text:
Yangban

The yangban were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The yangban were mainly composed of highly educated civil servants and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats who individually exemplified the Korean Confucian form of a "scholarly official". They were largely government administrators and bureaucrats who oversaw medieval and early modern Korea's traditional agrarian bureaucracy until the end of the dynasty in 1897. In a broader sense, an office holder's family and descendants, as well as country families who claimed such descent, were socially accepted as yangban.

In contemporary Korean language, the term 'yangban' can be used to refer to someone in both positive and negative ways.

Overview
Unlike noble titles in the European and Japanese aristocracies, which were conferred on a hereditary basis, the bureaucratic position of yangban was granted by law to yangban who meritoriously passed state-sponsored civil service exams called gwageo. This exam was modeled on the imperial examinations first started during the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. Upon passing these exams—which tested knowledge of the Confucian classics and history with poetry—several times, yangban was usually assigned to a government post. It was superficially decided that a yangban family that did not produce a government official for more than three generations could lose its status and become commoners. This superficial rule was never actually applied, but was a motivation rule for yangban to study harder. In theory, a member of any social class except nobi, baekjeong (Korean untouchables), and children of concubines could take the government exams and become a yangban. In reality, only the upper classes—i.e., the children of yangban—possessed the financial resources and the wherewithal to pass the exams, for which years of studying were required. These barriers and financial constraints effectively excluded most non-yangban families and the lower classes from competing for yangban status, just like scholar-officials in China.

Yangban status on a provincial level was de facto hereditary. In the early Joseon Dynasty, if no one from a noble family had held a government position for four generations, they were deprived of that position. However, the government, which was short of budget due to the wars of the 16th century and the disasters caused by the Little Ice Age, issued a tool called Gongmyeongcheop, a means of purchasing and selling government positions, and the existing caste system collapsed. As a result, genealogy, rather than official position, became a means of proving one's status as a nobleman, and the status of Yangban changed to a hereditary form. It was customary to include all descendants of the office holders in the hyangan, a document that listed the names and lineages of local yangban families. The hyangan was maintained on blood basis, and one could be cut off from it if members of the family married social inferiors, such as tradesmen. Although the hyangan was not legally supported by government acts or statutes, the families listed in it were socially respected as yangban. Their householders had the customary right to participate in the hyangso, a local council from which they could exercise influence on local politics and administration. By reserving and demanding socio-political power through local instruments such as hyangan and hyangso, yangban automatically passed down their status to posterity in local magnate families, with or without holding central offices. These provincial families of gentility were often termed jaejisajok, which means "the country families". while legally, yangban meant high-ranking officials, in reality it included almost all descendants of the former and increasingly lost its legal exactitude.

Throughout Joseon history, the monarchy and the yangban existed on the slave labor of the lower classes, particularly the sangmin, whose bondage to the land as indentured servants enabled the upper classes to enjoy a perpetual life of leisure—i.e., the life of "scholarly" gentlemen. These practices effectively ended in 1894 during the Korean Empire of Gwangmu Reform.

In today's Korea, the yangban legacy of patronage based on common educational experiences, teachers, family backgrounds, and hometowns continues in some forms, officially and unofficially. In South Korea, the practice exists among the upper class and power elite, where patronage among the conglomerates tends to predictably follow blood, school, and hometown ties. In North Korea, a de facto yangban class exists that is based mostly on military and party alliances.

Etymology
Yangban literally means "two branches" of administration: munban which comprises civil administrators and muban  which comprises martial office holders. The term yangban first appeared sometime during late Goryeo but gained wider usage during the Joseon Dynasty. However, from the sixteenth century onward yangban increasingly came to denote local wealthy families who were mostly believed to be the descendants of once high-ranking officials. As more of the population aspired to become yangban and gradually succeeded in doing so in the late Joseon period by purchasing the yangban status, the privileges and splendor the term had inspired slowly vanished. It even gained a diminutive connotation.

History
Yangban were the Joseon Dynasty equivalent of the former Goryeo nobles who had been educated in Buddhist and Confucian studies. With the succession of the Yi generals in the Joseon dynasty, prior feuds and factions were quelled through a decisive attempt to instill administrative organization throughout Korea and create a new class of agrarian bureaucrats. The individual yangban included members of this new class of bureaucrats and former Goryeo nobility. While ostensibly open to all, the "civil service exams" (과거) catered to the lifestyle and habits of the yangban, which created a semi-hereditary meritocracy, as yangban families overwhelmingly possessed the minimum education, uninterrupted study time and immense financial resources to pass such exams. The yangban, like the Mandarins before them, dominated the Royal Court and military of pre-Modern Korea and often were exempt from laws including those relating to taxes.

There were at most 100 positions open with thousands of candidates taking the exams. Competition that was originally supposed to bring out the best in each candidate gave way to the importance of familial relationships. Because the Joseon Court was constantly divided among the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western faction members (the eccentric geographical naming derived from the location of each leader's house in Seoul which were divided into subsections), a divided system resulted where corruption was very difficult. With each faction constantly probing for an excuse to kill off the other, if one faction was proven to be corrupt then the other factions would immediately jump on the chance to purge them. The attempt to receive or give bribes on a massive scale was suicide. It wasn't until the reign of King Sunjo that the Kim clan of Andong in cooperation with few other blood related grandee clans obtained full control over the court — after purging their rival factions and other rival clans in their own political faction the Joseon bureaucracy degenerated into corruption. At this level the exceptionally powerful families could be more properly referred to as sedoga instead of mere yangban, which by then came to include shades of classes other than the grandees.

From the sixteenth century and increasingly during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, high-ranking offices were monopolized by a few grandee families based in Seoul or the Han River Valley, therefore blocking any chance of gaining high-ranking posts by many provincial families of pedigree. However, provincial magnates began to refer themselves as yangban whether they held government offices or not. As more families claimed to be yangban and exercised provincial influences through local institutions, such as local council, pedigree acknowledgment and Confucius school (seowon), the term lost its original meaning and became a sort of social status that had a confusing legal standing. Its economic and cultural domain was clear, though. A landlord who studied classics at seowon could be easily looked upon as yangban by the local populace. People could now purchase yangban status by paying to procure lower government posts or jokbo (족보), the noble pedigree.

Nearly all yangban of upper-high ranking grandee to lower-ranking provincial landlord status suddenly lost their ancient political, social and economic power during the twentieth century. The legality of yangban was abolished in 1894. Subsequently, their political and administrative role was replaced by Japanese colonial government and its administrators, although some yangban maintained their wealth and power by cooperating with the Japanese. However, the erosion of an idea of complete and exclusive power was irreversible. During the period of Japanese colonial rule, the privileged yangban class, comprising largely those who did not actively resist Japan because of the pro-Japanese policies, gained advantages. They ventured into various industries such as printing, textiles, rubber, clothing, and brewing. Accumulating wealth, they expanded their ventures into sectors requiring technological expertise, including machinery, chemicals, automobiles, and shipbuilding. These individuals were less affected by Japanese policies such as land surveys and the Southern Expansion Policy, and sometimes even benefited from them, allowing them to accumulate wealth more than other social strata. However, they did not receive the same treatment as the Japanese aristocracy under Japanese rule. There were limitations as both social classes and businesses remained dependent on Japan, and the profits flowed back to the Japanese upper class. Unlike popular narratives in Korean minjung scholarship, after the Korean War on June 25th, the influence of the Yangban class and discrimination against the common people persisted.

In modern-day Korea, the yangban as a social class with legal status and landed wealth no longer exists either in the north or the south. Nevertheless, those who are well-connected in Korean society are sometimes said to have "yangban" connections. Though these claims may have some merit, such references are not usually intended to suggest any real yangban lineage or ancestry. Today, the yangban have been replaced by the Korean ruling class, i.e., an elite class of business and government elites, who dominate the country through their wealth, power and influence channeled through their familial and social networks. (This applies to North and South Korea, though the North's elite class is largely military-based.) The word is also used, at least in South Korea, as a common reference (sometimes with distinctly negative connotations, reflecting the negative impression the class system and its abuses left on Koreans as a whole) to an older, sometimes cantankerous/stubborn man. Over the course of many years, Yangban has waned compared to previous eras; however, akin to nobles in other regions, they still maintain a formidable presence thanks to the remnants of their superiority and vestiges of privilege, standing significantly above the common populace. As a result, the legacies of prominent figures such as Presidents Syngman Rhee, Park Chung hee, and Chun Doo-hwan, along with major conglomerates like Samsung, LG, and DL, are easily discernible. This is a testament to how the Yangban class has played a role in producing presidents and major corporations, leaving a lasting impact on the societal landscape.

