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Yitzhak Shamir

Yitzhak Shamir (יצחק שמיר, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh prime minister of Israel, serving two terms (1983–1984, 1986–1992). Before the establishment of the State of Israel, Shamir was a leader of the Zionist militant group Lehi, also known as the Stern Gang.

Yitzhak Shamir grew up in interwar Poland. Shamir joined Betar, the paramilitary wing of Revisionist Zionist Ze'ev Jabotinsky's Hatzohar political party. In 1935, Shamir emigrated from Białystok to British Palestine, where he worked in an accountant's office. Shamir joined the Revisionist Zionist Irgun paramilitary group led by Menachem Begin. During World War II the Irgun split over the question of whether to support the Axis Powers against the British Empire. Avraham Stern and Shamir sought an alliance with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany and formed the breakaway militia group Lehi. Lehi was unable to persuade the Axis powers to lend it support. Shamir led Lehi after Stern's assassination in 1942. In 1944 Shamir married Lehi member Shulamit Levy. During the 1948 Palestine war, Lehi and the Irgun committed the Deir Yassin massacre of over 100 Palestinians.

After the establishment of the Israeli state Shamir served in Mossad between 1955 and 1965. Shamir directed Operation Damocles and resigned from Mossad after Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion ordered end to the program. In 1969 Shamir joined Menachem Begin's Herut Party. Shamir was first elected to the Knesset in 1973 as a member of the Likud alliance of parties. Shamir served as Speaker of the Knesset after Likud became the first right-wing Israeli government after winning the 1977 Israeli legislative election against Prime Minister Shimon Peres' Alignment. Shamir was named Foreign Minister by Prime Minister Begin in 1980 and would serve in this post until 1986. Shamir was Foreign Minister during the 1982 Israel invasion of Lebanon.

Shamir won the 1983 Herut leadership election to succeed Begin as party leader, which made him Prime Minister and leader of the Likud. Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir lost the 1984 election to Peres. Peres and Shamir entered into a grand coalition deal where Peres became prime minister while Shamir remained foreign minister until 1986, when Peres and Shamir traded jobs. The First Intifada began in 1987 and Shamir resisted a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Shamir unified the Likud alliance into one party in 1988. Shamir reluctantly restarted the Israeli–Palestinian peace process at the behest of the United States and Soviet Union which culminated in the Madrid Conference of 1991. Shamir lost the 1992 Israeli legislative election to Yitzhak Rabin and in 1993 Benjamin Netanyahu replaced him as Likud leader.

Early life
Yitzhak Yezernitsky was born in the predominantly Jewish village of Ruzhany, Bialystok-Grodno District of Ober Ost, shortly thereafter incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland (now in Belarus), as the son of Perla and Shlomo, owner of a leather factory. Shamir later moved to Białystok and studied at a Hebrew high school network. As a youth, Yezernitsky joined Betar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement. Yezernitsky studied law at the University of Warsaw, but cut his studies short in order to emigrate to what was then Mandatory Palestine in 1935. Shamir was the surname Yitzhak Yezernitsky used on a forged underground identity card. Once in British Palestine, Yitzhak Yezernitsky changed his surname to Shamir. He later said Shamir means a thorn that stabs and a rock that can cut steel. Shamir initially worked in an accountant's office.

Lehi leadership
Shamir joined the Irgun Zvai Leumi, a Zionist paramilitary group that opposed British control of Palestine. During World War II the Irgun split over the question of whether to support the Axis Powers against the British Empire. Avraham Stern and Shamir sought an alliance with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany and formed the more militant breakaway militia group Lehi.

Lehi was unable to persuade the Axis powers to lend it support and became widely known as the Stern Gang. Yitzhak Shamir was imprisoned by British authorities in 1941. A few months after Stern was killed by the British in 1942, Shamir and Eliyahu Giladi hid under a stack of mattresses in a warehouse of the detention camp at Mazra'a, and at night escaped through the barbed wire fences of the camp. Shamir became the leader of the Stern Gang, and, together with Giladi, Anshell Shpillman and Yehoshua Cohen, reorganized the movement into cells and trained its members. In his memoirs, Shamir admitted in 1994 what had long been suspected: that the killing of Giladi in 1943 was ordered by Shamir himself, allegedly due to Giladi advocating the assassination of David Ben-Gurion, and arguing for other violence deemed too extremist by fellow Stern members.

Lehi leadership consisted of a troika of Yitzhak Shamir, Nathan Yellin-Mor and Israel Eldad. Shamir sought to emulate the anti-British struggle of the Irish Republicans and took the nickname "Michael" after Irish Republican leader Michael Collins. Shamir plotted the 1944 assassination of Lord Moyne, British Minister for Middle East Affairs, and personally selected Eliyahu Hakim and Eliyahu Bet-Zuri to carry it out. Moyne had been targeted due to his perceived role as an architect of British restrictions on Jewish immigration to Palestine, and in particular, the Patria disaster, which was blamed on him.

In 1944 Shamir married fellow Lehi member Shulamit, Shamir had first met Shulamit in a detention camp where she was incarcerated after the ship on which she sailed to Mandate Palestine from Bulgaria in 1941 was declared illegal. They would have two children, Yair and Gilada.

Shamir's parents and two sisters were murdered in the Holocaust. Shamir claimed his father was killed just outside his birthplace in Ruzhany by villagers who had been his childhood friends after he had escaped from a German train transporting Jews to the death camps, though this was never confirmed. His mother and a sister were murdered in the concentration camps, and another sister was shot dead. Shamir once told Ehud Olmert that when his father, living under Nazi occupation, had been informed that the extermination of the Jews was imminent, his father had replied that "I have a son in the Land of Israel, and he will exact my revenge on them".

In July 1946, Shamir was arrested. He had been walking in public in disguise and a British police sergeant, T.G. Martin, recognized him by his bushy eyebrows. Arrested, he was exiled to Africa, and interned in Eritrea by British Mandatory authorities. Lehi members subsequently tracked down and killed Martin in September 1946. On January 14, 1947, Shamir and four Irgun members escaped the Sembel Prison (a British Detention Camp) through a tunnel they had dug, 200 feet in length, and Mayer Malka of Khartoum subsequently arranged for them to be hidden in an oil truck for three days as it was driven over the border to French Somaliland. They were re-arrested by the French authorities, but Shamir with Malka's assistance was eventually allowed passage to France and granted political asylum. Lehi sent him a forged passport, with which he entered Israel after the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.

1948 Deir Yassin massacre
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Lehi became most famous for the Deir Yassin massacre. From April 9 to 11, 1948 around 130 fighters from Irgun and Lehi violated a peace deal with the village of Deir Yassin and killed at least 107 Palestinian Arab villagers, nearly all civilians. Some villagers who had hidden or pretended to be dead were killed by Lehi men on April 10 or 11. News of the killings sparked terror among Palestinians across the country, frightening them to flee their homes in the face of Jewish troop advances and it strengthened the resolve of Arab governments to intervene, which they did five weeks later.

Lehi met fierce resistance from the Labor Zionist establishment in Israel as well as the broader Jewish diaspora for emulating European fascism. When Menachim Begin visited New York City in December 1948 over twenty prominent Jewish intellectuals condemned the Irgun and Lehi for their part in the Deir Yassin massacre in an open letter to The New York Times. The letter was signed by over twenty prominent Jewish intellectuals, including Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt, Zellig Harris, and Sidney Hook. A shocking example was their behavior in the Arab village of Deir Yassin. This village, off the main roads and surrounded by Jewish lands, had taken no part in the war, and had even fought off Arab bands who wanted to use the village as their base. On April 9 (THE NEW YORK TIMES), terrorist bands attacked this peaceful village, which was not a military objective in the fighting, killed most of its inhabitants (240 men, women, and children) and kept a few of them alive to parade as captives through the streets of Jerusalem. Most of the Jewish community was horrified at the deed, and the Jewish Agency sent a telegram of apology to King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan. But the terrorists, far from being ashamed of their act, were proud of this massacre, publicized it widely, and invited all the foreign correspondents present in the country to view the heaped corpses and the general havoc at Deir Yassin. ...

During the last years of sporadic anti-British violence, the IZL and Stern groups inaugurated a reign of terror in the Palestine Jewish community. Teachers were beaten up for speaking against them, adults were shot for not letting their children join them. By gangster methods, beatings, window-smashing, and wide-spread robberies, the terrorists intimidated the population and exacted a heavy tribute. ... Within the Jewish community they have preached an admixture of ultranationalism, religious mysticism, and racial superiority.

After the backlash to the massacre, the Lehi troika of Shamir, Eldad, and Yellin-Mor formally disbanded most of the organization on May 29, 1948 but continued to lead a minority of the membership from Jerusalem. Lehi leadership continued to be outside of Israeli government control while most of its former membership joined the newly formed Israel Defense Forces. During a UN-imposed truce, Shamir, Eldad, and Yellin-Mor authorized the assassination of the United Nations representative in the Middle East, Count Folke Bernadotte, who was killed in September 1948, when Lehi gunmen ambushed his motorcade in Jerusalem. Lehi had feared that Israel would agree to Bernadotte's peace proposals, which they considered disastrous, unaware that the provisional Israeli government had already rejected a proposal by Bernadotte the day before. The Israeli provisional government drafted an ordinance for the prevention of terrorism and then invoked it to declare Lehi a terrorist organisation, consequently rounding up 200 of its members for "administrative detention" (prison). They were granted amnesty some months later and given a state pardon.

