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Rambo (franchise)

Rambo is an American media franchise centered on a series of action films featuring John J. Rambo. The five films are First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Rambo III (1988), Rambo (2008), and Rambo: Last Blood (2019). Rambo is a United States Army Special Forces veteran played by Sylvester Stallone, whose Vietnam War experience traumatized him but also gave him superior military skills, which he has used to fight corrupt police officers, enemy troops and drug cartels. First Blood is an adaptation of the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell.

The film series has grossed $819 million in total, $300 million of which is from the most successful film, Rambo: First Blood Part II. Stallone co-wrote the screenplays of all five films, and directed Rambo. The franchise also spawned an animated television series, Rambo: The Force of Freedom, and comic books, novels, and video games.

First Blood (1982)
Upon returning to the United States, Vietnam veteran John Rambo has difficulty adjusting to civilian life and wanders the country as a drifter for almost a decade. In December 1981, Rambo travels to a small town in rural Washington (filmed in Hope, British Columbia, Canada), in search of a fellow U.S. Army Green Beret buddy. He learns that his friend died from cancer the previous summer due to exposure to Agent Orange.

He attempts to find a diner in town, and maybe a temporary job. The overconfident town sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy) does not welcome Rambo, judging the military hero negatively because of his long hair and scruffy look. Rambo disobeys the sheriff's order to stay away from town, as he has done nothing wrong and believes such banishment to be a violation of his freedom of movement, and most of all he is hungry. Rambo returns to town soon afterwards and is promptly charged with vagrancy and subject to harassment and brutality from the deputies.

The police brutality triggers flashbacks of Rambo's memories of his torture at the hands of the North Vietnamese when he was a prisoner of war. Rambo fights his way out of the sheriff's department with his bare hands and makes his way into the wilderness. A manhunt ensues, with the sheriff and his deputies all badly wounded. Rambo chooses not to kill any of them, but unintentionally kills a police officer in self-defense by throwing a rock at a helicopter, causing the pilot to lose control and an officer to fall out. The State Police and National Guard are called in.

Colonel Samuel Trautman (Richard Crenna), Rambo's former commanding officer, arrives. He suggests giving Rambo a chance to escape; if Rambo is allowed to slip away, he'll be given time to calm down and he can be arrested without incident. Teasle allows Trautman to contact Rambo through a stolen police radio, but Rambo refuses to surrender, stating that "They (the deputies) drew first blood, not me" and then hanging up.

The authorities reject Trautman's recommendation for a wait-and-see attitude and continue the manhunt, and Rambo's subsequent rampage culminates in him returning to town with guns and bombs from a commandeered Army truck. This results in the destruction of the sheriff's office and more of the town's main street. Rambo stands poised to eliminate the sheriff, but Trautman finally confronts Rambo face to face, and ultimately convinces his former soldier to surrender to the authorities.

Between the first and second films, Rambo is convicted and remanded to a civilian maximum-security prison where hard labor is the norm. Despite being a convict, the rigid routine and discipline of prison life provides Rambo with some measure of much-needed stability, as it reminds him of his past in the military and its own rigid hierarchy.

Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
The film opens with Colonel Samuel Trautman (Richard Crenna) offering Rambo his freedom if Rambo will return to Vietnam to search for American prisoners of war remaining in Vietnamese captivity. Marshall Murdock (Charles Napier), the official in charge of the mission, is portrayed as a corrupt political figure who doesn't want to expose the truth. Rambo is not to engage the enemy and instead is ordered to take photographs of a North Vietnamese camp, the same camp he himself had been held prisoner in, to prove to the American public there are no more POWs in Vietnam, although Murdock knows that there are.

Rambo is flown into the country with the purpose of parachuting into the jungle, but a malfunction during his exit from the plane causes him to have to cut away much of his equipment. He then meets his in-country contact, anti-communist Vietnamese rebel Co Bao (Julia Nickson), who is serving as an intelligence agent. Rambo discovers that there are POWs being held in the camp where he was dropped and that POWs were rotated between camps. Rambo breaks one POW out of the camp and attempts to escape, only to be abandoned at the moment of a pick up by helicopter on a hilltop on the orders of Murdock, after which both he and the POW are recaptured by the Vietnamese soldiers. Rambo is immobilized in a pit of sewage and leeches, then tortured by Soviet soldiers, who are allied with the Vietnamese and training Vietnamese soldiers. Co enters the base under the guise of a prostitute for hire, where she aids Rambo in escaping. After Rambo expresses his deepest gratitude for his rescue, the two share a kiss, after Co implores him to take her back to America with him. As they prepare to move on, Co is shot by surprise gunfire.

Enraged, Rambo then acts on his own initiative and starts a one-man war, hunting the Vietnamese and Soviet soldiers searching for him in the jungle and stealing a Soviet-captured helicopter. He flies the helicopter back to the camp, destroying it and killing the remaining Vietnamese and Soviet soldiers in the camp. He frees all the POWs and is pursued by a Soviet Mi-24 Hind helicopter. After destroying the Hind with an RPG, he returns to the US base in Thailand with all the POWs. Rambo is enraged at how the United States government has ignored the existence of surviving soldiers being held captive, and grabs an M-60 machine gun and proceeds into the headquarters building, destroying all of the electronic gear within. Rambo then threatens Murdock and tells him to be forthright with the American public regarding the truth of the POWs and to spare no expense in rescuing them all, or else he will return for Murdock. When Trautman says Rambo will be honored once again, he declines, saying the POWs deserve the accolades more. For his actions in Vietnam, Rambo is granted a presidential pardon and decides to remain in Thailand.

Rambo III (1988)
The film opens with Colonel Samuel Trautman (Richard Crenna) returning to Thailand to once again enlist Rambo's help. After witnessing Rambo's victory in a stick-fighting match, Trautman visits the temple Rambo is helping to build and asks him to join him on a mission to Afghanistan. This brings Rambo into the realm of the CIA's Special Activities Division which primarily hires Army Special Forces soldiers. The mission is meant to supply weapons, including FIM-92 Stinger missiles, to Afghan freedom fighters, the Mujahideen, who are fighting the Soviets. Despite having been shown photos of civilians suffering under Soviet rule, Rambo refuses and Trautman chooses to go on his own.

While in Afghanistan, Trautman's troops are ambushed by Soviet troops while passing through the mountains at night. Trautman is imprisoned in a Soviet base and tortured for information by commanding officer Zaysen (Marc de Jonge) and his henchman Kourov (Randy Raney). Rambo learns of the incident from embassy field officer Robert Griggs (Kurtwood Smith) and immediately flies to Pakistan where he meets up with Mousa (Sasson Gabai), a weapons supplier who agrees to take him to a village deep in the Afghan desert, close to the Soviet base where Trautman is kept. The Mujahideen in the village are already hesitant to help Rambo in the first place, but are convinced not to help him when their village is attacked by Soviet helicopters after one of Mousa's shop assistants informed the Russians of Rambo's presence. Aided only by Mousa and a young boy named Hamid (Doudi Shoua), Rambo makes his way to the Soviet base and starts his attempts to free Trautman. The first attempt is unsuccessful and results in Hamid getting shot in the leg, and Rambo himself getting hit by wooden shrapnel. After escaping from the base, Rambo tends to Hamid's wounds and sends him and Mousa away to safety.

The next day, Rambo returns to the base once again, just in time to rescue Trautman from being tortured with a flamethrower. After rescuing several other prisoners, Rambo steals a helicopter and escapes from the base. The helicopter crashes and Rambo and Trautman are forced to continue on foot. After a confrontation in a cave, where Rambo and Trautman kill several Russian soldiers including Kourov, they are confronted by an entire army of Russian tanks, headed by Zaysen. Just as they are about to be overwhelmed by the might of the Soviet Army, the Mujahideen warriors, together with Mousa and Hamid, ride onto the battlefield in a cavalry charge, overwhelming the Russians despite their numerical and technological superiority. In the ensuing battle, in which both Trautman and Rambo are wounded, Rambo manages to kill Zaysen by driving a tank into the helicopter in which Zaysen is flying.

At the end of the battle Rambo and Trautman say goodbye to their Mujahideen friends and leave Afghanistan to go home.

Rambo (2008)
The film opens with news footage of the crisis in Burma. Burma (also known as Myanmar) is under the iron fist rule of Than Shwe and takes harsher stances against the nation's pro-democracy movement. Rebels are thrown into a mine-infested marsh and then gunned down by a Burmese army unit, overseen by Major Pa Tee Tint.

Former U.S. soldier John Rambo still lives in Thailand, now residing in a village near the Burmese border and makes a living capturing snakes and selling them in a nearby village. A missionary, Michael Burnett (Paul Schulze), asks Rambo to take him and his associates down the Salween River to Burma on a humanitarian mission to help the Karen people. Rambo initially refuses but is convinced by another missionary in the group, Sarah Miller (Julie Benz), to take them.

The boat is stopped by pirates who demand Sarah in exchange for passage. After taking advantage of the pirates' complacency, Rambo kills them all. Although his actions save the missionaries, it greatly disturbs them. Upon arrival, Michael says that they will travel by road and will not need Rambo's help for the return trip. The mission goes well until the Burmese army, led by Major Tint, attacks the village, killing most of the villagers and two missionaries, and capturing the rest. When the missionaries fail to come back after ten days, their pastor, Arthur Marsh (Ken Howard), comes to Rambo to ask for his help in guiding hired mercenaries to the village where the missionaries were last seen.

