title: Freckle

text: Freckles are clusters of concentrated melaninized cells which are most easily visible on people with a fair complexion. Freckles do not have an increased number of the melanin-producing cells, or melanocytes, but instead have melanocytes that overproduce melanin granules (melanosomes) changing the coloration of the outer skin cells (keratinocytes). As such, freckles are different from lentigines and moles, which are caused by accumulation of melanocytes in a small area.


title: Freckle

text: Freckles can appear on all types of skin tones. Of the six Fitzpatrick skin types, they are most common on skin tones 1 and 2, which usually belong to North Europeans. However, it can also be found on people all over the world.


title: Freckle

text: The formation of freckles is caused by exposure to sunlight. The exposure to UV-B radiation activates melanocytes to increase melanin production, which can cause freckles to become darker and more visible. This means that one who has never developed freckles may develop them suddenly following extended exposure to sunlight.


title: Freckle

text: Freckles are predominantly found on the face, although they may appear on any skin exposed to the sun, such as arms or shoulders. Heavily distributed concentrations of melanin may cause freckles to multiply and cover an entire area of skin, such as the face. Freckles are rare on infants, and more commonly found on children before puberty.


title: Freckle

text: Upon exposure to the sun, freckles will reappear if they have been altered with creams or lasers and not protected from the sun, but do fade with age in some cases.


title: Freckle

text: Freckles are not a skin disorder, but people with freckles generally have a lower concentration of photo-protective melanin, and are therefore more susceptible to the harmful effects of UV radiation. It is suggested that people whose skin tends to freckle should avoid overexposure to sun and use sunscreen.


title: Freckle

text: The presence of freckles is related to rare alleles of the MC1R gene, though it does not differentiate whether an individual will have freckles if they have one or even two copies of this gene. Also, individuals with no copies of the MC1R do sometimes display freckles. Even so, individuals with a high number of freckling sites have one or more of variants of the MC1R gene. Of the variants of the MC1R gene Arg151Cys, Arg160Trp, and Asp294His are the most common in the freckled subjects. The MC1R gene is also associated with red hair more strongly than with freckles. Most red-haired individuals have two variants of the MC1R gene and almost all have one. The variants that cause red hair are the same that cause freckling. Freckling can also be found in areas, such as Japan, where red hair is not seen. These individuals have the variant Val92Met which is also found in Europeans, although it has minimal effects on their pigmentation. The R162Q allele has a disputed involvement in freckling.


title: Freckle

text: The variants of the MC1R gene that are linked with freckles started to emerge in the human genotype when humans started to leave Africa. The variant Val92Met arose somewhere between 250,000 and 100,000 years ago, long enough for this gene to be carried by humans into central Asia. Arg160Trp is estimated to have arisen around 80,000 years ago while Arg151Cys and Asp294His have been estimated to arise around 30,000 years ago. The wide variation of the MC1R gene exists in people of European descent because of the lack of strong environmental pressures on the gene. The original allele of MC1R is coded for dark skin with a high melanin content in the cells. The high melanin content is protective in areas of high UV light exposure. The need was less as humans moved into higher latitudes where incoming sunlight has lower UV light content. The adaptation of lighter skin is needed so that individuals in higher latitudes can still absorb enough UV for the production of vitamin D. Freckled individuals tend to tan less and have very light skin, an adaptation to allow individuals that expressed these genes to synthesise sufficient vitamin D.


title: Freckle

text: "Ephelides" describes a freckle that is flat and light brown or red and fades with a reduction of sun exposure. Ephelides are more common in those with light complexions, although they are found on people with a variety of skin tones. The regular use of sunblock can inhibit their development.


title: Freckle

text: Liver spots (also known as sunspots and lentigines) look like large freckles, but they form after years of exposure to the sun. Liver spots are more common in older people.


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: Olympia is a painting by Édouard Manet, first exhibited at the 1865 Paris Salon, which shows a nude woman ("Olympia") lying on a bed being brought flowers by a servant. Olympia was modelled by Victorine Meurent and Olympia's servant by the art model Laure. Olympia's confrontational gaze caused shock and astonishment when the painting was first exhibited because a number of details in the picture identified her as a prostitute. The French government acquired the painting in 1890 after a public subscription organized by Claude Monet. The painting is on display at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: What shocked contemporary audiences was not Olympia's nudity, nor the presence of her fully clothed maid, but her confrontational gaze and a number of details identifying her as a "demi-mondaine" or prostitute. These include the orchid in her hair, her bracelet, pearl earrings and the oriental shawl on which she lies, symbols of wealth and sensuality. The black ribbon around her neck, in stark contrast with her pale flesh, and her cast-off slipper underline the voluptuous atmosphere. "Olympia" was a name associated with prostitutes in 1860s Paris.


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: The painting is modelled after Titian's "Venus of Urbino" (c. 1534). Whereas the left hand of Titian's Venus is curled and appears to entice, Olympia's left hand appears to block, which has been interpreted as symbolic of her role as a prostitute, granting or restricting access to her body in return for payment. Manet replaced the little dog (symbol of fidelity) in Titian's painting with a black cat, a creature associated with nocturnal promiscuity. The aroused posture of the cat was provocative; in French, "chatte" (cat) is slang for female genitalia. Olympia disdainfully ignores the flowers presented to her by her servant, probably a gift from a client. Some have suggested that she is looking in the direction of the door, as her client barges in unannounced.


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: The painting deviates from the academic canon in its style, characterized by broad, quick brushstrokes, studio lighting that eliminates mid-tones, large color surfaces and shallow depth. Unlike the smooth idealized nude of Alexandre Cabanel's "La naissance de Vénus", also painted in 1863, Olympia is a real woman whose nakedness is emphasized by the harsh lighting. The canvas alone is 130.5 × 190 cm (51.4 × 74.8 inches), which is rather large. Most paintings that were this size depicted historical or mythological events, so the size of the work, among other factors, caused surprise. Finally, Olympia is fairly thin by the artistic standards of the time. Charles Baudelaire thought thinness was more indecent than fatness.


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: The model for Olympia, Victorine Meurent, would have been recognized by viewers of the painting because she was well known in Paris circles. She started modeling when she was sixteen years old and she also was an accomplished painter in her own right. Some of her paintings were exhibited in the Paris Salon. The familiarity with the identity of the model was a major reason this painting was considered shocking to viewers. A well known woman currently living in modern-day Paris could not simultaneously represent a historical or mythological woman.


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: Though Manet's "The Luncheon on the Grass" ("Le déjeuner sur l'herbe") sparked controversy in 1863, his "Olympia" stirred an even bigger uproar when it was first exhibited at the 1865 Paris Salon. Conservatives condemned the work as "immoral" and "vulgar". Journalist Antonin Proust later recalled, "If the canvas of the Olympia was not destroyed, it is only because of the precautions that were taken by the administration." The critics and the public condemned the work alike. Even Émile Zola was reduced to disingenuously commenting on the work's formal qualities rather than acknowledging the subject matter, "You wanted a nude, and you chose Olympia, the first that came along". He paid tribute to Manet's honesty, however: "When our artists give us Venuses, they correct nature, they lie. Édouard Manet asked himself why lie, why not tell the truth; he introduced us to Olympia, this "fille" of our time, whom you meet on the sidewalks."


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: Although originally overlooked, the figure of the maid in the painting, modelled by a woman named Laure, has become a topic of discussion among contemporary scholars. As T. J. Clark recounts of a friend's disbelief in the revised 1990 version of "The Painting of Modern Life": "you've written about the white woman on the bed for fifty pages and more, and hardly mentioned the black woman alongside her." "Olympia" was created 15 years after slavery had been abolished in France and its empire, but negative stereotypes of black people persisted among some elements of French society. In some cases, the white prostitute in the painting was described using racially charged language. According to Maria Rutledge, "references to Blackness thus invaded the image of white Olympia, turning her into the caricatural and grotesque animal that Black people are frequently made to represent in the nineteenth century."


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: Many critics have applauded Manet in his use of white and black in the painting, an alternative to the tradition of chiaroscuro. Charles Bernheimer has responded,


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: According to Timothy Paul, some black feminists, including Lorraine O' Grady, have argued that it is not for artistic convention that Manet included Laure but to create an ideological binary between black and white, good and bad, clean and dirty and as such "inevitably reformulates the Cartesian perspectival logic that allows whiteness to function as the only subject of consideration". When paired with a lighter skin tone, the Black female model stands in as signifier to all of the racial stereotypes of the West.


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: In Lorraine O'Grady's essay titled "Olympia's Maid: Reclaiming Black Female Subjectivity", she asserts, "Olympia's maid, like all other 'peripheral Negroes, is a robot conveniently made to disappear into the background drapery. While the confrontational gaze of Olympia is often referenced as the pinnacle of defiance toward patriarchy, the oppositional gaze of Olympia's maid is ignored; she is part of the background with little to no attention given to the critical role of her presence.


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: O'Grady points out that we know she represents 'Jezebel and Mammy' "and best of all, she is not a real person", rather she is object to the objectified and excluded from sexual difference according to Freudian theory. While Olympia looks directly at the viewer, her maid, too, is looking back. In her essay "Mammy, Jezebel, Sapphire and Their Homegirls: Developing an Oppositional Gaze toward the Images of Black Women", Catherine West concludes that by claiming an oppositional gaze we can identify, criticize, resist and transform these and other oppressive images of Black women.


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: In January 2016, a Luxembourg performance artist, Deborah De Robertis, lay on the floor in front of the painting nude and mimicked the pose of the subject. She was arrested for indecent exposure.


