his usual number 8 was being worn by defenseman Sandish Ozolinsh, Selanne returned to wearing number 13, the number he had originally worn during his first two NHL seasons with the Winnipeg Jets. During a resurgent season, he scored his 1,000th career point on January 30, 2006, with a goal in a 4–3 victory over Los Angeles. Selänne completed the season with 40 goals and 90 points, both of which led the Mighty Ducks, and he was named the recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for dedication and perseverance.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: After reaching the Western Conference Final in the 2006 playoffs, the newly renamed Anaheim Ducks entered the 2006–07 season with high expectations; the team brought Selänne back with a one-year, $3.75 million contract. He reached several milestones during the season: Selänne became the 36th player in NHL history, and second Finn after Jari Kurri, to score 500 goals, on November 22, 2006, against Colorado. On December 31, he played his 1,000th NHL game. As part of a season in which he again led Anaheim in goals (48) and points (94), Selänne played in his tenth All-Star Game in 2007, and scored his first hat-trick in six years (the 19th of his career) on January 12, 2007. It was the same day he spoke with a friend in Finland with terminal cancer who asked to be sent the game puck if Selänne had a three-goal game. Finally, he scored his 301st goal as a Duck on February 18, 2007, to break Paul Kariya's franchise record.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Early in the 2007 playoffs, Selänne became Anaheim's all-time leading playoff scorer when he recorded his 30th point as a Duck with an assist on April 13 against the Minnesota Wild. The Ducks defeated the Wild, Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings to reach the Stanley Cup Final; it was the first time in Selänne's career that he played in the NHL's championship series. As the sentimental favourite to win the Stanley Cup, his teammates motivated themselves to win the title for his benefit; Ducks goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère noted, "We don't have any better teammate. He's a guy who always has fun. He deserves this and if we can help him along the way, that would be great. I'd just love to see Teemu win this thing." Selänne finished the playoffs with 15 points in 21 games, and after 14 NHL seasons, the 36-year-old Selänne raised the Stanley Cup with his teammates after defeating the Ottawa Senators in five games.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Following the Cup win, Selänne contemplated retirement. He remained undecided on a return—and as a free agent, out of the Ducks lineup to begin the 2007–08 season—until he finally chose to return and signed a one-year contract with Anaheim on January 28, 2008. He made his return on February 5 against the New York Islanders, and the Ducks posted the League's best record from that point to the end of the regular season by winning 20 of 26 games. In his third game back, Selänne scored his 670th point as a member of the Ducks with an assist in a 4–2 victory over the Calgary Flames. With it, he broke Kariya's franchise record of 669.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne returned to the Ducks in 2008–09 and signed a two-year contract. He missed several weeks of the season due to a quad muscle injury suffered when he was cut by his own skate following a hit by Denis Grebeshkov of the Edmonton Oilers, but appeared in 65 games and scored 54 points. He played his 1,100th game during the season, became the sixth European player to score 1,200 career points and appeared in his 100th career playoff game. Selänne reached additional milestones in 2009–10, as he became the 18th player in NHL history to score 600 goals, accomplishing the feat on March 21, 2010, against the Colorado Avalanche and upon scoring his 602nd goal on April 2 against the Vancouver Canucks, surpassing his childhood idol, Jari Kurri.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne finished eighth in NHL scoring in 2010–11 with 31 goals and 49 assists in 73 games. His 80 points was the third-highest in NHL history by a player over the age of 40 (Gordie Howe, 103 and Johnny Bucyk, 83). He also scored his 1,300th point, achieving the mark with a two-goal performance on January 16, 2011, against Edmonton. Questions about whether Selänne would return for another NHL season had become an annual topic of discussion, and his decision to return for 2011–12 was delayed by a knee operation that left him uncertain if he would be capable of playing. Nonetheless, Selänne appeared in every game for the Ducks and became the oldest player in NHL history to play an entire 82-game season while leading the team with 66 points. 15 years after the original Jets relocated, a new Winnipeg Jets franchise joined the NHL, and fans in the Manitoba capital continued to view Selänne as a local hero. In his first return to Winnipeg, he was cheered by exuberant fans who booed every other Ducks player. Selänne was named to the Western Conference roster for the 2012 NHL All-Star Game, but declined his invitation and asked the League to instead send his teammate Corey Perry.