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Talk:Qubit

"childhood of the binary chip" ?????
What is this, some kind of sequel to Canticle for Liebowitz? Seriously, someone rewrite this article that knows what they are talking about. Otherwise I'm going to just assume that anyone selling me "quantum computers" is blowing smoke up my ass. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.233.187.6 (talk) 18:56, 4 January 2018 (UTC)

Schumacher compression
Schumacher undoubtedly discovered Shumacher compression and is generally accepted as having introduced the term qubit in the 1995 Phys Rev paper Quantum Coding, but historically it is questionable whether one can say he discovered how to interpret states as information. I suspect that something like this may have been known to Feynman. Anyway I'm not a historian of science, but I would appreciate if somebody could look into this. CSTAR 18:18, 20 Jun 2004 (UTC)

ummmm....huh?
So I was trying to learn a little bit more about quantum cryptography and I found this article to be kinda confusing. would someone run a copyedit? TitaniumDreads 10:11, 7 August 2005 (UTC)
 * Agreed. This article is confusing and does not adequately explain the concept of a Qubit to the average layman (ie, someone without a degree in Quantum Physics and/or Computer Science). I came here to learn how a Qubit differs from a Bit. This article was not helpful. If someone could re-organize and re-write most of what's here, this article could become vastly more accessible to readers. 66.17.118.207 16:44, 22 May 2006 (UTC)
 * I have seen a couple of explanations all over the Internet, but none of them made me understand even just the third "state" of a Qubit, let alone the exponentially increasing parallel tasks possible. My guess is, that because of the lack of real world examples it is not possible to explain this concept to a layman, comparable to making a Neanderthal man understand how a combustion engine works (no offense to laymen :-) ).--DetlevSchm 03:33, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
 * None taken :-) Philsown (talk) 21:12, 11 May 2012 (UTC)

Whether you wanna study Quantum Computing first learn basic physics and linear algebra, don't try to be a genius without a previous necessary background. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 181.54.169.243 (talk) 03:32, 6 February 2013 (UTC)

Probability of Qudit States
I have heard of Schrodigner's cat in a box. So that cat is a qudit ... right? But I think physicists are confusing everybody. Can't imagine how a cat to be the superposition of two cats. The more I mull over this the more confused I am. Help!!!! Feb 2006 (HYK, Singapore) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.21.154.116 (talk • contribs) 13:39, 28 February 2006

 * Yes, the idea of Schrodinger's cat is to highlight the fact that a real cat cannot be in a superposition of alive and dead even though things like atoms can be in superpositions states. GavinMorley (talk) 15:44, 6 June 2012 (UTC)

Eliminating the Confusion
As per the requests on the talk page, I dove in and tried to make the Qubit page a little more readable. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, as this is my first time doing any more than a minor edit on a page.--Nate 20:49, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Layperson
I am a layperson trying to understand an article about using qubits to hide messages or information, ala steganography. After reading this definition, I have a fuzzy idea of some bit floating around in double space like the film, Maxtrix Reloaded. Can you make the concept a little easier to understand for nonphysics geeks like myself? Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lorikeets (talk • contribs) 17:38, 24 June 2006

Wha...?
If the limits in the article are the only ones there are, then you could no the probability amplitude of p without knowing the probability amplitude of not-p. That doesn't make sense.

WHY COMPLEX NUMBER?!!!
why in a state of qbit e.g. a|0>+b|0>, a,b are complex number? why these are not just real number between -1,1? please send an e-mail: rastegari.mohammad@yahoo.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.191.109.129 (talk • contribs) 22:33, 11 June 2007

 * It's just a representation. It's like for colors: you cannot represent a color by a number between zero and one, in fact you need three numbers: a value for red, blue and green. It's the same for states in quantum mechanics: they have a magnitude and a phase, and a convenient way of writing that down is to use complex numbers.

UnHoly 06:41, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

 * As opposed to a 2-tuple??? (m,p). In any case, this isn't a forum...Tgm1024 (talk) 23:52, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

h,, — Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.225.75.60 (talk) 06:52, 14 November 2013 (UTC)

Mistake?
I think this is a mistake: The use of entanglement in quantum computing has been referred to as "quantum parallelism", and offers a possible explanation for the power of quantum computing: because the state of the computer can be in a quantum superposition of many different classical computational paths, these paths can all proceed concurrently.

Paralelism: (|0>+|1>)(|0>|1>)=|0>|0>+|0>|1>+|1>|0>+|1>|1> (all combinations of 0 and 1)

Entanglement: |0>|0>+|1>|1> (Not all combinations!!!)

193.144.84.171 11:03, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

 * You're right. The thing is that no one really 'knows' why quantum computers works. Parallelism does help, but it seems that entanglement is an additional and different ressource. UnHoly 16:53, 26 June 2007 (UTC)

I'm also stumped
This article is almost worthless and unintelligible to me. Exactly what is the definition of a "two-level system"? Is it the same as a "two-state system"? Some examples of two-level systems should be given.

 * Yes, it is the same. For example, the horizontal and vertical polarizations of a photon form a two-level system. There is already a list of different physical representation at the bottom. UnHoly 06:32, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

And I still don't understand how a quantum computer could work. If you don't know exactly which state the qubit is in, how can you continue into creating bytes, then words, then computer programs? Or if the article means the state can be disambiguated with probabilities, why doesn't the article state this fact, along with the equations/algorithm for doing so?

 * You always know what your qubits 'are', it's just that they might not fit into a classical worldview. For example, if you have the qubit $$|0 \rangle + |1 \rangle $$, then you have the qubit $$|0 \rangle + |1 \rangle $$. You don't know what the classical value would be if you measured it, but you know what is your qubit. If you disambiguate (project in quantum-talk) your qubits right ast the beginning, then you get back to classical computing.

 * The trick for quantum algorithms is then to manipulate the qubits such that the measured value at the end will 'not' be random, but rather reflect the result of some calculation. This is not trivial, and certainly does not look like a normal classical program, and does not include concepts such as bytes or words. See Shor algorithm for an example. UnHoly 06:32, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

And I don't immediately understand the sphere of complex numbers. A complex number has a 2-dimensional representation, so normally two complex numbers would be represented with four dimensions, so why is a 3-dimensional sphere shown?

 * The requirement of normalization means there are only three degrees of liberty left. See Bloch sphere. This is a pretty standard representation, especially used in optics. UnHoly 06:32, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

 * Wrong. The Bloch sphere has only two degrees of freedom. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.95.171.91 (talk) 16:31, 22 May 2018 (UTC)

 * Besides, mathematically, sphere's are technically 2 dimensional constructs (circles are 1 dimensional). The "OP" is confusing a sphere with a "ball".Tgm1024 (talk) 23:59, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

This article really needs to be rewritten to make quick, intuitive sense. I already know about the oddities of quantum mechanics, but this article does not explain how any of that relates to computer operation, as far as I can tell.

