text: The first woman to be elected to Congress was Montana's Jeannette Rankin, a Republican, in the 1916 House elections; notably, this occurred before the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which prohibits states and the federal government from denying any citizen the right to vote because of that citizen's sex. On April 2, 1917, she took her oath of office along with the other members of the 65th Congress.


title: Women in the United States House of Representatives

text: Mae Nolan entered the House of Representatives in 1923 as the first Catholic woman in either chamber of Congress. Clare Boothe Luce, who converted to the Catholic Church in 1946 before retiring as a Congresswoman, was the first female Catholic convert in either chamber.


text: Florence Prag Kahn entered the House of Representatives in 1925 as the first Jewish and thus non-Christian woman in either chamber of Congress.


text: Chase G. Woodhouse, born in Canada to American parents, entered the House of Representatives in 1945 as the first woman born outside the United States elected to either chamber of Congress. She went to become the first woman in congressional party leadership when elected secretary of the House Democratic Caucus in 1949. Lynn Morley Martin became the first Republican woman elected to a House leadership position as vice chair of the House Republican Conference in 1985.


text: Margaret Chase Smith became the first woman elected in both chambers of Congress; she first entered the House of Representatives in 1940, before her election into the Senate in 1948.


text: Representative Vera Buchanan died in 1955, making her the first woman in either chamber of Congress to die in office.


text: Patsy Mink, an Asian American, entered the House of Representatives in 1965 as the first woman of color in either chamber of Congress.


text: Shirley Chisholm entered the House of Representatives in 1969 as the first African-American woman in either chamber of Congress.


text: In 1969, Representative Charlotte Reid became the first woman to wear pants in the House of Representatives or Senate.


text: In 1973, Representative Yvonne Brathwaite Burke became the first member of either the House of Representatives or Senate to give birth while in office, and she was the first member of Congress to be granted maternity leave, with the birth of her daughter Autumn.


text: The gym of the House of Representatives (with the exception of its swimming pool) first opened to women in 1985, the gym having previously been male-only. The swimming pool opened to women in 2009, the pool having previously been male-only.


text: Barbara Vucanovich entered the House of Representatives in 1983 as the first Hispanic or Latina woman in either chamber of Congress.


text: Apart from single-member House delegations, the first all-woman delegation in either chamber of Congress was from Hawaii, in late 1990—Pat Saiki and Patsy Mink. They were also the first all-woman of color delegation in either chamber. In 2013, New Hampshire became the first state to have an all-woman delegation in both houses of Congress.


text: Enid Greene Waldholtz entered the House of Representatives in 1995 as the first Mormon woman in that chamber; although she was the second woman in Congress, after Senator Paula Hawkins of Florida.


text: Jo Ann Emerson entered the House of Representatives in 1997 as the first and, so far, only woman (re)elected as neither a Democrat nor a Republican from any state to either chamber of Congress. She won two elections scheduled on November 5, 1996: a special election to fill out the remainder of her husband's term in the 104th Congress, and a general election for a full term in the 105th Congress. Emerson received the Republican nomination for the unexpired term; however, the party slot for a regular election was already filled by another contender. According to Missouri law, she was ineligible to run as a GOP candidate, so she sought reelection and won her first full term as an independent. Emerson was sworn into office as such before rejoining the Republicans a few days later.


text: Tammy Baldwin, a lesbian, entered the House of Representatives in 1999 as the first openly LGBT woman in either chamber of Congress.


text: Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, rose through the ranks of her party leadership to be elected House whip in 2002, before being elevated to House floor leader and minority leader the following year; making her both the first woman whip and the first woman floor leader in either chamber of Congress. On January 4, 2007, she became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. On January 3, 2019, Pelosi become the first woman to reclaim the speakership.


text: Mazie Hirono entered the House of Representatives in 2007 as one of the first two Buddhists (alongside Hank Johnson) and first Buddhist woman elected in either chamber of Congress.


text: In 2011, the House of Representatives got its first women's bathroom near the chamber (Room H-211 of the Capitol building); women in the Senate have had their own restroom off the Senate floor since 1993.


text: Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War combat veteran, entered the House of Representatives in 2013 as the first woman with a disability in either chamber of Congress.


text: Tulsi Gabbard entered the House of Representatives in 2013 as the first Hindu person in either chamber of Congress. Kyrsten Sinema also entered the House that same year as the first openly bisexual person in either chamber of Congress.


text: In the 2018 House elections, there was a wave of firsts elected to the House of Representatives for the 116th Congress. A record-breaking 103 women were elected or reelected to the House, causing many to call it the "Year of the Woman" in a reference to the first such year, the 1992 Senate elections. Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland became the first Native American women ever elected to either house of Congress. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women elected to either chamber, with Tlaib the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress and Omar the first Somali-American of either sex to be elected. Angie Craig became the first lesbian mother to be elected. Additionally, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Donna Shalala became, respectively, the youngest and the oldest woman ever elected to Congress.


text: Also in 2018, Jacky Rosen became the first sitting female House one-termer to be elected to the Senate.


text: In 2020, Republican Stephanie Bice was elected to become the first Iranian-American and first woman of Iranian parentage in Congress, and her fellow Republican, Yvette Herrell, was also elected as the first Native American woman from the party in Congress. Additionally, Republicans Michelle Steel and Young Kim, and Democrat Marilyn Strickland were the first Korean-American women elected. Strickland is also the first Afro-Asian woman elected to the House of Representatives.


text: Mary Peltola entered the House of Representatives on September 13, 2022, after winning a special election on August 16, as the first Alaska Native person in either chamber of Congress.


text: Winnifred Sprague Mason Huck of Illinois, the third woman ever elected to Congress, became the first woman followed into national office due to family connections. She succeeded her father into the House in the wake of his death in 1921; Huck won a special election to fill out the remainder of his term, but lost a primary election for renomination in her own right, so she served just 14 weeks. In 1990, Rep. Susan Molinari become the first woman elected to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of her father rather than his death.


text: Mae Nolan of California becomes the first woman elected to Congress to fill the vacant seat caused by the death of her husband in 1922, which is sometimes known as the widow's succession. In the early years of women in Congress, such a seat was usually held only until the next general election, and the women retired after that single Congress, thereby becoming a placeholders to finishing elected terms of their husbands. As the years progressed, however, more and more of these widow successors sought reelection. These women began to win their own elections with Florence Prag Kahn of California became the first woman to do so. After entering the House of Representatives in 1925 to replace her late husband, she established herself as an effective legislator in her own right and would go on to win reelection five more times.


text: To date, 45 women have directly succeeded their late husbands in Congress, with 38 of them seated in the House and eight in the Senate. The only current example is Representative Doris Matsui of California. One of the most prominent examples was Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, who served a total of 32 years in both the House and the Senate and been the first woman to do so. She began the end of McCarthyism with a famous speech, "The Declaration of Conscience", became the first major-party female presidential candidate and the first woman to receive votes at a national nominating convention, and was the first (and highest ranking to date) woman to enter the GOP Senate leadership (in the third-highest post of Chairwoman of the Senate Republican Conference). Rep. Debbie Dingell succeeded her living spouse after his retirement, becoming the first woman to do so.


text: Frances P. Bolton of Ohio became the first woman overlapping a tenure with her child in either chamber of Congress. She served alongside her son in the House of Representatives from 1953 to 1957 and again from 1963 to 1965; making them the first mother-son team ever to be simultaneously elected.


text: In 1965, Elizabeth Kee of West Virginia became the first woman who directly preceded her own child in any chamber of Congress; event occurred after she stepped down from the House and her son was elected to a vacant seat. Congresswomen Loretta and Linda Sánchez, both of California, served along each other from 2003 to 2017; making them the first pair of sisters elected to either chamber.


text: Notes: "% of party" is taken from voting members at the beginning of the Congress, while numbers and "% of women" include all female House members of the given Congress


text: This is a complete list of women who have served as U.S. representatives or delegates of the United States House of Representatives. Members are grouped by the apportionment period during which such member commenced serving. This list includes women who served in the past and who continue to serve in the present.


text: There have been 11 women who gave birth while serving in the House at least once during their tenure. Two women gave birth multiple times, each giving birth three times while in office.


title: Briquette

text: A briquette (; also spelled briquet) is a compressed block of coal dust or other combustible biomass material (e.g. charcoal, sawdust, wood chips, peat, or paper) used for fuel and kindling to start a fire. The term derives from the French word "brique", meaning "brick".


title: Briquette

text: Coal briquettes have long been produced as a means of using up 'small coal', the finely broken coal inevitably produced during the mining process. Otherwise this is difficult to burn as it is hard to arrange adequate airflow through a fire of these small pieces; also such fuel tends to be drawn up and out of the chimney by the draught, giving visible black smoke.


title: Briquette

text: The first briquettes were known as culm bombs and were hand-moulded with a little wet clay as a binder. These could be difficult to burn efficiently, as the unburned clay produced a large ash content, blocking airflow through a grate.


title: Briquette

text: With Victorian developments in engineering, particularly the hydraulic press, it became possible to produce machine-made briquettes with minimal binder content. A tar or pitch binder was used, obtained first from gas making and later from petrochemical sources. These binders burned away completely, making it a low-ash fuel. A proprietary brand of briquettes from the South Wales coalfield was Phurnacite, developed by Idris Jones for Powell Duffryn. These were intended to emulate a high-quality anthracite coal, such as that from the Cynheidre measures. This involved blending a mixture of coals from different grades and colliery sources. Phurnacite used the following mix:


title: Briquette

text: Early briquettes were large and brick-shaped. Phurnacite briquettes later adopted a squared oval shape. This regular shape packed well as a good firebed, with plentiful airflow. They are also easy to mechanically feed, allowing the development of automatically controlled heating boilers that could run for days without human intervention.


