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Karl von Frisch

Karl Ritter von Frisch, (20 November 1886 – 12 June 1982) was a German-Austrian ethologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1973, along with Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz.

His work centered on investigations of the sensory perceptions of the honey bee and he was one of the first to translate the meaning of the waggle dance. His theory, described in his 1927 book Aus dem Leben der Bienen (translated into English as The Dancing Bees), was disputed by other scientists and greeted with skepticism at the time. Only much later was it shown to be an accurate theoretical analysis.

Early life
Karl Ritter von Frisch was the son of the surgeon and urologist Anton von Frisch (1849–1917), by his marriage to Marie Exner. Karl was the youngest of four sons, all of whom became university professors. Von Frisch was of partial Jewish heritage. His maternal grandmother was of Jewish origin.

Karl studied at the University of Vienna under Hans Leo Przibram and in Munich under Richard von Hertwig, initially in the field of medicine, but later turned to the natural sciences. He received his doctorate in 1910 and in the same year started work as an assistant in the zoology department of the University of Munich.

Career
In 1912, he became a lecturer in zoology and comparative anatomy there; and in 1919 was promoted to a professorship. His research on honeybees was continued by his student Ingeborg Beling. In 1921 he went to Rostock University as a professor of zoology and director of an institute. In 1923 he accepted the offer of a chair at Breslau University, returning in 1925 to Munich University, where he became the head of the institute of zoology.

Von Frisch attracted negative attention from the Nazi regime, among other things for employing Jewish assistants, including many women, and for practicing "Jewish science". Eventually Frisch was forced into retirement, but the decision was reversed because of his research on nosema infections in bees.

The institute of zoology was destroyed in the Second World War, and in 1946, Frisch went to work at the University of Graz, remaining there until 1950, when he returned to the reopened Munich institute. He retired in 1958 but continued his research.

Personal life
Karl Ritter von Frisch married Margarete, née Mohr, who died in 1964. Their son, Otto Ritter von Frisch, was director of the Brunswick natural history museum between 1977 and 1995.

Research
Frisch studied aspects of animal behaviour, including animal navigation, in the Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica), a subspecies of the European honey bee.

Bee perception
Frisch discovered that bees can distinguish various blossoming plants by their scent, and that each bee is "flower constant". Surprisingly, their sensitivity to a "sweet" taste is only slightly stronger than in humans. He thought possible that a bee's spatial sense of smell arose from the firm coupling of its olfactory sense with its tactile sense.

Frisch was the second to demonstrate that honey bees had color vision (first was Charles Henry Turner), which he accomplished by using classical conditioning. He trained bees to feed on a dish of sugar water set on a colored card. He then set the colored card in the middle of a set of gray-toned cards. If the bees see the colored card as a shade of gray, then they will confuse the blue card with at least one of the gray-toned cards; bees arriving to feed will visit more than one card in the array. On the other hand, if they have color vision, then the bees visit only the blue card, as it is visually distinct from the other cards. A bee's color perception is comparable to that of humans, but with a shift away from the red toward the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. For that reason bees cannot distinguish red from black (colorless), but they can distinguish the colors white, yellow, blue and violet. Color pigments which reflect UV radiation expand the spectrum of colors which can be differentiated. For example, several blossoms which may appear to humans to be of the same yellow color will appear to bees as having different colors (multicolored patterns) because of their different proportions of ultraviolet.

Frisch's investigation of a bee's powers of orientation were significant. He discovered that bees can recognize the desired compass direction in three different ways: by the Sun, by the polarization pattern of the blue sky, and by the Earth's magnetic field, whereby the Sun is used as the main compass, with the alternatives reserved for the conditions arising under cloudy skies or within a dark beehive.

Light scattered in a blue sky forms a characteristic pattern of partially polarized light which is dependent on the position of the Sun and invisible to human eyes. With a UV receptor in each of the lens units of a compound eye, and a UV filter oriented differently in each of these units, a bee is able to detect this polarization pattern. A small piece of blue sky is enough for a bee to recognize the pattern changes occurring over the course of a day. This provides not only directional but also temporal information.

Frisch proved that variations in the position of the Sun over the course of a day provided bees with an orientation tool. They use this capability to obtain information about the progression of the day deep inside a dark beehive comparable to what is known from the position of the Sun. This makes it possible for the bees to convey always up-to-date directional information during their waggle dance, without having to make a comparison with the Sun during long dance phases. This provides them not only with alternative directional information, but also with additional temporal information.

Bees have an internal clock with three different synchronization or timekeeping mechanisms. If a bee knows the direction to a feeding place found during a morning excursion, it can also find the same location, as well as the precise time at which this source provides food, in the afternoon, based on the position of the sun.

Based on the magnetic field, the alignment of the plane of a honeycomb under construction (e.g., the new honeycomb of a swarm) will be the same as that of the home hive of the swarm, according to Frisch. By experiment, even deformed combs bent into a circle can be produced.

The vertical alignment of the honeycomb is attributed by Frisch to the ability of bees to identify what is vertical with the help of their head used as a pendulum together with a ring of sensory cells in the neck.

Dances as language
Knowledge about feeding places can be relayed from bee to bee. The means of communication is a special dance of which there are two forms:

Round dance
The "round dance" provides the information that there is a feeding place in the vicinity of the beehive at a distance between 50 and 100 meters, without the particular direction being given. By means of close contact among the bees it also supplies information about the type of food (blossom scent).

"The foraging bee ... begins to perform a kind of 'round dance'. On the part of the comb where she is sitting she starts whirling around in a narrow circle, constantly changing her direction, turning now right, now left, dancing clockwise and anti-clockwise, in quick succession, describing between one and two circles in each direction. This dance is performed among the thickest bustle of the hive. What makes it so particularly striking and attractive is the way it infects the surrounding bees; those sitting next to the dancer start tripping after her, always trying to keep their outstretched feelers on close contact with the tip of her abdomen. ... They take part in each of her manoeuvrings so that the dancer herself, in her mad wheeling movements, appears to carry behind her a perpetual comet's tail of bees."

Waggle dance

The "waggle dance" is used to relay information about more distant food sources. In order to do this, the dancing bee moves forward a certain distance on the vertically hanging honeycomb in the hive, then traces a half circle to return to her starting point, whereupon the dance begins again. On the straight stretch, the bee "waggles" with her posterior. The direction of the straight stretch contains the information about the direction of the food source, the angle between the straight stretch and the vertical being precisely the angle which the direction of flight has to the position of the sun. The distance to the food source is relayed by the time taken to traverse the straight stretch, one second indicating a distance of approximately one kilometer (so the speed of the dance is inversely related to the actual distance). The other bees take in the information by keeping in close contact with the dancing bee and reconstructing its movements. They also receive information via their sense of smell about what is to be found at the food source (type of food, pollen, propolis, water) as well as its specific characteristics. The orientation functions so well that the bees can find a food source with the help of the waggle dance even if there are hindrances they must detour around like an intervening mountain.

As to a sense of hearing, Frisch could not identify this perceptive faculty, but it was assumed that vibrations could be sensed and used for communication during the waggle dance. Confirmation was later provided by Dr. Jürgen Tautz, a bee researcher at Würzburg University's Biocenter.

"Dialects"
The linguistic findings described above were based on Frisch's work primarily with the Carnica variety of bees. Investigations with other varieties led to the discovery that language elements were variety-specific, so that how distance and direction information is relayed varies greatly.

Other work
Frisch's honey bee work included the study of the pheromones that are emitted by the queen bee and her daughters, which maintain the hive's very complex social order. Outside the hive, the pheromones cause the male bees, or drones, to become attracted to a queen and mate with her. Inside the hive, the drones are not affected by the odor.

