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Linear combination

In mathematics, a linear combination is an expression constructed from a set of terms by multiplying each term by a constant and adding the results (e.g. a linear combination of x and y would be any expression of the form ax + by, where a and b are constants). The concept of linear combinations is central to linear algebra and related fields of mathematics. Most of this article deals with linear combinations in the context of a vector space over a field, with some generalizations given at the end of the article.

Definition
Let V be a vector space over the field K. As usual, we call elements of V vectors and call elements of K scalars. If v1,...,vn are vectors and a1,...,an are scalars, then the linear combination of those vectors with those scalars as coefficients is
 * $$a_1 \mathbf v_1 + a_2 \mathbf v_2 + a_3 \mathbf v_3 + \cdots + a_n \mathbf v_n.$$

There is some ambiguity in the use of the term "linear combination" as to whether it refers to the expression or to its value. In most cases the value is emphasized, as in the assertion "the set of all linear combinations of v1,...,vn always forms a subspace". However, one could also say "two different linear combinations can have the same value" in which case the reference is to the expression. The subtle difference between these uses is the essence of the notion of linear dependence: a family F of vectors is linearly independent precisely if any linear combination of the vectors in F (as value) is uniquely so (as expression). In any case, even when viewed as expressions, all that matters about a linear combination is the coefficient of each vi; trivial modifications such as permuting the terms or adding terms with zero coefficient do not produce distinct linear combinations.

In a given situation, K and V may be specified explicitly, or they may be obvious from context. In that case, we often speak of a linear combination of the vectors v1,...,vn, with the coefficients unspecified (except that they must belong to K). Or, if S is a subset of V, we may speak of a linear combination of vectors in S, where both the coefficients and the vectors are unspecified, except that the vectors must belong to the set S (and the coefficients must belong to K). Finally, we may speak simply of a linear combination, where nothing is specified (except that the vectors must belong to V and the coefficients must belong to K); in this case one is probably referring to the expression, since every vector in V is certainly the value of some linear combination.

Note that by definition, a linear combination involves only finitely many vectors (except as described in Generalizations below). However, the set S that the vectors are taken from (if one is mentioned) can still be infinite; each individual linear combination will only involve finitely many vectors. Also, there is no reason that n cannot be zero; in that case, we declare by convention that the result of the linear combination is the zero vector in V.

Euclidean vectors
Let the field K be the set R of real numbers, and let the vector space V be the Euclidean space R3. Consider the vectors e1 = (1,0,0), e2 = (0,1,0) and e3 = (0,0,1). Then any vector in R3 is a linear combination of e1, e2, and e3.

To see that this is so, take an arbitrary vector (a1,a2,a3) in R3, and write:

\begin{align} ( a_1, a_2 , a_3) & = ( a_1 ,0,0) + (0, a_2 ,0) + (0,0, a_3) \\[6pt] & = a_1 (1,0,0) + a_2 (0,1,0) + a_3 (0,0,1) \\[6pt] & = a_1 \mathbf e_1 +  a_2 \mathbf e_2 + a_3 \mathbf e_3. \end{align} $$

Functions
Let K be the set C of all complex numbers, and let V be the set CC(R) of all continuous functions from the real line R to the complex plane C. Consider the vectors (functions) f and g defined by f(t) := eit and g(t) := e−it. (Here, e is the base of the natural logarithm, about 2.71828..., and i is the imaginary unit, a square root of −1.) Some linear combinations of f and g are: On the other hand, the constant function 3 is not a linear combination of f and g. To see this, suppose that 3 could be written as a linear combination of eit and e−it. This means that there would exist complex scalars a and b such that aeit + be−it = 3 for all real numbers t. Setting t = 0 and t = π gives the equations a + b = 3 and a + b = −3, and clearly this cannot happen. See Euler's identity.
 * $$ \cos t = \tfrac12 \, e^{i t} + \tfrac12 \, e^{-i t} $$
 * $$ 2 \sin t = (-i) e^{i t} + (i) e^{-i t}. $$

Polynomials
Let K be R, C, or any field, and let V be the set P of all polynomials with coefficients taken from the field K. Consider the vectors (polynomials) p1 := 1, p2 := x + 1, and p3 := x2 + x + 1.

Is the polynomial x2 − 1 a linear combination of p1, p2, and p3? To find out, consider an arbitrary linear combination of these vectors and try to see when it equals the desired vector x2 − 1. Picking arbitrary coefficients a1, a2, and a3, we want
 * $$ a_1 (1) + a_2 ( x + 1) + a_3 ( x^2 + x + 1) =  x^2 - 1. $$

Multiplying the polynomials out, this means
 * $$ ( a_1 ) + ( a_2 x + a_2) + ( a_3 x^2 + a_3 x + a_3) = x^2 - 1 $$

and collecting like powers of x, we get
 * $$ a_3 x^2 + ( a_2 + a_3 ) x + ( a_1 + a_2 + a_3 ) = 1 x^2 + 0 x + (-1). $$

Two polynomials are equal if and only if their corresponding coefficients are equal, so we can conclude
 * $$ a_3 = 1, \quad a_2 + a_3 = 0, \quad a_1 + a_2 + a_3 = -1. $$

This system of linear equations can easily be solved. First, the first equation simply says that a3 is 1. Knowing that, we can solve the second equation for a2, which comes out to −1. Finally, the last equation tells us that a1 is also −1. Therefore, the only possible way to get a linear combination is with these coefficients. Indeed,
 * $$ x^2 - 1 = -1 - ( x + 1) + ( x^2 + x + 1) = - p_1 - p_2 +  p_3 $$

so x2 − 1 is a linear combination of p1, p2, and p3.

On the other hand, what about the polynomial x3 − 1? If we try to make this vector a linear combination of p1, p2, and p3, then following the same process as before, we get the equation

\begin{align} & 0 x^3 + a_3 x^2 + ( a_2 + a_3 ) x + ( a_1 + a_2 + a_3 ) \\[5pt] = {} & 1 x^3 + 0 x^2 + 0 x + (-1). \end{align} $$

However, when we set corresponding coefficients equal in this case, the equation for x3 is
 * $$ 0 = 1 $$

which is always false. Therefore, there is no way for this to work, and x3 − 1 is not a linear combination of p1, p2, and p3.

The linear span
Take an arbitrary field K, an arbitrary vector space V, and let v1,...,vn be vectors (in V). It is interesting to consider the set of all linear combinations of these vectors. This set is called the linear span (or just span) of the vectors, say S = {v1, ..., vn}. We write the span of S as span(S) or sp(S):
 * $$ \operatorname{span}( \mathbf v_1 ,\ldots, \mathbf v_n) := \{ a_1 \mathbf v_1 + \cdots + a_n \mathbf v_n : a_1 ,\ldots, a_n \in K \}. $$

Linear independence
Suppose that, for some sets of vectors v1,...,vn, a single vector can be written in two different ways as a linear combination of them:
 * $$\mathbf v = \sum_i a_i \mathbf v_i = \sum_i b_i \mathbf v_i\text{ where } a_i \neq b_i.$$

This is equivalent, by subtracting these ($$c_i := a_i - b_i$$), to saying a non-trivial combination is zero:
 * $$\mathbf 0 = \sum_i c_i \mathbf v_i.$$

If that is possible, then v1,...,vn are called linearly dependent; otherwise, they are linearly independent. Similarly, we can speak of linear dependence or independence of an arbitrary set S of vectors.

If S is linearly independent and the span of S equals V, then S is a basis for V.

Affine, conical, and convex combinations
By restricting the coefficients used in linear combinations, one can define the related concepts of affine combination, conical combination, and convex combination, and the associated notions of sets closed under these operations.

Because these are more restricted operations, more subsets will be closed under them, so affine subsets, convex cones, and convex sets are generalizations of vector subspaces: a vector subspace is also an affine subspace, a convex cone, and a convex set, but a convex set need not be a vector subspace, affine, or a convex cone.

These concepts often arise when one can take certain linear combinations of objects, but not any: for example, probability distributions are closed under convex combination (they form a convex set), but not conical or affine combinations (or linear), and positive measures are closed under conical combination but not affine or linear – hence one defines signed measures as the linear closure.