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: In part, the painting was inspired by Titian's "Venus of Urbino" (c. 1534), which in turn derives from Giorgione's "Sleeping Venus" (c. 1510). The Titian has two fully clothed women, presumably servants, in the background. Léonce Bénédite was the first art historian to explicitly acknowledge the similarity to the "Venus of Urbino" in 1897. There is also some similarity to Francisco Goya's "La maja desnuda" (c. 1800).


title: Olympia (Manet)

text: There were also pictorial precedents for a nude white female, often pictured with a black female servant, such as Léon Benouville's "Esther with Odalisque" (1844), Ingres' "Odalisque with a Slave" (1842), and Charles Jalabert's "Odalisque" (1842). Comparison is also made to Ingres' "Grande Odalisque" (1814). Manet did not depict a goddess or an odalisque but a high-class prostitute waiting for a client; it has often been argued that Titian did the same.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Princess Stéphanie Clotilde Louise Herminie Marie Charlotte of Belgium (21 May 1864 – 23 August 1945) was a Belgian princess who became Crown Princess of Austria through marriage to Crown Prince Rudolf, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Princess Stéphanie was the second daughter of King Leopold II of Belgium and Marie Henriette of Austria. She married in Vienna on 10 May 1881 Crown Prince Rudolf, son and heir of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. They had one child, Archduchess Elisabeth Marie. Stéphanie's marriage quickly became fragile. Rudolf, depressed and disappointed by politics, had multiple extramarital affairs and contracted a venereal disease that he transmitted to his wife, rendering her unable to conceive again. In 1889 Rudolf and his mistress Mary Vetsera were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide pact at the imperial hunting lodge at Mayerling in the Vienna Woods.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: In 1900, Stéphanie married again, to , a Hungarian nobleman of lower rank; for this, she was excluded from the House of Austria-Hungary. However, this second union was happy. After the death of her father in 1909, Stéphanie joined her older sister Louise to claim from the Belgian courts the share of the inheritance of which they both felt they had been stripped.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Until World War II, Count and Countess Lónyay (elevated to the princely rank in 1917) peacefully spent their lives at Rusovce Mansion in Slovakia. In 1935, Stéphanie published her memoirs, entitled "Je devais être impératrice" ("I Had to Be Empress"). In 1944, she disinherited her daughter, who had divorced to live with a socialist deputy and whom she had not seen since 1925. The arrival of the Red Army in April 1945, at the end of the war, forced Stéphanie and her husband to leave their residence and take refuge in the Pannonhalma Archabbey in Hungary. Stéphanie died of a stroke in the abbey later the same year.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Stéphanie was the third child of the Duke (future King Leopold II) and Duchess of Brabant (born Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria), an unhappy and mismatched couple. In 1853, their marriage had been arranged for exclusively political reasons by both King Leopold I and the Habsburgs without consulting the groom and bride, whose interests were almost entirely opposed: the Duke of Brabant was little interested by family life and was passionate about political and economic issues in the kingdom which he was to reign over, while Marie Henriette was a young woman versed in religion with other interests limited to horseback riding, dogs and music.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Born at the Palace of Laeken on 21 May 1864, Stéphanie received an emergency baptism on the day of her birth. The official baptism took place one month later, on 25 June, in a ceremony which lasted an hour, in the chapel of the Palace of Laeken, where she received the names Stéphanie Clotilde Louise Herminie Marie Charlotte; her first two names were in honor of her godparents, her maternal uncle Archduke Stephen of Austria, titular Palatine of Hungary) and her aunt by marriage Princess Clotilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. After the ceremony, a gala lunch was given with 60 people in attendance.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Stéphanie had two older siblings: Louise (born 18 February 1858), and Leopold, Count of Hainaut (born 12 June 1859). On 10 December 1865, her paternal grandfather King Leopold I, founder of the Belgian dynasty, died after a reign of 34 years. His son, Stéphanie's father, ascended to the throne under the name of Leopold II, and her brother assumed the title of Duke of Brabant as the new heir of the throne.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: In the spring of 1868, the almost 9-year-old Leopold, Duke of Brabant and heir to the throne, suffered from a chill following a fall in the pond in the . His condition deteriorated rapidly: the doctor diagnosed acute pericarditis. In the summer, he seemed to recover, but his cough persisted. The doctor recommended the removal of the uvula and performed this surgery before his young patient went to Ostend to recover. Queen Marie Henriette isolated herself in Spa to rest, while King Leopold II, held back by affairs of state, and his two daughters remained in Laeken. In August, Leopold, suffering from dropsy, was brought back to Laeken. The Queen therefore never left her son's bedside. After having received the last sacraments in September, the son seemed better, but his condition worsened again until he died on 22 January 1869.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: In her memoirs, Stéphanie wrote: "The first event that was deeply engraved in my memory was the death of this beloved brother [...]. Although I was only four and a half years old, I still vividly remember this deliciously beautiful and tender child, his resignation during his short illness, and the poignant pain of my mother, when he exhaled in her arms". Stéphanie's childhood was therefore marked by this mourning: "From that moment on, my memories have seen my parents' married life darken. Struck in the heart by the death of her son, my mother had changed a lot: this child had been the goal of her life, he had reconciled her with the fate that had fallen to her".


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: At the beginning of 1871, epidemics of typhus and smallpox raged in Brussels. The Queen, without worrying about potential contagion, assisted affected families. On 10 April, Stéphanie, who was not yet seven, contracted typhus, to the dismay of her parents, who feared that a second child of theirs would die. For many weeks, the girl was unconscious, feverish and in great pain. Her relatives prepared her for death. Her father often came to see her, and her mother and the faithful Toni Schariry, a nanny of German origin hired shortly after Stéphanie's birth, wept at her bedside. The princess was saved only by the care of an unknown Ardennes doctor, whom the royal couple had consulted, who recommended cold baths. The fever decreased and in October, Stéphanie was considered to have recovered. After the recovery of their daughter, Léopold II and Marie Henriette took her and her sister to make her convalescence in Biarritz, making a stopover in Paris.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Leopold nourished the hope of having a second son and therefore resumed sexual relations with the Queen; but, after a miscarriage in March 1871, another daughter was born on 30 July 1872: Clémentine, the last child of the royal couple. Stéphanie relates about her parents: "It is sad and discouraging to think that these two beings [...] could not live better together and create a home. But unfortunately, they did not understand each other. Their paths crossed for a single instant, only to move away immediately and forever. He chose that of indifference, infidelity, she had to accept that of resignation, loneliness and pain". Leopold II thereafter lost interest in his family; he turned his attentions to the notorious creation of the Congo Free State, which was his personal fiefdom and not a Belgian colonial territory, and as such its ruthless exploitation amassed him a vast private fortune. He also rejected his family for his mistresses – having so many scandalous liaisons that he was known to his subjects as "Le Roi des Belges et des Belles" (“The King of the Belgians and of the Beauties”).


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: From 1874, Stéphanie (who until then had a nanny, the Viennese Antoinette Polsterer) was placed under the direction of her sister Louise's governess, Mademoiselle Legrand. Stephanie writes: "My education began at the age of ten; I immediately understood that from that moment books and notebooks would take the place of my toys, that a more orderly life would begin". Stéphanie benefitted schooling by teachers who provided her with various courses: French, English, German, Dutch and Hungarian for languages, while mathematics lessons, horsemanship, history, history of art, religion, botany, and rhetoric were also taught. However, the level of education of the princesses was not very high: "The programs lacked scope. In the severe decor of the study room, it was usually too rudimentary that we applied ourselves to history, geography, literature, mathematics; a preponderant place being left to the decorative arts: painting, drawing, music, as well as needlework".


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: If Stéphanie's instruction was somewhat rudimentary, the discipline was strict: "We got up early in the morning: in summer, at five o'clock, in winter, at six o'clock. During our toilet, the most absolute silence was required; any breach of this rule resulted in severe punishment. We had to dress and comb our hair on our own. The maid stood in the room and watched us. In order to test us, the housekeeper often made unexpected entries. [...] Our dresses were as simple as our hairstyles. Cut in the shape of a shirt, they fell without any trim, below the knee; a leather belt held them back. In order to toughen us up, the windows of our bedroom, summer and winter, remained open: we rarely heated". Louise and Stéphanie had to dust their room themselves. Sometimes they joined the King and Queen at breakfast time. At their table, adorned with flowers, were sweets that the princesses were not allowed to taste. When Stéphanie was punished, she had to kneel on dry peas or remain locked up for hours, in the dark, between double doors. Stephanie and Louise had lunch and dinner with their parents after their governess reported their behavior to the Queen. When the King entered the dining room, the princesses would rise and bow before kissing his hand which he then put on their head, without a word. Only the girls' maid Toni showed them constant affection. The feast days, Easter, Saint Nicholas Day and Christmas, were the only times when Stéphanie and her sisters were pampered.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: While her older sister Louise married in 1875 a wealthy cousin of their father, Prince Philipp of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Austrian officer and friend of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, Stéphanie continued her studies and willingly took care of her younger sister Clémentine because Louise's departure left a void at the Palace of Laeken.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Stéphanie made her first communion on 12 June 1876 and officially appeared for the first time at court. A few months later, Louise and her husband went to Brussels. Stéphanie found her older sister, who had turned into a "young woman admired and celebrated", very different from the young girl she had known.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: During the winter of 1878–1879, on her way to London, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (known as "Sissi"), mother of Crown Prince Rudolf, stopped at the court of Brussels, where the 14-year-old Stéphanie was introduced to her. Already rumors about her possible marriage were swirling in Europe. Leopold II and Marie Henriette hoped to marry their second daughter to a reigning sovereign or a crown prince. The first candidate mentioned was King Alfonso XII of Spain, but this possibility was almost immediately denied.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Stéphanie had heard of Rudolf for the first time at the end of a literature class given by her housekeeper Fanny Brossel. After reading the story of William Tell, the teacher decided to teach her pupil about the power and grandeur of the House of Habsburg and illustrated her words by showing her an engraving published in a magazine depicting the Crown Prince in hunting costume. This was how Stéphanie discovered the features of the one who would become her fiancé.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: During the winter of 1879–1880, Empress Elisabeth returned to Brussels. She was persuaded by the arguments of the court of Vienna which encouraged the Crown Prince to marry young in order to quickly ensure descendants. In March 1880 Rudolf was invited to the Belgian court at the insistence of Leopold II. After meeting the 15-year-old Princess Stéphanie, he wrote to his mother that "[he had] found what [he] sought", noting that she was "pretty, good, [and] clever". However, she was not Rudolf's first choice as a potential bride: having refused Princess Mathilde of Saxony, as well as several Infantas of Portugal and Spain, he found that Stéphanie was one of the few Catholic princesses who met the criteria imposed by his father Emperor Franz Joseph I to become wife of the heir of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Under pressure from his parents to marry as soon as possible, the Crown Prince was satisfied with Stéphanie and on 5 March, he asked her parents for her hand. The reaction of Rudolf's parents was mixed – while Empress Elisabeth was deeply disappointed with the match as the Belgian monarchy dated only from 1830 and did not compare to the Habsburgs in terms of seniority, even though its royal house was a branch of the House of Wettin (one of the oldest ruling houses in Europe), Emperor Franz Joseph I was pleased. For her part, Stéphanie remembered: "In the afternoon of 5 March, my parents called me. When I made my entrance, my father stood up, came to me and said in a deep voice: "The Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary has come here to ask for your hand. Your mother and I are all in favor of this marriage. We have chosen you to be Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. Go away, think about it and give us your answer tomorrow"".