Honors and decorations

 * Lieben Prize (1921)
 * Pour le Mérite for Arts and Sciences (1952)
 * Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1952)
 * Elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1954
 * Honorary ring of Vienna (1956)
 * Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science (1958)
 * Bavarian Order of Merit (1959)
 * Foreign Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (1959)
 * Austrian Medal for Science and Art (1960)
 * Balzan Prize for Biology "For having consecrated his entire life to experimenting on thousands of bees, thus discovering a true language of gestures for communication and opening new insights into the knowledge of insect behaviour" (motivation of the Balzan General Prize Committee). (1962)
 * Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, with Konrad Lorenz and Nikolaas Tinbergen for his achievements in comparative behavioral physiology and pioneering work in communication between insects. (1973)
 * Grand Merit Cross with Star and Sash of the Federal Republic of Germany (Großes Verdienstkreuz mit Stern und Schulterband) (1974)
 * Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art (1981)
 * In his honor, the Karl Ritter von Frisch Medal of the German Zoological Society (Deutschen Zoologischen Gesellschaft, DZG), is awarded every two years to scientists whose work is distinguished by extraordinary zoological achievements which represent an integration of insights from several different biological disciplines. It is Germany's most important science prize in zoology and includes prize money of 10,000 euros.
 * Member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina – National Academy of Sciences
 * Honorary doctorates from a number of universities, honorary membership of numerous academies and scientific societies

In German

 * Der Farben- und Formensinn der Bienen. In: Zoologische Jahrbücher (Physiologie) 35, 1–188, (1914–15)
 * Über den Geruchssinn der Bienen und seine blütenbiologische Bedeutung. In: Zoologische Jahrbücher (Physiologie) 37, 1–238 (1919)
 * Über die ‚Sprache' der Bienen. Eine tierpsychologische Untersuchung. In: Zoologische Jahrbücher (Physiologie) 40, 1–186 (1923)
 * Aus dem Leben der Bienen. Springer Verlag Berlin (1927)
 * Untersuchung über den Sitz des Gehörsinnes bei der Elritze. In: Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie 17, 686–801 (1932), it R. Stetter
 * Über den Geschmacksinn der Bienen. In: Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie 21, 1–156 (1934)
 * Du und das Leben – Eine moderne Biologie für Jedermann. (1936) [literally, You and Life: A Modern Biology for Everyman]
 * Über einen Schreckstoff der Fischhaut und seine biologische Bedeutung. In: Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie 29, 46–145 (1941)
 * Die Tänze der Bienen. In: Österreichische Zoologische Zeitschrift 1, 1–48 (1946)
 * Die Polarisation des Himmelslichtes als orientierender Faktor bei den Tänzen der Bienen. In: Experientia (Basel) 5, 142–148 (1949)
 * Die Sonne als Kompaß im Leben der Bienen. In: Experientia (Basel) 6, 210–221 (1950)
 * Das kleine Insektenbuch. Insel Verlag (1961)
 * Tanzsprache und Orientierung der Bienen. Springer-Verlag Berlin/Heidelberg/New York (1965)
 * Aus dem Leben der Bienen. Springer-Verlag Berlin/Heidelberg/New York (1927; 9. Auflage 1977), ISBN 3-540-08212-3
 * Erinnerungen eines Biologen. Springer-Verlag, Berlin/Göttingen/Heidelberg 1957 (Autobiographie)
 * Die Tanzsprache der Bienen. Originaltonaufnahmen 1953–1962, hrsg. v. Klaus Sander. 2-CD-Set. supposé, Köln 2005. ISBN 978-3-932513-56-5
 * Tiere als Baumeister. Frankfurt a.M., Ullstein, 1974. 309 Seiten. 105 Zeichnungen & 114 Photographien. ISBN 3-550-07028-4

In English

 * The Dancing Bees: An Account of the Life and Senses of the Honey Bee, Harvest Books New York (1953), a translation of Aus dem Leben der Bienen, 5th revised edition, Springer Verlag
 * About Biology, Oliver & Boyd (1962), a translation of Du Und Das Leben
 * Animal Architecture (originally published as Tiere Als Baumeister.) New York, Helen and Kurt Wolff. (ISBN 0-15-107251-5) (1974 1st edition)
 * The Dance Language and Orientation of Bees, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press (1967), a translation of Tanzsprache und Orientierung der Bienen

title: Karl von Frisch


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Talk:Buffalo Bill

Copyright problem removed
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Vaudeville
Is Buffalo Bill Cody considered a Vaudeville performer? Marc S. 206.192.35.125 (talk) 19:26, 2 July 2015 (UTC)

Novels with Buffalo Bill as a character
I've found mention that there were many dime novels and stories about Buffalo Bill. Those need to be added to the list of media. I'm looking for a good source--but if anyone knows of one please add. Jaldous1 (talk) 01:58, 26 August 2015 (UTC)
 * The Edward T. LeBlanc Dime Novel Bibliography project - it's incredible. You can sort for books where Cody is credited as the author, AND books where he appears as a character. -- Orange Mike |  Talk  06:17, 13 November 2021 (UTC)

 * See the collections part of thedime novel topic.  The ones at university have searchable index or a list of titles.  One dime novel series Buffalo Bill and … has hundreds of novels.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1700:D591:5F10:3817:9E5D:24D5:A265 (talk) 03:01, 28 December 2022 (UTC)

Tone?
Just a brief comment about the article. It is very informative but seems somewhat adulatory and uncritical, as though it were written by people who have spent their whole lives researching his life. There should be a "controversy" section like other Wikipedia articles, where the "star" is brought down to earth with tough discussions about misogyny, racism, exploitation, etc. DJ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.148.30.126 (talk) 03:59, 27 November 2015 (UTC) Good idea. It will show how well Buffalo Bill comes out. Also ‘tough discussions about misogyny’ often end with extensive criticism of the concept, and those who promote it; also a good idea. 216.198.80.202 (talk) 16:21, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

 * Is there a consensus of reliable sources for critical analysis of Buffalo Bill's life?
 * He surely did wild west shows without what is considered modern safety equipment, should a critical analysis section have detail on that and what safety equipment was not used and impossible to know since it hadn't been invented at the time?
 * Vote to only include if credible reliable sources include detail on Buffalo Bill with citations to back their assertions - A set of random quotations by reviewers, movie critics, book reviews excluded. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1700:D591:5F10:7930:E18A:117B:394C (talk) 22:26, 28 December 2022 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 10:30, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

Bill's father
A couple of articles online claim that Bill's father was one "William Cody Snr" born in Wexford, Ireland. Is anyone able to clear up the confusion? Example: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-slobs-of-wexford-1343914.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 176.61.50.127 (talk) 21:10, 25 March 2017 (UTC)

Buffalo Bill's Own Story block quote
Under the section  'Early life and education'  and the block quote about the Utah War - I added a reference to the book with link, but it seems to be paraphrased from the original. If someone wants to look at it. BaomoVW (talk) 20:59, 14 May 2017 (UTC)

This is specifically what I'm referring to. It may just be the wrong edition of the book. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZU9KAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA41
 * Presently the moon rose, dead ahead of me; and painted boldly across its face was the figure of an Indian. He wore this war-bonnet of the Sioux, at his shoulder was a rifle pointed at someone in the river-bottom 30 feet [9 meters] below; in another second he would drop one of my friends. I raised my old muzzle-loader and fired. The figure collapsed, tumbled down the bank and landed with a splash in the water. 'What is it?' called McCarthy, as he hurried back. 'It's over there in the water.' 'Hi!' he cried. 'Little Billy's killed an Indian all by himself!' So began my career as an Indian fighter. BaomoVW (talk) 21:18, 20 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Presently the moon rose, dead ahead of me; and painted boldly across its face was the figure of an Indian. He wore this war-bonnet of the Sioux, at his shoulder was a rifle pointed at someone in the river-bottom 30 feet [9 meters] below; in another second he would drop one of my friends. I raised my old muzzle-loader and fired. The figure collapsed, tumbled down the bank and landed with a splash in the water. 'What is it?' called McCarthy, as he hurried back. 'It's over there in the water.' 'Hi!' he cried. 'Little Billy's killed an Indian all by himself!' So began my career as an Indian fighter. BaomoVW (talk) 21:18, 20 May 2017 (UTC)

Buffalo Bill Visits Cliff House Sept 13, 1902
Z75SG61Ilunqpdb (talk) 06:00, 19 March 2018 (UTC)
 * Did Buffalo Bill Visit Your Town? - Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave
 * https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/bill.html
 * Buffalo Bill a bust in big Vallejo show
 * http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hns/buffalobill/home.html
 * File:Cliff House 1902.jpg
 * Did Buffalo Bill Visit Your Town? - Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave
 * https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/bill.html
 * Buffalo Bill a bust in big Vallejo show
 * http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hns/buffalobill/home.html
 * File:Cliff House 1902.jpg

Louisa Frederici Cody to John Tait
Z75SG61Ilunqpdb (talk) 06:00, 19 March 2018 (UTC)
 * Letter from Louisa Frederici Cody to John Tait (money)

Medal of Honor
Someone made substantial changes to the Medal of Honor section I contributed to without adding any sources, with the result that the remaining source does not support it. Per this academic book, Simpson's brief did not acknowledge the requirement to be a soldier-- it said expressly that this was never a requirement under the law, and incorrectly cited a book that did not support this. Native American scouts were enlisted, as in they had an enlistment contract, so they weren't at all comparable to guides hired for temporary periods under the quartermaster department, and this is why their awards were not in violation of the law. None of these changes are supported by this source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Foxtrot5151 (talk • contribs) 04:53, 17 January 2019 (UTC)

Buffalo Bills Wild West
Suggestion for improvement: The history of Buffalo Bill's Wild West (Show) doesn't mention how long the show toured the United States. When and where was the final performance? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.105.50.34 (talk) 03:56, 28 February 2021 (UTC)

The Grave
As the attached photo shows, people have been in the habit of tossing coins on the grave when they visit. This has been going on for years. They coins are cleared up regularly, but more still come. How did this habit get started? 216.198.80.202 (talk) 16:24, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

Photo age/year mismatch
The photo with caption "Cody in 1864 at the age of 19" should be corrected. If Cody was born in February 1846, he cannot have been 19 at any point in the year 1864. He was either 17 or 18 depending on when in the year it was taken. If he was actually 19, the photo is from 1865 or early 1866.

