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Charles Lane Poor

Charles Lane Poor (January 18, 1866 – September 27, 1951) was an American astronomy professor, noted for his opposition to Einstein's theory of relativity.

Biography
He was born on January 18, 1866, in Hackensack, New Jersey, to Edward Erie Poor.

He graduated from the City College of New York and received a PhD in 1892 from Johns Hopkins University. Poor became an astronomer and professor of celestial mechanics at Columbia University from 1903 to 1944, when he was named Professor Emeritus. He published several works disputing the evidence for Einstein's theory of relativity during the 1920s, and reflecting objections to the theory.

For 25 years, Poor was chairman of the admissions committee of the New York Yacht Club. In addition, he was a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and an associate fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served several terms as mayor of Dering Harbor on Long Island, New York, and invented a "line of position computers" for yachting navigation. At Columbia University, Poor was a teacher of the astronomer Samuel A. Mitchell, who went on to become director of the Leander McCormick Observatory at the University of Virginia.

He died on September 27, 1951.

Legacy
One of Poor's sons, Edmund Ward Poor, was one of ten co-founders of Grumman Aircraft on Long Island. Another son was Alfred Easton Poor, an architect.

Selected publications

 * The Solar System: A Study of Recent Observations (1908)
 * Nautical Science (1910)
 * Gravitation versus Relativity (with a preliminary essay by Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin, 1922)
 * Is Einstein Wrong? A Debate (Jun. 1924)
 * Rebuttal to Prof. Henderson's Article (Aug. 1924)
 * The Relativity Deflection of Light (Jul. 1927)
 * Relativity and the Law of Gravitation (Jan. 1930)
 * The Deflection of Light as Observed at Total Solar Eclipses (Apr. 1930)
 * What Einstein Really Did (Nov. 1930)

title: Charles Lane Poor


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Kenneth Wolstenholme

Kenneth Wolstenholme, DFC & Bar (17 July 1920 – 25 March 2002) was an English football commentator for BBC television in the 1950s and 1960s. He is best remembered for his commentary during the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final; in the closing minutes, Wolstenholme commented on a series of pitch invaders as Geoff Hurst dribbled down the pitch before scoring, saying "some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over!" The phrase has become deeply embedded in British popular culture. As Hurst proceeded to score, Wolstenholme added: 'It is now!'

Early life
Wolstenholme was born in Worsley, Lancashire. His family were Primitive Methodists and his brother attended Elmfield College. He attended Farnworth Grammar School, where Alan Ball Jr. (on whom Wolstenholme commentated in the 1966 World Cup Final) was also a pupil some years later. Wolstenholme began his career as a journalist with a newspaper in Manchester.

Military service
As Wolstenholme was a member of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, he was soon called up at the outbreak of the Second World War. By 1941, he had qualified as a bomber pilot and was posted to 107 Squadron, flying Bristol Blenheim Mk. IVs out of RAF Great Massingham, Norfolk. At the start of 1943 he transferred to de Havilland Mosquito with 105 Squadron, part of Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett's No. 8 Group RAF Pathfinder Group.

Wolstenholme completed more than 100 highly hazardous sorties over Occupied Europe and in May 1944 was awarded the DFC. The following year, he won a Bar to his DFC for his continual bravery in raids on Germany in a period of exceptionally heavy night fighter activity. He finished the war as an acting squadron leader, having spent its last stages working in the RAF's public relations department.

Sports broadcasting
After the war, he became a freelance journalist, working for BBC Radio before moving to television in 1950. In 1955, he provided a location report from Salford for the BBC's coverage of that year's election night coverage.

He covered the 1959 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final between Kilkenny and Waterford for BBC Television, an experience which moved him to describe hurling as his second-favourite sport in the world after his first love, football.

In March 1954, Kenneth Wolstenholme and Barney Mulrenan co-commentated on the first football match to be broadcast on TV in Wales, South Wales Amateur Football League v the Worcestershire Football Combination from the Maindy Stadium in Cardiff

Wolstenholme commentated on many English domestic football games of the 1950s and 1960s, including the first ever game featured on Match of the Day in 1964. He covered the FA Cup final in 1951 and then every year from 1953 to 1971, the year of Arsenal's "double". For the BBC he commentated on the 1960 European Cup Final between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park, widely regarded as one of the greatest football matches ever played. Real won the match 7-3 before a record European Cup Final crowd of 127,000, all their goals scored by Puskas and di Stefano.