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: The betrothal was formalized on 7 March 1880, when Stéphanie was not yet 16 years old. Rudolf went to Brussels accompanied by an official suite of 21 people, and his current mistress. To his tutor, the Crown Prince confided, "A new life will soon begin for me and I must admit that this worries me a little".


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: The Crown Prince was 21 years old at the time of the engagement. Declared an adult at the age of 19, he already had his own household. In 1879 he had moved to Prague Castle and assumed command of an infantry regiment, a post he liked very much. He was friendly with Princess Louise of Belgium, who had encouraged him to marry her younger sister. In anticipation of her establishment at the Austrian court, her mother Marie Henriette had warned Stéphanie: "Avoid Louise, and if you see her, reason with her, show her a good example [...] Louise is not true. It costs nothing to lie or act. She is very frivolous". Rudolf's personality was ambiguous: Often subject to mood swings, he suddenly passed from a melancholy state to an expansive joy, and he was aware of the duality of his temperament. Very young, he became a "bon vivant" and indulged in morally lax behaviour. The marriage was supposed to end his affairs. Countess Marie Larisch von Moennich, niece of Empress Elisabeth, had declared about Rudolph's future fiancée: "In advance, we had pity on the poor princess who would have the honor of being chosen".


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: The preparations for the wedding filled King Leopold II with pride. The Austrian Emperor added 148,000 guilders to the initial dowry of 100,000 florins, plus an annual sum of 100,000 florins for the duration of the marriage. Engaged, Stéphanie was dispatched to Vienna to be taught Imperial court etiquette in preparation for her marriage, and then had to attend all official receptions and dinners until her wedding, which was scheduled for 15 February 1881; however the wedding had to be deferred because Stéphanie had not yet reached puberty, and the bride was returned home for a while.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: The marriage was finally celebrated on 10 May 1881, a few days before Stéphanie's 17th birthday, at the Saint Augustine's Church in Vienna. Four thrones were arranged under a canopy for the Belgian and Austrian sovereigns, with the bride being walked down the aisle by her parents. Foreign princes (among them the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and his nephew, the future German Emperor Wilhelm II) and members of the imperial family attended the celebrations, alongside members of the diplomatic corps and the Knights of the Golden Fleece. The church was so crowded that the wedding procession was hampered in its progress. Stéphanie remembered, "Both of us pronounced the sacramental 'yes'. We exchanged alliances [...]. The bells of the whole city rang to announce to the inhabitants of the capital the celebration of our solemn marriage. A long, cheerful noise arose from the crowd. Military bands played the hymns of the two countries. I was the Crown Princess of Austria-Hungary!". As a part of the wedding celebrations, the Emperor bestowed Walthere Frere-Orban with the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary and the Empress bestowed several ladies with the Order of the Starry Cross.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: After the wedding night, which Stéphanie in her private letters revealed to her sister to have been a violent event by Rudolf, already mentally unstable, the couple honeymooned at Laxenburg outside the capital. Stéphanie was soon subjected to the questioning of her new family: At the court of Vienna, she had to live most of the time with them – walks, canoeing parties, invitations and parties were almost always held with the many members of the House of Habsburg. Her mother-in-law, Empress Elisabeth, nicknamed her "the hideous dromedary"; however, Stephanie began to enjoy her new position. During an official visit to Hungary in May 1881, she was given a standing ovation and began to see the advantages of her situation.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: As in any dynastic marriage where the political interest of the two sovereign houses takes precedence, the existence of romantic feelings within the couple has never been proven, but the relationship of the young spouses was based, at the beginning, on respect and a mutual attachment. The spouses gave nicknames to each other respectively: "Coco" for Rudolf, and "Coceuse" for Stéphanie. Their understanding was real; Stéphanie described Rudolf as "a model husband" and added that they understood each other admirably, which made her happy. However, Stéphanie related that Rudolf was suspicious when she accompanied him. She was not allowed to leave the palace and remained subject to strict surveillance, so she took the opportunity to devote herself to drawing or painting.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: From October 1881, Stéphanie replaced the Empress at official receptions. It was she who, at the request of her mother-in-law, now accompanied the Emperor and the Crown Prince on official trips and who received foreign sovereigns visiting the court. She entered the ballrooms on her father-in-law's arm and served as the hostess at official dinners. Delighted to be released from the "official duties", Empress Elisabeth withdrew from court, while Rudolf broke away from his wife to whom he became less and less warm.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: In the autumn of 1881, Stéphanie thought she was pregnant, but it was a false alarm. After this disappointment, in the spring of 1883, the Crown Princess's pregnancy was confirmed, delighting the Emperor. After this announcement, the Crown Prince once again became considerate and attentive to his wife. Both Stéphanie and Rudolf were sure it would be a boy; they even spoke of the future child by calling him "Wenceslaus" ("Wacław"), a Czech first name reflecting the sympathies of the Crown Prince for the Slavic populations of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: On 8 August, Queen Marie Henriette visited her daughter in anticipation of her childbirth. Stéphanie did not dare talk about her marital problems with her mother. The preparations for a princely birth obeyed protocol: prayers in churches and the exhibition of the Blessed Sacrament in the churches of the imperial palaces. On 2 September in the Laxenburg castles complex, Stéphanie gave birth to a daughter, Elisabeth Marie, known as "Erzsi" (short for "Erzsébet", the Hungarian form of Elisabeth). Generously, Emperor Franz Joseph I showered the young mother and her family with gifts. When the gender of the child was announced to Rudolf, he did not hide his disappointment at not having been given an heir to Austria-Hungary Empire, but he got used to his role of father and gave, in his correspondence, many details about the newborn girl. While Stéphanie blossomed in her new role of mother, this birth marked the beginning of deep marital difficulties.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: In Prague and Vienna, the couple received many visitors and gave many dinners. Stéphanie had a high idea of her rank and strove to fully assume the role conferred on her by her title, as the Empress had fled Vienna to travel frequently through Europe. For his part, Rudolf, who disapproved of his father's policies, developed friendships among opponents of the monarchy and anonymously published his political opinions in the , edited by his friend Moritz Szeps. At the beginning of 1886, the Crown Prince fell seriously ill. Several diagnoses included cystitis and stomach disease. These were only intended to hide the true nature of the disease who affected him – he had actually contracted a venereal disease, (possibly gonorrhea), during his extramarital affairs. Doctors, fearing syphilis, used the approaches then used to treat the latter, namely opium, cognac, morphine, as well as mercury which, taken at too high a dose, can lead to psychological consequences.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: In order to take care of himself, Rudolf left to stay on the island of Lokrum, where he took Stéphanie. No one had informed the Crown Princess of the nature of the illness from which her husband was suffering. When she felt the first effects herself, doctors mentioned peritonitis. The consequences of this lie were dramatic: when the couple tried to conceive another child, Stéphanie, who was not yet 22 years old, found it that she was sterile. From that moment, feeling betrayed by her own husband, Stéphanie harbored resentment and bitterness towards Rudolf. She refused to resume her conjugal life with a husband who did not return until dawn, and disillusioned and undermined by a feeling of failure, had sank into debauchery. Despite Rudolf's attempts to reconcile with his wife, their quarrel seemed deep. During a visit to the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria in 1887, Stéphanie fell in love with the Polish Count Artur Władysław Potocki. During the next eighteen months, she did not try to hide her affections for the Count from her husband, who continued his own liaisons.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: From the spring of 1887, painful scenes were repeated between the spouses. Rudolf began to lose control of himself: suffering from deep fits of melancholy and mania he spoke in front of whoever wanted to hear him the presentiment of his imminent death. During the summer of 1888, Stéphanie noticed a disturbing change in the general condition of the Crown Prince: his increasingly angry character led him to continued public outbursts of extreme violence.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: In October 1888, Stéphanie, worried about the depressive – even suicidal – tendencies of her husband, went to the Emperor Franz Joseph I to alert him, without succeeding in convincing him. She remembers: "The Emperor greeted me cordially. I began by telling him that Rudolf was very ill and that his pathetic appearance and his dissipated behavior caused me serious concern; I begged him to make his son take a long journey so as to distract him from his grueling existence. But the Emperor interrupted me: "It is your imagination that creates ghosts for you. Rudolf is doing very well. He looks a little tired, he is too often on the road, he exerts himself too much. He should stay more with you; but have no fear!"".


