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Air California

Air California, later renamed AirCal, was a U.S. airline company headquartered in Newport Beach, California that started in the 1960s as a California intrastate airline. The airline's home airport was Orange County Airport, now known as John Wayne Airport.

Air California was the "other" California intrastate carrier, counterpart to better known Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA). The two airlines had very different origins. PSA was the product of a highly competitive, lightly-regulated earlier period in California intrastate airline history, while Air California was born into a later, far more regulated California environment. The California regulator explicitly aimed to ensure Air California's success by shielding it from PSA competition, in particular at Orange County Airport, from which PSA was excluded. Air California was further protected by Orange County itself. From 1967 through 1980, Orange County ensured Air California was one of only two mainline airlines to have access to (and the dominant carrier at) Orange County Airport, a lucrative duopoly that allowed Air California to prosper.

Air California/AirCal had a series of unusual owners. From 1970 to 1974, it was under the control of C. Arnholt Smith, a San Diego powerbroker, later convicted of fraud. From 1974 to 1981, it was controlled by Smith's former holding company Westgate-California Corporation (WCC), while WCC was in an extended period of bankruptcy run by a court-appointed trustee. From 1981 to 1987, AirCal was controlled by two California real estate developers, who, despite the turbulent nature of the industry at the time, made a success of the airline, before selling it to American Airlines.

Following the federal Airline Deregulation Act in 1978, Air California expanded beyond its namesake state. The airline was renamed AirCal in 1981 and merged into American Airlines in 1987. By that time, AirCal flew as far east as Chicago and as far north as Seattle, Anchorage, and Vancouver, BC. But less than four years later, American gutted the former AirCal network, leaving little to show for its purchase.

Startup
Air California originated in a December 1965 meeting in Corona del Mar by William Myers, Alan H. Kenison (later a founder of Jet America Airlines), Mark T. Gates, Jr., William L. Pereira, Jr. (son of noted architect William Pereira who designed the Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) ) and Lud Renick to discuss air service from Orange County to San Francisco, with the idea of Air California as the result. At the time, air service from Orange County Airport was minimal. The population of Orange County in 1967 was about 1.2mm, up from only 216,000 in 1950; Orange County was the fastest growing in the country. Air travel in California was then dominated by Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA). Air California was designed to do what PSA would not: serve Orange County. Airport officials had asked all major west coast carriers to serve Orange County Airport and none were interested.

At the time, all significant US airlines but one were tightly regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), an agency of the Federal government. PSA was the exception, its intrastate status made it exempt from CAB oversight. It had used that freedom to grow from nothing in 1949 to a jet carrier in 1965, taking market share away on its California routes from much larger but less efficient carriers regulated by the CAB. Air California was designed to be like PSA but centered on Orange County. Air California was incorporated on 12 April 1966 and the same month, applied to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to be a California intrastate airline for its first route, from Orange County Airport to San Francisco Airport at a fare of $14.85. The CPUC approved the application in September, requiring a minimum of five frequencies per day. In December, Air California had an initial public offering and the airline launched its first services January 16, 1967, using two Lockheed Electra aircraft. Total capital raised prior to the first flight was $5.3mm, including $2.5mm from the stock offering.

In October 1967, Air California took delivery of two more Electras, for a total of four. San Jose and Oakland were added. In 1968, the airline added two DC-9s to the fleet, but by year end both the DC-9s and the Electras had been phased out in favor of six 737-200s. Ontario and Burbank were added.

Financial distress leads to first failed PSA merger, sale
As the nearby table shows, Air California's initial financial results were poor. In December 1969 it agreed to a merger with PSA, citing its financial results. Air California shareholders approved the deal, but shortly thereafter, in May 1970, PSA withdrew from the deal, citing a "negative view" by the CPUC. Within a week, Air California's CEO had resigned, and a new buyer surfaced, Westgate-California Corporation (WCC). In June 1970, WCC acquired 60% of the carrier, which was approved by the CPUC on the grounds that Air California's future was in doubt. In July 1971, WCC pumped $2.5mm into Air California, buying shares that increased its stake to 81%.

In April 1971, Air California provided flight attendant training to Southwest Airlines during its startup phase.

WCC ownership was a mixed blessing. WCC's owner was C. Arnholt Smith, a powerful San Diego businessman and banker, owner of the San Diego Padres baseball team, a close associate and funder of President Richard Nixon and owner of the United States National Bank of San Diego (USNB), largest bank in that city and the 10th largest in California. Smith was highly controversial, accused of lining the pockets of his family and friends through self-dealing (including with WCC, USNB and others) of making illegal campaign contributions, and more. WCC made a loss, its first in 11 years, in 1971.

There was one immediate benefit from WCC ownership: Air California was able to take its seventh 737, delivered to WCC and turned over to Air California in September 1970. The eighth was delivered in May 1971. First-class ("Fiesta") service and Palm Springs made their debut in 1969, San Diego in 1970, though Burbank was suspended. In 1971, Sacramento was added to the network.

Second failed PSA merger, parent company bankruptcy & scandal
In mid 1972, WCC agreed to sell Air California to PSA. WCC told the CPUC that Air California showed no signs of making money and WCC would not further support it. In February 1973 the CPUC agreed, against heavy opposition, including from its own legal staff, to allow the merger to proceed. But by then the merger also faced opposition from the US Department of Justice on anti-trust grounds. For instance, the combination would have had an 81% market share on the Los Angeles Basin to San Francisco Bay market and even higher market shares on individual submarkets. These market shares show how successful were the California intrastate carriers in driving off the far larger CAB-regulated carriers pre-deregulation.

But then, in May 1973, The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued to place WCC in receivership on the grounds of serious malfeasance by Smith, plus the outside auditors withdrew their certification of Air California's accounts for 1971 and 1972, and those of WCC for 1971. Trading was halted in Air California and WCC stocks. Unsurprisingly, almost exactly a year after it had been made, the PSA offer for Air California lapsed. In October, USNB was seized by the FDIC, knocking out the foundation of Smith's empire. In February 1974, WCC filed for Chapter X bankruptcy. Chapter X bankruptcy was eliminated in a 1978 bankruptcy reform, but under it, WCC operated under the control of trustees, who managed it in the interests of shareholders. The bankruptcy dragged on for eight years, with WCC selling pieces of itself along the way, until it was finally liquidated in 1982. Therefore, from 1974 until it was sold in 1981, Air California was in the odd situation of being owned by a bankrupt company run by trustees rather than conventional management.

Survival: the role of the California regulator
Prior to 1979 US airline deregulation, as a California intrastate carrier, Air California was economically regulated by the CPUC, in contrast to most US airlines of the era, which were economically regulated by CAB. Prior to 1965, the CPUC only had the right to regulate intrastate ticket prices. So long as they followed CPUC tariffs, anyone was free to start an intrastate California airline, to enter and leave specific markets and to choose their own frequencies. But in 1965, the CPUC gained the right to regulate airline certification, market entry/exit and service quality for California intrastate airlines. In effect, the CPUC became a kind of mini-CAB for California intrastate airlines.

Air California was unprofitable for the first five years (though it broke even on an operating basis in 1970; see table) and CPUC regulation was critical to its survival. In 1969 the CPUC said "From the beginning we have recognized the need to protect Air California from destructive competition, at least until it becomes a viable operator." This took four forms: (i) CPUC ensured that other than some minor routes, Air California did not compete with PSA, leaving the carriers with largely non-overlapping route networks. This left Air California free to concentrate its energies on competing with CAB carriers on its routes, which had higher costs. (ii) The CPUC approved higher airfares for Air California than for PSA was authorized on similar routes. (iii) The CPUC stopped the further new entry of intrastate airlines. (iv) in at least one case, the CPUC restrained PSA growth with the explicit goal of helping Air California. In fact, from 1965 onward, the CPUC certified only one other carrier, Holiday Airlines, which for some reason chose to fly only to Lake Tahoe.

Orange County Airport duopoly and financial stability
Since its parent company was mired in bankruptcy, it was timely that Air California's fortunes took a turn for the better, becoming solidly profitable from 1973 onward. In this, Air California was helped not only by the CPUC, but also by its duopoly at Orange County Airport. From 1967 until late 1980, the only two carriers at Orange County were Air California and Bonanza Air Lines (and Bonanza's successors, Air West in 1968 and Hughes Airwest in 1970). This was driven by lack of facilities. It's hard to overstate how important this was: in the mid-1970s, Air California relied on Orange County Airport for up to 75% of its passengers. In 1979, the FAA determined that this was, unsurprisingly, discriminatory, leading to the airport opening to other airlines.

In February 1975, Holiday Airlines collapsed, with Air California and PSA both getting emergency CPUC authorization to back fill for Holiday at Lake Tahoe Airport, which the CPUC required be flown with Electras. Air California acquired three.

Intrastate no more, sale to new owners and AirCal
In 1977, still in Chapter X bankruptcy, WCC bought out Air California's minority shareholders and made it a wholly owned subsidiary, in furtherance of its intent to reorganize with Air California as its main business. In 1977-78 Air California added two 737-100 aircraft from Aloha. But Air California ended the 1978 flying to Reno, Nevada; it was no longer an intrastate airline. With out-of-state expansion spurring it on, Air California ended 1979 with 11 737s and had 16 at the end of 1980, but by then the Electras were gone.

In October 1980, Air Florida announced it had purchased interests in the to-be-reorganized WCC from two WCC creditors. This kicked off a bidding war for post-reorganization WCC, which Air Florida ultimately won in November for $47mm. WCC at the time owned only Air California, plus a Puerto Rican tuna cannery, but Air Florida would have to wait until WCC completed its reorganization and in the meantime, the WCC trustee was still in charge, with a mandate to get the best deal for WCC investors. The losing bidder in the WCC auction thus bid for Air California at a price that would give a better return for WCC investors. And when the dust settled on that auction in May 1981, the new group won, with a bid of $61.5mm, $57.5mm of which was financed by Wells Fargo. This was AirCal Investments, a vehicle for two Orange County real estate developers, William Lyon and George Argyros. WCC's trustee didn't bother to hide his satisfaction with the outcome. He preferred local ownership. He had been angered by the surprise bid by Air Florida to buy WCC, had in fact put Argyros and Lyon together in the first place, when each had separately inquired.