 * It does not. Quantum computation is not the same thing. Do not expect to run Quake on a quantum computer. It would not be faster in any sense, even if such a computer could be built with infinite ressource. Feel free to make that clearer if you want, I think the link to quantum information on the first line should be enough. UnHoly 06:32, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Simnia 21:59, 12 July 2007 (UTC)simnia

'WHOA! Interleaved-comments in a talk page? USENET and email works with that, even forums. Here? Recipe for confusion!'Tgm1024 (talk) 23:56, 26 June 2019 (UTC)

Physical representation
In article Trapped_ion_quantum_computer, it mentioned there are two ways to form a qubit using the electronic states of an ion: Are they also included in section 'Physical representation' of this article? I'm confused. - Justin545 (talk) 10:08, 4 May 2008 (UTC)
 * 1) hyperfine qubits
 * 2) optical qubits

 * I meant if the section didn't include them, can someone help? I'm not good at that. I don't even know if they have been included in the section. Including the two types of qubit should improve the completion of the article. - Justin545 (talk) 11:23, 4 May 2008 (UTC)

Is a quiet qubit a variation in the qubit, qutrit, qudit progression?
The statement A quiet qubit'' refers to a qubit that can be efficiently decoupled from the environment. '' is problematic since a quiet qubit was a particular superconducting qubit proposed by Ioffe et al but never realized as proposed. It is not a variation in the in the qubit, qutrit, qudit progression since it does not encode more or fewer states than a qubit. Moreover, a good qubit is decoupled from the environment. Suggest that this comment be removed. Shadesofgrey (talk) 17:38, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

 * Be WP:BOLD and remove the sentence. (I agree with its removal too.) --Robin (talk) 22:58, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

 * I agree so I removed it. GavinMorley (talk) 15:30, 6 June 2012 (UTC)

Is Bloch Sphere sentence wrong?
In the Bloch sphere paragraph: "Represented on such a sphere, a classical bit could only be on the z-axis at the top or (a single point) on the equator of the sphere." Surely a classical bit would be only on "North Pole" or "South Pole" of the sphere, and a point on the equator woud be a superposition with equal probabilities of being |0> or |1>? Should it be changed or am I being stupid?--Hermajesty21 (talk) 16:11, 22 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm gonna be bold and change it, this among other things agrees with me. --Hermajesty21 (talk) 12:10, 23 December 2010 (UTC)

Kwantum
Kwantum is also a chain of stores in the Netherlands. (disambiguation) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.240.86.253 (talk) 22:21, 16 April 2011 (UTC)

Needs a better introduction
A qubit is an item of quantum data, not information.
 * A bit is defined as a unit of information, so a qubit is a unit of information also, rather than data. See: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/a+bit GavinMorley (talk) 15:38, 6 June 2012 (UTC)
 * thefreedictionary also defines "information" as Processed, stored, or transmitted data, however a lot of people use information to explicitly mean "interpreted data".

I suggest that instead of saying "A qubit can be thought of as a superposition or two states", which is true but entirely confusing to non-physicists that the following statement is used instead "A qubit can be thought of as being an analogue value varying between two extremes, for example, polarisation angles from 0º to 90º."

I think we also need some simple statements describing how qubits relate to real world information. I suggest the following: Qubits can be used in an analogue manner, where the precise value of a qubit is a genuine analogue value. For example, polarisation angles between 0º and 90º may relate to a real world value if you multiply the angle by 4, which can result in a real angle between 0º and 360º. Qubits can also be used in a discrete manner, where the qubit takes one of a specific number of states. For example, polarisation angles of 0, 30, 60 and 90º. In this case, one qubit relates directly to 2 bits of data by assigning each of the four binary states associated with the 2 bits to one angle each. Yeatesi (talk) 09:37, 5 June 2012 (UTC)

 * An "analogue value" would be classical information, which a qubit is not. Also if you measure a qubit you can only get one of two results, unlike with an "analogue value". GavinMorley (talk) 15:38, 6 June 2012 (UTC)

 * This is why there needs to be a better set of statements describing how qubits relate to the real world, and, possibly, the electronic, binary, world. If a qubit can ONLY take the value of true or false, then how does it differ from a "classical" analogue value that can only be measured by checking if it is above or below a threshold? If it is not different to that, then that should be stated, as that would then be a clear definition of what a qubit physically is. 195.59.43.240 (talk) 14:20, 11 June 2012 (UTC)

 * Quantum systems do not follow our everyday classical intuition so it can indeed be difficult to describe qubits in simple language. A qubit is quite different to a "classical analogue value that can only be measured by checking if it is above or below a threshold". Here you are saying there is some problem with the measurement apparatus that prevents us from properly measuring the classical analogue value. If it were not for this then you would just have a classical analogue value. In describing qubits we are not limited by problems with measurement apparatus. When measured perfectly a qubit can only take one of two values, but before it is measured it can be in any superposition of these two values. Another feature of qubits is that they can be entangled with other qubits. This means their states can be correlated more strongly than is possible in our everyday classical intuition. GavinMorley (talk) 17:06, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

 * In the table in the "physical representation", one of the items is polarisation of light. Light has a polarisation angle, which is an analogue value. When the value of the qubit is read, it is read as either horizontal, or not horizontal (vertical). This is a classic case of having a genuine classical analogue value being compared to a threshold; it either satisfies the horizontal measurement, or it does not. If you are not limited by measurement apparatus, then why are you binning the measurement into true or false states, rather than into the actual superposition state? 195.59.43.240 (talk) 08:38, 18 June 2012 (UTC)

 * The polarization angle of light can indeed be used to encode an analogue value. However, when photon polarization is used as a qubit it is used differently. For example, if a photon's polarization was very close to horizontal, then a measurement would give you "horizontal" with a very high probability and "vertical" with a very small probability. The choice is truely random, subject to those probabilities. According to quantum theory, this unpredictability is not due to some noise or imperfect equipment. In the case of the analogue value being compared with a threshold, the result here would always be "horizontal". GavinMorley (talk) 14:25, 18 June 2012 (UTC)

 * What is the unpredictability due to, if not random noise processes and/or imperfect apparatus? 195.59.43.240 (talk) 17:04, 19 June 2012 (UTC)

 * That is a good question that quantum researchers have been wondering about for decades. Some interpretations of quantum mechanics say there are 'hidden variables' which determine these apparantly unpredictable outcomes. More commonly it is said that we can know the probabilities when measuring a quantum superposition, but the choice is truly random. Experiments to date are not able to distinguish between these interpretations. There is a commercial product providing quantum random numbers: http://www.idquantique.com/true-random-number-generator/products-overview.html       GavinMorley (talk) 16:35, 26 June 2012 (UTC)

Example at Bloch Sphere
I find in the example $${|0 \rangle +i|1 \rangle}\over{\sqrt{2}}$$ the first part coherent where $$ \alpha = \cos\left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}} $$.

At $$ \beta = e^{i \phi} \sin\left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right)$$ part, the $$\sin\left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}$$ is correct too and computing $$\ln(i) = \frac{\pi}{2}$$ we can observe that $$\phi = \frac{\pi}{2}$$. Here is the explanation why it is pointing to the positive y axis.

 * unsigned

 * I have no problem with $$ \alpha = \cos\left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}$$, cosine (or sine also, in this case) for 90 degrees or pi/4 radians, but could somebody just please explain $${|0 \rangle +i|1 \rangle}$$, I have to assume, "i" to be the solution to $$x^2=-1$$, but what's "rangle ?" "|0>" !? I would be very helpful to me - and others, I presume Boeing720 (talk) 03:21, 30 November 2017 (UTC)

arXiv Citation
I cited P. Shor's paper as it is on arXiv, is there a better place I should cite this from as arXiv isn't actually a journal? KM4JWL (talk) 14:39, 15 April 2016 (UTC)

Quantum computing for dummies
I admit that i have yet to grasp the very concept. My physics education ended with the rudiments of quantum physics. So my dumb question is: How is a quantum computer even possible if everything is probabilities? One presumes that computing requires exact results. How does a qubit, which can have probabilistic values, yield useful results? I don't see the answer to that, at least in non-expert terms, in this article. Tmangray (talk) 00:35, 5 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Must agree with you. But also what's ment by for instance "|0>" ? I must assume for instance |x|^2 is "the absolute value of x raised to 2", but the first one ??? And I have studied math from trigonometry (incl addition formulas, laps , sine and cosine theorem , radians degrees etc) to differential calculus, as well as from complex numbers to statistics and probabilities + static mechanic & dynamic mechanic outside of the math subject etc. If I don't get "|0>", how many other readers will ? Please use some examples at the very least. Boeing720 (talk) 02:06, 25 November 2017 (UTC)

Quantum computing capabilities today
Should this article include information about the current state of quantum computing? I'm trying to learn the concept, having not gotten past sophomore engineering physics, and what I'm reading confuses me. A recent Wired article says that Google is aiming to create a 50 qubit supercomputer this year [], yet the D-Wave Systems article says they had a 128 qubit chipset as far back as 2011. Who is using the term wrong? Timtempleton (talk) 22:11, 23 June 2017 (UTC)

Transclusion of Draft article "Physical and logical qubits"?
I wrote a draft article, Draft:Physical and logical qubits. Should we transclude or otherwise incorporate some of its text here? --Daviddwd (talk) 23:36, 15 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Just do it, or else your question will go unanswered for years. wikipedia policy is (kindof) "just do it" and "be brave". · · · Omnissiahs hierophant (talk) 16:57, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

Is "weirdness" an appropriate technical adjective to include in the opening of a scientific topic?
I would say "no". Could we replace this with a quoted or synthesized scientific definition? Asides from the word itself being inappropriate, it's just obscuring whatever actual information should go there.

