text:
Gare du Nord

The Gare du Nord (North Station), officially Paris Nord, is one of the seven large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. The station is served by trains that run between the capital and northern France via the Paris–Lille railway, as well as to international destinations in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Located in the northern part of Paris near the Gare de l'Est in the 10th arrondissement, the Gare du Nord offers connections with several urban transport lines, including Paris Métro, RER and buses. It is the busiest railway station in Europe by total passenger numbers, and the busiest outside Japan. In 2015, the Gare du Nord saw more than 700,000 passengers per day.

The current Gare du Nord was designed by French architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff, while the original complex was constructed between 1861 and 1864 on behalf of the Chemin de Fer du Nord company. The station replaced an earlier and much smaller terminal sharing the same name, which was operational between 1846 and 1860. A substantial refurbishment programme during the late 2010s and early 2020s will greatly redesign the station. The plans for this include a significant expansion of the station's footprint and ability to handle passengers, expanding onsite amenities and establishing a new departure terminal in preparation for the 2024 Summer Olympics. As a consequence of this redevelopment, the Gare du Nord will become the largest railway station in Europe.

Predecessor
The first Gare du Nord was constructed on behalf of the Chemins de fer du Nord company, which was managed by Léonce Reynaud, professor of architecture at the École Polytechnique. During 1843, the engineer Onfroy de Bréville, having been placed in charge of the first section of the company's proposed line between Paris and Amiens, produced a report that considered two different options for the terminal station. Management opted to construct the less spacious of the two options, despite the occurrence of stations serving capital city becoming overwhelmed already being a known phenomenon in both London and Brussels. For his part, de Bréville promoted the smaller option as being more than adequate to meet demand and reducing its impact on the existing neighbourhood of Clos Saint-Lazare; it was also considerably cheaper than the larger alternative option.

The engineer and architect Francois-Leonce Reynaud was appointed to design the station itself. In terms of its basic configuration, the station accommodated a total of six tracks and two large platforms underneath a single shed. This shed, which was divided into two naves, was supported by a series of cast iron columns and wooden trusses; the structure featured a relatively distinctive drainage system that used the hollow columns as drain pipes directly into the city's sewers. Road traffic was directed to a large courtyard set to the side of the station.

On 14 June 1846, the first Gare du Nord station was inaugurated; that same year, the Paris–Lille railway was also declared to be operational. During the following decade, not only was there a major boom in railway traffic as the French network rapidly expanded, Napoleon III himself heavily advocated for grand investments in infrastructure to be made, with the railways being a prime recipient of the French state's attention. During the late 1850s, it had become clear that the original Gare du Nord would be far too small to accommodate the demands of a major terminal station, thus it was decided to replace it entirely. The decision to redevelop the station was considerably eased by the expense of doing so being shared between the company and the city. Accordingly, the station building was partially demolished in 1860 to provide space for the current station; the original station's façade was removed and transferred to Lille station (now Lille-Flandres).

Current station
The chairman of the Chemin de Fer du Nord railway company, James Mayer de Rothschild, chose the French architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff to design the current station. Construction of the new complex was carried out between May 1861 to December 1865; the new station actually opened for service while still under construction during 1864. The façade was designed around a triumphal arch and used many slabs of stone. The building has the usual U-shape of a terminus station. The main support beam is made out of cast iron. The support pillars inside the station were made at Alston & Gourley's ironworks in Glasgow in the United Kingdom, the only country with a foundry large enough for the task.

The sculptural display represents the principal cities served by the company. Eight of the nine most majestic statues, crowning the building along the cornice line, illustrate destinations outside France, with the ninth figure of Paris in the centre. Fourteen more modest statues representing northern European cities are lower on the façade. The sculptors represented are:

 * London and Vienna by Jean-Louis Jaley
 * Brussels and Warsaw by François Jouffroy
 * Amsterdam by Charles Gumery
 * Frankfurt by Gabriel Thomas
 * Berlin by Jean-Joseph Perraud
 * Cologne by Mathurin Moreau
 * Paris, Boulogne and Compiegne by Pierre-Jules Cavelier
 * Arras and Laon by Théodore-Charles Gruyère
 * Lille and Beauvais by Charles-François Lebœuf
 * Valenciennes and Calais by Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire
 * Rouen and Amiens by Eugène-Louis Lequesne
 * Douai and Dunkirk by Gustave Crauck
 * Cambrai and Saint-Quentin by Auguste Ottin

It was originally planned that a monumental avenue would be constructed leading up to the station's façade, cutting through the old street layout. Between 1838 and 1859, around a dozen separate proposals to redevelop the streets around Gare du Nord were tabled. However, no such redevelopment ever happened despite the extensive rebuilding of Paris headed by the Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann; the Gare du Nord's absence from Haussmann's work has been referred to as "exhibiting arbitrariness and inconsistency". According to the railway historian Micheline Nilsen, the decision not to proceed with the redevelopment has been typically attributed to Haussmann and his personal displeasure that the city would have to bear such great expense on behalf of the Gare du Nord, and that Haussmann's overall attitude led to a pronounced understatement of the railways. Whatever the reason, the station has persistently suffered problems with a lack of space and poor access.

Services
Like other Parisian railway stations, the Gare du Nord rapidly proved to be too small to handle persistent increases in railway traffic. Accordingly, the station has been periodically reconfigured. During 1884, engineers were able to install five supplementary tracks. During 1889, the station's interior was completely rebuilt, while an extension was constructed along its eastern side to serve the suburban rail lines. Further rounds of expansion work were carried out between the 1930s and the 1960s.

Beginning in 1906 and 1908, the station was served by the Metro Line 4 (which crosses Paris from north to south) and the terminus of Metro Line 5 (which ran to Étoile through Place d'Italie. In 1942, Line 5 was extended towards the northern suburbs of Pantin and Bobigny, while its south terminus was set to Place d'Italie. Metro Line 2 (station La Chapelle) is linked to the Gare du Nord by a long, arched circular underground passageway.

During 1994, the arrival of high speed Eurostar international services required another reorganisation of the rail tracks:
 * Tracks 1 and 2: Service platforms, not open to the public.
 * Tracks 3 to 6: Eurostar trains to/from London. Access to these trains is from the upper level after border controls.
 * Tracks 7 and 8: Eurostar trains to/from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
 * Tracks 9 to 21: TGV and TER Hauts-de-France
 * Tracks 30 to 36 (Suburban station extension): Transilien Lines H and K
 * Tracks 41 and 44 (underground, level -3): RER D
 * Tracks 42 and 43 (underground, level -3): RER B

It is also connected to the Gare du Nord Métro station (Line 4 and Line 5, 2 platforms), La Chapelle Métro station (Line 2, 2 platforms) and Magenta station (RER E, 4 platforms).

After the 'Additional Protocol to the Sangatte Protocol' was signed by France and the United Kingdom on 29 May 2000, juxtaposed controls were set up in the station. Eurostar passengers travelling to the UK clear exit checks from the Schengen Area (carried out by the French Border Police) as well as UK entry checks (conducted by the UK Border Force) in the station before boarding their train. PARAFE self-service gates are available in the station which eligible passengers (EU, EEA and Swiss citizens aged 12 or above holding biometric passports) can use to clear French exit immigration checks (instead of a staffed counter). ePassport gates have also been installed in the station, which eligible passengers (UK, EU, EEA, Swiss, Australian, Canadian, Japanese, New Zealand, Singaporean, South Korean and United States citizens as well as other foreign nationals who have applied for the Registered Traveller scheme aged 12 or over holding biometric passports) can use to clear UK entry immigration instead of a staffed counter.

By 2015, the Gare du Nord was reportedly the busiest railway station in Europe, handling in excess of 700,000 passengers during a typical day. Most of these passengers are commuters travelling in from the northern suburbs of Paris and outlying towns; only 3 per cent of the traffic has been attributed to Eurostar's international services.

There is a further construction project to build a connecting underground passageway between Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est, which is projected to open in 2025. When open the Gare du Nord-Gare de l'Est complex (including Magenta & La Chapelle) will have 77 platforms.

Security for the station is provided by the French police, the railways police and private security companies. Due to the position of the station as a gateway to the northern suburbs of Paris, there are some parts of the station where security incidents occur from time to time.

Refurbishment
The SNCF has long sought to improve the station to better handle traffic, particularly following the expansion of high speed rail services during the 1990s and 2000s accompanied by rising passenger numbers. By 2015, 700,000 passengers were using the Gare du Nord each day; projections produced in 2018 predicted these numbers to rise to 800,000 by 2024 and 900,000 by 2030. During 2015, the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte was engaged by SNCF with the directive to "open the station towards the city". According to SNCF Project Director Stéphane Cougnon, the programme has a budget in excess of 600 million euros (£526m). The endeavour has the public backing of Paris's mayor, Anne Hidalgo, who has also pledged to address the frequent traffic problems in front of the station by reconfiguring its approaches. Critics of the redevelopment have included several architects and urban planners, who have typically objected to the high level of commercialisation involved.