The airline that Lyon and Argyros bought came, as of April 6, 1981, with a new name (AirCal) and a new image. Landor Associates did the new livery, Mary McFadden did the new uniforms.

Stripped of John Wayne Airport advantage; financial distress
After unbroken profitability while WCC was in Chapter X, AirCal under Lyon & Argyros was immediately unprofitable. Headwinds included the debt the two had taken on to buy AirCal, the early 1980s recession, the extended impact of the August air traffic controller’s strike, which limited airline aircraft utilization and growth and the expanding impact of 1979 airline deregulation, which spread competitors into AirCal markets, and vice versa. For instance, PSA finally broke into John Wayne Airport (SNA), after, as they noted, 15 years of trying. AirCal had entered LAX in 1980., its LAX penetration assisted by a late 1980 strike at PSA. AirCal was no longer protected by the CPUC or the SNA duopoly. Further, jet fuel prices increased from 40 cents/gal at the beginning of 1979 to over a dollar in 1981, related to the 1979 oil crisis.

There was another factor: AirCal was squeezed at its SNA base, its historic source of profits. From 1970 to 1985, SNA capped daily average jet departures to 41/day, with AirCal having 27 during the duopoly period that ended 1980. But the FAA insisted other airlines be accommodated. As other airlines entered, incumbent frequencies were cut to accommodate them. AirCal was the biggest incumbent, so was the biggest victim; AirCal’s average daily SNA frequencies dropped over the course of several years from 27 to 12.5. Many airlines wanted a piece of SNA and were even willing to buy MD-80s (then the quietest narrowbody available) to do so. For instance, Frontier’s decision to get MD-80s was SNA-driven.

AirCal came close to failure, but was saved by a combination of cost savings, with substantial layoffs, a 10% wage reduction for those who remained, a realignment of its route network, concentrating on increasing frequency on important routes like LAX to San Francisco. Lyon took over the CEO position himself. During this period, the historic Hughes Airwest network was being eliminated, as Hughes successor Republic withdrew from the west coast. Western Airlines intrastate service was also shrinking. AirCal was also substantially recapitalized, with the combination of an initial public offering with Lyon & Argyros converting debt they’d loaned the airline into equity. This relieved the airline of a substantial debt load.

Final years
AirCal’s fleet remained 737-200s (and two 737-100s), along with seven MD-80s, until it ordered a dozen Boeing 737-300s in 1984, with Boeing agreeing to take back the MD-80s in trade. The 737-300s were even quieter than the MD-80s, and obviously compatible with the 737-100/200s. The last of the MD-80s were gone by early 1986. SNA noise limits basically forced AirCal into buying BAe-146s; new 1985 flight limits had a looser limit for aircraft below a certain noise level, and the BAe-146 qualified. That would have given PSA a substantial advantage unless AirCal also got the aircraft, so it ordered six.

In the fourth quarter of 1985 the string of profits was upset due to the entry of Continental West into California. Continental West was a short-lived Texas Air subsidiary created to take delivery of aircraft due to limits placed on Continental by its bankruptcy judge. Additional capacity cratered west coast fares once again, leading to 1986 being once again unprofitable. In June 1986, AirCal created a holding company for the airline, ACI Holdings.

In November 1986, AirCal accepted a purchase offer from American Airlines for $225mm, $90mm of which would be split by Lyon & Argyros. American was in the midst of a hub expansion program, then building new (now defunct) hubs in Raleigh, Nashville and San Juan. Building a west coast presence from scratch at the same time was considered a bridge too far for American, so it bought rather than built. Another factor was that Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air was also interested and American was eager to block it. AirCal had achieved a 1985 market share on the LA Basin to SF Bay corridor market of just under 33%, second to PSA which had just less than 49%. AirCal had expanded up the coast to Canada and Alaska and as far east as Chicago with a fleet of 39 aircraft. American’s purchase closed May 1, 1987 and AirCal was merged out of existence on July 1. AirCal's long-time rival, PSA, was likewise swallowed by USAir.

In April 1967, Air California was operating 48 nonstop Lockheed L-188 Electra propjet flights a week from Orange County (SNA) to San Francisco (SFO). It added Orange County (SNA) to San Jose (SJC) and Oakland (OAK) flights around the beginning of 1968.

By May 1968, the airline was operating 92 flights per week from SNA to SFO, primarily using Douglas DC-9-10 twin jets, as well as 50 flights a week from SNA to SJC, with most continuing on to OAK.

By 1976, Air California was operating nonstop intrastate jet service between Orange County and San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego and Palm Springs; between San Diego and Oakland and San Jose; between Ontario and Oakland and San Jose; and between Palm Springs and San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland.

Legacy
AirCal left almost no trace.

The successors of PSA and AirCal, USAir and American, raised prices, reflecting their higher costs. In early 1990, the last-minute roundtrip fare from Los Angeles to Sacramento was $456, over $1000 in 2024 dollars. State legislators were increasingly irate, finally proposing a raft of bills to punish the carriers, even suggesting a state-owned airline. They didn't notice that the market had already taken care of the problem. United Airlines had already announced an increase in frequency on Los Angeles to San Francisco from 16 to 27 per day. More to the point, Southwest Airlines had announced it was entering Burbank with 10 a day service to Oakland at a last-minute fare of $59 one way, $29 in advance.

The resulting Los Angeles Basin to San Francisco Bay fare war was brutal, made worse when Iraq invaded Kuwait thereby spiking oil prices, collapsing demand for international travel and tipping the US into the Gulf War. In January 1991, in announcements only two weeks apart, American and then US Air gutted the former AirCal and PSA systems, throwing in the towel less than five years after offering to buy the former intrastate airlines.

Despite this, in the case of PSA its indirect legacy is substantial because it was the inspiration for Southwest Airlines, and thus PSA is generally viewed as the original low-cost carrier. Air California/AirCal can't make the same claim. In fact, there's a good case to be made that Air California only survived to be sold to Lyon & Argyros because of regulation. Air California was a product of the post-1965 CPUC and the Orange County duopoly, and thus not a good argument for deregulation.

That makes AirCal's success under Lyon and Argyros even more anomalous. The chance that two Orange County real estate barons, airline industry outsiders, could buy an apparently healthy airline, have it immediately fall on hard times, but quickly turn it around and make a success of it during one of the most turbulent eras in US airline history would seem rather slim. But that's what happened. And then they had the good sense to sell the airline at a healthy profit (since it appears that the vast majority of their purchase money was funded by a loan from Wells Fargo) and apparently never again dabble in airlines. They might have had the single greatest return on investment of any airline owners in the 1980s, and yet this part of US airline history is little known.

Incidents and accidents
In 1981, an AirCal Boeing 737-200 crashed while attempting to land at John Wayne International Airport around sunset on Tuesday, February 17. AirCal Flight 336 was a scheduled flight from San Jose International Airport to John Wayne International Airport. Around 48 minutes into the flight, the crew received clearance for a visual approach to land on runway 19R. As Flight 336 was approaching, another AirCal flight, Flight 931, received clearance to take off from runway 19R.

The controller recognized the potential danger of a collision between the two aircraft and ordered Flight 931 to abort takeoff and instructed Flight 336 to go around. Flight 931 aborted its takeoff, however, Flight 336 did not go around and instead landed on the runway with the landing gear retracted. The aircraft left the runway surface around 900 ft past the runway threshold, skidded another 1170 ft before finally coming to rest 115 ft to the right of the centerline. All passengers and crew members survived the crash. The Boeing 737-293 aircraft, registered N468AC, was damaged beyond repair and consequently written off.

On June 5, 1986, an AirCal 737 flying from Los Angeles to Portland came within 100 feet of a private plane before the AirCal pilot banked to avoid a collision. No crew or passengers were injured during the incident.

Destinations in May 1987
AirCal's May 1, 1987, system timetable listed the following destinations shortly before it was merged into American Airlines:

 * Anchorage, AK (ANC)
 * Burbank, CA – now Bob Hope Airport (BUR)
 * Chicago, IL – O'Hare Airport (ORD)
 * Long Beach, CA (LGB)
 * Los Angeles (LAX)
 * Oakland, CA (OAK)
 * Ontario, CA (ONT)
 * Orange County, CA – now John Wayne Airport (SNA)
 * Portland, OR (PDX)
 * Reno, NV (RNO)
 * Sacramento, CA (SMF)
 * San Diego, CA (SAN)
 * San Francisco, CA (SFO)
 * San Jose, CA (SJC)
 * Seattle, WA (SEA)
 * South Lake Tahoe, CA (TVL)
 * Vancouver, B.C., Canada (YVR) – only international destination served by the airline

Previously served destinations
Air California/AirCal previously served these destinations during its existence:

 * Fresno, CA (FAT)
 * Las Vegas, NV (LAS)
 * Monterey, CA (MRY)
 * Palm Springs, CA (PSP)
 * Phoenix, AZ (PHX)

Fleet
Among other aircraft types, Air California/AirCal operated the following jet aircraft during its existence:

title: Air California


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Uaboe District

Uaboe (also known as Waboe) is a district in the island nation of Nauru, located in the northwest of the island.

Geography
Covering about 0.8 km2, Uaboe has a population of 341. Uaboe is the second-smallest district in Nauru. It is the only district other than Boe to have an area less than 1.0 km2. The Nauru Local Government Council lands office is located in Uaboe, and the district is a part of the Ubenide Constituency. Uaboe is also the highest settlement in Nauru.

Notable people

 * Timothy Detudamo, linguist and governor of Nauru, was from Uaboe.

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

title: Uaboe District


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Shepherd's beaked whale

Shepherd's beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi), also commonly called Tasman's beaked whale or simply the Tasman whale, is a cetacean of the family Ziphiidae and the only species in the genus Tasmacetus. The whale has not been studied extensively. Only four confirmed at sea sightings have been made and 42 strandings recorded (as of 2006). It was first known to science in 1937, being named by W. R. B. Oliver after George Shepherd, curator of the Wanganui Museum, who collected the type specimen near Ohawe on the south Taranaki coast of New Zealand's North Island, in 1933.