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Rudolf pursued other connections, in particular with the 17-year-old Baroness Marie Vetsera from around April 1888. Stéphanie became a widow at the age of 24 when, on 30 January 1889, her husband was found dead in strange circumstances with his mistress Baroness Vetsera, both shot dead, at the . The apparent suicide of the Crown Prince deeply affected Stéphanie and constituted, in the words of Irmgard Schiel, "the greatest catastrophe that can affect a woman in her married life". To Stéphanie, Rudolf had left an undated letter: "Dear Stéphanie, you are delivered from my fatal presence; be happy in your destiny. Be good to the poor little one who is the only thing left of me. [...] I calmly enter death which alone can save my good reputation. Kissing you with all my heart, your Rudolf who loves you".


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: After Rudolf's death, Stéphanie had only one thought: to leave Vienna and the heavy atmosphere of the court. She wished to go to her parents in Brussels, but neither Leopold II nor Franz Joseph I would allow Stephanie, who had become a Dowager Crown Princess, to abandon Austria. As guardian of his 5-year-old granddaughter Elisabeth Marie, the Emperor demanded that Stephanie remain with her child. Stephanie had to obey and obtained permission to stay for four months at Miramare Castle, near Trieste. At the start of her widowhood, Stéphanie led a rather withdrawn life. Over the years, the separations from her daughter became more and more frequent, so a fulfilling relationship with her daughter did not last.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: During this time, Stéphanie continued her romantic relationship with Count Potocki, whom she had nicknamed "Hamlet". Widowed since 1881, he was Chamberlain at the court of Vienna and a life member of the House of Lords in the Austrian Parliament. Only her sister Louise was informed of the affair. Artur Potocki remained close to Stéphanie during the dark days following Rudolf's death. However, the health of the Count, who was not yet 40, was so bad that he lost the ability to speak after surgery due to laryngeal cancer. In March 1890, Potocki died and Stéphanie once again went into a deep grieving.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: At the court of Vienna, Stéphanie had to endure the coldness of Empress Elisabeth, who avoided her, and the equally distant attitude adopted by Emperor Franz Joseph I. Although she retained her title of Crown Princess, she did not retain its functions and was no longer authorized to represent the Empress. Her role was limited, and she could no longer count on the support of many friends. She traveled a lot and devoted herself to painting. Her watercolors painted in Lacroma were published as an album in 1892. In Austria, Stéphanie devoted herself to singing or went to the theater and concerts during her stays in her residences in Laxenburg and at the Hofburg.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Until 1898, Stéphanie undertook long journeys each year: Corfu, Malta, Tunis and Sicily in 1892; the Nordic countries the following year; North Africa, the Balearic Islands and Corsica in 1894; Greece and Palestine in 1895; and Russia in 1897. In March 1898, an illness forced her to give up traveling – she suffered from pneumonia and pleurisy, which forced her to remain bedridden for some time. This gave rise to fears for her life before she suddenly recovered. On 10 September 1898, Empress Elisabeth was assassinated in Geneva; even though she had never managed to get closer to her mother-in-law, Stéphanie was very affected by this unexpected death.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Emperor Franz Joseph I and King Leopold II of Belgium cherished the plan to remarry Stéphanie with Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary Empire after the death of Rudolf. However, the latter harbored other marriage plans with Countess Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting of the Habsburg court.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: For her part, Stéphanie planned to marry an aristocrat: , a Hungarian nobleman of lower rank, of Protestant faith, and one year older than her. After studying law in Budapest, he had entered diplomatic service. In 1886, he was appointed counselor of the legation. He worked in Bucharest, then in Saint Petersburg and Brussels. In 1890, he became imperial and royal Chamberlain at the Austrian court. Promoted to embassy secretary in 1892, he worked in Saint Petersburg, Paris, London and Stuttgart. He then took advantage of a year's leave to travel to Africa and the Mediterranean countries. In 1895, he accompanied Archduke Louis Victor as a member of the imperial legation during the coronation of Tsar Nicolas II in Saint Petersburg. In 1896 he and his brother Gábor were raised to the dignity of Count. In 1897, he resigned from the foreign service and retired from the public service. In order to be able to marry Stéphanie, he converted to Catholicism.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Stéphanie did not dare to forewarn her father of her marriage plans. She chose to address herself by letter, in October 1899, to Queen Victoria who supported her. However, the King of Belgium refused to see his daughter marry a man of lower rank. Stéphanie received a negative response from Leopold II: "My father answered me in the severest and harshest terms that he refused me his consent. Queen Victoria's letter had missed its mark. He gave her, too, an extremely lively answer, in which he even hinted that she had better not interfere in matters which did not concern her". The Belgian sovereigns, offended that Stéphanie did not primarily speak to them about her matrimonial projects, severed any relationship with their daughter and forbade her to return to Belgium. Leopold II even planned to withdraw the title of Royal Highness from his second daughter, but court jurists demonstrated the impossibility of this. The King forbade his youngest daughter Clémentine to correspond with Stéphanie and threatened to abolish the annual annuity of 50,000 francs which she received, although Franz Joseph I advised him against it.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: On 22 March 1900 at Miramare Castle and after eleven years of widowhood, Stéphanie married Count Elemér Lónyay de Nagy-Lónya and Vásáros-Namény. The Emperor reluctantly gave his authorization, but Stéphanie lost her rank and her imperial titles by remarrying, while her daughter Elisabeth Marie remained in Vienna in her grandfather's guardianship. The former Crown Princess's household was dissolved: all those who were part of it were dismissed, but some of them were assigned to her daughter's service. The patronages exerted by Stéphanie were withdrawn from her, and she thus received an annual pension of 100,000 guilders. Her new husband, for his part, had an annual income of 50,000 guilders.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: The Austrian press, and in particular the journal "Die Presse", saw in this marriage a "certain marvelous romanticism in the act which the princess poses [because] the latter closed on her the portal of the Hofburg, at the same time thoughtful and the glance full of promising images, then went south where she will soon cease to be Princess Dowager". The new spouses initially settled at the "villa Zichy" in Vienna.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Two years after her mother's remarriage, Archduchess Elisabeth Marie (who at some point was considered as a potential bride for several princes in Europe, among them her cousin Prince Albert, heir presumptive to the throne of Belgium, and the German Crown Prince) married on 23 January 1902 Prince Otto Weriand of Windisch-Graetz, an Austrian prince and officer, despite the objections of her grandfather Emperor Franz Joseph I, who considered the union unequal. A few months later, in September, while staying in London, Stéphanie learned of the death of her mother, Queen Marie Henriette, who was living withdrawn from the Belgian court. Immediately, she left for Spa to pay a last tribute to her mother. However, King Leopold II was still so furious with his daughter's unequal marriage that he forbade Stéphanie to attend the funeral service, and she was finally forced a few days later to return to London.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: When King Leopold II himself died on 17 December 1909, Stéphanie had just, two days earlier, been refused a final meeting with the monarch. Her sister Louise returned to Belgium as well, and the dying sovereign also refused to see her. Stéphanie and her sisters discovered that their father had left as main beneficiary of his will his chief mistress, the French prostitute Caroline Lacroix, as well as the Royal Trust. He also deliberately concealed property included in his estate in shell companies in Germany and France, not only to deprive his daughters of it, but also to allow his town-planning projects to continue. The Belgian state offered a financial transaction to the three princesses, who would each receive a sum of two million francs. While Stéphanie and Clémentine accepted the proposal, Louise refused it and initiated, in December 1910, a first trial against the Belgian State and her two sisters. In April 1911, Louise initiated a second lawsuit concerning the French companies created by Leopold II. In 1912, Louise and Stéphanie, who had now become her ally, were defended by Henri Jaspar and Paul-Émile Janson, and Louise persevered in her legal actions. The two princesses refused a new amicable agreement with the State, before their action was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in April 1913. However, on 22 January 1914, an agreement was concluded between Louise, the Belgian State and some of her creditors: She received, like her two sisters, a little more than five million francs from their late father's fortune.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: In January 1906, Stéphanie and Elemér bought the Rusovce Mansion in Hungary (now in Slovakia) in order to establish permanent residence there. The neoclassical-style building is located in an area of over 2,400 hectares, consisting of an English-style park, planted with purple beeches, silver fir trees and multiple decorative species, which extends over both banks of the Danube. They received many guests there, including Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife, still ostracized by the court of Vienna, and writers, such as the pacifist Bertha von Suttner. Renovation was required for the residence, which comprised 200 rooms. Elemér exhibited his artistic collections there, including antique furniture, paintings by old and modern masters, as well as precious porcelain. Stéphanie and her husband created three gardens: a rose garden, an alpine garden, and another of Dutch inspiration. Irmgard Schiel wrote, "The princess was at the same time a lord, mistress of the house, manager of the estate, garden architect and hostess".