The metadata for the photo says it was taken in 1862 (when he would have been 15 or 16), but it's probably incorrect, as he certainly looks a bit older.Mirza Ahmed (talk) 23:20, 7 June 2021 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:Buffalo Bill


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User:Anotherben

I am nobody in particular. I enjoy sifting through these pages. Every now and then I stumble across some eggregious grammatical blunder or blatant mispelling and feeling no obligation to fix it and thinking it highly improbable that I will come across the mistake again I correct it anyway. I suspect there are probably mistakes in this little write-up about me. I will try to come up with something better later.

title: User:Anotherben


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User talk:Anotherben

February 25, 2003

Hello, welcome to Wikipedia. I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian. You can learn more on the how to edit page. The naming conventions and manual of style pages are also useful. Feel free to experiment at the Sandbox. If you have any questions about the project then check out Help or add a question to the Village pump. Angela 19:29 19 Jun 2003 (UTC)

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USS Badoeng Strait

USS Badoeng Strait was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy during the Korean War. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon-class escort carrier, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in, 40 mm, and 20 mm guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 kn, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

She was named after the Badung Strait, located between the Indonesian islands of Bali and Nusa Besar, which was the site of a World War II battle in February 1942, between American–Netherlands and Japanese naval forces.

Design
In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types. Many of the escort carrier types were converted from C3-type transports, but the Sangamon-class escort carriers were instead rebuilt oil tankers. These proved to be very successful ships, and the Commencement Bay-class escort carrier, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design. The new ships were faster, had improved aviation facilities, and had better internal compartmentation. They proved to be the most successful of the escort carriers, and the only class to be retained in active service after the war, since they were large enough to operate newer aircraft.

Badoeng Strait was 557 ft long overall, with a beam of 75 ft at the waterline, which extended to 105 ft at maximum. She displaced 21397 LT at full load, of which 12876 LT could be fuel oil (though some of her storage tanks were converted to permanently store seawater for ballast), and at full load she had a draft of 27 ft. The ship's superstructure consisted of a small island. She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men.

The ship was powered by two Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by four Combustion Engineering-manufactured water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated to produce a total of 16000 shp for a top speed of 19 kn. Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some 23900 nmi at a speed of 15 kn.

Her defensive anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 5 in dual-purpose guns in single mounts, thirty-six 40 mm Bofors guns, and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon light AA cannons. The Bofors guns were placed in three quadruple and twelve twin mounts, while the Oerlikon guns were all mounted individually. She carried 33 planes, which could be launched from two aircraft catapults. Two elevators transferred aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck.

Construction and early career

The first fifteen ships of the Commencement Bay class were ordered on 23 January 1943, allocated to Fiscal Year 1944. The ship, originally to have been named San Alberto Bay, was laid down on 18 August 1944, at the Todd-Pacific Shipyard in Tacoma, Washington. She was renamed Baedoeng Strait and was launched on 15 February 1945, after which she was moved to the Commercial Iron Works for fitting-out work. She was commissioned into active service on 14 November 1945, by which time World War II had ended. Badoeng Strait then underwent additional work to modify her to serve as a flagship, after which she sailed for San Diego, California, for her shakedown cruise and initial training. There, she carried out air qualification training with her new aircrew. She got underway again in late March 1946, bound for Pearl Harbor, which she reached on 2 April. She then returned to California on 20 April, where she was temporarily placed in reserve at San Diego.

On 6 January 1947, Badoeng Strait was recommissioned, and she went to sea on 14 January to begin training exercises, including flight operations with her new aircraft. She made another visit to Pearl Harbor from 11 to 26 February, before resuming training exercises off California that lasted through June. During this period, she alternated between Carrier Divisions 15 and 17, serving as the flagship of the divisions. On 5 July, Badoeng Strait went to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard for an overhaul that lasted until 11 November. She then embarked on a shakedown cruise before resuming training operations through December. The ship began a cruise to the western Pacific on 5 January 1948 to ferry aircraft to the American base at Apra Harbor, Guam. There, she picked up passengers for the voyage back to California, arriving back in San Diego on 10 February. She next ferried aircraft to Pearl Harbor in April, followed by another overhaul at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard that began on 24 May and lasted for three months. She departed for San Diego on 16 June and spent the following four months carrying out anti-submarine warfare training. The rest of the year saw the ship confined to port.

In early January 1949, Badoeng Strait took aboard Composite Squadron VC-21, which was equipped with TBM-3 Avenger bombers for anti-submarine exercises, which continued until 25 February. She moved north to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for another overhaul on 30 March that lasted into early July, when she returned to San Diego. She returned to anti-submarine training with VC-21 and VC-11 from July through September. In October, she went to Hawaii for a two-week training period, before returning to San Diego on 14 November. The ship remained in port for the net two months, before resuming training operations in the middle of January 1950. She operated out of San Diego for the next six months before moving to Naval Air Station Alameda on 16 June, where she took on a contingent of 223 Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps cadets for a training cruise.

Korean War

The Korean War broke out on 25 June 1950, when North Korea invaded the South, and the United Nations intervened two days later. Badoeng Strait was ordered to join the forces assembling to defeat the North Korean invasion. The ship stopped in Pearl Harbor to disembark the NROTC cadets still aboard and then returned to San Diego to take on supplies and ammunition for wartime operations. On 14 July, she departed with the Marine Corps squadrons MAG-33 and VMF-323 aboard, bound for Kobe, Japan. While cruising near the Marianas Islands on 27 July, Badoeng Strait came alongside the dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) to refuel that vessel. The two ships collided during refueling, but neither was damaged seriously. Badoeng Strait arrived in Kobe on 31 July and unloaded equipment before sortieing on 4 August to begin combat operations in the Tsushima Strait. The following day, one of VMF-323's Vought F4U Corsair fighters crashed on landing, injuring the pilot and destroying the aircraft.

Beginning on 6 August, the ship's aircraft began attacking North Korean forces and infrastructure in south-western Korea as they advanced on South Korean and American forces in the Battle of the Pusan Perimeter. Badoeng Strait's pilots carried out nearly 240 raids for the next week, and during this period, they supported an attack by the 1st Marine Brigade toward Jinju. The ship lost five aircraft during these operations, though four of the pilots survived. Badoeng Strait then briefly left to refuel and rearm at Sasebo, Japan, before resuming operations on 15 August. She and her sister ship USS Sicily provided further support to the 1st Marine Brigade until 23 August. Badoeng Strait was then detached to cover the withdrawal of the British destroyer HMS Comus (R43), which had been damaged by North Korean aircraft. The carrier's fighters provided combat air patrol over the damaged destroyer for two days as it passed through the Yellow Sea, and on 26 August, Badoeng Strait returned to the Tsushima Strait for further attacks on North Korean forces.

The ship returned to Sasebo on 29 August for another round of replenishment, departing again on 5 September. Her aircraft resumed attacks on North Korean positions the next day as Allied forces began preparations for the imminent landing at Incheon. Badoeng Strait returned to Sasebo on 11 September, then returned to operations off Korea two days later. Her aircraft supported Allied forces as they fought their way inland from Incheon from 14 to 22 September, before stopping in Incheon to replenish fuel and ammunition. After four days, Badoeng Strait got underway again to take part in the operation into the Seoul area, which culminated in the liberation of the South Korean capital on 28 September. The ship then moved north to interdict North Korean supply lines for the next several days. On 2 October, the ship left the combat area to replenish at Sasebo, arriving two days thereafter. She remained there for two weeks to give her crew a rest from the near constant combat operations over the last two months.