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Following a 24-point effort in the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, Selänne announced that 2013–14 would be the 21st and final season of his NHL career. He missed several games early in the season after he was struck in the face by an errant stick that knocked out several teeth and required 40 stitches to close cuts. Selänne recorded 27 points in 64 games for the Ducks; his final regular-season game, a 3–2 victory over Colorado, was a celebration of his career. He wore the captain's "C" in place of Ryan Getzlaf for the game and as it neared conclusion, received standing ovations from the Anaheim crowd each time he took a shift. Selänne was named the game's first, second and third star following the game and took a celebratory lap with Colorado goaltender and former Anaheim teammate Jean-Sébastien Giguère, who was also contemplating retirement.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne made his final post-season appearance during the 2014 playoffs. He had six points in 12 games, but was also held out of the lineup for one game against the Dallas Stars, a decision that angered Ducks fans. He played his final game on May 16, 2014, as the Ducks were eliminated by Los Angeles. Following the contest, Selänne was saluted by fans, teammates and opponents alike, and took a final lap around the rink.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: With Selänne's retirement, no more active players in the NHL use a Jofa branded helmet due to licensing reasons.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne's international debut came with the Finnish national junior team. He recorded 16 points in six games at the 1988 European Junior Championship and was named to the tournament all-star team. After participating in the 1989 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships for the sixth place Finns, Selänne made his debut with the senior team at the 1991 World Championship where he finished third in tournament scoring with 11 points for the fifth-place finishers. After playing in the 1991 Canada Cup, he made his Olympic debut at the 1992 Albertville Games. Selänne tied for the tournament scoring lead with seven goals, and was tied for fourth in overall scoring at 11 points.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: It was four years before Selänne returned to international play; he appeared in the 1996 World Championship and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and averaged over one point per game in both tournaments as Finland finished fifth each time. At the 1998 Winter Olympics, Selänne finished with ten points in five games. He was the tournament's leading scorer on a Finnish team that he described in 2003 as the best he ever played on and the best in the tournament, but lost the semifinal, 7–4 to Russia. He suffered an abdominal muscle injury that prevented him from playing in the third place game, which Finland won 3–2 over Canada; Selänne and his teammates ended the tournament as the bronze medal winners.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: The Finns finished one position higher at the 1999 World Championship; The tournament's medal round was conducted in a two-game series format followed by a ten-minute sudden victory overtime if the each team wins one game. Finland and Sweden split their semifinal, but the Finns advanced to the final in the overtime period after Selänne set up Marko Tuomainen's winning goal. The Czech Republic defeated Finland to capture the gold medal, also in a sudden victory period. Selänne finished the tournament with 11 points, was named to the all-star team and was voted the most valuable player of the World Championship.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne served as the Finnish captain at the 2002 Winter Olympics and led his nation to an important preliminary round victory over Russia, however he had only three goals and no assists in four games as the Finns finished in sixth place. The World Championship was held in Finland, and the hosts were hailed as the favourite to win the title. Though Selänne led the tournament with eight goals, Finland lost their quarterfinal match against Sweden and finished fifth overall.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: The 2004 World Cup of Hockey was played after Selänne's difficult NHL season with Colorado. For Selänne, the tournament was about recovering his joy at playing hockey. The Finns went undefeated to reach the final, but Selänne and his teammates had to settle for second place after losing the championship game to Canada, 3–2. Returning to the national team for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Selänne joined Jere Lehtinen and Saku Koivu on what "The Hockey News" called the best team Finland has ever produced. The Finns outscored their opposition 19–2 in the group stage, then defeated the United States and shut-out Russia in the semi-final. The Finns, however, were overcome in the final by Sweden, 3–2, and were relegated to the silver medal. Selänne scored six goals and 11 points in the tournament, was named to the all-star team and received the Directorate Award as top forward.