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: When Stéphanie learned of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, she was convinced that the death of the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne was desired by Emperor Franz Joseph I because the deceased had dared to stand up to him. Stéphanie claimed to have warned the victims because the Emperor knew the danger that his nephew was running. Four weeks later, war broke out. With Hungary not yet undergoing many hardships, Stéphanie set up a makeshift dispensary in the Rusovce house, while Elemér accepted a management position in the Austrian Red Cross which took him to Romania and Serbia. Stéphanie worked as a nurse in her residence.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: In November 1916, the health of Emperor Franz Joseph I was declining, and his family came to see him. Stéphanie left Hungary for Vienna, where the Emperor died of bronchitis and pneumonia at the age of 86 on 21 November 1916 after a reign of 68 years. Stéphanie and her daughter Elisabeth Marie attended the funeral, which took place nine days later. On this occasion, the Habsburg monarchy unfolded its full splendor for the last time. The new Emperor Charles I led the funeral procession, which included representatives of the Allied Powers, all German princes, and the members of the House of Habsburg. In the choir of St. Stephen's Cathedral, the new Emperor and his wife Empress Zita took a prominent place alongside the foreign rulers, and behind them stood their close family relatives. Stéphanie and her daughter were placed in the third row. Finally, the remains of Franz Joseph I were placed next to his wife and son in the Imperial Crypt in the center of Vienna.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: The new emperor on 28 January 1917 granted the title of Hungarian "Fürst" (Prince) with the style of Serene Highness to Elemér. After the armistice of 11 November 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire ceased to exist. In March 1919, the whole imperial family had to leave Austria. However this measure did not apply to Stéphanie nor her daughter, who were excluded from the House of Habsburg following their marriages.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Until World War II, Prince and Princess Lónyay peacefully spent their lives at Rusovce. In the years following the end of the World War I, Elisabeth Marie (who resided with her family in Schönau an der Triesting, Lower Austria) and her mother still had strong feelings for each other. This tenderness was expressed especially in their correspondence because it was difficult to travel to Rusovce. However, in 1922, Stéphanie was delighted to receive her two eldest grandsons, Franz Joseph and Ernst Weriand of Windisch-Graetz. The teenagers, however, were eager to return to their home because their grandmother's attitudes were very different from what they were used to. Stéphanie's last letter to her daughter dated from 1924, the year in which Erzsi had just obtained a divorce "a mensa et thoro" from her husband. The following year, Elisabeth Marie participated in her mother's silver wedding anniversary. Thereafter, mother and daughter did not see each other at all. According to her granddaughter-in-law, author Ghislaine of Windisch-Graetz (née d'Arschot Schoonhoven), Stéphanie "was confused in devotion and even bigoted; she was convinced that her daughter was possessed by the demon and she could not tolerate the immorality of her love life. As the reprobation seemed insufficient to her, she preferred to stay away, pray for her daughter and ask priests to join their prayers to hers.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: In 1923, Stéphanie planned to write her memoirs. To do this, she chose to collaborate with , a biographer recognized in particular for his work on the historical figures of the House of Habsburg. The writer stayed in Rusovce eleven times. The collaboration was, however, abruptly interrupted in 1933 by Stéphanie, who wrote to Corti: "For the sake of the imperial family, I decided to give up publishing my memoirs in the form that had been initially planned [...]. I see myself constrained to limit myself to my own notes, as well as to my personal memories, in which your contributions and your modifications do not find their place". Corti being excluded from the literary project, Stéphanie addressed Count and Countess Gatterburg, who submitted the manuscript first to a publisher in Leipzig in 1933. The latter considered that the manuscript was not complete enough and that its publication would be detrimental to the author. Another publishing house, John Murray of London, also rejected the text received. Finally, the house in Leipzig agreed to publish the book and have it published simultaneously in Europe and New York. The publishing contract was drawn up on 24 April 1934, but Stéphanie's procrastination postponed the publication and distribution of her memoirs to October 1935, under the original title of "Ich sollte Kaiserin werden" (I Was To Be Empress) in German bookstores, because the book was censored in Austria, where the police visited every bookshop in Vienna in order to seize the copies already on sale. In the book she published Rudolf's last letter to her, and proclaimed that (in her view) he and Baroness Vetsera had made a suicide pact. The work appeared in a French version in 1937 in Brussels under the title: "Je devais être impératrice" (I Had To Be Empress), and the same year was finally authorized to be published in Austria under the original title.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: As long as they maintained satisfactory health, Stéphanie and Elemér traveled and met various exiled rulers: the deposed Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria and the Empress Zita. They met the latter in Spain, and then in Belgium where Ferdinand had been exiled since 1930. Gradually, they withdrew to their estate where they led a more secluded existence, punctuated by religious exercises. Among their closest acquaintances figured, from 1944, their chaplain, Geza Karsai, Germanist, university professor and monk of the Pannonhalma Archabbey.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: In July 1944, Stéphanie drew up her will. She disinherited her daughter, who had divorced Prince Otto of Windisch-Graetz to live with , a Social Democratic deputy from Lower Austria, and bequeathed all of her real estate to the order of the Benedictines. In return, the Benedictines were responsible for meeting all the debts of the Lónyays and managing their estates. The year 1944 brought new worries to Stéphanie and her husband because the German Army wanted to transform their residence into a military hospital for war wounded, a project which was rejected at the last minute. On the other hand, in the autumn, Edmund Veesenmayer, SS "Brigadeführer", and commander of the city of Budapest, took up quarters in Rusovce accompanied by a large staff. Veesenmayer began to search all the archives in the house and confiscated documents of a historical nature, such as letters from Crown Prince Rudolf. Stéphanie and Elemér were forced to take refuge in a few rooms because the occupants had appropriated most of the castle. At the end of March 1945, the Germans, realizing that their position was threatened by the advancing Red Army, traveled further west.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: On 2 April 1945, it was the Red Army, having just launched a last offensive pushing back the Germans near Lake Balaton, which reached the Rusovce mansion. During the first weeks of the Soviet occupation, the Lónyays preferred to stay at home with a few servants. However, in May, Stéphanie (suffering from heart disease) and her husband left their residence to take refuge in the Pannonhalma Archabbey, protected by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Three months later, on 23 August 1945, Stephanie died there of a stroke, aged 81. Neither her daughter nor any of her descendants were present at her funeral. She was buried in the crypt of Pannonhalma Archabbey. Elemér survived her less than a year, dying on 29 July 1946, and was buried next to her.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: Stéphanie's only daughter, Archduchess Elisabeth Marie, finally obtained a divorce from her husband, Prince in early 1948 and on 4 May of that year, she married her longtime partner Petznek in a registry office in Vienna. Estranged from her four children (of whom two died before her), after Leopold Petznek's death in 1956 from a heart attack, Elisabeth Marie (confined to a wheelchair due to gout) became reclusive until her death on 16 March 1963 at the Windisch-Graetz Villa in Hütteldorf, Vienna and was buried in an unmarked tomb (only recognized by the burial codification group 2, number G72) at the next to her husband; near her were buried her two sons who predeceased her, Rudolf and Ernst. Like her mother before her, she also disinherited her two surviving children: she left some 500 heirlooms, owned by the Habsburg Imperial family and inherited by her, to the Republic of Austria, and the extensive park of her Windisch-Graetz villa, in a prime Viennese residential area, was willed to the city of Vienna for the construction of a new residential complex.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: As of 2021, Stéphanie had 8 great-grandchildren, 24 great-great-grandchildren and 32 great-great-great-grandchildren.


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: As the "New York Times" noted, Stéphanie "invented a new chafing dish and spirit lamp combined, and [took] out patents in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Belgium". Her 1908 decision to take out a US patent on a chafing dish surprised the "New York Times", not because of her lineage but because "throughout Europe the proficiency of Columbia’s daughters with the chafing dish is traditional…".


title: Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

text: At her birth, as the daughter of King Leopold II, Stéphanie was titled Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Duchess in Saxony, with the predicate of "Royal Highness", according to the titles of her house, and bears the unofficial title of Princess of Belgium, which will be officially regularized by Royal Decree dated 14 March 1891.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. As of the 2020 Census it had a population of 75,644, making it the sixth largest city in Wisconsin. Appleton is a part of the Fox Cities metropolitan area, the third largest in the state behind Milwaukee and Madison.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton serves as the heart of the Fox River Valley, which is home to Lawrence University, the Fox Cities Exhibition Center, Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, Fox River Mall, Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium, Appleton International Airport, and the Valley's two major hospitals: St. Elizabeth Hospital and ThedaCare Regional Medical Center–Appleton. It also hosts regional events such as Octoberfest and the Mile of Music.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The territory where Appleton is today was traditionally occupied by the Ho-Chunk and the Menominee. The Menominee Nation ceded the territory to the United States in the Treaty of the Cedars in 1836, with Chief Oshkosh representing the Menominee. The treaty came at the end of several years of negotiations between the Menominee, the Ho-Chunk and the federal government about how to accommodate the Oneida, Stockbridge-Munsee, and Brothertown peoples who were removed from New York to Wisconsin. The Ho-Chunk never ratified the final treaty as only the Menominee ceded land. In the Menominee language, Appleton is known as "Ahkōnemeh", or "watches for them place".