The changes to the Gare du Nord shall be substantial, expanding its footprint to roughly two and a half times its pre-refurbishment footprint, turning it into the largest railway station in Europe. The expansion shall be facilitated largely by increasing the building's height, as well as by pulling back the outer walls in several places. The work shall build upon the existing philosophy of keeping arriving and departing passengers separated; all mainline departures are to be centralised within a new building alongside the eastern façade. To improve the station's interconnectivity with the rest of the city, the SNCF has reportedly considered the construction of a new eastern façade along the rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis to give direct access to the new departures terminal, as well as a new bus terminal.

Various new onsite amenities shall be provisioned across 50000 m2 of floorspace, representing a five-fold increase. Amongst the various retailers and commercial operations planned are two restaurants that are to operate on the station's roof, along with a gym, tennis court, putting range, 1000 m fitness trail along the façade, and in excess of 7000 m2 of green space. To improve accessibility throughout, a total of 55 lifts and 105 escalators shall be installed, more than doubling the pre-redevelopment number. Eco-friendly considerations have also been made, conforming with the demanding BREEAM standards and incorporating features such as 3200 m2 of solar panels. Despite the ambitious scope, great care shall be taken to preserving its historic architecture and appearance, the station having been regarded as a national heritage site in its own right. The project has reportedly been modelled using several other major stations, including London St Pancras and New York's Grand Central Terminal.

During June 2019, a city commission opted to initially deny a construction permit associated with the project. Nonetheless, work commenced on the refurbishment during late 2019, and is scheduled to be completed during late 2023. The station will remain open during the renovations despite the increased technical challenge posed by doing so, the cost of closure being judged to be too great. Substantial planning has gone into minimising disruption and maximising passenger comfort throughout the programme. Some portions of the station, such as the relatively recent facilities for Eurostar services, shall remain relatively untouched. In addition to work on the station site itself, SNCF shall be making alterations along the entire northern corridor within this period in association with the redevelopment work. It is reportedly intended for the station's refurbishment to be completed by 2024, the year in which Paris is to host the Olympic Games.

In popular culture
The Gare du Nord has served as a backdrop in numerous French films, such as Les Poupées Russes.

In Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love, Linda first meets Fabrice in the Gare du Nord when she runs out of resources and is sitting weeping on her suitcase.

In US movies, both the exterior and the interior of the Gare du Nord are seen in the 2002 film The Bourne Identity with Matt Damon and again in the trilogy's finale, The Bourne Ultimatum, released in August 2007. It was also seen in Ocean's Twelve in 2004, and Mr Bean's Holiday in 2007. The ending of the 2012 movie The Raven by James McTeigue takes place at the station.

Scenes of Gossip Girl episode "Double Identity" were shot inside the Gare du Nord.

Train services
The following services currently call at Paris Nord:

 * High speed services (Eurostar)
 * Paris – London
 * Paris – Brussels – Amsterdam
 * Paris – Brussels – Cologne – Düsseldorf – Essen – Dortmund
 * High speed services (TGV)
 * Paris – Lille – Tourcoing
 * Paris – Lille – Calais – Boulogne – Rang-du-Fliers
 * Paris – Lille – Dunkerque
 * Paris – Arras – Béthune – Dunkerque
 * Paris – Arras – Douai – Valenciennes
 * Regional services (Transilien)
 * Line H: Paris – Saint-Denis – Montsoult-Maffliers – Luzarches
 * Line H: Paris – Saint-Denis – Montsoult-Maffliers – Persan-Beaumont
 * Line H: Paris – Saint-Denis – Ermont-Eaubonne – Persan-Beaumont
 * Line H: Paris – Saint-Denis – Ermont-Eaubonne – Pontoise
 * Line K: Paris – Aulnay-sous-Bois – Mitry-Claye – Crépy-en-Valois
 * Regional services (TER Hauts-de-France)
 * Paris – Crépy-en-Valois – Soissons – Laon
 * Paris – Creil – Compiègne – Tergnier – Saint-Quentin
 * Paris – Persan-Beaumont – Beauvais
 * Paris – Orry-la-Ville – Creil – Saint-Just-en-Chaussée – Breteuil – Amiens

RER
Gare du Nord is connected to the Paris RER network.

Line B stops at tracks 42 and 43, while Line D stops at tracks 41 and 44. All four tracks are located on level -3, under the main station. Line B trains serve either Charles de Gaulle Airport or Mitry – Claye north of the city, and Antony (for Orly Airport), Massy-Palaiseau (for Massy TGV) or Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse south of the city. Line D offers a quick connection between Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon and many areas of south-east Paris. Line D also operates to northern Paris, to Saint-Denis and Creil. Both lines also serve Stade de France in Saint-Denis.

The RER station is directly connected to Magenta station, served by the RER E line. The underground connecting tunnel can be accessed from levels -1 or -2. The RER E offers a link between the Gare du Nord and Saint-Lazare/Gare Saint-Lazare and to eastern Paris, to Bondy, Chelles and Tournan-en-Brie.

Paris Métro
The Gare du Nord station of the Paris Metro is served by lines 4 and 5 and can be reached through underground connecting tunnels can be accessed from levels -1 or -2. Both stations offer a connection between Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est.

There is also a connection to La Chapelle station on Line 2 of the Paris Metro. An underground connecting tunnel can be accessed on level -2.

title: Gare du Nord


text:
Fama Fraternitatis

Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis (Report of the Fraternity of the Rose Cross) is an anonymous Rosicrucian manifesto published in 1614 in Kassel, Hesse-Kassel (in present-day Germany). In 1652, Thomas Vaughan translated the work into English. An Italian edition was published as an appendix of the 77th Advertisement (part), under the title Generale Riforma dell' Universo (Universal Reformation of Mankind), from a German translation of Bocallini's Ragguagli di Parnasso (Advertisements from Parnassus). The Fama was soon published in a separate form.

The book is considered to be one of the three foundational manifestos of Rosicrucianism, and inspired Rosicrucian organizations such as Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross (1750s–1790s) and Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (1865–present).

The Legend
The Fama tells the story of the "Father C.R." (later referred to in the text as "C.R.C.") and his ill-fated pilgrimage to Jerusalem; his subsequent tutelage by the secret sages of the East, the wise men of Damcar (Dhamar) in Arabia, from whom he learned the ancient esoteric knowledge which included the study of physics, mathematics, magic and kabbalah; his return through Egypt and Fes, and his presence among the alumbrados in Spain. It is thought in occultism that Rosenkreuz's pilgrimage seems to refer to transmutation steps of the Great Work.

After his arrival to Germany, Father C.R. and other Brothers established an esoteric Christian Fraternity: "The Fraternity of the Rose Cross". The Brothers of the Fraternity were sent on mission throughout the world, having as their first priority to use their esoteric knowledge to cure the sick free of charge ("gratis"), not wearing any special clothing, and met once each year in the mysterious "House of the Holy Spirit".

The Legend shows an agreement with six articles that they drew up prior to their separation, bounding themselves one to another to keep:

 * 1) That none of them should profess any other thing than to cure the sick, and that gratis.
 * 2) None of the posterity should be constrained to wear one kind of habit, but to follow the custom of the country.
 * 3) Every year, upon the day C., they would meet together at the house Santi Spiritus, or write the cause of their absence.
 * 4) Every Brother should seek a worthy person to succeed him after his death.
 * 5) The word CR should be their seal, mark, and character.
 * 6) The Fraternity should remain secret one hundred years.

Although Father C.R.C. is often identified as the allegorical character of Christian Rosenkreuz from the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, the Fama Fraternitatis does not identify him as such in the text.

List of names in the Legend
The Legend presented in the Manifestos has been interpreted through centuries as texts full of symbolism. Rosicrucians clearly adopted through the Manifestos the Pythagorean tradition of envisioning objects and ideas in terms of their numeric aspects, and, on the other hand, they directly state in the Confessio Fraternitatis: "We speak unto you by parables, but would willingly bring you to the right, simple, easy and ingenuous exposition, understanding, declaration, and knowledge of all secrets."

In the narrative

 * C.R.
 * 1) I. A.
 * 2) G.V.
 * 3) R.C. (C.R.C.'s deceased father's brother's son): (see also description in the vault below).''
 * 4) B. (a skillful painter)
 * 5) I.O. (P.A. was his successor)
 * 6) P.D. (A. was his successor, and N.N. was in turn A's successor)
 * 7) R. (successor to C.R.C.)
 * 8) G.G.