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne stated he would retire from international competition after a bronze medal-winning performance followed at the 2008 IIHF World Championship. However, he returned to play in his fifth Olympic tournament at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Selänne became the all-time leading scorer in Olympic hockey history on February 19, 2010, as he recorded his 37th point in competition in a game against Germany. The Finns won the bronze medal with a 5–3 victory over Slovakia in the third-place game.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne was named to the Finnish team for the 2014 Sochi Olympics, which marked his sixth appearance at the tournament. In the quarterfinals, Selänne scored a goal and an assist as the Finns ousted the host Russians from the tournament, then added two goals in the bronze medal match in a 5–0 victory over the United States. The 43-year-old Selänne became the oldest player to win a medal in Olympic hockey, a record later broken by compatriot Riikka Sallinen in 2018. He was named most valuable player of the Olympic tournament as selected by the media, and added six points to his Olympic record career total of 43.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne's primary attribute is his skating speed. Nicknamed the "Finnish Flash", he uses his speed to evade opposition defenders. According to defenceman Nicklas Lidström, "He's one of those snipers that can put the puck on net because he finds openings and he knows where to be on the ice. Former teammate Jean-Sébastien Giguère added, "He's just a very elegant player. He's got a very nice stride to his skating, he plays with a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm ... with the skill he has, it just makes for a heck of a great player."


title: Teemu Selänne

text: An elite offensive player, Selänne is the highest scoring Finnish-born player in NHL history. He ended his career with 684 goals, 12th all-time in NHL history, and 1,457 points, 15th best. His 110 game-winning goals tied him with Brett Hull for fourth all-time. Selänne is one of eight players to score 70 or more goals in one season, and he is the most recent player to do. He holds numerous records, including most goals, 76, and points, 132, by a rookie. Both totals are also single-season records for the Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes franchise. The holder of most major franchise records for the Ducks, Selänne leads the team at 457 goals, 531 assists, 988 points and 966 games played. He also holds single season records with 52 goals and 109 points. Even before his playing career had ended, the Ducks announced that Selänne's number 8 would be the first number retired by the franchise. The team formally retired his number on January 11, 2015, prior to a game against the Jets.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne and his wife Sirpa have four children: sons Eemil, Eetu (a hockey player himself, starting as a freshman with the Northeastern University Huskies men's team in 2017 and currently as a part of the Curry College Colonels men's team) and Leevi, and daughter Veera. They are residents of Coto de Caza, California, a gated community in southern Orange County. Selänne is the primary partner in a steak restaurant in nearby Laguna Beach which he started with longtime friend Kevin Pratt, an Orange County restaurant manager; He had previously owned four restaurants in Finland.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: Selänne is known for his fun-loving personality and is known to make an effort to sign autographs and shake hands. He is well-respected in the NHL by players, coaches, and fans, including those of opposing teams. Selänne considers Paul Kariya and Joe Sakic to be the best friends he earned in the NHL, and both attended his final regular-season game against the Avalanche.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: An avid car collector, Selänne has entered the World Rally Championship (WRC) twice, finishing the Rally Finland 33rd overall in 1997 and 24th in 1998. He raced under the pseudonym "Teukka Salama" ("Teddy Flash" in English). In 1999 Selänne was involved in a crash while practicing for a rally race in his native Finland, an incident that was national news in the country. Due to Finnish laws that set fines based on an offender's salary, Selänne received a $50,000 fine for the incident.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: A popular figure in Finland, Selänne's success in the NHL has been credited with aiding the growth of hockey in the country. He was once named the sexiest man in Finland by fashion magazine "Eeva", and is the subject of the 2013 documentary film "Selänne", directed by JP Siili, and which chronicles his life. The film became the highest grossing documentary in Finnish history within a month of its September 27 release, and was the third highest grossing locally produced film of the year.


