text:
Talk:1720

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:34, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

 * I don't know if there's anything sign or hope of yo replying back
 * ...many questions I think you have answer's too 105.113.60.232 (talk) 12:14, 11 November 2023 (UTC)

Piranesi
Should 'Giambattista Piranesi' be a link to 'Giovanni Battista Piranesi'? Tom Huckstep 17:43, 29 Aug 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:1720


text:
Talk:1721

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:34, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:1721


text: User talk:209.56.250.45

title: User talk:209.56.250.45


text:
Talk:1718

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:34, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

mmm
This was a boring year. Damn I feel sorry for those people. They were neither Napolean, nor Thirty years war. Like on the edge of a knife.

title: Talk:1718


text:
Talk:1717

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:35, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:1717


text:
Talk:1715

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:35, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

I'm sorry for messing up the list. I was editing the wrong window. Sorry again. Sysops please return the page. --194.116.204.222 10:34, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

title: Talk:1715


text:
Talk:1716

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:35, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

Inconsistency
There is no mention of any massacre on the page you are directed to ie the Tugaloo zzapper 08:39, 9 November 2007 (UTC)zzapper

Dead link
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!

 * http://history.enotes.com/peoples-chronology/year-1716/political-events
 * In 1716 on 2011-05-25 01:56:08, Socket Error: 'getaddrinfo failed'
 * In 1716 on 2011-06-20 05:50:35, Socket Error: 'getaddrinfo failed'

--JeffGBot (talk) 05:51, 20 June 2011 (UTC)

title: Talk:1716


text:
Luigi Lanzi

Luigi Antonio Lanzi (13 June 1732 – 31 March 1810) was an Italian Jesuit priest, known for his writings as an art historian and archaeologist. When he died he was buried in the church of the Santa Croce at Florence by the side of Michelangelo.

Biography
Lanzi was born in the central Italian town of Treia in the Papal States on 13 June 1732. He attended Jesuit schools in Fermo and Rome before joining the Order of St. Ignatius in 1749. Lanzi was appointed keeper of the galleries of Florence in 1773, where he also became president of the Accademia della Crusca. He thereafter studied Italian painting and Etruscan antiquities and language. In the one field his labors are represented by his Storia Pittorica dell' Italia, the first portion of which, containing the Florentine, Sienese, Roman and Neapolitan schools, appeared in 1792, the rest in 1796.

In archaeology his great achievement was Saggio di lingua Etrusca (1789), followed by Saggio delle lingue d' Italia in 1806. In his 1806 memoir on the so-called Etruscan vases Dei vasi antichi dipinti volgarmente chiamati Etruschi, Lanzi rightly perceived their Greek origin and characters. What was true of the antiquities would be true also, he argued, of the Etruscan language, and the object of the Saggio di lingua Etrusca was to prove that this language must be related to that of the neighboring peoples: Romans, Umbrians, Oscans and Greeks.

He was allied with Ennio Quirino Visconti in his great but never accomplished plan of illustrating antiquity altogether from existing literature and monuments. His notices of ancient sculpture and its various styles appeared as an appendix to the Saggio di lingua Etrusca, and arose out of his minute study of the treasures then added to the Florentine collection from the Villa Medici. The abuse he met with from later writers on the Etruscan language led Corssen to protest in the name of his real services to philology and archaeology.

Among his other productions was an edition of Hesiod's Works and Days, with valuable notes, and a translation in terza rima. Begun in 1785, it was recast and completed in 1808. The list of his works closes with his Opere sacre, a series of treatises on spiritual subjects.

Works

 * Saggio di lingua etrusca, e di altre antiche d’Italia, per servire alla storia de’ popoli, delle lingue et delle arti, Rome, 1789, 3 vols.
 * De’ vasi antichi dipinti, chiamati etruschi, dissertazioni tre. Opuscoli raccolti da accademici italiani relativi a Storia antiquaria e lingue antiche che servono ad illustrarle, Florence, 1806.
 * Illustrazioni di due vasi fittili ed altri monumenti recentemente trovati in Pesto, comunicate alla inclita Accademia Italiana di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, Rome, 1809.
 * (1809) Storia pittorica della Italia dal risorgimento delle belle arti fino presso al fine del XVIII secolo; English translation: The History of Painting in Italy, From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century (1828), by Thomas Roscoe:
 * Vol. I, Schools of Florence and Siena
 * Vol. II, Schools of Rome and Naples
 * Vol. III, School of Venice
 * Vol. IV, Schools of Lombardy
 * Vol. V, Schools of Bologna, Ferrara, Genoa, and Piedmont
 * Vol. VI, Indexes
 * Di Esiodo Ascreo i Lavori e le Giornate, opera con 4 codici riscontrata, emendata, la versione latina, aggiuntavi l’italiana in terze rime, con annotazioni, Florence, 1808.
 * Opere postume dell’abate D. Luigi Lanzi, Florence, 1817, 2 vols.