List of Yangban families

 * Gyeongju Kim clan (or "Gim"): ruling clan of Silla, descendants of King Alji
 * Jinju Kang clan ("Gang"): old military clan of the Korean peninsula
 * Jinju Ha clan: Yangban clan of Goryeo and Joseon
 * Jeonju Yi clan ("Lee"): ruling clan of Joseon
 * Wonju Won clan: Yangban clan of Joseon
 * Andong Kim clan ("Gim"): Yangban clan of Joseon
 * Munhwa Ryu clan ("Yu"): Yangban clan of Joseon
 * Pungyang Jo clan ("Cho"): Yangban clan of Joseon
 * Deoksu Yi clan ("Lee")
 * Cheongju Han clan
 * Yeonil Jeong clan ("Chung"): noble clan of Silla, Goryeo, and Joseon
 * Miryang Bak clan ("Park"): ruling clan of Silla, descendants of Bak Hyeokgeose
 * Wolseong Seok clan (or "Gyeongju Seok clan"; 경주 석씨): ruling clan of early Silla
 * Changnyeong Seong clan: Yangban clan of Joseon
 * Gyeongju Yi clan ("Lee")
 * Yeoheung Min clan
 * Wonju Byeon clan
 * Namyang Hong clan
 * Naju Na clan
 * Andong Gwon clan: Yangban clan of Joseon
 * Eunjin Song clan: Yangban clan of Joseon
 * Papyeong Yun clan: Yangban clan of Joseon

State Council of Joseon

 * Yeonguijeong, Chief State Councillor
 * Jwauijeong, Second State Councillor
 * Uuijeong, Third State Councillor

Fashion
During the Joseon Dynasty, men's clothing varied in form depending on their social status, occupation, and circumstances. Generally, men wore jeogori (jackets), baji (pants), and po (outer garments) as basic attire. Commoners and lower-class individuals typically wore simple garments made of plain-colored cotton or hemp, while the upper class, such as the Yangban, utilized luxurious materials and colors. (Seok Juseon Memorial Museum, Dankook University, n.d.) (Sasg, 2023). The attire of the Yangban class featured intricate details, materials, and accompanying accessories which reflected the wearer's societal status. Each attire differed based on their jobs and titles, their attire was also a reflection of the respect to be given to them and their family lineage. The Hanbok of Yangban is beyond the general hanbok style and is known as po (포). Po has multiple variations but the most popular is known as dopo (도포), a long gown with an additional section that covers the lower back and features a slit that gives wavy design. Layering was also a feature of Yangban Hanbok based on the weather or season and was often colorful. (교양만두, 2022) (Lee, 2010) (에듀넷·티-클리어, n.d.) (Seok Juseon Memorial Museum, Dankook University, n.d.)

Their hair was tied into an up-top bun and the temple was daunted with a band known as 망건 (mang-geon), which had a stone known as 풍잠 (pung-jam) in the middle that covered the bun to symbolize uniformity. The top bun was in egg shape and used a hairpin known as 빈녀 (binyeo) to maintain its structure. The tightness with which 망건 (mang-geon) is tied was associated with the level of fashion a Yangban was knowledgeable in. 망건 Mang-geon is tied to a button-like stone on the either sides near the ears known as 관자 (kwan–ja). These kwan–ja played the role of assessing a Yangban’s rank based on the material and size of it. For example, a big golden kwan–ja meant the person belonged to higher class. (교양만두, 2022)

Another feature are the accessories. Earrings were worn by Yangban from the early Joseon dynasty and by people of all ages up until the 14th Joseon King, San-Jo, banned wearing earrings due to the discrimination by other countries during war. Similar to the modern day watch, an accessory of Yangban that was always seen in their hands was a hand fan known as 부채 (bu-chae), of which many different types and designs symbolized rank and various other elements of social hierarchy. (교양만두, 2022)

Hats were also a huge part of Yangban fashion. Hats known as 갓 (gat), shaped in a round and big cylindrical top that covered their hair, featured a brooch on the top known as 정자 (jung-ja). The hat also featured some fashionable elements such as string with beads and elements depended on the wearer’s personal preference and hierarchical rank. In the royal family, the number of strings on a hat adorned by the king or prince determined their ranks. (미라클코리아, 2012) (교양만두, 2022) (Dovletoglou, 2023)

Shoes worn by Yangban were of two kinds low-ankle shoes known as 혜 (hye) and high-cut shoes known as 화 (hwa). These two were strictly worn by the elite class. Footwear was also divided based on the material. For example, Commoners wore wooden clogs or straw shoes daily whereas Yangban and royal families wore leather shoes known as 갓신 (gatsin) with beautiful patterns and colors. (Chung, 2015)

While exploring the fashion of the Yangban class during the Joseon Dynasty, it reveals that their attire was more than just a question of personal preference, but a reflection of complex society systems and beliefs profoundly rooted in Confucian ideas.

As highlighted by Lee (2010), the portrayal of Hanbok in Shin Yun-Bok's paintings offers invaluable insights into the attire of the ruling-class during this period. These garments, detailed in vivid colors and luxurious fabrics, symbolized not only the wearer's social standing but also adherence to Confucian ideals. Yi et al. (2007) further emphasizes the significance of traditional Korean outfit, demonstrating how apparel acted as a visible depiction of one's social status, with minor distinctions designating rank and connection.

The colorful garments were exclusive to the Yangban class. From an economic standpoint, red was a highly luxurious item during the Joseon Dynasty. To dye a single set of deep red clothing required the cultivation of madder plants (홍람; 紅藍), and it took as much farmland to grow these plants as would yield enough grain to feed a family of four for a month. Furthermore, fabric dyed in a rich red hue costs more than four times the value of white cloth. Consequently, commoners dared not even contemplate using deep red colors.

Sijo Related to Red color: 반중(盤中) 조홍(早紅)감이 고와도 보이나다.

유자(柚子) 아니라도 품엄즉도 하다마는,

품어가 반길 이 없을새 글로 설워하노라. — 박인로 The ripe reddish persimmon placed in the middle of the table looks temptingly edible. Although it may not be a tangerine or a citron, it's worthy enough to take home in one's embrace. However, since there is no one to be pleased by receiving it even if it were taken home, one feels sorrowful about it.

title: Yangban


text:
Pyongyang International Airport

Pyongyang International Airport, also known as Pyongyang Sunan International Airport (평양 순안 국제공항), is the main international airport serving Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. It is in the city's Sunan District. The airport was closed to international travel in 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and reopened in 2023, with the resumption of Air Koryo flights to Beijing and Vladivostok.

Early years
During the period of Japanese rule, two airports were built in Pyongyang. Pyongyang Air Base was built by the Empire of Japan in the 1940s and remained in use until the 1950s. A second airport, Mirim Airport, was also built by the forces of the empire of Japan in the 1940s, east of the Taedong River. However, after World War II there was a need for a newer airport, and Sunan Airfield was built. Mirim Airport survived as a military airfield, and Pyongyang Air Base was re-developed for government use and for housing.

During the Korean War, the airport was occupied by United Nations forces for seven weeks in late 1950, when the forces flew large amounts of supplies to Sunan. On 13 May 1953, the airport was inundated when the United States Air Force bombed Toksan Dam. After an armistice was signed, two months later, the North Korean Government began repairing and expanding the airport.

The Soviet airline Aeroflot flew to Moscow and Khabarovsk in the 1980s. In the 1990s, Air Koryo also provided nonstop flights to Moscow, which continued on to Berlin and Sofia.

During the 1989 13th World Festival of Youth and Students held in Pyongyang, a temporary terminal building was erected specifically to accommodate the arrival of the festival’s international attendees.

Development since the 2000s
Russian Sky Airlines operated charter services to Pyongyang from Russian destinations in the mid 2000s on Il-62M and Il-86 aircraft. China Southern Airlines offered scheduled charter flights to and from Beijing during the peak season only, and permanently stopped its flights in October 2006. In March 2008, Air China re-established service to Beijing on a Boeing 737, three days a week, and suspended due to lack of demand on 22 November 2017. Air Koryo, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines also provided chartered flight services to Seoul and Yangyang, on the east coast of South Korea, from Pyongyang. These flights were used by Koreans visiting relatives across the border; these services were halted after the ending of the Sunshine Policy by South Korea in 2008. In June 2018, Air China resumed service from Beijing Capital Airport to Pyongyang.

By early 2011, an interim facility handling international flights had been built just south of the existing terminal. By early 2012, demolition of the existing terminal, which Kim Jong-un deemed too small and outdated, had begun. In July 2012, he ordered the construction of a new terminal. Besides this, a new control tower and VIP terminal north of the main terminal were also built. The project became part of a "speed campaign", in which thousands of workers were enlisted to complete it quickly. On 15 September 2017, about 6:30am KST, North Korea fired a Hwasong-12 missile from the airport. The missile travelled 3,700 kilometers (2,300 mi) and reached a maximum height of 770 kilometers (480 mi).

Infrastructure
Pyongyang International Airport has two passenger terminals. Terminal 1 opened in January 2016 and handles domestic flights only. It is connected to Terminal 2, the international terminal, which was inaugurated on 1 July 2015. Terminal 2 has jet bridges and at least 12 check-in counters. Amenities include a duty-free store, coffee bar, newsstand and Internet room, along with a snack bar, a pharmacy, a CD/DVD shop, and an electronics shop. There is also a business-class lounge with a buffet on the upper level, along with an outdoor viewing area.

The airport has two functioning runways: one is designated 17/35 and measures 3425 x,  while the other, designated 01/19, measures 4000 x.

Yonhap reported in September 2016 that a maintenance facility had been built at the Pyongyang airport. About 1 km from runway 17/35, the facility includes aircraft hangars and apartment buildings for high-ranking officials and Air Koryo employees.

During the construction period, a hangar-like structure served the airport with basic services (baggage carousel), a duty-free shop, and a bookshop/souvenir shop.

Access
The airport is about 25 km from the city, about 30 minutes' drive by the Pyongyang-Hicheon Expressway. In addition, Sunan Station, on the Pyongui Line of the Korean State Railway, is 800 meters from the Pyongyang airport terminal building.

Incidents

 * On February 16, 1958, a Douglas DC-3 of Korean National Airlines was hijacked on a flight from Busan to Seoul by 8 hijackers demanding to be taken to North Korea and landed here. All 34 occupants survived.
 * On March 31, 1970, a Boeing 727-89 of JAL (JA8315) was hijacked on a flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka by 9 hijackers demanding to be taken to North Korea and landed here. All 115 occupants survived.
 * On August 15, 2006, a Tupolev Tu-154B-2 of Air Koryo (possibly P-561) suffered minor damage in a non-fatal runway mishap on landing from Beijing and was later repaired.

