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USS Willis A. Lee

USS Willis A. Lee (DD-929) was a Mitscher-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Vice Admiral Willis A. "Ching" Lee USN (1888–1945).

Willis A. Lee was laid down by the Shipbuilding Division of the Bethlehem Steel Company at Quincy in Massachusetts on 1 November 1949, reclassified as a destroyer leader and designated DL-4 on 9 February 1951, launched on 26 January 1952 by Mrs. Fitzhugh L. Palmer, Jr., niece of Vice Admiral Lee and commissioned at the Boston Naval Shipyard on 5 October 1954.

Willis A. Lee participated in quarantine operations during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. Willis A. Lee was decommissioned on 19 December 1969, stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 May 1972 and sold for scrap to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation of New York City on 18 May 1973.

History
Following her shakedown at Guantánamo Bay, Willis A. Lee returned to her homeport, Newport, R.I., and began a career of operations with the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. She was deployed to the Mediterranean for the first time in July 1955, cruising with the 6th Fleet—the first ship of her type to operate with that force. Upon the conclusion of her first tour with the 6th Fleet later that year, Willis A. Lee returned to the east coast and operated off the eastern seaboard in air defense exercises.

In February 1956, Willis A. Lee — reclassified as a frigate in 1955 — sailed southward to the Dominican Republic, where she represented the United States in American Day festivities at Ciudad Trujillo, the capital city of that West Indian nation. She was driven onto rocks at Jamestown, Rhode Island, in a storm on 18 March 1956. The frigate then spent considerable time at the Boston Naval Shipyard on Boston, Massachusetts, before resuming active operations. In November 1956, while participating in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercises, Willis A. Lee assisted the distressed fishing vessel, Agda, off Montauk Point, Long Island, fighting and extinguishing a blazing oil fire and thus saving several lives.

In February 1957, the ship carried King Ibn Saud, of Saudi Arabia, to New York City during his official visit to the United States. Later that month, she sailed to Washington, D.C., to participate in ceremonies honoring the birthday of George Washington. That spring, Willis A. Lee played "movie star", when she was filmed by the Louis de Rochemont studios for a part in the cinerama production, "Windjammer", while she operated on ASW exercises in the North Atlantic. She subsequently participated in the International Naval Review held that summer at Hampton Roads, Virginia, before becoming part of a large combined NATO fleet that conducted intensive ASW and air defense exercises in the North Atlantic that autumn. During those maneuvers, Willis A. Lee crossed the Arctic Circle for the first time on 20 September.

Over the next two years, Willis A. Lee was twice deployed to the Mediterranean for operations with the 6th Fleet, separating those tours with local operations out of Newport and in the Caribbean and off the coast of Florida, primarily on ASW and air defense exercises. In the summer of 1959, she participated in Operation "Inland Sea" as flagship for Rear Admiral E. B. Taylor, Commander, Task Force 47, on a cruise on the Great Lakes. During that historic voyage, she transited the newly opened St. Lawrence Seaway and visited the ports of Chicago, Illinois; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Cleveland, Ohio. That autumn, Willis A. Lee returned to her schedule of maneuvers and exercises in the North Atlantic.

Willis A. Lee, with Commander, Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet, embarked, conducted an inspection cruise — commencing in February 1960 — of Atlantic Fleet ports and installations that took the ship to San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; and Ciudad Trujillo. Upon the conclusion of that cruise, the warship took part in Operation "Springboard", an annual exercise in the Caribbean.

In the summer of 1960, Willis A. Lee conducted a midshipmen's training cruise while participating in more fleet exercises. She subsequently visited Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and New York City before she took part in various refueling-at-sea and replenishment exercises as part of LANTFLEX (Atlantic Fleet Exercise) 2-60.

After a brief trip to Charleston, S.C., in August, Willis A. Lee participated in Operation "Sword Thrust," a NATO fleet exercise in the North Atlantic which combined the efforts of more than 60 British, French, Norwegian, Canadian, and American warships. While carrying out simulated attacks on the European continent during the course of the maneuvers, Willis A. Lee again crossed the Arctic Circle. After calling at Le Havre, France, Willis A. Lee returned to Newport. In November, she entered the Boston Naval Shipyard for an extensive overhaul, part of the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program.

During her FRAM overhaul, Willis A. Lee was altered significantly to enable her to perform her designed role more efficiently. When she finally left the yard almost a year later, she displayed a distinctly altered silhouette. She then had a helicopter hangar in place of the after 3-inch twin gun mount to accommodate the Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH helicopter system. She had also received topside antisubmarine torpedo armament. Her two "Weapon Alfa" mounts had been removed. Chief among the new equipment installed in the ship was a bow-mounted sonar dome, utilizing revolutionary new concepts in underwater sound-ranging.

Emerging from the shipyard in September 1961, Willis A. Lee participated in a rescue operation soon thereafter, embarking the crew from the storm-endangered Texas Tower No. 2, off the coast of Massachusetts. Willis A. Lee then stood guard over the early warning tower, fighting off Hurricane Esther as she remained in the vicinity of the abandoned "Texas Tower."

Willis A. Lee spent much of her ensuing career involved in sonar evaluations of her bow-mounted system. She ranged from the mid-Atlantic to the Caribbean, frequently operating with submarines, and upon occasion visited Bermuda. There were highlights, though, of that normally routine duty, such as in the autumn of 1962 when the United States and the Soviet Union stood at the brink of a possible nuclear confrontation over the issue of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Willis A. Lee operated on the Cuban "quarantine line" for 10 days, deploying in the Caribbean until President Kennedy called off the operation. She then resumed her sonar evaluations.

After spending January and February 1963 at the Boston Naval Shipyard for more alterations and improvements on the experimental sonar system, Willis A. Lee operated in Haitian waters during March, conducting further sonar evaluations. She varied that duty with a brief in-port visit at Port-au-Prince during the troubled political situation there at that time.

That summer, Willis A. Lee was attached to Destroyer Development Group (DesDevGru) 2, a group of ships engaged in experimental work of various kinds, and finished out the year 1963 in the Boston Naval Shipyard undergoing extensive boiler repairs.

With the exception of two brief trips to Newport, Willis A. Lee remained at the Boston Naval Shipyard until 29 April 1964, when she returned to her home port to prepare for a southern cruise. Underway on 6 May for type training in Guantánamo Bay, the frigate conducted further sonar evaluations later that month en route back to Newport before returning to her home port on 26 May. Willis A. Lee subsequently conducted three more evaluation cruises before she participated in Exercise "Steel Pike," the largest peacetime amphibious exercise in history. During those maneuvers, Willis A. Lee served as the flagship for Rear Admiral Mason Freeman, Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 2. To then round out the year, the frigate conducted another sonar evaluation cruise, calling twice at Key West during the voyage. She returned north on 11 December and spent the remainder of the year under restricted availability at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, East Boston, Mass.

Willis A. Lee resumed sonar testing operations in 1965 and operated twice in the Bahamas area. She subsequently conducted type training off the Virginia capes and in the Narragansett Bay area before arriving at the Boston Naval Shipyard on 30 June to commence a lengthy overhaul to her engineering plant and modifications to her sonar system.

For the remainder of her career, Willis A. Lee continued in her routine of sonar development and testing, home-ported out of Newport with occasional periods of yard repairs at Boston. During her final years, the frigate operated off the Virginia capes, in the Caribbean, and Narragansett Bay areas, and was deployed to the Mediterranean November 1966. She returned to Newport on 20 May 1967, thus completing her first extended deployment since 1961. She was deployed again to the Mediterranean January 1968, returning to Newport in May of that year. In August 1968, she was deployed to the Red Sea as the flagship for COMMIDEASTFOR. However, what was to be a 10-month deployment was cut short when she developed propulsion problems while in transit off the coast of Brazil. After undergoing two weeks of repair in Recife, Brazil, she was relieved by USS Luce (DLG-7), and returned to Newport. In January 1969, she transited from Newport to the Boston Naval Shipyard via the Cape Cod Canal for what was to be her final overhaul prior to decommissioning later that year.

Fate
Placed out of commission in December 1969, Willis A. Lee was struck from the Navy list on 15 May 1972. She was sold to the Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation, of New York City, and taken under tow for her final voyage on 5 June 1973. She was subsequently scrapped.

Awards

 * National Defense Service Medal
 * Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

title: USS Willis A. Lee


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Talk:WZGC

Originally this page was at WZGC-FM, then it moved to WZGC and then back to WZGC-FM. Isn't this weird?? (This part of the talk page was created in mid-March 2004)

Callsign change

 * The station recently changed identification from Z to Dave. I contacted the station, asking whether it plans to change callsign; but as of when I wrote this message, I got no response. 66.245.104.133 18:25, 2 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Now, enough time has passed that the station should have changed its callsign by now, but, for some reason, it didn't. Can anyone answer why?? (I recommend that whoever responds to this question is someone who knows a great deal about radio callsigns.) 66.245.107.151 20:22, 30 Oct 2004 (UTC) Spaceing its every thing moveing only a 2 miles NE but gaining hight to 320 m' thats why this staion now at 63,000 watts from 99,000 but thats littel as hight matters

Fair use rationale for Image:WZGClogo.jpg
Image:WZGClogo.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 05:05, 14 July 2007 (UTC)

New Morning Show
Anyone listening to Dave early enough in the morning--are Holly Firfer and Tim Orff still around? I wasn't tuned in early enough, so I left the ambiguity in that section of the article. Patrick O'Leary (talk) 14:30, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Change of Formats
This week finishes up the regular programming of DaveFM. According to their current broadcast, over the weekend, or next week (not sure), DaveFM (WZGC) is changing to an all Sports Talk format. I could find very few details at this time, so it may be a bit early to edit the page. "92.9 Dave FM Atlanta To Flip To Sports" "Where Will Mara Davis Go?"  stuston (talk) 20:49, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

Aaron Rodgers
Here's a thought...Aaron Rodgers stated that he does not want to play on a "rebuilding" team. With Tom Brady possibly retiring, would Aaron Rodgers be a good fit there?..just something to think about. Robin from Georgia. 2600:1702:13E0:23B0:F8BA:E60B:C20A:298E (talk) 20:00, 30 January 2022 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:WZGC


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Ferrymead Railway

The Ferrymead Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway built upon the track formation of New Zealand's first public railway, from Ferrymead to Christchurch, which opened on 1 December 1863. On the opening of the line to Lyttelton on 9 December 1867, the Ferrymead Railway became the Ferrymead Branch and was closed shortly thereafter. In 1964, rail enthusiasts began relaying track on the historic formation and the new narrow gauge. Ferrymead Railway officially reopened in 1977. It now operates steam, diesel and electric trains regularly and is recognised as one of the most significant rail preservation sites in New Zealand.