title: Luigi Lanzi


text:
Talk:1713

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:36, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:1713


text:
Talk:1714

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:37, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:1714


text:
Talk:1712

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:37, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

All the Tuscarora stuff should be moved to the appropriate article, it messes up the chronology with minutia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mumroos (talk • contribs) 19:02, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

February 30
The dates here are supposed to be the Gregorian dates. Therefore, there shouldn't be February the 30th. It should be March the 11th, I think.93.172.177.45 (talk) 22:14, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

Steam Engine
The current wording is, I think, borderline, and smacks of "Western" bias. The Aeolipile produced mechanical work 17 centuries earlier. It was a practical device in the sense that it could be (and was) actually constructed. Newcomen was the first to apply steam power in an industrial context. I'm struggling for a suitably brief and clear way to express that. Almonaster (talk) 23:15, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

Never mind - words found, fix applied. Reasoning as above. Almonaster (talk) 23:21, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

title: Talk:1712


text:
Talk:1711

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:37, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:1711


text:
Talk:1710

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:38, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:1710


text:
Talk:1709

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:38, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

Which calendar?
The Battle of Poltava is listed under its then-date rather than under its new-style date. Is there a Wikipedia policy on events like this that took place in a place that had a different date (in this case two different dates) from how we now date them? Kdammers (talk) 01:51, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

title: Talk:1709


text:
Talk:1708

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:38, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

Gobind Singh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism#The_ten_gurus_and_religious_authority

Since I know nothing about Wiki, I'll just leave it up to anyone to add the date of Gobind Singh's (9th Guru of Sikhism) Ascension (death). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.170.227.123 (talk) 05:05, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

title: Talk:1708


text:
Foreign exchange market

[[File:US Dollar Index DXY.webp|thumb|260px|right|US Dollar Index DXY {{legend|#00A2FF|outline=#0076BA|US Dollar Index (DXY)}}

]]

The foreign exchange market (forex, FX (pronounced "fix"), or currency market) is a global decentralized or over-the-counter (OTC) market for the trading of currencies. This market determines foreign exchange rates for every currency. It includes all aspects of buying, selling and exchanging currencies at current or determined prices. In terms of trading volume, it is by far the largest market in the world, followed by the credit market.

The main participants in this market are the larger international banks. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of multiple types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends. Since currencies are always traded in pairs, the foreign exchange market does not set a currency's absolute value but rather determines its relative value by setting the market price of one currency if paid for with another. Ex: 1 USD is worth X CAD, or CHF, or JPY, etc.

The foreign exchange market works through financial institutions and operates on several levels. Behind the scenes, banks turn to a smaller number of financial firms known as "dealers", who are involved in large quantities of foreign exchange trading. Most foreign exchange dealers are banks, so this behind-the-scenes market is sometimes called the "interbank market" (although a few insurance companies and other kinds of financial firms are involved). Trades between foreign exchange dealers can be very large, involving hundreds of millions of dollars. Because of the sovereignty issue when involving two currencies, Forex has little (if any) supervisory entity regulating its actions.

The foreign exchange market assists international trade and investments by enabling currency conversion. For example, it permits a business in the United States to import goods from European Union member states, especially Eurozone members, and pay Euros, even though its income is in United States dollars. It also supports direct speculation and evaluation relative to the value of currencies and the carry trade speculation, based on the differential interest rate between two currencies.

In a typical foreign exchange transaction, a party purchases some quantity of one currency by paying with some quantity of another currency.

The modern foreign exchange market began forming during the 1970s. This followed three decades of government restrictions on foreign exchange transactions under the Bretton Woods system of monetary management, which set out the rules for commercial and financial relations among the world's major industrial states after World War II. Countries gradually switched to floating exchange rates from the previous exchange rate regime, which remained fixed per the Bretton Woods system.

The foreign exchange market is unique because of the following characteristics: As such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal of perfect competition, notwithstanding currency intervention by central banks.
 * its huge trading volume, representing the largest asset class in the world leading to high liquidity;
 * its geographical dispersion;
 * its continuous operation: 24 hours a day except for weekends, i.e., trading from 22:00 UTC on Sunday (Sydney) until 22:00 UTC Friday (New York);
 * the variety of factors that affect exchange rates;
 * the low margins of relative profit compared with other markets of fixed income; and
 * the use of leverage to enhance profit and loss margins and with respect to account size.

According to the Bank for International Settlements, the preliminary global results from the 2022 Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and OTC Derivatives Markets Activity show that trading in foreign exchange markets averaged US$7.5 trillion per day in April 2022. This is up from US$6.6 trillion in April 2019. Measured by value, foreign exchange swaps were traded more than any other instrument in April 2022, at US$3.8 trillion per day, followed by spot trading at US$2.1 trillion.