Description
Adults can reach lengths of 6 m to 7.1 m and weigh about 2.32 to 3.48 tons. At birth they may be about 3 m long.

They are robust and large-bodied for beaked whales, having a bluff melon and a long, dolphin-like beak.

It is the only species of ziphiid with a full set of functional teeth (17 to 27 pairs in both the upper and lower jaws). Adult males also have a pair of tusks at the tip of the lower jaw.

They are dark brown dorsally and cream-colored ventrally, with a pale band extending up from the flipper and another pale area extending as a swathe on the posterior flank. The tall, falcate dorsal fin is set about two-thirds the way along the back.

Population and distribution
Sightings and stranding records indicate that the species has a circumpolar distribution in southern hemisphere. No population estimates exist for Shepherd's beaked whale. As of 2006, there have been about 42 stranding records of the species from New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands, 24), Argentina (7), Tristan da Cunha (6), Australia (3), and the Juan Fernández Islands (2). The northernmost record was at Shark Bay in Western Australia in 2008. There have been five unconfirmed sightings (mostly from New Zealand), as well as a "probable" sighting near Shag Rocks and four confirmed sightings—the first two confirmed sightings occurred in 1985, within a few minutes of each other, off the Tristan da Cunha group (first sighting at -37.3°N, -12.53333°W); the third in 2002 near Gough Island (-40.31667°N, -9.88333°W); and the fourth in 2004 south of Tasmania (-48.83333°N, 150.1°W). In January 2012, a group of up to a dozen of this species were photographed and filmed by the Australian Antarctic Division south of Portland, Victoria.

Multiple sightings of the species have been reported from Otago submarine canyons off Otago coast, New Zealand. Sightings have been recorded throughout the year with vocalization recordings, suggesting regular presences there. These include at least two sightings in 2016 which were the first confirmed sightings within New Zealand waters, followed by four sightings in 2017, one or more sighting(s) in 2018,  one sighting in 2019, four or five sightings in 2021,     five sightings in 2022 including a pod of 15-20 animals.

There have been additional sightings from other parts of New Zealand, such as off Gisborne, several sightings off Kaikōura,  off Fiordland, Taranaki, and so on.

Behaviour
Four of the confirmed sightings of this species involved three to six individuals (one group included a calf) in waters from 350 m to 3,600 m deep, while a 2012 sighting involved as many as ten to twelve individuals. The animals surfaced several times, before arching to dive. Some were observed to come to the surface at a steep angle like many other ziphiids, raising their head and beaks out of the water. The Shepherd's beaked whale's blow could be observed with the naked eye at a distance of up to 1,000 metres, within a bushy plume that is relatively tall for a ziphiid varying from 1 to 2 metres in height

The species is seldom seen because of its deep, offshore distribution in waters where sighting conditions can be difficult (the "Roaring Forties" and "Furious Fifties").

Research done on a stranded individual's stomach has indicated that Shepherd's beaked whales eat both fish and squid, as opposed to most beaked whales which only eat cephalopods.

Conservation
There are no reports of this species being hunted or killed accidentally by humans. Shepherd's beaked whale is covered by the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region (Pacific Cetaceans MOU).

Taxonomy
Its nearest relative, the only other living member of the subfamily Ziphiinae, is Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris).

title: Shepherd's beaked whale


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Farringdon, London

Farringdon is an area in London and is located in the London Borough of Islington. It lies just north of the border with the City of London in Central London and close to Holborn. The term is used to describe the area around Farringdon station.

Historically the district corresponded to southern Clerkenwell and the small parish of St Sepulchre Middlesex. The area's name is a back-formation: It takes its name from the station, which was in turn named after Farringdon Street. To the south lie the City of London wards of Farringdon Within and Farringdon Without. The City Wards, which were once a single unit, are unconnected to the distinct area of Farringdon to their north, though there is an etymological connection.

Toponymy
There are numerous places in England called Farringdon; all meaning fern covered hill. William and Nicholas de Faringdon, whose name is likely to have originated from one of these places, were two related prominent citizens and Aldermen in the early 13th century. Nicholas purchased the area of the Farringdon ward of the City of London in 1279 and became its Alderman in 1281. In 1394 the ward was split into the still extant Farringdon Within and Farringdon Without.

Farringdon Street was built by covering part of the River Fleet in the Farringdon Without Ward of the city. The street was named after either the Ward or after the Nicholas de Faringdon. Farringdon Road was an extension of Farringdon Street, also built over the River Fleet, but lying northward, beyond the city.

Farringdon Station was built close to Farringdon Road, and originally named Farringdon Street Station. The presence of the railway station has led to the surrounding areas of southern Clerkenwell being referred to as Farringdon.

Administration
Farringdon station and its environs historically corresponded to southern Clerkenwell and three much smaller areas; the parish of St Sepulchre Middlesex, Charterhouse and Glasshouse Yard.

When the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was formed in 1900, Clerkenwell and the other areas were absorbed into the new borough. In 1965 the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury became part of the new London Borough of Islington.

Street name etymologies

 * Albion Place – thought to be simply a suitably patriotic name; formerly George Court
 * Aldersgate Street – the name Aldersgate is first recorded around 1000 in the form Ealdredesgate, i.e. "gate associated with a man named Ealdrād". The gate, constructed by the Romans in the 2nd or 3rd centuries when London Wall was constructed, probably acquired its name in the late Saxon period.
 * Benjamin Street – unknown; thought to probably be for a local landowner/builder
 * Briset Street – after Jordan de Briset, local 12th-century landowner who gave land to the Order of St John for their headquarters here
 * Britton Street – after Thomas Britton, local coal seller and prominent patron of the arts, who lived nearby in the 17th – 18th century; it was formerly known as Red Lion Street, after a local inn
 * Broad Yard
 * Carthusian Street – after the Carthusian monks who lived near here in the Middle Ages
 * Charterhouse Buildings, Charterhouse Mews, Charterhouse Square and Charterhouse Street – Anglicisation of Chartreuse, from Grande Chartreuse, head monastery of the Carthusians in France; a nearby abbey was founded by monks of this order in 1371
 * Cowcross Street – this street was path for cattle being taken to nearby Smithfield market
 * Dickens Mews – presumably after Victorian author Charles Dickens
 * Eagle Court – after Eagle, Lincolnshire; the Order of Knights of St John owned land in this village and the Bailiff of Eagle owned a house near here
 * Farringdon Road – from Sir William or Nicholas de Farnedon/Faringdon, local sheriffs or aldermen in the 13th century
 * Faulkners Alley
 * Fox and Knot Street – after the Fox and Knot tavern of the 18th century
 * Francis Court
 * Glasshouse Yard – after a 17th-century glass factory on this site
 * Goswell Road – There is dispute over the origins of the name, with some sources claiming the road was named after a nearby garden called 'Goswelle' or 'Goderell' which belonged to Robert de Ufford, 1st Earl of Suffolk, and others a well called the Gode Well whilst others state it derives from "God's Well", and the traditional pagan practice of well-worship.
 * Greenhill's Rents – after John Greenhill, local 18th-century property owner
 * Hat and Mitre Court – after an 18th-century tavern of this name
 * Passing Alley – altered from the descriptive Pissing Alley, renamed at some point prior to the 1790s
 * Peter's Lane – after the former St Peter's Key pub on this site
 * Rutland Place – after the Manners family, earls of Rutland, local property owners of the 17th century
 * St John's Lane, St John's Path, St John's Place, St John's Square and St John Street – after the Monastic Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, who set up their English headquarters here in the 12th century
 * Smokehouse Yard – after the bacon stoves formerly located here
 * Stable Court
 * Turk's Head Yard – after an 18th-century tavern of this name here
 * Turnmill Street – originally 13th-century ‘Trimullstrete’ or ‘Three Mills Street’, after three mills that stood near here by the river Fleet
 * White Horse Alley

Geography
The station and its immediate environs are located in the southern extremity of the London Borough of Islington, adjacent to the northern boundary of the City of London and the eastern boundary of the London Borough of Camden.

Boundaries
Farringdon has no formally defined boundaries, but can be approximated as extending to Clerkenwell Road to the north, Goswell Road and Aldersgate Street to the east, Charterhouse Street, Charterhouse Square and Carthusian Street to the south and Farringdon Road to the west.

Boundary with the City
A map based on Stow c 1600 shows the Fagswell Brook south of Cowcross Street as the northern boundary of the city. At Long Lane, by the brook, were the now lost ornamental boundary markers known as West Smithfield Bars, first documented in 1170 and 1197.

Until 1993, a small triangle of land south of Cowcross Street was within the City of London and formed part of the Farringdon Without ward. The boundary between the City of London and the London Borough of Islington was locally realigned in 1993 with small exchanges of land between each; in this area the boundary was moved slightly south to align with Charterhouse Street.

Transport
The redevelopment and expansion of Farringdon station has had a significant effect on the local area. The station is served by the Thameslink north–south rail route and since May 2022 the east–west Elizabeth line service which required the construction of additional station entrances. The Crossrail project to construct the Elizabeth line was delayed by a number of years, having been due to open in December 2018. A proposed upgrade of the Thameslink route would also affect the local area, including the construction of further station entrances, the pedestrianisation of Cowcross Street and the demolition of several buildings.

title: Farringdon, London


text:
User talk:Needlesahm007

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title: User talk:Needlesahm007


text:
Barbican

A barbican (from barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes.

Europe
In the Middle Ages, barbicans were typically situated outside, or at the edge of, the main line of defenses, and were connected to the city walls with a walled road called the neck. They would thus defend the entrance to the city or castle at the "choke point". In the 15th century, with the improvement in siege tactics and artillery, barbicans lost their significance. Barbicans were built well into the 16th century. Fortified or mock-fortified gatehouses remained a feature of ambitious French and English residences well into the 17th century. Portuguese medieval fortification nomenclature uses barbican ("barbacã") to describe any wall outside of and lower than the main defensive wall that forms a second barrier. The barrier may be complete, extensive or only protect particularly weak areas. The more restrictive term gate barbican is used for structures protecting gates.