Linear and affine combinations can be defined over any field (or ring), but conical and convex combination require a notion of "positive", and hence can only be defined over an ordered field (or ordered ring), generally the real numbers.

If one allows only scalar multiplication, not addition, one obtains a (not necessarily convex) cone; one often restricts the definition to only allowing multiplication by positive scalars.

All of these concepts are usually defined as subsets of an ambient vector space (except for affine spaces, which are also considered as "vector spaces forgetting the origin"), rather than being axiomatized independently.

Operad theory
More abstractly, in the language of operad theory, one can consider vector spaces to be algebras over the operad $$\mathbf{R}^\infty$$ (the infinite direct sum, so only finitely many terms are non-zero; this corresponds to only taking finite sums), which parametrizes linear combinations: the vector $$(2,3,-5,0,\dots)$$ for instance corresponds to the linear combination $$2 \mathbf v_1 + 3 \mathbf v_2 - 5 \mathbf v_3 + 0 \mathbf v_4 + \cdots$$. Similarly, one can consider affine combinations, conical combinations, and convex combinations to correspond to the sub-operads where the terms sum to 1, the terms are all non-negative, or both, respectively. Graphically, these are the infinite affine hyperplane, the infinite hyper-octant, and the infinite simplex. This formalizes what is meant by $$\mathbf{R}^n$$ being or the standard simplex being model spaces, and such observations as that every bounded convex polytope is the image of a simplex. Here suboperads correspond to more restricted operations and thus more general theories.

From this point of view, we can think of linear combinations as the most general sort of operation on a vector space – saying that a vector space is an algebra over the operad of linear combinations is precisely the statement that all possible algebraic operations in a vector space are linear combinations.

The basic operations of addition and scalar multiplication, together with the existence of an additive identity and additive inverses, cannot be combined in any more complicated way than the generic linear combination: the basic operations are a generating set for the operad of all linear combinations.

Ultimately, this fact lies at the heart of the usefulness of linear combinations in the study of vector spaces.

Generalizations
If V is a topological vector space, then there may be a way to make sense of certain infinite linear combinations, using the topology of V. For example, we might be able to speak of a1v1 + a2v2 + a3v3 + ⋯, going on forever. Such infinite linear combinations do not always make sense; we call them convergent when they do. Allowing more linear combinations in this case can also lead to a different concept of span, linear independence, and basis. The articles on the various flavors of topological vector spaces go into more detail about these.

If K is a commutative ring instead of a field, then everything that has been said above about linear combinations generalizes to this case without change. The only difference is that we call spaces like this V modules instead of vector spaces. If K is a noncommutative ring, then the concept still generalizes, with one caveat: since modules over noncommutative rings come in left and right versions, our linear combinations may also come in either of these versions, whatever is appropriate for the given module. This is simply a matter of doing scalar multiplication on the correct side.

A more complicated twist comes when V is a bimodule over two rings, KL and KR. In that case, the most general linear combination looks like
 * $$ a_1 \mathbf v_1 b_1 + \cdots + a_n \mathbf v_n b_n $$

where a1,...,an belong to KL, b1,...,bn belong to KR, and v1,…,vn belong to V.

Application
An important application of linear combinations is to wave functions in quantum mechanics.

title: Linear combination


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Region

In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and the environment (environmental geography). Geographic regions and sub-regions are mostly described by their imprecisely defined, and sometimes transitory boundaries, except in human geography, where jurisdiction areas such as national borders are defined in law. More confined or well bounded portions are called locations or places.

Apart from the global continental regions, there are also hydrospheric and atmospheric regions that cover the oceans, and discrete climates above the land and water masses of the planet. The land and water global regions are divided into subregions geographically bounded by large geological features that influence large-scale ecologies, such as plains and features.

As a way of describing spatial areas, the concept of regions is important and widely used among the many branches of geography, each of which can describe areas in regional terms. For example, ecoregion is a term used in environmental geography, cultural region in cultural geography, bioregion in biogeography, and so on. The field of geography that studies regions themselves is called regional geography. Regions are an area or division, especially part of a country or the world having definable characteristics but not always fixed boundaries.

In the fields of physical geography, ecology, biogeography, zoogeography, and environmental geography, regions tend to be based on natural features such as ecosystems or biotopes, biomes, drainage basins, natural regions, mountain ranges, soil types. Where human geography is concerned, the regions and subregions are described by the discipline of ethnography.

Globalization
Global regions are distinguishable from space, and are therefore clearly distinguished by the two basic terrestrial environments, land and water. However, they have been generally recognized as such much earlier by terrestrial cartography because of their impact on human geography. They are divided into the largest of land regions, known as continents and the largest of water regions known as oceans. There are also significant regions that do not belong to either classification, such as archipelago regions that are littoral regions, or earthquake regions that are defined in geology.

Continental regions
Continental regions are usually based on broad experiences in human history and attempt to reduce very large areas to more manageable regionalization for the purpose of the study. As such they are conceptual constructs, usually lacking distinct boundaries. The oceanic division into maritime regions is used in conjunction with the relationship to the central area of the continent, using directions of the compass.

Some continental regions are defined by the major continental feature of their identity, such as the Amazon basin, or the Sahara, which both occupy a significant percentage of their respective continental land area.

To a large extent, major continental regions are mental constructs created by considering an efficient way to define large areas of the continents. For the most part, the images of the world are derived as much from academic studies, from all types of media, or from personal experience of global exploration. They are a matter of collective human knowledge of their own planet and are attempts to better understand their environments.

Regional geography
Regional geography is a branch of geography that studies regions of all sizes across the Earth. It has a prevailing descriptive character. The main aim is to understand or define the uniqueness or character of a particular region, which consists of natural as well as human elements. Attention is paid also to regionalization, which covers the proper techniques of space delimitation into regions.

Regional geography is also considered as a certain approach to study in geographical sciences (similar to quantitative or critical geographies; for more information, see history of geography).

Human geography
Human geography is a branch of geography that focuses on the study of patterns and processes that shape human interaction with various discrete environments. It encompasses human, political, cultural, social, and economic aspects among others that are often clearly delineated. While the major focus of human geography is not the physical landscape of the Earth (see physical geography), it is hardly possible to discuss human geography without referring to the physical landscape on which human activities are being played out, and environmental geography is emerging as a link between the two. Regions of human geography can be divided into many broad categories: • Cultural geography

• Demography

• Development geography

• Economic geography

• Ethnography

• Geopolitics

• Health geography

• Historical geography

• Language geography

• Media geography

• Religion geography

• Social geography

• Time geography

• Tourism geography

• Transportation geography

• Urban geography

Historical regions
The field of historical geography involves the study of human history as it relates to places and regions, or the study of how places and regions have changed over time.

D. W. Meinig, a historical geographer of America, describes many historical regions in his book The Shaping of America: A Geographical Perspective on 500 Years of History. For example, in identifying European "source regions" in early American colonization efforts, he defines and describes the Northwest European Atlantic Protestant Region, which includes sub-regions such as the "Western Channel Community", which itself is made of sub-regions such as the English West Country of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, and Dorset.

In describing historic regions of America, Meinig writes of "The Great Fishery" off the coast of Newfoundland and New England, an oceanic region that includes the Grand Banks. He rejects regions traditionally used in describing American history, like New France, "West Indies", the Middle Colonies, and the individual colonies themselves (Province of Maryland, for example). Instead he writes of "discrete colonization areas", which may be named after colonies but rarely adhere strictly to political boundaries. Among other historic regions of this type, he writes about "Greater New England" and its major sub-regions of "Plymouth", "New Haven shores" (including parts of Long Island), "Rhode Island" (or "Narragansett Bay"), "the Piscataqua", "Massachusetts Bay", "Connecticut Valley", and to a lesser degree, regions in the sphere of influence of Greater New England, "Acadia" (Nova Scotia), "Newfoundland and The Fishery/The Banks".

Other examples of historical regions are Iroquoia, Ohio Country, Illinois Country, and Rupert's Land.