Early history
The original line was built with the same gauge as the Canterbury Provincial Railways to suit rolling stock imported from the Melbourne and Essendon Railway Company in the Australian state of Victoria. It serviced ships which docked at the Ferrymead wharf. Construction of the tunnel to the port of Lyttelton was in progress: when this was finished in 1867, the line to Ferrymead became a branch and thereafter carried little traffic. After 27 July 1868, the line was used as a siding, by which time the station buildings had been relocated to Christchurch and Heathcote station. It was the first railway in New Zealand to be both opened and closed.

The Museum of Science and Industry, as it was then called, began in Christchurch in the early 1960s when a group of like-minded individuals banded together to set up a pilot project at Garvins Road in Hornby. At that time the Canterbury Branch of the NZRLS applied to the New Zealand Railways Department to lease part of the old Southbridge Branch at Prebbleton. When this was turned down, Ferrymead became a serious possibility. The Museum of Science and Industry and the Canterbury Branch decided that the Ferrymead site was ideal. The centenary of the original line was commemorated in 1963 and the beginnings of the present Ferrymead Railway date to November 1964.

Ferrymead Heritage Park
It was decided that the site, later named Ferrymead Heritage Park, should include both railway and tram tracks, the latter operated by the Tramway Historical Society linking the entrance with a historical village development. The Canterbury Branch started construction of the Ferrymead Railway with infrastructure and facilities including the workshop, engine shed, stations, signalling systems and other facilities. The railway began to operate trains during 1972 and was officially opened in 1977. Up to that time, locomotives and rolling stock were transported to the site by truck. In 1978, the track was extended to a temporary connection with the New Zealand Railways main line near Heathcote, and this permitted the largest locomotives, the Vulcan railcars and other rolling stock to enter the site. The arrival of the Vulcans, the first real example of economical diesel motive power, allowed Saturday services and steam substitution to become a reality.

During the late 1970s, construction began on the electrified section of the railway, using materials and equipment obtained from the former electric lines between Christchurch and Lyttelton, and Arthur's Pass and Otira. Following the withdrawal of the DG class diesel-electric locomotives by NZR in 1983, a separate society, the Diesel Traction Group, was formed to preserve one of the class at Ferrymead and subsequently purchased DE class and DI class locomotives. In 1988, the Ferrymead Railway was an integral and key part of the Ferrymead 125 anniversary celebrations, which saw passenger train shuttles between Christchurch and Ferrymead via a main-line connection, returning via Lyttelton. Locomotives and rolling stock left Ferrymead by rail to participate in other parts of the rail festival, including several main-line excursions. In 1988, a DM class electric multiple unit (English Electric EMU) set comprising motor coach DM 320 and trailer D 2695 arrived at Ferrymead before the Ferrymead 125 celebrations, but did not attend the actual celebrations.

In 1990, there was another steam festival in conjunction with the New Zealand sesquicentennial, and a Vulcan Railcar tour of the South Island using RM 51 and RM 56. Also in that year, the NZRLS Canterbury Branch was reconstituted as the Canterbury Railway Society. Restructuring of New Zealand Railways, which had begun in the early 1980s, resulted in the closure of local railway facilities and produced further opportunities for CRS to acquire additional equipment. Changes in employment law and its consequent effect on New Zealand society after 1990 had major impacts on nearly every railway preservation organisation in New Zealand in terms of voluntary labour supply. The economic recession of 1991 also had its effect upon CRS. Ferrymead Heritage Park was also in financial trouble as a result of the economic downturn and a drop off in Park visitors. This era ushered in a number of changes for rail preservation groups including the introduction of new safety systems under the Land Transport Safety Authority.

Present day
In 1995, Ferrymead Historic Park was taken over by the Christchurch City Council when its financial losses became unsustainable. Since that time, there have been a number of changes in the way that the Park is run, with a greater reliance on voluntary labour. The Ferrymead Railway now operates a more limited running season to take into account the reduction in visitor numbers during the winter months and to allow for track and rolling stock maintenance as required. A feature of recent years has been the Waipara Vintage Festivals held every second year from 1995. Ferrymead Railway and Diesel Traction Group locomotives and carriages have participated in each of these steam-based festivals, held on the Weka Pass Railway, except for the 2003 event.

In 2005, plans for a National Rail Museum were revealed. Construction of the first stage will cost approximately $3.5 million. Other plans include the electrification between Moorhouse and Ferrymead stations which was completed in 2009, and extending the line from Moorhouse to a new Valley Station.

The earthquakes of September 2010 and February 2011 caused significant damage to infrastructure around the museum including the railway. Repairs were undertaken to get the railway up and running after authorities gave it the all-clear to operate again. The railway was operating at capacity by Easter 2012. This was seen as an achievement for the city of Christchurch and a morale-boosting event after a year of devastation.

title: Ferrymead Railway


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USS Wilkinson

USS Wilkinson (DL-5) was a Mitscher class destroyer in the United States Navy. She was named for Vice Admiral Theodore Stark "Ping" Wilkinson USN (1888–1946).

Wilkinson was laid down by the Shipbuilding Division of the Bethlehem Steel Company at Quincy in Massachusetts on 1 February 1950; originally designated DD-930, she was reclassified as a destroyer leader and designated DL-5 on 9 February 1951, launched on 23 April 1952 by Lady Catherine Moore, the former Mrs. Theodore S. Wilkinson and commissioned on 3 August 1954.

1955–1959
After shakedown training out of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and the usual post-shakedown availability, Wilkinson departed her home port, Newport, Rhode Island, on 21 February 1955—with Rear Admiral Arleigh Burke, Commander, Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet (and soon to become the Chief of Naval Operations) and members of his staff embarked—and carried Admiral Burke on an inspection tour that included visits to San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Guantánamo Bay and Havana, Cuba; and Key West, Fla. Upon her return, the destroyer leader became flagship for Commander, Destroyer Flotilla (DesFlot) 2, part of the Atlantic Fleet's antisubmarine forces. For three months thereafter, the ship conducted antisubmarine warfare (ASW) exercises.

On 11 July, Wilkinson—with 70 1st and 3d class NROTC midshipmen embarked—departed the east coast for a training cruise. During the ensuing voyage, the warship touched at Edinburgh, Scotland; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Guantánamo Bay, before returning to the United States on 2 September.

Wilkinson departed her home port on 24 October 1955 for air defense exercises in the Gulf of Mexico, with Commander, DesFlot 6 embarked. During that cruise, Wilkinson visited New Orleans and Havana, before she arrived back at Newport on 18 November. On 2 December, the ship entered the Boston Naval Shipyard for a five-month overhaul and the installation of improved 3 inch antiaircraft guns. After successfully completing her sea trials for her newly installed 3 inch / 70 caliber battery, Wilkinson conducted underway training out of Guantánamo Bay. She later visited Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Charleston, S.C.; and Norfolk, Va.; before taking part in large-scale ASW maneuvers in June. The ship's performance during the fiscal year 1956 earned her the Battle Efficiency "E."

In July 1956, Wilkinson departed Newport, bound for San Diego, Calif., and duty with the Pacific Fleet. En route to her new home port, the frigate visited Havana; Balboa, Canal Zone; and Buena Ventura, Colombia; before she became flagship of Commander, Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 17—the first ship of her type assigned to the Pacific Fleet.

Between August 1956 and March 1957, Wilkinson operated locally out of San Diego and took part in ASW, air defense, and amphibious exercises. One highlight of that period occurred on 14 September 1956, when Wilkinson headed a veritable "armada" of 70 fighting ships during a 1st Fleet review off Long Beach, in what some called the largest naval parade on the west coast in 22 years.

During March and April 1957, Wilkinson operated in the Bering Sea and the Aleutians, visiting Kodiak and Dutch Harbor, Alaska, en route to her operating area. While steaming back to San Diego, she touched at Esquimalt, British Columbia; Seattle, Wash.; and San Francisco. Later, during part of May, Rear Admiral Chester Wood, Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet, embarked in Wilkinson for air defense and ASW exercises. In June, the warship visited Portland, Oreg., to take part in the annual Rose Festival activities.

Wilkinson's home port was changed from San Diego to Long Beach in July 1957, and the destroyer leader entered the naval shipyard there in February 1958 for extensive modifications to her power plant. Released from the yard in September, the destroyer leader conducted underway training out of San Diego and operated locally for the remainder of 1958.

In January 1959, Wilkinson deployed on her first Western Pacific (WestPac) cruise, visiting Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Subic Bay, Philippines; Buckner Bay, Okinawa; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and the Japanese ports of Yokpsuka and Kure, before she returned to Long Beach in March, embarking Commander, DesRon 19, upon arrival.

After again operating locally between April and October 1959, she participated in various exercises off the coast of California and in another 1st Fleet review. Wilkinson began her second WestPac deployment when she departed Long Beach in October. Coming under the operational control of Commander, 7th Fleet, Wilkinson took part in the Taiwan Strait patrol, ASW tactics, and various fast carrier task force operations in the Far East.