Troubled by Sarah's potential fate, Rambo decides to accompany the soldiers. After seeing the destroyed village filled with mutilated humans and animals, the mercenaries spot some soldiers forcing several surviving villagers to run through a minefield. The mercenaries are hesitant to rescue the villagers, but not Rambo, who shoots the soldiers with a bow and arrow. Rambo reminds his colleagues of the rescue mission and encourages the team to move on. Hijacking a truck, they create a plan to save the hostages at the P.O.W. camp, doing so within fifteen minutes to avoid alerting the army. Rambo helps Sarah and the others to escape.

The Burmese Army (Tatmadaw) unit finds their hostages missing and organizes a massive manhunt. Everyone except for Rambo, Sarah, and "School Boy" (Matthew Marsden), the mercenary team's sniper, is captured. Just as the group is to be executed, Rambo hijacks a truck-mounted .50-caliber machine gun and engages the Burmese army. A group of Karen rebels joins the fight to help Rambo and the mercenaries defeat the Burmese unit. Seeing that the battle is lost, Major Tint decides to flee, only to run into Rambo's machete, which Rambo then uses to disembowel the Major.

Encouraged by Sarah's words, Rambo returns to the United States. The last scene shows him walking along a rural highway, past a horse farm and a rusted mailbox with the name "R. Rambo" on it. He makes his way down the gravel driveway as the credits roll.

Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
Eleven years after the events in Burma, Vietnam War veteran John Rambo lives in Bowie, Arizona at his deceased father's horse ranch, which he manages with his old friend, Maria Beltran, and her granddaughter, Gabriela. Gabriela tells Rambo that a friend of hers, Gizelle, has found Gabriela's biological father, Miguel, in Mexico. Both Rambo and Maria tell her not to go to Mexico, but Gabriela secretly drives there to ask Miguel why he abandoned her and her mother years ago. Gizelle leads Gabriela to Miguel's apartment, where he coldly tells her that he never really cared for Gabriela or her mother. Gizelle takes a heartbroken Gabriela to a nearby club, where Gabriela is drugged and kidnapped by the enforcers of a Mexican cartel. Meanwhile, Maria informs Rambo of Gabriela's disappearance in Mexico. Rambo rushes to Mexico and interrogates both Miguel and Gizelle about Gabriela's whereabouts. Gizelle reluctantly leads Rambo to the club where Gabriela was last seen and confronts El Flaco, the man who last spoke with Gabriela. A mysterious woman, Carmen Delgado, tails Rambo as El Flaco leads him to Gabriela's location. Rambo is immediately confronted, beaten and marked by the cartel, led by the brothers Hugo and Victor Martinez. They take his driver's license with the location of Rambo's ranch and a photo of Gabriela, whom Victor recognizes. The cartel vow to mistreat Gabriela further due to Rambo's actions.

Carmen takes Rambo back to her home where she cares for him until he fully recovers after four days. While Rambo is cared for by Carmen, Gabriela is stripped and consistently dosed with heroin and sold to be raped repeatedly. Carmen says she is an independent journalist who has been investigating the Martinez brothers, who kidnapped and murdered her sister. Rambo later raids one of the brothels, killing several men until he finds a drugged Gabriela. While driving back home in his pickup, Rambo thanks Gabriela for giving him hope for ten years but she dies from the forced overdose. An enraged Rambo sends Maria away and rigs the ranch with traps for a confrontation, and later returns to Mexico to ask Carmen's help in finding Victor. Carmen initially refuses and tells Rambo that it will solve nothing, but is convinced after he appeals to her grief and frustration.

Rambo raids Victor's home, killing several guards and decapitating Victor. In retaliation, Hugo leads a large train of 7 SUVs filled with hitmen to Rambo's ranch, but each eventually falls victim to Rambo's rigged traps. Saving Hugo for the last, Rambo mutilates him and rips his heart out, killing him instantly. In the aftermath, a weakened Rambo sits on the porch of his father's house, vowing to continue fighting and keep the memories of his loved ones alive. During the credits, flashbacks to scenes from the first four movies in the franchise are shown, with Rambo finally saddling up his horse and riding off into the sunset.

Future
In June 2019 at Cannes, Stallone stated he would continue portraying John Rambo if the fifth film succeeds. Grunberg however, said that Rambo: Last Blood "closes the circle" and concludes the film series. In September 2019, Stallone expressed interest in a sixth Rambo film, where the character takes refuge at a Native American reservation. Stallone later elaborated that the story would explore Rambo's return to the reservation where he had grown up.

Rambo: The Force of Freedom (1986)
Rambo: The Force of Freedom was an animated series that ran in 1986 in which John Rambo leads a team called The Force of Freedom to fight an evil organization called S.A.V.A.G.E. (short for Specialist-Administrators of Vengeance, Anarchy and Global Extortion). 65 episodes were aired. Rambo and the Forces of Freedom spawned a line of toys.

Future
In August 2013, it was announced that a Rambo television series was in development. The project was stated to include Avi Lerner and Sylvester Stallone in creative capacities. Stallone was contractually in negotiations to reprise his role from the film series, with John Morayniss and Lerner serving as executive producers. Lerner described the project as "the next phase of the Rambo legacy." The series was stated to be a joint-venture production between Nu Image, Millennium Media and eOne, while being shopped around to various television networks. By December 2015, the series was ordered by FOX Network and was officially titled Rambo: New Blood. Written by Jeb Stuart, the series would center around the complex relationship between John Rambo and an ex-Navy SEAL named J.R., his estranged son. Stallone and Stuart joined the production as additional executive producers. Later that month, Stallone stated that he would pass on reprising his role.

By October 2016, the project was temporarily repurposed as a described reboot film with the same title. Ariel Vromen joined the production as director, with a script written by Brooks McLaren. The project never materialized, in favor of Rambo: Last Blood. In November 2018, David Morrell revealed that he was commissioned by Stallone to write the script for the television series, after the previous attempts at launching the project had not succeeded. Morrell stated that the reason it had never been filmed, is that creatives had a difficult time completing the story on the story; reiterating that Rambo's son was an ex-Navy SEAL civilian, and comparing the character to The Equalizer. Miramax Television was attached to the project during his involvement.

In September 2019, Stallone announced plans for a prequel project. Though he would not reprise the title role, he would like to explore who Rambo was before the war: "the perfect guy", a Jim Thorpe-type super athlete captain of the sports team, and popular kid at school. Stallone stated that the series would explore the juxtaposition that took place, to show that joining the military and involved in war, completely changed John Rambo. Stallone later teamed with author Chuck Dixon to tell this story in the form of a graphic novel entitled "First Kill".

In November 2021, Head of Millennium Media Jeffrey Greenstein announced that the studio is once again actively developing a Rambo television series. By November 2022, Stallone stated that development on the prequel series is ongoing. He said that he would like the project to resemble a Vietnam documentary, with the series showing how war changes a person. The plot has John Rambo change from being popular athlete, to what he became in the film series. He also stated that the project may end in modern-day, where he "pass[es] the torch", which may resemble the original New Blood project.

Cultural impact
Among the Kamula of Wawoi Falls in Western Province, Papua New Guinea, Rambo was very popular in the late 1990s. His figure was imported into local legends. For example, Rambo is rumored to have de-escalated the Bougainville conflict. Rambo is also said to have had sex with the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II. When threatened with execution, a Papua New Guinea lawyer pleaded in his favor, so Rambo promised to help Papua New Guinea in the Third World War.

Soundtracks
The original scores for the first three films were composed and conducted by Jerry Goldsmith. The music from the first and second films was performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra and the music from the third by the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra. Goldsmith's main theme for Rambo was the basis for the end title song "It's a Long Road", performed by Dan Hill, part of the First Blood soundtrack.

Home media
All five existing films in the Rambo franchise are available from Lionsgate by virtue of the studio's output deal with StudioCanal (the company that currently holds the underlying rights to the first three films) and Lionsgate itself co-producing the latter film (in partnership with The Weinstein Company). Paramount Pictures (via Paramount Worldwide Television Licensing & Distribution and Trifecta Entertainment & Media) holds the television rights to the first three films, while Debmar-Mercury handles television distribution for the latter film on behalf of parent company Lionsgate.

Novelizations
First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III; David Morrell, author of the original First Blood novel, wrote novelizations (book adaptations) for the first two Rambo sequels. Morrell has said that he wrote the novelizations because he wanted to include characterization that is not in Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III. Morrell did not write a novelization for the 2008 film, Rambo, as he said the film's characterization matched that of the original First Blood novel.

Comic books

 * Rambo Adventures: in 1986 an Italian series of comic books inspired by Rambo was published, by Giorgio Pedrazzi.
 * Rambo III: in the late 1980s, Blackthorne Publishing published a few comics starring the character. Adapted the film of the same name and was also published in a 3D version by Blackthorne.
 * Rambo: also, there was a comic featuring other adventures of the character.
 * First Kill: in November 2022 an Indiegogo campaign launched for a new graphic novel depicting Rambo's first tour of duty in Vietnam written by Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Dixon.