In Russia, historical regions include Siberia and the Russian North, as well as the Ural Mountains. These regions had an identity that developed from the early modern period and led to Siberian regionalism.

Tourism region
A tourism region is a geographical region that has been designated by a governmental organization or tourism bureau as having common cultural or environmental characteristics. These regions are often named after a geographical, former, or current administrative region or may have a name created for tourism purposes. The names often evoke certain positive qualities of the area and suggest a coherent tourism experience to visitors. Countries, states, provinces, and other administrative regions are often carved up into tourism regions to facilitate attracting visitors.

Some of the more famous tourism regions based on historical or current administrative regions include Tuscany in Italy and Yucatán in Mexico. Famous examples of regions created by a government or tourism bureau include the United Kingdom's Lake District and California's Wine Country. great plains region

Natural resource regions
Natural resources often occur in distinct regions. Natural resource regions can be a topic of physical geography or environmental geography, but also have a strong element of human geography and economic geography. A coal region, for example, is a physical or geomorphological region, but its development and exploitation can make it into an economic and a cultural region. Examples of natural resource regions are the Rumaila Field, the oil field that lies along the border or Iraq and Kuwait and played a role in the Gulf War; the Coal Region of Pennsylvania, which is a historical region as well as a cultural, physical, and natural resource region; the South Wales Coalfield, which like Pennsylvania's coal region is a historical, cultural, and natural region; the Kuznetsk Basin, a similarly important coal mining region in Russia; Kryvbas, the economic and iron ore mining region of Ukraine; and the James Bay Project, a large region of Quebec where one of the largest hydroelectric systems in the world has been developed.

Religious regions
Sometimes a region associated with a religion is given a name, like Christendom, a term with medieval and renaissance connotations of Christianity as a sort of social and political polity. The term Muslim world is sometimes used to refer to the region of the world where Islam is dominant. These broad terms are somewhat vague when used to describe regions.

Within some religions there are clearly defined regions. The Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and others, define ecclesiastical regions with names such as diocese, eparchy, ecclesiastical provinces, and parish.

For example, the United States is divided into 32 Roman Catholic ecclesiastical provinces. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is organized into 33 geographic districts, which are subdivided into circuits (the Atlantic District (LCMS), for example). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints uses regions similar to dioceses and parishes, but uses terms like ward and stake.

Political regions
In the field of political geography, regions tend to be based on political units such as sovereign states; subnational units such as administrative regions, provinces, states (in the United States), counties, townships, territories, etc.; and multinational groupings, including formally defined units such as the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and NATO, as well as informally defined regions such as the Third World, Western Europe, and the Middle East.

Administrative regions
The word "region" is taken from the Latin regio (derived from regere, 'to rule'), and a number of countries have borrowed the term as the formal name for a type of subnational entity (e.g., the región, used in Chile). In English, the word is also used as the conventional translation for equivalent terms in other languages (e.g., the область (oblast), used in Russia alongside a broader term регион).

The following countries use the term "region" (or its cognate) as the name of a type of subnational administrative unit: The Canadian province of Québec also uses the "administrative region" (région administrative).
 * Belgium (in French, région; in German, Region; the Dutch term gewest is often mistakenly translated as "regio")
 * Chad ('région'', effective from 2002)
 * Chile (región)
 * Côte d'Ivoire (région)
 * Denmark (effective from 2007)
 * England (not the United Kingdom as a whole)
 * Eritrea
 * France (région)
 * Ghana
 * Guinea (région)
 * Guinea-Bissau (região)
 * Guyana
 * Hungary (régió)
 * Italy (regione)
 * Madagascar (région)
 * Mali (région)
 * Malta (reġjun)
 * Namibia
 * New Zealand
 * Peru (región)
 * Portugal (região)
 * Philippines (rehiyon)
 * Senegal (région)
 * Tanzania
 * Thailand
 * Togo (région)
 * Trinidad and Tobago (Regional Corporation)

Scotland had local government regions from 1975 to 1996.

In Spain the official name of the autonomous community of Murcia is Región de Murcia. Also, some single-province autonomous communities such as Madrid use the term región interchangeably with comunidad autónoma.

Two län (counties) in Sweden are officially called 'regions': Skåne and Västra Götaland, and there is currently a controversial proposal to divide the rest of Sweden into large regions, replacing the current counties.

The government of the Philippines uses the term "region" (in Filipino, rehiyon) when it is necessary to group provinces, the primary administrative subdivision of the country. This is also the case in Brazil, which groups its primary administrative divisions (estados; "states") into grandes regiões (greater regions) for statistical purposes, while Russia uses экономические районы (economic regions) in a similar way, as does Romania and Venezuela.

The government of Singapore makes use of the term "region" for its own administrative purposes.

The following countries use an administrative subdivision conventionally referred to as a region in English:
 * Bulgaria, which uses the област (oblast)
 * Greece, which uses the Περιφέρεια (periferia)
 * Russia, which uses the область (oblast'), and for some regions the край (krai)
 * Ukraine, which uses the область (oblast')
 * Slovakia (kraj)

China has five 自治区 (zìzhìqū) and two 特別行政區 (or 特别行政区; tèbiéxíngzhèngqū), which are translated as "autonomous region" and "special administrative region", respectively.

Local administrative regions
There are many relatively small regions based on local government agencies such as districts, agencies, or regions. In general, they are all regions in the general sense of being bounded spatial units. Examples include electoral districts such as Washington's 6th congressional district and Tennessee's 1st congressional district; school districts such as Granite School District and Los Angeles Unified School District; economic districts such as the Reedy Creek Improvement District; metropolitan areas such as the Seattle metropolitan area, and metropolitan districts such as the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, the Metropolitan Police Service of Greater London, as well as other local districts like the York Rural Sanitary District, the Delaware River Port Authority, the Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation District, and C-TRAN.

Traditional or informal regions
The traditional territorial divisions of some countries are also commonly rendered in English as "regions". These informal divisions do not form the basis of the modern administrative divisions of these countries, but still define and delimit local regional identity and sense of belonging. Examples are:

 * England
 * Finland
 * Japan
 * Korea
 * Norway (landsdeler)
 * Romania
 * Slovakia
 * United States

Functional regions
Functional regions are usually understood to be the areas organised by the horizontal functional relations (flows, interactions) that are maximised within a region and minimised across its borders so that the principles of internal cohesiveness and external separation regarding spatial interactions are met (see, for instance, Farmer and Fotheringham, 2011; Klapka, Halas, 2016; Smart, 1974 ). A functional region is not an abstract spatial concept, but to a certain extent it can be regarded as a reflection of the spatial behaviour of individuals in a geographic space. The functional region is conceived as a general concept while its inner structure, inner spatial flows, and interactions need not necessarily show any regular pattern, only selfcontainment. The concept of self-containment remains the only crucial defining characteristic of a functional region. Nodal regions, functional urban regions, daily urban systems, local labour-market areas (LLMAs), or travel-to-work areas (TTWAs) are considered to be special instances of a general functional region that need to fulfil some specific conditions regarding, for instance, the character of the region-organising interaction or the presence of urban cores, (Halas et al., 2015 ).

Military regions
In military usage, a region is shorthand for the name of a military formation larger than an Army Group and smaller than a Theater. The full name of the military formation is Army Region. The size of an Army Region can vary widely but is generally somewhere between about 1 million and 3 million soldiers. Two or more Army Regions could make up a Theater. An Army Region is typically commanded by a full General (US four stars), a Field Marshal or General of the Army (US five stars), or Generalissimo (Soviet Union); and in the US Armed Forces an Admiral (typically four stars) may also command a region. Due to the large size of this formation, its use is rarely employed. Some of the very few examples of an Army Region are each of the Eastern, Western, and southern (mostly in Italy) fronts in Europe during World War II. The military map unit symbol for this echelon of formation (see Military organization and APP-6A) is identified with six Xs.

Media geography
Media geography is a spatio-temporal understanding, brought through different gadgets of media, nowadays, media became inevitable at different proportions and everyone supposed to consumed at different gravity. The spatial attributes are studied with the help of media outputs in shape of images which are contested in nature and pattern as well where politics is inseparable. Media geography is giving spatial understanding of mediated image.