Mossad
In the first years of Israel's independence, Shamir managed several commercial enterprises. In 1955, he joined Mossad, serving until 1965. During his Mossad career, he directed Operation Damocles, the assassinations of German rocket scientists working on the Egyptian missile programme.

He ran a unit that placed agents in hostile countries, created the Mossad's division for planning and served on its General Staff.

Shamir resigned from the Mossad in protest over the treatment of Mossad Director-General Isser Harel, who had been compelled to resign after Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion ordered an end to Operation Damocles.

Political career
In 1969, Shamir joined the Herut party headed by Menachem Begin and was first elected to the Knesset in 1973 as a member of the Likud. He became Speaker of the Knesset in 1977, and Foreign Minister in 1980 which he remained until 1986, concurrently serving as prime minister from October 1983 to September 1984 after Begin's resignation.

Shamir had a reputation as a Likud hard-liner. In 1977 he presided at the Knesset visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. He abstained in the Knesset votes to approve the Camp David Accords and the Peace Treaty with Egypt. In 1981 and 1982, as Foreign Minister, he guided negotiations with Egypt to normalize relations after the treaty. Following the 1982 Lebanon War he directed negotiations which led to the May 17, 1983 Agreement with Lebanon, which did not materialize.

Prime Minister
Shamir won the 1983 Herut leadership election against David Levy to succeed Begin as leader of Herut, the Likud, and Prime Minister of Israel. Shamir won reelection as party leader in the 1984 Herut leadership election, defeating a challenge from Ariel Sharon. His failure to stabilize Israel's inflationary economy and to suggest a solution to the quagmire of Lebanon led to an indecisive election in 1984. Shamir lost the election but was able to retain his post as foreign minister in a national unity government between the Likud alliance and the Alignment led by Prime Minister Shimon Peres. As part of the agreement, Peres held the post of Prime Minister until September 1986, when Shamir returned to the prime ministership and Peres became foreign minister.

As he prepared to reclaim the office of prime minister, Shamir's hard-line image appeared to moderate. However, Shamir remained reluctant to change the status quo in Israel's relations with its Arab neighbours and blocked Peres's initiative to promote a regional peace conference as agreed in 1987 with King Hussein of Jordan in what has become known as the London Agreement. Re-elected in 1988, Shamir and Peres formed a new coalition government until "the dirty trick" of 1990, when the Alignment left the government, leaving Shamir with a narrow right-wing coalition. During this period the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip launched the first Intifada, which was suppressed with force by the Israeli government.

Shamir urged the US government to stop granting refugee visas to Soviet Jews, persuading it that they were not refugees because they already had a homeland in Israel and were only moving to the United States for economic reasons. He also termed the emigration of Soviet Jews to the United States rather than to Israel "defection", and called the issuing of US refugee visas to Soviet Jews when Israel was already willing to take them in "an insult to Israel". In 1989, a wave of Jewish emigration began from the Soviet Union after the Soviets allowed their Jewish population to emigrate freely. In October of that year, the US agreed to his requests and stopped issuing refugee visas to Soviet emigrants. Subsequently, Israel became the main destination of Soviet Jewish emigrants. Over one million Soviet immigrants would subsequently arrive in Israel, many of whom would have likely gone to the United States had Shamir not pressed the US government to change its policy.

In September 1989, a journalist for the Jerusalem Post asked Shamir, "Doesn't it amaze you that in Poland, where hardly a Jew is left, there should still be a powerful anti-Semitic presence?" Shamir replied "They suck it in with their mother's milk! This is something that is deeply imbued in their tradition, their mentality." The comment caused public and diplomatic controversy within Poland as being libelous. Adam Michnik later addressed the comment by stating "the stubborn categorization of Poland as an anti-Semitic nation was used in Europe and America as an alibi for the betrayal of Poland at Yalta. The nation so categorized was seen as unworthy of sympathy, or of help, or of compassion."

In a 1996 interview with the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, Shamir said the controversy was based on a misunderstanding of what he said:

"Once these words were published out of context, I did not find it necessary to straighten them out, because any reasonable person should understand that they should not be read literally. It is known that mother's food does not contain any ingredients that affect the formation of an infant's consciousness when it grows up and begins to think. These words were a metaphor to express the idea that anti-Semitic feelings or views, as well as many other positive and negative feelings and views, come from the family home."

During the Gulf War, Iraq fired Scud missiles at Israel, many of which struck population centers. Iraq hoped to provoke Israeli retaliation and thus alienate Arab members of the United States-assembled coalition against Iraq. Shamir deployed Israeli Air Force jets to patrol the northern airspace with Iraq. However, after the United States and the Netherlands deployed Patriot antimissile batteries to protect Israel, and US and British special forces began hunting for Scuds, Shamir responded to American calls for restraint, recalled the jets, and agreed not to retaliate.

During his term, Shamir reestablished diplomatic relations between Israel and several dozen African, Asian and other countries. In May 1991, as the Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Mariam was collapsing, Shamir ordered the airlifting of 14,000 Ethiopian Jews, known as Operation Solomon. He continued his efforts, begun in the late 1960s, to bring Soviet Jewish refugees to Israel. Shamir restored diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Israel in October 1991, and following its dissolution, established relations between Israel and his native Belarus in May 1992. Shamir was dedicated to bringing Jews from all over the world to Israel, and called on American Jews to emigrate to Israel in spite of a higher standard of living in the US, saying that he expected even American Jewish youth to realize that "man does not live by bread alone" but to "learn and understand Jewish history, the Bible... and reach the only conclusion: to come on aliya to Israel."

Relations with the US were strained in the period after the war over the Madrid peace talks, which Shamir opposed. As a result, US President George H. W. Bush was reluctant to approve loan guarantees to help absorb immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Finally, Shamir gave in and in October 1991 participated in the Madrid talks. His narrow, right-wing government collapsed, and new elections were necessarily called.

In a February 1992 leadership election, Shamir retained his leadership of Likud, defeating challenges from David Levy and Ariel Sharon.

One of Shamir's last acts as Prime Minister was to approve the 16 February 1992 assassination of the leader of Hizbullah, Sheikh Abbas al-Musawi.

Electoral defeat and retirement

Shamir was defeated by Yitzhak Rabin's Labour in the 1992 election. He stepped down from the Likud leadership in March 1993 but remained a member of the Knesset until the 1996 election. For some time, Shamir was a critic of his Likud successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, as being too indecisive in dealing with the Arabs. Shamir went so far as to resign from the Likud in 1998 and endorse Herut, a right-wing splinter movement led by Benny Begin, which later joined the National Union during the 1999 election. After Netanyahu was defeated, Shamir returned to the Likud fold and supported Ariel Sharon in the 2001 election. He was placed honorary 120th last spot on the Likud list in the 2003 Israeli legislative election. Subsequently, in his late eighties, Shamir ceased making public comments.

Illness and death
In 2004, Shamir's health declined, with the progression of his Alzheimer's disease, and he was moved to a nursing home. The government turned down a request by the family to finance his stay at the facility.

Shulamit Shamir died on July 29, 2011. Less than a year later, Yitzhak Shamir died on the morning of June 30, 2012, at a nursing home in Tel Aviv where he had spent the last few years as a result of the Alzheimer's disease he had suffered since the mid-1990s. He was given a state funeral, which took place on July 2 at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, and was buried beside his wife, Shulamit, who had died the previous year. As his body was lying in state Speaker of the Knesset Reuven Rivlin laid a wreath on his coffin and said: "You're cast stone, Isaac, unbreakable. Bearing on your shoulders the burden of this nation the past and the future. Remembering in your heart the ashes of the crematoria and the hope of redemption. Nothing could distract you out of your way. Iron tools and weapons of destruction could not touch you, could not threaten you. Flattery, bribery, and double talk—were never on your tongue, were not part of your language. Only one small weakness relentlessly gnawed at you. Only one small weakness managed to break through the solid rock to carve the stones, and build from them the foundations to establish the kingdom of Israel. It was love: Your love of this persecuted people; your love of the homeland of our fathers, of the land of eternity; your love of your children, your home; your love of your Shulamit. ... Sir, commander of Israel's Freedom Fighters, my man, Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, my honored Prime Minister of Israel and an eternal soldier. On my behalf, on behalf of your friends and subordinates; on behalf of the congregation of Israel, on behalf of anonymous soldiers, in the service of the country and in the underground; in the name of the State of Israel, we bow our heads to you. You were dedicated to the people all your life, and now 'from duty be released only by death.' In a few hours we'll say our goodbyes, when you'll be interred in the ground of Jerusalem, the ground of this good land, for which you have lived and fought."

Shamir was buried at Mount Herzl.