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

title: Pyongyang International Airport


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HMAS Shoalwater (M 81)

HMAS Shoalwater (M 81), named for Shoalwater Bay in Queensland, was a Bay class minehunter of the Royal Australian Navy.

She was built by Carrington Slipways at its Ramsay Fibreglass facility in Tomago, New South Wales, launched on 20 June 1987 and commissioned on 10 October 1987. During her sea trials, Shoalwater travelled to Townsville where a number of charges were detonated around the vessel to test her tolerance to underwater explosions. Shoalwater performed above expectations during these tests. For the duration of her service with the RAN, Shoalwater was assigned to HMAS Waterhen in Sydney, where the Navy established a Mine Warfare Systems Centre ahead of the Bay class ships entering service.

Shoalwater was decommissioned on 14 August 2001. She and sister ship HMAS Rushcutter (M 80) were sold in 2002 for service in the Persian Gulf.

title: HMAS Shoalwater (M 81)


text:
Wikipedia talk:Language recognition chart

English
How exactly does "DFGLNQRUVWYZ ... and no other" = English? Brooklyn Nellie (Nricardo) 02:31, Mar 17, 2004 (UTC)
 * The author meant that English uses the Latin alphabet, with no further letters or diacriticals. I'll change that to be the entire Latin (uppercase) alphabet.Lisa Paul 07:16, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * It was my intention to inlude only characteristic letters (I excluded letters of Latin alphabet which look same as letters of Cyrillic or Greek alphabet). Nikola 04:30, 12 Jul 2004 (UTC)

A resource
This page attempts something similar to the wikipedia chart and may have info not already on wikipedia, if someone wants to compare. also this discussion in a livejournal community lists corrections and additions to the aforementioned web page

Devanagari and other Indic scripts?
I don't know a darned thing about Asian alphabets, but maybe somebody could put in a sample of Hindi, Nepali, etc. Also nice would be a sample of Thai. - Lisa Paul 07:52, 27 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * You may be interested in omniglot -- SS 20:05, 22 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Klingon? Are you serious?
Come on people. Does Wikipedia have to start to look like a dumping ground for losers? (yeah, I know I'm one, but still, I try to hide it from time to time) Nelson Ricardo 01:30, Aug 23, 2004 (UTC)

Klingon is being taken more seriously today than you may realise. It wouldn't surprise me if, in a few years, it became more widely spoken than Esperanto. AdmN 01:52, 23 Aug 2004 (UTC)

The purpose of this page was originally to enable users to see in which language a new article is written in. As someone might write an article in Klingon... Nikola 08:16, 23 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Well, at the top it says "document" rather than "Wikipedia article"... and there are certainly documents written in Klingon. I wouldn't expect anyone to write a en.wikipedia article in Klingon, but then I wouldn't expect anyone to write an en.wikipedia article in French either. Perhaps this should be moved out of the Wikipedia namespace and mingled with the general articles. It's certainly fascinating, and it may be generally useful. And no, I did not add Klingon as a joke. -- SS 16:08, 23 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Namespace
I moved this page to the main namespace. I understand the initial motivation, but I don't see why hide this useful information from the general public. -- Taku 05:17, Dec 5, 2004 (UTC)
 * This looks to me like original research that is not appropriate for the Main namespace. Russ Blau (talk) July 6, 2005 17:03 (UTC)
 * I second the utility of this page, although it needs work. --babbage 13:08, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

Armenian/Georgian Alphabets
All I see is a bunch of question marks for the Armenian/Georgian alphabets. MonsterOfTheLake 17:15, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Your computer doesn't have support for these fonts. Mikkalai 20:24, 28 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Languages using Arabic or Arabic-derived script
How does one tell apart Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu?

 * My totally non-expert observations indicate that Persian (Farsi) writing is more 'broken up' than Arabic if that makes any sense. — Trilobite (Talk) 06:34, 8 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * See Persian alphabet. Basically, Farsi, Kurdish (when not written in the Latin alphabet), Pashto, and other languages use an "extended" Arabic alphabet, including letters for sounds which are present in their language, but not in Arabic. Urdu, well, just look at it, because I can't describe that nearly as well. -Fsotrain09 01:04, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Although both use the Arabic script, Arabic is a much flatter language, in that all letters sit upon the line, eg. اللغة العربية(the Arabic language).

 * That's one style of Arabic writing; it's not universal. —Tamfang (talk) 18:39, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

Greek
I think the article spends too much time describing different ways of writing Greek, and not enough on the grammar and vocubulary. If the purpose here is to quickly figure out which language something is written in, so a translator can be contacted, there is no need to get into the details of monotonic vs. polytonic. Like Hebrew, Greek is instantly recognizable; no other alphabet is sufficiently close for confusion. (Most Greek that shows up here is in the Greek alphabet, not in "greeklish".)

However it would be worth regognising the differences between Ancient and Modern Greek. While an educated native speaker of Greek can usually understand the ancient language; an ancient text would be better translated by a classicist. On the other hand a modern text would be better translated by a native speaker who is more aware of current cultural references.

Segv11 (talk/contribs) 22:53, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Missing Greek characters
I think some of the upper-case Greek letters are missing from the list. Could someone fix that? I'm not good at generating non-Latin characters on my keyboard? Truthanado 02:40 23 March 2007

Done. Also added a low case "o" that was missing. Should we perhaps also add the accented characters (ά etc.) as we are after characters and not letters?

Arabic
The easiest way to tell a text in arabic script isn't arabic is the extra letters that are found in the persian languages. There is no P in arabic, also the Jhe, but it is a rare character in Persian farsi. It's hard to use the words as a reference, excluding the obvious like the al article in arabic, and the pronouns in each language.

The four letters:

پ pe ژ jhe چ che گ gaf

are missing from arabic and found in farsi. Pe, Che, and Gaf are very common.

Arabic uses the "al" article (The) very VERY often and is the easiest way to confirm something is an arabic text.

it can appear in different forms though

ال الا

This is the easiest method of recognizing words that are arabic beginning with those letters (On the right side of a word).

examples

Also Personal pronouns in arabic:

انا انت هو هی نحت انتم انتن هم هن

And common pronouns in farsi:

من تو شما انها

common verb endings in farsi:

کرد شد است ام

This should be enough to give you an insight into recognizing farsi and arabic texts, the challenging one to identify is urdu, someone should figure out a method of recognizing that, because it's so different from all other languages written with the arabic script. About half of the word pool from any language written with the arabic script is arabic EXCEPT urdu, which is probably 70% hindi.

Afrikaans
I'd say that this article is wrong about Afrikaans using no other letters. For example the Afrikaans word for 'morning' is môre, the word for 'bird' is voël, 'world' is wêreld and 'bridges' are brûe.

encyclopedic?
While the page is certainly useful, it's highly unencyclopedic, I don't know if WikiPedia is a good place for it. If so, it should at least start with a paragraph a discussion... also note that recongnising languages by squiggles is not always useful online, as many people write still in squiggleless ASCII due to their local technical limitations or wish to communicate with others who might be encodingly-challanged.

This page was never intended to be encyclopedic, but was intended almost as a help page to accompany Pages needing translation into English to assist people to identify what language an article was written in. It was originally created in the Wikipedia namespace and moved to the main encyclopedia as per the discussion above, and therefore I'm going to remove the unencyclopedic template. --Sepa 17:46, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

can only be Vietnamese?
Although the letters with a dot below mainly occur Vietnamese, ẹ and ọ are also used in Yorùbá language, ị and ụ are used in Igbo language, ạ is used in Rotuman language. - ✉ Hello World! 03:27, 28 October 2007 (UTC)

Suggested French and Spanish additions
French: W only used in loan words [can only think of whisky and proper nouns]. Spanish: ll common at the starts of words.

SimonTrew (talk) 15:17, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

Hawaii
I added a link to Hawaiian language under basic latin alphabet. I now see it is referenced, but not linked, a little farther down that it "may" have overscores in texts. I am happy to revert, undo, whatever, though I hope it wuld be referenced in one place or the other, but not sure which should go (or I'd have just undone it myself). Advice please. SimonTrew (talk) 02:46, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Namespace, 2nd
The page lies in the WP-Namespace currently, but according to the discussion a few items above, it should actually be in the main namespace (which I'd also prefer). For some reason, it was moved back here with the strange reason that "it causes some problems as an article". Well it's not an article after all, it's a table or a list anyway. After all, Language recognition chart still links here, which is quite a no-no after all. I suggest moving it back to main as in the discussion above. --PaterMcFly (talk) 10:22, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

Farsi?
I do see Persian, but no mention iirc of Farsi. What about changing to "Persian (Farsi)", or "Farsi (Persian)"? Nikevich (talk) 05:48, 11 October 2010 (UTC)
 * it's called Persian in English. Choyoołʼįįhí:Seb az86556 > haneʼ 05:52, 11 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Surely, but I also see "Farsi" in news stories and the like. "Persian" seems to be more traditional. However, I'm only suggesting, not passionate at all. (^_^) Regards, Nikevich (talk) 06:36, 11 October 2010 (UTC)

Maltese?
Should Maltese be included, or does it not have enough speakers? Nikevich (talk) 05:48, 11 October 2010 (UTC)

alphabet in article with no associated language
There's a bullet in the Characters section with A, Ą, Ã, B, C, D, E, É, Ë, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, Ł, M, N, Ń, O, Ò, Ó, Ô, P, R, S, T, U, Ù, W, Y, Z, Ż that has no language mentioned. If no one knows which language it is supposed to indicate, I'll take it out.--Wikimedes (talk) 19:58, 22 July 2013 (UTC)