I'm not saying overly technical. Just accurate and objective. Perhaps "weirdness" can be replaced with something like "special properties such as X". 71.179.84.225 (talk) 00:45, 5 December 2018 (UTC)

some necessary precisions to make some concepts understandable
when talking about the bloch sphere representation, it is unclear why overall phase of the state $e^{i ψ}$ has no physically observable consequences. Some details would be appreciated (or some links to another page).

also the section standard representation is unclear on the way of building the four-dimensional vector basis from the two-dimensional vector basis. it's a tensor product right ? I had to figure it out but it's not obvious.

Stilgarnat (talk) 09:43, 22 September 2019 (UTC)

 * The phase disappears when you take the absolute value (distance from origin) of a complex number. See the Born Rule for details. This is why it is not directly observable. It is however possible to design a circuit that rotates the phase into view, for example the gate/circuit called diffusion operator does exactly this ($$U_s$$ in the Grover's algorithm if you read super-carefully). · · · Omnissiahs hierophant (talk) 16:36, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

Physical implementation
I think that the Photon / Time-bin encoding / Time of arrival / Early-Late type of qubit should be removed from this list. These things are not full qubits because only the relative phase of the basis states is a tunable property. Superposition cannot be achieved with these because there is nearly always a 50/50% chance of a |0> or a |1> being detected. They have their place in quantum information science but not as qubits in a quantum computer. Polymath uk (talk) 16:07, 7 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Then do it! · · · Omnissiahs hierophant (talk) 16:54, 17 August 2021 (UTC)
 * I disagree; please provide sources for the claimed imperfections; contains a proposal for universal quantum computation with time-bin qubits,  showed how to do cluster-state quantum computation,  and  demonstrated a two-qubit gate for that encoding. Recent reviews such as  discuss it among the standard photonic encodings.  --Qcomp (talk) 18:47, 17 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Thanks for your input :D I think Qcomp is very likely correct. · · · Omnissiahs hierophant (talk) 19:15, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

Seperate page for Qudits
I think that the overall explanation of qudits should be rerouted or expanded into its own page considering the mathematics and theory behind higher order D-Dimensional states is somewhat different than standard qubit stuff, what does everyone think? Twiximus (talk) 18:09, 16 Oct 2022 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.97.58.13 (talk)

quantum entanglement
The qubit itself is an exhibition of quantum entanglement. Yes, more than one of these can be entangled (as written in the article), but a selling point for using qubits is to reduce computational stress with the phenomenon of local simult processing. 72.174.131.123 (talk) 02:25, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Qubit


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Marie Walewska

Marie Walewska, Countess Walewska (née Łączyńska; Maria Walewska; 7 December 1786 – 11 December 1817) was a Polish noblewoman in the court of Napoleon I who used her influence to sway the emperor towards the creation of an independent Polish state. In her later years she married count Philippe Antoine d'Ornano, an influential Napoleonic officer.

Early life
Walewska was born as first child into a wealthy noble family in Kiernozia, to Mathieu (Mateusz) Łączyński, a landowner and starosta of Gostyń; and Eva Zaborowska, whose family was wealthy as well. Walewska had six siblings: Benedykt Jozef, Hieronim, Teodor, Honorata, Katarzyna and Urszula-Teresa. She grew up in her ancestral home, Kiernozia palace, where she received an upper-class education. Nicholas Chopin, Frédéric Chopin's father, for instance, was one of her tutors.

In 1794 her father participated in the military struggle for Polish independence and was mortally wounded at the Battle of Maciejowice, leaving behind a widow, seven children (five of them surviving into adulthood), and a dwindling livelihood.

A year later Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy and the Russian Empire effectively ended the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's national sovereignty through the third partition of Poland, when the Łączyński lands were incorporated into Prussia.

As the eldest, with her brothers having debts, it was up to her to secure the future of her family. At the age of eighteen she was married by her mother to the sixty-eight-year-old Athanasius, Count Colonna-Walewski, a wealthy landowner, starosta of Warka district and a once-chamberlain to the last Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski. During their marriage Walewska had two sons, Antoni Rudolf Bazyli, born 14 June 1805, and Alexandre Florian Joseph Colonna-Walewski. Antoni was immediately seized by Marie’s sister-in-law and nieces (by marriage), who were a lot older than the young countess.

Walewska and Napoleon
Historians have theorized that Alexandre was a natural son of Napoleon I, although Athanasius legally acknowledged him as his own son. In 2013, DNA research supported this belief, indicating Alexandre's membership in the genetic male-line of the imperial House of Bonaparte.

Maria Walewska met Napoleon for the first time in 1806 in Błonie, or in Jabłonna. According to Maria's own memoirs, she spoke briefly with the French emperor in an inn when his carriage was changing horses, but the meeting was inconclusive. However, Napoleon remembered her for her extraordinary conversation and requested to see her in Warsaw, intending to have regular meetings with her. The political context for Poland was complicated; the country had been wiped off the map at the end of the previous century and Polish nationalists were hoping Napoleon might bring the country back to life.

They met again at a ball hosted by count Stanislaw Potocki in his Warsaw residence. Walewska was being advised to work towards a position in the inner circle of Napoleon by the Emperor's aide, General Géraud Duroc (Grand Marshal of the Palace). A number of Polish aristocrats asked her the same, hoping that she could influence the emperor to support Poland in its struggle to regain independence from Prussia, the Habsburg Empire and the Russian Empire. In her memoirs, Walewska maintained that she forced herself to get intimately involved with Napoleon for purely patriotic reasons:"'The sacrifice was complete. It was all about harvesting fruit now, achieving this one single equivalence [convincing Napoleon to support Polish independence movement], which could excuse my debased position. This was the thought that possessed me. Ruling over my will it did not allow me to fall under the weight of my bad consciousness and sadness.'"

The intimate relationship was initially kept secret, even though unofficially it was one of the most widely commented news in Warsaw's higher circles. Walewska visited Napoleon, residing in the capital's Royal Castle, only at nights and would secretly leave the building each morning. The relationship progressed when Napoleon moved to his field headquarters in Finckenstein Palace in East Prussia (now Kamieniec Suski, Poland): Walewska followed him there and they moved into neighbouring apartments. As Maria was extraordinarily discreet for her times, they still maintained apparent secrecy: she refused to leave the part of the building in which they lived, fearing being seen by officers surrounding Napoleon, many of whom were her acquaintances or relatives.

In 1809 Walewska followed Napoleon during his journey to Vienna, where she lived in a house near Schönbrunn Palace, Napoleon's residence. During her sojourn in Vienna she became pregnant and returned to Walewice in order to give birth to her second son, Alexandre Joseph. Although Alexandre was rumoured to be the natural son of the Emperor, Count Athanasius officially recognised Alexandre as his son and gave him the name of the counts of Colonna-Walewski.