1960–1965
Returning to Long Beach in March 1960, Wilkinson entered the naval shipyard there for a five-month overhaul. During that period of repairs and alterations, the ship's Combat Information Center (CIC) was enlarged and modified; and a long-range air search radar was added. In addition, a DASH (Destroyer Anti-Submarine Helicopter—sometimes sardonically nicknamed the "Down at Sea Helicopter") system—was installed. This change increased Wilkinson's ASW capacity severalfold.

Following Wilkinson's departure from the shipyard in August 1960, she carried out six weeks of underway training out of San Diego. She operated locally during October and November and, after a month-long leave and upkeep period in December, was deployed to WestPac for the third time, departing Long Beach on 3 January 1961.

En route to the Far East, Wilkinson—a unit of Destroyer Division 191—visited Pearl Harbor; Midway; and Apra Harbor, Guam. In mid-March 1961, she headed for the South China Sea where an increased American naval presence was required by the Laotian crisis. After operating with a fast carrier task group almost continuously well into the spring, the destroyer leader departed WestPac on 12 May and reached Long Beach on the 27th.

She entered the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in June for the installation of improved sonar equipment, a task that continued into mid-1962. After refresher training (during which there were two fires, resulting in two deaths), the warship operated in Puget Sound for technical evaluation of her new sonar system and then returned south, down the coast, to work with submarines in the southern California operating area.

Following further local operations, Wilkinson departed Long Beach on 17 June 1963 to return to the Atlantic Fleet. Calling at the Mexican ports of Acapulco and Salina Cruz en route, Wilkinson transited the Panama Canal on 29 June and arrived at Newport on 5 July.

Within two weeks, Wilkinson was underway for sonar evaluation that continued until 8 December. During the operation, the ship visited Bermuda and New York City. The frigate subsequently made another operational evaluation of the sonar system from 1 July 1964 to 20 May 1965, at which time she reported to Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet. During that time, the ship operated in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean and along the continental shelf between Newport and New York. During the cruise, the ship visited Key West, Fla., and conducted type training in the Jacksonville, Fla., operating area while steaming back to Newport.

After a pre-overhaul tender availability, Wilkinson visited New York City for four days; off-loaded ammunition subsequently at Earle, N.J.; and proceeded to Boston for an overhaul which lasted until 5 February 1966.

1966–1970
After returning via Earle to Newport a little over a month later, Wilkinson sailed south to Cuban waters for refresher training—conducting those evolutions between 11 March and 28 April. While still at Guantanamo, on 8 April, the ship received orders at 03:10 to assist a burning freighter. Underway at 04:07, Wilkinson sped at flank speed to the scene of the disaster and, at 07:20, reached the stricken Norwegian passenger-freighter Viking Princess. A fire and rescue party from USCGC Cook Inlet (WAVP-384) had meanwhile boarded the blazing merchantman to fight her fires. At 08:09, Wilkinson began closing the Nationalist Chinese merchantman Chungking Victory to receive the surviving crew members of Viking Princess—a process completed by 09:14. The frigate took the 13 survivors back to Guantanamo where she arrived shortly before noon and disembarked the rescued mariners.

After departing Guantánamo Bay on 28 April, Wilkinson touched at San Juan, Puerto Rico, and reached Newport on 2 May. She remained in port until departing on the last day of the month, bound for Boston and an availability. During the ensuing overhaul, the ship received a number of repairs and alterations, including the final installation of new sonar equipment then being evaluated by the Navy. Briefly departing Boston on 15 August and again on 30 August, the frigate conducted sea trials and tested her sonar—during cruises lasting but a day or two—before she completed her availability and sailed for Newport on 31 August, reaching her home port the following day.

For the remainder of 1966, Wilkinson remained in port at Newport except for three periods of independent steaming exercises (ISEs)—from 6 to 9 September, from 23 to 26 September, and from 2 to 5 December. Underway on 15 January 1967, Wilkinson headed south to Argentine waters, subsequently taking part in the Argentinian naval review at Mar del Plata from 4 to 8 February on the occasion of the celebrations commemorating the sesquicentennial of Argentina's independence.

Returning to Newport on 5 March, Wilkinson then proceeded to the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard at East Boston, Mass., where she received a data acquisition system for her sonar equipment. She returned—via Stamford, Conn., where she participated in Veteran's Day memorial services—to Newport on 4 May.

Later that month, Wilkinson sailed for Montreal, Canada, where she served as part of the United States exhibit during "United States Week," from 21 to 28 May, at the world's fair, Expo 67. Highlighting Wilkinson's stay at Montreal was a surprise visit to the exposition by President Lyndon B. Johnson. During the ceremonies at the United States exhibit, Wilkinson men served as Presidential Honor Guard.

Returning to Newport on 1 June, Wilkinson continued further sonar evaluations into the summer and fall months of 1967, operating primarily out of Newport but also east of the Bahamas. Between her periods at sea were times in port for tender availabilities and type training in the Narragansett Bay operating area.

The ship put into Port Everglades to take on fuel on 3 October and was standing back out on the 5th when a weak cleat snapped while the motor whaleboat was being secured for sea. The whiplash of the line struck a sailor, injuring both of his legs and requiring immediate medical attention beyond that which the ship could provide. Wilkinson immediately headed back to Port Everglades at flank speed, radioing ahead for a boat to pick up the injured seaman. A torpedo retriever boat, sent put by the Naval Ordnance Laboratory and Test Facility, took the man on board to a waiting ambulance at pierside. The seaman was then taken to Homestead Air Force Base hospital where he was treated for fractures of both legs.

After the incident, Wilkinson returned to sea and conducted further sonar tests—in company with Grouper (AGSS-214)—before the frigate visited Freeport, Grand Bahama, from 11 to 13 October. Proceeding back to Newport soon thereafter, Wilkinson reached her home port on the 25th but soon headed south for repairs at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. She returned to her home port on 21 December.

Beginning 1968 in-port at Newport, Wilkinson spent much of the rest of the year conducting further technical evaluation of sonar equipment in the Bahamas, interspersed with type training in the Mayport operating area and in-port periods at Newport. After a pre-overhaul period of availability alongside Yosemite (AD-19), Wilkinson entered the Boston Naval Shipyard on 13 September for her regular overhaul that rounded out the year and lasted into June 1969.

Following her sea trials, Wilkinson got underway for Narragansett Bay for sonar tests, before she set course for Earle, N.J., to load ammunition in preparation for refresher training. Late in July, the frigate visited New York City from 25 to 28 July before she shifted to Newport on the latter date. She remained in her home port for almost a month, conducting a dependents' cruise in Narragansett Bay operating areas on the 22d. It was during that cruise that the ship's commanding officer announced that Wilkinson was to be decommissioned as part of a cut back in military expenses.

Fate
With the cancellation of all her previous schedules, Wilkinson shifted to the Boston Navy Yard's South Boston Annex to commence inactivation on 3 September. Shifting to the Naval Inactive Ship Facility at Philadelphia on the 22d, Wilkinson was decommissioned on 19 December 1969 and placed in reserve.

Wilkinson was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 May 1974 and sold for scrap to Luria Brothers and Company, Incorporated, of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania on 13 June 1975.

As of 2012, no other ships in the United States Navy have borne this name.

title: USS Wilkinson


text:
Talk:2004 Spanish general election

Untitled
I'm not a member or anything, so don't know exactly where/how to put this, but when doing some research for a-level spanish coursework, I discovered that the introduction to the page entitled 'spanish legislative elections 2004' (or something like that) is horrendously biased. It seriously needs looking at otherwise generations of young spanish students to come will start thinking that PSOE and Zapatero basically illegally cheated their way into power and are all duplicitous scurvy naves etc. thank you lovely wikipedia people, it would be much appreciated. laura 20.04 5 march 2007

Why was the table removed? It had all the links, and the election is on Sunday, so we'll have to put the table back again anyway.... --Vikingstad 01:56, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Fine, so put it back then. People don't expect to open an encyclopaedia and find an emplty table. Adam 02:00, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * True enough. We might just wait until Sunday and then get it back from the history and start filling it... --Vikingstad 02:03, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Instead of complaining, just go and rescue the table from teh page history right now :-) Miguel 17:49, 2004 Mar 14 (UTC)

Is this starting of the 2nd paragraph proper English (I am not a native speaker)? Elections for the elections to the regional parliament... Pfortuny 11:18, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Senate
Are the final Senate figures out yet? A results table would probably be appropriate, if they are. –Hajor 04:07, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The Interior Ministry website is giving Senate figures only by circumscription, which means a lot of adding up to get national figures. I will do it tonight if no-one else has done it but I don't have time at the moment. Adam 04:13, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

No, it doesn't ;-) Miguel 05:52, 2004 Mar 15 (UTC)

http://www.elec_gen04.mir.es/senado/SNF_TOP.htm

Yes it does: just clicko el mapo. Adam 05:57, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I quite object to the following sentence ''It is possible that voters swung to the PSOE in the vote for the Congress of Deputies, which determines the government, but stuck with the PP in the voting for the Senate, thus placing a brake on a future socialist government. '' I suspect the main reason for the differences is the way in which seats are assigned at the senate: usually, the winning party in a constituency gets three seats, and the second party one. Furthermore, the number of seats for constituency is the same everywhere, or almost (I'm not sure about the islands), disregarding differences in population. Besides, PSC (PSOE) went to the senate in coalition to ERC and IC in Catalonia. I haven't checked the results, but I wouldn't write such a sentence unless there is evidence of different patterns of voting in Congress and Senate (and then, we wouldn't need to begin It is possible...) 82.41.79.206 18:51, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Here's how it goes with the Senate vote...