Commemoration
Israeli President Shimon Peres said that "Yitzhak Shamir was a brave warrior for Israel, before and after its inception. He was a great patriot and his enormous contribution will be forever etched in our chronicles. He was loyal to his beliefs and he served his country with the utmost dedication for decades. May he rest in peace." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement upon hearing of his death that read: "[Shamir] led Israel with a deep loyalty to the nation. [The Prime Minister] expresses his deep pain over the announcement of the departure of Yitzhak Shamir. He was part of a marvelous generation which created the state of Israel and struggled for the Jewish people." This was despite previous feuds between the two once-Likud members. He was also mourned in the Knesset.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman added that Shamir "contributed greatly to the foundation of the state, which he served his entire life with loyalty and unwavering dedication. He set an example in each position that he held. I had the privilege to be personally acquainted with Shamir, and I will always remember him and his great contribution to the state;" while Defense Minister Ehud Barak said: "His whole life, Shamir was as stable as granite and maintained focus without compromises. He always strived to ensure Israel's freedom. His devotion knew no bounds [and he] always sought what's right for the people of Israel and for the country's security."

Leader of the Opposition and Labor Party head Shelly Yachimovich offered her condolences to Shamir's family saying that "he was a determined prime minister who dedicated his life to the state. He followed his ideological path honestly and humbly, as a leader should. The citizens of Israel will always remember the wisdom he demonstrated during the First Gulf War. He showed restraint and saved Israel from undue entanglement in the Iraq War. This decision proved to be a brave and wise act of leadership." His daughter Gilada Diamant said: "[My father] belonged to a different generation of leaders, people with values and beliefs. I hope that we have more people like him in the future. His political doing has undoubtedly left its mark on the State of Israel. Dad was an amazing man, a family man in the fullest sense of the word, a man who dedicated himself to the State of Israel but never forgot his family, not even for a moment. He was a special man."

Awards and recognition
In 2001, Shamir received the Israel Prize, for his lifetime achievements and special contribution to society and the State of Israel.

Published works
He wrote Sikumo shel davar, a book which was published in English by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, as Summing Up: An autobiography (1994).

Overview of offices held
Shamir twice served as prime minister (Israel's head of government). His first stint spanned from 10 October 1983 through 13 September 1984, leading the 20th government during the latter portion of the 10th Knesset. His second stint lasted from 20 October 1986 through 13 July 1992, leading the 22nd government during the latter half of the 11th Knesset, and 23rd and 24th governments during the 12th Knesset.

Shamir was a member of the Knesset from after his 1973 election until 1996. During the first portion of the 13th Knesset Shamir served as the Knesset's opposition leader (at the time an unofficial and honorary role) from July 1992 through March 1993.

Shamir became leader of Herut and Likud in 1983, leading Likud until 1993.

title: Yitzhak Shamir


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Talk:Diaspora

Word has no definition?
"This has since changed, and today there is no set definition of the term because its modern meaning has evolved over time" - how can you have a word with "no set definition"? All words in a language"evolve over time", which is precisely why we have dictionaries. They provide both historical and current meanings. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.243.63.16 (talk) 15:30, 10 December 2020 (UTC)

Removed wrong source
Editor ChronoFrog (started & stopped editing in 2016) was apparently chased out of WP, anyway, the cuckoo's egg he left us with damaged the article. I stumbled on the book by J.N. Tubb, which -at least for the first of the 2 alleged "quotations" present on the page- was introduced by ChronoFrog (see here). I lack the patience to check if it was ChronoFrog who brought it in again for the second time. Both times it was based on a mistake - either a honest one, or an attempt to make some POV thesis look more plausible. I've now removed the "source" altogether. If anyone can find something useful for this topic in the book, here it is:

The 1st use claims that the Canaanites are the proven ancestors of the main three different groups of Jews: Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Mizrachi. It looks like an intentional "spin" rooted in ChronoFrog's personal agenda:
 * Tubb pp.13–14 can in no way be construed as to suggest what's written there. Logically, a link must be proven between the Canaanites and the enumerated ethnic groups; pp. 13-14 do nothing of the kind.

The 2nd use is so wrong, it's beyond comprehension: So NOTHING in this two "quotations" looks relevant or correct. I'm afraid that there might be more such junk in the article. Arminden (talk) 22:08, 12 January 2021 (UTC)
 * 1) At Google Books there is unrestricted access to p. 40, unlike at the indicated archive.org URL.
 * 2) "The Canaanites and Their Land." is not a "quote"; maybe a heading?
 * 3) It's NOT on p. 40.
 * 4) Page 40 only deals with the excavation site at Tell es-Sa'idiyeh, and there is NOTHING, not a single word there about any diaspora.

First use in English
The page currently states that the OED Online has the first use of the word "diaspora" in English being in 1876, in the context of Protestant evangelism in continental Europe. However, it actually appeared in an 1856 biography of the Wesleyan James Hutton, and was used in a review of the same book appearing in both the Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser and the Wells Journal of 31 January 1857. Nick Cooper (talk) 10:41, 20 December 2021 (UTC)

"The largest Asian diaspora, and in the world, is the Indian diaspora"
India will be the world's most populous country sometime this year, many of its people would benefit from emigration, and many countries would benefit from having more Indians and better curry... but no the Chinese diaspora is presumably much larger.

This claim is unsourced and any supposed source would need to be checked against bias and knowing what it was even talking about. Our article on Overseas Chinese pegs that total at 40m. Might be wrong. More likely on the low end, especially in Southeast Asia. Might include populations we don't include here. That might run up against the fact ethnic Han often consider themselves Chinese and American/British/Australian/Botswanan/whathaveyou. Might run up against the fact Chinese minorities might not consider themselves 'Chinese' as English understands it—basically Han most of the time—even while they're in China or just across the Burmese border.

There needs to be greater clarity next to the Indian claim and a sourced explanation of the number used for the Chinese. (Currently this article passes by that total in silence.) — Llywelyn II   14:34, 5 March 2023 (UTC)

Diaspora and Colonization: A False Etymology?
Sociologist Stéphane Dufoix makes a compelling case that there is no basis for the idea that "diaspora" originally referred to Greek colonization or Greek settlement.

Unless we can back up the references on this article which currently endorse that idea, and I mean by going back and checking the Greek originals they invoke but don't cite, we need to remove all such references.

It's certainly interesting that so many articles and books endorse the idea. Maybe the general confusion is worth mentioning? But Dufoix brings actual, convincing evidence that no connection between the word "diaspora" and Greek colonization existed, and until we can find evidence to the contrary, I think we need to start removing references to the idea.

There are several such references, which is why I wanted to bring this up in the Talk page before I just started deleting. Forfinneganssake (talk) 16:45, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

 * We've already clarified on this article that the word accomodates in summary those who identify with a land, whilst being away from that land. Any definition prior to that, like "exile" or a "forced displacement" is secondary to the established meaning; if we trim references to Ancient Greece and Greek, we have to continue to do so with others for continuity and readability. Please bring citations foward proving the original meaning of diaspora before removing cited information though, as there does seem to be sources provided that confirm references to a Greek, Hellenic diaspora intially. Per WP:RELIABILITY, those sources are good enough. JJNito197 (talk) 20:27, 26 July 2023 (UTC)
 * I'm not suggesting we "trim" references. I'm saying that the second line in the article, which reads, "Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world," appears to be factually incorrect. There are similar such lines.
 * I've already started to bring citations as I edit, as you've already seen. We can all make sure that we maintain continuity and readability as we make these needed changes. Forfinneganssake (talk) 16:36, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