Badoeng Strait next went to sea on 16 October, rendezvousing with Sicily in the Sea of Japan later that day. By that time, the UN offensive into North Korea was well underway, and the ships covered operations around Wonsan for the following eleven days. She assisted a marine unit south of Wonsan that came under attack on 28 October from a North Korean division that had been bypassed by the main UN offensive. The ship next provided aerial support to the US 7th Infantry Division as it advanced toward Kapsan and Pungsan near the Chinese border. The weather worsened into November, frequently preventing air operations, and on 14 November, Badoeng Strait departed for Sasebo, arriving two days later. The ship returned to the coast of Korea on 23 November, and on 25 November, her aircraft began heavy operations against Chinese troops that had intervened in the war. Her planes provided aerial support to the marines fighting at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in late November and into December.

The ship withdrew to the Sea of Japan on 10 December to replenish fuel, ammunition, and stores while underway. Three days later, she had returned to Wonsan to cover the Hungnam evacuation over the course of 15–24 December. The following day, she refueled at sea and then moved into the Yellow Sea by 27 December, where her aircraft operated over Seoul, which was also being evacuated by Allied forces in the face of Chinese advances. The ship operated in the area through 6 January 1951, when bad weather and the need to refuel and rearm led the ship to withdraw once again to Sasebo, arriving there on 9 January. She remained there until 29 January, when she departed to return to San Diego. After arriving there on 7 February, she moved north for an overhaul at Puget Sound that lasted until mid-July. The ship sailed back to San Diego on 20 July, where she carried out a month of flight training in preparation for another deployment to Korea.

Badoeng Strait got underway on 15 September, bound for Korean waters. She stopped briefly in Pearl Harbor on 21 September and then continued on to Yokosuka, arriving there on 2 October. There, she joined Carrier Division 17 and became its flagship. She spent the next two months participating in anti-submarine training exercises held off Okinawa with other elements of the 7th Fleet. In December, she returned to Korea to join a blockade of North Korean ports. Over the following days, her aircraft took part in a number of operations in western North Korea. She returned to Yokosuka on 28 December for replenishment and then carried out patrols in the Yellow Sea between 7 January 1952 and 6 February. The Australian carrier HMAS Sydney (R17) replaced her that month, allowing Badoeng Strait to return to San Diego. She stopped in Pearl Harbor on the way to drop off spare aircraft and other equipment, before proceeding on to San Diego, arriving there on 1 March.

The ship underwent periodic maintenance and then began a period of pilot training for Navy squadrons VS-23 and VS-871, followed by a Marine Corps helicopter unit in early June. She returned to San Diego on 11 June and thereafter made preparations for a third deployment to Korea. The ship got underway for East Asia on 19 July. She reached Japan by August, and while in Kobe on the 10th, she embarked planes from VS-931. Badoeng Strait then went to sea for anti-submarine training off Okinawa, and after a week there, joined the rest of 7th Fleet for operations off Japan that lasted through September. The ship finally sortied from Sasebo for combat operations on 5 October, though this time, her activities were limited to providing anti-submarine patrols for various naval units in the area off Wonsan. She returned to Sasebo on 17 October for maintenance that lasted until 28 October. The ship spent the next three months patrolling off the coast of Korea as part of the blockade force; she contributed her fighters for combat air patrols, to sweep for enemy forces, and to support Allied forces fighting ashore. During this period, she also took part in an officer exchange program with the British carrier HMS Glory (R62). She arrived at Sasebo on 5 February 1953, unloaded equipment, and then proceeded to Yokosuka on 7 February, arriving two days later. On 11 February, she left for California, ending her operations in the Korean War. She earned six battle stars for her service during the conflict.

Later career

Badoeng Strait reached San Diego on 27 February; the following month, she moved to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul and modernization that lasted for six months. She then returned to San Diego to be placed in limited commissioned, allocated to the reserve fleet there. She was placed in full commission again in February 1954. For the next year, she carried out anti-submarine training, including tests of the new Grumman S-2 Tracker anti-submarine aircraft and of helicopters in the anti-submarine role. The ship made another cruise to East Asia beginning in April 1955. She had aboard VS-38 and a helicopter detachment from HS-2. During the cruise, she visited Japan, patrolled off the coast of China, and took part in anti-submarine exercises with elements of 7th Fleet. She visited Taiwan and Okinawa in September before steaming back across the Pacific, arriving in San Diego on 1 October. From there, she moved back to San Francisco for another three months of mainentance.

The ship returned to San Deigo in February 1956, and thereafter departed to join several ships in the Marshall Islands to participate in Operation Redwing, a series of nuclear weapons tests that involved seventeen separate detonations. These were carried out at Eniwetok and the Bikini Atoll. Badoeng Strait provided air transport from the fleet to Bikini, supported the Marine helicopter unit HMH-363, and served as a radiation safety checkpoint. Her crew also assisted with construction projects ashore. ON 31 July, she got underway for San Diego, arriving on 8 August. Late the following month, she took part in extensive amphibious assault training, which lasted for fifteen weeks and included joint operations with Marine helicopters. The exercises also tested helicopter assaults and helped to develop air assault doctrine.

By the late 1950s, Badoeng Strait was worn out, and was too small to accommodate new jet aircraft and assault helicopters entering service. Because the Commencement Bay-class ships were not large enough to operate these new aircraft, the Navy had begun to replace them with the much larger Essex-class aircraft carriers by the mid-1950s. Proposals to radically rebuild the Commencement Bays either with an angled flight deck and various structural improvements or lengthen their hulls by 30 ft and replace their propulsion machinery to increase speed came to nothing, as they were deemed to be too expensive. On 14 January 1957, she left San Diego for Bremerton, Washington, where she was prepared for long-term storage in the reserve. She was decommissioned on 17 May and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet based in Bremerton. On 7 April 1959, she was reclassified as an aircraft ferry with the hull number AKV-17, but she saw no further active use. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 December 1970, and on 8 May 1972, was sold to the ship breaking firm American Ship Dismantlers, based in Portland, Oregon. She was thereafter broken up for scrap.

title: USS Badoeng Strait


text:
Gloomy Sunday

"Gloomy Sunday" (Hungarian: Szomorú Vasárnap), also known as the "Hungarian Suicide Song", is a popular song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933.

The original lyrics were titled "Vége a világnak" (The world is ending) and were about despair caused by war, ending in a quiet prayer about people's sins. Poet László Jávor wrote his own lyrics to the song, titled Szomorú vasárnap (Sad Sunday), in which the protagonist wants to commit suicide following his lover's death. The latter lyrics ended up becoming more popular while the former were essentially forgotten. The song was first recorded in Hungarian by pop singer Pál Kalmár in 1935.

"Gloomy Sunday" was first recorded in English by Hal Kemp in 1936, with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis, and was recorded the same year by Paul Robeson, with lyrics by Desmond Carter. It became well known throughout much of the English-speaking world after the release of a version by jazz and swing music singer Billie Holiday in 1941. Lewis's lyrics refer to suicide, and the record label described it as the "Hungarian Suicide Song". There is a recurring urban legend which claims that many people have taken their own lives while listening to this song, particularly Hungarians.

Writing and background
The song was composed by Rezső Seress while living in Paris, in an attempt to become established as a songwriter in late 1932. The original musical composition was a piano melody in C minor, with the lyrics being sung over it. Seress wrote the song at the time of the Great Depression and increasing fascist influence in his native Hungary, although sources differ as to the degree to which his song was motivated by personal melancholy rather than concerns about the future of the world. The basis of Seress's lyrics is a reproach to the injustices of man, with a prayer to God to have mercy on the modern world and the people who perpetrate evil. There are some suggestions that the words of "Vége a világnak" were in fact not written until World War II itself and not copyrighted until 1946.

Seress initially had difficulty finding a publisher, mainly due to the unusually melancholy nature of the song. One potential publisher stated, "It is not that the song is sad, there is a sort of terrible compelling despair about it. I don't think it would do anyone any good to hear a song like that."

The song was published as sheet music in late 1933, with lyrics by poet László Jávor, who was inspired by a recent break-up with his fiancée. According to most sources, Jávor rewrote the lyrics after the song's first publication, although he is sometimes described as the original writer of its words. His lyrics contained no political sentiments, but rather were a lament for the death of a beloved and a pledge to meet with the lover again in the afterlife. This version of the song became the best known, and most later rewritings are based around the idea of lost love.

English lyrics
Some English versions add the following verse:

Urban legends
There have been several urban legends regarding the song over the years, mostly involving it being allegedly connected with various numbers of suicides, and radio networks reacting by purportedly banning the song. However, most of these claims are unsubstantiated.