The sentence "C.R.C.'s deceased father's brother's son" has always been a deeply enigmatic one. There is the possibility that it may refer to the rebirth process, a central tenet teaching of groups having, or claiming to have, a Rosicrucian philosophy. This would imply that "Father C.R.", possibly of the 13th and 14th centuries, would have been reborn to "R.C.", becoming the 14th and 15th century C.R.C. in the Manifestos. This appears to confirm what several later sources wrote about the Rosicrucian movement:
 * According to the founder of Anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner, the Mystery of the foundation of the Rosicrucian Order in the early 14th century relates to the birth of Christian Rosenkreuz in the 13th century, and his later rebirth in the 14th century.
 * According to Maurice Magre, in Magicians, Seers, and Mystics, derived from local oral tradition, Christian Rosenkreuz was the last descendant of the Germelschausen, a German family that flourished in the 13th century. Their Castle stood in the Thuringian Forest on the Border of Hesse and they had embraced Albigense's doctrines, combining pagan superstitions and Christian beliefs.
 * According to the Rosicrucian Initiate Max Heindel, the foundation of the Order of the Rose Cross occurred in 1313, early 14th century.
 * According to Mason Albert Pike, and later metaphysician René Guénon and the scholar Manly Palmer Hall, the "Adepts of the Rose-Croix" are for the first time expounded in Dante's Divine Comedy (1308–1321).

In C.R.C.'s vault

 * 1) Fra. I.A. Fra. Ch. electione Fraternitatis caput. [elected head of Fraternity]: possibly Iohann Andreae (1586–1654)?
 * 2) Fra. G.V. M.P.G.
 * 3) Fra. F.R.C. Junior haeres S. Spiritus [younger heir of the house of the holy spirit]:
 * 4) Fra. F.B. M.P.A. Pictor et Architectus [painter and architect]:  possibly Francis Bacon (1561–1626)?

"Secundi Circuli"
 * 1) Fra. P.A. Successor to Fra. I.O., Mathematicus
 * 2) Fra. A. Successor to Fra. P.D.
 * 3) Fra. R. Successor to Patris C.R.C., cum Christo Triumphantis [with Christ Triumphant]

The enigmatic "Fra. F.R.C." in the vault (the "R.C." in the narrative, see above) is mentioned as "heir"; this statement "younger heir of the house of the holy spirit" seems to provide evidence of the intimate relation to "Father C.R.", possibly meaning "Father R.C." [forming the C.R.C. initials]:
 * The poet Fernando Pessoa — known defender of Masonic and Rosicrucian ideals and possible Rosicrucian Initiate, as he states "Initiated from Master to Disciple in the three minor degrees of the (apparently extinct) Portuguese Templar Order" (Rosicrucians seem to have had a deep presence in Portugal, intermixed with Templar tradition, and with evidence in monuments and literature, from medieval times into the 20th century) — wrote an hermetic poem titled "No Túmulo de Christian Rosenkreutz" [In the Tomb of C.R.C], which states in the final line/verse: "Our Father Rose-n-c[k]reuz [Rosaecruz] knows and keeps silent", which may attribute the whole key to the understanding of the "Fama" to the enigmatic character described as "R.C." or "F.R.C".
 * The sentence "cum Christo Triumphantis" [with Christ Triumphant] may imply that the central meaning of the "Fama" is to give an account of the final achievement into the "Great Work" (the Philosopher's Stone of the alchemists, or the Holy Grail of the Templars) by C.R.C., Christian Rosenkreuz. This seems to describe that the symbolism of the unification of the "Rose" and the "Cross" (Christian Rose Cross), in the Legend, implies the existence of a Christic state (Christ, the Light of the World), which includes liberation from the cycle of births and deaths, comparable and higher than the Buddhic state (Buddha, the Light of Asia) described in the eastern sacred literature. This "Christic" process and state is pointed by major occultists as being described in some major Western literary works as the 14th-century Divine Comedy or the 16th-century The Lusiads, and, it is also, to some extent, explained in the Rosicrucian literature known as Western Wisdom Teachings.

Origin
In his book The True Story of the Rosicrucians historian Tobias Churton brought to light new documents that prove the Fama was written by a group of Lutheran scholars at Tübingen in which Andreae took an active part. After one manuscript written in 1612, which was intended to be circulated privately escaped their control, the movement took on a life of its own, prompting new theories and pure speculations such as those brought forward by Émile Dantinne (1884–1969) who theorised that the origins of the Rosicrucians might have had an Islamic connection. Rosenkreuz started his pilgrimage at the age of sixteen. This led him to Arabia, Egypt and Morocco, where he came into contact with sages of the East who revealed to him the "universal harmonic science". After learning Arabic philosophy in Jerusalem, he was led to Damcar. This place remains a mystery — it did not become Damascus, but is somewhere not too far from Jerusalem. Then he stopped briefly in Egypt. Soon afterwards, he embarked to Fes, a center of philosophical and occult studies, such as the alchemy of Abu-Abdallah, Gabir ben Hayan and Imam Jafar al Sadiq, the astrology and magic of Ali-ash-Shabramallishi, and the esoteric science of Abdarrahman ben Abdallah al Iskari. However, Dantinne states that Rosenkreuz may have found his secrets amongst the Brethren of Purity, a society of philosophers that had formed in Basra (Iraq) in the 10th century. Their doctrine had its source in the study of the ancient Greek philosophers, but it became more neo-Pythagorean. They adopted the Pythagorean tradition of envisioning objects and ideas in terms of their numeric aspects. Their theurgy and esoteric knowledge is expounded in an epistolary style in the Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity.

The Brethren of Purity and the Sufis were united in many points of doctrine. They both were mystical orders deriving from Quranic theology but supplanting dogma with a faith in the Divine Reality. There were many similarities between the Rosicrucian way as expressed in the manifestos and the way of life of the Brethren of Purity. Neither group wore special clothing, both practiced abstinence, they healed the sick, and they offered their teachings free of charge. Similarities also were evident in the doctrinal elements of their theurgy and the story of creation in terms of emanationism. However, if one studies the Fama which was written by Lutherans, the main idea of Islamic connection is easily disproved. What was intended with the Fama was a novel in which the idea of reformation of Sciences and Arts in which a Hermetic tradition of European origin is well established.

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

title: Fama Fraternitatis


text:
Karol J. Bobko

Karol Joseph "Bo" Bobko (December 23, 1937 – August 17, 2023) was an American aerospace engineer, U.S. Air Force officer, test pilot, and a USAF and NASA astronaut. Bobko was the first graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy to travel in space and the first person to fly on a space shuttle on three different missions: STS-6, STS-51-D, STS-51-J.

Early life and education
Colonel Bobko was born on December 23, 1937, in Queens, New York, to a family with Polish and Lithuanian roots. He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1955 before receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Air Force Academy in 1959. In 1970, he earned a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California.

Military service
Bobko was a member of the first graduating class of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Subsequent to receiving his commission and navigator rating, he attended pilot training at Bartow Air Base, Florida, and Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. He completed his flight training and received his pilot wings in 1960.

From 1961 to 1965, he flew F-100 and F-105 aircraft while assigned as a pilot with the 523d Tactical Fighter Squadron at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, and the 336th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. He attended the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and was assigned as an astronaut to the USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program in 1966.

Bobko logged over 6,600 hours flight time in the F-100, F-104, F-105, T-33, T-38, and other aircraft.

NASA career
Bobko became part of NASA Astronaut Group 7 in September 1969 after the cancellation of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) program. He was a crewmember on the highly successful Skylab Medical Experiment Altitude Test (SMEAT) – a 56-day ground simulation of the Skylab mission, enabling crewmen to collect medical experiments baseline data and evaluate equipment, operations and procedures.

Bobko was a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). This historic first international manned space flight was completed in July 1975. Subsequently, he was a member of the support crew for the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests conducted at Edwards Air Force Base. He served alternately as CAPCOM and prime chase pilot during these Approach and Landing Test (ALT) flights.

In preparation for the first flight of Columbia (STS-1) Bobko served as the lead astronaut in the test and checkout group at Kennedy Space Center.

A veteran of three space flights, Bobko logged a total of 386 hours in space. He was the first graduate of the US Air Force Academy to travel in space and the first astronaut to fly on three different shuttle missions. He was the pilot on STS-6 (April 4–9, 1983); and was the mission commander on STS-51-D (April 12–19, 1985) and STS-51-J (October 3–7, 1985).

Spaceflight experience
Bobko was pilot for STS-6, which launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on April 4, 1983. During the maiden voyage of Challenger, the crew deployed a large communications satellite (TDRS-1) and the rocket stage (Inertial Upper Stage) required to boost it to geosynchronous orbit. The STS-6 crew also conducted the first Shuttle spacewalk (EVA) and additionally conducted numerous other experiments in materials processing and the recording of lightning activities from space. There were also three Getaway Specials activated on the flight. After 120 hours of orbital operations, Challenger landed on the concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California, on April 9, 1983.

On his second mission, Bobko was the commander of STS-51-D which launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 1985. The mission was to deploy two communications satellites, perform electrophoresis and echocardiograph operations in space, in addition to accomplishing other experiments. When one of the communications satellites malfunctioned, the first unscheduled spacewalk was made to activate the satellite which required rendezvous and operations with the remote manipulator arm. After 168 hours of orbital operations, Discovery landed on Runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center on April 19, 1985.