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

title: Region


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Region (Europe)

The European Union created a Committee of the Regions to represent Regions of Europe as the layer of EU government administration directly below the nation-state level. The committee has its headquarters in Brussels.

Reasons given for this include:
 * the historic and cultural claims for autonomy in many regions all over the EU
 * strengthening the political and economic situation in those regions

Some nation states which have historically had a strong centralized administration have transferred political power to the regions. Examples of this include the current negotiations in France concerning increased autonomy for Corsica. Some other states have traditionally had strong regions, such as the Federal Republic of Germany or the autonomous communities of Spain; yet others have been structured on the basis of national and municipal government with little in between. During the United Kingdom's membership of the EU, the term 'region' also included England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are formally referred to as countries by the British government.

Competence
Regional and local authorities elect delegates to the Committee of the Regions. The committee is a consultative body, and is asked for its opinion by the council or the commission on new policies and legislation in the following areas:
 * Education
 * Training
 * Culture
 * Public Health
 * Anti-drug support
 * Trans-European Networks
 * Social and Economic Cohesion
 * Structural Funds

On certain issues it works in partnership with the Economic and Social Committee.

Political influence
The politics of regionalism has also had an impact at the pan-European level. The regions of Europe had lobbied for an increased say in EU affairs, especially the German Länder. This resulted in the creation by the Maastricht Treaty of the Committee of the Regions, and provision for member states to be represented in the council by ministers from their regional governments.

The Council of Europe also has a congress of local and regional authorities, similar to the EU's Committee of the Regions.

Strengthening economic competition between communities further supports the creation of authentic regions within the EU and almost all EU member states recently have or currently are re-organizing their administration to create competitive EU regions. Often these regions better reflect culture and identity and a sense of common interests.

Of the major organisations representing the regions of Europe, the Assembly of European Regions (AER) is the largest. Established in 1985, the organisation now brings together over 270 regions from 33 countries, along with 16 interregional associations, across wider Europe. Apart from playing a key role as the regions' political voice on the European stage, AER is a forum for interregional cooperation in numerous areas of regional competence, including economic development, social policy, public health, culture, education and youth. The organisation is also a key defender of the subsidiarity principle in Europe, lobbying for its inclusion in the EU treaties and demanding recognition of the word in dictionaries via the worldwide "Subsidiarity is a word" movement.

Outside EU institutions, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR-CCRE) is the largest organisation of local and regional government in Europe; its members are national associations of towns, municipalities and regions from over 35 countries. Together these associations represent some 100,000 local and regional authorities.

CEMR works to promote a united Europe that is based on local and regional self-government and democracy. To achieve this goal it endeavours to shape the future of Europe by enhancing local and regional contribution, to influence European law and policy, to exchange experience at local and regional level and to cooperate with partners in other parts of the world.

title: Region (Europe)


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Luton

Luton is a town and unitary authority with borough status in Bedfordshire, England, with a population at the 2021 census of 225,262.

Luton is on the River Lea, 32 mi north-west of London, 18 mi north-west of Hertford, 20 mi south of Bedford and 23 mi south-east of Milton Keynes. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settlement on the river, from which Luton derives its name. Luton is recorded in the Domesday Book as Loitone and Lintone. One of the largest churches in Bedfordshire, St Mary's Church, was built in the 12th century. There are local museums which explore Luton's history in Wardown Park and Stockwood Park.

Luton was once known for hatmaking and also had a large Vauxhall Motors factory. Car production at the plant began in 1905 and continued until its closure in 2002. Production of commercial vehicles continues and the head office of Vauxhall Motors is in the village of Chalton on the northern border of the borough. London Luton Airport opened in 1938 and is now one of Britain's major airports, with three railway stations also in the town. The University of Bedfordshire was created from a merger with the University of Luton; two of its campuses are in Luton.

Luton Town Football Club, nicknamed the Hatters, due to the town's connection to hatmaking, has had several spells in the top flight of the English league as well as a Football League Cup triumph in 1988. They play at Kenilworth Road, their home since 1905; planning permission for a new larger stadium was approved in 2019. Luton International Carnival, the largest one-day carnival in Europe, is held on the day before the last Monday in May; the Saint Patrick's festival is held on the weekend nearest to Saint Patrick's Day as there is a large Irish community in Luton. The town also has a large Pakistani community which, along with the Irish, were attracted to employment at the Vauxhall car plant. Luton Hoo is an English country house, estate and Grade I listed building originally designed by Scottish architect Robert Adam but later transformed to the designs of Robert Smirke.

History
Luton is believed to have been founded by the Anglo-Saxons sometime in the 6th century. Its name first appears in the 8th century as Lygetun, meaning "town on the River Lea".

The Domesday Book records Luton as Loitone and as Lintone. Agriculture dominated the local economy at that time, and the town's population was around 700 to 800. In 1121 Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester started work on St Mary's Church in the centre of the town. The work was completed by 1137. A motte-and-bailey castle which gives its name to the modern Castle Street was built in 1139 but demolished by 1154.

The hat making industry began in the 17th century and became synonymous with the town.

The town grew: in 1801 the population was 3,095, but by 1850 it was over 10,000 and by 1901 it was almost 39,000.

Newspaper printing arrived in the town in 1854. The first public cemetery was opened in the same year and Luton was made a borough in 1876.

Luton's hat trade reached its peak in the 1930s, but severely declined after the Second World War and was replaced by other industries.

In 1907, Vauxhall Motors opened the largest car plant in the United Kingdom in Luton, during the Second World War, it built Churchill tanks as part of the war effort. Despite heavy camouflage, the factory made Luton a target for the Luftwaffe and the town suffered a number of air raids. 107 died and there was extensive damage to the town (over 1,500 homes were damaged or destroyed).

The original town hall was destroyed in 1919 during Peace Day celebrations at the end of the First World War. Dr. John G. Dony, author of The Flora of Bedfordshire told his history students (he taught at Luton Grammar, predecessor of Luton Sixth Form College), during the 1950s, that he had broken the last intact window of the old town hall during the 1919 riots. Local people, including many ex-servicemen, were unhappy with unemployment and had been refused the use of a local park to hold celebratory events. They stormed the town hall, setting it alight (see Luton Town Hall). A replacement building was completed in 1936.

Luton Borough Corporation had provided the borough with electricity since the early twentieth century from Luton power station, located adjacent to the railway. Upon nationalisation of the electricity industry in 1948 ownership passed to the British Electricity Authority and later to the Central Electricity Generating Board. Electricity connections to the national grid rendered the 23 megawatt (MW) coal and latterly oil-fired power station redundant. The station had a single chimney and two reinforced concrete cooling towers. The power station closed in 1968; in its final year of operation it delivered 3,192 MWh of electricity to the borough.

Luton Airport opened in 1938, owned and operated by the council. It is now one of the largest employers in the area.

The pre-war years, were something of an economic boom for Luton, as new industries grew and prospered. New private and council housing was built in the 1920s and 1930s, with Luton starting to incorporate nearby villages Leagrave, Limbury and Stopsley between 1928 and 1933.

Post-war, a number of substantial estates of council housing were built, notably at Farley Hill, Stopsley, Limbury, Marsh Farm and Leagrave (Hockwell Ring). The Marsh Farm area of the town was developed in the mid to late 1960s as a large council housing estate, mostly to house the overspill population from London. However, the estate gained a reputation for high levels of crime, poverty and unemployment, which culminated in a riot on the estate in July 1992 and another more serious riot three years later.

The closure of the Vauxhall manufacturing plant in 2002 had negative effects for Luton, leading to increased unemployment and deprivation.

Governance
The town is situated within the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire but, since 1997, Luton has been an administratively independent unitary authority, administered by Luton Borough Council. There are 48 councillors on the Borough Council, representing 19 wards.