Press reports in the 1930s associated at least 100 suicides, both in Hungary and the United States, with "Gloomy Sunday", but most of the deaths supposedly linked to it are difficult to verify. The urban legend appears to be, for the most part, simply an embellishment of the high number of Hungarian suicides that occurred in the decade when the song was composed due to other factors such as famine and poverty. No studies have drawn a clear link between the song and suicide.

On 11 January 1968, about 35 years after writing the song, its composer killed himself.

The BBC banned Billie Holiday's version of the song from being broadcast, as being detrimental to wartime morale, but allowed performances of instrumental versions. However, there is little evidence of any other radio bans; the BBC's ban was lifted by 2002.

Later recordings and notable performances
The song's notoriety contributed towards many other notable artists later recording the song, including:

 * (singer Billy Mackenzie died by suicide in 1997)
 * (as a bridge in their song "(Theme from) Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern")
 * (French version)
 * (she also performed it live at the funeral of her friend, the fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who died by suicide in 2010.)
 * (Legacy album)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * (singer Billy Mackenzie died by suicide in 1997)
 * (as a bridge in their song "(Theme from) Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern")
 * (French version)
 * (she also performed it live at the funeral of her friend, the fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who died by suicide in 2010.)
 * (Legacy album)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * (singer Billy Mackenzie died by suicide in 1997)
 * (as a bridge in their song "(Theme from) Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern")
 * (French version)
 * (she also performed it live at the funeral of her friend, the fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who died by suicide in 2010.)
 * (Legacy album)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * (singer Billy Mackenzie died by suicide in 1997)
 * (as a bridge in their song "(Theme from) Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern")
 * (French version)
 * (she also performed it live at the funeral of her friend, the fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who died by suicide in 2010.)
 * (Legacy album)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * (as a bridge in their song "(Theme from) Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern")
 * (French version)
 * (she also performed it live at the funeral of her friend, the fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who died by suicide in 2010.)
 * (Legacy album)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * (she also performed it live at the funeral of her friend, the fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who died by suicide in 2010.)
 * (Legacy album)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * (she also performed it live at the funeral of her friend, the fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who died by suicide in 2010.)
 * (Legacy album)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * (she also performed it live at the funeral of her friend, the fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who died by suicide in 2010.)
 * (Legacy album)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * (Legacy album)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * (Legacy album)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2013: Hekte Zaren (inspired by Diamanda Galas' version)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2016: Boston Chamber Orchestra (orchestrated by Ivan Linn, from the film score of The Tenants Downstairs)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)
 * 2023: The Far Horizon (English Vocals)

Legacy
A cover of the song appeared on the Associates' second studio album Sulk, released on 14 May 1982, and named 'Album of the Year' in Melody Maker at the end of 1982. Lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie killed himself on 22 January 1997.

The song's lyrics are featured in the bridge of the Dead Milkmen song "(Theme from) Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern", on the band's 1987 album Bucky Fellini.

A highly fictional version of the song's origin is at the heart of the 1999 German/Hungarian film Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod (Gloomy Sunday – A Song of Love and Death).

A cover of "Gloomy Sunday" is featured on track three of Venetian Snares's 2005 album Rossz Csillag Alatt Született. It also samples Billie Holiday's vocals.

The song inspired the 2006 movie The Kovak Box, in which a writer is trapped on the island of Mallorca with people who are injected with a microchip that causes them to take their own lives when they hear "Gloomy Sunday". The song plays during the movie, sung by the actress Lucía Jiménez. A music video from the cover was released as part of the movie promotion. The song also features on the soundtrack of Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006), performed by Artie Shaw.

In 2008, Belgian artist Marieke Van Wuytswinkel used a sample of "Gloomy Sunday" in her work A Natural Morning.

title: Gloomy Sunday


text:
Qara Khitai

The Qara Khitai, or Kara Khitai ( or ), also known as the Western Liao, officially the Great Liao , was a dynastic regime based in Central Asia ruled by the Yelü clan of the Khitan people. Being a rump state of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty, Western Liao was culturally Sinicized to a large extent, especially among the elites consisting of Liao refugees.

The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi (Emperor Dezong), who led the remnants of the Liao dynasty from Manchuria to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty conquest of northern China. The empire was usurped by the Naimans under Kuchlug in 1211; traditional Chinese, Persian, and Arab sources consider the usurpation to be the end of the dynasty, even though the empire would not fall until the Mongol conquest in 1218. Some remnants of the Qara Khitai would form the Qutlugh-Khanid dynasty in southern Iran.

The territories of the Qara Khitai corresponded to parts of modern-day China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The Anushtegin dynasty, the Karluks, Qocho kingdom, the Kankalis, and the Kara-Khanid Khanate were vassal states of the Qara Khitai at some point in history. Chinese and Muslim historiographical sources, such as the History of Liao, considered the Qara Khitai to be a legitimate Chinese dynasty.

Names
The Qara Khitai took on trappings of a Chinese state and inherited the dynastic name "Great Liao". Hence, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese historians generally refer to the empire as the "Western Liao", emphasizing its continuation from the Liao dynasty.

The name "Qara Khitai", commonly used by Central Asian tribes to refer to the dynasty, is also commonly used in Western scholarly works. The term is often translated as the Black Khitans in Mongolian, but its original meaning is unclear today. In Modern Mongolian, "Kara-Khitan" is rendered "Хар Хятан" (Khar Khyatan). Since no direct records from the empire survive today, the only surviving historical records about the empire come from foreign sources.

"Black Khitans" (黑契丹) has also been seen used in Chinese. "Qara," which literally means "black," corresponds with the Liao's dynastic color black and its dynastic element water, according to the theory of five elements (wuxing). The Jurchens referred to the empire as "Dashi" or "Dashi Linya" (after its founder), to reduce any claims the empire may have had to the old territories of the Liao dynasty. Muslim historians initially referred to the state simply as "Khitay" or "Khitai;" they may have adopted this form of "Khitan" via the Uyghurs of Kocho in whose language the final -n or -ń became -y. Only after the Mongol conquest did the state begin to be referred to in the Muslim world as the "Kara-Khitai" or "Qara-Khitai." Khitan is the origin of "Cathay", a foreign name for China.

Founding of the Qara Khitai
The Qara Khitai empire was established by Yelü Dashi, who led nomadic Khitans west by way of Mongolia after the collapse of the Liao dynasty. The Jurchens, once vassals of the Khitans, had allied with the Song dynasty and overthrown the Liao. Yelü recruited Khitans and other tribes to form an army, and in 1134 captured Balasagun from the Kara-Khanid Khanate, which marks the start of the Qara Khitai empire in Central Asia. The Khitan forces were soon joined by 10,000 Khitans, who had been subjects of the Kara-Khanid Khanate. The Khitans then conquered Kashgar, Khotan, and Beshbalik. The Khitans defeated the Western Kara-Khanid Khanate at Khujand in 1137, eventually leading to their control over the Fergana Valley. They won the Battle of Qatwan against the Western Kara-Khanids and the Seljuk Empire on 9 September 1141, which allowed the Khitans to gain control over Transoxiana.

Yelü Dashi had originally hoped to recapture northern China from the Jin dynasty and restore the territories once held by the Liao dynasty. However, he soon discovered the relative weakness of his empire vis-a-vis the Jin dynasty and gave up the idea after a disastrous attack on the Jin dynasty in 1134. The Western Liao continued to defy Jin supremacy in 1146, and continued sending scouts and small military units against the Jin in 1156, 1177, 1185, 1188. This indicates that for the first 2 generations there remained considerable interest in reconquest.

Yelü Dashi's successors
When Yelü Dashi died his wife, Xiao Tabuyan (1143-1150) became regent for their son. The son, Yelü Yilie, ruled from 1150 to 1163, to be succeeded by his sister, Yelü Pusuwan (1164-1177). She then fell in love with her younger brother-in-law, Xiao Fuguzhi. They were executed in 1177 by her father-in-law, Xiao Wolila, who then placed his son Yelü Zhilugu (1178–1211) on the throne. The empire was weakened by rebellions and internal wars among its vassals, especially during the latter parts of its history.

During this period the empire contracted in the northeast when in 1175 the Naimans east of the Altai and the Qangli north of Lake Balkhash made a partial submission to the Jurchens. In the west there were many conflicts with Khwarezm involving non-payment of tribute and rival claimants to the throne. Late in the period it expanded far to the south as the Khwarezmian Empire until it was conquered by the Mongols in 1220, two years after the Qara Kitai. In the south the Kara-Khanid vassals were lightly held and engaged in various conflicts with each other, the Qara Kitai, Khwarezm and the Gurids.