 * The thing is, if we adapt that sentence without removing the part about the Jewish diaspora it makes even less sense, as the word wasn't first used in the Septuagint. We can leave the fact that the word originates in Greek, and by proxy the Hellenic world, and by proxy Greeks for historicity purposes. If we remove the "first used" part, we need to rid the first paragraph of unhelful terminology in the modern-day context, being that the first and last sentences summarise the definition succinctly and is all-encompassing to those who identify as belonging to a diaspora. Many moved countries willingly, that doesn't make them "exiled" or "displaced forcefully". These are specific terms and can only be applied in specific cases. Some people think that diaspora means foremostly "exiled peoples", "displaced peoples", or as a result of "colonisation", which is antiquated in the modern-day context. Alternatively, we can remove the entire sentence or adapt the sentence accordingly per talk page consensus if needs be. JJNito197 (talk) 18:15, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
 * The word was first used in the Septuagint! Robin Cohen, a scholar largely responsible for spreading the idea that the word once referred to Greek colonization, admits he was wrong in the most recent edition (2022) of his book Global Diasporas. Earlier editions of Cohen's book are cited by several of this article's sources (for example, the Encyclopedia Britannica entry on diaspora).
 * Here's what Cohen writes: "The earlier the word diaspora can be used to describe the variety of ancient Jewish, Greek and (soon after) Armenian dispersions, the sooner the range and riches of the term can be validated and freed of its narrow Deuteronomistic legacy.... However, I will readily concede that in the case of the ancient Greek settlements, etymologists, theologians and a significant section of historians and classicists could reasonably regard this as illegitimate." (pp. 186–87; my italics)
 * In other words, Cohen thinks applying the word before the Septuagint is theoretically useful, but he admits it's not historically accurate.
 * Even with that admission, Cohen tries to cite Kevin Kenny's Diaspora: A Very Short Introduction as evidence that the word was used before the Septuagint. Unfortunately for Cohen, Kenny (on p. 2) cites Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War, II, 27. As this article now shows in the etymology section, Thucydides doesn't use the word diaspora in that passage.
 * I agree with everything else you wrote. My only concern is that this article be accurate. And on the point that the word originally referred to Greek colonization or settlement, which is not accurate, it needs to be updated. I can even concede that the Septuagint is the first known use of the word, but it is the first, as I hope you agree based on these sources. Forfinneganssake (talk) 19:42, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
 * I can work with that cessation, but for practicality sake, we could remove the sentence altogether. On the contrary, I think it would be useful to specify that the Greek usage, oral or written, contrasts with with the later exilic theme in the Septuagint, focusing particularly on its inception. I agree with you that the word diaspora is historically affiliated with the scattered Jews mentioned in the Bible, and thus it should be given its due weight in the etymology and definition subheaders beneath the lead. It can be given the preeminent space of the first diasporic community of note mentioned on that second paragraph? I think that the first paragraph is supposed to summarise the article, and it does so exceptionally well without the second sentence. Regarding that cite, given that Cohen is still leaving the option to be debated with the usage of "could", it is not really conclusive as revelatory as his eureka moment seems. But his conclusion does beg answers for certain questions... Let us not forget that Cohens understanding of the word is in regards to it being of a similar usage to that desribed in the Septuagint, which we've already affirmed is an outdated appropriation of the original meaning: διασπορά (diaspora) "scattering". Does the mutual understanding we have for a word come from its root or its (re)application? JJNito197 (talk) 21:59, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Let's remove the sentence altogether, as you suggest. A historical definition can wait for its section.
 * Cohen's "could," I sense, is an attempt to save face after 25 years spreading an inaccuracy. As if his version of things might, historically, still be plausible.
 * No, I'm certainly not trying to contest the many (re)applications of the word, which now have their own validity. These have the priority in an article like this. Forfinneganssake (talk) 23:33, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
 * No problem with this, and yes it should be explained in greater detail later on in the article as you are doing. Thanks JJNito197 (talk) 17:49, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

dia+spora Etymology in Greek
Zeus is not a part of the etymology. The Greek meaning was "sowing (seed)." This was done by hand, hence "scattering." Liddell Scott and Jones, the standard Greek lexicon, gives examples of metaphorical uses of the root verb, diaspeiro, meaning "scattering abroad" and "squandering" (by scattering to the winds) in Herodotus and Xenophon (5th cent BCE), and passive voice "to be scattered abroad" in Sophocles (5th cent BCE) and "scattering troops abroad" in Thucydides (5th century BCE).

διασπείρω 1

to scatter abroad, throw about, of money, Hdt.; δ. λόγον Xen.: to squander, Soph.:—Pass. to be scattered abroad, aor2 διεσπάρην [α^ ], id=Soph.; of soldiers, Thuc. Meerkat77 (talk) 04:10, 7 November 2023 (UTC)

Native Americans/American Indians
Would it be worth mentioning the internal displacement of Native Americans/American Indians in the United States? I think it is safe to say that the majority of Indians no longer live in their pre-Columbian ancestral homelands. Some Indians were forcibly removed by the federal government while others voluntarily migrated from reservations to metropolitan areas in search of better opportunities. This would probably belong in the Internal diasporas section since most Indians still live in the United States. I noticed that the See Also section contains links to the articles about the Trail of Tears and the Long Walk of the Navajo. 2601:246:5180:87E0:149E:107D:C874:3998 (talk) 01:16, 29 December 2023 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Diaspora


text:
Continental Army

The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia after the war's outbreak. The Continental Army was created to coordinate military efforts of the colonies in the war against the British, who sought to maintain control over the American colonies. General George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and maintained this position throughout the war.

The Continental Army was supplemented by local militias and volunteer troops that were either loyal to individual states or otherwise independent. Most of the Continental Army was disbanded in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris formally ended the war. The Continental Army's 1st and 2nd Regiments went on to form what was to become the Legion of the United States in 1792, which ultimately served as the foundation for the creation of the United States Army.

Origins
The Continental Army consisted of soldiers from all the Thirteen Colonies and, after 1776, from all 13 states. The American Revolutionary War began at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, at a time when the colonial revolutionaries had no standing army. Previously, each colony had relied upon the militia (which was made up of part-time citizen-soldiers) for local defense; or the raising of temporary provincial troops during such crises as the French and Indian War of 1754–1763. As tensions with Great Britain increased in the years leading to the war, colonists began to reform their militias in preparation for the perceived potential conflict. Training of militiamen increased after the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774. Colonists such as Richard Henry Lee proposed forming a national militia force, but the First Continental Congress rejected the idea.

On April 23, 1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress authorized the raising of a colonial army consisting of 26 company regiments. New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut soon raised similar but smaller forces. On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress decided to proceed with the establishment of a Continental Army for purposes of common defense, adopting the forces already in place outside Boston (22,000 troops) and New York (5,000). It also raised the first ten companies of Continental troops on a one-year enlistment, riflemen from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia to be used as light infantry. The Pennsylvania riflemen became the 1st Continental Regiment in January 1776. On June 15, 1775, Congress elected by unanimous vote George Washington as Commander-in-Chief, who accepted and served throughout the war without any compensation except for reimbursement of expenses. As the Continental Congress increasingly adopted the responsibilities and posture of a legislature for a sovereign state, the role of the Continental Army became the subject of considerable debate. Some Americans had a general aversion to maintaining a standing army; but on the other hand, the requirements of the war against the British required the discipline and organization of a modern military. As a result, the army went through several distinct phases, characterized by official dissolution and reorganization of units.

Establishments
Broadly speaking, Continental forces consisted of several successive armies or establishments:
 * The Continental Army of 1775, comprising the initial New England Army, was organized by Washington into three divisions, six brigades, and 38 regiments. Major General Philip Schuyler's ten regiments in New York were sent to invade Canada.
 * The Continental Army of 1776, was reorganized after the initial enlistment period of the soldiers in the 1775 army had expired. Washington had submitted recommendations to the Continental Congress almost immediately after he had accepted the position of Commander-in-Chief, but the Congress took time to consider and implement these. Despite attempts to broaden the recruiting base beyond New England, the 1776 army remained skewed toward the Northeast both in terms of its composition and of its geographical focus. This army consisted of 36 regiments, most standardized to a single battalion of 768 men strong and formed into eight companies, with a rank-and-file strength of 640.
 * The Continental Army of 1777–1780 evolved out of several critical reforms and political decisions that came about when it became apparent that the British were sending substantial forces to put an end to the American Revolution. The Continental Congress passed the "Eighty-eight Battalion Resolve", ordering each state to contribute one-battalion regiments in proportion to their population, and Washington subsequently received authority to raise an additional 16 battalions. Enlistment terms extended to three years or to "the length of the war" to avoid the year-end crises that depleted forces (including the notable near-collapse of the army at the end of 1776, which could have ended the war in a Continental, or American, loss by forfeit).
 * The Continental Army of 1781–1782 saw the greatest crisis on the American side in the war. Congress was bankrupt, making it very difficult to replenish the soldiers whose three-year terms had expired. Popular support for the war reached an all-time low, and Washington had to put down mutinies both in the Pennsylvania Line and in the New Jersey Line. Congress voted to cut funding for the Army, but Washington managed nevertheless to secure important strategic victories.
 * The Continental Army of 1783–1784 was succeeded by the United States Army, which persists to this day. As peace was restored with the British, most of the regiments were disbanded in an orderly fashion, though several had already been diminished.

Governing bodies
Military affairs were at first managed by the Continental Congress in plenary session, although specific matters were prepared by a number of ad hoc committees. In June 1776 a five-member standing committee, the Board of War and Ordnance, was established in order to replace the ad hoc committees. The five members who formed the Board fully participated in the plenary activities of Congress as well as in other committees and were unable to fully engage in the administrative leadership of the Continental Army. A new Board of War was therefore formed in October 1777, of three commissioners not member of Congress. Two more commissioners, not members of Congress, were shortly thereafter added, but in October 1778 the membership was set to three commissioners not members of Congress and two commissioners members of Congress. In early 1780, the Quartermaster General, the Commissary General of Purchase, and the Commissary General of Issue were put under the direction of the Board. The Office of the Secretary at War was created in February 1781, although the Office did not start its work until Benjamin Lincoln assumed the office in October 1781.

Commander-in-chief

On June 15, 1775, Congress elected by unanimous vote George Washington as Commander-in-Chief, who accepted and served throughout the war without any compensation except for reimbursement of expenses. Washington, as commander-in-chief, was supported by a chief administrative officer, the Adjutant General. Horatio Gates held the position 1775–1776, Joseph Reed 1776–1777, George Weedon and Isaac Budd Dunn 1777, Morgan Connor 1777, Timothy Pickering 1777–1778, Alexander Scammell 1778–1781 and Edward Hand 1781–1783. An Inspector General assisted the Commander-in-Chief through periodically inspecting and reporting on the condition of troops. The first incumbent was Thomas Conway 1777–1778, followed by Baron von Steuben 1778–1784, under whom the position became that of a de facto chief of staff. The Judge Advocate General assisted the commander-in-chief with the administration of military justice, but he did not, as his modern counterpart, give legal advise. William Tudor was the first appointee. He was followed by John Laurance in 1777 and Thomas Edwards in 1781 The Mustermaster General kept track by name of every officer and man serving in the army. The first mustermaster was Stephen Moylan. He was followed by Gunning Bedford Jr. 1776–1777 and Joseph Ward.