title: Briquette

text: As a rule of thumb, a charcoal briquette will heat a camping Dutch oven by approximately , so 20 charcoal briquettes will heat it by .


title: Briquette

text: Home made charcoal briquettes (called ') were found after charcoal production in Japanese history. In the Edo period, polysaccharide extracted from red algae was widely used as a binder. After the imports of steam engines in the Meiji period, coal and clay became major ingredients of Japanese briquettes. These briquettes, ' and ', were exported to China and Korea. Today, coal briquettes are avoided for their sulfur oxide emission. Charcoal briquettes are still used for traditional or outdoor cooking. Woody flakes such as sawdust or coffee dust are major ingredients of modern mass-consumed briquettes (e.g., ').


title: Briquette

text: Throughout China, cylindrical briquettes, called ""fēng wō méi"" (beehive coal 蜂窩煤 / 蜂窝煤) or ""Mei"" (coal 煤) or ""liàn tàn"" (kneaded coal 練炭 / 练炭), are used in purpose-built cookers.


title: Briquette

text: The origin of ""Mei"" is """" (kneaded coal 練炭) of Japan. "Rentan" was invented in Japan in the 19th century, and spread to Manchukuo, Korea and China in the first half of the 20th century. There were many "Rentan" factories in Manchukuo and Pyongyang. Although "Rentan" went out of use in Japan after the 1970s, it is still popular in China and Vietnam (""than"" coal).


title: Briquette

text: The cookers are simple, ceramic vessels with metal exteriors. Two types are made: the single, or triple briquette type, the latter holding the briquettes together side by side. These cookers can accommodate a double stack of cylinders. A small fire of tinder is started, upon which the cylinder(s) is placed. When a cylinder is spent, another cylinder is placed on top using special tongs, with the one below igniting it. The fire can be maintained by swapping spent cylinders for fresh ones, and retaining a still-glowing spent cylinder.


title: Briquette

text: Each cylinder lasts for over an hour. These cookers are used to cook, or simmer, pots of tea, eggs, soups, stews, etc.


title: Briquette

text: In Ireland, briquettes made from peat, the product of the decomposition of marsh plants in a low-oxygen environment, are a common type of solid fuel, largely replacing sods of raw peat as a domestic fuel. These briquettes consist of shredded peat, compressed to form a virtually smokeless, slow-burning, easily stored and transported fuel. Although often used as the sole fuel for a fire, they are also used to light a coal fire quickly and easily. Peat briquettes are also sometimes used for grilling meats and vegetables as they bring a unique aroma to the food. Bord na Móna is the Irish state owned company in charge of peat, which also handles production of peat briquettes.


title: Briquette

text: Biomass briquettes are made from agricultural waste and are a replacement for fossil fuels such as oil or coal, and can be used to heat boilers in manufacturing plants, and also have applications in developing countries. Biomass briquettes are a technically renewable source of energy and their emissions do not constitute an anthropogenic greenhouse gas, unlike emissions from traditional coal briquettes, as any carbon released was taken directly from the atmosphere in recent history, not sequestered deep in the earth during the carboniferous period as with coal.


title: Briquette

text: A number of companies in India have switched from furnace oil to biomass briquettes to save costs on boiler fuels. The use of biomass briquettes is predominant in the southern parts of India, where coal and furnace oil are being replaced by biomass briquettes. A number of units in Maharashtra (India) are also using biomass briquettes as boiler fuel. Use of biomass briquettes can earn Carbon Credits for reducing emissions in the atmosphere. Lanxess India and a few other large companies are supposedly using biomass briquettes for earning Carbon Credits by switching their boiler fuel. Biomass briquettes also provide more calorific value/kg and save around 30-40 percent of boiler fuel costs.


title: Briquette

text: A popular biomass briquette emerging in developed countries takes a waste produce such as sawdust, compresses it and then extrudes it to make a reconstituted log that can replace firewood. It is a similar process to forming a wood pellet but on a larger scale. There are no binders involved in this process. The natural lignin in the wood binds the particles of wood together to form a solid. Burning a wood briquette is far more efficient than burning firewood. Moisture content of a briquette can be as low as 4%, whereas green firewood may be as high as 65%.


title: Briquette

text: The extrusion production technology of briquettes is the process of extrusion screw wastes (straw, sunflower husks, buckwheat, etc.) or finely shredded wood waste (sawdust) under high pressure when heated from . As shown in the table above the quality of such briquets, especially heat content, is much higher comparing with other methods like using piston presses.


title: Briquette

text: Sawdust briquettes have developed over time with two distinct types: those with holes through the centre, and those that are solid. Both types are classified as briquettes but are formed using different techniques. A solid briquette is manufactured using a piston press that compresses sandwiched layers of sawdust together. Briquettes with a hole are produced with a screw press. The hole is from the screw thread passing through the centre, but it also increases the surface area of the log and aids efficient combustion.


title: Briquette

text: Paper briquettes are the byproduct of a briquettor, which compresses shredded paper material into a small cylindrical form. Briquettors are often sold as add-on systems to existing disintegrator or rotary knife mill shredding systems. The NSA has a maximum particle size regulation for shredded paper material that is passed through a disintegrator or rotary knife mill, which typically does not exceed square. This means that material exiting a disintegrator is the appropriate size for compression into paper briquettes, as opposed to strip-cut shredders which produce long sheets of paper.


title: Briquette

text: After being processed through the disintegrator, paper particles are typically passed through an air system to remove dust and unwanted magnetic materials before being sent into the briquettor. The air system may also be responsible for regulating moisture content in the waste particles, as briquetting works optimally within a certain range of moisture. Studies have shown that the optimal moisture percentage for shredded particles is 18% for paper and 22% for wheat straw.


title: Briquette

text: Briquetted paper has many notable benefits, many of which minimize the impact of the paper waste generated by a shredding system. Several manufactures claim up to 90% volume reduction of briquetted paper waste versus traditional shredding. Decreasing the volume of shredded waste allows it to be transported and stored more efficiently, reducing the cost and fuel required in the disposal process.


title: Briquette

text: In addition to the cost savings associated with reducing the volume of waste, paper briquettes are more useful in paper mills to create recycled paper than uncompressed shredded material. Compressed briquettes can also be used as a fuel for starting fires or as an insulating material.


title: Briquette

text: Charcoal burners should not be used in enclosed environments to heat homes, as carbon monoxide poisoning can be fatal.


title: Windows 7 editions

text: Windows 7, a major release of the Microsoft Windows operating system, has been released in several editions since its original release in 2009. Only Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate were widely available at retailers. The other editions focus on other markets, such as the software development world or enterprise use. All editions support 32-bit IA-32 CPUs and all editions except Starter support 64-bit x64 CPUs. 64-bit installation media are not included in Home-Basic edition packages, but can be obtained separately from windows.


title: Windows 7 editions

text: According to Microsoft, the features for all editions of Windows 7 are stored on the machine, regardless of which edition is in use. Users who wish to upgrade to an edition of Windows 7 with more features were able to use Windows Anytime Upgrade to purchase the upgrade and to unlock the features of those editions, until it was discontinued in 2015. Microsoft announced Windows 7 pricing information for some editions on June 25, 2009, and Windows Anytime Upgrade and Family Pack pricing on July 31, 2009.


title: Windows 7 editions

text: Mainstream support for all Windows 7 editions ended on January 13, 2015, and extended support ended on January 14, 2020. After that, the operating system ceased receiving further support. Professional and Enterprise volume licensed editions have paid Extended Security Updates (ESU) available until at most January 10, 2023. Since October 31, 2013, Windows 7 is no longer available in retail, except for remaining stocks of the preinstalled Professional edition, which was officially discontinued on October 31, 2016.


title: Windows 7 editions

text: In-place upgrade from Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 to Windows 7 is supported if the processor architecture and the language are the same and their editions match (see below). In-place upgrade is not supported for earlier versions of Windows; moving to Windows 7 on these machines requires a clean installation, i.e. removal of the old operating system, installing Windows 7 and reinstalling all previously installed programs. Windows Easy Transfer can assist in this process.


title: Windows 7 editions

text: Microsoft made upgrade SKUs of Windows 7 for selected editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista. The difference between these SKUs and full SKUs of Windows 7 is their lower price and proof of license ownership of a qualifying previous version of Windows. Same restrictions on in-place upgrading applies to these SKUs as well. In addition, Windows 7 is available as a Family Pack upgrade edition in certain markets, to upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium only. It gives licenses to upgrade three machines from Vista or Windows XP to the Windows 7 Home Premium edition. These are not full versions, so each machine to be upgraded must have one of these qualifying previous versions of Windows for them to work. In the United States, this offer expired in early December 2009. In October 2010, to commemorate the anniversary of Windows 7, Microsoft once again made Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack available for a limited time, while supplies lasted.


title: Windows 7 editions

text: The table below lists which upgrade paths allow for an in-place install. Note that in-place upgrades can only be performed when the previous version of Windows is of the same architecture. If upgrading from a 32-bit installation to a 64-bit installation or downgrading from 64-bit installation to 32-bit installation, a clean install is mandatory regardless of the editions being used.