Video games
Various licensed video games for various arcade and home console systems have been released:
 * Rambo; based on Rambo: First Blood Part II. Released in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and Commodore 64
 * Rambo: First Blood Part II; based on Rambo: First Blood Part II. Released in 1986 for Master System
 * Rambo; based on Rambo: First Blood Part II. Released in 1987 for the NES
 * Rambo III; based on Rambo III. Various games released in 1989 for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, MSX, ZX Spectrum, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, Arcade
 * Rambo III; based on Rambo III. Released in 1989 for the arcades
 * Rambo; based on Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III. Released in 2008 for Sega 2-player light gun game
 * Rambo: The Video Game; based on First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rambo III. Released in 2014 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3

Bollywood remake
In May 2013, Original Entertainment confirmed to have sealed a five-picture deal with Millennium Films to produce Bollywood remakes of First Blood, The Expendables, 16 Blocks, 88 Minutes, and Brooklyn's Finest, with the productions for First Blood and The Expendables expected to start at the end of that year.

In early 2016, Siddharth Anand was announced as the director and the film will be co-produced by Anand, Daljit DJ Parmar, Samir Gupta, Hunt Lowry, Saurabh Gupta and Gulzar Inder Chahal. The film will specifically remake First Blood and will follow the last member of an elite unit in the Indian Armed forces returning home only to discover a different war waiting for him, forcing Rambo to the jungles and mountains of the Himalayas and unleash mayhem and destruction.

In May 2017, Tiger Shroff was cast in the role of Rambo while production was scheduled for a late 2018 release date. By October 2017, the film was placed on hold while Shroff and Anand completed other projects.

The film was scheduled to be released in October 2020, with Shroff expected to star in Hindi remakes of all five films in the Rambo franchise. Release has been pushed back to 2025 and Rohit Dhawan is slated to direct the film.

Other appearances

 * Fight Klub: Rambo is a character in a trading card game published by Decipher, Inc.
 * Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff: a freemium video game in which Rambo is an unlockable character.
 * Broforce: a side-scrolling run-and-gun platform video game in which Rambo is an unlockable character.
 * Mortal Kombat 11: a fighting game in which Rambo is a playable DLC character via downloadable content, with Sylvester Stallone reprising his role. In his arcade ending, Rambo defeated Kronika and planned to use her hourglass to right every wrong in history. As picking who lives and who dies would "kill his soul", Rambo walked away forever this time, stating "After all I've been through, I've earned a little peace".
 * Call of Duty Warzone, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Mobile featured the character as a time-limited DLC
 * Rogue Company: a shooter game video game where Rambo is a character skin for the character Seeker

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Prince Hisaaki

Prince Hisaaki (久明親王), also known as Prince Hisaakira, was the 8th shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan.

He was the nominal ruler controlled by Hōjō clan regents. He was the father of his successor, Prince Morikuni.

Prince Hisaaki was the son of Emperor Go-Fukakusa and the younger half-brother of Emperor Fushimi.

Family

 * Father: Emperor Go-Fukakusa
 * Mother: Fujiwara no Fusako
 * Adopted Father: Prince Koreyasu
 * Wife: daughter of Prince Koreyasu (d. 1306)
 * Concubine: Reizei no Tsubone
 * Children:
 * Prince Morikuni by daughter of Prince Koreyasu
 * Prince Hisayoshi (1310–1347) by Reizei no Tsubone
 * Prince Hiroaki (d. 1348)
 * Prince Kiyozumi

Eras of Hisaaki's bakufu
The years in which Hisaaki is shogun are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.
 * Shōō (1288–1293)
 * Einin (1293–1299)
 * Shōan (1299–1302)
 * Kengen (1302–1303)
 * Kagen (1303–1306)
 * Tokuji (1306–1308)
 * Enkyō (1308–1311)

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

title: Prince Hisaaki


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User:Gnomon Kelemen

hu:User:Gnomon

title: User:Gnomon Kelemen


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List of Iowa state parks

Map of State Parks of Iowa ''Hold cursor over locations to display park name; click to go to park article. Green pog.svg State-managed parks; Red pog.svg County-managed parks''

This is a list of 63 state parks and recreation areas in Iowa. These state parks of the U.S. state of Iowa can be split into two groups based on management. The first group are those state parks managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The second group are those state parks managed by the county in which they are found.

County-managed state parks
The following state parks are managed by local county conservation boards:

title: List of Iowa state parks


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User:Margi B.

=Margi Bailoboginki=

Personal Info
I'm 25 years old, and live in PA. My hobbies include researching public domain materials, obscure pre-Abrahamic and Abrahamic traditions, and studying various alternative spiritualities. My web site can be found here if you are interested in my personal research.

Donated Materials

 * Materials for Polish mythology
 * The Polish Pagan Pantheon
 * Polish Supernatural Spirits
 * Polish Folk Magic

Planned Contributions
I will be writing up entries for pre-Islamic Arabian deities and customs.

Hopefully I'll get the hang of this site pretty soon, I'm still really new.

Thanks for reading :)

~Margi B.

title: User:Margi B.


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Common raven

The common raven (Corvus corax) is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least eight subspecies with little variation in appearance, although recent research has demonstrated significant genetic differences among populations from various regions. It is one of the two largest corvids, alongside the thick-billed raven, and is possibly the heaviest passerine bird; at maturity, the common raven averages 63 cm in length and 1.47 kg in mass. Although their typical lifespan is considerably shorter, common ravens can live more than 23 years in the wild. Young birds may travel in flocks but later mate for life, with each mated pair defending a territory.

Common ravens have coexisted with humans for thousands of years and in some areas have been so numerous that people have regarded them as pests. Part of their success as a species is due to their omnivorous diet; they are extremely versatile and opportunistic in finding sources of nutrition, feeding on carrion, insects, cereal grains, berries, fruit, small animals, nesting birds, and food waste. Some notable feats of problem-solving provide evidence that the common raven is unusually intelligent.

Over the centuries, the raven has been the subject of mythology, folklore, art, and literature. In many cultures, including the indigenous cultures of Scandinavia, ancient Ireland and Wales, Bhutan, the northwest coast of North America, and Siberia and northeast Asia, the common raven has been revered as a spiritual figure or godlike creature.

Taxonomy
The common raven was one of the many species originally described, with its type locality given as Europe, by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, and it still bears its original name of Corvus corax. It is the type species of the genus Corvus, derived from the Latin word for 'raven'. The specific epithet corax is the Latinized form of the Greek word κόραξ, meaning 'raven' or 'crow'.

The modern English word raven has cognates in many other Germanic languages, including Old Norse (and subsequently modern Icelandic) hrafn and Old High German (h)raban, all which descend from Proto-Germanic *khrabanas. An old Scottish word corby or corbie, akin to the French corbeau, has been used for both this bird and the carrion crow. Collective nouns for a group of ravens (or at least the common raven) include "unkindness" and "conspiracy".

Classification
The closest relatives of the common raven are the brown-necked raven (C. ruficollis), the pied crow (C. albus) of Africa, and the Chihuahuan raven (C. cryptoleucus) of the North American Southwest. While some authorities have recognized as many as 11 subspecies, others recognize only eight:

Evolutionary history
The common raven evolved in the Old World and crossed the Bering land bridge into North America. Recent genetic studies, which examined the DNA of common ravens from across the world, have determined that the birds fall into at least two clades: a California clade, found only in the southwestern United States, and a Holarctic clade, found across the rest of the Northern Hemisphere. Birds from both clades look alike, but the groups are genetically distinct and began to diverge about two million years ago.

The findings indicate that based on mitochondrial DNA, common ravens from the rest of the United States are more closely related to those in Europe and Asia than to those in the California clade, and that common ravens in the California clade are more closely related to the Chihuahuan raven (C. cryptoleucus) than to those in the Holarctic clade. Ravens in the Holarctic clade are more closely related to the pied crow (C. albus) than they are to the California clade. Thus, the common raven species as traditionally delimited is considered to be paraphyletic.

One explanation for these genetic findings is that common ravens settled in California at least two million years ago and became separated from their relatives in Europe and Asia during a glacial period. One million years ago, a group from the California clade evolved into a new species, the Chihuahuan raven. Other members of the Holarctic clade arrived later in a separate migration from Asia, perhaps at the same time as humans.

A 2011 study suggested that there are no restrictions on gene flow between the Californian and Holarctic common raven groups, and that the lineages can remerge, effectively reversing a potential speciation.

A recent study of raven mitochondrial DNA showed that the isolated population from the Canary Islands is distinct from other populations. The study did not include any individuals from the North African population, and its position is therefore unclear, though its morphology is very close to the population of the Canaries (to the extent that the two are often considered part of a single subspecies).

Description
A mature common raven ranges between 54 and 71 cm and has a wingspan of 116 to 153 cm. Recorded weights range from 0.69 to 2.250 kg, thus making the common raven one of the heaviest passerines. Birds from colder regions such as the Himalayas and Greenland are generally larger with slightly larger bills, while those from warmer regions are smaller with proportionally smaller bills. Representative of the size variation in the species, ravens from California weighed an average of 0.784 kg, those from Alaska weighed an average of 1.135 kg and those from Nova Scotia weighed an average of 1.230 kg. The bill is large and slightly curved, with a culmen length of 5.7 to 8.5 cm, easily one of the largest bills amongst passerines (perhaps only the thick-billed raven has a noticeably larger bill). It has a longish, strongly graduated tail, at 20 to 26.3 cm, and mostly black iridescent plumage, and a dark brown iris. The throat feathers are elongated and pointed and the bases of the neck feathers are pale brownish-grey. The legs and feet are good-sized, with a tarsus length of 6 to 7.2 cm. Juvenile plumage is similar but duller with a blue-grey iris.