In the senate, constituencies elect one, two, three or four seats depending on their size. Voters are allowed to vote for up to three people on the (rather large) ballot, and parties present up to three candidates. It is therefore impossible for any party to win four seats from any one constituency. Also, Spanish voters tend to be beholden to one particular party and, despite the fact that these are personal votes, the candidates don't campaign individually. As a result, the typical behaviour of the Spanish voter is to vote for the three candidates from their party of choice. That is why, typically, the majority party in each constutuency wins 3 seats and the second 1, but it need not be that way by law. For this reason, a coloured map with who led in each province would give a roughly proportional picture of who got how many senate seats.

Hope that helps. Miguel 20:45, 2004 Mar 15 (UTC)

 * Every peninsular district elects 4 senators. Toledo and Teruel are the only districts in which PP and PSOE each win 2 seats. Everywhere else, it is a 3-1 distribution.

 * Insular districts are more complex. The Balearic islands (one province) elect 5 senators, 3 in Mallorca, 1 in Menorca and 1 in Ibiza and Formentera. The Canary Islands elect 11, as it consists of two provinces, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tenerife 3, Gomera 1, Palma 1 and Hierro 1) and Las Palmas (Gran Canaria 3, Fuerteventura 1, Lanzarote 1). The North-African enclaves Ceuta and Melilla elect 2 senators each.

 * In large insular district and the enclaves, voters choose two candidates. The distribution tends to be 2-1 or 2.

 * Adam, by the way, I love your archive. Miguel 14:52, 2004 Mar 16 (UTC)

It does, thankyou. I haven't had a chance to do a detailed analysis of the Senate voting yet. (So many elections, so little time...). When I do I may change the paragraph. Adam 01:20, 16 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Ohmygod, Adam (to say it in Californian ;-), you did a great job with that map!!! Miguel 14:36, 2004 Mar 16 (UTC)

Chunta
I object to the translation of "chunta"as "junta". Although the translation of "chunta" from Aragonese to Castillian is "junta", the Spanish word "junta" has passed into English with a very specific and undemocratic meaning associated to "military junta". "Junta" in this case has the meaning of "coming together", and the most common meaning os "junta" in Spanish, from which "military junta is derived"is "board", as in "junta directiva" (board of directors) or "junta militar" (an assembly of the top brass leading a coup).

My family has an Aragonese-Castilian dictionary, I can try to find out whether "chunta" translates as something other than "junta". Miguel 06:02, 2004 Mar 15 (UTC)

I assumed that chunta is the Aragonese version of the Castilian junta, which literally translates as group in English, but is usually used in the sense of "military junta." Perhaps it could be translated as Alliance or Union. Adam 06:07, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Or translate as "convergence"? Certainly not the English-language "junta", though, for all the reasons stated above. -- Jmabel 06:15, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * "Assembly"? The autonomous governments of Andalusia, Extremadura and Galicia are called Junta. It goes at least to the Peninsula war, when the local authorities organized autonomous governments in the name of the king Fernando instead of the French-ruled State. The American juntas later planned for independence, but that is another story. Could we also use the cognate joint? I think that Chunta is pro-legalization of cannabis :).

> In the Senate the PP won 102 seats to the PSOE's 81, a better result than in the lower house.

"better" ? Wiki is rooting for PP?

No, it is just a comparative relating to the PP's performance in the two houses. Adam 06:13, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I have changed Junta to Union, which is short and seems to capture the meaning. Adam 06:18, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Aznar image
Since Aznar was not a candidate at this election, of what relevance is his photo? A photo of Rajoy would be better. In any case, please reupload the Aznar photo with him facing inwards. It is serious design error to have a profile photo facing outwards like that. Adam 09:30, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)
 * Replaced Aznar's pic with one of Rajoy. As for flipping Aznar around his axis -- not so sure about that. Political considerations aside, what about the future generations burning with curiosity as to which side he parted his hair on? –Hajor 15:52, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

In the map it should say "plurality", not "plurity". --Wik 17:15, Mar 16, 2004 (UTC)

Yes, I guess so. Adam 23:08, 16 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Absentee ballots
Mailed-in overseas ballots need to *arrive* by March 17, regardless of postmark, and people could also vote at consular offices up to the weekend before the electron (March 7). For instance, I received my ballot On March 5, filled it out on March 6, and mailed it on march 8. This is important, because it means absentee ballots don't reflect the political impact of the events of March 11-14.

So, Adam, do you know if it is possible to know the voting pattern of absentee (mail-in and overseas) ballots?

Miguel 16:10, 2004 Mar 17 (UTC)

No, I have no idea about that. There is probably a section on election law at the Interior Ministry election website (linked in the article), but my Spanish won't be up to reading that. It looks like we need a new article on the Spanish electoral system (on the lines of my Australian electoral system, rather than including all this at this article. Adam 01:13, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Actually, if you look at this link you'll see it is possible to get data for residentes ausentes, ie., absentee voters. It is not available for 2004 yet, but it should be soon. Miguel 21:32, 2004 Mar 19 (UTC)

The map, the Congress, the Senate and everything
Just a question: the map refers to the Senate, doesn't it? If so, it ought to be stated in the caption. You know, we in Spain care about the Congress, as the Senate is quite useless, in the end.

So... I would also suggest including a map for the Congress... with the Autonomías instead of the provinces... uhmmm :) Pfortuny 16:12, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The point of the map is that the electoral district is the province, not the autonomous community. I said earlier that such a map would be more useful for the comparative analysis of congress and senate results. I think "who leads" is (or should be) in number of votes for the congreso, because it is one person, one vote while the senate is one person, from one to three votes. Miguel 20:54, 2004 Mar 18 (UTC)

The map is for the Congress, not the Senate. The electoral districts are called circimscriptions, not provinces. So far as I know there is no such thing as a province in Spain. There are Autonomous Communities and circumscriptions. I did include a map showing the Autonomous Communities, (spain2.jpg) but I decided later that the circumscriptions were the more useful unit. Adam 00:03, 19 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Administratively, Spain is divided into 52 provinces which are then grouped into 17 autonomous communities. Geographically provinces are sometimes divided into comarcas. Electorally, the electoral district (I would not object to translating circunscripción electoral as electoral district if circumscription is awkward in English) is the province for the Congress, but islands are treated differently in the Senate. For European parliament elections there is a single district for the whole country, with 60 seats (circunscripción única). Miguel 01:35, 2004 Mar 19 (UTC)

 * My apologies for the mistake. I was completely wrong in my appreciation... I really did not know the electoral system (the division) of my country! Now it is clear for me. Funny, isn't it? Pfortuny 11:18, 19 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * At least our system is not like in the USA, where the electoral districts need not have anything to do with administrative or geographical divisions and congressional districts are redrawn every 10 years. Miguel 14:36, 2004 Mar 19 (UTC)

Ah well, Pfortuny, psephology is an esoteric discipline. Miguel, I see that I was wrong to say that there are no Provinces in Spain. I should have said that for electoral purposes the Provinces are called circumscriptions. "Circumscription" is not a very common word in English but it is a perfectly good word to use. I suppose "electoral district" could be used instead, but I would prefer to use the correct word. Adam 11:29, 19 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Funny how we call the Presidente Prime Minister but it would be "less correct" to call circunscripción Electoral District Miguel 19:25, 2004 Mar 19 (UTC)

 * Agreed. Pfortuny

 * The reason for that is that "Prime Minister" is the established English usage and using President is very confusing in English. There is no established English usage for Spanish electoral units, because only specialists like me pay any attention to Spanish elections at that level of detail. I have no objection to changing "circumscription" to "electoral district." I would be opposed to using "constituency" because that in English means a district which elects one Member of Parliament, as in Britain. Adam 06:36, 20 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * I'm inclined to argue that "circumscription" isn't immediately transparent in an English-speaking electoral context and that "constituency" or "(electoral) district" would be better options. But I also acknowledge that Adam's more of an election junkie than I am. –Hajor 19:37, 19 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Re constituency: in the UK it is also used for the multi-member electoral districts that return MEPs to the European Parliament on a PR basis, not only for the single-member Westminster districts. But presumably it is heavily marked as a UK usage, and "electoral district" would be more neutral. Still, I don't know whether it's worth taking the time and trouble to change in the article. –Hajor 14:15, 20 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I have added changes in vote numbers, and placeholders for total census, participation numbers and percentage, changes, and totals.

The reason is that it has been claimed that the largest effect in this election is that the PSOE got 3,000,000 votes from people who stayed at home in 2000, and the table did not contain enough information to test that claim. It istill doesn't, but at least there are placeholders. Miguel 20:50, 2004 Mar 19 (UTC)

Post-election poll
This poll

http://www.cadenaser.com/pulsometro/

claims that 90% of Spaniards voted as they intended before the March 11 attacks, and 8% decided their vote afterwards. 60% think Aznar is responsible for the PP's defeat, and only 3% think Rajoy is responsible.

Miguel 21:03, 2004 Mar 22 (UTC)

I'm probably being a bit politized, but do you seriously rely on Cadena SER? I think that a reference to the 11-M attacks should be added. We don't have to say whether they changed the vote or not (I think they didn't: 13-M on-the-border-of-law manifestations did), but simply say what happened.
 * Habbit

Results
Why is there a table of provincial election results for the Senate but not for the Congress of Deputies?