, Luton is represented in Parliament by Sarah Owen who holds Luton North and Rachel Hopkins who holds Luton South. In 1876 the town council was granted its own coat of arms. The wheatsheaf was used on the crest to represent agriculture and the supply of straw used in the local hatmaking industry (the straw plaiting industry was brought to Luton by a group of Scots under the protection of Sir John Napier of Luton Hoo). The bee is traditionally the emblem of industry and the hive represents the straw plaiting industry for which Luton was famous. The rose is from the arms of the Napier family, whereas the thistle is a symbol for Scotland. An alternative suggestion is that the rose was a national emblem, and the thistle represents the Marquess of Bute, who formerly owned the Manor of Luton Hoo.

Geography

Luton is situated 28 miles north of London and 39 miles southwest of Cambridge. The town forms the core part of the wider Luton/Dunstable Urban Area which includes the nearby towns of Dunstable and Houghton Regis in Central Bedfordshire. The town is the most populous settlement in Bedfordshire followed by Bedford.

Luton is located in a break in the eastern part of the Chiltern Hills. The Chilterns are a mixture of chalk from the Cretaceous period (about 66 – 145 million years ago) and deposits laid at the southernmost points of the ice sheet during the last ice age (the Warden Hill area can be seen from much of the town).

Bedfordshire had a reputation for brick making but the industry is now significantly reduced. The brickworks at Stopsley took advantage of the clay deposits in the east of the town.

The source of the River Lea, part of the Thames Valley drainage basin, is in the Leagrave area of the town. The Great Bramingham Wood surrounds this area. It is classified as ancient woodland; records mention the wood at least 400 years ago.

There are few routes through the hilly area for some miles, this has led to several major roads (including the M1 and the A6) and a major rail-link being constructed through the town.

Climate
Luton has a temperate marine climate, like much of the British Isles, with generally light precipitation throughout the year. The weather is very changeable from day to day and the warming influence of the Gulf Stream makes the region mild for its latitude. The average total annual rainfall is 698 mm with rain falling on 117 days of the year.

The local climate around Luton is differentiated somewhat from much of South East England due to its position in the Chiltern Hills, meaning it tends to be 1–2 degrees Celsius cooler than the surrounding towns – often flights at Luton airport, lying 160 m above sea level, will be suspended when marginal snow events occur, while airports at lower elevations, such as Heathrow, at 25 m above sea level, continue to function. An example of this is shown in the photograph to the right, the snowline being about 100 m above sea level. Absolute temperature extremes recorded at Rothamsted Research Station, 5 mi south south east of Luton town centre and at a similar elevation range from -17.0 C in December 1981 and -16.7 C in January 1963 to 36.6 C in July 2019 and 33.8 C in August 1990 and July 2006. Records for Rothamsted date back to 1901.

Demography
The 2021 United Kingdom census showed that the borough had a population of 225,262, a 10.9% increase from the previous census in 2011 and a 22.2% increase compared with 2001. In 2021, 52,566 residents (23% of the total) were aged under 16, 146,330 (65%) were aged 16 to 64, and 26,363 (12%) were aged 65 or over.

Local inhabitants are known as Lutonians.

Ethnicity

Luton has seen several waves of immigration. In the early part of the 20th century, there was internal migration of Irish and Scottish people to the town. These were followed by South Asian and Afro-Caribbean immigrants. More recently immigrants from European countries such as Albania have made Luton their home. As a result of this Luton has a diverse ethnic mix, with a significant population of Asian descent, mainly Pakistani (41,143 residents, 18.3%) and Bangladeshi (20,630, 9.2%). People in Asian ethnic groups accounted for 86% of Luton's Muslim population in 2021.

As of the 2021 census, the White British population of Luton (including White English/Scottish/Welsh/Northern Irish) comprised less than a third of the total (31.8%), the twelfth lowest proportion out of 318 local authorities in England and Wales and the second lowest (after Slough) outside of London. Overall, 45.2% of Luton's population in 2021 was White (including non-British White people), down from 54.7% in 2011.

In 2011 81% of the population of Luton defined themselves as British.

Religion
At the 2021 census, the religious affiliation of Luton was as follows:

Economy
Luton's economy has traditionally been focused on several different areas of industry, including car manufacturing, engineering and millinery. However, today, Luton is moving towards a service based economy mainly in the retail and the airport sectors, although there is still a focus on light industry in the town.

Notable firms with headquarters in Luton include:
 * EasyJet – head office (originally EasyLand, later moved into Hangar 89) and main base at London Luton Airport
 * Impellam Group – headquarters at Capability Green
 * TUI UK (TUI Airways) – travel (Wigmore House)
 * Vauxhall Motors – headquarters (Chalton House)

Notable firms with offices in Luton include:
 * Anritsu – electronics
 * AstraZeneca – pharmaceuticals
 * Selex ES – aerospace
 * Ernst & Young – accountants
 * Whitbread – hospitality
 * Stonegate Pub Company – hospitality

Luton's post-war and more recent industrial decline has been compared to that of similar towns in northern England.

Employment
Of the town's working population (classified 16–74 years of age by the Office for National Statistics), 63% are employed. This figure includes students, the self-employed and those who are in part-time employment. 11% are retired, 8% look after the family or take care of the home and 5% are unemployed.

Transport

Luton is situated less than 30 mi north of the centre of London, giving it good links with the City and other parts of the country via rail and major roads such as the M1 (which serves the town from junctions 10 and 11) and the A6.

The town has three railway stations: Luton, Leagrave and Luton Airport Parkway that are served by East Midlands Railway and Thameslink services.

Luton is also home to London Luton Airport, one of the major feeder airports for London and the south-east. A light metro people mover track, Luton DART, opened in 2023, linking the airport and Luton Airport Parkway railway station.

A network of bus services run by Arriva Shires & Essex, Grant Palmer and Centrebus serves the urban area of Luton and Dunstable. A bus rapid transit route opened in 2013, called the Luton to Dunstable Busway, connecting the town with the airport, Dunstable and Houghton Regis. Hertfordshire-based bus operator Uno also run buses on their 'Dragonfly' 610 route to Hatfield, Potters Bar and Cockforsters

Luton is also served by a large taxi network. As a unitary authority, Luton Borough Council is responsible for the local highways and public transport in the borough and licensing of taxis.

Education
Luton is one of the main locations of the University of Bedfordshire. A large campus of the university is in Luton town centre, with a smaller campus based on the edge of town in Putteridge Bury, an old Victorian manor house. The other campuses of the university are located in Bedford, Milton Keynes and Aylesbury.

The town is home to Luton Sixth Form College and Barnfield College. Both have been awarded Learning & Skills Beacon Status by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Luton's schools and colleges had also been earmarked for major investment in the government scheme Building Schools for the Future programme, which intends to renew and refit buildings in institutes across the country. Luton is in the third wave of this long-term programme with work intending to start in 2009. Some schools were rebuilt before the programme was scrapped by the coalition government.

There are 98 educational institutes in Luton – seven nurseries, 56 primary schools (9 voluntary-aided, 2 special requirements), 13 secondary schools (1 voluntary-aided, 1 special requirements), four further educational institutes and four other educational institutes.

Architecture
The town contains 92 listed buildings.

Luton International Carnival
Luton International Carnival is the largest one-day carnival in Europe. It usually takes place on the late May Bank Holiday. Crowds can reach 150,000 on each occasion.

The procession starts at Wardown Park and makes its way down New Bedford Road, around the town centre via St George's Square, back down New Bedford Road and finishes back at Wardown Park. There are music stages and stalls around the town centre and at Wardown Park.

Luton is home to the UK Centre for Carnival Arts (UKCCA), the country's first purpose-built facility of its kind.

Luton St Patrick's Festival
The festival celebrating the patron saint of Ireland St Patrick and organised by Luton Irish Forum, is held on the weekend nearest to 17 March. In its 20th year in 2019, the festival includes a parade, market stalls and music stands as well as Irish themed events.

Luton Mela
The first Luton Melā took place in August 2000 and has developed into one of the most significant and well attended South Asian cultural events in the eastern region.

City of Culture bid and pilot year
Luton Council's strategic vision for the Arts, and Cultural and Creative industries includes the plan to bid for City of Culture Status. This plan includes a pilot year with the theme of Peace Riots starting in Spring 2019. Events will be published on the Luton.Events website.