In 1810 Napoleon returned to Paris, where he was soon joined by Walewska. She settled in a palatial residence in the Rue de Montmorency and was given a large rent of 120,000 francs and a permission to enter all of the imperial museums, but her relationship with Napoleon ended. The Emperor planned to divorce Josephine and instead arrange a strategic marriage to Marie Louise, daughter of the Austrian Emperor. Maintaining his relationship with Walewska seemed inappropriate to gain that goal. Walewska's future and that of her son were nevertheless assured by the grant of large land estates in the Kingdom of Naples.

Later years
In 1812 Maria divorced Count Athanasius Walewski. To facilitate it, her brother, Benedykt Jozef, admitted to forcing the marriage upon her. It remains unclear whether this was the truth, as in her memoirs Maria stated that her mother influenced her choice to marry Athanasius. As a settlement, she and her oldest son received half of Count Walewski's estates, which even though heavily indebted, represented considerable wealth.

In 1816 Maria married her longtime admirer and lover, Count Philippe Antoine d'Ornano. They settled in Liege, as d'Ornano did not want to return to Paris due to his pro-Napoleonic allegiances. In 1817 Maria gave birth to d'Ornano's son, Rudolph Augustus. She died in Paris shortly afterwards due to a prolonged kidney illness. Before her death, she completed her memoirs, which were addressed to her husband. Upon request from her Polish relatives her body was exhumed from Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris and moved to her family crypt in Kiernozia.

Descendants
Maria Walewska left three sons:
 * Her son from the first marriage, count Antoni Colonna-Walewski, settled in Poland and little is known about his life.
 * Count Alexandre Joseph Colonna-Walewski (4 May 1810 – 27 October 1868), her son from her relationship with Napoleon I who became an important figure in 19th century French politics: he was an influential diplomat and a cabinet minister. He maintained his whole life that his father was Count Colonna-Walewski.
 * Her third son, Rodolphe-Auguste d'Ornano, was also an influential figure in the French society; his descendants created the well-known fragrance and cosmetics brand Sisley.

Marie Walewska also had a niece, named Barth, who lived in Bergen, Norway. The Walewska family thus has descendants in Norway living today.

Legacy
Walewska's eventful life attracted attention of a number of Polish and French historians. As her memoirs remained unpublished until the late 19th century, she was a subject of much speculation. The first scholar to write a complete account of her life was a French biographer Frederic Masson, who was allowed by d'Ornano family to use her memoirs.

In the 1930s her adventures were once again described by her descendant, Antoine Philippe Rodolphe, 4th count d'Ornano in a book entitled Marie Walewska, "l'épouse polonaise de Napolėon". It was a belletristic biography that until the mid-20th century was considered as a key source on Walewska, as Antoine d'Ornano claimed that it was based on never published documents remaining in the archives of La Branchoire, the family castle.

Count d'Ornano's account presented Maria as a devout patriot and an influential political figure. His book claimed that she was involved in taking major political decisions related to the development of Duchy of Warsaw and engaged herself in disputes with figures such as Józef Poniatowski or Joachim Lelewel. These allegations spurred controversy among Polish historians, who noticed that both the described events and the dates quoted by d'Ornano seemed unlikely.

Biographer Marian Brandys attempted to deal with some of these doubts in his book The troubles with Lady Walewska and he went as far as questioning the very existence of documents from La Branchoire. His main argument was that the facts presented in the book were unrealistic in light of broader historical knowledge about Napoleonic campaigns and the politics of the Duchy of Warsaw. He also noted the numerous discrepancies between the French and English editions of the book.

Lawsuit
D'Ornano's book had an equally profound effect on the historian circles in France. In the 1950s Jean Savant, a renowned historian and writer, wrote a book about Walewska in which he attempted to recreate a scientific biography of Maria Walewska. Before publishing the book, he printed certain extracts from it in Elle, a popular woman's magazine, which resulted in a lawsuit from count d'Ornano and his descendants.

The dispute revolved around copyright issues: Savant allowed the publication of extracts from his work, which included alleged excerpts from Maria's own accounts, taken from d'Ornano's book. However, he failed to appropriately reference them. Antoine d'Ornano sued him for illegally appropriating contents taken from Marie Walewska, "l'épouse polonaise de Napolėon", and when Antoine died, his descendants claimed that the aforementioned extracts were not historical source materials, as Savant claimed, but merely an invention of the author. The legal battle continued for a few years, and it was put to an end by Cour de Cassation which decided that Savant acted legally.

The d'Ornano family never allowed any historian to come into contact with the alleged Walewska archives. During the lawsuit they maintained that, in fact, the documents never existed. However, Savant in his next book L'Affaire Walewska attempted to prove the contrary.

Marie Walewska in film
Walewska was the subject of the 1914 Polish film Countess Walewska, directed by Aleksander Hertz.

Her story is also told in a 1937 film Conquest, also known as Marie Walewska. Greta Garbo plays Marie Walewska to Charles Boyer's Napoleon. Boyer and art director Cedric Gibbons were both nominated for Academy Awards for the film.

The character also appeared in A Soldier's Farewell, an episode of the BBC comedy Dad's Army. She was played by Alexandra Lara in the 2002 Napoléon miniseries.

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

title: Marie Walewska


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Zipporah

Zipporah, or Tzipora (צִפּוֹרָה, Ṣīppōrā, "bird"), is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Reuel/Jethro, the priest and prince of Midian.

She is the mother of Moses' two sons: Eliezer, and Gershom.

In the Book of Chronicles, two of her grandsons are mentioned: Shebuel, son of Gershom; and Rehabiah, son of Eliezer.

Background
In the Book of Exodus, Zipporah was one of the seven daughters of Jethro, a Kenite shepherd who was a priest of Midian. In, Jethro is also referred to as Reuel, and in the Book of Judges as Hobab. Hobab is also the name of Jethro's son in.

Moses marries Zipporah
While the Israelites/Hebrews were captives in Egypt, Moses killed an Egyptian who was striking a Hebrew, for which offense Pharaoh sought to kill Moses. Moses therefore fled from Egypt and arrived in Midian. One day while he sat by a well, Reuel's daughters came to water their father's flocks. Other shepherds arrived and drove the girls away, so that they could water their own flocks first. Moses defended the girls and watered their flocks. Upon their return home, their father asked them, "How is it that you have come home so early today?" The girls answered, "An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock." "Where is he then?", Reuel asked them. "Why did you leave the man? Invite him for supper to break bread." Reuel then gave Moses Zipporah as his wife.

Incident at the inn
After God commanded Moses to return to Egypt to free the Israelites, Moses took his wife and sons and started his journey. On the road, they stayed at an inn, where God came to kill Moses. Zipporah quickly circumcised her son with a sharp stone and touched Moses' feet with the foreskin, saying "Surely you are a husband of blood to me!" God then left Moses alone. The details of the passage are unclear and subject to debate.

The Exodus
After Moses succeeded in leading the Israelites out of Egypt, and won a battle against Amalek, Reuel came to the Hebrew camp in the wilderness of Sinai, bringing with him Zipporah and their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. The Bible does not say when Zipporah and her sons rejoined Reuel/Jethro, only that after he heard of what God did for the Israelites, he brought Moses' family to him. The most common translation is that Moses sent her away, but another grammatically permissible translation is that she sent things or persons, perhaps the announcement of the victory over Amalek. The word that makes this difficult is shelucheiha, the sendings [away] of her.

Numbers 12

Moses' wife is referred to as a "Cushite woman" in. Interpretations differ on whether this Cushite woman was one and the same as Zipporah, or another woman, and whether he was married to them simultaneously, or successively. In the story, Aaron and Miriam criticize Moses' marriage to a Cushite woman. This criticism displeases God, who punishes Miriam with tzaraath (often glossed as leprosy). Cushites were of the ancestry of either Kush (Nubia) in northeast Africa, or Arabians. The sons of Ham, mentioned within the Book of Genesis, have been identified with nations in Africa (Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya), the Levant (Canaan), and Arabia. The Midianites themselves were later depicted at times in non-Biblical sources as dark-skinned and called Kushim, a Hebrew word used for dark-skinned Africans. One interpretation is that the wife is Zipporah, and that she was referred to as a Cushite though she was a Midianite, because of her beauty.