 * I have identified it as the Kashubian alphabet.
 * —Wavelength (talk) 20:54, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Very good. Thanks.--Wikimedes (talk) 05:06, 23 July 2013 (UTC)

Le
Is there a reason why a section is titled " French (le français)" and not " French (français)"? We don't give the article for any other language name. Apokrif (talk) 19:17, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

Syriac
I have added the Syriac Alphabet Bulahyatain (talk) 23:21, 22 January 2019 (UTC)bulahyatain

Added Maltese
I added a Maltese section Bulahyatain (talk) 23:38, 22 January 2019 (UTC)bulahyatain

Language recognition chart
Hello sir. I want to add my language to Wikipedia:Language recognition chart and i don't know how. Will u do it for me ... The language is Tamazight or (berber) ... Plzz 😟 Massinissa014 (talk) 12:28, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Language recognition chart
Hello sir. I want to add my language toWikipedia:Language recognition chart and i don't know how... Can u do it for me plllz. The language is Tamazight (ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ) its called berber too ... Plz add it men :) and thank you Massinissa014 (talk) 12:32, 29 September 2021 (UTC)
 * I'll look into taking care of it, at least to present the alphabet, probably in the next few days. Largoplazo (talk) 14:26, 29 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Sorry for the delay, but I just added it to the end of the Characters section. Please check to see whether I got it right. Largoplazo (talk) 23:16, 29 April 2022 (UTC)

Add more langauges that use cyrillic
Here is a list with more languages that use cyrillic and how to distinguish them, maybe someone could help me add them: https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-tell-the-difference-between-languages-that-use-cyrillic-script — Preceding unsigned comment added by Vloxxity (talk • contribs) 21:48, 15 January 2023 (UTC)

Removal of extraneous information in French section
It was pointed out to me that the French section contains a fair bit of phonological and historical orthographic information, which isn't really useful for a page whose scope is to "help [...] determine the language in which a text is written."

I've WP:BOLD gone ahead and removed this information, to refocus this section on describing more "naïvely" how to identify French. While the removed information is in the history, for convenience, please find below the points that I've significantly modified:

 * Common digrams for vowels, that either were historically diphthongs or long (au, ai, ei, ou, or final -ez), or are nasalized (an, en, in, on and more rarely un, where the n is muted to an m before b, p or m) possibly surrounded by mute letters for longer polygrams (e.g. eau, ein, ain, but oin is a common diphthong).
 * Common digrams as well for some consonants (ch, rarely sh, gu-, gu-) or semi-consonants (-ill-)
 * Final consonants of words are generally mute (notably s), except to form vocalic digrams.

Laogeodritt [ Talk 00:04, 23 January 2023 (UTC)

French à

 * Accented letters: [...] à only in the word à and at end of words.

What French word (other than à) has final à? —Tamfang (talk) 04:01, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Là, çà (as in çà et là), delà, deçà, déjà, holà, voilà. Largoplazo (talk) 04:16, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
 * D'oh, I thought of là just as I clicked the notice of a change to this page. —Tamfang (talk) 04:37, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

Chakma and Burmese
I'd like to suggest that the Chakma and Burmese scripts be added to this chart. They are similar scripts that are currently missing from this chart. I don't know if there are any guidelines to determine if languages should be put in this list, but if so, they should be put under "Brahmic family of scripts" in "Characters". I also don't know in what order to put the characters in. Alpha514 (talk) 15:26, 25 July 2023 (UTC)


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HMAS Snipe

HMAS Snipe (M1102) (formerly HMS Alcaston) was a Ton-class minesweeper which served in the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

Construction
The ship was constructed by John I. Thornycroft and Company at Southampton and launched on 4 September 1952.

United Kingdom
The ship was completed on 16 December 1952, and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Alcaston, being allocated the pennant number M.1102. Alcaston served with the 104th Mine Sweeping Squadron, and in November 1956 took part in Operation Musketeer, the Anglo-French attack on the Suez Canal. In 1961 she was sold to Australia along with five other Ton-class minesweepers.

Australia
Following her sale, the ship was refitted with her engines replaced by Napier Deltic diesel engines, stabilisers being fitted and air conditioning added to better suit the ship for Australian service. The ship recommissioned as HMAS Snipe on 11 September 1962.

In September 1963, Snipe took part in Operation Gardening, a large scale operation by Australian minesweepers to clear magnetic mines laid during the Second World War in the approaches to Tonolei harbour, Bouganville. On 10 February 1964, the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne (R21) and destroyer HMAS Voyager (D04) collided, sinking Voyager. Snipe took part in search for survivors from Voyager. During the mid-1960s, Snipe was one of several ships operating in support of the Malaysian government during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. This service was later recognised with the battle honour "Malaysia 1964–66". Her first tour took place between May 1964 and January 1965, with a second tour lasting from September 1965 to August 1966. On 16 December that year, Snipe was paid off into reserve.

Snipe remained in RAN service until her decommissioning on 3 June 1983.

title: HMAS Snipe


text:
User talk:Falakshah

Hello "Falakshah" and welcome to Wikipedia. A few tips for you:

 * Peruse Welcome, newcomers and associated pages, such as
 * How to edit a page
 * How to write a great article
 * Naming conventions
 * Manual of Style
 * You can experiment in the Sandbox.
 * Sign talk page entries with ~, which is automatically converted to a name and date.
 * If you have any questions, see Help, or you can a question to the village pump.
 * I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian -- Infrogmation 02:40, 17 Mar 2004 (UTC)

India project
=Nichalp  «Talk»=  08:58, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

Disputed fair use rationale for Image:Sunlogo.gif
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title: User talk:Falakshah


text:
List of mayors of Thunder Bay

This is a list of mayors of Thunder Bay and the former cities of Port Arthur and Fort William. Thunder Bay was incorporated in 1970, amalgamating the cities of Port Arthur and Fort William.

Mayors of Thunder Bay (since 1970)

 * Saul Laskin (1970–1972)
 * Walter Assef (1973–1978)
 * Dusty Miller (1978–1980)
 * Walter Assef (1981–1985)
 * Jack Masters (1986–1991)
 * David Hamilton (1992–1997)
 * Ken Boshcoff (1997–2003)
 * Lynn Peterson (2003 – November 30, 2010)
 * Keith Hobbs (December 1, 2010 – December 4, 2018)
 * Bill Mauro (December 4, 2018 – 2022)
 * Ken Boshcoff (2022–present)

Mayors of Port Arthur (1884-1969)
From the incorporation of Port Arthur in May 1884 to December 1969.

 * Thomas Marks (1884)
 * James Conmee (1885)
 * George Hugh Macdonell (1886–1888) and (1900)
 * Thomas Ambrose Gorham (1889)
 * Aaron Squier (1890)
 * James Farrand Ruttan (1891–1892)
 * George Thomas Marks (1893–1899)Thunder Bay city council sworn inThunder Bay city council sworn in
 * Isaac Lamont Matthews (1901–1902) and (1909–1910) and (1920–1923)
 * George O.P. Clavet (1903–1904) and (1906–1907)
 * Richard Vigars (1905)
 * John James Carrick (1908)
 * Samuel Wellington Ray (1911–1912)
 * John Albert Oliver (1913–1914)
 * James Patrick Mooney (1915)
 * Donald James Cowan (1916–1917)
 * Edward John Blaquier (1918–1919)
 * James White Crooks (1924–1925)
 * Milton Francis (1926–1927)
 * John Oswald Hourigan (1928)
 * George Gibbon (1929–1930)
 * Percy Victor Ibbetson (1931–1932)
 * George Blanchard (1933)
 * Charles Winnans Cox (1934–1948) and (1952)
 * Frederick Oliver Robinson (1949–1951) and (1953–August 1955)
 * Albert James Hinton (September–December 1955)
 * Eunice Marian Wishart (1956–1958)
 * Norman Robert Wilson (1959–1961)
 * Saul Laskin (1962–1969)

Mayors of Fort William (1892-1969)
From the incorporation of Fort William in April 1892 to December 1969.

 * John McKellar (1892–1898)
 * Charles William Jarvis (1899–1900)
 * Walter Frederick Hogarth (1901)
 * Joshua Dyke (1902–1903)
 * Clarence Hugh Jackson (1904)
 * Edward Saunders Rutledge (1905–1906)
 * James Murphy (1907–1908)
 * Louis Lawrence Peltier (1909–1910)
 * Samuel Crawford Young (1911–May 1912) and (1914–1915)
 * George Alexander Graham (June 1912–1913)
 * Harry Murphy (1916–1919)
 * Albert Hugh Dennis (1920–1921)
 * Newton Edmeston (1922–1925)
 * Joseph Edmund Crawford (1926–1928)
 * Nathaniel Bascome Darrell (1929–1930)
 * Eugene Grimes Murphy (1931–1932)
 * Robert Barclay Pow (1933–1936)
 * Benjamin Charles Hardiman (1937)
 * Chisholm Mackenzie Ross (1938–1942)
 * Garfield Anderson (1943–1948)
 * Hubert Badanai (1949–1952) and (1955–1958)
 * Edward Gordon Carson (1953–1954)
 * Catherine Seppala (1959–September 1960)
 * John Oliver Booth (September–December 1960)
 * Ernest H. Reid (1961–1969)

title: List of mayors of Thunder Bay


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List of international rugby union teams

The following is a list of international rugby union teams:

National teams – band classification
Starting in 2008, in addition to the existing tier system, the IRB introduced a four-band system of classification in which unions are classified based on "their development status and record on the international stage". The new structure is:

High performance
All countries previously in Tiers 1 and 2. •

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Development One
These are countries earmarked for increased developmental funding and include:

Targeted
The IRB did not release a list of unions in this category, but named several as World Cup hopefuls being in this band:

Developmental
World Rugby associates in italics

Other teams
• Rugby Africa teams not affiliated to World Rugby

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• Oceania Rugby teams not affiliated to World Rugby

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Multinational teams
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 * The British and Irish Lions.
 * Established in 1950, East Africa conducted seven tours between 1954 and 1982 and played against incoming international, representative and club touring sides including twice against the British Lions; perhaps the only example of representative (as opposed to invitational) multinational teams playing against each other. They also played against the Barbarians.
 * (formerly Tanganyika)
 * A similar development in 2004 has been the Pacific Islanders team.
 * The South American Jaguars were a combination team who played South Africa during the early 1980s.
 * The African Leopards are a development side drawn from across Africa, they have played representative rugby union against South African students.
 * The Arabian Gulf rugby union team combined various teams from Arab countries in the Persian Gulf and competed in World Cup qualification. The Arabian Gulf Rugby Union has now been dismantled and responsibility for the game devolved to each of the member nations, although the team may be revived in the future.
 * (formerly Tanganyika)
 * A similar development in 2004 has been the Pacific Islanders team.
 * The South American Jaguars were a combination team who played South Africa during the early 1980s.
 * The African Leopards are a development side drawn from across Africa, they have played representative rugby union against South African students.
 * The Arabian Gulf rugby union team combined various teams from Arab countries in the Persian Gulf and competed in World Cup qualification. The Arabian Gulf Rugby Union has now been dismantled and responsibility for the game devolved to each of the member nations, although the team may be revived in the future.
 * The South American Jaguars were a combination team who played South Africa during the early 1980s.
 * The African Leopards are a development side drawn from across Africa, they have played representative rugby union against South African students.
 * The Arabian Gulf rugby union team combined various teams from Arab countries in the Persian Gulf and competed in World Cup qualification. The Arabian Gulf Rugby Union has now been dismantled and responsibility for the game devolved to each of the member nations, although the team may be revived in the future.
 * The African Leopards are a development side drawn from across Africa, they have played representative rugby union against South African students.
 * The Arabian Gulf rugby union team combined various teams from Arab countries in the Persian Gulf and competed in World Cup qualification. The Arabian Gulf Rugby Union has now been dismantled and responsibility for the game devolved to each of the member nations, although the team may be revived in the future.
 * The African Leopards are a development side drawn from across Africa, they have played representative rugby union against South African students.
 * The Arabian Gulf rugby union team combined various teams from Arab countries in the Persian Gulf and competed in World Cup qualification. The Arabian Gulf Rugby Union has now been dismantled and responsibility for the game devolved to each of the member nations, although the team may be revived in the future.

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Defunct national sides
Various national sides have ceased to exist for political reasons. In the case of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, there is more than one successor team. In the case of Catalonia, the Spanish Civil War and Franco's crackdown put an end to it, and in the case of East and West Germany, reunification led to their amalgamation into a single German side.

 * Arabian Gulf* – dissolved by the end of 2010 and replaced by separate unions and national teams
 * CIS*
 * * – a combination of Kenya, Tanzania/Tanganyika and Uganda. It has not played since 1982 but the Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA) still exists and there have been recent talks to resurrect the team
 * * – a combination of Kenya, Tanzania/Tanganyika and Uganda. It has not played since 1982 but the Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA) still exists and there have been recent talks to resurrect the team
 * * – a combination of Kenya, Tanzania/Tanganyika and Uganda. It has not played since 1982 but the Rugby Football Union of East Africa (RFUEA) still exists and there have been recent talks to resurrect the team

* For more information on these teams see above.

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 * Nomads

title: List of international rugby union teams


text:
HMAS Stawell

HMAS Stawell (J348/M348) was a Bathurst-class corvette named for the town of Stawell, Victoria. Sixty Bathurst-class corvettes were constructed during World War II, and Stawell was one of 36 initially manned and commissioned solely by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

The corvette later served in the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) as HMNZS Stawell.

Design and construction
In 1938, the Australian Commonwealth Naval Board (ACNB) identified the need for a general purpose 'local defence vessel' capable of both anti-submarine and mine-warfare duties, while easy to construct and operate. The vessel was initially envisaged as having a displacement of approximately 500 tons, a speed of at least 10 kn, and a range of 2000 nmi The opportunity to build a prototype in the place of a cancelled Bar-class boom defence vessel saw the proposed design increased to a 680-ton vessel, with a 15.5 kn top speed, and a range of 2850 nmi, armed with a 4 in gun, equipped with asdic, and able to fitted with either depth charges or minesweeping equipment depending on the planned operations: although closer in size to a sloop than a local defence vessel, the resulting increased capabilities were accepted due to advantages over British-designed mine warfare and anti-submarine vessels. Construction of the prototype HMAS Kangaroo did not go ahead, but the plans were retained. The need for locally built 'all-rounder' vessels at the start of World War II saw the "Australian Minesweepers" (designated as such to hide their anti-submarine capability, but popularly referred to as "corvettes") approved in September 1939, with 60 constructed during the course of the war: 36 (including Stawell) ordered by the RAN, 20 ordered by the British Admiralty but manned and commissioned as RAN vessels, and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy.

Stawell was laid down by HMA Naval Dockyard at Williamstown, Victoria on 18 June 1942. She was launched on 3 April 1943 by Mrs. J. J. Dedman, wife of the Minister for War Organisation, and commissioned into the RAN on 7 August 1943.

RAN
The majority of Stawell's career was spent in three areas. Initially, she served as a convoy escort along the east coast of Australia. Following this, Stawell participated in a variety of escort, minesweeping, and combat roles throughout New Guinea waters. On 3 August 1945 she sank an armed Daihatsu barge in the Moluccas area. In the final third of her career, the ship spent time in Hong Kong waters, performing minsweeping and anti-piracy duties. Stawell returned to Brisbane in November 1945.

The corvette received three battle honours for her wartime service: "Pacific 1943–45", "New Guinea 1943–44", and "Borneo 1945".

RNZN
Stawell was removed from RAN service on 26 March 1946. On 5 March 1952, Stawell and three other Bathurst-class corvettes (HMA Ships HMAS Echuca, HMAS Inverell, and HMAS Kiama) were transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy.

She was commissioned into the RNZN during May 1952 and given the prefix HMNZS. Stawell operated primarily as a training vessel until 1959, when she was placed into reserve.

Fate
Stawell was sold to Pacific Scrap Limited of Auckland, New Zealand in July 1968, and was broken up for scrap.

title: HMAS Stawell


text:
Stawell, Victoria

Stawell ( "stall"), is an Australian town in the Wimmera region of Victoria 237 km west-north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. Located within the Shire of Northern Grampians local government area, it is a seat of local government for the shire and its main administrative centre. At the, Stawell had a population of 6,220.

It was founded in 1853 as Pleasant Creek during the Victorian gold rush. It is one of few towns in Victoria retaining an active gold mining industry.

Stawell is famed for the Stawell Gift, a professional foot race that began in 1878. It is also known as the gateway to the Grampians National Park. One of the most significant Aboriginal cultural sites in south-eastern Australia is Bunjil's Shelter, within the Black Range Scenic Reserve, south of Stawell.

It is named after Sir William Foster Stawell (1815–89), the Chief Justice of Victoria.

Indigenous people
Aboriginal peoples of Victoria lived in the Stawell area for many thousands of years before the colonisation of Australia. The formally recognised traditional owners for the area north-east of the Horsham and Ararat roads, are the Wotjobaluk, Jardwadjali (also known as Jaadwa), Wergaia and Jupagalk nations. These nations are represented by the Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation. In the area of Stawell that is south-west of Horsham and Ararat roads traditional owners have not yet been formally recognised; however, the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC) is negotiating a recognition and settlement agreement with the Victorian Government. The boundary of the agreement is under negotiation. The Eastern Maar people are represented by the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation. The language spoken in the area is Djab Wurrung, and the local placename for Stawell in the indigenous language is Yirip

Colonial history
William McLachlan discovered alluvial gold at Pleasant Creek in May 1853, but the yield was not in sufficient volumes to attract much interest, as the Ballarat and Bendigo fields were known to be giving better results, and had already established the infrastructure to support the miners. There was however sufficient numbers for the area to support the beginnings of a settlement. The town site was first settled during 1853 and was named Pleasant Creek. The mining population of the Stawell field remained relatively small (averaging 200 or less) until 1857 when a series of new alluvial gold discoveries were made.

In August 1857 more extensive prospecting and mining occurred at what became known as Commercial Street, Pleasant Creek.

Two Post Offices were opened, Pleasant Creek on 19 October 1857 and Quartz Reef, Pleasant Creek on 1 June 1859. In 1858 diggers opened the Great Western goldfield, which was worked by some 9,000 prospectors. The prospecting spread to nearby Deep Lead, about 6 kilometres to northwest, and it was reported that at the height of the rush there were over 25,000 people in the area. At the same time, shafts were being sunk around Big Hill, becoming known as the Quartz Reefs. Much alluvial gold was found in the area but the 'fossicking' petered out by 1859.

In 1864, the township was renamed to honour Sir William Stawell (1815–89), the Chief Justice of Victoria resulting in the name of the Pleasant Creek post office becoming "Stawell". The town was created a borough in 1869.

In 1870 Stawell post office was renamed Stawell West, and Quartz Reef, Stawell post office was renamed to Stawell. Stawell Town Hall was constructed in 1872, under the guidance of Stawell Shire Engineer, John D'Alton.