Territorial organization
Units of the Continental Army were assigned to any one of the territorial departments to decentralize command and administration. In general there were seven territorial departments, although their boundaries were subject to change and they were not all in existence throughout the war. The Department of New York (later the Northern Department) was created when Congress made Philip Schuyler its commander on June 15, 1775. The Southern and Middle Departments were added in February 1776. Several others were added the same year. A major general appointed by Congress commanded each department. Under his command came all Continental Army units within the territorial limits of the department, as well as state troops and militia – if released by the governor of the state.

Tactical organization
All troops under the department commander were designated as an army; hence troops in the Northern Department were called the Northern Army, in the Souther Department the Southern Army, etc. The department commander could be field commander or he could appoint another officer to command the troops in the field. Depending on the size of the army, it could be divided into wings or divisions (of typically three brigades) that were temporary organizations, and brigades (of two to five regiments) that in effect were permanent organizations and the basic tactical unit of the Continental Army.

An infantry regiment in the Continental Army typically consisted of 8 to 10 companies, each commanded by a captain. Field officers usually included a colonel, a lieutenant colonel, and a major. A regimental staff was made up of an adjutant, quartermaster, surgeon, surgeon's mate, paymaster and chaplain. Infantry regiments were often called simply regiments or battalions. The regiment's fighting strength consisted of a single battalion of 728 officers and enlisted men at full strength. Cavalry and artillery regiments were organized in a similar manner. A company of cavalry was frequently called a troop. An artillery company contained specialized soldiers, such as bombardiers, gunners, and matrosses. A continental cavalry regiment had a nominal strength of 280 officers and men, but the actual strength was usually less than 150 men and even fewer horses. Artificers were civilian or military mechanics and artisans employed by the army to provide services. They included blacksmiths, coopers, carpenters, harnessmakers and wheelwrights.

Logistical organization

In June 1775, Congress created the position of Quartermaster General, after the British example. He was charged with opening and maintaining the lines of advance and retreat, laying out camps and assigning quarters. His responsibilities included furnishing the army with materiel and supplies, although the supply of arms, clothing, and provisions fell under other departments. The transportation of all supplies, even those provided by other departments, came under his ambit. The Quartermaster General served with the Main Army under General Washington, but was directly responsible to Congress. Deputy quartermasters were appointed by Congress to serve with separate armies, and functioned independently of the Quartermaster General. Thomas Mifflin served as Quartermaster General 1775–1776 and 1776–1778, Stephen Moylan 1776, Nathanael Green 1778–1780, and Timothy Pickering from 1780.

Congress also created the position of Commissary General of Stores and Provisions directly responsible to Congress, with Joseph Trumbull as the first incumbent. In 1777, Congress divided the department into two, a Commissary General of Purchases, with four deputies, and a Commissary General of Issues, with three deputies. William Buchanan was head of the Purchase Department 1777–1778, Jeremiah Wadsworth 1778–1779, and Ephraim Blaine 1779–1781. In 1780, the department became subordinated to the Superintendent of Finance, although Blaine retained his position. Charles Stewart served as Commissary General of Issues 1777–1782.

The responsibility for procuring arms and ammunition at first rested with various committees of Congress. In 1775 a field organization, usually known as the Military Branch of the Commissariat of Military Stores, was made responsible for distribution and care of ordnance in the field. In 1777 Congress established a Commissary General of Military Stores. Known as the Civil Branch, this organization was responsible for handling arsenals, laboratories, and some procurement under the general supervision of the Board of War. Later in the war a Surveyor of Ordnance was made responsible for inspecting foundries, magazines, ordnance shops, and field ordnance. In July 1777 the Board of War was authorized to purchase artillery.

Congress created a hospital department in July 1775 as a part of the Continental Army's administrative structure. It came under the Director General of the Hospital Department, chosen by Congress but serving under the Commander-in-Chief, and was staffed by four surgeons, an apothecary, twenty surgeon's mates, a nurse for every ten patients, a matron to supervise the nurses, a clerk, and two storekeepers. The department was reorganized in 1777; deputy director generals were added to the administrative structure; commissaries of hospitals were established to provide food and forage; and apothecary generals were established to procure and distribute medicines. The first director general was Dr. Benjamin Church, he was followed by Dr. John Morgan 1775–1777, Dr. William Shippen 1777–1781 and Dr. John Cochran 1781.

Keeping the continentals clothed was a difficult task and to do this Washington appointed James Mease, a merchant from Philadelphia, as Clothier General. Mease worked closely with state-appointed agents to purchase clothing and things such as cow hides to make clothing and shoes for soldiers. Mease eventually resigned in 1777 and had compromised much of the organization of the Clothing Department. After this, on many accounts, the soldiers of the Continental Army were often poorly clothed, had few blankets, and often did not even have shoes. The problems with clothing and shoes for soldiers were often not the result of not having enough but of organization and lack of transportation. To reorganize the Board of War was appointed to sort out the clothing supply chain. During this time they sought out the help of France and for the remainder of the war, clothing was coming from over-sea procurement.

The disbursing of money to pay soldiers and suppliers were the function of the Paymaster-General. James Warren was the first incumbent of this office. His successor was William Palfrey in 1776, who was followed by John Pierce Jr. in 1781.

Officers and men

The Continental Army lacked the discipline typically expected of an army. When they first assembled, the count of how many soldiers George Washington had was delayed a little over a week. Instead of obeying their commanders and officers without question, each unit was a community that had democratically chosen its leaders. The regiments, coming from different states, were uneven in numbers. Logically, they should be evened, which would mean moving soldiers around. In the spirit of American republicanism, if George Washington separated the soldiers from the officers they had chosen they did not believe they should have to serve. George Washington had to give in to the soldiers and negotiate with them. He needed them to have an army.

Soldiers in the Continental Army were volunteers; they agreed to serve in the army and standard enlistment periods lasted from one to three years. Early in the war, the enlistment periods were short, as the Continental Congress feared the possibility of the Continental Army evolving into a permanent army. The army never numbered more than 48,000 men overall and 13,000 troops in one area. The turnover proved a constant problem, particularly in the winter of 1776–77, and longer enlistments were approved. As the new country (not yet fully independent) had no money, the government agreed to give grants to the soldiers which they could exchange for money. In 1781 and 1782, Patriot officials and officers in the Southern Colonies repeatedly implemented policies that offered slaves as rewards for recruiters who managed to enlist a certain number of volunteers in the Continental Army; in January 1781, Virginia's General Assembly passed a measure which announced that voluntary enlistees in the Virginia Line's regiments would be given a "healthy sound negro" as a reward.

The officers of both the Continental Army and the state militias were typically yeoman farmers with a sense of honor and status and an ideological commitment to oppose the policies of the British Crown. The enlisted men were very different. They came from the working class or minority groups (English, Ulster Protestant, Black or of African descent). They were motivated to volunteer by specific contracts that promised bounty money; regular pay at good wages; food, clothing, and medical care; companionship; and the promise of land ownership after the war.By 1780, more than 30,000 men served in the Continental army,but the lack of resources and proper training resulted in the deaths of over 13,000 soldiers. By 1781–1782, threats of mutiny and actual mutinies were becoming serious. Upwards of a fourth of Washington's army were of Scots-Irish (English and Scottish descent) Ulster origin, many being recent arrivals and in need of work.

The Continental Army was racially integrated, a condition the United States Army would not see again until the late 1940s. During the Revolution, African American slaves were promised freedom in exchange for military service by both the Continental and British armies. Approximately 6,600 people of color (including African American, indigenous, and multiracial men) served with the colonial forces, and made up one-fifth of the Northern Continental Army.

In addition to the Continental Army regulars, state militia units were assigned for short-term service and fought in campaigns throughout the war. Sometimes the militia units operated independently of the Continental Army, but often local militias were called out to support and augment the Continental Army regulars during campaigns. The militia troops developed a reputation for being prone to premature retreats, a fact that General Daniel Morgan integrated into his strategy at the Battle of Cowpens and used to fool the British in 1781.

The financial responsibility for providing pay, food, shelter, clothing, arms, and other equipment to specific units was assigned to states as part of the establishment of these units. States differed in how well they lived up to these obligations. There were constant funding issues and morale problems as the war continued. This led to the army offering low pay, often rotten food, hard work, cold, heat, poor clothing and shelter, harsh discipline, and a high chance of becoming a casualty.