"They think it's all over"
Wolstenholme's unscripted delivery in the closing moments of the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final at Wembley Stadium included fourteen words that are among the best known in British sport commentary. With England leading 3–2 against West Germany, a small pitch invasion took place during injury time just as Geoff Hurst scored to put England 4–2 ahead. The events prompted Wolstenholme to say:

Some people are on the pitch... they think it's all over... it is now! "It is now" was added in an almost matter-of-fact way after Hurst had scored the goal. Since 1966, the phrase "they think it's all over" has become well known in modern English. Although unrehearsed, and spoken in the particular circumstances of the game, the words echoed to an extent those of German commentator Herbert Zimmermann – "It's over! Over! Over! Germany are the World Champions" – when West Germany won the 1954 World Cup against Hungary.

Later career
After the 1966 World Cup, Wolstenholme continued his broadcasting career in the UK and Europe. In 1967 he travelled to the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon to cover Celtic overcoming Internazionale in the European Cup Final. A year later, he commentated at Wembley as Manchester United defeated Benfica to take the 1968 European Cup. He was the BBC's main man at the 1970 World Cup but he almost took out an injunction when the BBC threatened to demote him in favour of David Coleman if England reached the final. Wolstenholme commentated on the final between Brazil and Italy. He left the corporation in 1971 after Coleman was installed as the BBC's top commentator, his final BBC commentary being on the 1971 European Cup Final between Ajax and Panathinaikos at Wembley Stadium.

Wolstenholme later commentated for Tyne Tees Television in the mid to late 1970s, but re-appeared on TV to provide reports and occasional features for Channel 4 when they earned rights in the early 1990s to show Serie A games from Italy. He also took on an acting role, appearing in the BBC Radio 4 comedy series Lenin of the Rovers in 1988 as football commentator Frank Lee Brian. In 1990, he was a guest star on the first episode of parody satellite television station KYTV on BBC2.

Wolstenholme, who had been a supporter of Bolton Wanderers since childhood, was a guest of honour at the club's final game at Burnden Park in April 1997. He also narrated the club's End of an Era video which was released as part of Bolton's move from Burnden Park to the Reebok Stadium.

In 1998, Wolstenholme made a special appearance in EA Sports' videogame World Cup 98, as the sole commentator on the game's classic World Cup matches, recreations of historic World Cup finals that included sepia-toned renditions of the 1930 and 1938 editions.

Legacy
His phrase was used as the title for the sports quiz programme They Think It's All Over.

The words "They think it's all over, it is now" are engraved on a flagstone in Churchgate, in Bolton town centre, alongside quotes from other celebrities from Bolton.

Bill Oddie wrote a song about Wolstenholme for the BBC Radio comedy show I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again which includes the lines: "I'm going Wolsten-home/And you can't get Wolsten (worse than) him!" In another sketch on ISIRTA a contestant in a television quiz show was awarded Wolstenholme as a prize.

Personal life
In 1944 he married his wife, Joan. She died in 1997. They had two daughters, one of whom predeceased him.

Wolstenholme lived in Galmpton, Torbay, Devon until his death.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Kenneth Wolstenholme


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Peter III of Russia

Peter III Fyodorovich (Пётр III Фёдорович; 21 February 1728 17 July 1762) was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when he was overthrown by his wife, Catherine II (the Great). He was born in the German city of Kiel as Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (Karl Peter Ulrich von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp), but he was a grandson of Peter the Great and a great-grandson of Charles XI of Sweden.

Peter III could barely speak Russian and pursued a strongly pro-Prussian policy, which made him an unpopular leader. The two countries were on opposing sides of the Seven Years' War, and Russian troops were threatening Berlin at the time of Peter's accession to the throne. He immediately switched sides in the war and withdrew his troops from Prussia, undoing hard-earned gains. He was deposed by troops loyal to his wife, Catherine, who, despite her own German origins, was a Russian nationalist. She succeeded him as empress. Peter died in captivity soon after his overthrow, perhaps with Catherine's approval as part of the coup conspiracy. However, another theory is that his death was unplanned, resulting from a drunken brawl with one of his guards.

Despite his generally poor reputation, Peter made some progressive reforms during his short reign. He proclaimed religious freedom and encouraged education, sought to modernize the Russian army, abolished the secret police, which had been infamous for its extreme violence, and made it illegal for landowners to kill their serfs without going to court. Catherine reversed some of his reforms and carried through others, notably the annexation of church property.

Early life
Peter was born in Kiel, in the duchy of Holstein-Gottorp. His parents were Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia. Charles Frederick was a grandson of Charles XI of Sweden, and Anna was a daughter of the Russian monarchs Peter the Great and Catherine I. Peter's mother died shortly after his birth. In 1739, Peter's father died, and he became Duke of Holstein-Gottorp as Charles Peter Ulrich (Karl Peter Ulrich) at the age of 11.