The former Free Library and Mechanics Institute building at 170 Main Street was constructed in 1874 to the design of Stawell architect, George Inskip. The building has served as the location of the Mechanics Institute, School of Design (later School of Mines) and the Borough Library. It is now the headquarters of Australian Regional Education.

The town's water supply system was designed by John D'Alton in 1875, diverting water from Fyan's Creek by tunnels and pipelines, construction was completed in 1881.

By the mid-1920s the gold mining had effectively ceased as the yields were found to be no longer commercially viable. A Pioneer's memorial was erected on Big Hill in 1938.

The town hall underwent significant postwar remodelling, culminating in the addition of the landmark clock tower in 1939.

The Quartz Gold Memorial and Dane Memorial seat were erected on Big Hill in 1953 out of local quartz stone.

Stawell's historical association with gold-mining was revived when full-scale mining recommenced in 1981 with the opening of the Stawell Gold Mine.

The mine was closed in 2016, following pressure from environmental protection agencies, following the mines plans to turn open cut. This was followed by fear that the town would become a ghost town of sorts, however, the mine reopened fully in early 2019.

Demographics
As of the 2021 census, 6,220 people resided in Stawell. The median age of persons in Stawell was 47 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 15.4% of the population. People over the age of 65 years made up 26.2% of the population. There were slightly more females than males with 50.6% of the population female and 49.4% male. The average household size is 2.2 people per household. The average number of children per family for families with children is 1.8.

79.9% of people in Stawell were born in Australia. Of all persons living in Stawell, 1.8% (115 persons) were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. This is higher than for the state of Victoria (1.0%) and lower than the national average (3.2%). The most common ancestries in Stawell were Australian 41.3%, English 39.9%, Scottish 10.8%, Irish 10.1% and German 4.7%.

Governance

Stawell is a seat of local government for the Northern Grampians Shire (the other being St Arnaud). The council meets regularly at Council Chambers at the Shire's offices on the Western Highway. Stawell is also the main administrative centre for the council, with its customer service administration facility located at the Stawell Town Hall. The LGA was created in 1994 as an amalgamation of a number of other municipalities in the region and currently consists of 4 wards, each represented by one to three councillors elected once every four years by postal voting.

In state politics, Stawell is located in the Legislative Assembly electoral district of Lowan, currently held by Emma Kealy (National Party). Stawell is located within the Victorian Legislative Council's Western Victoria Region.

In federal politics, Stawell is located in a single House of Representatives division—the Division of Mallee.

Economy
The economy of Stawell is sustained by the mining, agriculture, manufacturing, retail and tourism industries; the upcoming addition of the only neutrino observatory in the southern hemisphere, the Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory in a transitioning gold mine, represents a significant shift.

The town's service industry includes government services, health, retail and education.

Stawell is the closest large town to the Grampians National Park, and as such plays a large role in regional tourism.

Woolworths and IGA operate supermarkets in the town.

Stawell Hospital is a major regional hospital operated by Stawell Regional Health.

Attractions
Stawell is situated not far from the Grampians National Park, about 32 km by road from Halls Gap.

Bunjil's Shelter
One of the most significant Aboriginal cultural sites in south-eastern Australia is Bunjil's Shelter, which is the only known rock art depiction of Bunjil, the creator-being in Aboriginal Australian mythology. The shelter lies within the Black Range Scenic Reserve (not to be confused with the Black Range State Park), about 10 km south of Stawell. It is a small shelter at the base of a large granite boulder.

Education
Secondary education is serviced by Stawell Secondary College. Primary education facilities include Stawell Primary School, Stawell West Primary School and St Patrick's Catholic Primary. Early childhood education facilities include Early Learning Centre, Taylor's Gully and Cooinda Kindergartens. Special education is provided by Skene Street School. Alternative High Schools include Ararat College and Marian College, both only a short drive away in the town of Ararat.

Transport
Road transport is the main form of transport in Stawell. The town is at the junction of several major roads, the most significant being the Western Highway which bypasses the centre of town along Longfield Street linking it to the cities of Ararat, Ballarat and Melbourne in the east and the cities of Horsham and Adelaide to the west. The bypass has resulted in a new commercial centre spread along its length to the south of the town centre. Other significant roads include the Grampians Road (C216) used by many tourists on their journey to and from Halls Gap in the south west; Pomonal Road (C221) connecting it with the town of Pomonal to the south; Donald-Stawell Road (C238); and Navarre Road (C221) connecting it to the town of Navarre to the north. All major roads but the Western Highway converge in the town centre. Bus services operate from the Stawell railway station to nearby towns including Halls Gap.

Stawell railway station is the town's only operating rail station, having been reopened for The Overland passenger services between Melbourne and Adelaide in 2011. V/Line offer up to 60 seats on each Overland service for V/Line passengers travelling in Victoria. As at December, 2019, it operates twice weekly; on Mondays, and Fridays for Melbourne and on Tuesdays and Saturdays for Adelaide.

Stawell Airport is located 2 NM southwest on Grampians Road; it provides for general aviation.

Sport
Along with the Stawell Gift, run each Easter long weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, Stawell also has many other sporting outlets and teams.

The town has a main Australian rules football club, the Stawell Warriors, competing in the Wimmera Football League, and another team, the Stawell Swifts, competing in the Horsham & District Football League.

The town also has a rugby league club, the Stawell Mounties, who play in the Limestone Coast Rugby League. Their foundation in 2022 follows on from the now-defunct Stawell Devils who last played in the Central Highlands Rugby League in the 2000s.

The horse racing club, the Wimmera Racing Club, schedules around four race meetings a year at Stawell including the Stawell Cup meeting on Easter Sunday. The racecourse is on the south-western outskirts of the town, on Pomonal Road.

Stawell Harness Racing Club conducts regular meetings at its racetrack in the town.

Golfers play at the course of the Grange Golf Club on the Western Highway, Stawell, or at the course of the Stawell Golf Club on Marnoo Road.

Notable people
Notable people from or who lived in Stawell include:
 * George "Mick" Prendergast, Premier of Victoria
 * Chuck Fleetwood-Smith, cricketer
 * Frederick Wymark, Australiana collector, book collector and bookseller
 * Stella Young

title: Stawell, Victoria


text:
Rick Dees

Rigdon Osmond Dees III (born March 14, 1950), best known as Rick Dees, is an American entertainer, radio personality, comedian, actor, and voice artist, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown and for the 1976 satirical novelty song "Disco Duck".

Dees is a People's Choice Award recipient, a Grammy-nominated performing artist, and Broadcast Hall of Fame inductee. He performed the title song for the film Meatballs. He co-founded the E. W. Scripps television network Fine Living, now the Cooking Channel, and has hosted Rick Dees in the Morning at KIIS-FM and KHHT in Los Angeles. Today he continues his own syndicated daily radio show, Daily Dees and the syndicated Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown.

Early life
Dees was born Rigdon Osmond Dees III in Jacksonville, Florida, on March 14, 1950. He was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. Dees graduated from Greensboro's Grimsley High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor's degree in motion pictures, TV, and radio.

Radio
Dees began his radio career at a Greensboro radio station called WGBG while still in high school. He worked for various radio stations throughout the southeastern United States, including WCAR (now known as WXYC) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; WSGN in Birmingham, Alabama; and WKIX in Raleigh, North Carolina.

His introduction to the international entertainment arena began while working at WMPS AM 680 ("The Great 68") in Memphis, Tennessee, during the disco craze of the mid-to-late-1970s, when he wrote and recorded "Disco Duck" in 1976, that sold more than six million copies. The song can be heard in Saturday Night Fever in a brief scene in which a group of older people were learning to "move their feet to the disco beat". While this platinum recording earned him a People's Choice Award for Favorite New Song, and the BMI Award for record sales in one year, Dees was expressly forbidden from playing the song on the air by station management (rival stations refused to play it for fear of promoting their competition). Dees was fired from WMPS when he mentioned that his song, "Disco Duck", was almost number 1, and his own radio station would not let him play it. The station manager said it was a conflict of interest. Dees did not perform the actual duck vocals on the song since he could not "talk like a duck". The duck vocals were recorded at Shoestring Productions in Memphis, Tennessee by Ken Pruitt, who moved away before the song became popular, and the vocals for the duck were done by Michael Chesney of Memphis for the concert tour. Chesney had done some comedic voices for Dees prior to Disco Duck. The tour went from Disney World to New York City, billed as Rick Dees and The Cast of Idiots. After a 45-day non-compete clause in his contract was satisfied, Dees was hired by RKO Radio to do the morning show at WHBQ AM 560 in Memphis.

The success of Dees at their Memphis radio station, combined with his TV appearances and hit music, motivated station owner RKO General to offer Rick the morning radio show in Los Angeles at KHJ (AM). Dees helped their ratings, but AM music radio was rapidly losing ground to FM. When KHJ switched to country music, Dees left KHJ, taking a morning position at KIIS-FM in July 1981. In a short time, he turned KIIS-FM into the #1 revenue-generating radio station in America, with an asset value approaching half a billion dollars.

He began his Weekly Top 40 countdown program, still currently in syndication, on the weekend of October 8–9, 1983 on 18 stations; the show was created after Dees's station KIIS dropped American Top 40 in a dispute over the playing of network commercials. The Weekly Top 40 has been heard each weekend in over 200 countries worldwide and the Armed Forces Radio Network. It is distributed domestically by Compass Media Networks and internationally by Dees Entertainment International (through Radio Express). In December 2008, the Weekly Top 40 became the first English-speaking radio show to air in China. The syndicated Countdown is available in several different editions including Hit Radio (for contemporary hit radio stations), Hot Adult (hot adult contemporary radio stations), 80s Edition and 90s Edition on terrestrial radio stations around the world.