title: Windows 7 editions

text: Microsoft still supports in-place upgrades from a lower edition of Windows 7 to a higher one, using the Windows Anytime Upgrade tool. There are currently three retail options available (though it is currently unclear whether they can be used with previous installations of the N versions). There are no family pack versions of the Anytime Upgrade editions. It was possible to use the Product Key from a Standard upgrade edition to accomplish an in-place upgrade (e.g. Home Premium to Ultimate).


title: Windows 7 editions

text: Mainstream support for Windows Embedded 7 Standard ended on October 13, 2015 and extended support ended on October 13, 2020. Mainstream support for Windows Embedded POSReady 7 ended on October 11, 2016 and extended support ended on October 12, 2021. Extended Security Updates (ESU) last for Windows Embedded 7 Standard until October 10, 2023. ESU for Windows Embedded POSReady 7 last until October 8, 2024.


title: Ducat

text: The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide international acceptance over the centuries. Similarly named silver ducatons also existed. The gold ducat circulated along with the Florentine florin and preceded the modern British pound sterling and the United States dollar.


title: Ducat

text: The word "ducat" is from Medieval Latin "ducalis" = "relating to a duke (or dukedom)", and initially meant "duke's coin" or a "duchy's coin".


title: Ducat

text: The first issue of scyphate billon coins modelled on Byzantine "trachea" was made by King Roger II of Sicily as part of the Assizes of Ariano (1140). It was to be a valid issue for the whole kingdom. The first issue bears the figure of Christ and the Latin inscription "Sit tibi, Christe, datus, quem tu regis iste ducatus" (meaning "O Christ, let this duchy, which you rule, be dedicated to you") on the obverse. On the reverse, Roger II is depicted in the style of a Byzantine emperor and his eldest son, Duke Roger III of Apulia, is depicted in battle dress. The coin took its common name from the Duchy of Apulia, which the younger Roger had been given by his father.


title: Ducat

text: Doge Enrico Dandolo of Venice introduced a silver ducat which was related to the ducats of Roger II. Later gold ducats of Venice, however, became so important that the name ducat was associated exclusively with them and the silver coins came to be called grossi.


title: Ducat

text: In the 13th century, the Venetians imported goods from the East and sold them at a profit north of the Alps. They paid for these goods with Byzantine gold coins but when the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos backed a rebellion called the Sicilian Vespers in 1282, he debased the hyperpyron. This was just one more in a series of debasements of the hyperpyron and the Great Council of Venice responded with its own coin of pure gold in 1284.


title: Ducat

text: In 1252 Florence and Genoa introduced the gold florin and genovino, respectively, both of 3.5 grams of 98.6% fine gold; the florin preceded the ducat as Western Europe's first standard gold coin. Venice modeled the size and weight of their ducat on the florin, with a slight increase in weight due to differences in the two cities′ weight systems. The Venetian ducat contained 3.545 grams of 99.47% fine gold, the highest purity medieval metallurgy could produce.


title: Ducat

text: Venetian ducat designs followed those of the silver grossi, which were ultimately of Byzantine origin. The obverse shows the Doge of Venice kneeling before St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice. Saint Mark holds the gospel, which is his usual attribute, and presents a gonfalone to the doge. The legend on the left identifies the saint as S M VENET, i.e. Saint Mark of Venice, and the legend on the right identifies the doge, with his title DVX in the field. On the reverse, Christ stands among a field of stars in an oval frame. The reverse legend is the same as on Roger II’s ducats.


title: Ducat

text: Succeeding doges of Venice continued striking ducats, changing only their name on the obverse. The ducat had a variable price versus the silver Venetian lira, reaching 6.2 "lire" or 124 "soldi" (shillings) by 1470. At that point a ducat worth 124 soldi emerged as a new silver-based unit of account for quoting salaries and costs. Continued depreciation in the silver currency during the 16th century, however, made the gold ducat worth more than 124 soldi. At this point, the currency ducat of 124 soldi had to be distinguished from the higher-valued gold ducat, and the latter was eventually called the "ducato de zecca", i.e. ducat of the mint, which was shortened to "zecchino" and corrupted to "sequin".


title: Ducat

text: Leonardo Loredan extended the coinage with a half ducat and subsequent doges added a quarter, and various multiples up to 105 ducats. All of these coins continued to use the designs and weight standards of the original 1284 ducat. Even after dates became a common feature of western coinage, Venice struck ducats without them until Napoleon ended the Venetian Republic in 1797.


title: Ducat

text: When the Roman Senate introduced gold coinage either the florin or the ducat could have provided an advantageous model to imitate, but the Florentines who controlled the Senate’s finances ensured that their city’s coin was not copied. Instead, the Roman coin showed a senator kneeling before St. Peter on the obverse and Christ amid stars in oval frame on the reverse in direct imitation of the Venetian ducat. The Popes subsequently changed these designs, but continued to strike ducats of the same weight and size into the 16th century.


title: Ducat

text: Most imitations of the Venetian ducat were made in the Levant, where Venice spent more money than it received. The Knights of Saint John struck ducats with grand master Dieudonné de Gozon, 1346-1353, kneeling before Saint John on the obverse and an angel seated on the Sepulcher of Christ on the reverse. Subsequent grand masters, however, found it expedient to copy the Venetian types more exactly, first at Rhodes and then on Malta. Genoese traders went further; they struck ducats at Chios that could be distinguished from the Venetian originals only by their workmanship. These debased ducats were problematic for Venice, which valued its money's reputation for purity. The rarity of ducats that Genoese traders struck at Mytilene, Phocaea, and Pera suggests that Venetians melted those they encountered.


title: Ducat

text: In Western Europe, Venice was an active trader but they sold more than they bought, thus giving the Florentine florin an early foothold in the Rhine river valley in 1354. However, this Rhenish florin or "gulden" was debased over the centuries, from 3.43 g fine gold in 1354, to 2.76 g fine gold by 1419, and to 2.503 g fine gold by 1559.


title: Ducat

text: After Henckels assassinated Amadeus Aba in 1311, Charles I of Hungary began a gold coinage exploiting ores of Aba's ancient gold mines. His son, Louis I of Hungary changed the designs by replacing the standing figure of Saint John from the florin with a standing figure of Saint Ladislaus and later changing the lily of Florence to his coat of arms, but he maintained the purity of the gold.


title: Ducat

text: In light of the 15th century debasement of the Rhenish florin or goldgulden versus the original ducat, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V recognized this distinction in 1524 when he made ducats of the Venetian standard valid money in the Empire with a value 39% higher than the gulden. His younger brother and eventual successor, Ferdinand I, brought this system to Hungary in 1526, when he inherited its throne. The still-pure gold coins of Hungary were henceforth called ducats. Their purity made the Hungarian ducat acceptable throughout Europe. Even the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland left records of the ones his king used for gambling.


title: Ducat

text: Hungary continued to strike ducats with 3.53133 grams of 98.6% fine gold. Unlike the unchanging designs of the ducats in Venice, the coat of arms on the reverse of the ducats of Hungary was frequently modified to reflect changed circumstances. In 1470, Matthias Corvinus replaced the coat of arms by a Madonna. Hungary struck ducats until 1915, even under Austrian rule. These were used as trade coins and several of the later dates have been restruck.


title: Ducat

text: In the 15th and 16th centuries, international traders in Western Europe shifted from the florin to the ducat as their preferred currency, with ducats often co-circulating with locally minted gold coins like the Rhenish guilder, French "écu" and Spanish "escudo".


title: Ducat

text: As rulers reformed their currencies, they frequently used the ducat as a model; the Mamluk "ashrafi" and the Ottoman "sultani" are examples.


title: Ducat

text: In 1497 Spain reformed its gold "excelente" into a copy of the ducat, and from 1504 it was renamed as "ducado".


title: Ducat

text: Coinage reforms of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I initiated coinage of gold ducats in Austria in 1511.


title: Ducat

text: The Holy Roman Empire commenced the setting of standards for gold ducats and florins in its "Reichsmünzordnung" (minting ordinances) of 1524, 1559 and future years, with the ducat of 3.442 g fine gold (3.49 g, or 98.6% fine), and the Rhenish florin of 2.503 g gold, with 8 ducats equal to 11 florins. The German territories retained these standards until the 19th century.


title: Ducat

text: The Dutch Revolt gave its seven northern provinces control of their coinage. The collapse of the government of Francis of Anjou in 1583, however, left them without a constitutional ruler to name on those coins. They fell back on the longstanding regional tradition of imitating well accepted foreign coins. In this case they avoided political complications by copying obsolete coins. The gold coins Ferdinand and Isabella issued to the standards of the ducat were widely copied and called ducats. They also imitated the Hungarian ducat and those coins had more influence on the subsequent coinage of the United Provinces. Since the Netherlands became a dominant international trader, the influence of these ducats was global.


title: Ducat

text: At first, ducats of Hungarian type struck in the Netherlands had a standing figure on the obverse with the crown and battle axe that St. Ladislaus carried on the Hungarian prototype, but naming him with a different legend. Like the original, but not contemporary, Hungarian ducats, the reverse had a shield, which now showed the coat of arms of the issuing province These types evolved into a standing knight holding a sword and seven arrows representing the seven provinces in the union. The legend, CONCORDIA RES PARVÆ CRESCUNT, shortened in a variation of ways, says "by concord small things increase". It also names—or shows a symbol representing—the province that issued the coin. The reverse had a tablet inscribed and always shortened in the same way: MOneta ORDInum PROVINciarum FOEDERatorum BELGicarum AD LEGem IMPerii, gold money of the federated provinces of Belgium in accordance with the law of the realm. In the Napoleonic period, the Batavian Republic and Louis Bonaparte continued to strike ducats with these designs. These coins were not issued during the annexation of the Netherlands into the French Empire. Since Napoleon’s defeat, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has continued to issue them as trade and bullion coins. The text in the table on the reverse now says MOneta AURea REGni BELGII AD LEGEM IMPERII.