Arab world
The origin of the English word barbican is thought to be found in either Persian or Arabic (see here or here).

Paul Deschamps (1888–1974) interpreted the Arabic word 'bashura[h]' as used in 13th-century chronicles to mean barbican, a defensive structure placed ahead of a gate but this has been debunked, 'bashura' denoting rather an entire section of the outer fortifications, which may include a barbican but also a bastion, gate, tower or all of these.

South Asia
Barbicans were also used in South Asian fortifications where some of their purposes were to protect the main gate from being rammed by war elephants.

East Asia
Fortifications in East Asia also feature similar high structures. In particular, gates in Chinese city walls were often defended by an additional "archery tower" in front of the main gatehouse, with the two towers connected by walls extending out from the main fortification. Literally called "jar walls", they are often referred to as "barbicans" in English.

title: Barbican


text:
Tower Hill Memorial

The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England. The memorials, one for the First World War and one for the Second, commemorate civilian, merchant seafarers and fishermen who were killed as a result of enemy action and have no known grave. The first, the Mercantile Marine War Memorial, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and unveiled in 1928; the second, the Merchant Seamen's Memorial, was designed by Sir Edward Maufe and unveiled in 1955. A third memorial, commemorating merchant seamen who were killed in the 1982 Falklands War, was added to the site in 2005.

The first memorial was commissioned in light of the heavy losses sustained by merchant shipping in the First World War—more than 17,000 people died and some 3,300 British and Empire-registered commercial vessels sunk as a result of enemy action. The Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) commissioned Lutyens, who initially designed a massive arch on the banks of the River Thames, but this was rejected by the authorities, to Lutyens' disdain. A compromise was struck, as a result of which the memorial was constructed in Trinity Square Gardens on Tower Hill, a site further from the river but with a long maritime history. The site was Crown land, meaning a special Act of Parliament was required to allow the construction. Queen Mary unveiled the memorial on 12 December 1928 at a ceremony broadcast live on the radio, her first use of the medium. The memorial is a vaulted corridor reminiscent of a Doric temple and similar to Lutyens' structures in cemeteries on the Western Front. The walls are clad with bronze panels which bear the names of the missing.

Merchant shipping losses in the Second World War were significantly higher than in the first (4,786 ships, 32,000 lives) and the IWGC commissioned a second memorial on the same site, intended to complement the first. Maufe designed a sunken garden, accessed by steps behind the original memorial, the walls of which were again clad with bronze panels with the names of the missing. At regular intervals between the panels are relief sculptures (by Charles Wheeler) representing the seven seas. Wheeler also sculpted two sentries, a Merchant Navy sailor and officer, which stand at the top of the steps. The new memorial was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in November 1955, after which relatives of those named on it were invited to lay flowers.

The memorials to the world wars are both listed buildings—the Mercantile Marine Memorial is gradeI and part of a national collection of Lutyens' war memorials, and Maufe's Merchant Seamen's Memorial is listed at gradeII*. The Falklands War memorial is not listed.

Background

In the aftermath of the First World War and its unprecedented casualties, thousands of war memorials were built across Britain and other countries affected. In particular, the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) assumed responsibility for commemorating all casualties from the British Empire. The commission was established in 1917, and one of its first principal architects was Sir Edwin Lutyens, an English architect who made his reputation building country houses and later designed much of New Delhi. Lutyens acted as an unpaid advisor to the IWGC during the war, in which capacity he made several visits to France to make initial plans for organised cemeteries. The war had a profound effect on Lutyens; following it, he devoted much of his time to memorialising its casualties. He designed The Cenotaph on Whitehall in central London (which became Britain's national memorial to the two world wars) and many other cemeteries and memorials for the IWGC, including the Thiepval Memorial (completed 1932).

The IWGC and its founder, Fabian Ware, were determined from the outset that all casualties should be individually and equally commemorated, regardless of military rank or social status. Where it was not possible to provide a headstone (for example because a body could not be recovered), a casualty's name was included on one of the commission's large memorials, such as Tower Hill. The Admiralty did not initially believe that the IWGC's remit extended to sailors lost at sea and planned its own commemorations, but after negotiation, it was agreed that the commission would take responsibility for commemorating maritime casualties as it did with those who died on land. The commission's charter defined its scope as "members of the military and naval forces of the Crown"; in 1921 the commissioners resolved that this extended to the Mercantile Marine and other civilian organisations who were engaged in the war effort.

Merchant shipping and fishing fleets played a vital role in supporting the British war effort throughout the First World War, both by resupplying the Royal Navy at sea and by delivering food, products, and raw materials to the United Kingdom. Merchant ships were regularly sunk by the German Navy from the outset of the war, particularly after Germany commenced unrestricted submarine warfare. By the end of the war, more than 3,300 British- and empire-registered merchant ships had been sunk, with the loss of more than 17,000 lives.

History

The IWGC sought advice on the form of the memorial from the seafarers' unions, who consistently requested a memorial in the form of a home for aged seamen or similar, but the commission was set against functional memorials in the belief that they became associated more with their function than with commemoration. It rejected the request, overruling its own advisory committee in doing so, on the grounds that its charter did not allow it to fund the ongoing costs of an institution. It insisted that merchant seamen would be commemorated on a monument.

The commission first intended to site the memorial at Temple Steps, on the bank of the River Thames, for which it commissioned Lutyens. The architect designed a massive arch. The proposed structure would have consisted of two 54 ft stone piers of linked, alternating arches (reminiscent of the Thiepval Memorial, which he was designing for the IWGC at around the same time) joined by a large beam, itself supported by two Doric columns between the arches. This was approved by London County Council, but the Office of Works rejected it on the advice of the Royal Fine Arts Commission (RFAC), which objected on two grounds: first, that Lutyens' proposal would involve the demolition of an arch built when the Thames Embankment was constructed; and second, that the memorial would be better suited to a site further downstream, east of Tower Bridge, where it would be seen by ocean-going vessels which could not travel west of the bridge. Both Lutyens and Ware attempted to persuade the RFAC to reconsider but to no avail. Lutyens was furious, feeling the merchant seamen had been relegated to "some hole in the corner because they happened to be low in social status" and that Sir Reginald Blomfield (a member of the RFAC and a rival of Lutyens) was acting out of spite.

Lutyens described the RFAC's opinion as "bosh", and suggested to Ware that they should continue regardless and force a confrontation. Ware was more diplomatic, and the IWGC chose a new site in Trinity Square Gardens on Tower Hill, still west of Tower Bridge but further from the river. This site was considered appropriate because it was within sight of the Thames, albeit not on the riverbank, and the area already had maritime connections, including the headquarters of the Port of London Authority at 10 Trinity Square, Trinity House, and the church of All Hallows-by-the-Tower (itself home to many nautically themed memorials). Philip Longworth, in a history of the IWGC, remarked that the location meant the commission's only memorial in London "would never be seen by most Londoners, still less find a place in the national consciousness as did Lutyens' stark monument on Whitehall". (The Cenotaph was not commissioned by the IWGC.)

Trinity Square Gardens was Crown land administered by trustees. Although the trustees suggested they would not object to the memorial, they did not have the power to give full consent and a special Act of Parliament was required. The bill was laid before Parliament in December 1926 and received royal assent in June 1927, becoming the Mercantile Marine Memorial Act. The building work was undertaken by Holloway Brothers (London) and the memorial was unveiled by Queen Mary (deputising for her husband, King George V) on 12 December 1928, her first solo engagement of the sort. The unveiling ceremony was broadcast live on the radio in the queen's first use of the medium. Despite taking place in torrential rain, the unveiling ceremony was attended by a large crowd, who cheered the queen as she was driven away.

Design

The main structure is in Portland stone. It takes the form of a vaulted colonnade or pavilion reminiscent of a Doric temple but open at both ends. After the Arch of Remembrance in Leicester, it is Lutyens' second-largest war memorial in the United Kingdom, and is the only British First World War memorial dedicated exclusively to merchant seamen. It is raised on a platform slightly above street level, oriented east to west and accessed from the street by a set of five stone steps at each end. The structure is 21.5 m long by 7 m wide and up to 10 m tall. It consists of three bays on either side, created by eight alternating square piers and six pairs of round columns. The eight piers are clad in rectangular bronze panels to give the impression of rustication. The panels (divided into 24 numbered sections) contain the names of missing mariners, ordered by ship name and then alphabetically following the name of the captain or master. The vessels of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets are listed separately. Above the bays is a Doric entablature. The low, pitched roof has shallow parapets on either side and gabled ends; on top, in the centre, is a large square attic which supports a large stone drum. The attic is similar to Lutyens' original design for the York City War Memorial, which featured a Stone of Remembrance rather than a drum. The sculptural element is the work of William Reid Dick, who worked on several other war memorials, including the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium.

The memorial's main dedication is in bronze letters to the front (south) of the attic: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND TO THE HONOUR OF TWELVE THOUSAND OF THE MERCHANT NAVY AND FISHING FLEETS WHO HAVE NO GRAVE BUT THE SEA ; above it are the dates of the First World War (1914–1918), which are also carved into the stone on north side. To either side are decorative bronze wreaths. On the inside, the floor is in black and white stone in a chequerboard pattern. On the north side, bronze spikes occupy the otherwise-open bays.

The largest single loss of life commemorated on the memorial is from the sinking of the RMS Lusitania on 7 May 1915. Of the 1,200 dead, more than 350 British crew members are commemorated on the Mercantile Marine memorial. In total, the First World War memorial records the names of some 12,000 casualties.