Apart from its greater size, the common raven differs from its cousins, the crows, by having a larger and heavier black beak, shaggy feathers around the throat and above the beak, and a wedge-shaped tail. Flying ravens are distinguished from crows by their tail shape, larger wing area, and more stable soaring style, which generally involves less wing flapping. Despite their bulk, ravens are easily as agile in flight as their smaller cousins. In flight the feathers produce a creaking sound that has been likened to the rustle of silk. The voice of ravens is also quite distinct, its usual call being a deep croak of a much more sonorous quality than a crow's call. In North America, the Chihuahuan raven (C. cryptoleucus) is fairly similar to the relatively small common ravens of the American southwest and is best distinguished by the still relatively smaller size of its bill, beard and body and relatively longer tail. All-black carrion crow (C. corone) in Europe may suggest a raven due to their largish bill but are still distinctly smaller and have the wing and tail shapes typical of crows.

In the Faroe Islands, a now-extinct white-and-black colour morph of this species existed, known as the pied raven; the ordinary black-coloured common ravens remain widespread in the archipelago.

White ravens are occasionally found in the wild. Birds in British Columbia lack the pink eyes of an albino, and are instead leucistic, a condition where an animal lacks any of several different types of pigment, not simply melanin. Common ravens have a wide range of vocalizations which are of interest to ornithologists. Gwinner carried out important studies in the early 1960s, recording and photographing his findings in great detail. Fifteen to 30 categories of vocalization have been recorded for this species, most of which are used for social interaction. Calls recorded include alarm calls, chase calls, and flight calls. The species has a distinctive, deep, resonant prruk-prruk-prruk call, which to experienced listeners is unlike that of any other corvid. Its very wide and complex vocabulary includes a high, knocking toc-toc-toc, a dry, grating kraa, a low guttural rattle and some calls of an almost musical nature.

Like other corvids, the common raven can mimic sounds from their environment, including human speech. Non-vocal sounds produced by the common raven include wing whistles and bill snapping. Clapping or clicking has been observed more often in females than in males. If a member of a pair is lost, its mate reproduces the calls of its lost partner to encourage its return.

Distribution and habitat
The common raven can thrive in varied climates; it has the largest range of any member of the genus, and one of the largest of any passerine. They range throughout the Holarctic from Arctic and temperate habitats in North America and Eurasia to the deserts of North Africa, and to islands in the Pacific Ocean. In the British Isles, they are more common in Scotland, Wales, northern England and the west of Ireland. In Tibet, they have been recorded at altitudes up to 5,000 m (16,400 ft), and as high as 6,350 m (20,600 ft) on Mount Everest. The population sometimes known as the Punjab raven—described as Corvus corax laurencei (also spelt lawrencii or laurencii) by Allan Octavian Hume but more often considered synonymous with subcorax —is restricted to the Sindh district of Pakistan and adjoining regions of northwestern India. They are generally resident within their range for the whole year. In his 1950 work, Grønlands Fugle [Birds of Greenland], noted ornithologist Finn Salomonsen indicated that common ravens did not overwinter in the Arctic. However, in Arctic Canada and Alaska, they are found year-round. Young birds may disperse locally.

In the United Kingdom, the common raven's range is currently increasing. It favours mountainous or coastal terrain, but can also be found in parks with tall trees suitable for use as habitation. Its population is at its most dense in the north and west of the country, though the species is expanding its population southwards.

Most common ravens prefer wooded areas with large expanses of open land nearby, or coastal regions for their nesting sites and feeding grounds. In some areas of dense human population, such as California in the United States, they take advantage of a plentiful food supply and have seen a surge in their numbers. On coasts, individuals of this species are often evenly distributed and prefer to build their nest sites along sea cliffs. Common ravens are often located in coastal regions because these areas provide easy access to water and a variety of food sources. Also, coastal regions have stable weather patterns without extreme cold or hot temperatures.

In general, common ravens live in a wide array of environments but prefer heavily contoured landscapes. When the environment changes in vast degrees, these birds will respond with a stress response. The hormone known as corticosterone is activated by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Corticosterone is activated when the bird is exposed to stress, such as migrating great distances.

Behaviour
Common ravens usually travel in mated pairs, although young birds may form flocks. Relationships between common ravens are often quarrelsome, yet they demonstrate considerable devotion to their families.

Predation
Owing to its size, gregariousness and its defensive abilities, the common raven has few natural predators. Predators of its eggs include owls, martens, and sometimes eagles. Ravens are quite vigorous at defending their young and are usually successful at driving off perceived threats. They attack potential predators by flying at them and lunging with their large bills. Humans are occasionally attacked if they get close to a raven nest, though serious injuries are unlikely. There are a few records of large birds of prey taking ravens; their attackers in America have reportedly included great horned owls, northern goshawks, bald eagles, golden eagles and red-tailed hawks. It is possible that the two hawk species only attack young ravens; in one instance a peregrine falcon swooped at a newly fledged raven but was chased off by the parent ravens.

In Eurasia, their reported predators include, in addition to golden eagles, Eurasian eagle-owls, white-tailed eagles, Steller's sea-eagles, eastern imperial eagles and gyrfalcons. Because they are potentially hazardous prey for raptorial birds, raptors must usually take them by surprise and most attacks are on fledgling ravens. More rarely still, large mammalian predators such as lynxes, coyotes and cougars have also attacked ravens. This principally occurs at a nest site and when other prey for the carnivores are scarce. Ravens are highly wary around novel carrion sites and, in North America, have been recorded waiting for the presence of American crows and blue jays before approaching to eat.

Breeding
Juveniles begin to court at a very early age, but may not bond for another two or three years. Aerial acrobatics, demonstrations of intelligence, and ability to provide food are key behaviours of courting. Once paired, they tend to nest together for life, usually in the same location. Instances of non-monogamy have been observed in common ravens, by males visiting a female's nest when her mate is away.

Breeding pairs must have a territory of their own before they begin nest-building and reproduction, and thus they aggressively defend a territory and its food resources. Nesting territories vary in size according to the density of food resources in the area. The nest is a deep bowl made of large sticks and twigs, bound with an inner layer of roots, mud, and bark and lined with a softer material, such as deer fur. The nest is usually placed in a large tree or on a cliff ledge, or less frequently in old buildings or utility poles.

Females lay between three and seven pale bluish-green, brown-blotched eggs. Incubation is about 18 to 21 days, by the female only. The male may stand or crouch over the young, sheltering but not actually brooding them. Young fledge at 35 to 42 days, and are fed by both parents. They stay with their parents for another six months after fledging.

In most of their range, egg-laying begins in late February, but it can be as late as April in colder climates such as Greenland and Tibet. In Pakistan, egg-laying takes place in December. Eggs and hatchlings are preyed on, rarely, by large hawks and eagles, large owls, martens and canids. The adults, which are very rarely preyed upon, are often successful in defending their young from these predators, due to their numbers, large size and cunning. They have been observed dropping stones on potential predators that venture close to their nests.

Common ravens can be very long-lived, especially in captive or protected conditions; individuals at the Tower of London have lived for more than 40 years. Their lifespans in the wild are shorter, typically 10 to 15 years. The longest known lifespan of a banded wild common raven was 23 years, 3 months, which among passerines only is surpassed by a few Australian species such as the satin bowerbird.

Feeding
Common ravens are omnivorous and highly opportunistic: their diet may vary widely with location, season and serendipity. For example, those foraging on tundra on the Arctic North Slope of Alaska obtained about half their energy needs from predation, mainly of microtine rodents, and half by scavenging, mainly of caribou and ptarmigan carcasses.

In some places they are mainly scavengers, feeding on carrion as well as the associated maggots and carrion beetles. With large-bodied carrion, which they are not equipped to tear through as well as birds such as hook-billed vultures, they must wait for the prey to be torn open by another predator or flayed by other means. They are also known to eat the afterbirth of ewes and other large mammals. Plant food includes cereal grains, acorns, buds, berries and fruit. They prey on small invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and birds. Ravens may also consume the undigested portions of animal feces, and human food waste. They store surplus food items, especially those containing fat, and will learn to hide such food out of the sight of other common ravens. Ravens also raid the food caches of other species, such as the Arctic fox. They sometimes associate with another canine, the grey wolf, as a kleptoparasite, following to scavenge wolf-kills in winter. Ravens are regular predators at bird nests, brazenly picking off eggs, nestlings and sometimes adult birds when they spot an opportunity. They are considered perhaps the primary natural threat to the nesting success of the critically endangered California condor, since they readily take condor eggs and are very common in the areas where the species is being re-introduced. On the other hand, when they defend their own adjacent nests, they may incidentally benefit condors since they chase golden eagles out of the area that may otherwise prey upon larger nestling and fledging condors. Condors, despite their large size, do not seem to have well developed nest defenses.

Common ravens nesting near sources of human garbage included a higher percentage of food waste in their diet, birds nesting near roads consumed more road-killed vertebrates, and those nesting far from these sources of food ate more arthropods and plant material. Fledging success was higher for those using human garbage as a food source. In contrast, a 1984–1986 study of common raven diet in an agricultural region of southwestern Idaho found that cereal grains were the principal constituent of pellets, though small mammals, grasshoppers, cattle carrion and birds were also eaten.