title: Ducat

text: The silver ducaton commenced in the Italian states in the mid-16th century as a large coin of approximately 30 grams fine silver, worth slightly less than the gold ducat or sequin.


title: Ducat

text: Similarly-named coins were also minted in the Low Countries in the 17th and 18th centuries, which became popular "negotiepenningen" (trade coins) along with gold ducats: the Spanish Netherlands ducaton in 1618 of 30.7 g fine silver, the Dutch Republic's silver rider ducaton in 1659 of 30.45 g fine silver, and (confusingly) the Dutch Republic's smaller "zilveren dukaat" (silver ducat) in 1659 of 24.36 g fine silver.


title: Ducat

text: Use of the ducat waned from the 17th century with the minting of freshly-mined Latin American gold to Iberian standards like the Spanish doubloon and the Portuguese "moidore". In the 19th century ducats have been progressively dropped as standard coin of several nations, most significantly the Latin Monetary Union of 1865 (France, Italy, Switzerland) and the Vienna Monetary Treaty of 1857 (German Confederation, Austria-Hungary). By the 20th century ducats have transitioned from trade coin used in daily commerce to bullion coin for collectors and investors.


title: Ducat

text: Austria continued to strike ducats until 1915, and has continued to restrike the last of them, including some four ducat coins illustrated here. Nevertheless, bullion for Spain's American colonies allowed the Spanish dollar to supersede the ducat as the dominant currency of world trade.


title: Ducat

text: Around 1913, the gold ducat was worth the equivalent of "nine shillings and four pence sterling, or somewhat more than two dollars. The silver ducat is of about half this value." Even now some national mints produce batches of ducats made after old patterns as bullion gold and banks sell these coins to private investors or collectors.


title: Confession (religion)

text: In Catholic teaching, the Sacrament of Penance is the method of the Church by which individual men and women confess sins committed after baptism and have them absolved by God through the administration of a priest. The Catholic rite, obligatory at least once a year for serious sin, is usually conducted within a confessional box, booth or reconciliation room. This sacrament is known by many names, including penance, reconciliation and confession. While official Church publications usually refer to the sacrament as "Penance", "Reconciliation" or "Penance and Reconciliation", many clergy and laypeople continue to use the term "Confession" in reference to the Sacrament.


title: Confession (religion)

text: For the Catholic Church, the intent of this sacrament is to provide healing for the soul as well as to regain the grace of God, lost by sin. A perfect act of contrition, wherein the penitent expresses sorrow for having offended God and not out of fear of eternal punishment, even outside of confession removes the eternal punishment associated with mortal sin but a Catholic is obliged to confess their mortal sins at the earliest opportunity. In theological terms, the priest acts "in persona Christi" and receives from the Church the power of jurisdiction over the penitent. The Council of Trent ("Session Fourteen, Chapter I") quoted John 20:22–23 as the primary Scriptural proof for the doctrine concerning this sacrament. Catholics also consider Matthew 18:18, describing the power to "bind" and to "loose", to be among the Scriptural bases for the sacrament.


title: Confession (religion)

text: The Catholic Church teaches that sacramental confession requires three "acts" on the part of the penitent: contrition (sorrow of the soul for the sins committed), disclosure of the sins (the 'confession'), and satisfaction (the 'penance', i.e. doing something to make amends for the sins). The basic form of confession has not changed for centuries, although at one time confessions were made publicly.


title: Confession (religion)

text: Typically, the penitent begins sacramental confession by saying, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been [time period] since my last confession." The penitent must then confess what they believe to be grave and mortal sins, in both kind and number, in order to be reconciled with God and the Church. The sinner may also confess venial sins; this is especially recommended if the penitent has no mortal sins to confess. According to the "Catechism", "without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father's Mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as He is merciful". "When Christ's faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon."


title: Confession (religion)

text: In general, Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christians choose an individual to trust as their spiritual guide. In most cases, this is the parish priest, but may also be a starets (Elder, a monastic who is well known for their advancement in the spiritual life). This person is often referred to as one's "spiritual father". Once chosen, the individual turns to their spiritual guide for advice on their spiritual development, confessing sins, and asking advice. Orthodox Christians tend to confess only to this individual and the closeness created by this bond makes the spiritual guide the most qualified in dealing with the person, so much so that no one can override what a spiritual guide tells his charges. What is confessed to one's spiritual guide is protected by the same seal as would be any priest hearing a confession. Only an ordained priest may pronounce the absolution.


title: Confession (religion)

text: Confession does not take place in a confessional, but normally in the main part of the church itself, usually before an analogion (lectern) set up near the iconostasion. On the analogion is placed a Gospel Book and a blessing cross. The confession often takes place before an icon of Jesus Christ. Orthodox understand that the confession is not made to the priest, but to Christ. The priest stands only as witness and guide. Before confessing, the penitent venerates the Gospel Book and blessing cross and places the thumb and first two fingers of his right hand on the feet of Christ as depicted on the cross. The confessor will often read an admonition warning the penitent to make a full confession, holding nothing back.


title: Confession (religion)

text: As with administration of other sacraments, in cases of emergency confession may be heard anywhere. For this reason, especially in the Russian Orthodox Church, the pectoral cross that the priest wears at all times will often have the Icon of Christ "Not Made by Hands" inscribed on it so that such an icon will be available to penitents who are experiencing imminent death or life-threatening danger in the presence of a priest but away from a church.


title: Confession (religion)

text: In general practice, after one confesses to one's spiritual guide, the parish priest (who may or may not have heard the confession) covers the head of the person with his Epitrachelion (Stole) and reads the Prayer of Absolution, asking God to forgive the transgression of the individual (the specific prayer differs between Greek and Slavic use). It is not uncommon for a person to confess his sins to his spiritual guide on a regular basis but only seek out the priest to read the prayer before receiving Holy Communion.


title: Confession (religion)

text: In the Eastern Churches, clergy often make their confession in the sanctuary. A bishop, priest, or deacon will confess at the Holy Table (Altar) where the Gospel Book and blessing cross are normally kept. He confesses in the same manner as a layman, except that when a priest hears a bishop's confession, the priest kneels.


title: Confession (religion)

text: There are many different practices regarding how often Orthodox Christians should go to confession. Some Patriarchates advise confession before each reception of Holy Communion, others advise confessing during each of the four fasting periods (Great Lent, Nativity Fast, Apostles' Fast and Dormition Fast), and there are many additional variants. Many pastors encourage frequent confession and communion. In some of the monasteries on Mount Athos, the monks will confess their sins daily.


title: Confession (religion)

text: Eastern Christians will also practice a form of general confession, (or manifest contrition), referred to as the rite of "Mutual Forgiveness". The rite involves an exchange between the priest and the congregation (or, in monasteries, between the superior and the brotherhood). The priest will make a prostration before all and ask their forgiveness for sins committed in act, word, deed, and thought. Those present ask that God may forgive him, and then they in turn all prostrate themselves and ask the priest's forgiveness. The priest then pronounces a blessing. The rite of Mutual Forgiveness does not replace the Mystery of Confession and Absolution, but is for the purpose of maintaining Christian charity and a humble and contrite spirit. This general confession is practiced in monasteries at the first service on arising (the Midnight Office) and the last service before retiring to sleep (Compline). Old Believers will perform the rite regularly before the beginning of the Divine Liturgy. The best-known asking of mutual forgiveness occurs at Vespers on the Sunday of Forgiveness, and it is with this act that Great Lent begins.


title: Confession (religion)

text: Lutherans differ from other Protestants as they practice "confession and absolution" (in two forms). They, like Roman Catholics and many Anglicans, see and as biblical evidence for confession. The first form of confession and absolution is done at the Divine Service with the assembled congregation (similar to the Anglican tradition). Here, the entire congregation pauses for a moment of silent confession, recites the "confiteor", and receives God's forgiveness through the pastor as he says the following (or similar): "Upon this your confession and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."


title: Confession (religion)

text: The second form of confession and absolution is known as "Holy Absolution", which is done privately to the pastor (commonly only upon request). Here the person confessing (known as the "penitent") confesses individually their sins and makes an act of contrition as the pastor, acting in persona Christi, announces this following formula of absolution (or similar): "In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." In the Lutheran Church, the pastor is bound by the Seal of the Confessional (similar to the Roman Catholic tradition). Luther's Small Catechism says "the pastor is pledged not to tell anyone else of sins to him in private confession, for those sins have been removed.


title: Confession (religion)

text: In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the second form of confession and absolution fell into disuse; at the present time, it is, for example, expected before partaking of the Eucharist for the first time.


title: Confession (religion)

text: Reformed and Presbyterian, like Lutheran and Anglican churches, are not only a confessional church when it comes to the Creeds, but a confessional church when it called to repentance and penance. All Reformed churches practice this in one manner or another. Reformed and Church of Scotland the mother kirk for the Presbyterian Church USA, and the PCA as well as other Presbyterians practice Confession in the Divine Liturgy or Divine Worship on each Lords Day. The practices are found in the Book of Common Worship, The Book of Order and the Book of Common Order. It may start usually with the following confessional prayer read in unison, followed by the Kyrie Eleison or Trisagion (Holy God, holy and mighty) and Agnus Dei (Lamb of God).