In his biography of Lutyens, Michael Barker described the design as "dignified classicism"; another Lutyens biographer, Christopher Hussey, described it as a "classical shrine". Tim Skelton, author of Lutyens and the Great War, notes the similarity of the colonnade to the shelter buildings in Lutyens' cemeteries in France and Belgium and suggests that the memorial would be "equally well at home on the Western Front as in the heart of London". The resemblance to the cemetery buildings is also noted by the Dutch architect Jeroen Geurst, who compares it in particular to those at Hooge Crater in Belgium and Serre Road in France. In the opinion of the historian David Crane, the memorial never recovered from its "miserable start" and is consequently the least well-known of the IWGC's major works following the First World War.

Background
From the outbreak of the Second World War, shipping losses were again high and a similar convoy system was used in an effort to protect merchant vessels. By the war's end, 4,786 ships had been sunk, with the loss of some 32,000 lives (of which almost 24,000 are commemorated at Tower Hill); almost a quarter of the losses were in British waters. Although military casualties were lower in the Second World War than in the First, civilian casualties were higher and there was widespread destruction of British cities. By the end of the second war there was little appetite for another wave of large memorials. Instead, many memorials from the first war were adapted or expanded to commemorate the new casualties—an approach the IWGC took at Tower Hill and elsewhere. Generally, it only built new memorials to the missing in places which had not been touched by the First World War. The IWGC was by this time a much more established and well-respected institution and thus found it easier to obtain the agreements and public support necessary for its work.

The architect was Edward Maufe, who began his career designing churches and by the 1950s was the IWGC's principal architect for the United Kingdom for the Second World War commemorations. Maufe was also responsible for the Air Forces Memorial in Surrey and extensions to the Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Chatham naval memorials.

History
Following the Second World War, the IWGC considered various sites for a memorial to the new casualties but, after consultation with the relevant public bodies, decided Tower Hill was the most appropriate location. The commission briefed Maufe that the new memorial should complement Lutyens' design and fit in with the existing architecture in the area, including the Port of London Authority building. Maufe first proposed extending Lutyens' structure with a further colonnade, but this was rejected. His next design, for a sunken garden, was accepted. Another Act of Parliament was required, which was passed in July 1952 as the Merchant Navy Memorial Act. Work began later in 1952 and was completed in 1955. Some modifications to Maufe's design were necessary. Maufe initially planned a larger grassy area between Lutyens' colonnade and the sunken garden with a Stone of Remembrance at the centre. The stone was eliminated and the grass scaled back to reduce the overall size of the memorial and assuage the concerns of local people. The depth of the garden had to be reduced at the south end because of a London Underground tunnel.

The memorial commemorates merchant seamen from ships registered in Britain or its Empire or on loan to the governments of those countries, and who were lost at sea as a result of enemy action in the Second World War; it lists 23,765 men, of whom 832 were fishermen and 80 maritime pilots and lighthousemen. The much larger casualty figures and corresponding scale of the memorial reflect the vital contribution of the Merchant Navy to the British war effort in the Second World War. The memorial was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II at a modest ceremony on 5 November 1955, two days before Remembrance Sunday. The ceremony, described by The Sunday Times as "all as modest and anonymous as the Merchant Navy itself", concluded with the sounding of the "Last Post" by buglers from the Royal Marines, answered by a single ship's horn on the River Thames. After the unveiling, 16,000 relatives of those commemorated on the memorial laid flowers around it, a process which lasted until late in the evening.

Design
The Second World War memorial takes the form of a semi-circular sunken garden located behind the First World War Memorial, to its north in Trinity Square Gardens. The idea of a sunken garden appears to have originated from discussions immediately following the end of the war. There was a feeling among the new generation of artists and architects that the elaborate and artistic memorials to the First World War did not capture the national mood of mourning for the new wave of casualties and that spaces such as gardens, which provided a location for individual mourning and reflection, were more suitable. According to the architectural historian Philip Ward-Jackson, Maufe's memorial gives the impression of being a wing of an imaginary ruined church, complete with provided seats—an image which would have had "powerful resonance in the bombed City" (much of the surrounding area, including the Port of London Authority building, was severely damaged by German bombing). The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner described Maufe's extension as "less assertive" than the original memorial; he praised the idea of a memorial to the missing in the form of a void (the sunken garden), but felt it was let down by Wheeler's "strangely jaunty" reliefs between the lists of names.

Later history

The Tower Hill memorial commemorates 36,087 seafarers from both world wars. Only merchant seamen who have no known grave are listed at Tower Hill. Those whose bodies were recovered or who served with other organisations (such as the Indian Merchant Navy) are commemorated elsewhere—for example, 1,200 merchant seamen who served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War are commemorated on the Liverpool Naval Memorial. The memorial register for the Mercantile Marine Memorial was originally published by the IWGC in nine volumes in 1928. After the Second World War, a three-volume Roll of Honour of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets 1939–1945 was produced in 1958 by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation and distributed to a range of organisations in the UK and abroad. The first two volumes of this roll of honour contain the names listed on the Merchant Seamen's Memorial at Tower Hill. The registers for the Tower Hill memorials are held at the nearby Trinity House on the north side of Trinity Square Gardens.

Since 2000, 3 September has been celebrated annually as Merchant Navy Day; a memorial service is held close to that date at the Tower Hill Memorial. In 2005, the Merchant Navy Association unveiled another memorial on the site. The work of Gordon Newton, it is dedicated to the Merchant Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary casualties of the 1982 Falklands War. It consists of a 3 metre bronze sundial, raised on a granite base; at the dial's centre is a large bronze anchor. Around the base are bronze plaques, one of which contains the inscription IN MEMORY OF THOSE MERCHANT SEAFARERS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES TO SECURE THE FREEDOM OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS 1982. The others record the names of the 17 dead, ordered by ship. The Falklands memorial, which is not listed, was unveiled on 4 September 2005 by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (the IWGC having changed its name in 1960).

Liverpool marked the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, by having twenty-five warships sail through the port to mark the milestone. Ceremonies were also held at the Tower Hill Memorial on 11 May 2013, along with other events elsewhere in London and Britain.

Lutyens' First World War Memorial became a gradeII* listed building in 1973. Listed status offers legal protection from demolition or modification; gradeII* is reserved for "particularly important buildings of more than special interest" and is applied to about 5.5% of listings. It was upgraded to gradeI status (which is applied to around 2.5% of listed buildings, those of "the greatest historic interest") in November 2015 when Lutyens' war memorials were declared a national collection. Maufe's Merchant Seamen's Memorial has separately been a gradeII* listed building since 1998. The CWGC began a major restoration project of the colonnade in 2019.

title: Tower Hill Memorial


text:
Stefan Raab

Stefan Konrad Raab (born 20 October 1966) is a German television producer, businessman, and former entertainer and television host. From 1999 to 2015, he hosted the late-night comedy talk show TV total and has also created a number of other television shows, such as Schlag den Raab and Bundesvision Song Contest.

Raab began his TV career hosting the comedy show Vivasion in 1993. He became well known in 1994 after composing a hit single spoofing national football coach Berti Vogts. In the early 2010s, Raab was considered the "most powerful man in German entertainment television".

Raab is also known for his recurring role as producer, writer and performer of German entries to the Eurovision Song Contest between 1998 and 2012. He was the initiator of the national pre-selection show Unser Star für Oslo ("Our Star for Oslo"), in which Germany's winning entry at the 2010 contest in Oslo was determined.

In 2015, Raab ended his career in front of the camera, and by 2018 started focusing entirely on production work.

Early life and family
Raab grew up in Cologne with his sister and their parents, who owned a butcher's shop. He attended Jesuit boarding school Aloisiuskolleg in Bonn. Before entering the entertainment business, he completed an apprenticeship as a butcher in his parents' shop and studied law before dropping out of university after five semesters.

Raab lives in a suburb of Cologne and has two daughters (born 2004 and 2006) with his girlfriend Nike. Other than this, very little is known about Raab, who deliberately hides his private life from the media.

Television
Raab became popular in Germany as the host of the comedy show Vivasion for German music television channel VIVA from 1993 to 1998.

In 1999, he created TV total which began airing in April 2001 on ProSieben, four times a week. While TV total started as a comedy format mainly showing and satirizing funny and embarrassing sequences from other television programs, it soon came to be more of a late night show featuring musical performances—in some ways similar to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno or Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

After a boxing match against Regina Halmich in 2001 (rematch 2007) and a speed skating race against Claudia Pechstein in 2002, he also created several other celebrity sports events that are produced regularly, including TV total Turmspringen (high diving) and TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge (stock car racing). He also brought fun and variety to the show by invented new sports: In November 2003, he initiated the first "official" World Wok racing Championship in Winterberg, Germany. Modified Chinese woks are used to make timed runs down an Olympic bobsled track. The championship took place annually until March 2011, in Innsbruck. The first Autoball EM — Autoball being a version of football played in cars and using an exercise ball to score goals — took place in 2007.

In 2006, Raab invented the game show Schlag den Raab (German for "Beat the Raab", remade for British television as Beat the Star and as Beat Your Host in several other European countries), in which he competed against a contestant in various disciplines. Some episodes of the show lasted more than five hours with excellent ratings.

Raab frequently organizes PokerStars.de Nacht, a poker event featuring some celebrity names in German entertainment.

In September 2012, he announced that he would be hosting a new talk show on ProSieben which would include political guests. It began airing on 11 November 2012. It stood in direct competition with the self-titled talk show hosted by Günther Jauch.

In September 2013, Raab was one of four hosts (one from each big television network) at the federal election debate between chancellor Angela Merkel and her challenger Peer Steinbrück.

In mid-2015, Raab announced his retirement from television and stated that he would remain hosting until the end of the year. The last episode of his show TV total aired on 16 December and the last episode of Schlag den Raab aired on 19 December 2015.

Music
Raab began working as a freelance producer and composer of jingles and radio commercials in 1990 at his own studio in Cologne.