Operations

At the time of the siege of Boston, the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in June 1775, is estimated to have numbered from 14,000 to 16,000 men from New England (though the actual number may have been as low as 11,000 because of desertions). Until Washington's arrival, it remained under the command of Artemas Ward. The British force in Boston was increasing by fresh arrivals. It numbered then about 10,000 men. The British controlled Boston and defended it with their fleet, but they were outnumbered and did not attempt to challenge the American control of New England. Washington selected young Henry Knox, a self-educated strategist, to take charge of the artillery from an abandoned British fort in upstate New York, and dragged across the snow to and placed them in the hills surrounding Boston in March 1776. The British situation was untenable. They negotiated an uneventful abandonment of the city and relocated their forces to Halifax in Canada. Washington relocated his army to New York. For the next five years, the main bodies of the Continental and British armies campaigned against one another in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. These campaigns included the notable battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, and Morristown, among many others.

The army increased its effectiveness and success rate through a series of trials and errors, often at a great human cost. General Washington and other distinguished officers were instrumental leaders in preserving unity, learning and adapting, and ensuring discipline throughout the eight years of war. In the winter of 1777–1778, with the addition of Baron von Steuben, a Prussian expert, the training and discipline of the Continental Army was dramatically upgraded to modern European standards through the Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States. This was during the infamous winter at Valley Forge. Washington always viewed the Army as a temporary measure and strove to maintain civilian control of the military, as did the Continental Congress, though there were minor disagreements about how this was to be carried out.

Throughout its existence, the Army was troubled by poor logistics, inadequate training, short-term enlistments, interstate rivalries, and Congress's inability to compel the states to provide food, money, or supplies. In the beginning, soldiers enlisted for a year, largely motivated by patriotism; but as the war dragged on, bounties and other incentives became more commonplace. Major and minor mutinies—56 in all—diminished the reliability of two of the main units late in the war.

The French played a decisive role in 1781 as Washington's Army was augmented by a French expeditionary force under Lieutenant General Rochambeau and a squadron of the French navy under the Comte de Barras. By disguising his movements, Washington moved the combined forces south to Virginia without the British commanders in New York realizing it. This resulted in the capture of the main British invasion force in the south at the siege of Yorktown, which resulted in the American and their allied victory in the land war in North America and assured independence.

Winter cantonments

 * Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1775–1776
 * Loantaka Valley, Morristown, New Jersey, January 1777 – May 1777.
 * Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, December 1777 – June 1778.
 * Main Army at Middlebrook, New Jersey, December 1778 – June 1779.
 * Main Army Artillery at Pluckemin, New Jersey, 1778–1789.
 * Eastern Division at Redding Connecticut, 1778–1779.
 * Jockey Hollow, Morristown, New Jersey, December 1779 – June 1780.
 * West Point, New York, 1780–1781
 * Pennsylvania Line at Jockey Hollow, Morristown, New Jersey, 1780–1781.
 * Newburgh, New York, 1781–1782
 * New Jersey Brigade at Bernardsville, New Jersey, 1781–1782.
 * New Windsor, New York, October 1782 – June 1783.
 * Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh, New York, 1782–1783.

Major battles

 * Siege of Boston
 * Battle of Long Island
 * Battle of Harlem Heights
 * Battle of Trenton
 * Battle of the Assunpink Creek
 * Battle of Princeton
 * Battle of Brandywine
 * Battle of Germantown
 * Battles of Saratoga
 * Battle of Monmouth
 * Siege of Charleston
 * Battle of Camden
 * Battle of Cowpens
 * Battle of Guilford Court House
 * Siege of Yorktown

Demobilization

A small residual force remained at West Point and some frontier outposts until Congress created the United States Army by their resolution of June 3, 1784. Although Congress declined on May 12 to make a decision on the peace establishment, it did address the need for some troops to remain on duty until the British evacuated New York City and several frontier posts. The delegates told Washington to use men enlisted for fixed terms as temporary garrisons. A detachment of those men from West Point reoccupied New York without incident on November 25. When Steuben's effort in July to negotiate a transfer of frontier forts with Major General Frederick Haldimand collapsed, however, the British maintained control over them, as they would into the 1790s. That failure and the realization that most of the remaining infantrymen's enlistments were due to expire by June 1784 led Washington to order Knox, his choice as the commander of the peacetime army, to discharge all but 500 infantry and 100 artillerymen before winter set in. The former regrouped as 1st American Regiment, under Colonel Henry Jackson of Massachusetts. The single artillery company, New Yorkers under Major John Doughty, came from remnants of the 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment.

Congress issued a proclamation on October 18, 1783, which approved Washington's reductions. On November 2, Washington, then at Rockingham near Rocky Hill, New Jersey, released his Farewell Orders issued to the Armies of the United States of America to the Philadelphia newspapers for nationwide distribution to the furloughed men. In the message he thanked the officers and men for their assistance and reminded them that "the singular interpositions of Providence in our feeble condition were such, as could scarcely escape the attention of the most unobserving; while the unparalleled perseverance of the Armies of the United States, through almost every possible suffering and discouragement for the space of eight long years, was little short of a standing Miracle."

Washington believed that the blending of persons from every colony into "one patriotic band of Brothers" had been a major accomplishment, and he urged the veterans to continue this devotion in civilian life. Washington said farewell to his remaining officers on December 4 at Fraunces Tavern in New York City. On December 23 he appeared in Congress, then sitting at Annapolis, and returned his commission as commander-in-chief: "Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life." Congress ended the War of American Independence on January 14, 1784, by ratifying the definitive peace treaty that had been signed in Paris on September 3.

Rank and pay
Monthly pay of the officers and soldiers of the continental line as established by the resolutions of Congress, fixing the arrangement of the Continental Army May 27, 1778, which rate of pay continued to the end of the war.

Rank insignia

During the American Revolutionary War, the Continental Army initially wore ribbons, cockades, and epaulettes of various colors as an ad hoc form of rank insignia, as General George Washington wrote in 1775: "'As the Continental Army has unfortunately no uniforms in 1775, and consequently many inconveniences must arise from not being able to distinguish the commissioned officers from the privates, it is desired that some badge of distinction be immediately provided; for instance that the field officers may have red or pink colored cockades in their hats, the captains yellow or buff, and the subalterns green.'"

In 1776, captains were to have buff or white cockades. Later on in the war, the Continental Army established its own uniform with a black and white cockade among all ranks. Infantry officers had silver and other branches gold insignia:
 * Rank insignia in 1775

 * Rank insignia in 1780

Literature

 * Anonymous (1940). Morristown National Historic Park. National Park Service.
 * Anonymous (1975). "Continental Army Logistics—The Quartermaster and Commissary Departments." Army Logistician 7(4): 28–32.
 * Anonymous (1975a). "Continental Army Logistics—Engineer, Ordnance, and Medical Support." Army Logistician 7(5): 24–28.* Anonymous (1983). A History and Guide. Morristown National Historical Park. National Park Service.
 * Bell, J.L. (2012). George Washington's Headquarters and Home. Cambridge, Massachusetts. National Park Service.
 * Billias, George Athan, ed., George Washington's Generals (1980)
 * Bodle, Wayne K. (2002) The Valley Forge Winter: Civilians and Soldiers in War.
 * Bodle, Wayne K. (1982). Valley Forge Historical Research Report. National Park Service.
 * Brown, Lenard E. (1967). Morristown Winter Encampment. National Park Service.
 * Carp, E. Wayne. To Starve the Army at Pleasure: Continental Army Administration and American Political Culture, 1775–1783. (U of North Carolina Press, 1984). ISBN 0-8078-1587-X.
 * Clay, Steven E. (2018 ). Staff Ride Handbook for the Saratoga Campaign, 13 June to 8 November 1777. Combat Studies Institute Press.
 * Commager, Henry Steele, and Richard Brandon Morris, eds. The spirit of 'seventy-six: the story of the American Revolution as told by participants (1975). online
 * Cox, Caroline. A Proper Sense of Honor: Service and Sacrifice in George Washington's Army (2004).
 * Elliot, Steven (2017). "Hills, Huts, and Horse-Teams: The New Jersey Environment and Continental Army Winter Encampments, 1778–1780." New Jersey Studies 3(1): 107–136.
 * Ferling, John. Whirlwind: The American Revolution and the War That Won It (2015).
 * Fisher, Charles L. (1983) "Archaeology at New Windsor Cantonment: Construction and Social Reproduction at a Revolutionary War Encampment." Northeast Historical Archaeology 12:15–23.
 * Fleming, Thomas. The Strategy of Victory: How General George Washington Won the American Revolution (Hachette, 2017).
 * Franklin, Walter S. (1838 ). Resolutions, laws, and ordinances relating to the pay, half-pay, bounty lands and other promises made by Congress to the officers and soldiers of the Revolution. Washington.
 * Gillett, Mary C. The Army Medical Department, 1775–1818. (Washington: Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1981).
 * Higginbotham, Don. The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 1763–1789 (1971) on line.
 * Lengel, Edward G. General George Washington: A Military Life. (2005).
 * Lesser, Charles (1976). The Sinews of Independence. The University of Chicago Press.
 * Martin, James Kirby, and Mark Edward Lender. A Respectable Army: The Military Origins of the Republic, 1763–1789. (2nd ed. Harlan Davidson), 2006. ISBN 0-88295-239-0.
 * Mayer, Holly A. Belonging to the Army: Camp Followers and Community during the American Revolution. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1999. ISBN 1-57003-339-0; ISBN 1-57003-108-8.
 * Neimeyer, Charles Patrick. America Goes to War: A Social History of the Continental Army (1995) complete text online
 * Palmer, Dave Richard. George Washington's Military Genius (2012).
 * Royster, Charles. A Revolutionary People at War: The Continental Army and American Character, 1775–1783. (U of North Carolina Press, 1979). online
 * , 451 pages, eBook
 * Scheer, George F. Private Yankee Doodle: A Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier [Joseph Plumb Martin]. (1962).
 * Smith, Digby & Kiley, Kevin F. (2008). An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms from 1775–1783 – The American Revolutionary War. Lorenz Books, London.
 * Wehmann, Howard H. (1989) A guide to pre-federal records in the National Archives. National Archives and Records Administration.
 * Weig, Melvin J. (1950). Morristown: A Military Capital of the American Revolution. National Park Service.
 * Weig, Melvin J. (1950). Morristown: A Military Capital of the American Revolution. National Park Service.

title: Continental Army


text:
Ehud Barak

Ehud Barak (אֵהוּד בָּרָק ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party between 1997 and 2001 and between 2007 and 2011.