Kuchlug's usurpation and end of the Khanate
In 1208, a Naiman prince, Kuchlug, fled his homeland after being defeated by Mongols. Kuchlug was welcomed into the empire of the Qara-Khitans, and was allowed to marry Zhilugu's daughter. However, in 1211, Kuchlug revolted, and later captured Yelü Zhilugu while the latter was hunting. Zhilugu was allowed to remain as the nominal ruler but died two years later, and many historians regarded his death as the end of the Qara-Khitan empire. In 1216, Genghis Khan dispatched his general Jebe to pursue Kuchlug; Kuchlug fled, but in 1218, he was finally captured and decapitated. The Mongols fully conquered the former territories of the Qara-Khitans in 1220.

Aftermath
The Qara Khitais became absorbed into the Mongol Empire; a segment of the Qara-Khitan troops had previously already joined the Mongol army fighting against Kuchlug. Another segment of the Qara-Khitans, in a dynasty founded by Buraq Hajib, survived in Kirman as a vassal of the Mongols, but ceased to exist as an entity during the reign of Öljaitü of the Ilkhanate. The Qara-Khitans were dispersed widely all over Eurasia as part of the Mongol army. In the 14th century, they began to lose their ethnic identity, traces of their presence however may be found as clan names or toponyms from Afghanistan to Moldova. Today a Khitay tribe still lives in northern Kyrgyzstan.

Administration
The Khitans ruled from their capital at Balasagun (in today's Kyrgyzstan), directly controlling the central region of the empire. The rest of their empire consisted of highly autonomous vassalized states, primarily Khwarezm, the Karluks, the Kingdom of Qocho of the Uyghurs, the Kankalis, and the Western, Eastern, and Fergana Kara-Khanids. The late-arriving Naimans also became vassals, before usurping the empire under Kuchlug.

The Khitan rulers adopted many administrative elements from the Liao dynasty, including the use of Confucian administration and imperial trappings. The empire also adopted the title of Gurkhan (universal Khan). The Khitans used the Chinese calendar, maintained Chinese imperial and administrative titles, gave its emperors reign names, used Chinese-styled coins, and sent imperial seals to its vassals. Although most of its administrative titles were derived from Chinese, the empire also adopted local administrative titles, such as tayangyu (Turkic) and vizier.

The Khitans maintained their old customs, even in Central Asia. They remained nomads, adhered to their traditional dress, and maintained the religious practices followed by the Liao dynasty Khitans. The ruling elite tried to maintain the traditional marriages between the Yelü king clan and the Xiao queen clan, and were highly reluctant to allow their princesses to marry outsiders. The Qara-Khitai Khitans followed a mix of Buddhism and traditional Khitan religion, which included fire worship and tribal customs, such as the tradition of sacrificing a gray ox with a white horse. In an innovation unique to the Qara Khitai, the Khitans paid each of their soldiers a salary.

The empire ruled over a diverse population that was quite different from its rulers. The majority of the population was sedentary, although the population suddenly became more nomadic during the end of the empire, due to the influx of Naimans. The majority of their subjects were Muslims, although a significant minority practiced Buddhism and Nestorianism. Although Chinese and Khitan were the primary languages of administration, the empire also administered in Persian and Uyghur.

Association with China
In Chinese historiography, the Qara Khitai is most commonly called the "Western Liao" (西遼) and is considered to be an orthodox Chinese dynasty, as is the case for the Liao dynasty. The history of the Qara Khitai was included in the History of Liao (one of the Twenty-Four Histories), which was compiled officially during the Yuan dynasty by Toqto'a et al.

After the fall of the Tang dynasty, various dynasties of non-Han ethnic origins gained prestige by portraying themselves as the legitimate dynasty of China. Qara Khitai monarchs used the title of "Chinese emperor", and were also called the "Khan of Chīn". The Qara Khitai used the "image of China" to legitimize their rule to the Central Asians. The Chinese emperor, together with the rulers of the Turks, Arabs, India and the Byzantine Romans, were known to Islamic writers as the world's "five great kings". Qara Khitai kept the trappings of a Chinese state, such as Chinese coins, Chinese imperial titles, the Chinese writing system, tablets, seals, and used Chinese products like porcelain, mirrors, jade and other Chinese customs. The adherence to Liao Chinese traditions has been suggested as a reason why the Qara Khitai did not convert to Islam. Despite the Chinese trappings, there were comparatively few Han Chinese among the population of the Qara Khitai. These Han Chinese had lived in Kedun during the Liao dynasty, and in 1124 migrated with the Khitans under Yelü Dashi along with other people of Kedun, such as the Bohai, Jurchen, and Mongol tribes, as well as other Khitans in addition to the Xiao consort clan.

Qara Khitai's rule over the Muslim-majority Central Asia has the effect of reinforcing the view among some Muslim writers that Central Asia was linked to China even though the Tang dynasty had lost control of the region a few hundred years before. Marwazī wrote that Transoxania was a former part of China, while Fakhr al-Dīn Mubārak Shāh defined China as part of "Turkestan", and the cities of Balāsāghūn and Kashghar were considered part of China.

Legacy
The association of Khitai with China meant that the most enduring trace of the Khitan's power is names that are derived from it, such as Cathay, which is the medieval Latin appellation for China. Names derived from Khitai are still current in modern usage, such as the Russian, Bulgarian, Uzbek and Mongolian names for China. However, the use of the name Khitai to mean "China" or "Chinese" by Turkic speakers within China, such as the Uyghurs, is considered pejorative by the Chinese authorities, who tried to ban it.

Seals

In Autumn of the year 2019 a Chinese type bronze seal was discovered near a Caravanserai that was located near the Ustyurt Plateau. This seal has a weight of 330 grams and has the dimensions of 50x52x13 millimeters with a handle that is 21 millimeters in height. The inscription of the seal is written in Khitan large script and contains 20 characters. This was the first seal that could be confidently attributed to the a Western Liao period as it is attributed to have been created during the 3rd month of the year Tianxi 20 (or the year 1197 in the Gregorian calendar) during the reign of Emperor Yelü Zhilugu. The discovery of this seal further indicated that the Qara Khitai Khanate adopted the Chinese administrative practice, as such seals were commonly used in the Imperial Chinese government apparatus.

As of 2020 it is unclear if the same regulations on seals existed in Qara Khitai as did in imperial China and if the sizes of Western Liao seals were standardised or not.

title: Qara Khitai


text:
La Bamba

La Bamba may refer to:

 * La Bamba (film), a 1987 film based on the life of Ritchie Valens
 * "La Bamba" (song), a folk song best known from a 1958 adaptation by Ritchie Valens
 * La Bamba Mexican Restaurant, an American fast casual Tex-Mex restaurant chain
 * Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg, an American trombonist and singer

title: La Bamba


text:
USS Bairoko

USS Bairoko was a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy in service from 1945 to 1955. The Commencement Bay class were built during World War II, and were an improvement over the earlier Sangamon-class escort carrier, which were converted from oil tankers. They were capable of carrying an air group of 33 planes and were armed with an anti-aircraft battery of 5 in, 40 mm, and 20 mm guns. The ships were capable of a top speed of 19 kn, and due to their origin as tankers, had extensive fuel storage.

Design
In 1941, as United States participation in World War II became increasingly likely, the US Navy embarked on a construction program for escort carriers, which were converted from transport ships of various types. Many of the escort carrier types were converted from C3-type transports, but the Sangamon-class escort carriers were instead rebuilt oil tankers. These proved to be very successful ships, and the Commencement Bay-class escort carrier, authorized for Fiscal Year 1944, were an improved version of the Sangamon design. The new ships were faster, had improved aviation facilities, and had better internal compartmentation. They proved to be the most successful of the escort carriers, and the only class to be retained in active service after the war, since they were large enough to operate newer aircraft.

Bairoko was 557 ft long overall, with a beam of 75 ft at the waterline, which extended to 105 ft at maximum. She displaced 21397 LT at full load, of which 12876 LT could be fuel oil (though some of her storage tanks were converted to permanently store seawater for ballast), and at full load she had a draft of 27 ft. The ship's superstructure consisted of a small island. She had a complement of 1,066 officers and enlisted men.

The ship was powered by two Allis-Chalmers geared steam turbines, each driving one screw propeller, using steam provided by four Combustion Engineering-manufactured water-tube boilers. The propulsion system was rated to produce a total of 16000 shp for a top speed of 19 kn. Given the very large storage capacity for oil, the ships of the Commencement Bay class could steam for some 23900 nmi at a speed of 15 kn.