From 1994 onwards, he produced a number of popular songs, including "Böörti Böörti Vogts" (a song about Berti Vogts), "Hier kommt die Maus" ("Here comes the mouse", a tribute to the children's television series Die Sendung mit der Maus), "Maschen-Draht-Zaun", "Wir kiffen", "Gebt das Hanf frei!" ("Legalise Dope!", featuring Shaggy and samples from German politician Hans-Christian Ströbele), "Hol' mir ma' 'ne Flasche Bier" ("Get me a bottle o' beer", containing samples from then-chancellor Gerhard Schröder), and "Space Taxi" from the soundtrack of the film Traumschiff Surprise – Periode 1.

He wrote the song for the German entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, Guildo Horn's "Guildo hat euch lieb!", and in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 he took part himself, performing the nonsense song "Wadde hadde dudde da?". Raab cast the German entry for the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in a talent show contest called SSDSGPS ("Stefan sucht den Super-Grand-Prix-Star", "Stefan seeks the super Grand-Prix star", satirising the title of the German Idol series Deutschland sucht den Superstar, DSDS). The winner, Max Mutzke, came in eighth place.

Bored with the Eurovision Song Contest, Raab came up with the Bundesvision Song Contest in 2005 (Bundesrepublik Deutschland = Federal Republic of Germany). The contest features representatives from each of the 16 states of Germany and stipulates that their song has to be at least partly in German.

In 2009, Raab was approached by the public broadcaster NDR, a member of the ARD broadcasting consortium, to jointly organise a national preselection in order to determine the German entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. It was revealed that Raab initially refused the request, but that his television network ProSieben accepted the offer to work with ARD/NDR. As a result of the cooperation, the talent show contest Unser Star für Oslo (Our Star for Oslo) took place from 2 February 2010 onwards, stretching across 8 shows. Raab took a lead role in the programmes as head of the jury. In the national final on 12 March 2010, Lena Meyer-Landrut emerged as winner. On 29 May 2010, Meyer-Landrut won the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Satellite", claiming the first German Eurovision victory in 28 years.

As a musician, Raab is an autodidact, playing various instruments, such as piano, drums, guitar, ukulele, and some wind instruments.

Participation at the Eurovision Song Contest
On 19 May 2011 Raab eventually ended his Eurovision involvement as a host, chairman of the jury, composer and musical producer.

As host

 * 1993–1998: Vivasion, VIVA
 * 1995–1996: Ma' kuck'n, VIVA
 * 1999–2015: TV total, ProSieben
 * 2005–2015: Bundesvision Song Contest, ProSieben
 * 2009, 2014–2015: Schlag den Star, ProSieben
 * 2011: Eurovision Song Contest, ARD
 * 2012–2013: TV total Quizboxen, ProSieben
 * 2012–2013: Absolute Mehrheit, ProSieben
 * 2013: Das TV-Duell – Merkel gegen Steinbrück, ProSieben

As candidate

 * 2003–2015: TV total Wok-WM, ProSieben
 * 2004–2015: TV total Turmspringen, ProSieben
 * 2005–2015: TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge, ProSieben
 * 2006–2015: Schlag den Raab, ProSieben
 * 2008–2014: TV total Autoball, ProSieben
 * 2009–2015: Deutscher Eisfußball-Pokal, ProSieben

As producer

 * 2009–present: Schlag den Star, ProSieben
 * 2018–present: Das Ding des Jahres, ProSieben
 * 2019: Headis Team-WM, ProSieben
 * 2019–present: 1:30, ProSieben
 * 2019–present: Schlag den Besten, ProSieben
 * 2020–present: Free European Song Contest, ProSieben

Awards
For his television show Vivasion, Raab received the Goldener Löwe (Golden Lion), the predecessor to Deutscher Fernsehpreis (German Television Award), in 1996. For TV total he received the Deutscher Fernsehpreis in 1999 as well as the comedy award Rose d'or in 2001.

For his talent show SSDSGPS he was awarded the Adolf-Grimme-Preis in 2005 in for the "discovery and support of young music talents". On 29 May 2005, Raab received the Deutsch-Türkischer Freundschaftspreis (German-Turkish Friendship Award) for his TV total specials from Istanbul in preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. He won the Bravo Otto in the category "Comedystar" from 2000 to 2003. In 2000 and 2005, Raab was awarded the ECHO (German music award) as "Best National Producer". In 2005, he also received the ECHO award as "media partner of the year").

On 29 September 2007, Raab received the Deutscher Fernsehpreis for "Best Entertainment Show" for the fifth episode of Schlag den Raab. On 6 February 2008, the show was awarded the Goldene Kamera (Golden Camera). Furthermore, Raab received the media award Bambi on 27 November 2008. In 2009, Raab won the Herbert Award 2009 for Best Television Sports show for TV total Turmspringen.

Madame Tussauds in Berlin has displayed a wax figure of Raab since April 2009.

As the initiator and president of the jury of the show Unser Star für Oslo, Raab was awarded the Bavarian TV Award in 2010.

On 12 November 2011, Raab came second in synchronised diving, teaming with Elton in Munich, at the TV Total Turmspringen 2011 event. This was his first ever podium along with Elton at this event.

Controversies
Raab has been the subject of lawsuits throughout his career, some of which have gained public attention. The two most referenced cases are:
 * The case of then 16-year-old model Lisa Loch, who was ridiculed during some shows through Raab's assertion that her name ("Loch" meaning "hole" in German) made her more likely to find a job as an actress in pornographic movies. Loch claimed she received anonymous obscene telephone calls, was mocked by classmates and in public and as a result suffered sleeplessness and was afraid to leave her home. A court in Hamm ordered Raab to pay €70,000 in compensation due to infringement of personal rights.
 * In an episode broadcast on 6 September 2004, Raab showed a clip, originally destined for a news broadcast, of a 28-year-old Turkish mother Nil S. holding a Schultüte (a cardboard cone, typically full of sweets, traditionally given to children in Germany on their first school day). Raab's comment, "Unbelievable! The drug traffickers are disguising themselves better and better" ("eine Tüte" also means "a marijuana joint" in German slang, hence the pun), resulted in repeated lawsuits, and after a Munich court ruled against Raab, Nil S. settled for €20,000 compensation accompanied by a written apology.

title: Stefan Raab


text:
Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury

The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington.

It was the second smallest of the 28 boroughs within the County of London, stretching from Finsbury Pavement and Square northwest towards King's Cross, splitting The Angel as well as including Farringdon station and the GPO complex at Mount Pleasant.

Formation and boundaries
The borough was formed from five civil parishes and extra-parochial places: Charterhouse, Liberty of Glasshouse Yard, St James & St John Clerkenwell, St Luke Middlesex and St Sepulchre Middlesex. In 1915 these five were combined into a single civil parish called Finsbury, which was conterminous with the metropolitan borough.

Previous to the borough's formation it had been administered by three separate local bodies: Holborn District Board of Works, Clerkenwell Vestry and St Luke's Vestry. Charterhouse had not been under the control of any local authority prior to 1900.

The borough covered the areas of Finsbury, Moorfields, Clerkenwell, and St Luke's. It bordered Islington, Shoreditch, the City of London, Holborn and St Pancras.

Town Hall
The metropolitan borough was administered from Finsbury Town Hall on Rosebery Avenue. The building was built as the headquarters of Clerkenwell Vestry, and had been officially opened on 14 June 1895 by Lord Rosebery, the Prime Minister. The architect was C Evans Vaughan, and it was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as a "nice irregular brick building with Tudor windows and lantern". Finsbury Town Hall is now home to the Urdang Academy, a successful performing arts college.

Population and area
Although metropolitan boroughs only dated from 1900, the London County Council compiled statistics in 1901 that show the population growth in London over the preceding century.

The area of the borough in 1901 was 587 acre. The populations recorded in National Censuses were:

Constituent parishes 1801-1899 Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961 By comparison, after amalgamation with Islington, to form the modern London Borough of Islington, the combined area became 14.86 km2 - approximately 3672 acre; in 2005, this had a population of 182,600, or a population density of 12,288/km2. In 1901 Finsbury, the population density was 42,276/km2.

Coat of arms
When the borough was incorporated in 1900, the corporation adopted a complicated device bearing six shields for each of the constituent parishes and extra-parochial places from which it was formed.

At the top were shields depicting the old Cripplegate of the City of London and the arms of Charterhouse.

At the centre of the seal, on the left, is the shield of Clerkenwell Vestry. The parish church was dedicated to Ss. James and John, and the shield showed St. James on the left and the cross of St. John on the right.

To the right of this was the emblem of St Luke's parish: as patron saint of artists, Luke was shown seated at an easel.

At the left base of the seal was a depiction of the gate of St. Botolph, representing the Liberty of Glasshouse Yard.

The design was completed by the shield of the parish vestry of St. Sepulchre. This parish was originally partly in the City of London, and partly in the county of Middlesex, and the shield combined the arms used bt the city and county.

In 1931 the borough received a grant of arms from the College of Arms. This also included references to Finsbury's constituent parts, but in a more unified design. The shield had the cross of St John, on which were placed a heraldic fountain for the New River and roundels and rings from the arms of Charterhouse School. At the top of the shield was a representation of the city wall and its gates.

The crest on top of the helm was for St Sepulchre's parish, the shield held by the hand again combining elements of the arms of the City of London and Middlesex.

The supporters were a winged bull, emblem of St. Luke; and an heraldic dolphin, symbol of St. James. The dolphin supporter was "charged" with a well in reference to Clerkenwell.

The Latin motto chosen by the borough was Altiora Petimus or We seek higher things.

Politics
The borough was divided into eleven wards for elections: City Road East, City Road West, East Finsbury, Old Street, Pentonville, St James', St John's, St Mark's, St Phillip's, St Sepulchre and West Finsbury.

Borough council
The first borough council was elected on 1 November 1900, when Conservative-supported Unionist and Moderate candidates took control. From 1903 to 1906 the Progressive Party held power. From 1906 to 1925 the Municipal Reform Party (allied to the Conservatives) controlled the borough. In 1925 a Ratepayer's Association stood in place of the Municipal Reformers, replacing them as majority party. From 1928 to 1931, the Labour Party held control, with the Ratepayers holding power from 1931 to 1934. In 1934 Labour regained power, which it held until the abolition of the borough in 1965.