When Peter's maternal aunt Elizabeth became Empress of Russia, she brought Peter from Germany to Russia and proclaimed him her heir presumptive in the autumn of 1742. Previously in 1742, the 14-year-old Peter was proclaimed King of Finland during the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743), when Russian troops held Finland. This proclamation was based on his succession rights to territories held by his childless great-uncle, the late Charles XII of Sweden, who also had been Grand Duke of Finland. About the same time, in October 1742, he was chosen by the Swedish parliament to become heir presumptive to the Swedish throne. However, the Swedish parliament was unaware of the fact that he had also been proclaimed heir presumptive to the throne of Russia, and when their envoy arrived in Saint Petersburg in November, it was too late. Also in November, Peter converted to Eastern Orthodoxy under the name of Pyotr Feodorovich, and was created Grand Duke of Russia. The words "Grandson of Peter the Great" (внук Петра Великого) were made an obligatory part of his official title, underscoring his dynastic claim to the Russian throne, and it was made a criminal offence to omit them.

Empress Elizabeth arranged for Peter to marry his second cousin, Sophia Augusta Frederica (later Catherine the Great), daughter of Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, and Princess Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. Sophia formally converted to Russian Orthodoxy and took the name Ekaterina Alexeievna (i.e., Catherine). They married on 21 August 1745. The marriage was not a happy one but produced one son, the future Emperor Paul I, and one daughter, Anna Petrovna (9 December, 1757– 8 March, 1759). Catherine later claimed in her private writings that Paul was not fathered by Peter; that, in fact, they had never consummated the marriage. During the sixteen years of their residence in Oranienbaum, Catherine took numerous lovers, while her husband did the same in the beginning.

Character

The classical view of Peter's character is mainly drawn out of the memoirs of his wife and successor. She described him as an "idiot" and as a "drunkard from Holstein", also describing her marriage with him with "there is nothing worse than having a child-husband"; even Peter's idol, Frederick the Great mentioned him by saying "he allowed himself to be dethroned like a child sent off to bed".

This portrait of Peter can be found in most history books, including the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica:

"Nature had made him mean, the smallpox had made him hideous, and his degraded habits made him loathsome. And Peter had all the sentiments of the worst kind of a small German prince of the time. He had the conviction that his princeship entitled him to disregard decency and the feelings of others. He planned brutal practical jokes, in which blows had always a share. His most manly taste did not rise above the kind of military interest which has been defined as 'corporal's mania,' the passion for uniforms, pipeclay, buttons, the 'tricks of parade and the froth of discipline.' He detested the Russians, and surrounded himself with Holsteiners."

There have been many attempts to revise the traditional characterization of Peter and his policies. The Russian historian A. S. Mylnikov views Peter III very differently: "Many contradictory qualities existed in him: keen observation, zeal and sharp wit in his arguments and actions, incaution and lack of perspicuity in conversation, frankness, goodness, sarcasm, a hot temper, and wrathfulness."

The German historian Elena Palmer goes even further, portraying Peter III as a cultured, open-minded emperor who tried to introduce various courageous, even democratic reforms in 18th-century Russia. A monument for Peter III stands in Kiel, the city of his birth.

Foreign policy
After Peter succeeded to the Russian throne, he withdrew Russian forces from the Seven Years' War and concluded a peace treaty (5 May 1762) with Prussia (dubbed the "Second Miracle of the House of Brandenburg"). He gave up Russian conquests in Prussia and offered 12,000 troops to make an alliance with Frederick II of Prussia (19 June 1762). Russia thus switched from an enemy of Prussia to an ally—Russian troops withdrew from Berlin and marched against the Austrians. This dramatically shifted the balance of power in Europe, suddenly handing the delighted Frederick the initiative. Frederick recaptured southern Silesia (October 1762) and subsequently forced Austria to the negotiating table.

As Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Peter planned war against Denmark-Norway in order to restore parts of Schleswig to his Duchy. He focused on making alliances with Sweden and with Great Britain to ensure that they would not interfere on Denmark's behalf, while Russian forces gathered at Kolberg in Russian-occupied Pomerania. Alarmed at the Russian troops concentrating near their borders, unable to find any allies to resist Russian aggression, and short of money to fund a war, the government of Denmark threatened in late June to invade the free city of Hamburg in northern Germany to force a loan from it. Peter considered this a casus belli and prepared for open warfare against Denmark.

In June 1762, 40,000 Russian troops assembled in Pomerania under General Pyotr Rumyantsev, preparing to face 27,000 Danish troops under the French general Count St. Germain in case the Russian–Danish freedom conference (scheduled for 1 July 1762 in Berlin under the patronage of Frederick II) failed to resolve the issue. However, shortly before the conference, Peter lost his throne (9 July 1762) and the conference did not occur. The issue of Schleswig remained unresolved. Peter was accused of planning an unpatriotic war.