Her defensive anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 5 in dual-purpose guns in single mounts, thirty-six 40 mm Bofors guns, and twenty 20 mm Oerlikon light AA cannons. The Bofors guns were placed in three quadruple and twelve twin mounts, while the Oerlikon guns were all mounted individually. She carried 33 planes, which could be launched from two aircraft catapults. Two elevators transferred aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck.

Construction and early career

The first fifteen ships of the Commencement Bay class were ordered on 23 January 1943, allocated to Fiscal Year 1944. The ship was originally named Portage Bay, but on 5 June 1944, before construction of the ship began, she was renamed Bairoko after the battles fought around Bairoko Harbor during the Solomon Islands campaign; American forces captured the harbor in August 1943. The ship was laid down at the Todd-Pacific Shipyards in Tacoma, Washington, on 25 July 1944. She was launched on 25 January 1945 and was commissioned on 16 July 1945. Bairoko then completed fitting out work before conducting her shakedown cruise in Puget Sound. She sailed for San Diego, California, in early August. After arrival, her new complement of aircraft carried out flight training for the rest of the month. She was finally ready for service on 3 September, the day after the surrender of Japan formally ended World War II. The ship then went into the shipyard at San Pedro for repairs that lasted for four weeks.

On 18 October, Bairoko left San Pedro for a lengthy cruise in the western Pacific. She stopped in Pearl Harbor on the way, staying there for about two weeks before departing on 7 November. While en route, her orders were changed, directing her to join her sister ships USS Siboney (CVE-112) and USS Puget Sound (CVE-113) in the Mariana Islands in the central Pacific. She arrived there on 24 November, and the three carriers, joined by four destroyer escorts, formed a task group and sailed for Hong Kong on 30 November. The carriers conducted combined air training exercises while on the way. After arriving, the ships underwent maintenance for a week and then departed on 21 December, bound for Manila, the Philippines. The group arrived two days later, and remained in port there until 30 December, when they departed for Guam. There, Bairoko left the rest of the ships and sailed back to California alone. She reached San Diego on 25 January 1946.

1946–1949

On 1 February, Bairoko returned to Tacoma for modifications to allow her to operate jet aircraft. Work on the ship lasted for three weeks, after which she participated in pilot qualification training in Puget Sound. She arrived back in San Deigo on 3 March, where she took on sixteen Ryan FR-1 Fireball jet-and-piston fighters of VF-41 squadron. Bairoko carried out fight testing of the new aircraft until 26 April, when the ship was removed from active service due to crew shortages. She remained confined to port until 15 September, when she was reactivated. The ship went to sea next on 15 October for general training exercises. She sailed for San Pedro on 26 October for another round of modifications that lasted for three months. The ship was back in service by 24 January 1947, and she cruised in the local area until 17 February, when she departed for Pearl Harbor to take on a load of aircraft she was to ferry to other carriers participating in fleet problem 2-47, which was held between 2 and 9 March. Bairoko then returned the planes to San Diego after the maneuvers, arriving there on 20 March.

The ship next got underway on 7 April, this time to ferry aircraft to China. She stopped in Guam on 27 April and embarked Marine squadron VMF-218, which was equipped with twenty Vought F4U Corsair fighters. Bairoko stopped in Shanghai, China, on 8 May and the marines flew off their aircraft the following day. The planes were to be transferred to VMF-211, which was based in Qingdao, China. Bairoko meanwhile departed for Okinawa, thereafter proceeding home on 13 May. She stopped in Guam and Pearl Harbor on the way, before ultimately arriving in San Diego at the end of May. She spent the rest of the year participating in anti-submarine exercises off the coast of California. On 21 November, during one of the maneuvers, a land-based Lockheed P-2 Neptune accidentally crashed, prompting a search and rescue effort for the crew. Bairoko's boats picked up an observer and the co-pilot, but the other ten men aboard the plane were killed in the accident.

Bairoko moved to San Pedro on 7 January 1948 for further modifications, this time receiving a decontamination center on her hangar deck and a repair facility for scientific instruments. These changes were in preparation for Operation Sandstone, a series of three nuclear weapons tests conducted in Eniwetok Atoll. The ship left San Pedro on 17 February, carrying a load of reconnaissance planes, support helicopters, and scientists from the Radiological Safety Group. The ship arrived in Eniwetok on 17 March for the tests, which were carried out on 15 April, 1 May, and 15 May. For each blast, Bairoko anchored some 8.5 nmi from the hypocenter so that observers could photograph the tests. Her helicopters and boats were then sent out to collect soil samples and radiation readings in the area. Her crew also assisted with the decontamination of equipment used in the tests. By early June, the ship had returned to San Diego.

The ship spent the rest of the year conducting, pilot qualifications, anti-submarine training exercises, and other maneuvers off the coast of California. As naval budgets were being reduced by late 1948, Bairoko was ordered to proceed to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard to be deactivated. On 14 April 1950, she was decommissioned and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

First deployment
Bairoko's period in reserve proved to be short, as North Korean forces invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950, and two days later, the US led the United Nations to intervene on the side of South Korea. Bairoko was recommissioned on 12 September, initially to train pilots and transport them and their aircraft to the war zone. The ship moved to Alameda, California for fitting out, after which she embarked VMF-311 to transport them to Korea. She reached Japan on 29 September, where VMF-311 left the ship, to be replaced by the anti-submarine squadron VS-21. The ship thereafter began anti-submarine patrols in the Yellow Sea to guard against a potential Soviet entrance into the war. She performed this role for the following five months, making a total of twelve week-long patrols in the area. During these operations, she also participated in anti-submarine training with American submarines.

On 10 May 1951, while in Yokosuka, Japan, an explosion rocked the ship, starting a major fire in her hangar that quickly spread to the engine room. Five men were killed in the blaze, which badly damaged the ship, destroying ventilation and electrical systems and weakening internal bulkheads. She underwent repairs in Yokosuka, which lasted until late June. By 3 July, she was ready to resume operations in the Yellow Sea. Bairoko took the sixteen TBM-3 Avengers from VS-23 the same day, though the ship remained in the region for just four more weeks, departing for California on 4 August. She arrived in San Diego on 15 August and remained there for nearly a month. She went to sea on 10 September for ten weeks of training operations with VS-25 off San Diego, including anti-submarine practice and night flight operations with Grumman AF Guardian patrol aircraft. The ship left California on 1 December to begin another deployment to Korean waters.

Second deployment

Bairoko arrived in Yokosuka on 16 December and then left for Okinawa on 28 December. But while leaving Yokosuka, she struck a mooring buoy and bent two of the blades on her starboard propeller. The ship had to be dry docked for repairs. She finally arrived at Okinawa on 5 January 1952, where she spent the following two weeks carrying out training for VS-25. The ship then embarked VMF-312 on 11 February in preparation for combat operations in Korea. Five days later, she arrived in her patrol area in the Yellow Sea, escorted by the British destroyers HMS Charity (R29) and HMS Cossack (R57). The ship's fighters carried out patrols over southern North Korea over the next nine days, attacking any targets of opportunity they encountered, including bridges, gun positions, and supply vehicles. The Corsairs of VMF-312 flew some 121 combat sorties during the nine days. On 25 February, Bairoko returned to Sasebo to refuel and replenish ammunition and supplies.

The ship returned to the Yellow Sea for another patrol from 5 to 13 March; after refueling again, she embarked on a third patrol from 23 March to 1 April. The ship's aircraft repeated their activities from the first patrol in February, though the operational tempo was lower; her pilots totaled 139 sorties between the second and third patrols. Over the course of these operations, five of her planes were shot down; one pilot was killed, another was rescued by the British frigate HMS Cardigan Bay, and the remaining three were picked up by search and rescue helicopters. Bairoko replenished at Sasebo in early April before resuming operations in the Yellow Sea on 9 April. VMF-312 flew a total of 165 sorties over the following eight days, striking a variety of North Korean targets and losing only two aircraft; only one was shot down by North Korean fire. The second crashed on attempting to land on Bairoko. Both pilots survived the incidents.

On 18 April, the British aircraft carrier HMS Glory (R62) arrived to relieve Bairoko off the western coast of Korea, allowing the latter vessel to return to Japan. There, she received minor repairs, and on 2 May, VS-25 returned to the ship for anti-submarine exercises held off Okinawa. On 24 May, the ship sailed back to Yokosuka, where she refueled before departing for the United States. She passed through Pearl Harbor on the way to San Diego, where she arrived on 10 June. The ship was then dry docked at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul to repair her propulsion machinery, which was worn out after her long tour in East Asia. On 1 October, Bairoko emerged from the shipyard and sailed for San Diego three days later. For the rest of the year, she took part in local training exercises, including air search practice and joint anti-submarine warfare training with destroyer escorts. In late October, she was present to observe test firings of the new RIM-8 Talos guided missile then under development.