Bobko's final flight was as commander of STS-51-J, the second Space Shuttle Department of Defense mission, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on October 3, 1985. This mission carried classified payloads for the Department of Defense and was the second time that a Shuttle mission was used solely for Department of Defense activities. This was the maiden voyage of Atlantis. After 98 hours of orbital operations, Atlantis landed on Edwards Air Force Base Lakebed Runway 23 on October 7, 1985. Bobko became the first person to fly on three different Space Shuttles. He was the only astronaut to have flown on the maiden flights of two Space Shuttles.

Post-NASA career
In 1988, Bobko retired from NASA and the Air Force to join the firm of Booz Allen Hamilton, in Houston, Texas. At Booz Allen he was a principal and managed efforts dealing with human space flight. His areas of emphasis were: high performance training simulation, hardware and software systems engineering, spacecraft checkout and testing, space station development and program integration.

In 2000, Bobko joined SPACEHAB, Inc. in Houston, Texas, where he was Vice President for Strategic Programs. He led an organization that develops concepts, processes and hardware for future spaceflight applications. In 2005, Bobko joined Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) as Program Manager for the NASA Ames Research Center Simulation Laboratories (SimLabs) contract.

Personal life and death
Bobko was married to F. Dianne Welsh and had a daughter and a son. He resided with his wife in Half Moon Bay, California.

Bobko died of complications of an unspecified degenerative disease of the nervous system in Half Moon Bay on August 17, 2023, at age 85.

Awards and honors

 * Defense Superior Service Medal
 * Legion of Merit
 * Distinguished Flying Cross
 * Defense Meritorious Service Medal
 * Meritorious Service Medals (2; 1970 and 1979)
 * NASA Exceptional Service Medals (2)
 * NASA Space Flight Medals (3)
 * Johnson Space Center Group Achievement Awards (6)
 * Air Force Academy Jabara Award (1983)
 * Cradle of Aviation Museum Long Island Air & Space Hall of Fame
 * U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame (May 7, 2011).
 * Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (2020)

title: Karol J. Bobko


text:
Ice Station Zebra (novel)

Ice Station Zebra is a 1963 thriller novel written by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It marked a return to MacLean's classic Arctic setting. After completing this novel, whose plot line parallels real-life events during the Cold War, MacLean retired from writing for three years. In 1968 it was loosely adapted into a film of the same name.

Plot
Drift ice Station Zebra, a British meteorological station built on an ice floe in the Arctic Sea, suffers a catastrophic oil fire; several of its men die, and their shelter and supplies are destroyed. The survivors take refuge in one hut with little food and heat.

The (fictional) American nuclear-powered submarine USS Dolphin is dispatched on a rescue mission. Just before she departs, Dr. Carpenter, the narrator, is sent to accompany her. Carpenter's background is unknown, but he claims that he is an expert in dealing with frostbite and other deep-cold medical conditions, and he carries orders from the Chief of Naval Operations of the United States Navy. Commander Swanson, the Dolphin submarine captain, is suspicious of Carpenter, and calls in his superior Admiral Garvie. Garvie refuses to allow Carpenter on board without knowing his mission. Under duress, Carpenter finally reveals that the ice station is actually a highly equipped listening post, keeping watch for nuclear missile launches from the Soviet Union, a statement which convinces the commander and the admiral.

Dolphin reaches the Arctic ice-pack, and dives under it. She surfaces in a break in the ice and succeeds in making tenuous radio contact with Ice Station Zebra. Carpenter confides to the Captain that the commander of the station is his brother. Having obtained a bearing on the station, Dolphin dives again, and succeeds in finding a lead 5 mi from the station and breaks through a crack in the ice above. Carpenter, Executive Officer Hansen, and two crewmen are put above on the icepack and make the journey to the station through an Arctic storm on foot, taking with them as many supplies as they can. They reach Zebra after a near-impossible trek, and find that eight of the men on the station are dead, while the 11 others are barely alive. Investigating the corpses, Carpenter finds that one of them has been shot. They find that their radio has been damaged, and so Carpenter and Hansen return to Dolphin. The US submarine moves close to the station, and finding no open water, blows a hole in the ice using a torpedo.

The sick men are cared for by Dolphin. Carpenter does some more investigating, and finds that the fire was no accident; it was a cover to hide that three of the dead men, one of whom was his brother, were murdered. He also discovers several unburned supplies hidden in the bottom of a hut, while Swanson finds a gun hidden in a petrol tank. The surviving members of Zebra are brought on board the Dolphin, and the station is abandoned. While still under the ice, a fire breaks out in the engine room and the sub is forced to shut down its nuclear reactor. The crew succeeds in saving the ship, after several hours of hard labour, and thanks to Swanson's ingenuity.

Carpenter calls a meeting of the survivors, and announces that the fire was no accident. He reveals that he is an MI6 officer, and that his real mission was to retrieve photographic film from a reconnaissance satellite (see Corona) that has photographed every missile base in the US. The film had been ejected from the satellite so that Soviet agents operating under cover at Zebra could retrieve it; Carpenter's brother had been sent to the station to prevent this. Carpenter reveals the identity of the Soviet agents, and arrests them.

The film of the US bases is recovered, but Carpenter has switched the film on the Soviets. The film they successfully sent to the Soviet surface ships is actually photographs of cartoon characters on the walls of the submarine's sick bay.

Background and origin of plot
The novel was influenced by the heightened atmosphere of the Cold War, with its escalating series of international crises in the late 1950s and early 1960s, such as the U-2 incident; West Berlin; unrest in Hungary, Indochina, Congo, and Latin America; and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The novel exploits contemporary fascination with the under-the-ice exploits of such American nuclear-powered submarines as USS Nautilus (SSN-571) (first to pass under the North Pole), USS Skate (SSN-578), USS Sargo (SSN-583) and USS Seadragon (SSN-584). MacLean may have been anticipating the excitement of his British readers regarding the upcoming commissioning of HMS Dreadnought (S101), the Royal Navy's first nuclear submarine. Also, MacLean may have been influenced by press reports about the nuclear-powered submarine USS Skate visiting Ice Station Alpha, located on Ice Island T-3 in the Arctic, on 14 August 1958, as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY)''. At the time that the novel was published, under-the-ice operations by US Navy nuclear-powered submarines were prohibited until SUBSAFE measures had been implemented following the loss of USS Thresher (SSN-593).

Ice Station Zebra also uses the accelerating Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union as the backdrop for the novel, and may have been directly inspired by news accounts from 17 April 1959, about a missing experimental Corona satellite capsule (Discoverer 2) that inadvertently landed near Spitzbergen on 13 April and may have been recovered by Soviet agents. In 2006 the National Reconnaissance Office declassified information stating that "an individual formerly possessing CORONA access was the technical adviser to the movie" and admitted "the resemblance of the loss of the DISCOVERER II capsule, and its probable recovery by the Soviets" on Spitsbergen Island, to the book by Alistair MacLean.

The story has parallels with CIA Operation Cold Feet, which took place in May/June 1962. In this operation, two American officers parachuted from a CIA-operated Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress to an abandoned Soviet ice station. After searching the station, they were picked up three days later by the B-17 using the Fulton Sky hook system.

Finally, MacLean even mentions the newly-operational Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker SOVIET ICEBREAKER Lenin by involving the ship in an aborted attempt to reach the survivors at Drift Ice Station Zebra.

Maclean says he got much of the technical information of the novel from the book Nautilus 90 North by William Anderson.

Reception
The New York Times called it "an exciting adventure". Another review said Maclean's "gift for sustained excitement is remarkable."

1968 film
The novel was later very loosely adapted into the 1968 John Sturges film of the same name starring Rock Hudson. The most obvious changes involved the names of the novel's characters:

 * The nuclear submarine Dolphin became USS Tigerfish.
 * The British spy Dr. Carpenter was renamed David Jones, portrayed by Patrick McGoohan.
 * Commander Swanson was changed to Commander Ferraday, portrayed by Hudson.

Additional characters were added, including a US Marine platoon trained in Arctic warfare:

 * Soviet defector Boris Vaslov, portrayed by Ernest Borgnine
 * Marine Captain Leslie Anders, portrayed by Jim Brown
 * 1st Lt. Russell Walker, portrayed by Tony Bill

Much of the novel's characterisation involving the submarine's crew was jettisoned in favour of these new cinematic creations. Also all characters from the Ice Station Zebra in the novel were removed. They were claimed to have died in the fire, notably two main villains who had caused the fire in the first place. Also removed were all references to Dr. Carpenter's brother.

Beyond the name change, the film's submarine has a design similar to the first nuclear-powered submarine, Nautilus, rather than the more streamlined, teardrop-shaped vessel, either the contemporaneous Skipjack-class submarine or Permit design, that was described in the novel. In the movie, the fire on the drift Ice Station was explained away as accidental.