The number of councillors returned at each election to the council was as follows:

No Municipal Reform candidates were nominated after 1946, and Conservative candidates were nominated at local elections for the first time.
 * Local elections

Parliamentary constituency
For elections to Parliament, the borough initially formed the two constituencies of Finsbury Central and Finsbury East. In 1918 a new constituency of Finsbury was formed which was identical with the metropolitan borough. By 1950 the population of the borough had declined to such an extent that the Finsbury constituency was merged with the neighbouring constituency of Shoreditch to become Shoreditch and Finsbury.

Archival records

Islington Local History Centre holds records of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury, including council and committee minutes, rate books, publications and photographs. There are some street nameplates which retain the label "Borough of Finsbury".

title: Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury


text:
Meneng District

Meneng (or Menen) is a district located in the Meneng Constituency in the country of Nauru. The constituency elects 2 members to the Parliament of Nauru in Yaren.

Geography
The district is located in the southeast of the island, covering an area of 3.1 km². It has a population of 1,797. Meneng District has 18 villages, the most of any district in Nauru.

Local features
Features in Meneng include:

 * The Menen Hotel, one of the island's four hotels
 * the wireless station
 * the State House (presidential residence; recently burned down)
 * the Government Printing Office
 * the Meneng Stadium
 * Australian Nauru Detention Centre

Education
Meneng Infant School is in Meneng. The primary and secondary schools serving all of Nauru are Yaren Primary School in Yaren District (years 1-3), Nauru Primary School in Meneng District (years 4-6), Nauru College in Denigomodu District (years 7-9), and Nauru Secondary School (years 10-12) in Yaren District.

The current building of Nauru Primary School opened on October 6, 2016. Canstruct, an Australian firm, built the two-story building, which has eight classrooms. The building, specially designed for Nauruan weather, with ceiling fans and special airflow, may house up to 400 students and is resistant to natural disasters.

Notable people

 * Lionel Aingimea, President of Nauru from 2019 to 2022, is from Meneng.

title: Meneng District


text:
2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election

The 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Wednesday, 26 November 2003, after being suspended for just over a year. It was the second election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. Each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary constituencies elected six members by single transferable vote, giving a total of 108 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). The election was contested by 18 parties and many independent candidates.

Background
The election was originally planned for May 2003, but was delayed by Paul Murphy, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Several sitting MLAs stood under a different label to the one they had used in the 1998 election. Some had failed to be selected by their parties to stand and so stood as independents, whilst others had changed parties during the course of the assembly. Most of these realignments occurred within the unionist parties, with several defections between existing parties, and two new parties being formed – the United Unionist Coalition (formed by the three MLAs elected as independent unionists, though one later joined the DUP) and the Northern Ireland Unionist Party (formed by four of the five MLAs elected as the UK Unionist Party, though one later left them, joined the DUP for a period, then contested the election as an independent unionist).

The SDLP, which had been Northern Ireland's dominant Irish nationalist party during the 1980s and 1990s, went into this election with concerns that they could lose numerous seats to fellow nationalists Sinn Féin, who had overtaken the SDLP in terms of votes and seats at the 2001 United Kingdom general election. Commentator, Brian Feeney, said: "The SDLP has a series of baronial figures - John Hume, Seamus Mallon, Eddie McGrady - who hung on to power and didn't groom their successors early enough. They just don't have enough people on the ground in some areas of the province. Sinn Féin, by contrast, has deliberately cultivated collective leadership, bringing forward wave after wave of young, articulate, highly politicised heirs apparent, and their grassroots organisation is awesome."

Results
On the unionist side, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) became Northern Ireland's biggest party for the first time in any election, overtaking the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). They gained ten seats, primarily at the expense of smaller unionist parties, to become the largest party both in seats and votes, winning thirty overall. The UUP increased their vote slightly, despite slipping to third place in first preference votes, and won 27 seats, a net loss of one. Shortly after the election three Ulster Unionist MLAs, Jeffrey Donaldson, Norah Beare and Arlene Foster, quit the party and later defected to the DUP.

On the nationalist side, Sinn Féin saw a big increase in their vote, gaining six seats at the net expense of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, for a total of 24 seats.

The minor parties all saw a significant fall in their support. The Alliance Party managed to hold all six of its seats despite their vote falling by a third, the Women's Coalition, United Unionist Coalition and Northern Ireland Unionist Party were all wiped out, and the Progressive Unionist Party and UK Unionist Party won just one seat each. Neither the United Unionist Assembly Party nor the Northern Ireland Unionists won any seats.

The biggest surprise of the election came in West Tyrone with the election of the independent Kieran Deeny, a doctor campaigning on the single issue of hospital provision in Omagh.

Distribution of seats by constituency
Party affiliation of the six Assembly members returned by each constituency. The first column indicates the party of the Member of the House of Commons (MP) returned by the corresponding parliamentary constituency in the 2001 United Kingdom general election under the first-past-the-post voting method.

Manifestos

 * Alliance Works, Alliance
 * Fair Deal Manifesto 2003, Democratic Unionist Party
 * Meeting the Challenges - Seizing the Opportunities, Green Party Northern Ireland
 * Assembly Election 2003, Northern Ireland Conservatives
 * Change the Face of Politics, Northern Ireland Women's Coalition
 * 2003 Election Manifesto, Progressive Unionist Party
 * Agenda for Government, Sinn Féin
 * Reshaping Government, Rebuilding Public Services, Social Democratic and Labour Party
 * Turn the Tide, Socialist Environmental Alliance
 * Manifesto 2003, Ulster Unionist Party
 * It Wont Work... Without the Workers' Party, Workers' Party

title: 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election


text:
Gósol

Gósol is a village and municipality located in the northwest of the comarca of Berguedà in Catalonia, Spain. It is within the confines of Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park in the Pyrenees, to the west of Pedraforca.

Gósol is the only municipality in Berguedà which is in the province of Lleida rather than that of Barcelona. It is also a party to the Judicial district of La Seu d'Urgell.

Geography
The present town is centered in the eponymous valley of Gósol, which is enclosed by the Serra del Cadí and Pedraforca, in the Pyrenees. The ruins of the former town and castle, dating from the 11th century, overlook the Gósol from an adjacent hill.

Villages within Gósol
The municipal limits of Gósol includes, most notably, the village of Sorribes. Other settlements include Bonner, la Collada, Molí d'en Güell, Moripol, Castell de Termes, Font Terrers, and Torrent Senta.

Climate
Gósol has a cool subalpine climate. Compared to less mountainous areas of Catalonia it is rather wet. It receives over 900 mm (35.43 in.) of precipitation each year, concentrated in the spring months.

Culture
Gosol's emblematic cultural institution is the Picasso Museum, which owes its existence to the visit of Pablo Picasso to the village from the spring of 1906 to mid-August of that same year. The artist installed himself at the only inn then in existence, Cal Tampanada. While in Gósol, Picasso underwent a transformation of palette, sketching style, and rhythm of composition. Picasso found his subjects in local livestock and people of Gósol, as well as Fernande Olivier, his partner.

Notable dates

 * The town's festa major, or town festival, takes place on August 15 each year. It is most notable for its unique folk dance, the "Ball de les cosses."
 * On New Year's Eve (Saint Sylvester), legend says that witches hold gatherings on Pedraforca mountain.

Local dishes

 * Pèsol negre, a local variety of 'black pea'
 * Blat de moro escairat, or 'peeled corn', often cooked in a pork broth
 * Patates emmascarades, or "Masked Potatoes", mashed potatoes cooked with blood or black pudding
 * All i oli with pork, eaten during the swine-harvest in fall
 * Veal with wild mushrooms
 * Wild boar

title: Gósol


text:
Aiwo District

Aiwo (rarely Aiue, in earlier times Yangor) is a district in the Pacific country of Nauru. Jarrit Morpak is the city's mayor, elected in 2008. It belongs to Aiwo Constituency.

Geography
It is located in the west of the island. It covers an area of 1.1 km2 and has a population of 1,258. It is sometimes called the unofficial capital city of Nauru; Nauru does not have an official capital city, and it is more common for Yaren to be cited as such.

Local features
The majority of the Nauruan industry is located in Aiwo. Among the facilities in Aiwo are:

 * The Aiue Boulevard
 * Nauru International Port
 * The Chinatown of Nauru
 * The OD-N-Aiwo Hotel, one of two hotels in Nauru. Privately owned, it is also the tallest building in Nauru
 * The Linkbelt Oval sports stadium
 * The powerhouse
 * Formerly, the Nauru campus of the University of the South Pacific (moved to Yaren in 2018)
 * The Nauru Local Government Council chambers and offices
 * The Nauru Phosphate Corporation processing facilities and cantilever

The district returns two members to the Parliament of Nauru in Yaren.

The two diplomatic missions on the island, the Australian High Commission and the Republic of China (Taiwan) Embassy are in Aiwo District.

Education
The primary and secondary schools serving all of Nauru are Yaren Primary School in Yaren District (years 1-3), Nauru Primary School in Meneng District (years 4-6), Nauru College in Denigomodu District (years 7-9), and Nauru Secondary School (years 10-12) in Yaren District.

Aiwo Primary School previously operated in Aiwo. As of April 2002 it served students from all parts of Nauru in years 3 and 4.

University of the South Pacific Nauru Campus was previously in Aiwo District; it moved to Yaren District in 2018.

Notable people
The first speaker of the Nauruan parliament, Rev. Itubwa Amram, represented Aiwo. Following Amram, Kinza Clodumar represented the district. René Harris, who served a number of terms as President of Nauru, represented Aiwo in Parliament for many years.

title: Aiwo District


text:
Metropolitan Borough of Islington

Islington was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish within the county of Middlesex, and formed part of The Metropolis from 1855. The parish was transferred to the County of London in 1889 and became a metropolitan borough in 1900. It was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury to form the London Borough of Islington in Greater London in 1965.

Geography
The borough comprised the districts of Pentonville (also partly in Clerkenwell/Finsbury), Islington (also partly in Clerkenwell/Finsbury), Barnsbury, Lower Holloway, Holloway, Tufnell Park (also partly in St Pancras), Archway, Highbury, and Canonbury.