title: Confession (religion)

text: Many Anabaptist denominations, including those of the Schwarzenau Brethren, Mennonite and Amish traditions, encourage confession to another or to the elders, and some denominations require such confession when a wrong has been done to a person as well as to God. Confession is then made to the person wronged and also to God, and is part of the reconciliation process. In cases where sin has resulted in the exclusion of a person from church membership due to unrepentance, public confession is often a prerequisite to readmission. The sinner confesses to the church their repentance and is received back into fellowship. In both cases there is a required manner to the confessions: for sins between God and Man and for sins between Man and Man. Confession in the Anabaptist tradition is done in the humble posture of kneeling.


title: Confession (religion)

text: In the Anglican tradition, confession and absolution is usually a component part of corporate worship, particularly at the Eucharist. The form involves an exhortation to repentance by the priest, a period of silent prayer during which believers may inwardly confess their sins, a form of general confession said together by all present and the pronouncement of general absolution by the priest, often accompanied by the sign of the cross.


title: Confession (religion)

text: Private or auricular confession is also practiced by Anglicans and is especially common among Anglo-Catholics. The venue for confessions is either in the traditional confessional, which is the common practice among Anglo-Catholics, or in a private meeting with the priest. Often a priest will sit in the sanctuary, just inside the communion rail, facing toward the altar and away from the penitent. Other times he will use a portable screen to divide himself and the penitent. Following the confession of sins and the assignment of penance, the priest makes the pronouncement of absolution. The seal of the confessional, as with Roman Catholicism, is absolute and any confessor who divulges information revealed in confession is subject to deposition and removal from office.


title: Confession (religion)

text: Historically, the practice of auricular confession was highly controversial within Anglicanism. When priests began to hear confessions, they responded to criticisms by pointing to the fact that such is explicitly sanctioned in "The Order for the Visitation of the Sick" in the "Book of Common Prayer", which contains the following direction:


title: Confession (religion)

text: Here shall the sick person be moved to make a special Confession of his sins, if he feel his conscience troubled with any weighty matter. After which Confession, the Priest shall absolve him (if he humbly and heartily desire it). Auricular confession within mainstream Anglicanism became accepted in the second half of the 20th century; the 1979 Book of Common Prayer for the Episcopal Church in the US provides two forms for it in the section "The Reconciliation of a Penitent".


title: Confession (religion)

text: Private confession is also envisaged by the canon law of the Church of England, which contains the following, intended to safeguard the seal of the confessional:


title: Confession (religion)

text: if any man confess his secret and hidden sins to the minister, for the unburdening of his conscience, and to receive spiritual consolation and ease of mind from him; we ... do straitly charge and admonish him ["i.e.", the minister], that he does not at any time reveal and make known to any person whatsoever any crime or offence so committed to his trust and secrecy


title: Confession (religion)

text: There is no requirement for private confession, but a common understanding that it may be desirable depending on individual circumstances. An Anglican aphorism regarding the practice is "All may; none must; some should".


title: Confession (religion)

text: In the Methodist Church, as with the Anglican Communion, penance is defined by the Articles of Religion as one those "Commonly called Sacraments but not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel", also known as the "five lesser sacraments". John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, held "the validity of Anglican practice in his day as reflected in the 1662 "Book of Common Prayer"", stating that "We grant confession to men to be in many cases of use: public, in case of public scandal; private, to a spiritual guide for disburdening of the conscience, and as a help to repentance." Additionally, per the recommendation of John Wesley, Methodist class meetings traditionally meet weekly in order to confess sins to one another. "The Book of Worship of The United Methodist Church" contains the rite for private confession and absolution in "A Service of Healing II", in which the minister pronounces the words "In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!"; some Methodist churches have regularly scheduled auricular confession and absolution, while others make it available upon request. Since Methodism holds the office of the keys to "belong to all baptized persons", private confession does not necessarily need to be made to a pastor, and therefore lay confession is permitted, although this is not the norm. Near the time of death, many Methodists confess their sins and receive absolution from an ordained minister, in addition to being anointed. In Methodism, the minister is bound by the Seal of the Confessional, with "The Book of Discipline" stating "All clergy of The United Methodist Church are charged to maintain all confidences inviolate, including confessional confidences"; any confessor who divulges information revealed in confession is subject to being defrocked in accordance with canon law. As with Lutheranism, in the Methodist tradition, corporate confession is the most common practice, with the Methodist liturgy including "prayers of confession, assurance and pardon". The traditional confession of "The Sunday Service", the first liturgical text used by Methodists, comes from the service of Morning Prayer in "The Book of Common Prayer". The "Book of Offices and Services" of the Order of Saint Luke, a Methodist religious order, similarly contains a corporate "Service of Prayer for Reconciliation" in addition to a "Rite of Reconciliation for Individual Persons". The confession of one's sin is particularly important before receiving Holy Communion; the official United Methodist publication about the Eucharist titled "This Holy Mystery" states that:


title: Confession (religion)

text: Many Methodists, like other Protestants, regularly practice confession of their sin to God Himself, holding that "When we do confess, our fellowship with the Father is restored. He extends His parental forgiveness. He cleanses us of all unrighteousness, thus removing the consequences of the previously unconfessed sin. We are back on track to realise the best plan that He has for our lives."


title: Confession (religion)

text: In the Irvingian Churches, such as the New Apostolic Church, persons may confess their sins to an Apostle. The Apostle is then able to "take the confession and proclaim absolution". In cases of grave urgency, any priestly minister can hear confessions and pronounce absolutions.


title: Confession (religion)

text: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teaches that "confession is a necessary requirement for complete forgiveness." Such confessions take place in worthiness interviews prior to baptism into the church, to being set apart for any church callings, or to receiving yearly temple recommends.


title: Confession (religion)

text: Within confession, the sinner must confess both to God and to those persons wronged by the sin. Confession may also be required to an authorized priesthood leader, such as a bishop, branch president, stake president, or mission president. Although there is no definitive list of sins that require confession to a priesthood leader, "adultery, fornication, other sexual transgressions and deviancies, and sins of a comparable seriousness" are included, as is intentional and repeated use of pornography. Depending on the seriousness of the sin, the priesthood leader may counsel the sinner to submit to the authority of a disciplinary council, but does not have the authority to forgive sin, which can come only from God. The confession to the priesthood leader must be held in strict confidence unless the confessor grants permission to disclose it to the disciplinary council. The LDS Church rejects the belief that confession is all that is required to secure repentance from God.


title: Confession (religion)

text: Many Reformed churches include corporate confession in regular worship. For instance the Presbyterian Church USA's Directory of Worship, in directing the components or worship, states: "A prayer of confession of the reality of sin in personal and common life follows. In a declaration of pardon, the gospel is proclaimed and forgiveness is declared in the name of Jesus Christ. God's redemption and God's claim upon human life are remembered."


title: Confession (religion)

text: The Lollard movement, started by John Wycliffe in the 14th century denied the sacrament of absolution.


title: Confession (religion)

text: According to Petrus Bernandinus, the Church must be renewed with the sword; until this was accomplished, there was no need to confess, since all priests, secular and regular, were unworthy.


title: Confession (religion)

text: In Hinduism confession is part of Prāyaścitta, a "dharma"-related term and refers to voluntarily accepting one's errors and misdeeds, confession, repentance, means of penance and expiation to undo or reduce the karmic consequences. It includes atonement for intentional and unintentional misdeeds. The ancient Hindu literature on repentance, expiation and atonement is extensive, with earliest mentions found in the Vedic literature. Illustrative means to repent for intentional and unintentional misdeeds include admitting one's misdeeds, austerities, fasting, pilgrimage and bathing in sacred waters, ascetic lifestyle, yajna (fire sacrifice, homa), praying, yoga, giving gifts to the poor and needy, and others.


title: Confession (religion)

text: Those texts that discuss Prāyaścitta, states Robert Lingat, debate the intent and thought behind the improper act, and consider penance appropriate when the "effect" had to be balanced, but "cause" was unclear.


title: Confession (religion)

text: The act of seeking forgiveness from God for sins called "Istighfar". Confession of sins is made directly to God and not through man; the only exception is when confessing to a person is a required step in recompensing for the damage done. It is taught that sins are to be kept to oneself to seek individual forgiveness from God. God forgives those who seek his forgiveness and commit themselves not to repeat the sin. Typically, a Muslim man or woman will pray to God for forgiveness and promises that s/he will be careful not to commit the same mistake/sin ever again.


title: Confession (religion)

text: In the AA Twelve-Step Program, confession is made in Step 5: "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."


title: Confession (religion)

text: "If we decline to follow through with this step, our un-confessed sins will haunt us, resulting in the demise of our body and spirit. We will have to continue paying the penalty of our wrongdoings."


title: Confession (religion)

text: "By completing the Fifth Step, we gain God’s forgiveness, supervision, and strength. We obtain complete forgiveness..."


title: Confession (religion)

text: In Judaism, confession is an important part of attaining forgiveness for both sins against God and another man. Confessions to God are done communally in the plural. During Yom Kippur service, Jews confess that ""We" have sinned." In matters involving offenses against a fellow man, private confession to the victim is a requirement to obtaining forgiveness from the victim, which is generally a requirement to obtaining forgiveness from God. If the victim refuses to forgive, the offender confesses publicly, before larger and larger audience. Confession (viduy) is also performed on one's deathbed, if at all possible.