The Soviet interest in recovering the lost spy satellite is shown early in the film when a spy ship disguised as a fishing trawler waits outside Holy Loch when the Tigerfish sets sail. The nearly fatal flooding of the forward torpedo room, before the intermission, is the only time in the film where the submarine is shown to be in jeopardy, unlike the novel where a fire in the engine room nearly kills the entire crew. The film does not show the return trip of the submarine. In the novel, the survivors of Ice Station Zebra are rescued and it is on the return trip that the saboteur of the station sets fire to the engine room in an attempt to get the satellite pictures out. The film's climax involves a superpower confrontation between Soviet paratroopers and the US Marines at Ice Station Zebra itself, but concludes on a much more ambiguous note than the novel, reflecting the perceived thaw in the Cold War following the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Remake
On 6 May 2013, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Warner Bros. will undertake a remake of Ice Station Zebra, with Christopher McQuarrie signed to direct and write the screenplay for the film.

Popular culture
The novel is referenced in the 19th episode of the second season of Perfect Strangers, Snow Way to Treat a Lady, Part 2. After a second avalanche during the night while everyone was sleeping, Larry wakes up in the morning in discomfort. he pulls a book from under him and reads the title "Ice Station Zebra?", and throws it aside.

The novel is referenced in "The Leadership Breakfast", the eleventh episode of the second season of The West Wing. While building a fire, Josh Lyman (played by Bradley Whitford) says, "It's like Ice Station Zebra in here."

The novel is parodied in the Sealab 2021 third-season episode, "Frozen Dinner". The Sealab crew must rescue scientists aboard Ice Station Zebra, a research station on top of an ice floe. The ice floe has turned upside down and trapped the two men, while the Sealab crew tries to rescue them in a submarine. While the scientists immediately turn to cannibalism, the Sealab sub – led by a German crew resembling that from Das Boot – predictably fumbles the rescue.

The movie adaptation of the novel is referenced in The Big Bang Theory Episode 23 of season 2 "The Monopolar Expedition".

Howard Hughes's obsession with the movie adaptation of the novel is referenced in "I Wanna Be a Boss", a 1991 song by American singer-songwriter Stan Ridgway.

In 2018 Jack White released a song with the title "Ice Station Zebra".

In the eighth episode of the second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, "Better Call Saul", there is a scene where the character Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, asks his new client, Badger, played by Matt L. Jones, to send him a money order payable to "Ice Station Zebra Associates", the company name Saul Goodman uses for his loan out for tax purposes.

In the first season of the British cartoon "Danger Mouse", the 11th episode "Ice Station Camel" is a clear reference to the novel.

title: Ice Station Zebra (novel)


text:
Alexandru Averescu

Alexandru Averescu (9 March 1859 – 2 October 1938) was a Romanian marshal, diplomat and populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as Prime Minister of three separate cabinets (as well as being interim Foreign Minister in January–March 1918 and Minister without portfolio in 1938). He first rose to prominence during the peasants' revolt of 1907, which he helped repress with violence. Credited with engineering the defense of Moldavia in the 1916–1917 Campaign, he built on his popularity to found and lead the successful People's Party, which he brought to power in 1920–1921, with backing from King Ferdinand I and the National Liberal Party (PNL), and with the notable participation of Constantin Argetoianu and Take Ionescu.

His controversial first mandate, marked by a political crisis and oscillating support from the PNL's leader Ion I. C. Brătianu, played a part in legislating land reform and repressed communist activities, before being brought down by the rally of opposition forces. His second term of 1926–1927 brought a much-debated treaty with Fascist Italy, and fell after Averescu gave clandestine backing to the ousted Prince Carol. Faced with the People Party's decline, Averescu closed deals with various right-wing forces and was instrumental in bringing Carol back to the throne in 1930. Relations between the two soured over the following years, and Averescu clashed with his fellow party member Octavian Goga over the king's attitudes. Shortly before his death, he and Carol reconciled, and Averescu joined the Crown Council.

Averescu, who authored over 12 works on various military topics (including his memoirs from the frontline), was also an honorary member of the Romanian Academy and an Order of Michael the Brave recipient. He became a Marshal of Romania in 1930.

Early life and career
Averescu was born in Babele, United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later renamed to Alexandru Averescu, today Ozerne, Odesa Oblast, a village northwest of Izmail, Ukraine). The son of Constantin Averescu, who held the rank of sluger, he studied at the Romanian Orthodox seminary in Izmail, then at the School of Arts and Crafts in Bucharest (intending to become an engineer). In 1876, he decided to join the Gendarmes in Izmail.

Seeing action as a cavalry sergeant with the Romanian troops engaged in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, he was decorated on several occasions, but was later moved to reserve (after failing his medical examination due to the effects of frostbite). He was, however, reinstated later in 1878, and subsequently received a military education in Romania, at the military school of Târgoviște (Dealu Monastery), and in Italy, at the Military Academy of Turin. Averescu married an Italian opera singer, Clotilda Caligaris, who had been the prima donna of La Scala. His future collaborator and rival Constantin Argetoianu stated that Averescu "chose Mrs. Clotilda at random".

Upon his return, Averescu steadily climbed through the ranks. He was head of the Bucharest Military Academy (1894–1895), and, in 1895–1898, Romania's military attaché in the German Empire; a colonel in 1901, he was advanced to the rank of brigadier general and became head of the Tecuci regional Army Command Center in 1906.

Before the World War, he led the troops in crushing the 1907 peasants' revolt — where he engaged in using very harsh means of repression, especially when dealing with soldiers who refused to fight against the rebels — and was subsequently Minister of War in Dimitrie Sturdza's National Liberal Party (PNL) cabinet (1907–1909). According to the recollections of Eliza Brătianu, a split occurred between him and the PNL after Averescu attempted to advance various political goals — the conflict erupted when he sought support with King Carol I and then, as the National Liberals deeply resented Romania's alliance with the Central Powers, he approached the Germans for backing.

Subsequently, he was commander of the First Infantry Division (stationed in Turnu Severin) and, later, of the Second Army Corps in Craiova. In 1912, he became a major general, and, in 1911–1913, he was Chief of the General Staff. In the latter capacity, Averescu organized the actions of Romanian troops operating south of the Danube in the Second Balkan War (the campaign against Bulgaria, during which his troops met no resistance).

World War and first cabinet
During the World War (which Romania entered in 1916), General Alexandru Averescu led the Second Romanian Army in the successful defense of the Predeal Pass, and was then moved to the head of the Third Army (following the latter's defeat in the Battle of Turtucaia). He commanded Army Group South in the Flămânda operation against the Third Bulgarian Army and other forces of the Central Powers, ultimately stopped by the German offensive (Averescu's forces did not register important losses, and orderly retreated to Moldavia, where Romanian authorities had taken refuge from the successful German operations).

Averescu again led the Second Army to victory in the Battle of Mărăști (August 1917); his achievements, including his brief breakthrough at Mărăști, were considered impressive by public opinion and his officers. However, several military historians rate Averescu and his fellow Romanian generals very poorly, arguing that, overall, their direction of the war "could not have been worse". Despite controlling an army of 500,000 plus 100,000 Russian reinforcements, they were defeated by a German-Austrian-Bulgarian army of 910,000 in less than four months of combat.

"'The strictness of General Averescu is well known in his army... There is no pardon for a coward, whoever he may be. I was present a few days ago at the execution of a wealthy young cavalry reserve officer. He retired his detachment from a position without reason or order; he was tried and shot four days later. If General Averescu is strict with delinquents, the brave know that they will find in him their best friend and protector. His contact with the army under him is so close that he gets to know of the smallest act of bravery, and rewards, as far as possible personally, the man who has done it.'"

Averescu was widely seen as the person behind a relatively successful resistance to further offensives on Moldavia (the single piece of territory still held by the Romanian state), and he was considered by many of his contemporaries to have stood in contrast to what was seen as endemic corruption and incompetence. The state of affairs, together with the October Revolution in Russia, was to be blamed for the eventual Romanian surrender to the Central Powers; promoted Premier by King Ferdinand I during the period of crisis, Averescu began armistice talks with August von Mackensen in Buftea and Focșani, but was vehemently opposed to the terms — he resigned, leaving the Alexandru Marghiloman cabinet when it signed the Treaty of Bucharest. Despite Averescu's talks yielding no result, he was repeatedly attacked by his political adversaries for having initiated them.

During the period, he also faced a Russian Bolshevik military action: just before Averescu came to power, as Russia's Leon Trotsky negotiated the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, the Rumcherod administrative body in Odessa, led by Christian Rakovsky, ordered an offensive from the east into Romania. In order to prevent further losses, Averescu signed his name to a much-criticized temporary armistice with the Rumcherod; eventually, Rakovsky was himself faced with a German offensive (sparked by the temporary breakdown of negotiations at Brest-Litovsk), and had to abandon both his command and the base in Odessa.

Character
Averescu quit the army in the spring of 1918, aiming for a career in politics — initially, with a message that was hostile to the National Liberal Party (PNL) and its leader Ion I. C. Brătianu.