The Samaritan Pentateuch text refers to Moses' wife Zipporah as "Kaashet" (which translates to "the beautiful woman"), rather than "Cushit" ("black woman" or "Cushite woman").

"Cushite woman" becomes Αἰθιόπισσα in the Greek Septuagint (3rd century BCE) and Aethiopissa in the Latin Vulgate Bible version (4th century). Alonso de Sandoval, 17th century Jesuit, reasoned that Zipporah and the Cushite woman was the same person, and that she was black. He puts her in a group of what he calls "notable and sainted Ethiopians".

In the Druze religion
In the Druze religion, Zipporah's father Jethro is revered as the spiritual founder, chief prophet, and ancestor of all Druze. Moses was allowed to wed Zipporah after helping save Jethro's daughters and their flock from competing herdsmen. It has been expressed by prominent Druze such as Amal Nasser el-Din and Salman Tarif, who was a prominent Druze shaykh, that this makes the Druze related to the Jews through marriage. This view has been used to represent an element of the special relationship between Israeli Jews and Druze.

Art and culture

Like many other prominent biblical characters, Zipporah is depicted in several works of art.

In Marcel Proust's story Swann's Way (1913), Swann is struck by the resemblance of his eventual wife Odette to Sandro Botticelli’s painting of Zipporah in a Sistine Chapel fresco, and this recognition is the catalyst for his obsession with her.

Zipporah is often included in Exodus-related drama. Examples include the films The Ten Commandments (1956), The Prince of Egypt (1998), and Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014). She is the main character in Marek Halter's novel Zipporah, Wife of Moses (2005).

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Cute hoor

Cute hoor and, by extension, "cute hoorism", is a cultural concept in Ireland where a certain level of corruption is forgiven - or sometimes even applauded - of politicians or businessmen. This phenomenon is sometimes attributed to postcolonialism and emigration in Ireland, but also to how historically passive income and patronage were favoured, in culture and in public policy, over entrepreneurship. But the concept also references how years of net emigration had led to a situation where having a network of powerful contacts created more opportunities for a school or college leaver than work ethic, talent or academic achievement.

Cute hoorism in politics has also come to refer to the phenomenon where, because of Ireland's multi-seat constituency proportional representation, single transferable vote system, political candidates often face more of a threat in re-election from a running mate in their party than from a rival in a party with substantially different political policies. Typically, a successful method of besting a rival with identical political beliefs is by being seen to be better at dealing with parish pump issues.

However, the phrase "cute hoor" is used more widely than this in politics in Ireland, particularly when referring to cynical tactics in general, such as the difference between pre-election campaigning and post-election coalition-forming. While such cynical tactics exist in most democracies, they are exacerbated in the Republic because of the Civil War, Partition and emigration, contributing to a situation where government was dominated by either one of two similar centre-right parties regardless of election results, and strict laws around censored works and restricted family planning services could be bypassed by a visit to Northern Ireland or Great Britain, where most Irish citizens had connections due to emigration.

Etymology
The phrase "cute hoor" is exemplary in Hiberno-English as it represents three different categories of the dialect: an English word with a distinct meaning in Ireland (cute, meaning shrewd), an Irish neologism in English based on Irish phonetics (hoor, derived from whore) and a compound phrase with a distinct meaning of its own (cute hoor). In the entry for "hoor", Dolan notes "it may be used affectionately as well as pejoratively, especially when qualified by the adjective 'cute'... 'that man's such a cute hoor he'd build a nest in your ear'".

The distinction between "whore" and "hoor" was significant enough for a discussion about it to be entered into Ireland's parliamentary record.

History
On 10 March 1983, the Evening Herald ran an article on Terry Leyden (with reference to him and his running mate Seán Doherty) in which the phrase was first used in print:"'Few politicians understand the punters better than either. In local parlance they are cute 'hoors'. But it is hard to say which is the cutest.... in spite of national swings against Fianna Fáil they have managed to hold onto two out of the three seats n Roscommon over the past four elections.... If their political know-how could be repeated by Fianna Fail in other marginals Charlie Haughey would never have lost power.'" A few months later, 'cute hoor' was first entered in the Dáil record on 3 July 1983 by George Birmingham: "'When the choice is presented to them between leadership and stroking, between courage and cowardice, vision and the philosophy of 'the cute hoor ', I have no doubt as to whom they will choose. The people have enough confidence in themselves to respond to leadership which is and will be on offer in 15 months' time.'"In both instances, the implication (by rival politicians and journalists) was that cute hoor politicians had improved their careers by prioritising local concerns over the national interest. The phrase accelerated in use during the 1980s and 1990s when repeated coalition governments collapsed after corruption scandals or because the support of independent politicians was withdrawn.

Re-election of controversial politicians
While politics in Ireland in the 1990s was focused on high-minded goals such as building the Celtic Tiger and the Peace process, at the ground level matters relating to political corruption were collapsing governments and being discussed in election debates. Many issues relating to corruption in planning and public procurement were investigated by tribunals such as the Moriarty Tribunal or the Mahon Tribunal. However, these tribunals did not often lead to criminal convictions and many politicians identified as having acted in an improper manner not only were re-elected but were in a position to leverage a coalition as an independent T.D.

The following are examples where the term has been applied in the Irish media in reference to a politician being re-elected after a controversy.

Michael Lowry
The 1997 McCracken Tribunal revealed that supermarket tycoon Ben Dunne had paid IR£395,000 for an extension to Michael Lowry's home in Tipperary. The Tribunal concluded that Lowry had evaded tax. This allegation prompted his resignation from the Cabinet in November 1996. Taoiseach John Bruton announced that Lowry would not be allowed to stand as a Fine Gael candidate at the next election, and he resigned from the party.

Lowry announced that he would stand as an independent candidate at the 1997 general election. He topped the poll in his Tipperary North constituency at that election, doing so again at the 2002, 2007 and 2011 general elections, and yet again in Tipperary at the general elections of 2016 and 2020.

Mick Wallace
Mick Wallace, an Independent TD, refused to resign his seat after admitting to tax evasion in 2012, stating “I am answerable to the people of Wexford who elected me, and they will discard me when they see fit”. He was re-elected in 2016.

Boris Johnson
In 2019, The Irish Times asked if Boris Johnson was Britain's first cute hoor Prime Minister, noting "Swap a hurl for a cricket bat, the word “Brussels” for “Dublin”, and Johnson would be right at home in a back bar in south Kerry, waging a derisory finger at “them up in Dublin” with one hand and knocking back a pint with the other. Their electorate is the same - tired of being condescended to by elites in a remote city, they respond well to a sly dog who they reckon can get them a good deal".

Supporting a party in governing after resigning from that party
The following politicians resigned from a political party but later supported that party in government in exchange for leverage:

Jackie Healy-Rae
When Fianna Fáil refused to nominate Jackie Healy-Rae as a candidate in Kerry South, he decided to run as an Independent candidate in 1997. This move surprised the party, with many commentators giving him little chance of getting elected. However, Healy-Rae took a seat and denied Fianna Fáil the chance of taking a second seat in the constituency. However, once elected he was in a better negotiating position with the Fianna Fáil-led coalition as an independent than he would have been as a government backbencher. Healy-Rae was one of four Independent TDs (the others were Harry Blaney, Tom Gildea and Mildred Fox) who supported the government throughout its five-year term. In return for this support he secured funding for projects in his constituency and chairmanship of the Environment committee. Many of the projects, such as road improvements, involved contracts or contract lots tendered by Kerry County Council being awarded to Healy-Rae's plant-hire business.

Healy-Rae's high profile and perceived influence over the government received much coverage, and in the next general election fifteen independent TDs were returned to Dáil Éireann.