Born on a kibbutz, Barak is the eldest of four sons; his grandparents were murdered in the Holocaust. He graduated in physics and mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and later obtained a master's in engineering-economic systems from Stanford University.

Barak's military career in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began in 1959, spanning 35 years and culminating in his appointment as Chief of the General Staff in 1991, serving until 1995. His military tenure is noted for his leadership in several operations, including "Operation Isotope" in 1972, the covert 1973 Israeli raid in Lebanon, and the 1976 Entebbe raid. A lieutenant general, Barak shares with two others the honor of being the most highly decorated soldier in Israel's history.

In politics, his career began with his appointment as interior minister in 1995 under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Following Rabin's assassination, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in Shimon Peres' government. Barak was elected to the Knesset on the Labor Party list in 1996 and subsequently became party leader. Barak served as Israel's last left-wing Prime Minister from 1999 to 2001. His tenure was marked by significant events, including the decision to form a coalition with the Orthodox party Shas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Southern Lebanon in 2000, and participation in the 2000 Camp David Summit aimed at resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Barak's government faced challenges, notably the protests in October 2000.

After defeat in the 2001 Israeli prime ministerial election, he left politics and engaged in international business and advisory roles. He made a political comeback in 2005, attempting to regain leadership in the Labor Party, and later served as defense minister - where he led Operation Cast Lead in 2008–09 - and deputy prime minister under Ehud Olmert and then in Benjamin Netanyahu's second government between 2007 and 2013. His decision to form the Independence party in 2011 marked a shift in his politics, influencing the dynamics within the Netanyahu government. Despite retiring from politics in 2012, he attempted another comeback, running in the September 2019 Israeli legislative election as the leader of Israel Democratic Party - a new party he formed. His party merged with others to form an alliance called the Democratic Union, but it did not win enough seats for him to become a member of the Knesset. Outside of his political and military career, Barak has accumulated wealth through business endeavors and investments; his net worth is estimated to be $10–15 million.

Early life and family
Ehud Barak was born on kibbutz Mishmar HaSharon in what was then Mandatory Palestine. He is the eldest of four sons of Esther (née Godin; 25 June 1914 – 12 August 2013) and Yisrael Mendel Brog (24 August 1910 – 8 February 2002).

His paternal grandparents, Frieda and Reuven Brog, were murdered in Pušalotas (Pushelat) in northern Lithuania (then ruled by Russian Empire) in 1912, leaving his father orphaned at the age of two. Barak's maternal grandparents, Elka and Shmuel Godin, died at the Treblinka extermination camp during the Holocaust.

Ehud hebraized his family name from "Brog" to "Barak" in 1972. It was during his military service that he met his future wife, Nava (née Cohen, born 8 April 1947 in Tiberias). They had three daughters together: Michal (born 9 August 1970), Yael (born 23 October 1974) and Anat (born 16 October 1981). He has grandchildren. Barak divorced Nava in August 2003. On 30 July 2007, Barak married Nili Priel (born 25 April 1944) in a small ceremony in his private residence. In his spare time, Barak enjoys reading works by writers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and he is a classical pianist, with many years of study behind him.

Barak earned his bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1968, and his master's degree in engineering-economic systems in 1978 from Stanford University, California.

Military career
Barak joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1959. He served in the IDF for 35 years, rising to the position of Chief of the General Staff and the rank of Rav Aluf (Lieutenant-General), the highest in the Israeli military. During his service as a commando in the elite Sayeret Matkal, Barak led several highly acclaimed operations, such as: "Operation Isotope", the mission to free the hostages on board the hijacked Sabena Flight 571 at Lod Airport in 1972; the covert 1973 Israeli raid in Lebanon in Beirut, in which he was disguised as a woman to kill members of the Palestine Liberation Organization; Barak was also a key architect of the June 1976 Entebbe raid, another rescue mission to free the hostages of the Air France aircraft hijacked by terrorists and forced to land at the Entebbe Airport in Uganda. These highly acclaimed operations, along with Operation Bayonet, led to the dismantling of Palestinian terrorist cell Black September. It has been alluded that Barak also masterminded the Tunis Raid on 16 April 1988, in which PLO leader Abu Jihad was killed.

During the Yom Kippur War, Barak commanded an improvised regiment of tanks which, among other things, helped rescue paratrooper battalion 890, commanded by Yitzhak Mordechai, which was suffering heavy losses in the Battle of the Chinese Farm. He went on to command the 401st armored brigade and the 611st "Pillar of Fire" and 252nd "Sinai" divisions, before his appointment to head the IDF's Planning Directorate. Barak also participated in the Siege of Beirut, overseeing it from Beirut International Airport. Barak later served as head of Aman, the Military Intelligence Directorate (1983–85), head of Central Command (1986–87) and Deputy Chief of the General Staff (1987–91). He served as Chief of the General Staff between 1 April 1991 and 1 January 1995. During this period he implemented the first Oslo Accords and participated in the negotiations towards the Israel–Jordan peace treaty.

Barak was awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service and four Chief of Staff citations (Tzalash HaRamatkal) for courage and operational excellence. These five decorations make him the most decorated soldier in Israeli history (jointly with close friend Nechemya Cohen). In 1992 he was awarded the Legion of Merit (Commander) by the United States. In 2012, he was again awarded by the United States with the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Political career
On 7 July 1995, Barak was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs by Yitzhak Rabin. When Shimon Peres formed a new government following Rabin's assassination in November 1995, Barak was made Minister of Foreign Affairs (1995–96). He was elected to the Knesset on the Labor Party list in 1996, and served as a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Following internal elections after Peres' defeat in the election for Prime Minister in 1996, Barak became the leader of the Labor Party.

Prime Minister of Israel

In the 1999 Prime Ministerial election, Barak beat Benjamin Netanyahu by a wide margin. However, he sparked controversy by deciding to form a coalition with the ultra-Orthodox party Shas, who had won an unprecedented 17 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Shas grudgingly agreed to Barak's terms that they eject their leader Aryeh Deri, a convicted felon, and enact reform to "clean up" in-party corruption. Consequentially, the left wing Meretz party quit the coalition after they failed to agree on the powers to be given to a Shas deputy minister in the Ministry of Education.

In 1999 Barak gave a campaign promise to end Israel's 22-year-long occupation of Southern Lebanon within a year. On 24 May 2000 Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon. On 7 October, three Israeli soldiers were killed in a border raid by Hezbollah and their bodies were subsequently captured. The bodies of these soldiers, along with the living Elhanan Tenenbaum, were eventually exchanged for Lebanese captives in 2004.

The Barak government resumed peace negotiations with the PLO, stating that "Every attempt [by the State of Israel] to keep hold of this area [the West Bank and Gaza] as one political entity leads, necessarily, to either a nondemocratic or a non-Jewish state. Because if the Palestinians vote, then it is a binational state, and if they don't vote it is an apartheid state." As part of these negotiations, Barak took part in the Camp David 2000 Summit which was meant finally to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict but failed. Barak also allowed Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami to attend the Taba Summit with the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, after his government had fallen.

Domestic issues
On 22 August 1999, Barak appointed the Tal committee which dealt with the controversial issue of ultra-Orthodox Jews' exemption from military service. Following the failure of the Camp David summit with Arafat and Bill Clinton in the summer of 2000, when the original 7 years mandate of the PNA expired, and just after Israel pulled out its last troops out of southern Lebanon in May 2000, the weeks-long Riots in October 2000 led to the killing of twelve Israeli Arabs and one Palestinian by Israel Police and one Jewish civilian by Israeli Arabs.

Resignation
In 2001, Barak called an election for Prime Minister. In the contest, he was defeated by Likud leader Ariel Sharon, and subsequently resigned as Labor leader and from the Knesset. He left Israel to work as a senior advisor with United States-based Electronic Data Systems. He also partnered with a private equity company focused on "security-related" work.

Return to politics
In 2005, Barak announced his return to Israeli politics, and ran for leadership of the Labor Party in November. However, in light of his weak poll showings, Barak dropped out of the race early and declared his support for veteran statesman Shimon Peres. Following his failed attempt to maintain leadership of the Labor party, Barak became a partner of the investment company SCP Private Equity Partners, Pennsylvania. He also established a company "Ehud Barak Limited" which is thought to have made over NIS 30 million.