One behaviour is recruitment, where juvenile ravens call other ravens to a food bonanza, usually a carcass, with a series of loud yells. In Ravens in Winter, Bernd Heinrich posited that this behaviour evolved to allow the juveniles to outnumber the resident adults, thus allowing them to feed on the carcass without being chased away. A more mundane explanation is that individuals co-operate in sharing information about carcasses of large mammals because they are too big for just a few birds to exploit. Experiments with baits however show that such recruitment behaviour is independent of the size of the bait.

Furthermore, there has been research suggesting that the common raven is involved in seed dispersal. In the wild, the common raven chooses the best habitat and disperses seeds in locations best suited for its survival.

Intelligence
The brain of the common raven is among the largest of any bird species. Specifically, their hyperpallium is large for a bird. They display ability in problem-solving, as well as other cognitive processes such as imitation and insight. Linguist Derek Bickerton, building on the work of biologist Bernd Heinrich, has argued that ravens are one of only four known animals (the others being bees, ants, and humans) who have demonstrated displacement, the capacity to communicate about objects or events that are distant in space or time. Subadult ravens roost together at night, but usually forage alone during the day. However, when one discovers a large carcass guarded by a pair of adult ravens, the unmated raven will return to the roost and communicate the find. The following day, a flock of unmated ravens will fly to the carcass and chase off the adults. Bickerton argues that the advent of linguistic displacement was perhaps the most important event in the evolution of human language, and that ravens are the only other vertebrate to share this with humans.

One experiment designed to evaluate insight and problem-solving ability involved a piece of meat attached to a string hanging from a perch. To reach the food, the bird needed to stand on the perch, pull the string up a little at a time, and step on the loops to gradually shorten the string. Four of five common ravens eventually succeeded, and "the transition from no success (ignoring the food or merely yanking at the string) to constant reliable access (pulling up the meat) occurred with no demonstrable trial-and-error learning." This supports the hypothesis that common ravens are 'inventors', implying that they can solve problems. Many of the feats of common ravens were formerly argued to be stereotyped innate behaviour, but it now has been established that their aptitudes for solving problems individually and learning from each other reflect a flexible capacity for intelligent insight unusual among non-human animals. Another experiment showed that some common ravens could intentionally deceive their conspecifics.

A study published in 2011 found that ravens can recognise when they are given an unfair trade during reciprocal interactions with conspecifics or humans, retaining memory of the interaction for a prolonged period of time. Birds that were given a fair trade by experimenters were found to prefer interacting with these experimenters compared to those that did not. Furthermore, ravens in the wild have also been observed to stop cooperating with other ravens if they observe them cheating during group tasks.

Common ravens have been observed calling wolves to the site of dead animals. The wolves open the carcass, leaving the scraps more accessible to the birds. They watch where other common ravens bury their food and remember the locations of each other's food caches, so they can steal from them. This type of theft occurs so regularly that common ravens will fly extra distances from a food source to find better hiding places for food. They have also been observed pretending to make a cache without actually depositing the food, presumably to confuse onlookers.

Common ravens are known to steal and cache shiny objects such as pebbles, pieces of metal, and golf balls. One theory is that they hoard shiny objects to impress other ravens. Other research indicates that juveniles are deeply curious about all new things, and that common ravens retain an attraction to bright, round objects based on their similarity to bird eggs. Mature birds lose their intense interest in the unusual, and become highly neophobic.

The first large-scale assessment of ravens' cognitive abilities suggests that, by four months of age, ravens do about as well as adult chimps and orangutans on tests of causal reasoning, social learning, theory of mind, etc.

Play
There has been increasing recognition of the extent to which birds engage in play. Juvenile common ravens are among the most playful of bird species. They have been observed to slide down snowbanks, apparently purely for fun. They even engage in games with other species, such as playing catch-me-if-you-can with wolves, otters and dogs. Common ravens are known for spectacular aerobatic displays, such as flying in loops or interlocking talons with each other in flight.

They are also one of only a few wild animals who make their own toys. They have been observed breaking off twigs to play with socially.

Conservation and management
Compared to many smaller Corvus species (such as American crow), ravens prefer undisturbed mountain or forest habitat or rural areas over urban areas. In other areas, their numbers have increased dramatically and they have become agricultural pests. Common ravens can cause damage to crops, such as nuts and grain, or can harm livestock, particularly by killing young goat kids, lambs and calves. Ravens generally attack the faces of young livestock, but the more common raven behaviour of scavenging may be misidentified as predation by ranchers.

In the western Mojave Desert, human settlement and land development have led to an estimated 16-fold increase in the common raven population over 25 years. Towns, landfills, sewage treatment plants and artificial ponds create sources of food and water for scavenging birds. Ravens also find nesting sites in utility poles and ornamental trees, and are attracted to roadkill on highways. The explosion in the common raven population in the Mojave has raised concerns for the desert tortoise, a threatened species. Common ravens prey upon juvenile tortoises, which have soft shells and move slowly. Plans to control the population have included shooting and trapping birds, as well as contacting landfill operators to ask that they reduce the amount of exposed garbage. A hunting bounty as a method of control was historically used in Finland from the mid-18th century until 1923. Culling has taken place to a limited extent in Alaska, where the population increase in common ravens is threatening the vulnerable Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri).

Ravens, like other corvids, are definitive hosts of West Nile Virus (WNV). The transmission can be from infected birds to humans, and ravens are susceptible to WNV. However, in a 2010 study, it was shown that the California Common Ravens did not have a high positivity rate of WNV.

Cultural depictions

Across its range in the Northern Hemisphere, and throughout human history, the common raven has been a powerful symbol and a popular subject of mythology and folklore.

In some Western traditions, ravens have long been considered to be birds of ill omen, death and evil in general, in part because of the negative symbolism of their all-black plumage and the eating of carrion. In Sweden, ravens are known as the ghosts of murdered people, and in Germany as the souls of the damned. In Danish folklore, valravne that ate a king's heart gained human knowledge, could perform great malicious acts, could lead people astray, had superhuman powers, and were "terrible animals".

It continues to be used as a symbol in areas where it once had mythological status: as the national bird of Bhutan (kings of Bhutan wear the Raven Crown), official bird of the Yukon territory, and on the coat of arms of the Isle of Man (once a Viking colony).

In Persia and Arabia the raven was held as a bird of bad omen but a 14th-century Arabic work reports use of the raven in falconry.

The modern unisex given name Raven is derived from the English word "raven". As a masculine name, Raven parallels the Old Norse Hrafn, and Old English *Hræfn, which were both bynames and personal names.

Mythology
In Tlingit and Haida cultures, Raven was both a trickster and creator god. Related beliefs are widespread among the peoples of Siberia and northeastern Asia. The Kamchatka Peninsula, for example, was supposed to have been created by the raven god Kutkh. There are several references to common ravens in the Old Testament of the Bible and it is an aspect of Mahakala in Bhutanese mythology.

In Norse mythology, Huginn (from the Old Norse for "thought") and Muninn (from the Old Norse for "memory" or "mind") are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world of humans, Midgard, and bring the god Odin information. Additionally among the Norse, raven banner standards were carried by such figures as the Jarls of Orkney, King Cnut the Great of England, Norway and Denmark, and Harald Hardrada. In the British Isles, ravens also were symbolic to the Celts. In Irish mythology, the goddess Morrígan alighted on the hero Cú Chulainn's shoulder in the form of a raven after his death. In Welsh mythology they were associated with the Welsh god Brân the Blessed, whose name translates to "crow". According to the Mabinogion, Brân's head was buried in the White Hill of London as a talisman against invasion.

A legend developed that England would not fall to a foreign invader as long as there were ravens at the Tower of London; although this is often thought to be an ancient belief, the official Tower of London historian, Geoff Parnell, believes that this is actually a romantic Victorian invention.

In the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions, the raven was the first animal to be released from Noah's Ark. "So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground." The raven is mentioned 12 times in the Bible. In the New Testament Jesus tells a parable using the raven to show how people should rely on God for their needs and not riches (Luke 12:24). The raven is also mentioned in the Quran at the story of Cain and Abel. Adam's firstborn son Cain kills his brother Abel, but he does not know what to do with the corpse: "Then Allah sent a raven scratching up the ground, to show him how to hide his brother's naked corpse. He said: Woe unto me! Am I not able to be as this raven and so hide my brother's naked corpse? And he became repentant."

title: Common raven


text:
Eckankar

Eckankar is a new religious movement founded by Paul Twitchell in 1965. The spiritual home is the Temple of ECK in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Eckankar is not affiliated with any other religious group.

The movement teaches simple spiritual exercises, such as singing "HU", called "a love song to God", to experience the Light and Sound of God and recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Etymology
Twitchell was known for adapting Sanskrit words into English, and the word Eckankar is likely Twitchell's adaptation of the sacred Sikh phrase Ik Onkar, meaning "One Om". Eck is intended to mean the Holy Spirit, as found in the biblical and Christian terminology. According to the Eckankar's glossary, the term Eckankar means "co-worker with God".

History
The movement was founded in 1965 by Paul Twitchell (spiritual name: Peddar Zaskq), who remained its spiritual leader (called "Living ECK Master") until his death in September 1971. He was succeeded by Darwin Gross (spiritual name: Dap Ren). On October 22, 1981, Harold Klemp (spiritual name: WahZ) was announced the spiritual leader. Between 1981 and 1987, both Gross and Klemp claimed being the Living ECK Master, and to be the Inner Master, and had their own followers.