title: Teemu Selänne

text: In November 2019, Selänne released his authorized biography in North America titled "Teemu Selänne: My Life."


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia (), was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle Ages.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: The republic was established in the Armenian-populated territories of the disintegrated Russian Empire, known as Eastern Armenia or Russian Armenia. The leaders of the government came mostly from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF or Dashnaktsutyun). The First Republic of Armenia bordered the Democratic Republic of Georgia to the north, the Ottoman Empire to the west, Persia to the south, and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic to the east. It had a total land area of roughly 70,000 km, and a population of 1.3 million.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: The Armenian National Council declared the independence of Armenia on 28 May 1918. From its very onset, Armenia was plagued with a variety of domestic and foreign issues. A humanitarian crisis emerged from the aftermath of the Armenian genocide as hundreds of thousands of Armenian refugees from the Ottoman Empire were forced to settle in the fledgling republic. Lasting two and a half years in existence, the Republic of Armenia became involved in several armed conflicts with its neighbors, caused by overlapping territorial claims. In late 1920, the republic was partitioned between the Turkish Nationalist forces and Soviet Russia. The First Republic, along with the Republic of Mountainous Armenia which repelled the Soviet invasion until July 1921, ceased to exist as an independent state, superseded by the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic that became part of the Soviet Union in 1922. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia regained its independence as the current Republic of Armenia in 1991.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: The Russian offensive during the Caucasus Campaign of World War I, the subsequent occupation, and the creation of a provisional administrative government gave hope for ending Ottoman Turkish rule in Western Armenia. With the help of several battalions of Armenians recruited from the Russian Empire, the Russian army had made progress on the Caucasus Front, advancing as far as the city of Erzurum in 1916. The Russians continued to make considerable advances even after the toppling of Tsar Nicholas II in February 1917.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: In March 1917, the spontaneous revolution that toppled Tsar Nicholas and the Romanov dynasty established a caretaker administration, known as the Provisional Government. Shortly after, the Provisional Government replaced Grand Duke Nicholas' administration in the Caucasus with the five-member Special Transcaucasian Committee, known by the portmanteau Ozakom. The Ozakom included Armenian Democrat Mikayel Papadjanian, and was set to heal wounds inflicted by the old regime. In doing so, Western Armenia was to have a general commissar and was to be subdivided into the districts of Trebizond, Erzerum, Bitlis, and Van. The decree was a major concession to the Armenians: Western Armenia was placed under the central government and through it under immediate Armenian jurisdiction. Dr. Hakob Zavriev would serve as the assistant for civil affairs and he in turn would see to it that most civil officials were Armenian.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: In October 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government and announced that they would be withdrawing troops from both the Western and Caucasus fronts. The Armenians, Georgians, and Muslims of the Caucasus all rejected the Bolsheviks' legitimacy.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: On 5 December 1917, the Ottoman Empire and the Transcaucasian Commissariat signed the armistice of Erzincan, ending armed conflict. After the Bolshevik seizure of power, a multinational congress of Transcaucasian representatives met to create a provisional regional executive body known as the Transcaucasian Seim. The Commissariat and the Seim were heavily encumbered by the pretense that the South Caucasus formed an integral unit of a non-existent Russian democracy. The Armenian deputies in the Seim were hopeful that the anti-Bolshevik forces in Russia would prevail in the Russian Civil War and rejected any idea of separating from Russia. In February 1918, the Armenians, Georgians and Muslims had reluctantly joined to form the Transcaucasian Federation, but disputes among the three groups continued as unity began to falter.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: On 3 March 1918, Russia followed the armistice of Erzincan with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and left the war. It ceded territory from 14 March to April 1918, when a conference was held between the Ottoman Empire and the delegation of the Seim. Under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Russians allowed the Turks to retake the Western Armenian provinces, as well as to take over the provinces of Kars, Batum, and Ardahan.