After Peres lost the race to Amir Peretz and left the Labor party, Barak announced he would stay at the party, despite his shaky relationship with its newly elected leader. He declared, however, that he would not run for a spot on the Labor party's Knesset list for the March 2006 elections. Barak's attempt to return to a prominent role in Israel politics seemed to have failed. However, Peretz's hold on the Labor leadership proved unexpectedly shaky as he was badly damaged by negative views of his performance as Defense Minister during the 2006 Lebanon War, which was seen as something less than a success in Israel.

In January 2007, Barak launched a bid to recapture the leadership of the Labor party in a letter acknowledging "mistakes" and "inexperience" during his tenure as Prime Minister. In early March 2007, a poll of Labor Party primary voters put Barak ahead of all other opponents, including Peretz. In the first round of voting, on 28 May 2007, he gained 39% of the votes, more than his two closest rivals, but not enough to win the election.

As a result, Barak faced a runoff against the second-place finisher, Ami Ayalon, on 12 June 2007, which he won by a narrow margin.

Barak has been critical of what he sees as racist sentiments that have recently been expressed by some Israeli rabbis and rebbetzins; he views such statements as a threat to Israeli unity and that they may lead Israeli society into a "dark and dangerous place".

As head of the Labor Party
After winning back the leadership of the Labor party, Barak was sworn in as Minister of Defense on 18 June 2007, as part of Prime Minister Olmert's cabinet reshuffle. However, on 1 July 2007, Barak led a successful effort in the Labor central committee to stipulate that Labor would leave the government coalition if Olmert did not resign by September or October 2007. At that time the Winograd Commission would publish its final report on the performance of the Israel Defense Forces and its civilian leadership. The preliminary Winograd report released earlier this year laid most of the blame on Olmert for poorly planning, executing, and reviewing war strategies in the 2006 conflict against Hezbollah.

From December 2008 to January 2009, Barak led the Israel Defense Forces through Operation Cast Lead in his capacity as Minister of Defence.

Labor won only 13 out of the 120 Knesset seats in the 2009 elections, making them the fourth largest party. Barak and other Labor officials initially stated they would not take part in the next government. However, over the objections of some in the Labor party, in March 2009, Barak reached an agreement under which Labor joined the governing coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu. Barak retained his position as Defense Minister.

Leaving the Labor Party
In January 2011, Labor Party leader Barak formed a breakaway party, Independence, which enabled him to maintain his loyal Labor's MK faction within Netanyahu's government, and prevented the departure of Labor party as a whole from Netanyahu's coalition-government. Labor previously threatened to force Barak to do so. After Barak's move, Netanyahu was able to maintain a majority of 66 MK (out of 120 in the Knesset), previously having 74 MKs within his majority coalition.

In February 2011, Barak attended a ceremony at the UN for the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Barak told the UN General Assembly that "an independent, strong, thriving and peaceful State of Israel is the vengeance of the dead."

Barak's Independence party was due to run in a legislative election, but decided not to in 2012, and retired from politics. Barak planned to quit since Operation Pillar of Defense but postponed it until later that year.

Barak stated during an American television interview that he would "probably" strive for nuclear weapons if he were in Iran's position, adding "I don't delude myself that they are doing it just because of Israel". This comment has been criticized and compared to Barak's comment in 1998 during a television interview when he said that if he were a Palestinian he would probably have joined one of the terror organizations.

In 2023 it was revealed that Barak had visited Jeffrey Epstein around 30 times from 2013 to 2017 and had also flown on his jet, having first met Epstein in 2003. Barak denied any wrongdoing.

Return to political life
On 26 June 2019, Barak announced his return to politics and his intention to form a new party named the Israel Democratic Party, intending to challenge Netanyahu in the September 2019 Israeli legislative election. The party ran with Meretz and other parties in the Democratic Union alliance, which received five seats. Barak himself did not enter the Knesset.

Financial assets
In an interview with Haaretz reported in January 2015, Barak was asked to explain the source of his "big" capital, with which he "bought 5 apartments and connected them," and by which he "lives in a giant rental apartment in a luxury high rise." Barak said he currently earns more than a $1 million a year, and that from 2001 to 2007, he also earned more than a $1 million every year, from giving lectures and from consulting for hedge funds. Barak also said he made millions of dollars more from his investments in Israeli real estate properties.

In the interview, Barak was asked whether he is a lobbyist who earns a living from "opening doors". The interviewer stated "You have arrived recently at the Kazakhstan despot Nazarbayev and the president of Ghana. You are received immediately." Barak confirmed that he has been received by these heads of state but denied earning money from opening doors for international business deals for Israeli and foreign corporations, and said he does not see any ethical or moral problems in his business activities. He further said there is no logic to demand of him, after "the natural process in democracy has ended" to not utilize the tools he accumulated in his career to secure his financial future. When asked if his financial worth is $10–15 million, Barak said "I'm not far from there."

title: Ehud Barak


text:
Richard Threlkeld Cox

Richard Threlkeld Cox (August 5, 1898 – May 2, 1991) was a professor of physics at Johns Hopkins University, known for Cox's theorem relating to the foundations of probability.

Biography
He was born in Portland, Oregon, the son of attorney Lewis Cox and Elinor Cox. After Lewis Cox died, Elinor Cox married John Latané, who became a professor at Johns Hopkins University in 1913. In 1915 Richard enrolled at Johns Hopkins University to study physics, but his studies were cut short when he was drafted for World War I. He stayed in the US after being drafted and returned to Johns Hopkins University after the war, completing his BA in 1920. He earned his PhD in 1924; his dissertation was A Study of Pfund's Pressure Gauge.

He taught at New York University (NYU) from 1924 to 1943, before returning to Johns Hopkins to teach. He studied probability theory, the scattering of electrons, and the discharges of electric eels. Richard Cox's most important work was Cox's theorem.

His wife, Shelby Shackleford (1899 Halifax, Virginia – 1987), whom he married in 1926, was an accomplished artist and illustrated Electric Eel Calling, a book on electric eels.

He died on May 2, 1991. His doctoral students include Carl T. Chase and Clifford Shull.

Cox and parity violation
According to T. D. Lee and C. N. Yang, parity violation implies that electrons produced by β decay should be longitudinally polarized. In 1959, Lee Grodzins indicated how a 1928 experiment by R. T. Cox, C. G. McIlwraith, and B. Kurrelmeyer on double scattering of β rays from radium confirms the polarization effect predicted by Lee and Yang. Carl T. Chase in 1929 and 1930 performed experiments confirming the 1928 experiment by Cox, McIlwraith, and Kurrelmeyer.

Louis Witten interview
Witten: ... I wanted to tell you something about Richard Cox. You mentioned Richard Cox. He did a lot of things, but he also did some experiments in condensed matter physics. He discovered an anomaly which wasn't consistent with physics. It couldn't be explained. It wasn't at all consistent, and he was told his experiment was wrong, and he knew that his experiment was right. So he published it, and it was an anomaly in the literature. Some years later, it was discovered that parity wasn't conserved, and his anomaly was non-parity. It's well known now by many people that his experiment was the first experiment that would have shown parity wasn't conserved if they had interpreted it correctly. Rickles: But he didn't give that interpretation; he just thought there was something strange. Witten: That's right. But he knew that his experiment was right and that people were trying to tell him that his experiment was wrong.

Selected works

 * Cox, R. T., "Of Inference and Inquiry - An Essay in Inductive Logic", In The Maximum Entropy Formalism, Ed. Levine and Tribus, M.I.T. Press, 1979.
 * The Algebra of Probable Inference, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, (1961).
 * The Algebra of Probable Inference, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, (1961).

title: Richard Threlkeld Cox


text:
Richard Cox

Richard Cox or Coxe may refer to:

 * Richard Cox (actor) (born 1948), American actor
 * Richard Cox (bishop) (c. 1500–1581), English clergyman, Dean of Westminster and Bishop of Ely
 * Richard Cox (1718–1803), founder of Cox & Kings
 * Richard Cox (Australian cricketer) (1830–1865), Australian cricketer
 * Richard Cox (New Zealand cricketer) (born 1951), New Zealand cricketer
 * Richard Cox (horticulturist) (1766–1845), British horticulturist, created Cox's Orange Pippin apple
 * Sir Richard Cox, 1st Baronet (1650–1733), Lord Chancellor of Ireland, 1703–1707
 * Sir Richard Cox, 2nd Baronet (1702–1766), Irish baronet
 * Sir Richard Eyre Cox, 4th Baronet (died 1783), Irish baronet
 * Richard Colvin Cox (born 1928), American West Point cadet who disappeared in 1950
 * Richard Ian Cox (born 1973), Welsh-Canadian voice actor

 * Richard L. Cox (born 1970), American author
 * Richard M. Cox (born 1963), English cricket administrator
 * Richard Threlkeld Cox (1898–1991), American physicist
 * Richard Coxe (priest) (1800–1865), English churchman and author
 * Richard Hippisley Coxe (1742–1786), British politician

title: Richard Cox