Acegikmo1 20:20, 10 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Election statistics
Does anyone know the election statistics such as Lsq (least-squares index of disproportionality), DM (district magnitude), ENEP (effective number of elective parties), ENEP (effective number of parliamentary parties), effective threshold etc.? If they do, can the please put it up? Cheers, --210.86.97.213 03:32, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * You have the data. If you know the definitions of these things you might want to calculate them yourself. D we even have pages about them? — Miguel 12:46, 2005 Mar 18 (UTC)

 * I've got to calculate then anyway, I was just trying to save time :) Once I've calculated them I'll put them up.  As far as I know Wikipedia does not have articles on them.  They tend to be the realm of political scientists who still look down at Wikipedia. --Gregstephens 03:47, 27 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I've put up the stats now (finally). I've only calculated for the lower house, as that is the more important of the two--Gregstephens 09:19, 3 May 2005 (UTC)

POV
By whom and on what grounds are the netrality and accuracy of this article disputed? Unless they state their reasons, I will delete the tag. Adam 01:14, 2 May 2005 (UTC)

user:Javier Ayuso (talk) added the notice last Tuesday. I suspect he might be objecting to this:

 * The socialists received more votes than expected probably as a result of the government's handling of the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks. During the days following the attacks, the national government initiated efforts to convince citizens and the media that ETA was to blame for the attacks, when evidence pointed to the possibility that an Islamic extremist group was behind the massacre. If the latter were the case, the attack could have been perceived by the electorate to be a consequence of the Spanish government's support of the invasion of Iraq and the provision of Spanish troops to participate in that conflict.

While I agree with this text, the issue is still highly controversial in Spain. Just take a look at the article on Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and its talk page to see what I mean.

I think I'll leave it to someone who is not a Spaniard to decide what to do with this paragraph. — Miguel 08:58, 2005 May 2 (UTC)

I agree the paragraph is mostly speculation, and the opinions in it should be attributed to someone. Adam 09:23, 2 May 2005 (UTC)

Since the person who added the NPOV tag has offered no explanation for doing so, I have deleted it. Adam 09:30, 3 May 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:2004 Spanish general election


text:
Ivana Kobilca

Ivana Kobilca (20 December 1861 – 4 December 1926) is the most prominent Slovene female painter and a key figure of Slovene cultural identity. She was a realist painter who studied and worked in Vienna, Munich, Paris, Sarajevo, Berlin, and Ljubljana. She mostly painted oil paintings and pastels, whereas her drawings are few. The themes include still life, portraits, genre works, allegories, and religious scenes. She was a controversial person, criticized for following movements that had not developed further in later periods.

Biography
Ivana Kobilca was born in Ljubljana as a daughter in a wealthy family of a craftsman. Her parents gave great emphasis on education. At first, she learned how to draw, but also French and Italian, in the Ursuline High School in her home town, where her teacher of drawing was Ida Künl. When she was 16, she went with her father to Vienna, where she saw the paintings of old masters that inspired her. From 1879 to 1880, she studied in Vienna, where she copied the paintings at the gallery of the Academy of Arts, and from 1880 to 1881 in Munich. From 1882 to 1889, she continued her studies under Alois Erdtelt. In 1888, she participated for the first time in a public exhibition. At the following exhibition in Munich, her work was spotted and praised by the prominent German art historian Richard Muther. She then returned to Ljubljana. In 1890, she painted in Zagreb. In 1891 and 1892, she painted in Paris in the private school of Henri Gervex. She became an honorary member (membre associée) of Société Nationale des Beaux Arts. In 1892, she also painted in Barbizon. In 1893, she returned to Ljubljana, visited Florence in 1894, and lived in Sarajevo from 1897 to 1905. From 1906 to 1914, she lived in Berlin, and then returned to Ljubljana. At the time of her death in 1926 in Ljubljana, she was described as the greatest Yugoslav female painter.

Works and meanings
Judging by her social origin, way of living, ideals and work, she was an urban artist. She is one of Slovene realists, who created their most important paintings in the 1880s. Kobilca's greatest tribute to Slovenian art was made during the time she lived abroad. Her greatest impact was on figural painting, especially portraits and paintings of typical people's lives in rustic or urban places. Since the time she had spent in Berlin, her most important genre became floral still life. Her early work reflects characteristics of München studio-work. Her focus was on value, chiaroscuro and draftsmanship; only her pastels were light and rosy. From 1889 onwards her painting became lighter with blue nuances, typical for Parisian art at the time.

In the late 1880s many artists were influenced by the Impressionist movement that began in France with Monet, Morisot, Renoir and others. Ivana Kobilca, however stayed true to her academic artistic roots; with strong focus on study of value, draftsmanship and realism in oil painting.

Kobilca's best known paintings are Kofetarica (Coffee Drinker), 1888; Citrarica (Zitherist), Likarice (Women Ironers), 1891; Holandsko dekle (Dutch Girl), Portret sestre Fani (Portrait of Sister Fani), 1889; and Poletje (Summer), 1889. Her work is on display at all major European galleries.

Commemoration
After Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia, Kobilca was portrayed by Rudi Španzel on the 5000 Slovenian tolar banknote. It was in circulation from December 1993 until the introduction of euro in January 2007.

title: Ivana Kobilca


text:
Robert Stout

Sir Robert Stout (28 September 1844 – 19 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who was the 13th premier of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century, and later Chief Justice of New Zealand. He was the only person to hold both these offices. He was noted for his support of liberal causes such as women's suffrage, and for his strong belief that philosophy and theory should always triumph over political expediency.

Early life
Born in the town of Lerwick in Scotland's Shetland Islands, Stout retained a strong attachment to the Shetland Islands throughout his life. He received a good education, was Dux at his school when he graduated in 1858 and eventually qualified as a teacher. He also qualified as a surveyor in 1860. He became highly interested in politics through his extended family, which often met to discuss and debate political issues of the day. Stout was exposed to many different political philosophies during his youth.

In 1863, Stout emigrated to Dunedin, New Zealand. Once there, he quickly became involved in political debate, which he greatly enjoyed. He also became active in the Freethought circles of the city. After failing to find employment as a surveyor on the Otago gold-fields, Stout returned to education, holding a number of senior teaching positions at the high-school level.

Eventually, however, Stout moved away from education and entered the legal profession. In 1867 he was working in the law firm of William Downie Stewart Sr (father of the William Downie Stewart Jr who later became Minister of Finance). He was called to the bar on 4 July 1871, and proved to be a highly successful trial-lawyer. He also became one of Otago University's first students (possibly the first, although this claim is disputed), studying political economy and the theory of morality. He later became the university's first law-lecturer.

Early political career
Stout's political career started with his election to the Otago Provincial Council. During his time on the Council he impressed many people - both with his energy and with his rhetorical skill - although others found him abrasive, and complained about his lack of respect for those who held different views.

Stout successfully contested an August 1875 by-election in the Caversham electorate and thus became a Member of the New Zealand Parliament. He unsuccessfully opposed moves by the central government (Vogel) to abolish the provinces. At the 1875 election a few months later, he was returned in the City of Dunedin electorate.

On 13 March 1878, Stout became Attorney-General in the government of Premier George Grey. He had a hand in a number of significant pieces of legislation while in this role. On 25 July 1878, Stout gained the additional role of Minister of Lands and Immigration. A strong advocate of land reform, Stout worked towards the goal of state ownership of land, which would then be leased to individual farmers. He often expressed fears that private ownership would lead to the sort of "powerful landlord class" that existed in Britain. Stout also supported taxation of privately owned land, especially gains in value. Later, in 1885 he noted that he had already been an advocate of Georgist public finance policy long before Henry George wrote Progress and Poverty.

On 25 June 1879, however, Stout resigned both from cabinet and from parliament, citing the need to focus on his law practice. His partner in the practice was growing increasingly ill, and the success of his firm was important to the welfare of both Stout and his family. Throughout his career, Stout found the cost of participating in politics a serious worry. His legal career, however, was probably not the only contributing factor to his resignation, with a falling out between Stout and George Grey having occurred shortly beforehand.

At around this time Stout also developed a friendship with John Ballance, who had also resigned from Grey's cabinet after a dispute. Stout and Ballance shared many of the same political views. During his absence from parliament, Stout began to form ideas about political parties in New Zealand, believing in the need for a united liberal front. He eventually concluded, however, that parliament was too fragmented for any real political parties to be established.

In the election of 1884 Stout re-entered parliament, and attempted to rally the various liberal-leaning MPs behind him. Stout promptly formed an alliance with Julius Vogel, a former premier (1873–1875 and 1876) – this surprised many observers, because although Vogel shared Stout's progressive social views, the two had frequently clashed over economic policy and the future of the provincial governments. Many saw Vogel as the dominant partner in the alliance.

Premier
In August 1884, only a month after returning to parliament, Stout passed a vote of no confidence in the conservative Harry Atkinson, and assumed the premiership. Julius Vogel was made treasurer, thereby gaining a considerable measure of power in the administration. Stout's new government lasted less than two weeks, however, with Atkinson managing to pass his own vote of no confidence against Stout. Atkinson himself, however, failed to establish a government, and was removed by yet another vote of no confidence. Stout and Vogel returned to power once again.

Stout's second government lasted considerably longer than his first. Its primary achievements were the reform of the civil service and a programme to increase the number of secondary schools in the country. It also organised the construction of the Midland railway line between Canterbury and the West Coast. The economy, however, did not prosper, with all attempts to pull it out of depression failing. In the 1887 election, Stout himself lost his seat in parliament to James Allen by twenty-nine votes, thereby ending his premiership. Harry Atkinson, Stout's old rival, was able to form a new government after the election.

At this point, Stout decided to leave parliamentary politics altogether, and instead focus on other avenues for promoting liberal views. In particular, he was interested in resolving the growing labour disputes of the time. He was highly active in building consensus between the growing labour movement and the world of middle-class liberalism.

Liberal Party
During Stout's absence from politics, his old ally, John Ballance, had been continuing to fight in parliament. After the 1890 election, Ballance had gained enough support to topple Atkinson and take the premiership. Shortly afterwards, Ballance founded the Liberal Party, New Zealand's first real political party. Only a few years later, however, Ballance became seriously ill, and asked Stout to return to parliament and be his successor. Stout agreed, and Ballance died shortly thereafter.