Eckankar's headquarters were originally in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1975, under the leadership of Gross, the organization was moved to Menlo Park, California. In 1986, Klemp moved the base of operations to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Eckankar is registered as a nonprofit religious organization in the United States. It reports members in more than 120 countries, and its teachings have been translated into more than 25 languages. The exact number of members, known as ECKists, is undisclosed. The world headquarters and Temple of ECK, Eckankar's Spiritual Center, are in Chanhassen, Minnesota,  on a 174 acre campus with 2 mi of contemplation trails open to the public.

The Eckankar "EK" symbol appears on the list of Available Emblems of Belief for Placement on Government Headstones and Markers by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Sources estimate that there were around 50,000 followers in the 1990s.

Beliefs
Some scholars believe that Eckankar beliefs draw in part from the Sikh and Hindu religions, in particular the Radha Soami movement. However, J. Gordon Melton finds significant differences between Radha Soami teachings and Eckankar.

One of the basic tenets is that soul (the true self) may be experienced separate from the physical body and, in full consciousness, travel freely in "other planes of reality." Eckankar emphasizes personal spiritual experiences as the most natural way back to God. These are attained via Soul Travel: shifting the awareness from the body to the inner planes of existence.

Certain mantras or chants are used to facilitate spiritual growth. One important spiritual exercise of Eckankar is the singing or chanting of HU, and is viewed in Eckankar as a "love song to God". It is pronounced like the English word "hue" (or "hyoo") in a long, drawn-out breath and is sung for about twenty minutes to half an hour. ECKists sing it alone or in small groups. ECKists believe that singing HU draws one closer in state of consciousness to the Divine Being and that it can expand awareness, help one experience divine love, heal broken hearts, offer solace in times of grief, and bring peace and calm. ECKists believe this practice allows the student to step back from the overwhelming input of the physical senses and emotions and regain Soul's spiritually higher viewpoint.

Dreams are regarded as important teaching tools, and members often keep dream journals to facilitate study. According to followers of Eckankar, dream travel often serves as the gateway to Soul Travel, also known by Eckankar as out of body experience (OBE), or the shifting of one's consciousness to ever-higher states of being. Soul travel was a new term created by Twitchell.

Eckankar teaches that "spiritual liberation" in one's lifetime is available to all and that it is possible to achieve Self-Realization (the realization of oneself as Soul) and God-Realization (the realization of oneself as a spark of God) in one's lifetime. The membership card for Eckankar states: "The aim and purpose of Eckankar has always been to take Soul by Its own path back to Its divine source."

The final spiritual goal of all ECKists is to become conscious "co-workers" with God.

The leader of Eckankar is known as "the Living ECK Master" (LEM). Eckankar claims that only a man can be the LEM as Soul needs the atom structure of a male body in the physical world to become the spiritual leader; a choice made before birth. Eckankar now claims that some leaders, Twitchell and Klemp, for example, also hold the title "Mahanta", which refers to the inner aspect of the teacher. During Gross' ten year leadership 1971-1981 the nonprofit religious organization claimed he was the Mahanta. The leader functions as both an inner and outer guide for each member's individual spiritual progress.

ECKists believe that contact with a divine spirit, which they call the ECK, can be made via the spiritual exercises of ECK and the guidance of the living ECK Master. It is held that the ECK Masters are here to serve all life irrespective of religious belief. The main Eckankar website includes a list of Masters, some of whom are historical figures.

The Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, which means "Way of the Eternal", is the holy scripture of Eckankar. It comprises two books that tell of spiritual meaning and purpose as written by the Mahanta. There are also a series of Satsang writings that are available with yearly membership in Eckankar. There are Satsang classes available to study discourses with others, as well as individually.

Some of the key beliefs taught in the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad include Soul Travel, karma, reincarnation, love, Light and Sound, and many other spiritual topics. ECKists believe Sugmad is the endless source from which all forms were created, and that the ECK, the Sound Current, flows out of Sugmad and into lower dimensions.

Primary to the teaching is the belief that one may experience the perspective of Soul beyond the limits of the body. Also, the concepts of karma and reincarnation help to explain situations in life as the playing out of past causes.

The beliefs that individuals are responsible for their own destiny and that their decisions determine their future are important concepts to Eckankar. Eckankar students meet in open public services and classes to discuss personal experiences, topics, books and discourses.

Ceremonies and rites
There are few personal requirements to be an ECKist; however, certain spiritual practices are recommended. Chief among these is daily practice of the "Spiritual Exercises of ECK" for 15–20 minutes. The most basic ECK spiritual exercise is singing the syllable HU. A wide variety of spiritual exercises are offered, and members are encouraged to create their own. Study of ECK books and written discourses, alone or in groups, is also encouraged. There are no dietary requirements, taboos, or enforced ascetic practices. Eckankar does not require potential members to leave their current faith to join.

There are a number of ceremonies an ECKist can experience as part of the teaching, including a Consecration ceremony for initiating the young and infants, a Rite of Passage into adulthood (around age 13), a Wedding ceremony, and a Memorial service.

September 17 is celebrated as Founder's Day in honor of Paul Twitchell. October 22 is celebrated as the spiritual new year.

Criticism
In his book, Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America, written in 1977, David C. Lane writes: "This lineage, known as the Vairagi masters in Eckankar, allegedly traces its genealogy back through some 970 Living Eck Masters to Rama, an avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. In other versions, the teachings go even further back to Gakko, a spiritual essence that traveled from the city of Retz on the planet Venus to Earth six million years ago ... In addition, Sudar Singh and Rebazar Tarzs are not genuine historical personages but literary inventions developed by Twitchell to conceal his past associations."

title: Eckankar


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sunset High School

This page discussed the deletion of Sunset High School. Originally this was an article - then the article was moved to Sunset High School (Portland), leaving a disambiguation page behind. The page was listed for deletion on 23 Novemeber, and the decision to keep was made on 29 November.

 * Revision as of 08:17, 27 Nov 2003 (revision at time of decision to keep)

VfD listing

 * For the usual reasons. Undeleted by User:Minesweeper without discussion on the Votes for undeletion page, in order to prove a point.  RickK 03:36, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Hold on, I didn't undelete anything here. Once I saw it restored, I thought I'd include the missing information to see what kind of school-disambiguation madness we're starting here. --Minesweeper 03:40, Nov 23, 2003 (UTC)
 * Then I apologize. But that's even worse, it was undeleted anonymously.  RickK 03:45, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * I undeleted after Oliver listed it on VfU. Anyway, anonymous undeletions have not been possible since November 5 when Brion implemented the logging of undeletions. The undeletion policy states that I should have told you about that and listed the page here, but that wasn't the policy until 02:47 and I undeleted it at 02.20. Angela 04:02, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete. Please tell me we have a rule against writing about undistinguished high schools. Is there at town/city page where this particular non-article can be merged into? Maximus Rex 03:55, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * See Wikipedia talk:Deletion policy/schools. Angela
 * Now a disambiguation page. Original content (but not the history thereof) moved to Sunset High School (Portland). The disambiguation page is useful for looking up where there are schools called "Sunset High School". -- Oliver P. 04:38, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Keep as disambig. May need the red links removing, but doesn't need to be deleted. Martin 17:29, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * We should keep in all the schools that are put up individually at VfD. (and better yet, have them all recorded on a List of schools so we can keep track of them all if our final decision means we have to delete some). That way, if we make a final decision that schools should be kept when we're deliberating on an all-Wikipedia policy that determines which schools are legitimate for Wikipedia articles and which aren't, we won't have to start from scratch all over again on all those schools people worked so hard on in order to get our coverage of schools complete. Wiwaxia 02:47, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Deleting this would be an abomination against the goals of Wikipedia. [...] Even if we were to delete all the entries on the individual schools, which I would consider a failure of the goals of Wikipedia, there would not be any reason to eliminate this entry, which tells where such schools exist, and is certainly valid and potentially useful information. --The Cunctator 04:54, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

VfD boilerplate
Deleting this would be an abomination against the goals of Wikipedia. --The Cunctator

Then please make your feelings known on the Votes for Deletion page, and don't unilaterally remove the VfD heading. RickK 04:12, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)

The VfD page is more depressing than I can handle. --The Cunctator 04:45, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)

I have protected the page. I know you two can edit it anyway. Don't. - Hephaestos 04:49, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * Cunctator, re: VfD situation -- it's only a listing. If an article has validity, you should be confident it will stay around. The VfD notice is there not as a mark of shame, but to call attention to the fact that it has been listed, so that people can make their thoughts known.  Imagine if the VfD notice was not there, then people would be screaming bloddy murder for not being informed of the fact.  This way, people are notified on their watchlists that it's been listed, so it's not a secret.  Fuzheado 04:51, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * After RickK put the announcement back in, I moved the announcement to the bottom of the entry. I didn't remove it. It shouldn't be up top where it interferes with the article, especially when the entry is short enough that the mention isn't hidden.