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: In addition to these provisions, a secret clause obligated the Armenians and Russians to demobilize their forces in both western and eastern Armenia. Having killed and deported most of Armenians of Western Armenia during the Armenian genocide, the Ottoman Empire intended to eliminate the Armenian population of Eastern Armenia. Shortly after the signing of Brest-Litovsk the Turkish army began its advance, taking Erzurum in March and Kars in April, which the Transcaucasian government of Nikolay Chkheidze had ordered soldiers to abandon. Beginning on 21 May, the Ottoman army moved ahead again.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: On 11 May 1918, a new peace conference opened at Batum. At this conference, the Ottomans extended their demands to include Tiflis, as well as Alexandropol and Echmiadzin, which they wanted for a railroad to be built to connect Kars and Julfa with Baku. The Armenian and Georgian members of the Republic's delegation began to stall.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: On 26 May 1918, Georgia declared independence; on 28 May, it signed the Treaty of Poti, and received protection from Germany. The following day, the Muslim National Council in Tiflis announced the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: Having been abandoned by its regional allies, the Armenian National Council, based in Tiflis and led by Russian Armenian intellectuals who represented Armenian interests in the Caucasus, declared its independence on May 28. It dispatched Hovhannes Kajaznuni and Alexander Khatisyan, both members of the ARF, to Yerevan to take over power and issued the following statement on 30 May (retroactive to 28 May):


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: Meanwhile, the Turks had taken Alexandropol and were intent on eliminating the center of Armenian resistance based in Yerevan. The Armenians were able to stave off total defeat and delivered crushing blows to the Turkish army in the battles of Sardarapat, Karakilisa and Abaran.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: The Republic of Armenia had to sue for negotiations at the Treaty of Batum, which was signed in Batum on 4 June 1918. It was Armenia's first treaty. After the Ottoman Empire took vast swathes of territory and imposed harsh conditions, the new republic was left with 10,000 square kilometers.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: On 30 May 1918 the Armenian Revolutionary Federation had decided that Armenia should be a republic under a provisional coalition government. The declaration stated that the Republic of Armenia was to be a self-governing state, endowed with a constitution, the supremacy of state authority, independence, sovereignty, and plenipotentiary power. Kajaznuni became the country's first Prime Minister and Aram Manukian was the first minister of Interior.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: The constitution granted universal suffrage to all citizens, regardless of qualifiers, who were at least twenty years old. The first elections under the new constitution occurred between 21 and 23 June 1919 and of the 80 members elected to Parliament, three were women: Perchuhi Partizpanyan-Barseghyan, Varvara Sahakyan and Katarine Zalyan-Manukyan


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: Armenia established a Ministry of Interior and created a police force. The Armenian parliament passed a law on the police on 21 April 1920, specifying its structure, jurisdiction, and responsibilities. The Interior Ministry was also responsible for communications and telegraph, railroad, and the public school system, in addition to enforcing law and order. The reforms came soon and each of these departments became ministries.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: In 1919, the leaders of the Republic had to deal with issues on three fronts: domestic, regional, and international. The Armenian Congress of Eastern Armenians that took control in 1918 fell apart and in June 1919, the first national elections would be held. During the 1920s, which began under the premiership of Hovhannes Kajaznuni, Armenians from within the former Russian Empire and the United States would assist in developing the fledgling Republic's judicial system. In January 1919 another important milestone was completed by the Armenian Parliament, which was the opening of the country's first state university, Yerevan State University.