Stout re-entered parliament after a winning a by-election in Inangahua on 8 June 1893. Ballance's deputy, Richard Seddon, had by this time assumed leadership of the party on the understanding that a full caucus vote would later be held. In the end, however, no vote was held. Stout, backed by those who considered Seddon too conservative, attempted to challenge this, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Many of Seddon's supporters believed that the progressive views of Ballance and Stout were too extreme for the New Zealand public.

Stout remained in the Liberal Party, but constantly voiced objections to Seddon's leadership. In addition to claiming that Seddon was betraying Ballance's original progressive ideals, Stout also claimed that Seddon was too autocratic in his style of rule. Ballance's idea of a united progressive front, Stout believed, had been subverted into nothing more than a vehicle for the conservative Seddon. Seddon defended himself against these charges by claiming that Stout was merely bitter about not gaining the leadership.

Women's suffrage
One of the last major campaigns that Stout participated in was the drive to grant voting rights to women. Stout had long been a supporter of this cause, having campaigned tirelessly for his own failed bill in 1878 and Julius Vogel's failed bill in 1887. He had also been highly active in the campaign to increase property rights for women, having been particularly concerned with the right of married women to keep property independently from their husbands.

John Ballance had been a supporter of women's suffrage, although his attempts to pass a bill had been blocked by the conservative Legislative Council (the now-abolished upper house of Parliament). Seddon, however, was opposed, and many believed that the cause was now lost. However, a major initiative by suffragists led by Kate Sheppard generated considerable support for women's suffrage, and Stout believed that a bill could be passed despite Seddon's objection. A group of progressive politicians, including Stout, passed a women's suffrage bill in 1893 through both the lower and upper houses, with the upper house narrowly passing it after some members who had not been in favour changed their votes because of Seddon's attempts to "kill" the bill in the upper house.

Stout was also involved with the failing Walter Guthrie group of companies in Southland and Otago which had been supported by the Bank of New Zealand, and (according to Bourke) Seddon was prepared to conceal Stout's involvement – provided Stout left politics.

In 1898 Stout retired from politics. He had represented the seats of Caversham in the 5th parliament (1875), Dunedin East in the 6th parliament (1875–79) and in the 9th parliament (1884–87), Inangahua in the 11th parliament (1893), and the City of Wellington in the 12th and 13th parliaments (1893–98).

Life after politics
On 22 June 1899, he was appointed Chief Justice of New Zealand, and remained in this position until 31 January 1926. As of 2011, Stout was the last Chief Justice of New Zealand to have served in the New Zealand Parliament.

While Chief Justice, Stout showed a particular interest in the rehabilitation of criminals, contrasting with the emphasis on punishment that prevailed at the time. He took a leading part in the consolidation of New Zealand statutes (completed in 1908), and was made a Privy Councillor in 1921. In the same year as his retirement, Stout was appointed to the Legislative Council, the last political office he would hold.

Stout also had a role of considerable importance in the development of the New Zealand university system. He had become a member of the Senate of the University of New Zealand in 1885, and remained so until 1930. From 1903 to 1923, he was the university's Chancellor. He was also prominent in Otago University from 1891 to 1898, serving on its council. He played a very significant role in the founding of what is now Victoria University of Wellington – the strong connection between Victoria University and the Stout family is remembered by the university's Stout Research Centre and its Robert Stout Building.

In 1929, Stout became increasingly ill, and never recovered. On 19 July 1930 he died in Wellington.

Works

 * The Rise and Progress of New Zealand historical sketch in Musings in Maoriland by Arthur T. Keirle 1890. Digitised by the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre
 * Our Railway Gauge in The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 2 (1 June 1928). Digitised by the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre

title: Robert Stout


text:
Clothespin

A clothespin (US English) or clothes peg (UK English) is a fastener used to hang up clothes for drying, usually on a clothes line. Clothespins come in many different designs.

Design

During the 1700s laundry was hung on bushes, limbs or lines to dry but no clothespins can be found in any painting or prints of the era. The clothespin for hanging up wet laundry only appears in the early 19th century supposedly patented by Jérémie Victor Opdebec. This design does not use springs, but is fashioned in one piece of wood, with the two prongs part of the peg chassis with only a small distance between them—this form of peg creates the gripping action due to the two prongs being wedged apart and thus squeezing together in that the prongs want to return to their initial, resting state. This form of peg is often fashioned from plastic, or originally, wood. In England, clothes-peg making used to be a craft associated with the Romani people, who made clothes-pegs from small, split lengths of willow or ash wood.

In 1853 David M. Smith of Springfield, Vermont, invented a clothespin with two prongs connected by a fulcrum, plus a spring. By a lever action, when the two prongs are pinched at the top of the peg, the prongs open up, and when released, the spring draws the two prongs shut, creating the action necessary for gripping.

The design by Smith was improved by Solon E. Moore in 1887. He added what he called a "coiled fulcrum" made from a single wire, this was the spring that held the wooden pieces together, acted as a spring forcing them to shut, and as a fulcrum on which the two halves could rock, eliminating the need for a separate component, and reducing manufacturing costs. This became the first successful spring-actuated clothespin, being manufactured and sold in huge quantities all across the United States.

The state of Vermont, and its capital of Montpelier, in particular, quickly became what The New York Times has called "The Silicon Valley of Clothespin Manufacturing", the United States Clothespin Company (U.S.C. Co.) opened in 1887 to manufacture Moore's improved design. Vermonter Stephen Thomas served as company president, and the company enjoyed a significant level of success in spite of the competitors that rapidly sprang up in Waterbury and other places.

In 1909, Allan Moore, one of the U.S.C. Co. employees, devised a way in which clothespins could be manufactured more cheaply, by eliminating one of the coils in the "spring fulcrum". He left the company, and with a loan from a local entrepreneur opened a competing factory, across the street from the U.S.C. Co. building. The new National Clothespin Company rapidly overtook the U.S.C. Co., consuming 500,000 board-feet of lumber at the height of production. After World War I, cheap imports from Europe began to flood the market, leading to repeated calls for protective tariffs by Vermont, and the state industry went into decline; in 1920, it cost 58 cents to manufacture one gross of clothespins in Vermont, while imported Swedish clothespins were sold for 48 cents a gross. The situation worsened after World War II, and the introduction of the electric clothes dryer diminished demand for clothespins, further damaging the industry; the U.S.C. Co. closed before the end of the 1940s. However, the National Clothespin Company, who had previously moved from its original location across the street, and had been sold to a new owner, managed to stay in business by virtue of a contract with the F. W. Woolworths department store chain. In this fashion, they managed to hang on through the following decades, in spite of a disastrous fire in 1978. The profit margin was eaten into further by the increasing volume of cheap Chinese imports; pleas for protective tariffs continued, but to no result. The company, which had discontinued its line of wooden clothespins, diversified into plastics, including plastic clothespins, which constituted only a small part of overall production. However, the National Clothespin Company finally ceased production of clothespins, the last American-manufactured clothespin coming off the production line in 2009.

Clothespins were further enhanced by the invention of stainless steel clothespins that do not rust or decay with outdoor use. Rather than using a torsion spring that often twists, causing the clothespin to fall apart, they rely on a strong, trapped, compression spring that results in a stronger grip.

Public art
One famous clothespin is a sculpture by Claes Oldenburg, entitled Clothespin. It is in Philadelphia across the street from the City Hall, and can be seen in the movie Trading Places.

There is a 5-foot clothespin granite grave marker in the Middlesex cemetery, Vermont, marking the grave of Jack Crowell, the last owner of the National Clothespin Company, which was the last clothespin manufacturer in the United States. He originally requested that it include a working spring be included so children could play on it, but the stone workers convinced him it wasn't feasible.

Filmmaking
During the production of a movie, commercial, music video etc., a spring-type clothespin is called a "CP 47", "C47", "47", "peg", "ammo", or "bullet". It is useful on set since the lights used on film sets quickly become far too hot to touch; a wooden C47 is used to attach a color correction gel or diffusion to the barn doors on a light. The wooden clothespins do not transmit heat very effectively, and therefore are safe to touch, even when attached to hot lights for a significant period of time. Plastic clothespins are not used as plastic would melt with the heat of the lights, and metal would transfer the heat, making the clothespin too hot to touch. People like gaffers, grips, electricians, and production assistants may keep a collection of C47s clipped to clothing or utility belt at all times. Hence the nickname "bullet", as so many crew members clip a number of C47s to their utility belts, much like an old west gunslinger would carry extra bullets on his gun belt.

When a performer is in full makeup they sometimes cannot drink from a cup so they drink from a straw. When the bottle or cup is too deep for the straw a C47 is clipped an inch from the top of the straw to keep the straw from falling into the drink.

Lutherie
In lutherie (the construction and repair of stringed instruments), clothes-pegs are often used to glue on kerfing during the production of guitars, mandolins, and other stringed instruments.

Frequency control at radio-control model flying/operation sites
Since multiple RC frequency use began in the RC hobbies in the mid-20th century, so-called "frequency pins" have been used to ensure that only one modeler was using a particular frequency at any one time. The common, spring-loaded two-piece wood clothespin - marked in some manner with text and/or color-coding for the designated frequency it references, usually with an added piece of thin plywood or plastic on the clothespin to place the text or color-code upon for greater visibility - is the usual basis for these, whether the model club itself provides them already clipped onto a "frequency control board" for the modeler to take for their activity (clipped onto their transmitter's antenna, in a so-called "subtractive" method) or the modeler make them for their own transmitter(s), and places them on a club facility's existing frequency board (the "additive" method).

Music
For many years players in ensembles such as brass bands playing outdoors have used spring pegs to hold their music in place since even the mildest breeze will blow a loose sheet away.

BDSM
Clothespins may be used during acts that involve pinching such as in breast torture or zippers.

title: Clothespin


text:
Talk:WASU

What does "LP" stand for??