Mattie McGrath - former member of Fianna Fáil

Shane Ross - former member of Fine Gael

Advancing local interests
The issue of using making decisions as a government minister which benefit that minister's own constituency is a controversial one, because elected representatives from disadvantaged areas are expected to seek additional services or investment in that area. However, when this is done egregiously it is seen as a symptom of cute hoor politics.

Tom Parlon
In December 2003, Tom Parlon was attacked by other government politicians for claiming the controversial civil service decentralisation plan being implemented was because of his decision, when in fact he had no input into the plan at all and was only a junior by-stander. Parlon, with advance knowledge, erected prominent "Welcome to Parlon country" posters in his constituency as soon as the announcement was made. Also in taking up his position as Director General of the Construction Industry Federation in 2007, after having a prominent position in the Office of Public Works, led to accusations of a conflict of interest.

In 2008, Parlon publicly took credit for effecting a policy reversal by the Department of Finance on the procurement procedure for State building projects. After his lobbying, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan agreed to allow €150m of water service projects to go ahead under old "costs plus" contracts rather than the "fixed price" contracts. In fact, the reversal was due to an administrative decision amongst local authorities and not as a consequence of any lobbying.

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Washington Bartlett

Washington Montgomery Bartlett (February 29, 1824 – September 12, 1887) was an American politician who served as the 16th governor of California from January 1887 until his death in September of that year, as well as the 20th mayor of San Francisco from 1883 to 1887. He was the first Jewish governor of any U.S. state and – to date – the only Jewish governor of California. Bartlett converted to Congregationalism on his deathbed and was buried as a Christian.

Biography

Bartlett was born in Savannah, Georgia on February 29, 1824, the son of Sarah E. Melhado and Cosam Emir Bartlett. His mother was a Sephardic Jew. Unlike the second elected Jewish governor, Moses Alexander of Idaho, Bartlett was not particularly religious and did not participate in Jewish observances while in California.

A lifelong bachelor and a printer by trade, he became a lawyer as well. During his lifetime Bartlett was a San Francisco newspaper publisher, San Francisco County Clerk, California state senator, mayor of San Francisco from 1883-87, and finally governor, elected in 1886.

Bartlett was sworn in as governor and gave his inaugural address on January 8, 1887. He died of Bright's disease barely eight months into his term, on September 12, 1887. His service as governor was the second shortest in California's history as a state; only Milton S. Latham, who served just five days in 1860, had a shorter tenure.

Bartlett's funeral was conducted at Trinity Episcopal Church in San Francisco. He is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.

title: Washington Bartlett


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Talk:Kick start (disambiguation)

Perhaps this page should be merged into the AmigaOS page, and then be turned into a redirect, since Kickstart is mostly just a part of AmigaOS. (Although, it is also the bootstrap for the Amiga computer, and so parts of it still get executed even if you're just using your Amiga as a BSD box, for example). Opinions? Lumpbucket 02:05, 12 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * Well, I decided to "be bold", and I did it anyway. Lumpbucket 13:21, 12 Aug 2003 (UTC)

And I made it a disambiguation page, just like that. :) 129.240.13.200 13:39, 12 Aug 2003 (UTC)

I just want to say that there next to be another article added 'bout Kickstart, the Karate program in Texas that was started by Chuck Norris. I'd write it myself but I am fairly new Wikipedia and am still figuring out the markup stuff. Info about Kickstart can be found at Kick-Start dot org. K$P 13:48, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

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Sandford C. Faulkner

Sandford C. Faulkner (March 3, 1803 – August 4, 1874), better known as Sandy Faulkner, was an American planter, raconteur and fiddler who personified the mid-19th century folk song "Arkansas Traveler," for which he received writing credit. It has since gone on to become the official state historic song of Arkansas.

Biography
Sandford C. Faulkner was born in Georgetown, Kentucky on March 3, 1803 to Nicholas and Sally (née Fletcher) Faulkner. He was responsible in large part for the story forming the basis of the "Arkansas Traveler", which was the official song of Arkansas from 1949 to 1963, and the state historical song since 1987. During the American Civil War, he served as an artillery officer detailed to ordnance duty in the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate States Army.

From November 1862 through August 1863 Faulkner served as the Commanding Officer of the Little Rock Arsenal. The Little Rock facility was moved to Tyler, Texas and designated as the Tyler, Texas Ordnance Works beginning operations in October 1863. On 1 October 1863 he signed over stores to Lt. Col. G.H. Hill the officer in charge at Tyler. He was then assigned as officer in charge of the Ordnance Depot in Marshall, Texas and served there to the end of the war.

Honors
Faulkner County, Arkansas (established 1873) is named after him.

title: Sandford C. Faulkner


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Talk:Billy Strayhorn

Untitled
Not an encyclopedia article. RickK 02:11, 12 Aug 2003 (UTC)

It is now. Much better than the original that RickK was complaining about.--Eric TF Bat 01:56, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

It says he worked with Ellington for 20 years, 25 years and 30 years. If anyone knows the real amount could they please change it. Kelpian 19:08, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

W-a-a-y too much stuff about his being "gay and black," blahblahblah. I never even knew the guy was homosexual until this article, rattling on and on about it. The stuff about his being "in the shadows" because of his homosexuality is pure speculation. Anyone who knows Ellington knows who Strayhorn is. The article needs to lose the whiney tone, it's not at all "NPOV". --B. Polhemus (talk) 21:46, 6 February 2008 (UTC)

If you did not "know the guy was homosexual," then you have never read any books on Strayhorrn and have not seen the Independent Lens documentary "Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life" on PBS. So how can you complain when you don't have the facts? In Strayhorn's time homosexuality was anathema in the jazz world and he suffered persecution and prejudice from other musicians, and his opportunities were severely limited. This information is not "blahblahblah". It is essential to understand his life. This is not "pure speculation." OwenOwen (talk) 17:41, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree the information is important, but there is non-neutral verbiage, such as referring to homophobia as a "societal flaw" (I agree it's a societal flaw, but it's not up to a Wikipedia article to say it is). Also referring to Strayhorn as a "genius" (again, I agree, but that's the job of an essay, not an encyclopedia article).

Copyvio
I've removed Duke Ellington's eulogy/album notes. We can't simply post the whole thing here, it's copyright infringement. Even if it weren't, Wikiquotes (or Wikisource) would be better suited. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 01:06, 11 December 2009 (UTC)

"Openly Gay"
The only statement in that section to justify it being a section is the unsourced statement that he was "openly gay." Probably he was, but there's nothing in the section about it. Everything in there, including his relationship with Bridges, could be moved to the rest of the biography.KD Tries Again (talk) 04:31, 2 July 2010 (UTC)KD Tries Again
 * I agree, also, it sure would be nice if there were a cite for the fact that he was 'openly' gay... what does that mean in this context? did he make an announcement? public displays of affection? an open secret? For this reason I'm gonna tag it.  By all means merge it all into the bio. Dlabtot (talk) 04:46, 2 July 2010 (UTC)

 * I'm really surprised that a source for this is so hard to find. Someone? Dlabtot (talk) 06:47, 18 August 2016 (UTC)

"then-completely white classical world" - not quite
I changed the following: "the harsh reality of a black man trying to make it in the then-completely white classical world." to "the harsh reality of a black man trying to make it in the then almost completely white classical world." There WERE some African Americans performing classical music at the time, including opera singer Lillian Evanti and Mary Cardwell Dawson (who would late found the National Negro Opera Company in the very same Pittsburgh neighborhood (Homewood) where Strayhorn grew up), and my grandfather, Clyde Leroy Glass, who was Evanti's closest friend and frequent accompanist.(Library of Congress, National Negro Opera Company Collection)Carlaclaws (talk) 17:22, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
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External Link Issue
The External Link "Ginell, Richard S..Biography of Billy Strayhorn at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-04-26." is a malicious link. I am new to editing Wikipedia, so I thought I'd bring it to the attention of anyone able to fix the link. Jw iridule (talk) 20:03, 4 May 2018 (UTC)

File:Billy Strayhorn, New York, N.Y., between 1946 and 1948 (William P. Gottlieb 08211).jpg scheduled for POTD
Hello! This is to let editors know that the featured picture File:Billy Strayhorn, New York, N.Y., between 1946 and 1948 (William P. Gottlieb 08211).jpg, which is used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for November 29, 2020. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2020-11-29. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:20, 5 November 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:Billy Strayhorn


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Othryoneus

Othryoneus (Ancient Greek: Ὀθρυονεύς) was in Greek mythology who was the intended husband Princess Cassandra of Troy during the Trojan War, mentioned in one passage in Homer's Iliad.