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: Thanks to the efforts of Armenian National Council of Tiflis, the Armenian National Corps was established to fight against the Ottoman offensive of late 1917 and early 1918. On 13 December 1917, the Armenian National Corps was established, with General Tovmas Nazarbekian was appointed commander and Drastamat Kanayan became the defence minister. Nazarbekian used his experience in the Russian Caucasus Army to aid in the creation of the regular army. Units of this corps formed the basis of the Armenian army. Armenian conscripts and volunteers from the Russian Army later established the core of the armed forces of the First Republic. In accordance with the harsh terms of the Treaty of Batum signed on 4 June 1918 the Ottoman Empire demobilized most of the Armenian army. They were allowed only a limited force and were severely restricted in where their troops could operate.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: In 1920, Armenian representatives abroad sought arms, aeroplanes, and military advisors to reorganise and increase the size of the Armenian army to 40,000 men. The British government eventually agreed to supply Armenia with arms in order to relieve themselves of the responsibility of enforcing the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres for Armenia. The arms shipped to Armenia valued at £829,634.9 included 40,000 uniforms, 25,000 Ross rifles, 440 Vickers machine guns, 57,500,000 small arms ammunition, and 1,077 "packages of medical supplies". However, as Armenia was landlocked, it depended on Georgian railways to receive the arms, therefore, it was negotiated to share 27 percent of the supplies with Georgia. The arms were received in Armenia six months after the Allied Supreme Council had decided to furnish Armenia with arms, yielding a "great moral boost". Though unsuccessful in obtaining military advisors, it was planned that the Armenian army would be reorganised into 3 divisions consisting of 30,000 infantrymen consisting of 3 brigades made up of 3 battalions; moreover, 2,000 cavalrymen would be made up of "5 regiments of 400 sabres each"; the artillery would consist of 3,000 men, and the remaining 5,000 into "other services." Though Armenians abroad had financed the purchase of two French fighter planes, the British in Batum impounded the fighters in March 1920 until they were released weeks later.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: Before World War I, in 1914, the territory was part of Russian Armenia; among the total Armenian population of 2,800,000, about 1,500,000 lived in the Ottoman Empire, and the remainder were in Russian Armenia. An estimate in 1918, during the new Armenian Republic's first year, indicated that there were 800,000 Armenians and more than 100,000 Muslims, mostly Ottoman Turks, and Azerbaijani Turks and Kurds everywhere else. Of the 800,000 Armenians, about 500,000 were native Russian Armenians and 300,000 were destitute and starving refugees fleeing from the massacres that took place in the Ottoman Empire.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: The surviving Armenian population in 1919 was 2,500,000, two million of whom were distributed in the Caucasus. Of these 2,000,000 in the Caucasus, 1,300,000 were to be found within the boundaries of the new Republic of Armenia, which included 300,000 to 350,000 refugees who had escaped from the Ottoman Empire. There were 1,650,000 Armenians in the new Republic. Also added to this Armenian population were 350,000 to 400,000 people of other nationalities, and a total population of about 2,000,000 within the Armenian Republic. After the first world war, Armenia in a territory of had a population of 2,160,000, including 1,293,000 Armenians.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: The surviving Armenian population in 1921 was 1,200,000 in the republic, 400,000 in Georgia, 340,000 in Azerbaijan and those in the other regions of the Caucasus brought the total to 2,195,000.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: There was also an Armenian settlement problem that brought conflict with other ethnic residents. In all, there were over 300,000 embittered and impatient Armenian refugees escaping from the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire who were now the government's responsibility. This proved an insurmountable humanitarian issue. Typhus was a major sickness, because of its effect on children. Conditions in the outlying regions, not necessarily consisting of refugees, weren't any better. The Ottoman governing structure and Russian army had already withdrawn from the region. The Armenian government had neither time nor resources to rebuild the infrastructure. In 1918, the throngs of refugees were distributed as follows:


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: The government of Hovhannes Kajaznuni was faced with a most sobering reality in the winter of 1918–19. The newly formed government was responsible for over half a million Armenian refugees in the Caucasus. It was a long and harsh winter. The homeless masses, lacking food, clothing and medicine, had to endure the elements. Many who survived the exposure and famine succumbed to the ravaging diseases. By the spring of 1919, the typhus epidemic had run its course, the weather improved and the first American Committee for Relief in the Near East shipment of wheat reached Batum. The British army transported the aid to Yerevan. Yet by that time some 150,000 of the refugees had perished. Vratsian puts this figure at around 180,000, or nearly 20% of the entire nascent Republic. 40% of the inhabitants of eight villages near Etchmiadzin and 25% of the sixteen villages in neighboring Ashtarak had succumbed by April. During the winter of 1918-1919 the population of Talin, a district midway between Etchmiadzin and Alexandropol, was cut in half and nearly 60% of the Armenians in the Surmalu uezd starved to death.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: By 6 April 1920, the refugees from parts of Russian Armenia occupied by the Ottoman Army in 1918 had been largely resettled, however, 310,835 refugees from Western Armenia were still distributed around the Armenian Republic awaiting the political resolution and unification of their homeland to the eastern Armenian state. There were also 11,099 Armenian orphans throughout orphanages in Transcaucasia, 7,523 of whom were within the borders of Armenia. Western Armenian refugees and orphans were distributed as follows:


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: By 1920, the Republic of Armenia administered an area that covered most of present-day Armenia, in addition to most of the Kars, Surmalu and Nakhichevan districts. The regions of Nakhichevan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Zangezur (corresponding to the contemporary province of Syunik), and Dilijan (also referred to as Kazakh-Shamshadin, corresponding to the contemporary province of Tavush) were strongly disputed and fought over with neighbouring Azerbaijan whom considered these regions to be of tantamount importance.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: The Olti Okrug (the western half of which was controlled by Turco-Kurdish militias since the Ottoman withdrawal) was claimed by Armenia, as a constituent county of the larger Kars Oblast, however, they were unable to establish full control over it. The overwhelmingly ethnic Armenian Lori "uchastok" was disputed and jointly administered with Georgia following the conclusion of the 2-week-war over the region and the establishment of the Lori Neutral Zone. South of the capital of the republic, centered in Davalu and Zangibasar, local Azerbaijanis openly rebelled against the Armenian government during the Muslim uprisings of July 1919.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: Following the disestablishment of the Aras Republic and Armenia's consolidation of Nakhichevan, acting prime minister Khatisian in Julfa wired salutations to Persian Prime Minister Vosuq ed-Dowleh, who replied by extolling the traditional bonds between Armenia and Persia and welcoming the Republic of Armenia as a neighbor.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: On 19 January 1920, on account of the defeat of Denikin's Volunteer Army, the League of Nations and the Supreme Allied Council formally recognized the three Transcaucasian republics including Armenia as "de facto" governments over the region, in a last-ditch attempt to deter Bolshevik Russian penetration into the Transcaucasus.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: Despite the difficulties Armenia faced in consolidating its territory, after the signing of the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, it was granted formal diplomatic "de jure" recognition by the Great Powers. The United States, as well as several South American nations officially opened diplomatic channels with the government. Armenian diplomatic and consular missions were established in the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Germany, Serbia, Romania, Greece, Iran, Japan and Africa.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: In December 1918, Armenia and Georgia engaged in a brief military conflict over disputed border areas in the largely Armenian-populated Lori and Akhalkalak districts along with some other neighboring regions. Both nations claimed the districts, which Georgia had occupied after the Ottomans evacuated the area. Inconclusive fighting continued for two weeks. An Armenian offensive under Drastamat Kanayan (Dro) made substantial gains in the first ten days. By 25 December Armenian troops had reached positions from Tiflis (which had a plurality of Armenian population back then), when the Allied representatives in the city intervened. On 1 January 1919, military operations of both sides ceased and peace talks began supervised by the British and French, which ended in Tbilisi a few days later. The draft British plan established that Georgian troops would remain in Akhalkalak and northern Borchaly, whereas Armenian forces would settle in southern Borchaly, and the British would take positions between the two opponents. This forced Armenia to relinquish its wartime gains in the region, including the copper mines of Alaverdi. Georgia accepted the plan and the Allies decided to impose it with or without the approval of the government of Armenia. Finally, hostilities ceased on 31 December when the parties agreed to the British-brokered ceasefire. British mediation facilitated the end of the war, and resulted in the establishment of a joint Armeno-Georgian civil administration in the "Lori Neutral Zone" or the "Shulavera Condominium". Along the newly created border numerous Armenian settlements like Akhalkalak, Samshvilde, Bolnis-Khachen and Shulaver remained under Georgian control since then, while there were no Georgian settlements under Armenian control.