The US$7.5 trillion break-down is as follows:
 * US$2.1 trillion in spot transactions
 * US$1.2 trillion in outright forwards
 * US$3.8 trillion in foreign exchange swaps
 * US$124 billion currency swaps
 * US$304 billion in options and other products

Ancient
Currency trading and exchange first occurred in ancient times. Money-changers (people helping others to change money and also taking a commission or charging a fee) were living in the Holy Land in the times of the Talmudic writings (Biblical times). These people (sometimes called "kollybistẻs") used city stalls, and at feast times the Temple's Court of the Gentiles instead. Money-changers were also the silversmiths and/or goldsmiths of more recent ancient times.

During the 4th century AD, the Byzantine government kept a monopoly on the exchange of currency.

Papyri PCZ I 59021 (c.259/8 BC), shows the occurrences of exchange of coinage in Ancient Egypt.

Currency and exchange were important elements of trade in the ancient world, enabling people to buy and sell items like food, pottery, and raw materials. If a Greek coin held more gold than an Egyptian coin due to its size or content, then a merchant could barter fewer Greek gold coins for more Egyptian ones, or for more material goods. This is why, at some point in their history, most world currencies in circulation today had a value fixed to a specific quantity of a recognized standard like silver and gold.

Medieval and later
During the 15th century, the Medici family were required to open banks at foreign locations in order to exchange currencies to act on behalf of textile merchants. To facilitate trade, the bank created the nostro (from Italian, this translates to "ours") account book which contained two columned entries showing amounts of foreign and local currencies; information pertaining to the keeping of an account with a foreign bank. During the 17th (or 18th) century, Amsterdam maintained an active Forex market. In 1704, foreign exchange took place between agents acting in the interests of the Kingdom of England and the County of Holland.

Early modern
Alex. Brown & Sons traded foreign currencies around 1850 and was a leading currency trader in the USA. In 1880, J.M. do Espírito Santo de Silva (Banco Espírito Santo) applied for and was given permission to engage in a foreign exchange trading business.

The year 1880 is considered by at least one source to be the beginning of modern foreign exchange: the gold standard began in that year.

Prior to the First World War, there was a much more limited control of international trade. Motivated by the onset of war, countries abandoned the gold standard monetary system.

Modern to post-modern
From 1899 to 1913, holdings of countries' foreign exchange increased at an annual rate of 10.8%, while holdings of gold increased at an annual rate of 6.3% between 1903 and 1913.

At the end of 1913, nearly half of the world's foreign exchange was conducted using the pound sterling. The number of foreign banks operating within the boundaries of London increased from 3 in 1860, to 71 in 1913. In 1902, there were just two London foreign exchange brokers. At the start of the 20th century, trades in currencies was most active in Paris, New York City and Berlin; Britain remained largely uninvolved until 1914. Between 1919 and 1922, the number of foreign exchange brokers in London increased to 17; and in 1924, there were 40 firms operating for the purposes of exchange.

During the 1920s, the Kleinwort family were known as the leaders of the foreign exchange market, while Japheth, Montagu & Co. and Seligman still warrant recognition as significant FX traders. The trade in London began to resemble its modern manifestation. By 1928, Forex trade was integral to the financial functioning of the city. However, during the 1930s, London's pursuit of widespread trade prosperity was hindered by continental exchange controls and additional factors in Europe and Latin America. Some of these additional factors include tariff rates and quota, protectionist policies, trade barriers and taxes, economic depression and agricultural overproduction, and impact of protection on trade.

After World War II
In 1944, the Bretton Woods Accord was signed, allowing currencies to fluctuate within a range of ±1% from the currency's par exchange rate. In Japan, the Foreign Exchange Bank Law was introduced in 1954. As a result, the Bank of Tokyo became a center of foreign exchange by September 1954. Between 1954 and 1959, Japanese law was changed to allow foreign exchange dealings in many more Western currencies.

U.S. President, Richard Nixon is credited with ending the Bretton Woods Accord and fixed rates of exchange, eventually resulting in a free-floating currency system. After the Accord ended in 1971, the Smithsonian Agreement allowed rates to fluctuate by up to ±2%. In 1961–62, the volume of foreign operations by the U.S. Federal Reserve was relatively low. Those responsible for managing exchange rates then found the boundaries of the Agreement unrealistic. As a result, it led to its discontinuation in March 1973. Afterwards, none of the major currencies (such as the US dollar, the British pound, the euro, or the Japanese yen) were maintained with a capacity for conversion to gold. Instead, organizations relied on reserves of currency to facilitate international trade and back the value of their own currency. From 1970 to 1973, the volume of trading in the market increased three-fold. At some time (according to Gandolfo during February–March 1973) some of the markets were "split", and a two-tier currency market was subsequently introduced, with dual currency rates. This was abolished in March 1974.