Othryoneus was from Cabesos, a Homeric site over whose location there has been disagreements since ancient times, some sources suggesting a site in the Troad self and others pointing at the very similar name of the ancient site of Kavissos, today near Feres near Evros. Othryoneus had taken part in the war in the sole purpose of marrying King Priam's daughter, the "loveliest" according to Homer, and to which the King had assented. In the Iliad, he is killed during the Battle of the Ships by Idomeneus, in a passage in which he is cited as gleefully mocking him while Othryoneus is dying.

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Generalitat de Catalunya

The Generalitat de Catalunya (Generalidad de Cataluña; Generalitat de Catalonha), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and the Executive Council of Catalonia (or council of ministers, also very often referred to as Govern, "Government"). Its current powers are set out in the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006.

The origins of the Generalitat are in the 13th century when permanent councils of deputies (deputations) were created to rule administration of the Courts of the different realms that formed the Crown of Aragon which gave birth to the Deputation of the General of the Principality of Catalonia (1359), the Deputation of the General of the Kingdom of Aragon (1362) and the Deputation of the General of the Kingdom of Valencia (1412). The modern Generalitat was established in 1931, as the institution of self-government of Catalonia within the Spanish Republic. After the end of the Civil War in 1940 the President was executed and the Generalitat abolished. Notwithstanding, the presidency went into exile until it was reestablished in 1977.

Its headquarters are at the Palau de la Generalitat, in the city of Barcelona.

History
Catalonia's political past as a territorially differentiated community with its own representative and separated institutions, materialized in the institutional systems of the combined Catalan counties (9th–12th centuries), the Principality of Catalonia within the Crown of Aragon (1164–1714) and the Monarchy of Spain (1516–1714/1833), as well the establishment of Catalan self-government from 1931 onwards, can be divided into different stages, separated by ruptures in the legal/public order.

The Generalitat of Catalonia can trace its origins in the Catalan Courts, as during the reign of James I the Conqueror (1208–1276) they reunited and were convoked by the king, as representatives of the social statements of the time. Under the reign of Peter the Great (1276–1285), the Catalan Courts gained institutional status, after the king obliged himself to celebrate an annual "General Court". The Catalan Courts exercised as Council and had legislative functions through its three branches (braços): the ecclesiastical (clergy), the military (nobility) and the popular (villages and towns submitted to direct rule of the king). This union of the tree branches was named "Lo General de Cathalunya", where "General" means the political community of the Catalans as a whole.

Is in 1289 when the first step into becoming an institution happens during the Courts celebrated in the castle of Montsó (located in the Kingdom of Aragon, ruled by Count of Barcelona, since the year 1151 AD when Count Ramon Berenguer IV married Princess Petronilla of Aragon). A commission was then designed as "Diputació del General" (Deputation of the General), as to temporarily collect the "services" or tributes that the "branches" granted the king on his demand. This tax was popularly known as "Drets Generals" (General Rights) or "generalitats" (generalities), finding its counterpart in the French "Généralités", which were also founded as taxing districts.

Medieval origins
The Pau i Treva de Déu ("Peace and Truce of God") was a social movement born in the eleventh century promoted by the Church, united with the peasantry as the response to the violence perpetrated by feudal nobles. The hometowns, then, delimited a space protected of feudal violence. However, to ensure a coexistence climate, it was necessary to go further, establishing an authority that prohibited the practice of any type of violent act anywhere in the territory. This was the objective of the assemblies of Peace and Truce of God, the first of which, in the Catalan counties, took place in Toluges (Roussillon), in 1027, under the presidency of Abbot Oliba, on behalf of Bishop Berenguer d'Elna, absent from the diocese because he was on a pilgrimage. The origin of the Catalan Courts can be considered from the Peace of Truce of God.

The Generalitat of Catalonia stems from the medieval institution which ruled, in the name of the King as Count of Barcelona, some aspects of the administration of the Principality of Catalonia. The Catalan Courts were the main institution of the Principality during its existence as a polity and approved the Catalan constitutions. The first constitutions were that of the Courts of 1283.

The Medieval precedent of the Generalitat, the Diputació del General de Catalunya ("Deputation of the General of Catalonia") was a permanent council of deputies established by the Courts in order to collect the new "tax of the General" (or tribute for the King) in 1359. The "general" refers to the combination of the three estates: nobility, church and people. The tax became known was the drets del General or Generalitats. The council gained important political power during the next centuries, assuming tasks including that of prosecutor. In 1931, the name Generalitat was chosen by the legislators of the new self government to help legitimise their function.

First abolition
Catalan institutions which depended on the Generalitat were abolished in what is currently known in Catalonia as Northern Catalonia, one year after the signature of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in the 17th century, which transferred the territory from Spanish to French sovereignty.

Then, by the early 18th century, with the issue of the "Nueva Planta Decrees" after the Catalan defeat in the War of the Spanish Succession, the institution, as well as the other political institutions of the Principality, was abolished.

First restoration
The Generalitat was restored in the Catalonia under Spanish administration in 1931 during the events of the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic when Francesc Macià, leader of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), declared the Catalan Republic within an Iberian Federation on 14 April but later reached an agreement with the Spanish ministers, in which the Catalan Republic was renamed Generalitat of Catalonia (Catalan: Generalitat de Catalunya) and given its modern political and representative function as the institution of self-government of Catalonia within the Spanish Republic. The restored Generalitat was ruled by a statute of autonomy approved by the Spanish Cortes in 1932 and included a parliament, a presidency, an executive council and a court of cassation. It was presided by Francesc Macià (1931–1933) and Lluís Companys (1933–1940). The governments of Macià and Companys enacted a progressive agenda, despite the internal difficulties, while fought to demand the complete transfer of the powers estipulated in the Statute.

After the right wing coalition won the Spanish elections in 1933, the leftist leaders of the Generalitat of Catalonia rebelled in October of 1934 against the Spanish authorities, and it was temporarily suspended from 1934 to 1936. After the victory of the left in the Spanish elections of February 1936 the new Spanish government pardoned the Catalan government and the self-government was fully restored.

Throughout the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) the Generalitat remained loyal to the Republic, assuming powers in areas belonging to the State in Catalonia, such as border controls, coinage, justice and defense. However, due to the revolutionary situation created after the coup d'etat, the Generalitat lost most of the effective power over the territory, largely controlled by local committees under the command of the Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia. As the weeks passed, the Catalan government progressively recovered somewhat control until May 1937.

Second abolition
In 1939, as the Spanish Civil War finished with the defeat of the Republican side, the Generalitat of Catalonia as an institution was abolished and remained so during the Francoist dictatorship until 1975. The president of the Generalitat at the time, Lluís Companys, was tortured and executed on 15 October 1940 for the crime of 'military rebellion'. Nonetheless, the Generalitat maintained its official existence in exile, led by presidents Josep Irla (1940–1954) and Josep Tarradellas (1954–1980).

Second restoration
The succession of presidents of the Generalitat was maintained in exile from 1939 to 1977, when Josep Tarradellas returned to Catalonia and was recognized as the legitimate president by the Spanish government. Tarradellas, when he returned to Catalonia, made his often quoted remark "Ciutadans de Catalunya: ja sóc aquí" ("Citizens of Catalonia: I am back!"), reassuming the autonomous powers of Catalonia, one of the historic nationalities of present-day Spain.