 * In other words, your "imagine" scenario is not relevant.--The Cunctator

 * It is relevant because 1) all the other hundreds of articles listed on VfD have the announcement up at the top and 2) articles are listed on VfD for only 5 days, so this should be right up front and center. Stub announcements can stay at the bottom because it can stay stubby for an unspecified amount of time. It's not clear why this article should be treated any different than the others in terms of the VfD notice. Fuzheado 00:21, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * Man, they're only listed there for five days now? The process is more broken than I thought. --The Cunctator 02:13, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

What does protecting the page accomplish? --The Cunctator 02:20, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

The point is to prevent an edit war, which is what was happening on this page. Angela 02:29, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * 1) How does it prevent an edit war between sysops? 2) What edit war? The Cunctator 04:37, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * 1) It involves a thing called "integrity."
 * 2) The one you mentioned, between sysops.
 * -Hephaestos 05:14, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * 1) Doesn't asking people to stop do the same thing, without harming non-sysop-users' rights to edit the page?
 * 2) I haven't mentioned any particular edit war. Don't pretend that I did. My question was regarding the hypothetical edit war to which Angela is claiming was happening, which brings up another question: If there was an edit war between, but it's now over, what does protecting the page after the fact accomplish? --The Cunctator

 * 1) Obviously not, since you, a party to the edit war, unilaterally started it back up twelve hours after it was supposedly "over".
 * 2) Don't be obtuse. You and I and everybody else are perfectly capable of looking at the edit history.
 * - Hephaestos 05:27, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * 1) I'm still unclear as to what the difference is between protecting the page and simply asking the parties to stop. Either action can be ignored by the parties in question.
 * 2) I'm asserting that what happened isn't an edit war. It possibly could be described as a meta-edit war, but let's be specific about what's going on: I was moving the VfD notice to the bottom of the stub, and others were moving it to the top. That's not my definition of an edit war. Oh, and don't be sanctimonious. --The Cunctator 06:12, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

My definition of an edit war is a process of reverting and re-reverting a single article, scrolling recent changes, disrupting the Wikipedia, usually over some petty difference. What happened yesterday fits that description.

The difference between protecting the page and simply asking the parties to stop is moot, since both were done, and one party to the edit war had the integrity to stop and assess what they were doing. The other one (you) didn't; moreover, the entire premise of your edits is a unilateral attempt to change the guidelines of where a VfD notice should be posted, without discussion, without even the slightest attempt to achieve a consensus change. Sanctimonious? If you have a problem with the way I perform as an admin, I suggest you point it out; I have a definite problem with the way you have been performing lately as an admin, and I think you should resign. Frankly you're acting like a spoiled child. - Hephaestos 06:43, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * What have I done lately as an admin that you find objectionable? Do you mean my reorganization of the secondary education and gay disease-related entries, for which I used my powers to move pages (and delete redirects in prep for such)? --The Cunctator

"1) I'm still unclear as to what the difference is between protecting the page and simply asking the parties to stop. Either action can be ignored by the parties in question. "

Not true. If you edit a protected page (as a party in an edit war) you are abusing your sysop powers. This would be grounds for de-opping.

Agreeing to refrain from editing an unprotected page is non-binding. --Jiang

 * That would be true if the other party in the edit war were not a sysop. It would also be considered an abuse of sysop powers if someone were to protect a page without just cause. -The Cunctator

That is not the case. It would be true even if the other party were a sysop. How elese would we stop edit wars between sysops? The only difference is that we rely on sysops to use self-restraint. --Jiang


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Talk:Hansraj Morarji Public School

Deletion
This page is an archive of the discussion surrounding the proposed deletion of a page entitled HMPS.

 * Another school that doesn't need its own article. RickK 05:52, 21 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Please do not delete. It is an important school. will shortly update it. Hemanshu
 * It's no more an important school than any other school in the world. No elementary or high school needs its own article.  RickK 07:44, 22 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * What about Eton? ;) How important is this HMPS? -- Tarquin 17:29, 22 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Keep unless it is decided at Wikipedia talk:Deletion policy/schools to delete all schools. Angela 18:10, 22 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * We should keep in all the schools that are put up individually at VfD. (and better yet, have them all recorded on a List of schools so we can keep track of them all if our final decision means we have to delete some). That way, if we make a final decision that schools should be kept when we're deliberating on an all-Wikipedia policy that determines which schools are legitimate for Wikipedia articles and which aren't, we won't have to start from scratch all over again on all those schools people worked so hard on in order to get our coverage of schools complete. Wiwaxia 02:47, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete per my reasoning on Wikipedia talk:Deletion policy/schools. Daniel Quinlan 05:45, Nov 26, 2003 (UTC)
 * delete. school pages should exist here, but this one doesn't yet fit the criteria of importance. Hemanshu said he'd fix it, but hasn't. Kingturtle 18:02, 26 Nov 2003 (UTC)
 * Delete. Maximus Rex 06:21, 27 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Would a merge/redirect to the currently quite stubby Andheri provide an effective compromise? Martin 19:00, 28 Nov 2003 (UTC)

OK, GUYS I FIXED THE HMPS PAGE, CAN U TELL ME HOW TO ADD PICTURES?" KUNAL_KUNAL_2002 AT YAHOO COM

==No citations / references for Alumni category

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as stub, and the rating on other projects was brought up to Stub class. BetacommandBot 10:16, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

No citations / references for Alumni category
No citations / references in the Alumni category -- the section is spammed with names of insignificant people

title: Talk:Hansraj Morarji Public School


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Rekishi monogatari

Rekishi monogatari (歴史物語) is a category of Japanese literature defined as extended prose narrative. Structurally, the name is composed of the Japanese words rekishi (歴史), meaning history, and monogatari (物語), meaning tale or narrative. Because of this it is commonly translated as ‘historical tale’. Although now categorised as works of fiction, Japanese readers before the nineteenth century traditionally accepted and read rekishi monogatari, as well as the related gunki monogatari and earlier Six National Histories, as literal and chronological historical accounts.

Creation of monogatari
Monogatari is categorised as Japanese extended prose literature, and is comparable to the epic novel. It first emerged in the late Heian period, which held dominion from 749-1573 C.E. It is believed to have originated from the oral tradition of the court ladies at the time. This is supported through the language used in examples of monogatari, which was typically either kanbun, a hybrid form of Chinese, or kana, Japanese. Kanbun was a form of Classical Chinese, and was the principal writing style used for official or intellectual works; kana, despite its high level of verbal fluency amongst Japanese people, was known in written form in the Heian Period predominantly by nobility and monks. Monogatari is further supported as having originated amongst court ladies through the knowledge that, during the Heian period, men typically wrote in Chinese, therefore the use of Japanese and hybridised Chinese suggests women developed this form of Japanese prose as a method of storytelling. Some early monogatari are believed to be written by men using female pseudonyms.

Legacy of monogatari
Monogatari was highly prevalent between the 9th to the 15th century. During this period several sub-categories of monogatari were created in response to cultural and historical change at the time, for example gunki monogatari. As a result, monogatari are still used as historical sources and means to learn about the past eras, knowledge, and culture of Japan. The introduction of European and other foreign literature to Japan began the implementation of the word monogatari in Japanese titles of foreign works of a similar nature. For example, A Tale of Two Cities is known as Nito Monogatari (二都物語), One Thousand and One Nights as Sen'ichiya Monogatari (千一夜物語) and more recently The Lord of the Rings as Yubiwa Monogatari (指輪物語), and To Kill a Mockingbird as Arabama Monogatari (アラバマ物語). However, its prevalence as a literature category has since greatly decreased, with there being only 24 monogatari today, in comparison to the 198 that existed in the 13th century.

Many of Japan’s most famous folktales, such as Taketori Monogatari, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, are examples of early monogatari.

Creation of rekishi monogatari
Rekishi monogatari was created as a sub-genre of monogatari soon after the establishment of monogatari itself. This is supported in the identical nature of the writing style of early monogatari and rekishi monogatari, with rekishi monogatari also written in kanbun and/or kana. Further evidence supporting this is the first recorded rekishi monogatari dating back to the late Heian period, the same time of emergence as monogatari itself. Rekishi monogatari similarly emerged in Japanese courts, with its purpose being a method of recounting stories or events. At the time of its creation, rekishi monogatari was viewed as historically accurate accounts, seen in how early works were used primarily as official court histories.

Evolution of rekishi monogatari
Rekishi monogatari originally referred to accurate accounts of events, most often official court documents. As time progressed the definition was redefined to encompass fictional or fictionalised tales as well.

Structure and style
Rekishi monogatari is characterised as having an orderly, chronological structure. It typically follows the three-act structure of a classic narrative, coherently presenting to the reader a linear beginning, middle, and end. The tale’s focal figures are memorable, the complication(s) are clear. Themes often include loyalty, obligation, the supernatural, and self-sacrifice compromised by human emotion.

Prevalence
Rekishi monogatari was a common form of literature in Japan from its origin in the late Heian Period up until Japan’s mediaeval age, after which its prevalence drastically decreased. Its numbers have since continued to decrease.

Eiga Monogatari
Of the category rekishi monogatari there are several notable works, one of which is Eiga Monogatari (栄花物語), translated in English to The Story of Splendour. The work is believed to have been written by multiple authors over the course of 1028-1107 C.E. While its creation predates the genesis of the literature sub-category rekishi monogatari, the definition of rekishi monogatari, as an accurate historical account or fictional or fictionalised historical tale, allows works written before its inception to be classified under its genre.

Eiga Monogatari is classified as rekishi monogatari due to its retelling of the events in the life of Japanese statesman, or courtier, Fujiwara no Michinaga. It references both official court histories and other known prose of that era. The forty scrolls which comprise the text are written entirely in kana, and include many excerpts from diaries and notes of court ladies. Twenty-eight of these scrolls are devoted to Michinaga's governance, while the remaining twelve concern related topics, including other aspects of his life and the lives of his family.