title: Confession (religion)

text: Buddhism has been from its inception primarily a tradition of renunciation and monasticism. Within the monastic framework (called the Vinaya) of the sangha regular of wrongdoing to other monks is mandatory. In the suttas of the Pali Canon Bhikkhus sometimes even confessed their wrongdoing to the Buddha himself. That part of the Pali Canon called the Vinaya requires that monks confess their individual sins before the bi-weekly convening for the recitation of the Patimokkha.


title: South African Police Service

text: The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in each province. The nine Provincial Commissioners report directly to the National Commissioner. The head office is in the Wachthuis Building in Pretoria.


title: South African Police Service

text: The Constitution of South Africa lays down that the South African Police Service has a responsibility to prevent, combat and investigate crime, maintain public order, protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic and their property, uphold and enforce the law, create a safe and secure environment for all people in South Africa, prevent anything that may threaten the safety or security of any community, investigate any crimes that threaten the safety or security of any community, ensure criminals are brought to justice and participate in efforts to address the causes of crime.


title: South African Police Service

text: Amnesty International and others have expressed serious concerns about South African police brutality, including torture and extrajudicial killings.


title: South African Police Service

text: The South African Police Service traces its origin to the Dutch Watch, a paramilitary organisation formed by settlers in the Cape Province in 1655 to protect civilians and to maintain law and order. In 1795, British officials assumed control over the Dutch Watch, and in 1825 established the Cape Constabulary (which became the Cape Town Police Force in 1840). In 1854, a police force was established in Durban which would become the Durban Borough Police, and in 1935 the Durban City Police (DCP). Act 3 of 1855 established the Frontier Armed and Mounted Police Force in the Eastern Cape, restyled as the Cape Mounted Riflemen in 1878.


title: South African Police Service

text: The South African Police (SAP) was created after the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1913. Four years later, the Mounted Riflemen's Association relinquished its civilian responsibilities to the SAP as most of its riflemen left to serve in the First World War. The SAP and the military maintained a close relationship even after the SAP assumed permanent responsibility for domestic law and order in 1926. Police officials often called on the army for support in case of emergencies. During the Second World War, one SAP brigade served with the 2nd Infantry Division of the South African Army in North Africa.


title: South African Police Service

text: When the National Party (NP) edged out its more liberal opponents in nationwide elections in 1948, the new government enacted legislation that strengthened the relationship between the police and the military. Police subsequently became heavily armed, especially when facing unruly or hostile crowds. The Police Act (No. 7) of 1958 broadened the mission of the SAP beyond conventional police functions, and allowed police to quell civil unrest and conduct counterinsurgency operations. The Police Amendment Act (No. 70) of 1965 allowed police to detain any person, receptacle, vehicle, aircraft, or premise within one mile of any national border, and to seize anything found without a warrant. This search-and-seize zone was extended to within eight miles of any border in 1979 and to the entire country in 1983.


title: South African Police Service

text: After the end of apartheid, the South African Police was renamed the South African Police Service (SAPS), and the Ministry of Law and Order was renamed the Ministry of Safety and Security, in keeping with these symbolic reforms. The new Minister of Safety and Security, Sydney Mufamadi, obtained police training assistance from Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom and Canada and proclaimed that racial tolerance and human rights would be central to police training in the future. By the end of 1995, the SAPS had incorporated the ten police agencies of the former homelands, and had reorganised at both national and provincial level.


title: South African Police Service

text: Three police unions were active in bargaining on behalf of police personnel and in protecting the interests of the workforce, as of 1996. These are the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union, which has about 150,000 members; the South African Policing Union (SAPU), which has about 35,000 members; and the Public Service Association (PSA), which has about 4,000 members.


title: South African Police Service

text: South African Police Service headquarters in Pretoria is organised into six divisions: the "Crime Combating and Investigation Division", the "Visible Policing Division", the "Internal Stability Division", the "Community Relations Division", the "Supporting Services Division", and the "Human Resource Management Division".


title: South African Police Service

text: The "Crime Combating and Investigation Division" holds overall responsibility for coordinating crime and investigative procedures. It administers the "Criminal Record Centre", "Commercial Crime Unit", "Diamond and Gold Branch", "Narcotics Bureau", "Stock Theft Unit", the "Inspectorate for Explosives", murder and robbery units located in each major city, and vehicle theft units throughout the country. In addition, the division manages the National Bureau of Missing Persons, which was established in late 1994. The "Visible Policing Division" manages highly public police operations, such as guarding senior government officials and dignitaries. Most government residences are guarded by members of the division's "Special Guard Unit". The division's all-volunteer Special Task Force handles hostage situations and other high-risk activities. The Internal Stability Division is responsible for preventing and quelling internal unrest, and for assisting other divisions in combating crime. The Community Relations Division consults with all police divisions concerning accountability and respect for human rights. The Supporting Services Division manages financial, legal, and administrative matters. There is also a large reserve division.


title: South African Police Service

text: The current ranking system of the South African Police Service was adopted in April 2010. The change caused some controversy as new ranks like "general" and "colonel" have a military connotation. Furthermore, the new rank system mirrors the system used by the South African Police during the apartheid era. In 2009, Deputy Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula spoke of making the police a paramilitary force by changing the SAPS ranking system so that it would closely mirror the military ranking system. This created a significant amount of controversy from people critical of what they called the "militarisation" of the police.


title: South African Police Service

text: The ranking system was amended in 2016. The role of regional police commissioner was introduced, with the rank of lieutenant general. The major and lieutenant ranks were eliminated, with lieutenants assuming the rank of captain and majors assuming the rank of lieutenant colonel.


title: South African Police Service

text: Through the early-1990s, the police were equipped with smoke and tear-gas dispensing vehicles, tank trucks with water cannons, vehicles that dispensed barbed wire or razor wire to cordon off areas, and a number of rotor and fixed wing aircraft for surveillance, ground force management, rapid deployment of Task Force and specialist teams to crime scenes and VIP personnel movements. The RG-12 'Nyala' is on the most commonly used armoured vehicle of the service. The Casspir Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle is another notable vehicle used by the police.


title: South African Police Service

text: South African Police Service officers generally carry a Vektor Z88 9mm pistol and pepper spray. Officers in Cape Town are equipped with Beretta 92, or the Beretta PX Storm. Each patrol car is usually also equipped a R5 rifle. To quell disturbances a variety of firearms are used, including R1 semi-automatic rifles, BXP sub-machine gun, Musler 12 gauge shotgun (capable of firing anti-riot rubber bullets contained in standard 12 bore shotgun cartridges), as well as tear gas and pencil flares. The R1 rifle has been withdrawn from all front-line police armories since the mid-1990s, but is still used by elements of the Special Task Force.


title: South African Police Service

text: Since the departure of democratic South Africa's first National commissioner George Fivaz in January 2000, a number of successive commissioners have been unable to complete a single term in office, most implicated in and charged with misconduct.


title: South African Police Service

text: The distribution of personnel has been controversial, with local legislators questioning why areas most in need of policing resources are being neglected. The department was criticised by the Western Cape Government for providing the lowest number personnel (adjusted for population) with a shortage of 2,392 officers, despite having the highest murder rate. This has been the subject of the Khayelitsha Commission.


title: South African Police Service

text: Amnesty International has expressed concerns about police brutality, including torture and extrajudicial killings, in South Africa. There has also been concern about brutal training methods for the police. According to Peter Jordi from the Wits Law Clinic "[Police] Torture is spiralling out of control. It is happening everywhere." Brandon Edmonds argues that "The cops prey on the poor in this country." Independent studies have confirmed that the SAPS has been used to repress peaceful marches. In April 2009, SAPS attempted to ban unFreedom Day and was implicated in support for September 2009 ANC mob that attacked the elected leadership of the shack settlement at Kennedy Road, Durban. Police officers have also been accused of excessive policing in Blikkiesdorp in Delft, Cape Town, by suppression of freedom and ordering illegal curfews.


title: South African Police Service

text: 630 police officers from Gauteng Province were arrested in 2011, for fraud and corruption but also rape and murder. An April 2012 editorial in "The Times" opined: "It seems torture and outright violation of human rights is becoming the order of the day for some of our police officers and experts warn that the line between criminals and our law enforcement officers is "blurred"."


title: South African Police Service

text: In February 2013, police in Daveyton, Gauteng were caught on video brutalising Mido Macia, a Mozambican taxi driver accused of parking illegally. Macia was handcuffed to a police van and dragged through the streets, later succumbing to his injuries. Eight police officers were arrested and later convicted of murder.


title: South African Police Service

text: Three police officers were arrested for the controversial shooting of Nathaniel Julies, a 16 year-old boy with down syndrome, in Eldorado Park.


title: South African Police Service

text: The Marikana Massacre, was a mass shooting that occurred when police broke up a gathering by striking Lonmin workers on a 'koppie' (hilltop) near the Nkaneng shack settlement in Marikana on 16 August 2012. 34 miners were killed and 78 miners injured, causing anger and public outcry, fueled by reports that most of the victims were shot from behind and many shot far from police lines. It later emerged that the violence had actually started on 11 August when leaders from the National Union of Mineworkers opened fire on striking NUM members killing two. It is alleged that police did nothing in the aftermath thereby creating a situation in which workers felt that they would have to use other means to protect themselves. Between 12 and 14 August, approximately 8 more people were killed including two policemen and two security guards. It is the country's deadliest incident between police and the civilian population since the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, and has been referred to as a turning-point in post-1994 South Africa.