After 23 years on radio station KIIS-FM, Dees left in February 2004 with no official explanation, and he was replaced by Ryan Seacrest. Dees returned to Los Angeles radio in August 2006 on KMVN, Movin 93.9, hosting the morning show along with Patti "Long Legs" Lopez and Mark Wong. On April 15, 2009, Movin 93.9 dismissed its radio personalities and changed the format to Spanish contemporary music after a leasing of the station to Mexico City business Grupo Radio Centro. Dees was one of the last voices on the station before the flip, redirecting listeners of his show to RICK.COM. On April 20, 2011, Dees returned for the second time, this time at KIIS's sister station KHHT, following the station's formatting shift to a Gold-based Rhythmic AC. His show at KHHT lasted for a year.

Dees continues distribution of his Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Countdown globally to terrestrial radio stations and streaming in the U.S., making it the longest continuously running countdown featuring pop music in the world. He also continues to host the syndicated Daily Dees show, and can be heard in Hawaii on Kohala Radio KNKR 96.1 FM each morning live.

Dees has garnered many accolades, including the Marconi Award, induction into both the National Radio Hall of Fame, and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall Of Fame. In 1984, he received a Grammy Award nomination for his comedy album Hurt Me Baby – Make Me Write Bad Checks and has since received the Grammy Governor's Award. His other comedy albums – I'm Not Crazy, Rick Dees Greatest Hit (The White Album), and Put It Where The Moon Don't Shine have also enjoyed worldwide success. He is an inductee in the North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame, the Tennessee Radio Hall Of Fame, has received the Billboard Radio Personality Of The Year award for 10 consecutive years, received a People's Choice Award, and has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Films and television
In television, Dees hosted his own late-night show on the ABC television network in the early 1990s, Into the Night Starring Rick Dees, which ran for one season and was canceled due to low ratings. He has guest-starred on Roseanne, Married... with Children, Diagnosis: Murder and many other hit shows. In addition, Dees hosted the syndicated series Solid Gold from Paramount Television, and his voice has been a part of numerous animated features, including The Flintstones, where he starred as Rock Dees, and Jetsons: The Movie, where he voiced Rocket Rick.

In feature films, Dees starred in La Bamba, portraying the iconic Ted Quillin, the Los Angeles disc jockey who helped launch Ritchie Valens's career.

His voice was heard as the radio DJ during the opening credits of the film Valley Girl, released in 1983.

In 2020, Dees provided the voice of Peter Griffin's impression of him in the Family Guy episode "La Famiglia Guy".

Fisher v. Dees and other legal trouble
In 1984, Dees (and his record company) made a request of Marvin Fisher, the owner of the copyright in the music of the song "When Sunny Gets Blue", for permission to use the song in a parody of the performance by Johnny Mathis. Fisher refused to grant permission for the use. Dees decided to do a parody even without the permission of the copyright holder, using about 29 seconds of the song in a parody album titled Put It Where the Moon Don't Shine.

Fisher sued Dees for copyright infringement. The trial court found that the parody song, titled "When Sonny Sniffs Glue," was clearly intended to "poke fun" at the style of singing for which Johnny Mathis was well known, and thus was not infringing. The decision was upheld on appeal, in Fisher v. Dees 794 F.2d 432 (9th Cir. 1986).

In an unrelated 1991 case, Dees was successfully sued for $10 million in damages. The court found Dees and his business manager acted with "malice and oppression" in diverting profits from Dees's Top 40 countdown program and gave the judgment to a former business partner.

Discography

 * 1976 – The Original Disco Duck
 * 1981 – Gift Rappin'
 * 1983 – Hurt Me Baby – Make Me Write Bad Checks
 * 1984 – Put It Where the Moon Don't Shine
 * 1985 – I'm Not Crazy
 * 1986 – Rick Dees Greatest Hit (The White Album) (Macola Records MRC-0971)
 * 1996 – Spousal Arousal
 * 2008 – Rick and Steve Theme Song

title: Rick Dees


text:
Pearls Before Swine

Pearls Before Swine may refer to:

 * "Pearls before swine", a phrase from Matthew 7:6 in the Bible

Literature

 * Pearls Before Swine (comics), a comic strip by Stephan Pastis
 * Coroner's Pidgin or Pearls Before Swine, a novel in the Albert Campion series by Margery Allingham
 * God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or Pearls Before Swine, a novel by Kurt Vonnegut

Music

 * Pearls Before Swine (band), an American psychedelic folk band formed by Tom Rapp
 * "Pearls Before Swine", a 1993 song by Coldcut from Philosophy
 * "Pearls Before Swine", a song by Corrosion of Conformity from Deliverance
 * "Pearls before the Swine", a song by Machine Head from Unto the Locust
 * "Pearls B4 the Swine", a song by Prince from One Nite Alone...

Other uses

 * Pearls Before Swine (film), a 1999 Australian film starring Boyd Rice
 * Pearls Before Swine (musical), a 1986 Australian musical by Dennis Watkins and Chris Harriott

title: Pearls Before Swine


text:
Pure Prairie League

Pure Prairie League is an American country rock band which featured in its original lineup, singer and guitarist Craig Fuller, drummer Tom McGrail and steel guitarist John David Call, all from Waverly in southern Ohio. Fuller started the band in 1970 and McGrail named it after a fictional 19th century temperance union featured in the 1939 Errol Flynn cowboy film Dodge City. In 1975 the band scored its biggest hit with the single "Amie", a track that originally appeared on their 1972 album Bustin' Out. Pure Prairie League scored five consecutive Top 40 LPs in the 1970s and added a sixth in the 1980s. They disbanded in 1988 but regrouped in 1998 and continue to perform. The line-up has been fluid over the years, with no one member having served over the band's entire history. The band's most recent line-up consists of Call, drummer Scott Thompson, keyboardist Randy Harper, guitarist Jeff Zona and bassist Jared Camic. Other notable musicians to have played with Pure Prairie League include guitarists Vince Gill, Gary Burr and Curtis Wright.

History
The band was formed in Columbus, Ohio in 1970 and had its first success in Cincinnati. Craig Fuller, Tom McGrail, Jim Caughlan and John David Call had played together in various bands since high school, notably the Vikings, the Omars, the Sacred Turnips and the Swiss Navy.

In 1970 the first Pure Prairie League line-up was Fuller, McGrail, singer/songwriter/guitarist George Ed Powell (a popular Cincinnati folk singer), Phill Stokes (bassist in Columbus bands Sanhedrin Move and J.D. Blackfoot) and Robin Suskind (a popular guitar teacher in the University of Cincinnati neighborhood) on guitar and mandola, with John David Call joining the band later that year. Call's steel guitar added country credibility to the band's playlist and sparked guitar duels with Fuller that created the signature sound of the band. They rose to popularity as the house band at New Dilly's Pub in the Mt. Adams section of Cincinnati.

In mid-1971, McGrail and Stokes left the band to rehearse with Bill Bartlett (musician), but were unable to put a viable band together. Jim Caughlan, who had played guitar and drums with Fuller, Call and McGrail in earlier bands, took over on drums, and Jim Lanham from California, formerly of The Yellow Payges and Country Funk, replaced Stokes on bass. Suskind departed as well, soon after the arrival of Caughlan and Lanham.

Early on, Pure Prairie League was looking for national artist representation and made contact with a well-known Cleveland based rock and roll promoter, Roger Abramson. At the behest of the group's roadie Jim "Westy" Westermeyer (who had also worked for the James Gang), Abramson saw the band at New Dilly's Pub and later signed them to a management contract. Abramson was able to land a contract with RCA Records. He then placed Pure Prairie League as an opening act with many of the concerts he produced at that time.

Their self-titled first album used a Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover, showing a trail-worn cowboy named Luke, who would appear on the cover of every Pure Prairie League recording thereafter. After releasing their debut album (recorded in New York City) in March 1972 and embarking on a nationwide tour, Call, Caughlan and Lanham all left the band.

At that point, Pure Prairie League owed RCA another album and Craig Fuller agreed to record the second record in RCA's Toronto studio with the help of George Ed Powell and Bob Ringe (who had also produced the first album). Al Brisco played pedal steel guitar on the session. Bustin' Out (begun in the summer of 1972) was produced by Ringe and featured the songs of Fuller and Powell. Billy Hinds from Cincinnati (drums, percussion) joined the band and Hinds's friend, Michael Connor, played piano on most of the sessions and would become a regular in the Pure Prairie League line-up for years to come. Mick Ronson added string arrangements to several tracks, most notably "Boulder Skies" and "Call Me Tell Me". Michael Reilly, who would become the longtime bass player and front man for the band, joined in early September 1972, soon after the record was completed. Bustin' Out was released in October 1972.

Shortly afterward, the group returned to Ohio and Fuller had to face trial for charges of draft evasion in Kentucky. Before conscientious objector (C.O.) status could be arranged, he was sentenced to six months in jail and forced to leave Pure Prairie League in February 1973. At this point, RCA dropped the band and their future looked bleak.

By August 1973, the band members were in Cincinnati and managed to persuade Call to return. Fuller, though out of prison by now, was working the late shift in a community hospital to satisfy his C.O. requirements, and was not inclined to rejoin at that time. (He was eventually given a full pardon by President Gerald Ford.) Reilly took over as the band's leader and front man and brought in his friend Larry Goshorn (vocals, guitars) to replace Fuller in November 1973. Goshorn had played in a popular Ohio band called the Sacred Mushroom.

Pure Prairie League hit the road and began playing gigs constantly, mostly in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast. As a result of their heavy schedule, particularly at colleges, their songs became well known; "Amie" (Craig Fuller's ode to an on-again/off-again relationship), from the second album, became a particular favorite.