Theatre and performing arts
Luton is home to the Library Theatre, a 238-seat theatre located on the 3rd floor of the town's Central Library. The theatre's programme consists of local amateur dramatic societies, pantomime, children's theatre (on Saturday mornings) and one night shows of touring theatre companies.

Luton is also home to the Hat Factory, originally as its name suggests, this arts centre was in fact a real hat factory. The Hat Factory is a combined arts venue in the centre of Luton. It opened in 2003 and since then has been the area's main provider of contemporary theatre, dance and music. The venue provides live music, club nights, theatre, dance, films, children's activities, workshops, classes and gallery exhibitions.

Radio

 * BBC Three Counties Radio, the local BBC station, broadcasts from its office in Dunstable to Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
 * Diverse FM began broadcasts in April 2007 having been awarded a community radio licence from Ofcom.
 * Radio LaB (formerly Luton FM), the university's radio station, began broadcasting full-time in 2010 having been awarded a community radio licence from Ofcom.

Television

 * Luton is served by London and East Anglia regional variations of the BBC and ITV. Television signals are received from either Crystal Palace or Sandy Heath TV transmitters. However, the local relay transmitter for Luton only broadcast programmes from Norwich.

Local attractions

 * Dunstable Downs
 * Leagrave Park
 * Leighton Buzzard Light Railway
 * The Hat Factory
 * Luton Hoo
 * Someries Castle
 * Stockwood Discovery Centre
 * Stockwood Park
 * Wardown Park
 * Wardown Park Museum
 * Waulud's Bank
 * Whipsnade Tree Cathedral
 * Whipsnade Zoo
 * Woburn Safari Park
 * Woodside Farm and Wildfowl Park
 * Wrest Park

Parks and open spaces
Luton has a variety of parks ranging from district parks, neighbourhood parks, local open space and leisure gardens.

Brantwood Park
In the 1880s, the land now known as Brantwood Park was an open field on the south side of Dallow. The site was purchased by the Town Council in 1894 for use as a recreation ground and there is reference to it as ‘West Ward Recreation Ground' in a 1911-year book. It is reported as being one of the first two recreation grounds in Luton; the other being East Ward Recreation Ground, now known as Manor Road Park.

Kidney Wood
Kidney Wood is ancient semi-natural woodland on the southern edge of Luton that has been identified as a County Wildlife Site. The wood was purchased by Luton Borough Council as an area of public open space. The council seeks to maintain and enhance the nature conservation interest of Kidney Wood, including its habitats while allowing public access for informal recreation including play. Kidney Wood includes a way marked nature trail and play dells.

Memorial Park
Sir Julius Wernher purchased the Luton Hoo Estate and the Manor of Luton from Madame de Falbe around 1903. He carried out substantial renovation works to the Manor and grounds. On his death in 1912 the estate passed to Lady Ludlow. Lady Ludlow presented the Park to the people of Luton on 12 June 1920, in memory of her son Alex Piggott Werner, who was killed in action during the First World War. The site is officially named Luton Hoo Memorial Park. Council records state that the area was purchased under the Statutory Powers of the Public Health Acts.

Stockwood Park

Stockwood Park is a large municipal park near Junction 10 of the M1. Located in the park is Stockwood Discovery Centre, a free museum that houses Luton local social history, archaeology and geology. The collection of rural crafts and trades held at Stockwood Discovery Centre was amassed by Thomas Wyatt Bagshawe, who was a notable local historian and a leading authority on folk life. The park has an athletics track, an 18-hole golf course, several rugby and football pitches and areas of open space. The park was originally the estate and grounds to Stockwood house, which was demolished in 1964. The museum includes the Mossman Collection of horse-drawn vehicles, which is the largest and most significant vehicle collection of its kind in the country, including originals from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Wardown Park

Wardown Park is situated on the River Lea in Luton. The park has sporting facilities, is home to the Wardown Park Museum and contains formal gardens. The park is located between Old Bedford Road and the A6, New Bedford Road and is within walking distance of the town centre. The park houses Wardown House Museum and Gallery, previously known as Luton Museum and Art Gallery, in a large Victorian mansion. The museum collection focuses on the traditional crafts and industry of Luton and Bedfordshire, notably lace making and hatmaking. There are samples of local lace from as early as the 17th century.

Shopping
The main shopping area in Luton is centred on the Mall Luton. Built in the 1960s/1970s and opened as an Arndale Centre, construction of the shopping centre led to the demolition of a number of the older buildings in the town centre, including the Plait Halls (a Victorian covered market building with an iron and glass roof). Shops and businesses in the remaining streets, particularly in the roads around Cheapside and in High Town, have been in decline ever since. George Street, on the south side of the Arndale, was pedestrianised in the 1990s.

The shopping centre had some construction and re-design work done to it over the 2011/12 period, with a new square built to be used for leisure events, as well as a number of new food restaurants. Contained within the main shopping centre is the market, which contains butchers, fishmongers, fruit and veg, hairdressers, tattoo parlours, ice cream, a flower stall, T-shirt printing and the market's original sewing shop for clothes alterations and repairs as well as eating places.

Another major shopping area is Bury Park where there are shops catering to Luton's ethnic minorities.

Sport

Luton has a wide range of sports clubs. It is the home town of Luton Town Football Club which in May 2023 achieved promotion to the English Premier League for the first time in their history which also includes several spells in the top flight of the English league as well as a League Cup triumph in 1988. They play at Kenilworth Road, their home since 1905, with a new larger capacity stadium known as Power Court under construction. Their nickname, 'The Hatters', dates back to when Luton had a substantial millinery industry, and their logo is based on the town's coat of arms.

Bedfordshire County Cricket Club is based at Wardown Park and is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Bedfordshire. Luton Rugby Club are a local rugby union club based on Newlands Road, by the M1 motorway just outside Stockwood Park, who play in London 1 North. Speedway racing was once staged at Luton Stadium from 1934 to 1937.

Twin towns
Luton participates in international town twinning; its partners are:

Notable people
People who were born in Luton or are associated with the town.

By birth

 * Mick Abrahams, guitarist for Jethro Tull
 * Keshi Anderson, footballer
 * David Arnold, composer
 * Emily Atack, actress
 * John Badham, film director
 * Lewis Baker, footballer
 * Clive Barker, sculptor and artist
 * Jonathan Barnbrook, graphic designer and typographer
 * Josh Bassett, rugby player
 * Kevin Blackwell, goalkeeper and football manager
 * Dean Brill, footballer
 * Charles Bronson, born Michael Peterson, prisoner
 * William Brown, footballer
 * Clive Bunker, drummer for Jethro Tull
 * Danny Cannon, screenwriter, director and producer
 * Gerald Anthony Coles, artist
 * Natasha Collins, actress and television presenter
 * Andy Day, television presenter
 * Steve Dillon, comic artist
 * Kerry Dixon, footballer
 * Stacey Dooley, journalist, television presenter and Strictly Come Dancing winner
 * Jamal Edwards, entrepreneur, author, director, DJ and founder of SB.TV
 * Jonathan Edwards, footballer
 * Kevin Foley, footballer
 * Sean Gallagher, actor
 * Liam George, footballer
 * John Hagan, 8th master chief petty officer, US Navy
 * Arthur Hailey, novelist
 * Nadiya Hussain, The Great British Bake Off winner
 * Neil Jackson, actor
 * Sharna Jackson, children's writer
 * James Justin, footballer
 * Stephen Kelman, novelist
 * Stuart Lewis-Evans, Formula One driver
 * Sean Maguire, footballer for Preston North End
 * Frederick Mander, General Secretary of the NUT
 * Sarfraz Manzoor, journalist and author
 * Herbert Moody, Luton Town footballer
 * Monty Panesar, cricketer
 * David Price, cricketer
 * Phil Read, motorcycle racer
 * David Renwick, scriptwriter
 * Stu Riddle, footballer
 * Tommy Robinson, born Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, activist
 * Lee Ross, actor
 * Billy Schwer, boxer
 * Andy Selway, drummer
 * Junior Simpson, comedian
 * Paul Sinha, comedian and quizzer
 * Zena Skinner, television chef and author
 * Steven M Smith, biologist
 * Will Smith, cricketer
 * David Stoten, storyboard artist
 * Jordan Thomas, World and European karate champion
 * Mark Titchner, artist
 * UK Decay, band
 * Richard Wiseman, psychologist
 * Jamie Woolford, rock musician for The Stereo, Animal Chin and Let Go
 * Paul Young, pop rock singer
 * Zuby, rapper

By association

 * Rodney Bewes, actor
 * Mo Chaudry, entrepreneur
 * Diana Dors, actress
 * Ian Dury, singer
 * Darrel N Gregory, Author
 * John Hegley, poet
 * Hilda Hewlett, UK's first female pilot
 * Alec Jeffreys, geneticist
 * Sarfraz Manzoor, author and columnist, The Guardian
 * Eric Morecambe, entertainer
 * Elizabeth Price, artist
 * Colin Salmon, actor
 * Andrew Tate, British-American ex-kickboxer and internet personality

Freedom of the Borough
The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Luton.