title: South African Police Service

text: On 10 September 2007 an arrest warrant was issued by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi (Interpol president from 2004 to 2008). On 23 September 2007, President Mbeki suspended NPA Head Vusi Pikoli, allegedly because of "an irretrievable breakdown" in the relationship between Pikoli and Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla. However, journalists at the "Mail and Guardian" claim to have solid information supporting the widespread suspicion that President Mbeki suspended Pikoli as part of a bid to shield Police Commissioner Selebi. According to the "Mail and Guardian" on 5 October 2007 the NPA was investigating Selebi for corruption, fraud, racketeering and defeating the ends of justice.


title: South African Police Service

text: Selebi was found guilty of corruption in July 2010, but not guilty of further charges of perverting the course of justice.


title: South African Police Service

text: In February 2011 Bheki Cele was implicated in unlawful conduct and maladministration with a R500m lease agreement for the new police headquarters in Pretoria. In October 2011, President Jacob Zuma announced that Cele had been suspended pending an investigation into the agreement. After recommendation from a board of inquiry, Zuma dismissed Cele and announced that Riah Phiyega, the first female commissioner, would replace him.


title: South African Police Service

text: In February 2018, SAPS Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane, who was also former acting SAPS Commissioner, and his wife appeared in court on charges of fraud and corruption. On 30 July 2020, Phahlane was dismissed from the police after three years on suspension. The same day, he was found guilty of dishonest conduct.


title: South African Police Service

text: On 12 July 2019, it was announced the five North West Province police officers were arrested during the week in three separate corruption cases. On 4 June 2020, six senior Gauteng police officers where among 14 people arrested on corruption charges. Two other senior officers, now retired, were arrested as well. Among the Guateng-based SAPS officers charged with corruption included three brigadiers and a retired SAPS Lieutenant General.


title: South African Police Service

text: On 12 October 2020, Lieutenant-General Bonang Mgwenya, the country’s second-most senior police official, was arrested on charges of corruption, fraud, theft and money laundering involving about R200-million and afterwards appeared in Ridge Magistrates’ court. At the time of Mgwenya's arrest, she and Phahlane were among 14 fellow officers who were charged with corruption. Mgwenya was suspended on 15 October 2020 and was dismissed from SAPS on 13 November 2020.


title: South African Police Service

text: On 23 December 2020, four Cape Town police officers attached to the national border control unit at Cape Town International Airport were arrested for extorting money from Chinese businesses. On December 28, 2020, three law enforcement officers who were employed by the Emalahleni Municipality were arrested in Mpumalanga on corruption and bribery charges which involved allegations of not issuing standard fines to motorists who committed traffic violations, but instead extorting them for bribes.


title: South African Police Service

text: Two criminal charges were lodged by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate against the National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole for refusing to cooperate with its investigation into the murder of Charl Kinnear. Kinnear was a police intelligence officer investigating organised crime within the SAPS.


title: South African Police Service

text: On December 23, 2020, Peter Ntsime, the Acting Deputy General Secretary of South African Policing Union (SAPU), declared that the image of SAPS was tainted the previous day when Colonel Kamelash Dalip Singh, a senior SAPU policeman from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit, was arrested, and then released on bail, on a bribe charge. Ntsime criticized the arrest, stating Singh was at the forefront of arresting crooked police officers and was onto a big syndicate. Despite a statement from Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo that uncover Hawks officers caught Singh red-handed accepting a R5,000 bribe, people took to social media to criticize his arrest as well.


title: South African Police Service

text: On December 24, 2020, a video was published showing passengers on a minibus taxi cheering on their driver as he brawled with a police officer in Cape Town following a vehicle crash. Despite the fact that the taxi driver delivered more punches, and also spit in the officer's face after the officer attempted to deliver the first punch, the officer was arrested after a test confirmed he driving under the influence of alcohol, and was also charged reckless and negligent driving. On December 15, 2020, it was that at least one Cape Town-area officer stationed in Durbanville had been using taxis to illegally sell alcohol.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in Greenwich Park in south east London, overlooking the River Thames to the north. It played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and because the Prime Meridian passes through it, it gave its name to Greenwich Mean Time, the precursor to today's Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The ROG has the IAU observatory code of 000, the first in the list. ROG, the National Maritime Museum, the Queen's House and the clipper ship "Cutty Sark" are collectively designated Royal Museums Greenwich.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The observatory was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II, with the foundation stone being laid on 10 August. The old hilltop site of Greenwich Castle was chosen by Sir Christopher Wren, a former Savilian Professor of Astronomy; as Greenwich Park was a royal estate, no new land needed to be bought. At that time the king also created the position of Astronomer Royal, to serve as the director of the observatory and to "apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying of the tables of the motions of the heavens, and the places of the fixed stars, so as to find out the so much desired longitude of places for the perfecting of the art of navigation." He appointed John Flamsteed as the first Astronomer Royal. The building was completed in the summer of 1676. The building was often called "Flamsteed House", in reference to its first occupant.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The scientific work of the observatory was relocated elsewhere in stages in the first half of the 20th century, and the Greenwich site is now maintained almost exclusively as a museum, although the AMAT telescope became operational for astronomical research in 2018.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: There had been significant buildings on this land since the reign of William I. Greenwich Palace, on the site of the present-day Maritime Museum, was the birthplace of both Henry VIII and his daughters Mary I and Elizabeth I; the Tudors used Greenwich Castle, which stood on the hilltop that the Observatory presently occupies, as a hunting lodge. Greenwich Castle was reportedly a favourite place for Henry VIII to house his mistresses, so that he could easily travel from the Palace to see them.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: In 1676 the main building of the observatory, now known as Flamsteed House, was completed on Greenwich hill.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The establishment of a Royal Observatory was proposed in 1674 by Sir Jonas Moore who, in his role as Surveyor-General of the Ordnance, persuaded King Charles II to create the observatory, with John Flamsteed installed as its director. The Ordnance Office was given responsibility for building the Observatory, with Moore providing the key instruments and equipment for the observatory at his own personal cost. Flamsteed House, the original part of the Observatory, was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, probably assisted by Robert Hooke, and was the first purpose-built scientific research facility in Britain. It was built for a cost of £520 (£20 over budget; ) out of largely recycled materials on the foundations of Duke Humphrey's Tower, the forerunner of Greenwich Castle, which resulted in the alignment being 13 degrees away from true North, somewhat to Flamsteed's chagrin.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: Moore donated two clocks, built by Thomas Tompion, which were installed in the 20 foot high Octagon Room, the principal room of the building. They were of unusual design, each with a pendulum 13 feet (3.96 metres) in length mounted above the clock face, giving a period of four seconds and an accuracy, then unparalleled, of seven seconds per day.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The original observatory housed the astronomer royal, his assistant and his family as well as the scientific instruments to be used by Flamsteed in his work on stellar tables. Over time the institution became a more established institution, thanks to its links to long-lasting government boards (the Board of Ordnance and Board of Longitude) and oversight by a Board of Visitors, founded in 1710 and made up of the President and Members of the council of the Royal Society. By the later 18th century it incorporated additional responsibilities such as publishing the "Nautical Almanac", advising government on technical matters, disseminating time, making meteorological and magnetic observations and undertaking astrophotography and spectroscopy. The physical site and the numbers of staff increased over time as a result.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: When the observatory was founded in 1675, one of the best star catalogues was Tycho Brahe's 1000-star catalogue from 1598. However, this catalogue was not accurate enough to determine longitudes. One of Flamsteed's first orders of business was creating more accurate charts suitable for this purpose.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: One of the noted charts made at Greenwich was by the Astronomer Royal James Bradley, who between 1750 and 1762 charted sixty thousand stars, so accurately his catalogues were used even in the 1940s. Bradley was the third Astronomer Royal, and his tenure started in 1742.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: In the early 19th century, the main positional devices were the Troughton Transit instrument and a mural circle, but after George Biddell Airy took over as Astronomer Royal in 1835, he embarked on a plan to have better instruments at Greenwich observatory.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: Positional astronomy was one of the primary functions of Greenwich for the Admiralty. The Astronomer Royal Airy was an advocate of this and the transit circle instrument he had installed in 1851 was used for a century for positional astronomy. One of the difficulties with positional astronomy, is accounting for the refraction of light through Earth's atmosphere. Sources of error include the precision of the instrumentation, and then there has to be accounting for precession, nutation, and aberration. Sources of error in the instrument have to be tracked down and accounted for to produced more accurate results.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The transit circle makes two measurements; along with a clock, the time a star passed a certain point in the sky as the Earth rotates, and the vertical angle of the location of the star. The instrument can be used to plot the locations of stars, or alternately, with an accurate star chart, the time at the location of the instrument.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The Shuckburgh telescope of the Royal Observatory in London was used for the 1832 transit of Mercury. It was equipped with a filar micrometer by Peter Dollond and was used to provide a report of the events as seen through the small refractor. By observing the transit in combination with timing it and taking measures, a diameter for the planet was taken. They also reported the peculiar effects that they compared to pressing a coin into the Sun. The observer remarked:


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: British astronomers have long used the Royal Observatory as a basis for measurement. Four separate meridians have passed through the buildings, defined by successive instruments. The basis of longitude, the meridian that passes through the Airy transit circle, first used in 1851, was adopted as the world's Prime Meridian at the International Meridian Conference at Washington, DC, on 22 October 1884 (voting took place on 13 October). Subsequently, nations across the world used it as their standard for mapping and timekeeping. The Prime Meridian was marked by a brass (later replaced by stainless steel) strip in the Observatory's courtyard once the buildings became a museum in 1960, and, since 16 December 1999, has been marked by a powerful green laser shining north across the London night sky.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: Since the first triangulation of Great Britain in the period 1783–1853, Ordnance Survey maps have been based on an earlier version of the Greenwich meridian, defined by the transit instrument of James Bradley. When the Airy circle (5.79 m to the east) became the reference for the meridian, the difference resulting from the change was considered small enough to be neglected. When a new triangulation was done between 1936 and 1962, scientists determined that in the Ordnance Survey system the longitude of the international Greenwich meridian was not 0° but 0°00'00.417" (about 8 m) East. Besides the change of the reference line, imperfections of the surveying system added another discrepancy to the definition of the origin, so that the Bradley line itself is now 0°00'00.12" East of the Ordnance Survey Zero Meridian (about 2.3m).