Success
As "Amie" grew in popularity, radio stations began receiving requests for it. As a result, RCA re-released Bustin' Out and issued "Amie" as a single. It peaked at No. 27 on April 26, 1975, just as a minor bluegrass revival was underway on mid-western college campuses.

RCA re-signed Pure Prairie League and their third album, Two Lane Highway, was released in June 1975. It featured guest appearances by Chet Atkins, fiddler Johnny Gimble, Don Felder from The Eagles and Emmylou Harris, who dueted with the band on the song "Just Can't Believe It", which received much airplay on country stations. Highway was the band's highest 'charter' at No. 24, and Bustin' Out reached gold status. This began a string of five consecutive Top 40 album releases, as If the Shoe Fits (January 1976), Dance (November 1976) and Live, Takin' the Stage (September 1977) all made the Top 40.

In 1977 Call left because of increasing back troubles. Larry Goshorn's brother, Tim, joined in time to record Just Fly (March 1978). But in 1978 there was a mass exodus as the Goshorns left to form their own group, The Goshorn Brothers, and Powell, the last remaining original member, retired from the road to run his pig farm in Ohio. However, the group soldiered on, as Reilly quickly brought in temporary members, California country rocker Chris Peterson (vocals, guitar) and the group's soundman, Jeff Redefer (guitar), to play a few shows until new, permanent players could be located.

In September 1978 auditions led to the hiring of Vince Gill (vocals, guitars, mandolin, banjo, fiddle). Further auditions brought in Steven Patrick Bolin (vocals, guitars, flute) in January 1979. This revamped line-up recorded Can't Hold Back (June 1979), which turned out to be their last for RCA. Sax player Jeff Kirk accompanied the band on some of their dates during the 1979 tour.

Casablanca Records, who at this time was trying to play down its reputation as primarily a disco label, signed Pure Prairie League and other non-dance acts to its roster in 1980. In January, guitarist Jeff Wilson came in to replace Bolin, and the band's next release, Firin' Up (February 1980) spawned the hits "Let Me Love You Tonight" and "I'm Almost Ready", both sung by Gill, with saxophone accompaniment by David Sanborn. A second Casablanca release, Something in the Night (February 1981), kept Pure Prairie League on the charts with "Still Right Here in My Heart". However, as fate would have it, Casablanca ultimately went bankrupt and was sold to Polygram Records. Polygram then dropped most of Casablanca's roster, including Pure Prairie League.

Both Gill and Wilson left in early 1982, and Gill pursued a successful solo country career.

Later years
Despite the lack of a recording contract, the group still found itself in demand as a live act and played in clubs and at outdoor festivals.

Tim Goshorn returned in 1982 and Mike Hamilton (vocals, guitars, from Kenny Loggins' band) also joined the same year and was there for six months (until mid-1982) and joined again in 1987 for touring and for the recording of “Mementos”. Al Garth (vocals, woodwinds, fiddle, keyboards), another Loggins alumnus (Loggins & Messina, also Poco and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), joined as well, from 1982 to 1985.

Longtime drummer Billy Hinds retired from the road in 1984. He was first succeeded by Merel Bregante (also ex-Loggins & Messina and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) and then by Joel Rosenblatt (1985–1986) and Steve Speelman (ex-Steele) (1986–1988). Sax player Dan Clawson took over for Garth in 1985 and Gary Burr (vocals, guitars) was a member from 1984 to 1985.

1985 also saw the return of the group's co-founder Craig Fuller (who had fronted the groups American Flyer and Fuller/Kaz in the mid-to-late 1970s, after he had returned to music).

Mementos 1971-1987, which contained re-recordings of their best known material plus four new songs, was released on the small Rushmore label in December 1987 and was recorded back in Ohio, where the band had returned their home base. It featured guest appearances from many of the band's alumni, including Gill, Powell, the Goshorns, Call, Burr, Rosenblatt and Mike Hamilton.

In 1988 the band decided to call it quits. Fuller, who had already joined a reformed Little Feat in 1987, played with Pure Prairie League for their final shows in the spring of 1988.

Rebirth
A decade later (in 1998), Pure Prairie League was back with a line-up of Fuller, Connor, Reilly, Burr, Fats Kaplin (pedal steel guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, accordion, washboard) and Rick Schell (vocals, drums, percussion). After two years, Burr was succeeded by Curtis Wright (vocals, guitars) in June 2000 and the group began work on a new album in 2002, yet abandoned the sessions and separated again after Schell became busy with other projects.

Michael Connor (born December 7, 1949) died after a long battle with cancer on September 2, 2004, at age 54. Following Connor's death, the group resumed touring once again with Fuller, Reilly, Schell, Wright and Kaplin (when available) and released All in Good Time in November 2005. Their first album in 18 years, this release appeared on the small Drifter's Church label.

Since this time, Pure Prairie League has continued to tour, playing a handful of shows every year. Donnie Lee Clark replaced Curtis Wright in late 2006 after Wright joined Reba McEntire's band. Mike Reilly was sidelined in 2006 after he was forced to undergo a liver transplant. Jack Sundrud (from Poco) came in to sub for Reilly. Rick Plant also did a brief stint with them on bass before relocating to Australia in late 2006. Jeff "Stick" Davis (from Amazing Rhythm Aces) sat in on bass for Mike in 2007. In May 2007 Reilly appeared at a few shows and played guitar yet was unable to come back full-time until 2008. John David Call played some concerts in 2006 & 2007, standing in for Kaplin, and returned to the band full-time in June 2010.

As of May 2011, it was announced, via the Pure Prairie League website, that Fuller would not be appearing at all of the band's shows that year, as he decided to take a break from touring. He ended up leaving the group again altogether by 2012. On February 10, 2012 at The Syndicate in Newport, Kentucky, Fuller, his son Patrick, Tommy McGrail, and George Ed Powell (a frequent guest at their Ohio shows in recent years) took to the stage to join the current Pure Prairie League line-up of John David Call, Mike Reilly, Rick Schell and Donnie Lee Clark. In May 2012 Scott Thompson (vocals, drums, percussion) replaced Rick Schell, who departed to continue to grow his real estate business.

Former member Tim Goshorn (born November 27, 1954) died at his home in Williamstown, Kentucky after a bout with cancer on April 15, 2017, at age 62.

In 2018 the group added additional member Randy Harper on vocals, guitar and keyboards.

Tim Goshorn's brother Larry, who had played with Pure Prairie League from 1973 to 1978, also fell victim to cancer and died on September 14, 2021.

In 2021 long time bassist Mike Reilly retired from the road due to health issues and fifteen year veteran Donnie Lee Clark departed as well, paving the way for new members Jared Camic (vocals, bass) and Jeff Zona (vocals, guitar). Reilly did return briefly in February 2022 as a special guest on the Rock Legends Cruise.

The band endorses a number of charitable efforts, Pittsburgh's ongoing BurghSTOCK Concert Series among them.

Current

 * John David Call — pedal steel guitar, banjo, dobro (1970–1972, 1973–1977, 2010–present; guest 2006–2007)
 * Scott Thompson — vocals, drums, percussion (2012–present)
 * Randy Harper - vocals, guitar, keyboards (2018–present)
 * Jared Camic - vocals, bass (2021–present)
 * Jeff Zona - vocals, guitar (2021–present)

Former

 * Craig Fuller - vocals, lead guitar, bass (1970–1973, 1985–1988, 1998–2002, 2004–2012; somewhat inactive while touring, 2011–2012)
 * George Ed Powell — vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar (1970—1978; occasional guest at Ohio shows since 1998)
 * Phill Stokes — bass (1970—1971)
 * Robin Suskind — guitar, mandola (1970–1971)
 * Tom McGrail — drums (1970—1971)
 * Jim Caughlan — drums, guitar (1971—1972)
 * Jim Lanham — bass, backing vocals (1971–1972)
 * Billy Hinds — drums, percussion (1972–1984)
 * Michael Reilly - vocals, bass, guitar, mandolin (1972–1988, 1998–2021)
 * Michael Connor — piano, keyboards, synthesizers (1972–1988, 1998–2004; died 2004)
 * Larry Goshorn — vocals, guitars (1973–1978; died 2021)
 * Tim Goshorn - vocals, guitar (1977/1978–1978, 1982—1988; died 2017)
 * Vince Gill – vocals, guitars, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, violin (1978–1982)
 * Steven Patrick Bolin — vocals, guitars, flute (1979–1980)
 * Mike Hamilton — vocals, guitars (1982 & 1987)
 * Al Garth — vocals, saxophone, woodwinds, fiddle, keyboards (1982—1985)
 * James "Bo" Metz — guitar (1984–1985)
 * Merel Bregante — drums (1984–1985)
 * Gary Burr - vocals, guitars (1984–1985, 1998–2000)
 * Joel Rosenblatt — drums (1985–1986)
 * Dan Clawson — saxophone (1985–1988)
 * Steve Speelman — drums (1986–1988)
 * Rick Schell - vocals, drums, percussion (1998–2012)
 * Jeff Wilson — guitars (1980–1982)
 * Fats Kaplin — pedal steel guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, accordion, washboard (1998–2010)
 * Curtis Wright - vocals, guitars (2000–2006)
 * Donnie Lee Clark - vocals, guitars (2006–2021)

Temporary and touring

 * Chris Peterson — vocals, guitar (1978)
 * Jeff Redefer - guitar (1978)
 * Jeff Kirk — saxophone (1979)
 * Jack Sundrud – bass (2006)
 * Rick Plant - bass (2006)
 * Jeff “Stick” Davis – bass (2007)

title: Pure Prairie League