Individuals

 * John Still: 15 January 2015.
 * Rt Hon Lord McKenzie of Luton: 15 January 2015.
 * Viv Dunnington: 15 January 2015.

title: Luton


text:
Pope Sabinian

Pope Sabinian (Sabinianus) was the bishop of Rome from 13 September 604 to his death on 22 February 606. His pontificate occurred during the Eastern Roman domination of the papacy. He was the fourth former apocrisiarius to Constantinople to be elected pope.

Apocrisiariat
Sabinian was born at Blera (Bieda) near Viterbo. He had been sent by Pope Gregory I, who had a high opinion of him, as apocrisiarius to the imperial court in Constantinople. In 595, Gregory was angered by Sabinian's lack of resolution in discussion with Emperor Maurice about the disputed assumption of the title "ecumenical patriarch" by John IV of Constantinople. Sabinian was then recalled and sent on a mission to Gaul the same year. He returned to Rome in 597.

Pontificate
Sabinian was elected to succeed Gregory probably in March 604, but had to wait for imperial ratification before being consecrated in September. During his pontificate, Sabinian was seen as a counterfoil to Gregory I. The Liber pontificalis praises him for "filling the church with clergy", in contrast to Gregory, who tended to fill ecclesiastical positions with monks.

Sabinian incurred unpopularity by his unseasonable economies, although the Liber pontificalis states that he distributed grain during a famine at Rome under his pontificate. Whereas Gregory distributed grain to the Roman populace as invasion loomed, when the danger had passed Sabinian sold it to them. Because he was unable or unwilling to allow the people to have the grain for little or nothing, there grew up in later times a number of legends in which his predecessor was represented punishing him for avarice. Sabinian died 22 February 606. His funeral procession through the city had to change course to avoid hostile Romans.

Onofrio Panvinio, in his 1557 Epitome pontificum Romanorum, attributes to Sabinian the introduction of the custom of ringing bells at the canonical hours and the celebration of the Eucharist, hence expressions such as o'clock (latin clocca:a bell). The first attribution of this was in Guillaume Durand's thirteenth-century Rationale Divinorum Officiorum.

title: Pope Sabinian


text:
Talk:Albert Abrams

Untitled
This article seems to be a cut-and-paste dump of some public domain material. It's not NPOV, anda good chuck of the material has little to do with Albert Abrams specifically. This needs some work. --Stephen Gilbert

Author cite to v1.0.2 / 01 jan 02 / gvgoebel@yahoo.com / public domain removed, as per Wikipedia policy.

 * This is almost completely without citation or attribution. WHich bits are true, and which are POV?  Midgley 13:03, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

fraud
Given that the most striking thing about him was that he was a quack and fraud, should not this be in the first line of the article, or at least in the very top part - the part which among other things composes the snippet Google shows to people looking at the link? Midgley 12:02, 27 February 2006 (UTC)

Pgdurham (talk)Though much of Abram's work was discredited along with most energy medicine in the early 20th century, modern technology and renewed medical interests have determined that every living thing produces and interprets various electromagnetic fields. The scientific basis for energy medicines such as frequency specific microcurrent (FSM) and 'Healing Touch' (Reiki)are just now being understood. Read "Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis" by James L. Oschman to get a better understanding of these phenomena. Like many people ahead of their time, Abrams' practices were ridiculed and debunked. Meanwhile, FSM and other energy based medicines are appearing in more and more hospitals everyday. This wikipedia post seems heavily biased against Abrams and his work. Tesla was once considered to be a quack also.Pgdurham (talk) 06:13, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

What the hell does this have to do with Abrams? His machines were nothing but empty boxes filled with wires and they completely and utterly failed every single scientific test presented to them. Legend Saber (talk) 07:00, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

"Degree from Heidelberg"
Heidelberg at the end of the 19th century was both famous and a long way away from the US.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_5_26/ai_91236244

" an online copy of John L. Wilson's authorized history of "Stanford University School of Medicine and the Predecessor Schools, An Historical Perspective." A significant portion of Chapter 26 is devoted to Dr. Abrams. A very specific quote by Ray Lyman Wibur, M.D., as president of Stanford University in 1922, clarifies that Dr. Abrams was never a member of the Stanford University faculty:

May I call your attention to the enclosed clippings, apparently sent out from your office, indicating that Dr. Albert Abrams is connected with Leland Stanford University. The same error has been corrected several times. Dr. Abrams has never had any association with Stanford University. He is a graduate of Cooper Medical College, which was taken over by Stanford University long after his graduation. It is evident that Dr. Abrams, or someone associated with his publicity work, has tried to keep up the fiction of his association with Stanford. It seems to me bad enough for such a responsible institution as the Associated Press to herald far and wide the scientific rubbish of Dr. Abrams, and worse still to connect the name of the University in any way with such abstsrdities.

In addition, Haines apparently accepts Dr. Abrams's claim of a degree from the University of Heidelberg at face value. However, Dr. Wilson refers to Dr. Abrams supposed credentials as follows:

"Who's Who in America for 1922-1923 contains a lengthy entry on Albert Abrams, physician: 'Born in San Francisco 8 December 1863; M.D. University of Heidelberg, 1882; A.M. Portland University, 1892; and LL.D. (date and institution not specified).' The M.D. degree in 1883 from Cooper Medical College is not mentioned. When the American Medical Association sought to validate Abrams' credentials, it was found that he had previously given his date of birth variously as 1862, 1863 and 1864; that there was no evidence of his having received an M.D. degree from Heidelberg; and that there was no record of the existence of a "University of Portland" at the time. It would apprar that the LL.D. degree was also ephemeral.""

Not too surprisingly then it appears that this fraud was not a doctor. Can anyone dig up actual copies of the documents referred to above? Or a declaration by Heidelberg that a degree was awarded? Finally, why did anyone beleive that a medical degree could be acquired at the age of 18? 20 is pushing it, even then, which makes "as a teenager" look like very poor work for an encyclopaedist.

I am about to do a major edit on this article. Midgley 13:20, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

According to the Archive of the University of Heidelberg (Tgb.-Nr. 592/13; archiv@urz.uni-heidelberg.de), Albert Abrams has passed the examination for the medical doctor's degree at Heidelberg University on 21.11.1882. The overall grade was "cum laude".

There is no printed thesis available. The imprimatur was refused by Dr. Czerny because of Albert Abrams' bad German writing and spelling. The topic of his thesis was 'Hand-Gelenk-Resection'.

According to his own Curriculum Vitae, with which he applied for admission to the examination, he was born in San Francisco in 1860. He inscribed at Medical College of the Pacific on 08.10.1878 and got his medical doctor's degree on 30.10.1881. He worked there as an assistant of Prof. Douglass and Prof. Hirschfelder. After his doctor's degree he went to Heidelberg in 1881. Gekruemmel (talk) 19:13, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

Ripped to park
He became chief pathologist at the Cooper Medical Institute, later subsumed into the Stanford Medical School, and in 1893 was president of the San Francisco Medical-Surgical Society. He was regarded as a guru by other doctors in the city, and had published many articles in prominent medical journals.