He presided over the People's Party (initially named People's League), and he was immensely popular especially among peasants after the end of the war. His force had an appealing populist message, translated into vague promises and relying on the image of the General: peasants had been promised land at the beginning of the war (and they were being rewarded with it at the very moment, through an agrarian reform that reached its full scope in 1923); they had formed the larger part of the Army, and had come to see Averescu as the one to fulfill their expectations, as well as a figure who was still commanding their allegiance. Eliza Brătianu, the PNL leader's wife, placed Averescu's ascension in the context of Greater Romania's creation through the addition of Bessarabia, Bukovina, and Transylvania (while making use of the condescending National Liberal tone towards the Romanian National Party that was emerging triumphant in previously Austro-Hungarian Transylvania): "'[The] so very harsh losses [during the war], the defeats suffered by the Old Kingdom, the traces of foreign domination in the newly acquired provinces, but most of all the state of unhealthy euphoria that had taken hold of Transylvania, who had begun, in all good faith, to believe that only she had made the union happen, all of these have created a sort of insecurity within the borders of [Greater Romania].'"

As the movement initially tended to describe itself as a social trend rather than a political party, it also attracted former members of the Conservative Party (such as Constantin Argetoianu, Constantin Garoflid, and Take Ionescu), military men such as Constantin Coandă, the Democratic Nationalist Party leader A. C. Cuza, the notorious supporters of dirigisme Mihail Manoilescu and Ștefan Zeletin, the moderate nationalist Duiliu Zamfirescu, the future diplomat Citta Davila, the journalist D. R. Ioaniţescu, the left-wing agrarianist Petru Groza, the Bukovinian leader Iancu Flondor, and the lawyer Petre Papacostea. Additional support came from Transylvanian activists such as Octavian Goga and Teodor Mihail, who had previously left the Romanian National Party there in protest over the policies of its president Iuliu Maniu. Nevertheless, the People's Party did attempt to approach Maniu for an alliance at various intervals after summer 1919 (according to Argetoianu, their attempts were frustrated by King Ferdinand I, whose relationship with Maniu was cordial at the time, and who allegedly stated "Maniu is no one else's! Maniu is mine!").

The grouping also established close links with Garda Conștiinței Naționale (GCN, "The National Awareness Guard"), a reactionary group formed by the electrician Constantin Pancu, engaged in violence against communist activists in Iași (the latter were feared by Averescu as well). Nevertheless, in late 1919, Averescu and Argetoianu approached the Socialist Party of Romania and its associate, the Social Democratic Party of Transylvania and Banat, with an offer for collaboration, negotiating the matter with the parties' reformist leaders — Ioan Flueraș, Ilie Moscovici, and Iosif Jumanca. At the time, Argetoianu claimed, his conversations with Moscovici revealed the fact that the latter was growing suspicious of the party's far left wing, where "the blanket-maker Cristescu and others were agitating". Averescu proposed merging the two parties, as a distinct section, into the People's Party; he was refused, and talks broke down when the general expected the Socialists to support his electoral platform.

Impact
According to Eliza Brătianu (who was comparing Averescu with the French rebel soldier Georges Boulanger), several voices inside his movement called on Averescu to lead a republican coup d'état against King Ferdinand and his wife — a move allegedly prevented only by the general's loyalism. Argetoianu, who admitted that "I shook hands with Averescu [...] expecting a dictatorial regime", claimed that, during his stay in Italy, the general had been decisively influenced by Radicalism and the Risorgimento movement. This, in Argetoianu's view, was the cause for his repeated involvement in conspiracies; he recalled that, in 1919, Davila's house was the scene of regular reunion of officers, who plotted Brătianu's ousting and pondered dethroning the king (in this version of events, Averescu initially accepted to be proclaimed dictator, but, around October of that year, called on conspirators to renounce their plan).

Aiming to answer most of Romania's social and political issues, the League's founding document called for: "'A land reform, with the passage of the land which is at the moment expropriated only on principle [ - a reference to the 1917 promise for a land reform] into the effective and immediate ownership of villagers through the means of communes; an electoral reform, through universal suffrage, direct election, secret ballot, and compulsory voting, with representation given to ethnic minorities, since the latter would not hinder the free manifestation of political individualities; administrative decentralization.'"

According to Argetoianu, "'in the autumn of 1919, [Averescu's] popularity had reached its peak. In the villages, people would dream of him, some swore that they had seen him descending from an airplane into their midst, others, who had fought in the war, told that they had lived by his side in the trenches, it was through him that hopes were solidified, and he was expected of to provide a miracle for people to live a carefree and fulfilling life. His popularity was something mystical, something supernatural, and all sorts of legends had begun to surround this Messiah of the Romanian people.'"

Although he was also Prime Minister of Romania for three mandates (1918, 1920–1921, 1926–1927), his political success is not as spectacular as the military one. Averescu ended up as one of the pawns maneuvered by Brătianu. Argetoianu later repeatedly expressed his distaste for Averescu's hesitant stance and openness to compromise.

Establishment
Initially, Brătianu approached Averescu using their shared displeasure over the Alexandru Vaida-Voevod Romanian National Party (PNR)-Peasants' Party (PȚ) cabinet; the National Liberals managed to obtain the general's renunciation of his goal to prosecute their party for alleged mis-management of Romania before and during the war, as well as his promise to respect the 1866 Constitution of Romania when carrying out the planned land reform. At the same time, Brătianu kept a tight relationship with King Ferdinand.

On March 13, 1920, he gave news of the Vaida-Voevod cabinet's dissolution, and was widely expected to call for early elections as soon as this had happened. Instead, he read a document convened with King Ferdinand, which suspended Parliament (the first legislative body in Greater Romania) for ten days — the measure was intended to give Averescu the time to negotiate a new majority in the chambers. These moves caused a vocal response from the opposition: Nicolae Iorga, who was president of the Chamber of Deputies and sided with the National Party, called for a motion of no confidence to be passed on March 26; in return, Averescu obtained the support of the monarch in dissolving the Parliament, and invested his cabinet's energies into winning the early elections by enlisting the help of county-level officials (local administration came to be dominated by People's Party officials). It carried the vote with 206 seats (223 together with Take Ionescu's Conservative-Democratic Party).

As agreements between the PNR and PȚ broke down (with the PNR awaiting for new developments), the PȚ joined Iorga's party, the Democratic Nationalists, in creating the Federation of National-Social Democracy (which also drew support from the group around Nicolae L. Lupu).

Policies
His mandate was marked by the signing of the Treaty of Trianon with Hungary, and initial steps leading to the creation of the Little Entente—formed by Romania with Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was also at this stage that Romania and the Second Polish Republic inaugurated their military alliance (see Polish–Romanian alliance). The goal to create a cordon sanitaire against Bolshevist Russia also brought him and his Minister of the Interior Argetoianu to oversee repression measures against the group of Socialist Party of Romania members who voted in favor of joining the Comintern (arrested on suspicion of "attempt against the state's security" on May 12, 1921). This came after a long debate in Parliament over the imprisonment of Mihai Gheorghiu Bujor, a Romanian citizen who had joined the Russian Red Army in Bessarabia during the later stages of the October Revolution, and who had been tried for treason. Argetoianu, who proclaimed communism to be "over in Romania", later indicated that Averescu and other members of the cabinet were hesitant about the crackdown, and that he ultimately resorted to taking initiative for the arrests — thus presenting his fellow politicians with a fait accompli.

The regions coming under Romania's administration at the end of the war still maintained their ad hoc administrative structures, including the Transylvanian Directory Council, set up and dominated by the PNR; Averescu ordered these dissolved in April, facing protest from local notabilities. At the same time, he ordered all troops to be demobilized. He unified currency around the Romanian leu, and imposed a land reform in the form in which it was to be carried out by the new Brătianu executive. In fact, the latter measure had been imposed by the outgoing PNL cabinet through the order of Ion G. Duca, in a manner which Argetoianu described as "destructive". As an initial step, Averescu's government appointed the noted activist Vasile Kogălniceanu, a deputy for Ilfov County, as rapporteur; Kogălniceanu used this position to give an account of the agrarian situation in Romania, stressing the role played by his ancestor, Constantin, in abolishing Moldavian serfdom, as well as that of his father, Mihail Kogălniceanu, in eliminating corvées throughout Romania.

The People's Party found itself hard pressed to limit the effects of the reform as promised by Duca — reason why Constantin Garoflid, seen by Argetoianu as "the Conservative and theorist of large-scale landed property", was promoted as Minister of Agriculture. Argetoianu also accused the Premier of endorsing reform in an even more radical shape, and contended that: "'[...] peasants blessed «father Averescu», who gave them land, and rallied around him even tighter. Brătianu, Duca, they were nowhere mentioned except in curses. O, human gratitude!'"