The four Kagamimono
The shikyō (四鏡, しきょう), translated in English to Four Mirrors, are four Japanese histories in the rekishi monogatari genre from the late Heian period to the early Muromachi period. They are also known as kagami mono (鏡物, かがみもの). The four works are:
 * Ōkagami (The Great Mirror)
 * Imakagami (Today's Mirror)
 * Mizukagami (The Water Mirror)
 * Masukagami (The Clear Mirror)

Further notable works include:
 * Rokudai Shōjiki
 * Ike no mokuzu (『池の藻屑』ja:荒木田麗女)

Legacy
Historically, rekishi monogatari was understood to be accurate or mildly embellished tales of events or journeys; in the current times, rekishi monogatari is primarily understood to refer to fictional, historical tales.

While monogatari are still being created, rekishi monogatari as a genre is no longer active due to it being categorised as historical tales in the classical literature era of Japan. As such, the number of existing rekishi monogatari have greatly decreased due to loss as a result of time and age.

title: Rekishi monogatari


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Talk:November 26

Straw
Removed:
 * 2003 - UK foreign secretary Jack Straw makes an unannounced visit to Iraq.

In the larger scheme of things, so what? This is the type of detail is what the Current events page is for. --mav

Move the Chosin date back to 27th
The Chinese attack on Chosin did not start until the night of 27th, per Roy Appleman's work on Escaping the Trap: The US Army X Corps in Northeast Korea, 1950. This should be corrected. Jim101 (talk) 05:05, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
 * I move the entry back because the Battle of Ch'ongch'on River started on 26th. Jim101 (talk) 17:50, 10 November 2009 (UTC)

Mumbai attacks
Do you think we should be mentioning it both in the events section and the deaths section? I was about to remove it from the deaths section but wanted your thoughts.  Kees08  (Talk)   07:57, 26 November 2019 (UTC)
 * No, I don't. We could name the notable dead in the entry for the event but I expect we will end up with people re-adding it under the deaths (and vice versa). But I would support the idea of removing it from Deaths.Deb (talk) 09:00, 26 November 2019 (UTC)

title: Talk:November 26


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Dong Xi

Dong Xi (died 217), courtesy name Yuanshi, was a military general serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.

Service under Sun Ce
Dong Xi was from Yuyao County (餘姚縣), Kuaiji Commandery, which is present-day Yuyao, Zhejiang. He was eight chi tall (approximately 184–190 cm) and was described to be ambitious, generous and highly skilled in combat. In 196, after Sun Ce occupied Kuaiji during his conquests in the Jiangdong region, Dong Xi welcomed him at Gaoqian Village (高遷亭). Sun Ce was impressed with Dong Xi at first sight and recruited the latter to serve him. Dong Xi became a Chief Constable (賊曹) under Sun Ce. At the time, the bandits Huang Longluo (黃龍羅) and Zhou Bo (周勃) had gathered thousands of followers in Shanyin (山陰; in present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). Sun Ce led his army to attack the bandits. Dong Xi participated in the campaign and slew the two bandit chiefs in the midst of battle. For his achievements, he was promoted to Major of Separate Command (別部司馬), placed in charge of thousands of troops, and appointed as Commandant Who Spreads Martial Might (揚武都尉). He also joined Sun Ce in the campaigns against Liu Xun at Xunyang (尋陽) and Huang Zu at Jiangxia Commandery (江夏郡; around present-day Xinzhou District, Wuhan, Hubei).

After Sun Ce was assassinated in 200 CE, Lady Wu (the mother of Sun Ce and Sun Quan) was worried that Sun Quan, who had succeeded his elder brother, would be too young to handle the precarious situation in Jiangdong. She consulted Dong Xi about her concerns, and Dong reassured her by saying, "The lands in Jiangdong enjoy natural barriers from mountains and rivers, while the good government and virtue of Sun Ce have already won the hearts of the people. The young lord can build on these foundations so that everyone can follow his commands. Zhang Zhao can take charge of internal affairs, while others like me can serve as 'claws and teeth' (a euphemism for military servicemen). With both geographical advantage and popular support, there is certainly nothing to worry about." His positive speech was applauded by many.

Service under Sun Quan
Once, Peng Hu (彭虎) from Poyang (鄱陽) rallied thousands of followers and started a rebellion against Sun Quan. Dong Xi, along with Ling Tong, Bu Zhi and Jiang Qin, led separate forces to attack the rebels. Dong Xi knocked down all opposition in his way, and Peng Hu fled when he recognised Dong's banner from a distance away. The revolt was suppressed within 10 days. Dong Xi was appointed as Colonel of Surpassing Might (威越校尉) and was later promoted to Lieutenant-General (偏將軍) for his efforts.

In 208, Sun Quan launched a punitive expedition against Huang Zu to avenge his father, who was killed in a battle against Huang around 17 years ago, leading to the Battle of Jiangxia. After losing his vanguard commander to Ling Tong, Huang Zu scuttled two mengchongs to block the channel across Miankou (沔口), and had a long rope made of coir-palm fibre secured across the gateway, with stones attached to the rope as anchors. In addition to all these defensive measures, Huang Zu also stationed more than 1,000 crossbowmen at Miankou, who rained arrows upon Sun Quan's forces when the latter attempted to push further. Dong Xi and Ling Tong were both commanders of Sun Quan's vanguard force. Each of them led 100 "commandos" wearing two layers of armour, boarded a large boat, and charged towards Huang Zu's mengchongs. Dong Xi managed to cut the rope with his sword and clear the blockade. The bulk of Sun Quan's army then resumed its advance. Huang Zu escaped through a gate but was pursued and killed by one of Sun Quan's horsemen. The following day, Sun Quan held a banquet to celebrate the victory, during which he toasted to Dong Xi, "The purpose of today's feast is to honour the person who cut the rope!"

In 217, when the warlord Cao Cao led an army to attack Sun Quan's fortress at Ruxu (濡須), Dong Xi accompanied Sun Quan to the frontline to resist the invaders. Dong Xi was appointed as the captain of a five-storey warship (五樓船) and ordered to defend the entrance to Ruxu. One night, a heavy storm broke out and threatened to capsize the warship. Dong Xi's subordinates evacuated the warship and boarded the smaller boats (走舸; zouges) and pleaded for him to join them. However, Dong Xi replied sternly, "I've received orders to defend this position from the enemy. How can I abandon my post like this? Anyone who dares to speak of this again will be executed!" He then remained alone on the ship, which eventually sank and brought him down as well. Sun Quan donned mourning attire and personally attended Dong Xi's funeral. He later gave out heavy rewards to Dong Xi's family to honour Dong's loyalty and courage.

title: Dong Xi


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Great Mirror

Great Mirror may refer to:

 * Speculum Maius, a 13th-century encyclopedia
 * The Great Mirror of Male Love
 * Ōkagami, a Japanese historical tale

title: Great Mirror


text:
Talk:Guan Dao

The blade use by Guan Yu should be the Green Dragon Blade, not blue nor black.

 * Be bold!
 * Sign posts.
 * --Menchi 08:44, 27 Nov 2003 (UTC)

title: Talk:Guan Dao


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Sergei Sobolev

Prof Sergei Lvovich Sobolev, FRSE (Серге́й Льво́вич Со́болев; 6 October 1908 – 3 January 1989) was a Soviet mathematician working in mathematical analysis and partial differential equations.

Sobolev introduced notions that are now fundamental for several areas of mathematics. Sobolev spaces can be defined by some growth conditions on the Fourier transform. They and their embedding theorems are an important subject in functional analysis. Generalized functions (later known as distributions) were first introduced by Sobolev in 1935 for weak solutions, and further developed by Laurent Schwartz. Sobolev abstracted the classical notion of differentiation, so expanding the range of application of the technique of Newton and Leibniz. The theory of distributions is considered now as the calculus of the modern epoch.

Life
He was born in St. Petersburg as the son of Lev Alexandrovich Sobolev, a lawyer, and his wife, Natalya Georgievna. His city was renamed Petrograd in his youth and then Leningrad in 1924.

Sobolev studied mathematics at Leningrad University and graduated in 1929, having studied under Professor Nikolai Günther. After graduation, he worked with Vladimir Smirnov, whom he considered as his second teacher. He worked in Leningrad from 1932, and at the Steklov Mathematical Institute in Moscow from 1934. He headed the institute in evacuation to Kazan during World War II. He was a Moscow State University Professor of Mathematics from 1935 to 1957 and also a deputy director of the Institute for Atomic Energy from 1943 to 1957 where he participated in the A-bomb project of the USSR. In 1958, he led with Nikolay Brusentsov the development of the ternary computer Setun.

In 1956, Sobolev joined a number of scientists in proposing a large-scale scientific and educational initiative for the Eastern parts of the Soviet Union, which resulted in the creation of the Siberian Division of the Academy of Sciences. He was the founder and first director of the Institute of Mathematics at Akademgorodok near Novosibirsk, which was later to bear his name, and played an important role in the establishment and development of Novosibirsk State University. In 1962, he called for a reform of the Soviet education system.

He died in Moscow.

Family
In 1930 he married Ariadna Dmitrievna.

Publications
In 1955 he co-wrote The Main Features of Cybernetics with Alexey Lyapunov and Anatoly Kitov which was published in Voprosy filosofii.

title: Sergei Sobolev