After this, the powers given to the autonomous Catalan government according to the Spanish Constitution of 1978 were transferred and the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia (Estatut d'Autonomia) was passed after being approved both by referendum in Catalonia and by the Spanish parliament.

Governance since 2006
José Montilla, leader of the Catalan Socialist Party, had been the president of the Generalitat until November 2010, he was backed up by a tripartite coalition of left-wing and Catalan nationalist political parties. His party actually won fewer seats in parliament than the main opposition party, Convergence and Union, in the 2006 election, but as he gathered more support from MPs from other parties in the parliament, he was able to repeat the same coalition government that his predecessor (Pasqual Maragall) had formed in order to send CiU to the opposition for the first time after 23 years of Jordi Pujol's government.

On 18 June 2006, a reformed version was approved of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and went into effect in August. In its inception, the reform was promoted by both the leftist parties in the government and by the main opposition party (CiU), which were united in pushing for increased devolution of powers from the Spanish government level, enhanced fiscal autonomy and finances, and explicit recognition of Catalonia's national identity; however the details of its final redaction were harshly fought and the subject became a controversial issue in the Catalan politics, with ERC, themselves members of the Tripartite, finally opposing it. In 2010, the Spanish Constitutional Court reduced the Statute voted in a referendum, eliminating or reinterpreting more than 200 articles, due to a signature collection promoted by then the Spanish opposition leader, Mariano Rajoy. This event is considered one of the main reasons for the independence boom that happened from 2010 with 8% support to 2018 with 52.4% of support.

Artur Mas held the office of President of the Generalitat from December 2010 until his resignation in January 2016, leading a minority government dependent on pacts with other parties including the Socialists' Party of Catalonia following the 2010 election and the 2015 election.

Former president Artur Mas was charged by the Spanish government for civil disobedience, after he organised and staged a referendum on independence in 2014.

Current status
In 2016, Carles Puigdemont, member of the Catalan European Democratic Party, successor formation to the defunct Convergence and Union alliance. was elected President of the Generalitat of Catalonia. He was suspended from office on 27 October 2017, by the Spanish government.

After a number of attempts to invest a new president, Quim Torra became president on 17 May 2018, with Together for Catalonia and Republican Left of Catalonia votes in favor.

On 22 May 2021, Pere Aragonès from the Republican Left of Catalonia was elected the 132nd president of the Generalitat.

Autonomous system of government
The autonomous government consists of the Executive Council, the President and the Parliament. Some people wrongly apply this name only to the executive council (the cabinet of the autonomous government); however, Generalitat de Catalunya is the system of Catalan autonomous government as a whole.

The region has gradually achieved a greater degree of autonomy since 1979. After Navarre and the Basque Country regions, Catalonia has the greatest level of self-government in Spain. When it is fully instated, the Generalitat holds exclusive and wide jurisdiction in various matters of culture, environment, communications, transportation, commerce, public safety and local governments. In many aspects relating to education, health and justice, the region shares jurisdiction with the Spanish government.

One of the examples of Catalonia's degree of autonomy is its own police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra ("Auxiliary Force"), which has taken over most of the police functions in Catalonia which used to be served by the Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and the Spanish National Police Corps.

With few exceptions, most of the justice system is administered by national judicial institutions. The legal system is uniform throughout the Spanish state, with the exception of some parts of civil law – especially family, inheritance, and real estate law – that have traditionally been ruled by so-called foral law. The fields of civil law that are subject to autonomous legislation have been codified in the Civil Code of Catalonia (Codi civil de Catalunya) consisting of six books that have successively entered into force since 2003.

Another institution stemming from the Catalan autonomy statute, but independent from the Generalitat in its check and balance functions, is the Síndic de Greuges (ombudsman) to address problems that may arise between private citizens or organizations and the Generalitat or local governments.

Legislature
The Parliament of Catalonia (Catalan: Parlament de Catalunya) is the unicameral legislative body of the Generalitat and represents the people of Catalonia. Its 135members (diputats) are elected by universal suffrage to serve for a four-year period. According to the Statute of Autonomy, it has powers to legislate over devolved matters such as education, health, culture, internal institutional and territorial organization, nomination of the President of the Generalitat and control the Government, budget and other affairs. The last Catalan election was held on 12 May 2024, and its current speaker (president) is Josep Rull, incumbent since 11 June 2024.

Presidency
The President of the Generalitat of Catalonia (Catalan: president de la Generalitat de Catalunya) is the highest representative of Catalonia, and is also responsible of leading the government's action, presiding the Executive Council. Since the restoration of the Generalitat on the return of democracy in Spain, the Presidents of Catalonia have been Josep Tarradellas (1977–1980, president in exile since 1954), Jordi Pujol (1980–2003), Pasqual Maragall (2003–2006), José Montilla (2006–2010), Artur Mas (2010–2016), Carles Puigdemont (2016–2017) and, after the imposition of direct rule from Madrid, Quim Torra (2018–2020) and Pere Aragonès (2020–).

Executive
The Executive Council (Catalan: Consell Executiu) or Government (Govern), is the body responsible of the government of the Generalitat, it holds executive and regulatory power, being accountable to the Catalan Parliament. It comprises the President of the Generalitat, the First Minister (conseller primer) or the Vice President, and the ministers (consellers) appointed by the president. Its seat is the Palau de la Generalitat, Barcelona. The current government is formed by the center-left pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) after a political crisis in which the center-right member of the coalition Together for Catalonia (Junts) abandoned in 2022 its ministerial seats. It is made up of 14 ministers, alongside to the President and a secretary of government.

International presence
As an autonomous community of Spain, Catalonia is not recognized as a sovereign state by any sovereign state. However, as Catalonia has progressively gained a greater degree of self-government in recent years, the Catalan Government has established nearly bilateral relationships with foreign bodies. For the most part, these relationships are with the governments of other powerful subnational entities such as Quebec or California. In addition, like most Spanish autonomous communities, Catalonia has permanent delegations before international organizations, such as the European Union.

More recently, Catalonia has embarked upon an expansion process of its international representation by opening a number of delegations worldwide. As of 2017, these exceeded 40. Most of these offices are located in major world cities like London, New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo and others. Each office has specific duties assigned by their ministry or department agency. Generally, the functions of these are the representation of specific interests of the Government of Catalonia, trade and foreign investment, Catalan culture and language support, tourist promotion, and international cooperation activities.

There are no specific Catalan political institutions in Northern Catalonia, other than the French département of Pyrénées-Orientales. However, since 5 September 2003, there has been a Casa de la Generalitat in Perpignan, which aims to promote the Catalan culture and facilitate exchanges between each side of the Franco–Spanish border.

Under application of article 155 of the Constitution following the constitutional crisis of 2017 Catalonia only retained one delegation abroad, after the rest were closed, this delegation was the one of Brussels, Belgium. The Catalan Government elected after 21 December election began the process to restore the closed delegations, achivering the goal and opening new ones. Currently there are 15 fully deployed delegations.

This is the list of the current delegations of the Government of Catalonia abroad:

 * 🇧🇪 Brussels, Belgium (delegation before the 🇪🇺 European Union)
 * 🇦🇩 Andorra la Vella, Andorra
 * 🇦🇷 Buenos Aires, Argentina
 * 🇦🇹 Vienna, Austria
 * 🇭🇷 Zagreb, Croatia
 * 🇫🇷 Paris, France
 * 🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany
 * 🇮🇹 Rome, Italy
 * 🇲🇽 Mexico, D.F., Mexico
 * 🇵🇹 Lisbon, Portugal
 * 🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea
 * 🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden
 * 🇨🇭 Geneva, Switzerland
 * 🇹🇳 Tunis, Tunisia
 * 🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom
 * 🇺🇸 Washington, D.C., United States

title: Generalitat de Catalunya