 * I'm guessing, but probably "Low power". Meelar 02:11, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:WASU


text:
Don Ameche

Don Ameche (born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, repertory theatre, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which led to the offer of a movie contract from 20th Century Fox in 1935.

In the 1950s he worked on Broadway and in television, and was the host of NBC's International Showtime from 1961 to 1965. Returning to film work in his later years, Ameche enjoyed a fruitful revival of his career, beginning with his role as a villain in Trading Places (1983). He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cocoon (1985).

Early life
Don Ameche was born as Dominic Felix Amici on May 31, 1908, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His father, Felice Amici, was a bartender from Montemonaco, Ascoli Piceno, Marche, Italy. His mother, Barbara Etta Hertel, was of Scottish, Irish, and German ancestry. Ameche was the second-oldest of eight children, the others being: brothers Umberto (Bert), James (Jim Ameche), and Louis, and sisters Elizabeth, Catherine, Mary and Anna. Ameche attended Marquette University, Loras College, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where his cousin Alan Ameche played football and won the Heisman Trophy in 1954.

Career
Ameche had done well in college dramatics at the University of Wisconsin, and when a lead actor for a stock company production of Excess Baggage did not turn up, a friend persuaded him to stand in for the missing actor. He enjoyed the experience and got a juvenile lead in Jerry For Short in New York, followed by a tour in vaudeville with Texas Guinan until she dropped him from the act, dismissing him as "too stiff".

Ameche then moved to Chicago, where "he began a radio career in 1930 on Empire Builders, a program broadcast from the Merchandise Mart. By 1932, Ameche had become the leading man on two other Chicago-based programs: the dramatic anthology First Nighter, and Betty and Bob, the latter considered by many to be the forerunner of the soap-opera genre."

Brought to Hollywood by 20th-Century Fox producer Darryl Zanuck, Ameche played mostly romantic leads paired with many of the top female stars of the era. In 1939, he played a lead character in comedy film Midnight (1939). He also played the title character in The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939) which led to the use of the word "ameche" as juvenile slang for a telephone. As noted by Mike Kilen in the Iowa City Gazette (December 8, 1993), "The film prompted a generation to call people to the telephone with the phrase: 'You're wanted on the Ameche.'" Such an identity between Ameche and the telephone was forged, that in the 1940 film Go West, Groucho Marx proclaims, "Telephone? This is 1870, Don Ameche hasn't invented the telephone yet."

Ameche was Alice Faye's leading man in Hollywood Cavalcade (1939), then played another real-life figure, Stephen Foster, in Swanee River (1939). He did a third biopic, Lillian Russell (1940) with Faye, and was top billed in a war film, Four Sons (1940). He also starred in two popular musicals, Down Argentine Way (1940), which helped make stars of Betty Grable and Carmen Miranda, and Moon Over Miami (1941), also with Grable. In 1940, he was voted the 21st-most-popular star in Hollywood.

Ameche did Heaven Can Wait (1943), Happy Land (1943), Wing and a Prayer (1944), and Greenwich Village (1944). In 1944, he reportedly earned $247,677 for 1943 ($4,495,498 in 2024 dollars), making him the second highest earner at 20th Century Fox after Spyros Skouras.

Following his appearances as announcer and sketch participant on The Chase and Sanborn Hour, Ameche achieved memorable success during the late 1940s playing opposite Frances Langford in The Bickersons, the Philip Rapp radio comedy series about a combative married couple. It began on NBC in 1946, moving to CBS the following year. He also had his own program, The Old Gold Don Ameche Show, on NBC Red in the early 1940s.

In 1950 Ameche became the star of Holiday Hotel, on ABC-TV.

Ameche appeared regularly in films until 1970, as he shifted to television and the stage. He returned to films after thirteen years with Trading Places (1983), where he was cast when director John Landis had someone in mind from the 1930s and 1940s who had not played many villainous roles and came upon Ameche (after Ray Milland was passed over due to not being able to pass the insurance physical). After having to track him down in Santa Monica, California due to not being able to reach him through the Screen Actors Guild, who said that his royalty payments were going to his son in Arizona, Ameche took on the role. This started a comeback where Ameche would appear more regularly in films, including Cocoon (1985, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), Coming to America (1988), and Cocoon: The Return (1988).

He earned good reviews for the David Mamet and Shel Silverstein-penned Things Change (1988); The New York Times said that he showed "the kind of great comic aplomb that wins actors awards for other than sentimental reasons." His later credits included an episode of The Golden Girls (1990), the films Oscar (1991), Folks! (1992), and the voice of Shadow in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993). His final appearance was in the film Corrina, Corrina (1994), which was released posthumously.

Personal life
From 1946 to 1949, together with other Los Angeles entertainment figures including Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, Ameche owned the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference, a rival to the National Football League. He was instrumental in forming and leading the ownership group the year before play began and initially served as team president.

Ameche was married to Honore Prendergast from 1932 until her death in 1986. They were separated from each other at the time of her death and Ameche didn't attend her funeral according to her 1986 obituary and Ameche's biography page on imdb.com. They had six children. One of their sons, Ron Ameche, owned a restaurant, "Ameche's Pumpernickel" in Coralville, Iowa. They had two daughters, Connie and Bonnie. Ameche's younger brother, Jim Ameche, also a well-known actor, died in 1983 at the age of 67.

Ameche was Roman Catholic and a Republican who supported the campaign of Thomas Dewey in the 1944 United States presidential election and Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election.

Death
On December 6, 1993, Ameche died at his son Don Jr.'s house in Scottsdale, Arizona, of prostate cancer at age 85. He was cremated and his ashes are buried at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery in Asbury, Iowa.

Short subjects

 * Screen Snapshots: Stars at the Tropical Ice Gardens (1939)
 * Weekend in Hollywood (1947)
 * Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Night at 21 Club (1952)

Stage work

 * Hazel Flagg (1954)
 * Silk Stockings (1955)
 * Holiday for Lovers (1957)
 * Goldilocks (1958)
 * 13 Daughters (1961)
 * How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1966)
 * Henry, Sweet Henry (1967)
 * The Moon Is Blue (1972)
 * No, No, Nanette (1972)
 * Never Get Smart with an Angel (1977)
 * Mame (1978)
 * Life with Father (1979)
 * How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1981)
 * Our Town (1989) (replacement for Spalding Gray)

title: Don Ameche


text:
Guru Amar Das

Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73.

Before becoming a Sikh (Shishya from Sanskrit), on a pilgrimage after having been prompted to search for a guru, he heard his nephew's wife, Bibi Amro, reciting a hymn by Guru Nanak, and was deeply moved by it. Amro was the daughter of Guru Angad, the second and then current Guru of the Sikhs. Amar Das persuaded Amro to introduce him to her father and in 1539, Amar Das, at the age of sixty, met the current Guru (Guru Angad) and became a Sikh, devoting himself to the Guru. In 1552, before his death, guru Angad appointed Amar Das as the third Guru of Sikhism.

Guru Amar Das was an important innovator in the teachings of Guru who introduced a religious organization called the Manji system by appointing trained clergy, a system that expanded and survives into the contemporary era. He wrote and compiled hymns into a Pothi (book) that ultimately helped create the Adi Granth''.

Amar Das remained the leader of the Sikhs till age 95, and named his son-in-law Bhai Jetha, later remembered by the name Guru Ram Das, as his successor.

Family background
Amar Das was born to mother Bakht Kaur (also known as Sullakhani, Lakhmi Devi, or Rup Kaur) and father Tej Bhan Bhalla on 5 May 1479 in Basarke village in what is now called Amritsar district of Punjab (India). His grandfather was Hari Das. His family belonged to the Bhalla gotra (clan) of the Khatri tribe. Amar Das was the eldest child out of four sons. Amar Das worked as both an agriculturalist and a trader.

Marriage
In his early 20s, Amar Das married Mansa Devi and they had four children which they named Dani (daughter; born in 1530), Bhani (daughter; born 3 August 1533), Mohan (son; born 11 March 1536), and Mohri (son; born 2 June 1539). Bhani was his favourite child of the four.

Religious pilgrimages
Amar Das had followed the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism for much of his life. He was reputed to have gone on some twenty annual pilgrimages into the Himalayas, to Haridwar on river Ganges. About 1539, on one such Hindu pilgrimage, he met a Hindu monk (sadhu) who asked him why he did not have a guru (teacher, spiritual counselor) and Amar Das decided to get one. On his return from his twentieth pilgrimage to the Ganges River, he heard Bibi Amro, the daughter of the Sikh Guru Angad, singing a hymn by Guru Nanak. Amro had been acquainted with Amar Das through her in-laws, whom Amar Das was related to (Amro was married to the son of Amar Das' brother). He learned from her about Guru Angad, and with her help met the second Guru of Sikhism and adopted him as his spiritual Guru who was much younger than his own age.

Service of Guru Angad
Amar Das is famous in the Sikh tradition for his relentless service to Guru Angad, with legends about waking up in the early hours and fetching water for his Guru's bath, cleaning and cooking for the volunteers with the Guru, as well devoting much time to meditation and prayers in the morning and evening.

Due to his selfless devotion to the second guru, Angad nominated Amar Das as his spiritual successor on 29 March 1552.

Guruship
After eleven years most devoted service of the Guru and the sangats, Amar Das was nominated the third guru. Guru Amar Das moved to Goindwal situated not far away from Khadur on the bank of river Beas on the high road to Lahore, about 8 kilometres from Kapurthala and 45 kms. from Amritsar. He did so to avoid the pending conflict with Guru Angad's sons who had not approved of their supersession. Even at Goindwal he was harassed by Angad's son Datu. He went to Goindwal and said: "Only yesterday thou wert a water-carrier in our house, and today thou sittest as a Guru. "Saying this he kicked the Guru off his seat. Amar Das humbly said: "O great king, pardon me. Thou must have hurt thy foot." The Guru retired from Goindwal and hid himself in a house at Basarke, his home village. Datu set himself up as the Guru. Amar Das was persuaded by Baba Buddha to return, and Datu, finding no following, went back to Khadur.