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: This old astronomical prime meridian has been replaced by a more precise prime meridian. When Greenwich was an active observatory, geographical coordinates were referred to a local oblate spheroid called a datum known as a geoid, whose surface closely matched local mean sea level. Several datums were in use around the world, all using different spheroids, because mean sea level undulates by as much as 100 metres worldwide. Modern geodetic reference systems, such as the World Geodetic System and the International Terrestrial Reference Frame, use a single oblate spheroid, fixed to the Earth's gravitational centre. The shift from several local spheroids to one worldwide spheroid caused all geographical coordinates to shift by many metres, sometimes as much as several hundred metres. The Prime Meridian of these modern reference systems, called IERS (International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service) Reference Meridian (shortly called IRM), is 102.5 metres east of the Greenwich astronomical meridian represented by the stainless steel strip, which is now 5.31 arcseconds West. The modern location of the Airy Transit is as the IRM is at 0 degree in longitude nowadays.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: International time from the end of the 19th century until UT1 was based on Simon Newcomb's equations, giving a mean sun about 0.18 seconds behind UT1 (the equivalent of 2.7 arcseconds) as of 2013; it coincided in 2013 with a meridian halfway between Airy's circle and the IERS origin: .


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was until 1954 based on celestial observations made at Greenwich, and later on observations made at other observatories. GMT was formally renamed as Universal Time in 1935, but is still commonly referred to as GMT, though they are not identical. It is now calculated from observations of extra-galactic radio sources.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: A key instrument for determining time was the Airy Transit Circle, which was used primarily from 1851 to 1938. It was agreed in 1884 that the "meridian line marked by the cross-hairs in the Airy Transit Circle eyepiece would indicate 0° longitude and the start of the Universal Day" according to RMG. The time is determined by marking the time a star of known location would pass through the aimpoint of the telescope. In a reverse case, this type of instrument was also used for making star charts.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The stars whose position was known precisely enough for being used for time determination, were called "clock stars."


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The red time ball of Greenwich was established in 1833, and is noted as a public time signal. The time ball in modern times is normally in a lowered position, then starting at 12:55pm, the ball begins to rise, then at 12:58 it reaches the top; at 1pm the ball drops.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: To help mariners at the port and others in line of sight of the observatory to synchronise their clocks to GMT, Astronomer Royal John Pond installed a very visible time ball that drops precisely at 1pm (13:00) every day atop the observatory in 1833. Initially it was dropped by an operator; from 1852 it was released automatically via an electric impulse from the Shepherd Master Clock. The ball is still dropped daily at 13:00 (GMT in winter, BST in summer).


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The original time ball system was built by Messrs Maudslay and Field, and cost £180. The five-foot diameter ball was made of wood and leather. In the original ball system, it was hoisted by a rope up from the Octagon room, and there was catch at the top to hold it. This could then be triggered by hand, while observing the time on an astronomical month clock, that was regulated to the mean solar time.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: By dropping the ball, the public, mariners, and clock makers could then get a time signal by viewing it from afar. The ball drop would be repeated at 2pm also if possible.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The reason why 12 noon was not chosen was because astronomers at the observatory would record when the Sun crossed the meridian at that time on that day.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: In rare occasions where the ball could get stuck due to icing or snow, and if the wind was too high it would not be dropped. In 1852, it was established to distribute a time signal by the telegraph wires also.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The time ball was extremely popular with the public, chronometers, railways, mariners, and there was a petition to have another time ball established in Southampton also.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The 1890s marked the addition of a new larger refractor, the 28-inch Grubb in the Great Equatorial Dome. Because the new telescope was longer than the old Great refractor, the new dome had to be bigger; thus the famous "onion dome" that expands beyond the diameter of the turret was established. For the tricentennial, it was revitalized with a fibre-glass dome; the old one made of papier-mâché and iron had been taken down.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The telescope was installed by 1893, with 28-inch diameter glass doublet lens made by Grubb from Chance of Birmingham glass. The new dome was made by T. Cooke and Sons. This replaced a smaller drum-shaped dome.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The Lassell two-foot reflector was a famous metal-mirror telescope that had been used to discover the Moons Triton and Hyperion. It was donated to the observatory in the 1880s, but was taken down in the 1890s.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The 1890s also saw the construction of the Altazimuth Pavilion, completed in 1896 and designed by William Crisp.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: In 1898 the Christie Enclosure was established to house sensitive magnetic instruments that had been disrupted by the use of iron at the main facility.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The Observatory underwent an attempted bombing on 15 February 1894. This was possibly the first "international terrorist" incident in Britain. The bomb was accidentally detonated while being held by 26-year-old French anarchist Martial Bourdin in Greenwich Park, near the Observatory building. Bourdin died about 30 minutes later. It is not known why he chose the observatory, or whether the detonation was intended to occur elsewhere. The novelist Joseph Conrad used the incident in his 1907 novel "The Secret Agent".


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: For major parts of the twentieth century, the Royal Greenwich Observatory was not at Greenwich, because it moved to Herstmonceux in Sussex in 1957. The last time that all departments were in Greenwich was 1924: in that year electrification of the railways affected the readings of the Magnetic and Meteorological Departments, and the Magnetic Observatory moved to Abinger in Surrey. Prior to this, the observatory had had to insist that the electric trams in the vicinity could not use an earth return for the traction current.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: After the onset of World War II in 1939, many departments were temporarily evacuated out of range of German bombers, to Abinger, Bradford on Avon, Bristol, and Bath, and activities in Greenwich were reduced to the bare minimum.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: On 15 October 1940, during the Blitz, the Courtyard gates were destroyed by a direct bomb hit. The wall above the Gate Clock collapsed, and the clock's dial was damaged. The damage was repaired after the war.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: After the Second World War, in 1947, the decision was made to move the Royal Observatory to Herstmonceux Castle and 320 adjacent acres (1.3 km), 70 km south-southeast of Greenwich near Hailsham in East Sussex, due to light pollution in London. The Observatory was officially known as the "Royal Greenwich Observatory, Herstmonceux". Although the Astronomer Royal Harold Spencer Jones moved to the castle in 1948, the scientific staff did not move until the observatory buildings were completed, in 1957. Shortly thereafter, other previously dispersed departments were reintegrated at Herstmonceux, such as the Nautical Almanac Office, Chronometer Department, the library, and observing equipment.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The largest telescope at Greenwich at that time, the Yapp telescope 36-inch reflector, was moved out to Herstmonceux in 1958. There it was reconstructed in Dome B of the facility. There it was used for astronomy in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. It was left behind at Herstmonceux in 1990 in its dome when the organization moved once again.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The tricentennial of Sir Isaac Newton had passed during the Second World War, delaying festivities. One of the ground-swells was to build a 'big better' telescope in honour of the celebrated inventor of the Newtonian reflecting telescope. Some two decades of development led to the commissioning of the Isaac Newton Telescope at Herstmonceux. It proved so successful that the cloudy weather was felt to be a bottleneck to its productivity, and plans were made to get it to a higher spot with better weather.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: On 1 December 1967, the Isaac Newton Telescope of the Royal Greenwich Observatory at Herstmonceux was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II. The telescope was the biggest telescope by aperture in the British Isles. It was moved to Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in Spain's Canary Islands in 1979. In 1990 the RGO moved to Cambridge. At Herstmonceux, the castle grounds became the home of the International Study Centre of Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, and The Observatory Science Centre, which is operated by an educational charity Science Project.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: The Observatory Science Centre opened in April 1995. Some of the remaining telescopes, which were left behind in the move, have public observation events as part of operations of the centre. The centre has established itself as a noted tourist and education attraction in its own right, featuring many old observatory items as exhibits. It was getting 60,000 visitors per year in the early 21st century.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: In 1990 the Royal Observatory moved from Herstmonceux to a new site at Cambridge, adjacent to the University's Institute of Astronomy, where it occupied Greenwich House just to the north of the Cambridge Observatory. By now, the RGO's focus had moved from carrying out observations from the British Isles to providing technical support, acting as a conduit between scientists in British universities and the powerful British-owned telescopes (such as the Isaac Newton Telescope, the Anglo-Dutch Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope, and the William Herschel Telescope) on the Canary Islands and Hawaii.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: After abandoning a plan to privatise the RGO and the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) as the RGO's funding body made the decision to close the institution and the Cambridge site by 1998. When the RGO was closed as an institution, the HM Nautical Almanac Office transferred to the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Chilton, Oxfordshire), while other work went to the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh. The old observatory site at Greenwich returned to its original name – the Royal Observatory, Greenwich – and was made part of the National Maritime Museum.


title: Royal Observatory, Greenwich

text: In 2002 the UK joined the European Southern Observatory, building the VISTA infrared telescope at the Paranal Observatory as an in-kind contribution.