The neighbouring boroughs were Finsbury, Hackney, Stoke Newington, Shoreditch, St Pancras.

Governance
The parish of St Mary Islington operated as an open vestry. It was added to the bills of mortality area in 1636. The vestry was incorporated by the Metropolis Management Act 1855 as an administrative vestry in the metropolitan area managed by Metropolitan Board of Works. On 21 March 1889 the MBW was abolished and the parish was transferred from the County of Middlesex to the newly formed County of London. Because of the reforms directed by the London Government Act 1899, on 1 November 1900 the old parish was abolished and replaced by the Metropolitan Borough of Islington. The act allowed for the London County Council (1889-1965) and the metropolitan boroughs to transfer powers to and from each other, if both the county council and a majority of the boroughs agreed. Unlike municipal boroughs which received a grant of a charter of incorporation, the London metropolitan boroughs had no charters, being created by act of parliament.

The first election of councillors was set for 1 November 1900, with a third of the councillors going out of office each year. The borough was divided into wards, with three councillors for each ward. There were aldermen at a ratio of one to every six councillors. The chairman of the council received the title of mayor.

Services
The vestry started work on an electricity supply service at Eden Grove in 1894, which became operational in 1896. New streets were lit with electric light from 1906. In 1936 electricity showrooms were opened at the corner of Holloway Road and Camden Road. The electric supply service became part of the London Electricity Board following the Electricity Act 1947.

Poor law
It was a local act parish so it did not come under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 and the vestry continued to be responsible for poor relief, instead of a separately elected board of guardians. This anomaly was rectified by the Metropolitan Poor Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 6). The parish was large enough in terms of population to avoid being grouped into a poor law union and remained a single parish for this purpose.

Town Hall
Islington Town Hall on Upper Street was the headquarters of Metropolitan Borough of Islington and remains the headquarters of its successor body, Islington London Borough Council.

Population and area
The metropolitan borough was conterminous with the Vestry authority, when it was formed in 1900. Statistics compiled by the London County Council, in 1901 show the population growth in London, over the preceding century.

The area of the borough in 1901 was 3091 acre. The populations recorded in National Censuses were:

Islington Vestry 1801–1899 Metropolitan Borough 1900–1961 By comparison, after amalgamation with Finsbury, to form the modern London Borough of Islington, the combined area became 3672 acre; in 2005, this had a population of 182,600, or a population density of 12,288/km2. In 1901 Islington the population density was 26,778/km2.

Archival records
Islington Local History Centre holds records of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington, including council and committee minutes, rate books and publications.

Politics
Under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 any parish that exceeded 2,000 ratepayers was to be divided into wards; as such the incorporated vestry of St Mary Islington was divided into six wards (electing vestrymen): No. 1 or Upper Holloway (9), No. 2 or Lower Holloway (12), No. 3 or Highbury (15), No. 4 or Thornhill (18), No. 5 or Barnsbury (18), No. 6 or St Mary's (15), No. 7 or Canonbury (15) and No. 8 or St Peter's (18).

In 1896 as its population had increased the incorporated vestry was re-divided into eleven wards (electing vestrymen): No. 1 or Tufnell (12), No. 2 or Upper Holloway (12), No. 3 or Tollington (9), No. 4 or Lower Holloway (15), No. 5 or West Highbury (15), No. 6 or East Highbury (12), No. 7 or Thornhill (9), No. 8 or Barnsbury (6), No. 9 or St Mary's (9), No. 10 or Canonbury (9) and No. 11 or St Peter's (12).

The metropolitan borough was divided into eleven wards for elections: Barnsbury, Canonbury, Highbury, Lower Holloway, Mildmay, St Mary, St Peter, Thornhill, Tollington, Tufnell and Upper Holloway.

Parliament constituency
For elections to Parliament, the borough was divided into four constituencies: In 1950 the borough's representation was reduced to three seats:
 * Islington East
 * Islington North
 * Islington South
 * Islington West
 * Islington East
 * Islington North
 * Islington South West

title: Metropolitan Borough of Islington


text:
Anibare District

Anibare is a district in the island nation Nauru, a part of the Anabar Constituency. It is Nauru's largest district in area, and the smallest in population.

Geography
It is located in the east of the island, and covers an area of 3.1 km2. It has a population of 373 .Nauru's reputation for being densely populated is thus somewhat nuanced, since it refers principally to the average areas and populations of districts other than Anibare.

Local features

 * Anibare Bay: A beach with white coral sand near the Menen Hotel which is considered the best place on the island to surf or to swim. It also contains the Anibare Harbor, an artificial commercial fishing area.
 * A phosphate stockpile is located in western Anibare.

title: Anibare District


text:
Talk:Obie Trice

Untitled
Someone who edited this must list all the tracks of the CD! Jack

 * The track listing for the album would be more appropriate in the entry for the actual album, and not in the entry for Obie Trice. The only suitable listing for the Obie Trice entry would be a discograpgy, but since he has only released one album to date that hardly seems necessary. - Quoth 08:59, 3 Dec 2003 (UTC)

 * I made a page for his newest album, the tracklisting is in there, the cover will be there as soon as it's available. User:Sam15

Songs
I added a few more tracks that he's featured on.

Birth Date
From the track titled "Follow My Life" on Cheers: "Eleven, Fourteen, Seventy-seven a n***a enter/Big lips, popped out placenta/..." – Quoth 10:03, 13 Oct 2004 (UTC) Addition: I think the man himself would be the one to trust for his birth date.. 08 march 1990
 * Quoth 21:33, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * IMDB.com agrees that he was born in 1979, that's why I changed it. -- Mike Garcia | talk 21:10, 19 May 2005 (UTC)

 * Yes, I understood from reading your edit summary in early October 2004, but as you can see; the IMDB profile you refer to has long-since been corrected, and, like any community contribution oriented project, information therein should be taken with a grain of salt and definitely not used as the sole source or reference. Particularly when a better source has been found, in this instance it's the person themselves stating when they were born. Are you going to continue to revert the changes back to what IMDB once said, over what Obie Trice said his own birthday was? Forgive me if I sound a little harsh but this topic has been here for discussion since you first edited the article in October 2004, which I mention in my edit summaries, but which you seemingly ignored until your fourth reversion of his birth date and a plea on your talk page. – Quoth 03:01, 20 May 2005 (UTC)

 * IMDB.com still doesn't say 1977 and that's why I changed again. -- Mike Garcia | talk 13:40, 6 July 2005 (UTC)

 * What makes IMDB.com such an infallible source of information? It has stated three different years since this discussion started. – Quoth 13:43, 24 July 2005 (UTC)

 * I'd say go with '77. If he were making himself younger I would be suspect, but I don't see any reason to be suspicious of why he would be claiming to be older if he wasn't. I know this may sound a bit stalkery, but he's still listed on zabasearch, which says Nov 1977. --Fallout boy 10:19, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

Third and Fourth Singles
Who says that "Wanna Know" and "Jamaican Girl" are his next two singles? That's not confimed. 64.175.74.162 08:42, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Actually Jamaican Girl was confirmed to be a single, Wanna Know i am not sure but the video for jamaican girl was shot. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.96.84.200 (talk) 03:55, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

Other feuds?
I've heard a verse (Shit Hits the Fan) where Obie seems to be dissing 50 Cent? Any confirmation on the intent or cause of this would be appreciated.68.164.200.167 (talk) 06:50, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Ja Rule has mentioned Obie in a couple of intervews but without sayin anything intermediate.

Family:
Not much is known about Obie's Family.Only that he livede with his mother, a single parent. and he has a lil gurl, rumored be called Chloe (Chloe is tattooed on his neck).He is currently still with her mother,age and birthdate is unknown. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.16.180.207 (talk) 16:05, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Biography
Could someone clarify this passage found in the biography?

"In June 2008, Obie Trice departed from Shady Records. A misunderstanding was made where it was believed he was attacking the label and Eminem on a single titled "The Giant" but they were quickly dismissed" Gcharestiii (talk) 04:49, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

Label Confussion
Do you think I should make an article about Trice's label to confirm to all wikipedia users that he's NOT signed to Lil Jon's Black Market Entertainment.--Supergamer345 (talk) 09:46, 12 August 2011 (UTC)

proposed category
My wiki experience is very basic, I never really got into categories, but I wonder if there's merit for a "rappers who use their real names" category. It's unusual enough to be noteworthy, and a quick poke around Google shows that Obie isn't the only one. Anyone else think this is worthwhile? K.clow (talk) 16:37, 22 May 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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title: Talk:Obie Trice


text:
Anetan District

Anetan is a district in the Pacific island nation of Nauru. It lies in Anetan Constituency.

Geography
It is located in the north of the island and covers an area of 1.0 km2. It is one of the smallest districts. The population is about 880.

Main sights
This district contains State House – the official residence of the President, and the weather station of the island.

Education
Anetan Infant School is in Anetan. The primary and secondary schools serving all of Nauru are Yaren Primary School in Yaren District (years 1–3), Nauru Primary School in Meneng District (years 4–6), Nauru College in Denigomodu District (years 7–9), and Nauru Secondary School (years 10–12) in Yaren District.

Notable people

 * The former President of Nauru Marcus Stephen, who took office in 2007, is a member of the Parliament of Nauru representing the Anetan and Ewa constituency.

title: Anetan District


text:
Nibok District

Nibok is a district in the island nation of Nauru in the Micronesian South Pacific. It is located in the west of the island and covers an area of 1.6 square kilometres (395 acres). Nibok is a part of the Ubenide Constituency. As of 2021, the population was 724.

The NPC field workshops are located in Nibok.

Education
Nibok Infant School is in Nibok. The primary and secondary schools serving all of Nauru are Yaren Primary School in Yaren District (years 1–3), Nauru Primary School in Meneng District (years 4–6), Nauru College in Denigomodu District (years 7–9), and Nauru Secondary School (years 10–12) in Yaren District.

title: Nibok District