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: Relations between Armenia and Georgia despite the conclusion of peace remained tense. In the spring of 1919, ARA (American Relief Agency) officials began to complain that Georgian officials, who demanded a share of the provisions, were holding up railway traffic carrying vital supplies of flour and other foodstuffs to Armenia. Moved by their complaints and the debilitating food crisis in Armenia, Georges Clemenceau, as president of the Versailles Conference, issued a carefully worded protest letter on 18 July, calling on "the authorities in Georgia" to cease further interference. Georgia issued its own protest to this communiqué, however, by 25 July American officials were already reporting that the rail traffic had begun to pick up.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: In autumn 1919, the two countries began negotiations for a new transit treaty which was concluded on 3. In addition to this, the parties also concluded an arbitration treaty whereby they agreed to settle their territorial disputes. The treaties were acclaimed by the liberal and socialist press in both countries. To blunt conservative criticism, the Menshevik "Bor'ba" newspaper remarked that the transit treaty would give Georgia access to the markets of Persia and would yield a lucrative income in transportation fees. All Georgian political observers agreed, however, that the immediate benefits would favour Armenia and that the Armenian government should reciprocate with a conciliatory attitude on other issues.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: A considerable degree of hostility existed between Armenia and its new neighbor to the east, the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan. The Azeris had close ethnic and religious ties to the Turks and had provided material support for them in their drive to Baku in 1918. Although the borders of the two countries were still undefined, Azerbaijan claimed most of the territory Armenia was sitting on, demanding all or most parts of the former Russian provinces of Elizavetpol, Tiflis, Yerevan, Kars and Batum. As diplomacy failed to accomplish compromise, even with the mediation of the commanders of a British expeditionary force that had installed itself in the Caucasus, territorial clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan took place throughout 1919 and 1920, most notably in the regions of Nakhichevan, Karabakh and Syunik (Zangezur). Repeated attempts to bring these provinces under Azerbaijani jurisdiction were met with resistance by their Armenian inhabitants. In May 1919, Dro led an expeditionary unit that was successful in establishing Armenian administrative control in Nakhichevan, albeit temporarily.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: While problems with Azerbaijan continued, a new self-proclaimed and unrecognized state headed by Fakhr al-Din Pirioghlu and centered in Kars, the South West Caucasian Republic was established. It claimed the territory around the regions of Kars and Batum, the Nakhichevan and Sharur districts of the Yerevan province and the Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki districts of the Tiflis province. It existed alongside the British general governorship created during the Entente's intervention in Transcaucasia. It was abolished by British High Commissioner Admiral Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe in April 1919 and the entire Kars region was assigned to the Armenian republic.


title: First Republic of Armenia

text: The largest escalation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict occurred in mid-March 1920 during the botched Karabakh uprising culminating in the massacre and expulsion of Shusha's majority Armenian population. Through 1918–1919, the area of Mountainous Karabakh was under the de facto administration of the local Armenian Karabakh Council, which was supported by the region's overwhelmingly Armenian population. During this period, Azerbaijan several times attempted to assert its authority over the region, backed by the British governor of Baku, Lieutenant General Thomson, who appointed Dr. Khosrov bey Sultanov as governor-general of Karabakh and Zangezur (though Zangezur was never subjugated) with the intention of bringing Karabakh under Azerbaijani subordination. In 1919, under threat of extermination (demonstrated by the Khaibalikend Massacre), the Karabakh Council was forced to sign an agreement to recognise and submit to Azerbaijani jurisdiction until its status could be decided at the Paris Peace Conference.