In October 1920, Averescu reached an agreement with the Allied Powers, recognizing Bessarabia's union with Romania — expressing a hope for the Bolshevik government to be overthrown, it also imposed the region's cession on a projected democratic government in Russia (while calling for further negotiations between it and Romania); throughout the interwar period, the Soviet Union refused to bind itself to the provisions of the agreement. Italy also refused to ratify the document, citing, alongside various foreign interests (including its friendship with the Soviet Union), the 250 million Italian lire owed to Italian investors in Romanian state bonds.

Scandals and fall
In March 1921, Argetoianu became implicated in a scandal involving the actions of his associate Aron Schuller, who had attempted to contract a 20 million lire loan with a bank in Italy, using as collateral Romanian war bonds that he had illegally obtained from the Finance Ministry reserve.

With Nicolae Titulescu as Finance Minister, Averescu resumed the interventionist course in economic policies, but broke with tradition when he attempted to legislate a major increase in taxes and proposed nationalizations — with potential negative effects on the PNL-voting middle class. The National Liberals, through the voice of Alexandru Constantinescu-Porcu, helped exploit the rivalry between the Peasants' Party and Iorga, using the latter's rejection of Constantin Stere (a conflict sparked by Stere's support for Germany during the World War); Stere won partial elections for the deputy seat in Soroca, Bessarabia, causing a political scandal which saw all parties (including the PNR) declare their dissatisfaction. The conflict worsened during a prolonged parliamentary debate over Averescu's proposal to nationalize enterprises in Reșița (an initiative the opposition mistrusted, alleging that the new owners were to be People's Party members), when Argetoianu addressed a mumbled insult to the Peasant Party's Virgil Madgearu. Ion G. Duca of the PNL expressed his sympathies to Madgearu (who had repeated out an obscene word whispered by Argetoianu), and all opposition groups appealed to Ferdinand, asking for Averescu's recall (July 14, 1921).

Ferdinand then attempted to facilitate a fusion between the Romanian National Party and the National Liberals, but negotiations broke down after disagreements over the possible leadership. Eventually, Brătianu convened with Ferdinand his return to power, and the king called on Foreign Minister Take Ionescu to resign, thus causing a political crisis that profited the PNL and put an end to the Averescu cabinet.

Shows of popular support in Bucharest were called of by Averescu himself, after he had negotiated with Brătianu for a People's Party cabinet to be formed "at a proper time". Ionescu took over as premier until late January 1922, when he was replaced by Brătianu.

New political alliances
In early 1926, the general was again named Premier, and approached the PNR and its close ally, the Peasants' Party, proposing a merger around his leadership. This met with a stiff refusal, as it seemed that the two were about to win the elections with additional support, but the king, suspicious of the left-wing credentials of the Peasants' Party, used his Royal Prerogative and nominated Averescu as premier (with PNL support).

Averescu's party was instead joined by PNR dissidents, Vasile Goldiș and Ioan Lupaș, who represented a Romanian Orthodox segment of the Transylvanian voters (rather than the Greek Catholics supporting Iuliu Maniu). The 1926 elections, which Averescu's cabinet organized in March and won with a landslide (269 mandates) also brought a massive defeat for the PNL, who held just 16 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

Italian-Romanian Treaty
Although not fascist itself, the new government he formed displayed gestures of friendship towards Benito Mussolini's Fascist Italy,  a state which advertised itself as a rising force — The Nation called Averescu "Romania's Mussolini", as "an epithet which the new premier of Rumania bestowed upon himself". Contacts established (as early as June 1926, when Mihail Manoilescu had negotiated a loan in Rome) were one of the major points of divergence between the policies of Averescu and those of Brătianu: the former attempted to overcome the embarrassment provoked by Mussolini when, due to Romania's debt, the Italian government had recalled the ambassador and had refused to permit King Ferdinand's pre-convened visit.

The loan convened by Manoilescu and Mussolini made important concessions to Italy in return for a clarification of Romania's debt status; it also led to the signing of a five-year Friendship Treaty (September 16), widely condemned by Romanian public opinion for not having called on Italy to state its support for Romanian rule in Bessarabia, and created tension inside the Little Entente (Yugoslavia feared that Italy had attempted to gain Romania's neutrality in case of a potential irredentist conflict). Writing at the time, Constantin Vișoianu also criticized the vague terms in which the sections of the document dealing with mutual defense had been drafted: "'What have we gained from Italy through this pact? Nothing. In truth, article 3 — which does not [even] refer to Bessarabia — makes provisions for the eventuality of a violent incursion and organizes a mutual assistance system [that is] original through its Platonic love-like character.'"

The treaty expired in 1932, and, after being prolonged by six months, it was not renewed. Overall, the political impact of contacts was minor, given that the Italians mistrusted the Romanian movement for its traditional role as instrument for Brătianu. Referring to the parallel project to marry Princess Ileana to Prince Umberto of Italy, Averescu himself allegedly stated: "I didn't get much from Italy except a throne for a Princess of Rumania".

Averescu's controversial projects
Averescu continued to offer his support to far right groups (especially to the National-Christian Defense League formed by A. C. Cuza, his early collaborator), and probably considered assuming dictatorial powers.

The cabinet clashed with Brătianu when it was discovered that it had been negotiating in secret with the disinherited Prince Carol (a traditional adversary of the PNL) as Ferdinand's health was taking a turn for the worse  (Averescu later claimed that he had been asked by Brătianu: "So, after I have brought you to power, you wish to rise and dominate?"). The PNL withdrew its support, and, through an order signed by Constantin Hiott, Averescu's was replaced by the broad coalition government of Barbu Știrbey, Brătianu's brother-in-law. The general's deposition, confirmed by King Ferdinand on his deathbed, created a vacuum on the Right, soon filled by the Iron Guard, a fascist movement formed by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (formerly an associate of Cuza's).

Late 1920s politics
The People's Party involved itself in solving the dynastic crisis after Ferdinand's death in July 1927, again approaching Carol to replace the child-king Michael and Prince Nicholas' regency. In November 1927, Averescu took the stand in the trial of his supporter Mihail Manoilescu, who was arrested after having incited pro-Carol sentiment; in his testimony, he backed the notion that, despite his initial anger, Ferdinand had ultimately planned to have Carol return to the throne.

His grouping lost much of its supporters to the newly formed National Peasants' Party, and scored under 2% in the 1927 elections. Around 1930, Averescu began opposing the universal suffrage he had endorsed earlier, and issued an appeal to the intellectuals in order to have it discarded from legislation on the basis that it was easily influenced by the parties in power. He and his supporter, the pro-authoritarian poet Octavian Goga, received criticism from the left-wing Poporanist journal Viața Românească, who claimed that Averescu had in fact provoked and encouraged widespread electoral irregularities during his time in office.

In November 1930, he filed a complaint against the poet and journalist Bazil Gruia, claiming that the latter had libeled him by publishing, in January, an article in Chemarea which began by questioning the People's Party claim that Averescu was "the only honest comrade of the Romanian peasant" and contrasted it with the general's activities during the 1907 Revolt. The trial was held in Cluj, and Gruia was represented in court by Radu R. Rosetti. On December 1, Gruia was found guilty and sentenced to 15 days in a correctional facility with reprieve, and to a fine of 3,000 lei (soon after, Gruia benefited from a pardon).

Averescu was promoted to Marshal of Romania in the same year, during the time when Carol returned to rule as King — the appointment was attributed by Time to his political support for the latter's return. According to the same source, by the end of 1930, Averescu was again at the center of Romanian politics, owing to Carol's favor, to the deaths of Ion I. C. and Vintilă Brătianu, and to the unexpected support he gained from the PNL dissident Gheorghe I. Brătianu.

Final years
He ultimately showed himself hostile to Carol's inner circle, and especially to the king's lover Magda Lupescu; consequently, Goga was instigated by Carol to take over as leader of the People's Party, and the latter attacked Averescu for "subverting [...] the traditional respect enjoyed by the Crown". The clash led to Goga's creation of the splinter National Agrarian Party, which, although never an important force, obtained more of the vote in the 1932 elections (approx. 3% compared to Averescu's 2%).

Around 1934, as the Guard proclaimed its allegiance to Nazi Germany, the Italians (still rivals of Adolf Hitler), approached Averescu (as well as Manoilescu, Nicolae Iorga, Nichifor Crainic, Cuza, Goga, and other non-Guardist reactionaries), with an offer for collaboration (see Comitati d'azione per l'universalità di Roma). This apparent alliance was, in fact, marked by major dissensions — Averescu and Iorga were routinely attacked by Crainic's Calendarul. Eventually, Averescu's group formed, in 1934, the Constitutional Front, a nationalist electoral alliance with the National Liberal Party-Brătianu, which was joined by Mihai Stelescu's Crusade of Romanianism (an Iron Guard offshoot), and the minor party created by Grigore Forțu (the Citizen Bloc); after the latter two parties disappeared, the Front survived in its original form until 1936, when it disbanded.