Third deployment
On 12 January 1953, Bairoko steamed out of San Diego to begin her third and final deployment to the Korean theater of operations. She stopped in Pearl Harbor six days later and remained there for a week before resuming her voyage. The ship also passed through Guam and Okinawa, before ultimately arriving in Yokosuka on 18 February. She initially returned to Okinawa for anti-submarine training in company with a group of destroyer escorts from 7th Fleet. Bairoko arrived in the Yellow Sea on 14 May, ready to begin air operations against North Korean forces. Once again carrying VMA-312, the carrier launched a total of 183 sorties during this period, which included raids on enemy positions, aerial reconnaissance, and combat air patrols. The ship then returned to Sasebo for supplies. Over the period from 30 May to 27 July, the ship made a further four patrols in the Yellow Sea, each following a similar pattern. In addition, her aircraft supported partisans fighting behind the lines, and from 17 to 26 June, they covered the evacuation effort for those partisans and their families. The ship's combat operations in Korea ended on 27 July, the day the Korean Armistice Agreement ended the fighting. For the ship's service during the war, Bairoko received three battle stars.

Later career
The ship left Japan on 7 August, bound for California. She stopped in Pearl Harbor to disembark some of her aircraft, before proceeding on to San Diego. After arriving there on 24 August, she moved once again to the Long Island Naval Shipyard for an overhaul and modifications. The work lasted some seven weeks, after which Bairoko returned to San Diego to begin preparations for her role in Operation Castle, a major nuclear weapons test at Eniwetok and Bikini Atoll that included a series of six detonations. The ship spent the rest of 1953 and early 1954 loading radiological equipment and observation aircraft, including six photo-reconnaissance Corsairs from VC-3 and twelve helicopters from HMR-362. On 9 January, the ship got underway for the Marshall Islands.

On 20 January, Bairoko arrived in Kwajalein, where she provided air transport to workers who were preparing facilities for the tests on Bikini and Eniwetok. Her aircraft flew observation missions during the blasts to conduct radiological surveys of the area, and the ship herself served as a decontamination center. On 1 March, the Castle Bravo detonation significantly exceeded expectations, showering Bairoko—which was some 38 nmi away—with highly radioactive nuclear fallout. The ship's ventilation system was sealed to prevent contamination, but sixteen of her crew were nevertheless exposed to the radioactive dust and received radiation burns. The fallout also reached the Japanese fishing boat Daigo Fukuryū Maru, which was about 90 nmi away, and burned 23 of her crew. Bairoko remained in the area for the remaining five tests, and on 16 May, she departed for home, arriving on 28 May.

For the next month and a half, Bairoko participated in training exercises off San Diego. On 17 July, she returned to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for the last time, to be overhauled prior to assignment to the reserve. By this time, the Navy had begun replacing the Commencement Bay-class ships with much larger Essex-class aircraft carriers, since the former were too small to operate newer and more effective anti-submarine patrol planes. Proposals to radically rebuild the Commencement Bays either with an angled flight deck and various structural improvements or lengthen their hulls by 30 ft and replace their propulsion machinery to increase speed came to nothing, as they were deemed to be too expensive. She was moved to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard on 8 October for additional inactivation work. She was eventually decommissioned on 18 February 1955 and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, which was based in San Francisco. She was reclassified as an aircraft ferry with the hull number AKV-15 on 7 April 1959, but she saw no further active service. She remained in the Navy's inventory for another three years before being struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 April 1960. She was then sold to the Hyman-Michaels Company on 10 August to be broken up.

title: USS Bairoko


text:
Talk:Struan's

Untitled
Is it Struan or Straun? --Paul A 05:08 Feb 25, 2003 (UTC)

It's Struan! So this page has the wrong name... roan

merge
A number of minor characters related to Struans are being proposed for merger rather than being deleted. They have no notability of their own under WP:FICT. JASpencer 20:05, 24 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Support - go for it. Radagast83 22:08, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Struan"s"?
Why does this page have the extra S? LonelyPker 16:55, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Clavell
It is too bad the author wasn't able to write Struan's through the Hong Kong transfer to PRC control in 1997. That would have been something. Chris (クリス) (talk) 06:38, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

IPA
A cleanIPA tag has been readded to this article. The tag says that there is non-IPA pronunciation information in the article, though as far as I can see there isn't. Does this imply that editors would like to see some of the names given in IPA? If so, specifying which on the talkpage would be helpful. --Slp1 (talk) 18:04, 1 March 2008 (UTC)

title: Talk:Struan's


text:
Samson of Dol

Samson of Dol (also Samsun; born c. late 5th century) was a Welsh saint, who is also counted among the seven founder saints of Brittany with Pol Aurelian, Tugdual or Tudwal, Brieuc, Malo, Patern (Paternus) and Corentin. Born in southern Wales, he died in Dol-de-Bretagne, a small town in north Brittany.

Life
The primary source for his biography is the Vita Sancti Samsonis, written sometime between 610 and 820 and clearly based on earlier materials. It gives useful details of contacts between churchmen in Britain, Ireland and Brittany.

Samson was the son of Amon of Demetia and Anna of Gwent. His father's brother married his mother's sister so that their son Maglor was Samson's cousin twice over. Due to a prophecy concerning his birth his parents placed him under the care of Illtud, Abbot of Llantwit Fawr, where he was raised and educated.

Samson later sought a greater austerity than his school provided, and so moved to Llantwit's daughter house, the island monastery of Caldey off the coast of Dyfed (Pembrokeshire), Wales, where he became abbot after the death of Pyr. Samson abstained from alcohol – unlike Pyr, who was killed when he fell down a well while drunk. As a cenobitic and later an eremitic monk, he travelled from Caldey to Ireland, where he is said to have founded or revived a monastery.

There is one fairly certain date recorded of Samson's life; that he was ordained bishop by Bishop Dubricius on the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter (22 February) at the beginning of Lent, which can be calculated to have fallen in the year 521. If, as is usual, he was 35 years old at the time then he would have been born in 486.

Iolo Morganwg was responsible for the re-discovery of the Samson Pillar at St Illtud's Church, Llantwit, in about 1789, but his suggestion that it was erected by Samson himself was discredited by later historians with access to more reliable written sources. However, in the 20th century, genealogical studies threw further light on the subject, and the pillar is now considered by many to be "one of the oldest inscribed Christian monuments in Britain". Legend has it that Saint Samson of Dol was threshing corn in Penparcau, Ceredigion on the hillside of Pen Dinas (a Celtic Hillfort) when the larger part of his flail broke and landed across the valley in the Abbey at Llanbadarn Fawr, in anger he threw the smaller part over the valley too and these were used to make the three celtic crosses which now stand in the church.

Later he travelled to Cornwall (where he founded a community in either South Hill or Golant), then the Scilly Isles (where the island of Samson is named after him), Guernsey where he is the Patron Saint and Brittany, where he founded the monastery of Dol. He organised the excommunication of King Conomor and successfully petitioned the Merovingian king Childebert I on behalf of Judael, Conomor's estranged son (c. 540–60). He is recorded as having attended a council in Paris sometime between 556 and 573, by which time he would have been old. He was buried with his cousin Magloire in the cathedral of Dol.

The Anglo-Saxon King Athelstan (r. 924–939) obtained several relics of Samson, including an arm and a crozier, which he deposited at his monastery at Milton Abbas in Dorset.

Roman Martyrology
In the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology of the Catholic church, Samson is listed under 28 July. He is mentioned as follows: "At Dol in Brittany (died) Samson, abbot and bishop, who having learned the Gospel and monastic discipline in Wales from Illtud, spread these in Domnonée." He does not appear in the current Roman Catholic liturgical calendar of saints celebrated annually in Wales.

title: Samson of Dol


text:
USS Bennington

Two ships of the United States Navy have been named Bennington, after the town of Bennington, Vermont. The Battle of Bennington occurred on 16 August 1777.

 * USS Bennington (PG-4), was commissioned in 1891 and took possession of Wake Island during the Spanish–American War.
 * USS Bennington (CV-20), was an aircraft carrier of World War II and decommissioned in 1970.

title: USS Bennington


text:
Huihe

Huihe may refer to:

 * Uyghur Khaganate, or Huihe, a Turkic empire from the mid 8th century to the 9th century
 * Huihe Township, in Tongling, Anhui, China

title: Huihe