Needs verifying. Latter part is hearsay and likely lies.

There remain various strictly unverified elements, including the refernce to Sci Am - anyone help on that? Midgley 13:42, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

Evolution of this article...
It is worth looking at the history to see how this article evolved.

The original was a dump of a page from elsewhere, the atribution of which was then removed, and documented high on this talk page.

Elements were stripped out to what is now electrical quackery which I suppose deserves a visit, but from its title is promising. WHat was left was about a con-artist called Abrams.

User:Redcountess, very early on in an attributable editing career, cleaned up what was then a mess, but crucially removed the identification of the man's nature, and accepted him as a doctor, making this the top piece. I reviewed Redcountess' contribution history and that looks like an isolated mistake, albeit I know little of several of the topics involved, in a lot of useful work and tidying.

User:David_Gerard made " a further attempt at NPOV". Unfortuantely, if you accept that a fraud is a doctor, then all the removal of the assertions he is a fraud do not improve the article, and indeed, don't produce a neutral POV, but a counter-factual one. In particular a change of "was a fraud" to "apepared he was a fraud" was simply wrong - the demonstration _was_ made. Att he same time he was tackling Xenu and OT3 and doing so credibly, so again this looks like a mistake early in what is from a review of contributions an eclectic, useful, and balanced career.

User:John Gohde whose name seems familiar moved the article from Category:Alternative medicine into People in alternative medicine, whcih if it is considered as a biographical article is fair enough, whereas if it is considered as an outstanding example of a health fraud, and typical of a type of health fraud, rather tends to cover it up.

User:71.162.33.62 made a visit as part of a general (and reverted) set of changes of Category:Quackery to Category:Alternative medicine. A long run of sophisticated change for an IP address. He also substituted a patient survey for http://www.ncahf.org/ National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF) as a reference and added dowsing tothe first paragraph, whch seems both inaccurate and irrelevant to me, but might merit discussion.

The result of this sequence was an article that was frankly not encyclopaedic, had no attribution or verification, and offered support to the fraudsters who continue to sell redionics devices ascribed to Royal Raymond Rife etc.

I'm afraid this is a systematic weakness in WP.

Comments? Midgley 14:26, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

The hallmark of a fraud rather than an "alternative practitioner"
Since there is another burst of rehabilitation, and reduction of the usefulness of WP as a reference work, going on at present, let me point this out:- "Alternative practitioners" not uncommonly claim that conventional medicine and conventional doctors are all wrong, or know nothing of higher things. What they don't do is claim to be qualified conventional doctors from Heidelberg. That takes him firmly over the boundary from someone who might be thought to be a quackish practitioner with some "ideas" that are not accepted conventionally for trivial reasons such as having been demonstrated to be wholly unfounded, wrong and empirically ineffective ... into the territory of the fraudster which he inhabited. Fraud is common, and health fraud is a common variety of it, and WP:IS not a tool to confuse people abut whether demonstrated fraudsters might actually be as careful and sensible as any proper doctor from Heidelberg, whether mit scars or sans Francisco. Got that? 82.152.46.201 21:41, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
 * User:Mois je croix is making edits which seem to me unhelpful. I have suggested he pays attention to this talk page, but he has not done so, as yet.  Midgley 22:53, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

The opening paragraph in its present state is a disgrace
''It is clear, none the less, that Abrams was able to diagnose ailments and diseases with considerable success. This in itself is not really surprising since he himself was a trained medical practitioner...'' (D.H. Rawcliffe, p.364, op. cit.)

It's no use arguing with people who wipe the words of Rawcliffe (a man who has done more than anyone else to debunk absurdities like Abrams' boxes, reflexophones, oscilloclasts, etc etc) off the page and replace them with their own distinctive brand of primitive, unreasonable and counterproductive POV pushing. The following remarks are strictly for the record:

1) In a reputable encyclopedia, a man who has not been convicted in a court of law cannot be called a "fraud".

2) In a reputable encyclopedia, a man, even if convicted, cannot be defined by a crime. (A musician who shot a man is not a killer who made music.)

3) In a reputable encyclopedia, people cannot be accused of "gullibility" without proof. (As a rule, people turn to unorthodox healers or outright quacks not because they believe in their methods, but because they cannot get any help elsewhere. Any exception to this rule would need documentation.)

4) In a reputable encyclopedia, theories, especially abstruse ones, are never presented without taking into account their historical context. ("Animal magnetism", "Electronic reactions", etc cannot be properly evaluated without a look at the sorry state of medical "science" in their times.)

MOI JE CROIS 10:57, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

NPOV tag
"A quack and a fraud" he may have been, but this is hardly the way to write an encyclopedic article. Hopefully somebody who actually cares about the topic will attempt to clean it up. Pairadox 20:00, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

intro to the article: "fraud" vs. "posing as a doctor"
Although Abrams fraudulently claimed to have qualified in medicine from the University of Heidelberg, the first footnote (http://elane.stanford.edu/wilson/Text/26f.html) states that he was awarded an M. D. by Cooper Medical College in 1883. He therefore was not "posing as a doctor" but was a doctor. In order to maintain NPOV, I propose changing the introduction to the article to something along these lines: "Albert Abrams (1863-1924) was an American doctor, well known during his life for inventing machines which he claimed could diagnose and cure almost any disease. These claims were challenged from the outset.  Towards the end of his life, and again shortly after his death, these claims were conclusively demonstrated to be both false and intentionally deceptive." Lamaybe 09:05, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

Main source of this article found
This article at Buzzle.com seems to be the main source of the Wiki article. Some of it is paraphrased and some is cut and paste. There may be enough cut and past to make this article eligible to be nominated for deletion on the grounds of copyright infringement. I am relatively new to Wiki and have never nominated an article for deletion, so I am hesitant to do so. (I DID read the article on nominating pirated material for deletion and I'm still hesitant.) Buzzle does not require an NPOV, so the NPOV problems in this article mostly originate in the over-rleiance on this one source.

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/3-12-2004-51600.asp —Preceding unsigned comment added by JRWoodwardMSW (talk • contribs) 20:46, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

This quack was supported by Watchtower cult
This quack was supported by the watchtower cult, but this article has nothing about this fact.At these times, medicine was mainly useless, against deseases.The hate against this quack, was more because of money, than anything else.The biggest foes of this quack were also eugenicists and racists.In fact, American Medical Association never was against eugenic sterilization.This quack was a charlatan and a bad man, but he wasn't a devil, compared to many doctors of his time.Agre22 (talk) 22:29, 8 June 2008 (UTC)agre22

The site http://www.freeminds.com/history/quackery.htm has some information about the link between this quack and watchtower.This same cult gave support to other quacks: George Starr White, Andrew Still , Daniel Palmer , Charles Betts ,etc. Agre22 (talk) 21:56, 13 June 2008 (UTC)agre22

External links modified
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I have just modified 5 external links on Albert Abrams. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20131110051905/http://elane.stanford.edu/wilson/html/chap26/chap26-sect6.html to http://elane.stanford.edu/wilson/html/chap26/chap26-sect6.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20060214023220/http://elane.stanford.edu/wilson/ to http://elane.stanford.edu/wilson/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20131110051905/http://elane.stanford.edu/wilson/html/chap26/chap26-sect6.html to http://elane.stanford.edu/wilson/html/chap26/chap26-sect6.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20060716084138/http://www.seanet.com/~raines/abrams.html to http://www.seanet.com/~raines/abrams.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20060708041044/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/felfield/SURVEY.pdf to http://homepage.ntlworld.com/felfield/SURVEY.pdf

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title: Talk:Albert Abrams


text:
1320s BC

The 1320s BC is a decade which lasted from 1329 BC to 1320 BC.

Events

 * 1324 BC-Death of Pharaoh Tutankhamun of Egypt.
 * 1324 BC-Ay succeeds Tutankhamun
 * 1323 BC-18th Dynasty comes to an end.
 * 1319 BC-The reign of Ay comes to an end.

title: 1320s BC