In 1937, despite his ongoing feud with Carol, Averescu was appointed a member of the Crown Council. Argetoianu recalled that he and the Marshal had reconciled — at a time when Argetoianu pondered rallying all opposition forces, including the National Peasants' Party, the National Liberal Party-Brătianu, and the Iron Guard, in a single electoral bloc (before the general election of December, the various groups successfully negotiated an electoral pact against the government of Gheorghe Tătărescu). Averescu, who, according to Argetoianu, declared was more interested in convincing Carol to allow his estranged wife Elena of Greece to return to Romania, remained opposed to the deal.

The following year, he was briefly minister without portfolio in the cabinet of Premier Miron Cristea, created by Carol to combat the ascension of the Iron Guard, and opposed the monarch's option to renounce the 1923 Constitution and proclaim his dictatorship (the latter move signaled the end of the People's Party), but was among the figures displayed by Carol's regime. He died soon after in Bucharest, and was buried in the World War I heroes' crypt in Mărăști. In December, the king created the National Renaissance Front as the political instrument of his authoritarian rule.

title: Alexandru Averescu


text:
Samuel Johnston

Samuel Johnston (December 15, 1733 – August 17, 1816) was an American planter, lawyer, Grand Master of Freemasons, slave holder, and statesman from Chowan County, North Carolina. He represented North Carolina in both the Continental Congress and the United States Senate, and he was the sixth Governor of North Carolina.

Early life and revolutionary politics
Johnston was born in Dundee, Scotland in the Kingdom of Great Britain, but came to America when his father, Samuel Sr., moved to Onslow County, North Carolina, in 1736. Samuel Sr. became surveyor-general of the colony where his brother, Gabriel Johnston, was governor. Young Samuel was educated in New England, then read law in Carolina. He moved to Chowan County and started a plantation known as Hayes near Edenton.

Johnston was admitted to the bar and began a law practice in Edenton. In 1759, he was elected to the North Carolina House of Burgesses and served in that body until it was displaced in 1775 during the American Revolution. During North Carolina's War of the Regulation in December 1770, he introduced the anti-Regulators bill was later passed as the Johnston Riot Act in response to the September 1770 Hillsborough Riot and to later reports of a planned Regulator march upon the provincial capital, New Bern, which ultimately did not occur. The passage of the Johnston Riot Act and others precipitated an even more significant enlargement of the Regulator movement and forced Royal Governor Tryon to call out the provincial militia, which culminated in the Battle of Alamance on May 16, 1771. As a strong supporter of independence, he was also elected as a delegate to the first four provincial congresses and presided over the Third and Fourth congresses in 1775 and 1776. After Royal Governor Josiah Martin abdicated in 1775, he was the highest-ranking official in the state until Richard Caswell was elected president of the Fifth Provincial Congress.

Johnston is frequently cited as having served in the North Carolina Senate in 1779, but that is not confirmed in Senate Journals. He may have been elected, but he certainly did not attend. In Johnston's own words, after 1777, "...had nothing to do with public business..." during the Revolution. Under the new state government, Johnston was elected to the North Carolina Senate in 1783 and 1784.

Johnson was the first Grand Master of Freemasons for the State of North Carolina, voted into office on 11 Dec 1787 to revive Masonic activities that had been defunct after breaking away from England. There had only been Deputy Grand Master until he was elected Grand Master. He would be elected Grand Master again in 1789-1791.

Election as president
North Carolina sent Johnston as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1780 and 1781. Johnston was elected the first President of the United States in Congress Assembled under the Articles of Confederation, but he declined the office. This was reported on July 10, 1781:

Later career and death
Johnston served as Governor of North Carolina from 1787 to 1789. He presided over both conventions called to ratify the US Constitution. The one in 1788 rejected the Constitution despite Johnston's strong support. He called another convention in 1789, which decided on ratification. Johnston then resigned as governor to become one of the state's first two US Senators and served from 1789 to 1793. In 1800, he was made a Judge in the Superior Court of North Carolina, an office he held until his retirement in 1803.

Johnston died at his home, Hayes Plantation, near Edenton, in Chowan County; he purchased the house from David Rieusett in 1765 and lived there until 1793 when he moved to the Hermitage, a plantation in Martin County. The 1790 Census shows that he enslaved 96 people at Hayes Plantation. In 1816 he was buried in the Johnston Burial Ground there. The plantation house is privately owned but was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973. It is now within Edenton, but the current house was completed by his son, James Cathcart Johnston, a year after Samuel's death.

Legacy
Samuel Johnston's collection of books, which he bequeathed to his son James, is preserved in a full-scale replication of Hayes Plantation's library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The octagon-shaped historic room is on permanent exhibit in the North Carolina Collection Gallery in Wilson Library.

title: Samuel Johnston


text: User talk:24.57.24.195

title: User talk:24.57.24.195


text:
Donald E. Williams

Donald Edward Williams (February 13, 1942 – February 23, 2016) was an American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, mechanical engineer and NASA astronaut. He logged a total of 287 hours and 35 minutes in space.

Early life and education
Captain Williams was born February 13, 1942, in Lafayette, Indiana and raised in the nearby town of Green Hill. He graduated from Otterbein High School in Otterbein in 1960. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 1964.

Navy service
Williams received his commission through the Naval ROTC program at Purdue University. He completed flight training at Pensacola, Florida, Meridian, Mississippi and Kingsville, Texas, receiving his Naval Aviator wings in May 1966. After A-4 Skyhawk training, he made two Vietnam War deployments aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65) with Attack Squadron 113 (VA-113). He served as a flight instructor in Attack Squadron 125 (VA-125) at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California for two years and transitioned to the A-7 Corsair II aircraft. He made two additional Vietnam deployments aboard Enterprise with Carrier Air Wing 14 staff and Attack Squadron 97 (VA-97). Williams completed a total of 330 combat missions.

In 1973, Williams attended the Armed Forces Staff College. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, in June 1974, and was assigned to the Naval Air Test Center's Carrier Suitability Branch of Flight Test Division. From August 1976 to June 1977, following reorganization of the Naval Air Test Center, he was head of the Carrier Systems Branch, Strike Aircraft Test Directorate. He reported next for A-7 refresher training, and was assigned to Attack Squadron 94 (VA-94) when he was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA.

He logged more than 6,000 hours of flying time, which includes 5,700 hours in jets and 745 carrier landings.

NASA career
Selected by NASA in January 1978, Williams became an astronaut in August 1979, qualified for assignment as a pilot on future Space Shuttle flight crews. He then had various support assignments, including working at the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL) as a test pilot, and at the Kennedy Space Center participating in orbiter test, checkout, launch and landing operations.

From September 1982 through July 1983, he was assigned as the Deputy Manager, Operations Integration, National Space Transportation System Program Office at the Johnson Space Center. From July 1985 through August 1986, Williams was the Deputy Chief of the Aircraft Operations Division at the Johnson Space Center, and from September 1986 through December 1988, he served as Chief of the Mission Support Branch within the Astronaut Office.

Williams served as pilot on STS-51-D in 1985, and was the spacecraft commander on STS-34 in 1989.

Spaceflight experience
STS-51-D (April 12–19, 1985) was launched from and returned to land at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. During the mission, the crew deployed ANIK-C for Telesat Canada, and Syncom IV-3 for the U.S. Navy. A malfunction in the Syncom spacecraft resulted in the first unscheduled EVA, rendezvous and proximity operations for the Space Shuttle in an attempt to activate the satellite. Additionally, the crew also conducted several medical experiments, two student experiments, activated two Getaway Specials, and filmed experiments with toys in space, including a two-minute sequence where Williams was the first person to juggle in micro-gravity. The mission was accomplished in 109 orbits of the Earth in 167 hours, 54 minutes.

STS-34 (October 18–23, 1989) was launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida and returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California. During the mission the crew successfully deployed the Galileo spacecraft, starting its journey to explore Jupiter, operated the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Instrument (SSBUV) to map atmospheric ozone, and performed numerous secondary experiments involving radiation measurements, polymer morphology, lightning research, microgravity effects on plants, and a student experiment on ice crystal growth in space. The mission was accomplished in 79 orbits of the Earth in 119 hours, 41 minutes.

Post-NASA career
In March 1990, Williams retired from the U.S. Navy as Captain, and left NASA. He joined Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), working on several projects in the Houston area, nationally, and internationally. In April 2006, Williams retired from SAIC.

Williams died of a stroke February 23, 2016, at the age of 74.

Organizations
Williams was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Association of Space Explorers, and the National Aeronautic Association.

Special honors

 * Legion of Merit
 * Distinguished Flying Cross
 * Defense Superior Service Medal
 * 2 Navy Commendation Medals with Combat V
 * 2 Navy Unit Commendations
 * Meritorious Unit Commendation
 * National Defense Service Medal
 * Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
 * NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal
 * NASA Space Flight Medal
 * NASA Exceptional Service Medal
 * Vietnam Service Medal (with 4 stars)
 * Vietnamese Gallantry Cross (with gold star)
 * Vietnam Campaign Medal

title: Donald E. Williams