While historically Peter's planned war against Denmark-Norway was seen as a political failure, recent scholarship has portrayed it as part of a pragmatic plan to secure his Holstein-Gottorp duchy and to expand the common Holstein-Russian power northward and westwards. Peter believed gaining territory and influence in Denmark and Northern Germany was more useful to Russia than taking East Prussia. Equally, he thought that friendship with Prussia and with Britain, following its triumph in the Seven Years War, could offer more to aid his plans than alliance with either Austria or France.

Domestic reforms

During his 186-day period of government, Peter III passed 220 new laws that he had developed and elaborated during his life as a crown prince. Elena Palmer claims that his reforms were of a democratic nature; he also proclaimed religious freedom.

Peter III's economic policy reflected the rising influence of Western capitalism and the merchant class or "Third Estate" that accompanied it. He established the first state bank in Russia, rejected the nobility's monopoly on trade and encouraged mercantilism by increasing grain exports and forbidding the import of sugar and other materials that could be found in Russia.

Overthrow and death

Peter was still asleep at Oranienbaum, the royal residence 20 mi west of Saint Petersburg which had been his primary residence during his marriage, while Catherine gained support of the military with the help of Grigori Orlov and his four brothers. Peter tried to escape by taking a boat to the military base of Kronstadt on Kotlin Island, hoping that the fleet remained loyal to him. However, the fleet's cannons opened fire on Peter's boat with two or three shots, and he was repulsed back to the shore, with the commandant declaring that he was no longer recognized as emperor and that Russia was ruled by Empress Catherine. The people of St. Petersburg, drawn to the shore by the loud echoes of cannons, also armed themselves with sticks and stones to prevent him from returning to the capital city. Twenty four hours later, after learning that the senate, army, and fleet had sworn allegiance to Catherine, with the aid of two guards whom Peter had planned to discipline, he was arrested and forced to abdicate on 9 July 1762.

Shortly thereafter, he was transported to Ropsha, where he later died. Much mystery surrounds his death. The official cause, after an autopsy, was a severe attack of hemorrhoidal colic and an apoplectic stroke, while others say he was assassinated. Other accounts state that after a midday meal, Peter's captors tried to suffocate him by using a mattress but he managed to escape. This then led his captors to strangle him to death with a scarf. Nevertheless, he was later buried on 3 August 1762 [O.S. 23 July] in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, Saint Petersburg.

Legacy
After his death, four pretenders to the throne, insisting that they were Peter (five if Šćepan Mali of Montenegro is included) came forth, supported by revolts among the people, who believed in a rumor that Peter had not died but had been secretly imprisoned by Catherine. The most famous was the Cossack Yemelyan Pugachev, who led what came to be known as Pugachev's Rebellion in 1774, which was ultimately crushed by Catherine's forces. In addition, Kondratii Selivanov, who led a castrating sect known as the Skoptsy, claimed to be both Jesus and Peter III.

In December 1796, after succeeding Catherine, Peter's son, Emperor Paul I, who disliked his mother's behavior, arranged for Peter's remains to be exhumed and reburied with full honors in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where other tsars (Russian emperors) were buried.

Lore
The legend of Peter is still talked about, especially in the town where he lived most of his life, formerly Oranienbaum, later Lomonosov, situated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, 40 km west of St. Petersburg. Peter's palace is the only one of the famous palaces in the St. Petersburg area that was not captured by the Germans during the Second World War. During the war, the building was a school and people say the ghost of Peter protected the children of Oranienbaum from getting hurt by bombs. Furthermore, it was near this town that the siege of Leningrad ended in January 1944. People say that Peter, after his death, stopped Hitler's army near Leningrad, just as the living Peter had ordered the Russian army to stop, just as it was about to capture Konigsberg.

Cultural references

Peter has been depicted on screen a number of times, almost always in films concerning his wife Catherine. He was portrayed by Rudolf Klein-Rogge in the 1927 film The Loves of Casanova, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in the 1934 film The Rise of Catherine the Great and by Sam Jaffe in The Scarlet Empress the same year. In 1991 Reece Dinsdale portrayed him in the television series Young Catherine. La Tempesta (1958) depicts Yemelyan Pugachev's effort to force his recognition as Peter III and offers a critical view of Catherine the Great, with Van Heflin in the role of Pugachev and Viveca Lindfors as Catherine. He was also depicted as a cowardly, drunken wife-beater in the Japanese anime Le Chevalier D'Eon. He also appears in the 2014 TV series played by Aleksandr Yatsenko. A historically inaccurate version of him was played by Nicholas Hoult in the 2020–2023 Hulu dramedy series The Great, also starring Elle Fanning as Catherine.

title: Peter III of Russia


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User:Victorcontreras

Cultura de Chiloé, archpiélago en el sur de Chile. Con orientación a la etnomusicología, estudios históricos, etnográficos, lingüísticos, arquitectura...

title: User:Victorcontreras