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The first European settlers in Appleton were fur traders seeking to do business with Fox River Valley Native Americans. Hippolyte Grignon built the White Heron in 1835 to house his family and serve as an inn and trading post.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton was settled in 1847. It was founded as three unincorporated villages along the Fox River. From south to north along the river, these were Grand Chute, Appleton, and Lawesburg. In 1853, the three were merged into the single incorporated Village of Appleton. John F. Johnston was the first resident and village president. Lawrence University, also founded in 1847, was backed financially by Amos A. Lawrence and originally known as the Lawrence Institute. Samuel Appleton, Lawrence's father-in-law from New England who never visited Wisconsin, donated $10,000 to the newly founded college library, and the town took his name in appreciation.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The paper industry, beginning with the building of the first paper mill in the city in 1853, has been at the forefront of the development of Appleton. In order to provide electricity to the paper industry, the nation's first hydro-electric central station, the Vulcan Street Plant on the Fox River, began operation on September 30, 1882. The power plant also powered the Hearthstone House, the first residence in the world powered by a centrally located hydroelectric station using the Edison system.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Shortly thereafter, in August 1886, Appleton was the site for another national first, the operation of a commercially successful electric streetcar company. Electric lights replaced gas lamps on College Avenue in 1912. Appleton also had the first telephone in Wisconsin, and the first incandescent light in any city outside of the East Coast.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The community was incorporated as a city on March 2, 1857, with Amos Storey as its first mayor. Early in the 20th century, it adopted the commission form of government. In 1890, 11,869 people lived in Appleton; in 1900, there were 15,085; in 1910, 16,773; in 1920, 19,571; and in 1940, 28,436.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Significant annexations to the city, taken from the Town of Grand Chute, were performed in the next two decades. The first, the "Glendale" district, was completed on November 8, 1941, growing Appleton north past Glendale Avenue. Another became official on December 22, 1950 after multi-year disputes, when the unincorporated villages of Bell Heights and Whispering Pines were annexed into the city from Grand Chute. Bell Heights added new area to the northwest edge of Appleton, and Whispering Pines, to the northeast, would include land where Appleton Memorial Hospital would later be built. Bell Heights and Whispering Pines increased the population of the city by ten percent, and its area by twenty percent, overnight.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton's tallest building, the 222 Building was built in 1952. The Valley Fair Shopping Center, built in 1954, laid claim to being the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States, although this claim is disputed by other malls. In 2007 most of the structure was demolished, leaving only its east wing and a movie theater. A Pick 'n Save Food Center now stands in its place.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: From approximately 1930–1970, Appleton was a sundown town: black people were not allowed to stay overnight, and none lived within its city limits by 1930. In 1936, the Institute of Paper Chemistry tried to hire the famous African-American chemist Percy Julian, but could not figure out how to do this without running afoul of what was stated as "an arcane law on the City of Appleton's books". A fight over Julian's employment ensued, and he was hired by Glidden in Chicago instead. Appleton's sundown status was largely de facto and not de jure; it stood by unwritten consensus and enforcement, such as by police strongly encouraging black people to leave town after dark. A partial exception was made for opera singer Marian Anderson when she sang at Lawrence University in 1941; she was allowed to stay overnight in the Conway Hotel, but even then was not allowed to eat dinner in public.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Following the Flint water crisis, a report of Wisconsin Rust Belt cities showed high levels of lead contamination in the water of Appleton, with children under the age of 1 testing positive for lead. With a state average of 1.9 per 100 for this age group, Appleton tested at 4.5 per 100 for the same age group.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton is located at (44.278819, −88.392625). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton has a humid continental climate typical of Wisconsin. Summers are warm to hot and winters are rather cold in comparison. Precipitation is relatively moderate compared to other areas close to the Great Lakes, which means lesser snowfall in winter than in many other cold areas.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: A dew point of was observed at Appleton at 5 p.m. on July 13, 1995. This is tied for the second highest dew point ever observed in the United States.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Being inland from Lake Michigan, Appleton is prone to temperature extremes. The hottest temperature recorded was during the 1936 Dust Bowl and the coldest was in 1929. The coldest maximum on record is set in 1994 and the warmest minimum being in 1912. On average, the coldest maximum temperature of the year during the normals between 1991 and 2020 was at a frigid and the warmest minimum averaged .


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton is the principal city of the Appleton–Oshkosh–Neenah CSA, a Combined Statistical Area which includes the Appleton (Calumet and Outagamie counties) and Oshkosh–Neenah (Winnebago County) metropolitan areas, which had a combined population of 392,660 at the 2010 census and an estimated population of 409,881 as of 2019.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: As of the census of 2020, the city's population was 75,644. The population density was . There were 31,747 housing units at an average density of . Ethnically, the population was 7.3% Hispanic or Latino of any race. When grouping both Hispanic and non-Hispanic people together by race, the city was 80.1% White, 6.4% Asian, 3.13% Black or African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.2% from other races, and 6.5% from two or more races.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The 2020 census population of the city included 318 people incarcerated in adult correctional facilities and 1,275 people in student housing.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: According to the American Community Survey estimates for 2016-2020, the median income for a household in the city was $61,475, and the median income for a family was $76,791. Male full-time workers had a median income of $51,431 versus $41,564 for female workers. The per capita income for the city was $33,282. About 7.8% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over. Of the population age 25 and over, 92.6% were high school graduates or higher and 33.6% had a bachelor's degree or higher.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: As of the 2010 census, there were 72,623 people, 28,874 households, and 18,271 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 30,348 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.5% White, 1.7% African American, 0.7% Native American, 5.9% Asian, 2.2% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.0% of the population.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: There were 28,874 households, of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.7% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.04.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The median age in the city was 35.3 years. 25% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 26.1% were from 45 to 64; and 11.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton is governed via the mayor-council system. The mayor appoints department heads, subject to council approval. The city attorney is elected every four years in a citywide vote. The council, known as the common council or city council, consists of 15 members, called alderpersons, all of whom are elected to two-year terms from individual districts.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The current mayor of Appleton, Jake Woodford, was elected in 2020 to his first four-year term. The first mayor of Appleton was Amos Story, elected in April 1857. The longest-serving mayor was Timothy Hanna, who served from 1996 through 2020.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton is represented by Mike Gallagher (R) in the United States House of Representatives, and by Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D) in the United States Senate. In the Wisconsin state legislature, Appleton is divided among four State Assembly Districts (3rd, 55th, 56th, 57th) and two State Senate Districts (1st, 19th). As of the 2018–2019 legislative session, the following representatives serve these districts:


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The city owns Valley Transit, a network of bus lines serving the Fox Valley. There are also several taxi operators in the city. Valley Transit operates routes that generally begin service as early as 5:45 AM and run until as late as 10:40 PM Monday through Saturday. Frequencies are usually every hour and every half-hour on certain routes during peak morning and afternoon times on weekdays. There is no service on Sunday. Amtrak and Lamers offer intercity buses serving such locations as Green Bay, Madison, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, and Chicago.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: In April 2021, Bird Rides launched a pilot program with 100 rentable electric scooters that users can operate throughout most of the city. The founder of the company Travis VanderZanden grew up in the Appleton area.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton is served by multiple intercity buses serving Green Bay, Wausau, Milwaukee and other destinations.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton is crisscrossed by the former main lines of the Chicago and North Western Railway (southwest-northeast) and the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western Railway (roughly southeast–northwest, and now largely abandoned except for local service to area paper mills and other industries). A north-south branch of the former Wisconsin Central Railroad passes on the west side of the city. All rail service is now operated by Canadian National Railway. Appleton has no intercity passenger rail service, although studies are being undertaken on the feasibility of extending Amtrak rail service to the Fox Cities and Green Bay.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The Appleton International Airport (ATW) is located at the west end of College Avenue, two miles west of Interstate 41 and six miles west of downtown Appleton.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton is served by the Appleton Area School District, which has three high schools, four middle schools, seventeen elementary schools, and sixteen charter schools. The district's main public high schools are Appleton East, Appleton North, and Appleton West.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) has four Christian elementary schools in Appleton: Mount Olive Lutheran School (Pre-K–8), Riverview Lutheran School (Pre-K–8), St. Paul Lutheran School (Pre-K–8), and St. Peter Lutheran School (Pre-K–8).


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton has two parochial high schools: Roman Catholic Xavier High School and Fox Valley Lutheran High School. Appleton also has charter high schools, including: Fox Cities Leadership Academy, Renaissance Academy, Appleton Technical Academy, and Tesla Engineering.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton is home to Lawrence University, a private liberal arts college, and Fox Valley Technical College. Globe University, Concordia University Wisconsin, and Rasmussen College have branch campuses in the city. The University of Wisconsin–Fox Valley, a two-year campus of the University of Wisconsin System, is located in nearby Menasha.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: In recent years, Appleton has emerged as a center for innovation in technology education, particularly in the area of K–12 technology education: the student-driven Appleton Youth Education Initiative has partnered with Microsoft Philanthropies, Plexus Corp., Miron Construction, Schneider National, and Stellar Blue Technologies to organize the Appleton Tech Clinic and HackAppleton, a popular annual hackathon that draws students from all over Wisconsin.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The city and surrounding area are served by the Appleton Public Library, which was chartered by the city in 1897 and as of 2010 has a collection of over 600,000 items. The library offers free wifi as well as printing and faxing for a small fee.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Appleton tourist attractions include the Hearthstone House, the four-story mansion that was the first house in US to be powered by hydroelectricity at its completion in 1881. The History Museum at the Castle contains exhibits on Fox River Valley history, including a gallery showcasing Edna Ferber, a Harry Houdini exhibit, and other traveling exhibits. The Paper Discovery Center has historic paper-making machines on display and an exhibit on the history of paper. The Fox River Mall is the second-largest mall in Wisconsin. Other local malls include Northland Mall, and City Center Plaza.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: In 2013, Houdini Plaza, on the corner of College Avenue and Appleton Street, was renovated. The project cost around $1.5 million with most of that paid by the city itself. The plaza, known as the 'front yard' of downtown Appleton holds roughly 55 events each year, including summer concerts and part of the downtown farmers market.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: The city of Appleton has 24 neighborhood parks and four community parks in its park system. The neighborhood parks range in size from two acres to 16 acres, while the community parks range in size from 25 acres to 139 acres.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: Memorial Park is the largest of the community parks, covering 139 acres. The park's facilities include: seven baseball/softball fields, playground equipment, an indoor ice skating rink, a sledding hill, a picnic pavilion, a catch-and-release fishing pond, grills, and a warming shelter. The park provides a firework display for the Appleton community during the 4th of July holiday.