Teachings
Guru Amar Das taught with his own life the meaning of Guru Service, also known in Punjabi religious parlance as Guru Sewa. (also spelt Sevā). Amar Das emphasized both spiritual pursuits as well as an ethical daily life. He encouraged his followers to wake up before dawn, do their ablutions and then meditate in silent seclusion. A good devotee, taught Amar Das, should be truthful, keep his mind in control, eat only when hungry, seek the company of pious men, worship the Lord, make an honest living, serve holy men, not covet another's wealth and never slander others. He recommended holy devotion with Guru's image in his follower's hearts.

Amar Das was also a reformer, and discouraged veiling of women's faces (a Muslim custom) as well as sati (a Hindu custom). He encouraged the Kshatriya people to fight in order to protect people and for the sake of justice, stating this is Dharma. He promoted inter-caste marriages, going against the traditional Punjabi social orthodoxy at the time by doing-so. He also promoted the remarriage of widows. He promulgated monogamy as the ideal romantic relationship type.

Religious organization and missionary dissemination
Guru Amar Das started the tradition of appointing manji (zones of religious administration with an appointed chief called sangatias, whom were both men and women), introduced the dasvandh ("the tenth" of income) system of revenue collection in the name of Guru and as pooled community religious resource, and the famed langar tradition of Sikhism where anyone, without discrimination of any kind, could get a free meal in a communal seating. He also started and inaugurated the 84-level step well called baoli at Goindval with a resting place, modeled along the lines of the Indian tradition of dharmsala, which then became a Sikh pilgrimage (tirath) center. Another organization analogous of the Manji was the Piri, which involved an appointed preaching official and missionary for Sikh assemblies and congregations whom were all women and instructed to spread Sikhism amongst womankind (especially women belonging to Muslim backgrounds). According to W. Owen Cole, establishment of the manji and piri systems may have been motivated by the large amounts of new converts coming into the Sikh faith, especially in the Punjab. However, many of these converts brought in beliefs and practices of their original faith, so the preachers were appointed to instruct them on proper Sikh orthodoxy and orthopraxy, essentially motivating them to choose the Sikh faith and all that comes with it, even if it involves discarding their old ways of spirituality in the process. He appointed women to become the congregation leaders of the jurisdictions of Afghanistan and Kashmir. The women appointed for leading the Piri system of disseminating Sikhism to women were Bhani (his younger daughter), Bibi Dani (his elder daughter), and Bibi Pal, all of whom were intellectual types. The Piri system also educated womenfolk in social plus religious norms and customs.

Amar Das personally patronized the education of his son-in-law Jetha (future Guru Ram Das) in North Indian classical music, and Bhai Gurdas, in various languages and religious literature.

Banning of Sati
Guru Amar Das was a strong opponent of sati, the practice of widowed wives being immolated on the funeral pyre of their deceased husband during the latter's cremation. He states the following regarding the practice:

"'Women are not Satis, who burn themselves with their husband's corpse. Rather they are Satis who die by the mere shock of separation from their husband And, they, too, ought to be considered as Satis, who abide in modesty and contentment, Who wait upon their Lord and rising in the morn ever remember him.'"

He further states:

"'Women are burnt in the fire with their husbands They undergo sufficient pain by their death. And if they appreciated not their husbands Nanak, why should they be burnt at all?'"

Opposing the Purdah system
Purdah is a traditional custom of women obscuring their face and bodies when in the company of men and secluding themselves from the company of men. Guru Amar Das was vehemently against this custom and is said to have once reprimanded the visiting raja (king) of Haripur and his wives when the latter observed the custom around him. One of the queens of the raja refused to part ways with veiling herself, in which the Guru responded: "if thou art not pleased with the Guru's face why halt thou come hither."

Akbar
the Mughal Emperor Akbar met Guru Amar Das. According to the Sikh legend, he neither received Akbar nor was Akbar directly ushered to him, rather the Guru suggested that Akbar like everyone sit on the floor and eat in the langar with everyone before their first meeting. Akbar, who sought to encourage tolerance and acceptance across religious lines, readily accepted the suggestion. After the conclusion of the Langar, Akbar sat in the congregation with the rest of the sangat and asked the Guru a question. The Sikh hagiographies called janam-sakhis mention that Guru Amar Das persuaded Akbar to repeal the tax on Hindu pilgrims going to Haridwar.

Rituals in Sikhism: wedding, festivals, funeral
Amar Das composed the rapturous hymn called Anand and made it a part of the ritual of Sikh marriage called "Anand Karaj", which literally means "blissful event".

Amar Das believed that a successful marriage was one in which the souls of the husband and wife became one metaphorically:

"'They are not husband and wife who sit together.

Rather are they wife and husband who have one sprit in two bodies'"

The Anand hymn is sung, in contemporary times, not only during Sikh weddings but also at major celebrations. Parts of the "Anand hymn" are recited in Sikh temples (Gurdwara) every evening, at the naming of a Sikh baby, as well as during a Sikh funeral. It is a section of the Anand Sahib composition of Guru Amar Das, printed on pages 917 to 922 of the Adi Granth and set to the "Ramkali" raga.

Guru Amar Das's entire Anand Sahib composition is a linguistic mix of Panjabi and Hindi languages, reflecting Guru Amar Das' upbringing and background. The hymn celebrates the freedom from suffering and anxiety, the union of the soul with the divine, describing a devotee's bliss achieved through the Guru with inner devotion and by repeating the Name of the Creator. The hymn states in stanza 19 that the Vedas teach "the Name is supreme", in stanza 27 that Smriti and Shastra discuss the good and the bad but are unreal because they lack a Guru and that it is the grace of the Guru which awakens the heart and the devotion to the Name. The hymn celebrates the life of a householder and constant inner devotion to the One, ending each stanza with the characteristic "says Nanak".

Guru Amar Das is also credited in the Sikh tradition to have encouraged building of temples and places where Sikhs could gather together on festivals such as Maghi, Diwali and Vaisakhi. He required his disciples to gather together for prayers and communal celebrations in autumn for Diwali and in spring for Vaisakhi, both post harvest ancient festivals of India.

Founding of Goindwal and construction of the Baoli Sahib
Guru Amar Das was responsible for establishing a new centre of Sikh authority at Goindwal and erecting a stepwell known as Baoli Sahib at the location. The foresight of the Guru building a headquarters at the central location of Goindwal in the Punjab on the bank of the Beas River, being intersected by the three major cultural regions of the area (Majha, Malwa, and Doaba), may have facilitated the fast-spread of Sikhism throughout the three main regions of Punjab. The Baoli Sahib was the first truly Sikh pilgrimage site and it helped attract new prospective members to the faith.

Site of the Golden Temple
Guru Amar Das selected the site in Amritsar village for a special temple, that Guru Ram Das began building, Guru Arjan completed and inaugurated, and the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh gilded. This temple has evolved into the contemporary "Harimandir Sahib", or the temple of Hari (God), also known as the Golden Temple. It is the most sacred pilgrimage site in Sikhism.

Festivals
Scholars such as Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech and William McLeod state that Guru Amar Das was influential in introducing "distinctive features, pilgrimages, festivals, temples and rituals" that ever since his time have been an integral part of Sikhism. He was responsible for solidifying the dates of Vaisakhi and Diwali as biannual affairs where Sikhs could gather together and meet directly with their guru.

Scripture
Amar Das is also remembered as the innovator who began the collection of hymns now known as Goindwal Pothi or Mohan Pothi, the precursor to what became the Adi Granth – the first edition of Sikh scripture – under the fifth Sikh Master, which finally emerged as the Guru Granth Sahib under the tenth Sikh Master. The nearly 900 hymns composed by Guru Amar Das constitute the third largest part, or about 15%, of the Guru Granth Sahib.

Choosing a successor
Amar Das had four people in mind that would succeed him as the next Guru:

 * 1) Ramu, his son-in-law
 * 2) Jetha, his son-in-law
 * 3) Mohan, his elder son
 * 4) Mohri, his younger son

He devised four tests for them all to undertake to decide who will inherit the guruship. It is said that only Jetha passed them all.

It has been postulated that he may have considered his own daughter, Bhani, as a possible successor for the guruship at some point.

Death
Shortly before his death, it is recorded in Ramkali Sadu (composed by his great-grandson, Baba Sundar), that he called upon all of his familial relatives to acknowledge the new Guru, Ram Das, and personally placed the sandal paste on Bhai Jetha's forehead to anoint him as his successor. He died in 1574, in Goindwal Sahib, and like other Sikh Gurus he was cremated, with the "flowers" (remaining bones and ash after the cremation) immersed into harisar (flowing waters).

Birth year
Whilst the most commonly accepted and recorded date for Guru Amar Das' birth year is 1479, many sources give a much later date of 1509.

Some sources that affirm the 1479 year of birth for the guru are: Ganda Singh's Makhaz-i-Twarikh-i-Sikhan, Karam Singh's Gurpurab Nirnay, Kahn Singh Nabha's Mahan Kosh, Max Arthur MaCauliffe's The Sikh Religion, and Giani Gian Singh's Panth Prakash and Twarikh Guru Khalsa.

Sources that give a later year of 1509 as the birth year for the guru are: Joseph Davey Cunningham's History of the Sikhs and Kesar Singh Chibber's Bansavalinama.

Kavi Santokh Singh in the Suraj Prakash gives an even earlier year of birth of 1469, coinciding with Guru Nanak's.

In popular culture
Guru Amardas is a 1979 documentary film, directed by Prem Prakash and produced by the Government of India's Films Division, covering his life and teachings.

title: Guru Amar Das