title: Appleton, Wisconsin

text: City Park, established in 1882, is the oldest park in the Appleton park system. The Trout Museum of Art uses the park for its "Art in the Park" showcase. The show features over 200 artists that attract over 25,000 art enthusiasts annually. Pierce Park is the site of weekly Appleton City Band concerts held during the summer, and of the annual Appleton Old Car Show and Swap Meet. Pierce Park and Telulah Park each feature a disc-golf course. Erb Park and Mead Park each feature a public aquatics facility. Jones Park is the site of the finish line for the Santa Scamper run held during the annual Appleton Christmas Parade, and features an outdoor hockey rink in the winter.


title: Senate (France)

text: The Senate (, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 348 senators ("sénateurs" and "sénatrices") elected by part of the country's local councillors (in indirect elections), as well as by representatives of French citizens living abroad. Senators have six-year terms, with half of the seats up for election every three years.


title: Senate (France)

text: The Senate enjoys less prominence than the first, or lower house, the National Assembly, which is elected on direct universal ballot and upon the majority of which the Government has to rely: in case of disagreement, the Assembly can in many cases have the last word, although the Senate keeps a role in some key procedures, such as constitutional amendments and most importantly legislation about itself.


title: Senate (France)

text: Bicameralism was first introduced in France in 1795; as in many countries, it assigned the second chamber with the role of moderating the first, although for a long time as an ally of the executive. The present selection mode of the Senate dates back to the start of the Third Republic, when it was turned into what Léon Gambetta famously called a "grand council of the communes of France". Over time, it developed a sense of independence as a "guardian of the institutions" and "guardian of liberties", favoured by the fact that senators are on average older than members of the National Assembly, and join the house in the last part of their career. Debates in the Senate tend to be less tense and generally receive less media coverage.


title: Senate (France)

text: As a result of its election relying on what is often summed up as rural mayors, it has had a right-wing majority since 1958, with only a three-year exception in 2011–2014. The left has historically opposed the very existence of a second chamber, while the right defends it, and controversies over the Senate's role are revived from time to time. The common phrase "a Senator’s pace" ("un train de sénateur") mocks the upper house's perceived slow rhythm and readiness to let new legislation die.


title: Senate (France)

text: The president of the Senate is to step in as Acting President of France in case of an incapacitation or a vacancy, which last happened in 1974. The current officeholder is Gérard Larcher. The Senate is housed inside the Luxembourg Palace in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It is guarded by Republican Guards. In front of the building lies the Senate's garden, the Jardin du Luxembourg, open to the public.


title: Senate (France)

text: France's first experience with an upper house was under the Directory from 1795 to 1799, when the Council of Ancients was the upper chamber. There were Senates in both the First and Second Empires (the former being known as the "Sénat conservateur", the latter as the French Senate), but these were only nominally legislative bodies – technically they were not legislative, but rather advisory bodies on the model of the Roman Senate.


title: Senate (France)

text: With the Restoration in 1814, a new Chamber of Peers was created, on the model of the British House of Lords. At first it contained hereditary peers, but following the July Revolution of 1830, it became a body whose members were appointed for life. The Second Republic returned to a unicameral system after 1848, but soon after the establishment of the Second French Empire in 1852, a Senate was established as the upper chamber. In the Fourth Republic, the Senate was replaced by the Council of the Republic, but its function was largely the same. With the new Constitution of the Fifth Republic which came into force on 4 October 1958, the older name of Senate was restored.


title: Senate (France)

text: In 2011, the Socialist Party won control of the Senate for the first time since the foundation of the Fifth Republic. In 2014, the centre-right Gaullists and its allies won back the control of the Senate; they retained their majority in 2017.


title: Senate (France)

text: Under the Constitution of France, the Senate has nearly the same powers as the National Assembly. Bills may be submitted by the government ("projets de loi") or by either house of Parliament ("propositions de loi"). Because both houses may amend the bill, it may take several readings to reach an agreement between the National Assembly and the Senate. When the Senate and the National Assembly cannot agree on a bill, the administration can decide, after a procedure called "commission mixte paritaire", to give the final decision to the National Assembly, whose majority is normally on the government's side, but as regarding the constitutional laws the administration must have the Senate's agreement. This does not happen frequently; usually the two houses eventually agree on the bill, or the administration decides to withdraw it. This power however gives the National Assembly a prominent role in the law-making process, especially since the administration is necessarily of the same side as the Assembly, for the Assembly can dismiss the administration through a motion of censure.


title: Senate (France)

text: The power to pass a vote of censure, or vote of no confidence, is limited. As was the case in the Fourth Republic's constitution, new cabinets do not have to receive a vote of confidence. Also, a vote of censure can occur only after 10 percent of the members sign a petition; if rejected, those members that signed cannot sign another petition until that session of Parliament has ended. If the petition gets the required support, a vote of censure must gain an absolute majority of all members, not just those voting. If the Assembly and the Senate have politically distinct majorities, the Assembly will in most cases prevail, and open conflict between the two houses is uncommon.


title: Senate (France)

text: The Senate is also the representative of the territories and often defends the regions and mayors, as per article 24 of the Constitution.


title: Senate (France)

text: The Senate also serves to monitor the administration's actions by publishing many reports each year on various topics.


title: Senate (France)

text: Until September 2004, the Senate had 321 members, each elected to serve for a nine-year term. In that month, the term was reduced to six years, while – to reflect a growth in the country's population – the number of senators was set to increase progressively, to reach 348 by 2011. Senators had been elected in thirds every three years; this was also changed to one half of their number every three years.


title: Senate (France)

text: The president of the Senate is elected by senators from among their members. The current incumbent is Gérard Larcher. The President of the Senate is, under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, first in the line of succession—in case of death, resignation or removal from office (only for health reasons)—to the presidency of the French Republic, becoming Acting President of the Republic until a new election can be held. This happened twice for Alain Poher—once at the resignation of Charles de Gaulle and once at the death of Georges Pompidou.


title: Senate (France)

text: The President of the Senate also has the right to designate three of the nine members of the Constitutional Council, serving for nine years.


title: Senate (France)

text: Senators are elected indirectly by approximately 150,000 officials, known as the "grands électeurs", including regional councillors, department councillors, mayors, municipal councillors in large communes, as well as members of the National Assembly. However, 90% of the electors are delegates appointed by councillors. This system introduces a bias in the composition of the Senate favoring rural areas. As a consequence, while the political majority changes frequently in the National Assembly, the Senate has remained politically right, with one brief exception, since the foundation of the Fifth Republic, much to the displeasure of the Socialists.


title: Senate (France)

text: This has spurred controversy, especially after the 2008 election in which the Socialist Party, despite controlling all but two of France's regions, a majority of departments, as well as communes representing more than 50% of the population, still failed to achieve a majority in the Senate. The Senate has also been accused of being a "refuge" for politicians that have lost their seats in the National Assembly. The left, led by the Socialist Party, gained control of the Senate for the first time since 1958 during the 2011 election, leading to the election of Jean-Pierre Bel at its presidency. This proved a short-lived win, as the right, led by the Union for a Popular Movement, regained the Senate three years later.


title: Senate (France)

text: As an indirectly elected house, the Senate is often criticised by political parties such as La France Insoumise and the National Rally as not being representative enough.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: The Algerian Air Force was created to support the fight of the People's National Army against the French occupying forces. It came as part of the decisions of the Soummam congress held on August 20, 1956, which recommended a long-term plan to form a modern army.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: In 1957, six Algerians were sent for training to the Syrian Arab Air Force flight school at Nayrab near Aleppo. During this period, training also took place with the Egyptian and Iraqi air forces, as well as in the USSR and in China. During this period, the French army started the Challe and Morice lines used to isolate the ALN fighters inside the country and to stop supplies coming from Tunisia and Morocco. Then came the idea to train transport and helicopter pilots to ensure supplying the national liberation army, and to prepare the first core of the military aviation. The Algerian Air Force was officially established on 4 February 1959, as a part of the FLN.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: The Algerian Air Force was originally based at "Maison Blanche" (White House). In 1962, Egypt transferred 12 Helwan Gomhouria trainers and five MiG-15s (two MiG-15UTIs and three MiG-15bis), together with a group of advisors to help with training. Several Mil Mi-4s were also received from the Soviet Union. Two Beech D.185S light transports purchased for the personal use of then President Ben Bella in 1963.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: Training was one of the major preoccupations of the ALN/FLN leaders. Military aviation had a core of pilots and technicians after independence, who laid the foundations of the present Air Force. The Algerian authorities sent trainees to friendly countries such Egypt, Syria, Iraq, China, and the USSR, while waiting for the creation of Algerian Air Force schools. In 1966, the Air Base of Tafraoui in the 2nd Military Region was built as an air officers' school (EOA) where the first officer students were received to train as pilots and technicians in aeronautics.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: The nascent Algerian Air Force participated in the 1963 Sand War with Morocco. However, air power did not play a big role during the war. MiG-15s and Mi-4s were used, and aircraft from national company Air Algérie served for transport duties. Following the end of the war, the build-up of the Algerian Air Force was intensified. In 1964, 20 additional MiG-15bis fighters were delivered by the USSR. The next year, the first of at least 30 MiG-17s arrived in Algeria. In 1965-1966, 24 MiG-21F-13s were received, and 14 Ilyushin Il-28s were ordered in the same period, as well as some MiG-21FLs. Despite its growth, at the time of the Six-Day War the Algerian Air Force was not deemed combat ready. Still, 20 MiG-17Fs, 20 MiG-21s and 12 Il-28s were sent to Egypt, but without any crews. In 1967, the Algerian Air Force also bought its first surface-to-air missile systems, with two battalions of S-75 Dvinas. However, these were never put into service.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: In the late 1960s, thanks to increased oil prices and to Algeria's economic growth, important arms orders were passed with the USSR. Hence, in the early 1970s, the Algerian Air Force received 52 MiG-21MFs, MiG-21Rs and MiG-21UMs, and 40 Sukhoi Su-7BMKs. During the same period, 28 second-hand Fouga CM.170 Magisters were bought to West Germany, as well as some Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma and Mil Mi-6 helicopters.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: Thanks to its growth in the previous years, the Algerian Air Force was able to participate directly in the 1973 October War. Two squadrons of MiG-21s, another of Su-7s and a unit comprising 23 MiG-17s were sent to Egypt. This deployment was supported by Antonov An-12 transports. Some Algerian pilots were also assigned to Egyptian Air Force MiG-17 squadrons. In total, around 500 combat sorties were flown by Algerian pilots. One MiG-21 and one Su-7 were shot down, but no pilot was killed or captured.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: In 1975, another big arms deal was passed with Moscow, including 40 MiG-23BNs, 47 MiG-21bis, and 16 Mil Mi-8s. The first MiG-23BNs arrived in 1976; this type replaced the Su-7BMKs. Another arms order followed in 1978, with the Algerians requesting the delivery of 40 more MiG-21s, 16 MiG-23MFs, 20 Mil Mi-24s, and 12 S-125 Pechora missile systems. However, while 20 MiG-25s were delivered by 1979, negotiations for the remainder of the package proved much more difficult than expected, and took nearly four years. Limited quantities of Western aircraft were bought too: in 1978, six T-34C Mentors and three Fokker F27s were acquired.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: In 1981, thanks to the deliveries of air defence equipment, a new branch of the air force was created: the (Territorial Air Defence). Through the 1980s, the Algerian Air Force worked to build a fully integrated network of early warning radars. In 1986-1988, the Territorial Air Defence was expanded and reorganised into the (Territorial Air Defence Command). In 1988, this command became a fully independent branch of the Algerian armed forces.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: In the second half of the 1980s, the Algerian Air Force also introduced the wing structure. During this period few changes occurred in the combat aircraft inventory of the Algerian Air Force. Ten Sukhoi Su-24MKs were received from the USSR, while the MiG-17F was phased out. A new airplane supplier emerged just after the Iranian revolution when Algeria received 18 C-130H Hercules and 12 Hawker Beechcrafts supplied by USA from 1981 to 1989.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: Starting in the second half of the 1980s, the Algerian Air Force saw combat in the Algerian Civil War.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: As the Civil War was winding down, the Algerian Air Force began to replace its older combat aircraft. The last MiG-21s were withdrawn from service in 2002. The MiG-23BNs followed in 2005, as did the MiG-23MFs in 2008. The Air Force purchased a large number of Mikoyan MiG-29s (index 9.13) from Belarus and Ukraine from 1999 to 2003. At least 25 Su-24MKs were also acquired during the same period. In March 2006, as part of a bigger arms deal, Algeria ordered 28 Sukhoi Su-30MKAs, 16 Yakovlev Yak-130s, 28 MiG-29SMTs and six MiG-29UBs to Russia.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: Shortly after the first MiG-29SMT deliveries, the Algerian military discovered that these aircraft were not newly built airframes, but older ones modernised to MiG-29SMT standard. The decision was taken to send back the aircraft to Russia, refuse all of the planned subsequent deliveries, and to freeze the payments for these aircraft. After a meeting between Algerian and Russian heads of state in February 2008, the aircraft that had already been delivered were returned to Russia, and the whole batch originally built for Algeria was bought back and delivered to the Russian Air Force. Instead, Algeria was given the possibility to order another batch of Su-30MKAs at sharply reduced prices. This was done in December 2010, when 16 additional aircraft were ordered. In December 2015, 14 more Su-30MKAs were purchased. While the current front-line fleet primarily consists of Russian-origin aircraft such as the Sukhoi Su-30 and the MiG-29, Algeria has expressed an interest in acquiring aircraft from China. Algeria has been seen as a potential operator of the Chinese 4th-Generation JF-17 Thunder fighter project.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: See also List of airports in Algeria for other airfields which may have a dual civil-military function.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: The air force has two regiments of Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air, primarily base defence troops but which have reportedly taken part int anti-terrorism operations. They are the 772nd and 782nd Regiment des Fusiliers Commandos de l'air (RFCA).


title: Algerian Air Force

text: On January 27, 2010, a MiG 29 military plane crashed into a mountainous area between Mascara and Sidi Bel Abbès provinces resulting in the pilot’s death.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: In November 2012, an Algerian cargo plane(C-295) returning from Paris crashed in southeastern France, killing all six people on board.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: In December 2012, two military jets(MiG 29) conducting routine training operations collided in midair in the northwestern Algeria, killing the pilots of both planes.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: On February 11, 2014, a C-130 Hercules transport plane crashed in Oum El Bouaghi, Algeria. It resulted in 77 deaths.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: On October 11, 2014, an Algerian SU-24 military plane crashed in a military zone killing its 2 pilots during a training operation inside the country.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: On November 11, 2014, an air force MIG25 'Foxbat' fighter aircraft, which came down near a military range in the Hassi Bahbah Military Region in the central part of Algeria. No casualties were reported at the time as the pilot was alone at the time and he ejected safely out of the plane.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: On April 20, 2015, An Algerian Air Force plane(MIG25) crashed south of Algeria killing both pilots moments after takeoff.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: On March 27, 2016, a troop carrier Mi-171 type helicopter belonging to the Algerian air forces which was on a mission near Reggane crashed due to technical problems south of the country killing 12 soldiers and leaving two others injured.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: On April 11, 2018, an Il-76 strategic airlifter crashed in a field shortly after taking off from Boufarik Airport. It resulted in 257 deaths.


title: Algerian Air Force

text: On March 29, 2022, a MIG29UB crashed near the city of Oran, due to a technical malfunction. Resulting in 1 death.


title: Coast

text: The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in natural ecosystems, often home to a wide range of biodiversity. On land, they harbor important ecosystems such as freshwater or estuarine wetlands, which are important for bird populations and other terrestrial animals. In wave-protected areas they harbor saltmarshes, mangroves or seagrasses, all of which can provide nursery habitat for finfish, shellfish, and other aquatic species. Rocky shores are usually found along exposed coasts and provide habitat for a wide range of sessile animals (e.g. mussels, starfish, barnacles) and various kinds of seaweeds. Along tropical coasts with clear, nutrient-poor water, coral reefs can often be found between depths of .


title: Coast

text: According to a United Nations atlas, 44% of all people live within 5 km (3.3mi) of the sea. Because of their importance in society and high concentration of population, the coast is important for major parts of the global food and economic system, and they provide many ecosystem services to humankind. For example, important human activities happen in port cities. Coastal fisheries (commercial, recreational, and subsistence) and aquaculture are major economic activities and create jobs, livelihoods, and protein for the majority of coastal human populations. Other coastal spaces like beaches and seaside resorts generate large revenues through tourism. Marine coastal ecosystems can also provide protection against sea level rise and tsunamis. In many countries, mangroves are the primary source of wood for fuel (e.g. charcoal) and building material. Coastal ecosystems like mangroves and seagrasses have a much higher capacity for carbon sequestration than many terrestrial ecosystems, and as such can play a critical role in the near-future to help mitigate climate change effects by uptake of atmospheric anthropogenic carbon dioxide.


title: Coast

text: However, the economic importance of coasts makes many of these communities vulnerable to climate change which causes increases in extreme weather and sea level rise, and related issues such as coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion and coastal flooding. Other coastal issues, such as marine pollution, marine debris, coastal development, and marine ecosystem destruction, further complicate the human uses of the coast and threaten coastal ecosystems. The interactive effects of climate change, habitat destruction, overfishing and water pollution (especially eutrophication) have led to the demise of coastal ecosystem around the globe. This has resulted in population collapse of fisheries stocks, loss of biodiversity, increased invasion of alien species, and loss of healthy habitats. International attention to these issues has been captured in Sustainable Development Goal 14 "Life Below Water" which sets goals for international policy focused on preserving marine coastal ecosystems and supporting more sustainable economic practices for coastal communities. Likewise, the United Nations has declared 2021-2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, but restoration of coastal ecosystems has received insufficient attention.


title: Coast

text: Because coasts are constantly changing, a coastline's exact perimeter cannot be determined; this measurement challenge is called the coastline paradox. The term "coastal zone" is used to refer to a region where interactions of sea and land processes occur. Both the terms "coast" and "coastal" are often used to describe a geographic location or region located on a coastline (e.g., New Zealand's West Coast, or the East, West, and Gulf Coast of the United States.) Coasts with a narrow continental shelf that are close to the open ocean are called "pelagic" "coast", while other coasts are more sheltered coast in a gulf or bay. A shore, on the other hand, may refer to parts of land adjoining any large body of water, including oceans (sea shore) and lakes (lake shore).