Reuters introduced computer monitors during June 1973, replacing the telephones and telex used previously for trading quotes.

Markets close
Due to the ultimate ineffectiveness of the Bretton Woods Accord and the European Joint Float, the forex markets were forced to close sometime during 1972 and March 1973. This was a result of the collapse of the Bretton Woods System, as major currencies began to float against each other, ultimately leading to the abandonment of the fixed exchange rate system. Meanwhile, the largest purchase of US dollars in the history of 1976 was when the West German government achieved an almost 3 billion dollar acquisition (a figure is given as 2.75 billion in total by The Statesman: Volume 18 1974). This event indicated the impossibility of balancing of exchange rates by the measures of control used at the time, and the monetary system and the foreign exchange markets in West Germany and other countries within Europe closed for two weeks (during February and, or, March 1973. Giersch, Paqué, & Schmieding state closed after purchase of "7.5 million Dmarks" Brawley states "... Exchange markets had to be closed. When they re-opened ... March 1 " that is a large purchase occurred after the close).

After 1973
In developed nations, state control of foreign exchange trading ended in 1973 when complete floating and relatively free market conditions of modern times began. Other sources claim that the first time a currency pair was traded by U.S. retail customers was during 1982, with additional currency pairs becoming available by the next year.

On 1 January 1981, as part of changes beginning during 1978, the People's Bank of China allowed certain domestic "enterprises" to participate in foreign exchange trading. Sometime during 1981, the South Korean government ended Forex controls and allowed free trade to occur for the first time. During 1988, the country's government accepted the IMF quota for international trade.

Intervention by European banks (especially the Bundesbank) influenced the Forex market on 27 February 1985. The greatest proportion of all trades worldwide during 1987 were within the United Kingdom (slightly over one quarter). The United States had the second highest involvement in trading.

During 1991, Iran changed international agreements with some countries from oil-barter to foreign exchange.

Market size and liquidity
The foreign exchange market is the most liquid financial market in the world. Traders include governments and central banks, commercial banks, other institutional investors and financial institutions, currency speculators, other commercial corporations, and individuals. According to the 2019 Triennial Central Bank Survey, coordinated by the Bank for International Settlements, average daily turnover was US$7.5 trillion in April 2022 (compared to US$1.9 trillion in 2004). Of this US$6.6 trillion, US$2.1 trillion was spot transactions and $5.4 trillion was traded in outright forwards, swaps, and other derivatives.

Foreign exchange is traded in an over-the-counter market where brokers/dealers negotiate directly with one another, so there is no central exchange or clearing house. The biggest geographic trading center is the United Kingdom, primarily London. In April 2022, trading in the United Kingdom accounted for 38.1% of the total, making it by far the most important center for foreign exchange trading in the world. Owing to London's dominance in the market, a particular currency's quoted price is usually the London market price. For instance, when the International Monetary Fund calculates the value of its special drawing rights every day, they use the London market prices at noon that day. Trading in the United States accounted for 19.4%, Singapore and Hong Kong account for 9.4% and 7.1%, respectively, and Japan accounted for 4.4%.

Turnover of exchange-traded foreign exchange futures and options was growing rapidly in 2004-2013, reaching US$145 billion in April 2013 (double the turnover recorded in April 2007). As of April 2022, exchange-traded currency derivatives represent 2% of OTC foreign exchange turnover. Foreign exchange futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are traded more than to most other futures contracts.

Most developed countries permit the trading of derivative products (such as futures and options on futures) on their exchanges. All these developed countries already have fully convertible capital accounts. Some governments of emerging markets do not allow foreign exchange derivative products on their exchanges because they have capital controls. The use of derivatives is growing in many emerging economies. Countries such as South Korea, South Africa, and India have established currency futures exchanges, despite having some capital controls.

Foreign exchange trading increased by 20% between April 2007 and April 2010 and has more than doubled since 2004. The increase in turnover is due to a number of factors: the growing importance of foreign exchange as an asset class, the increased trading activity of high-frequency traders, and the emergence of retail investors as an important market segment. The growth of electronic execution and the diverse selection of execution venues has lowered transaction costs, increased market liquidity, and attracted greater participation from many customer types. In particular, electronic trading via online portals has made it easier for retail traders to trade in the foreign exchange market. By 2010, retail trading was estimated to account for up to 10% of spot turnover, or $150 billion per day (see below: Retail foreign exchange traders).

Market participants
Unlike a stock market, the foreign exchange market is divided into levels of access. At the top is the interbank foreign exchange market, which is made up of the largest commercial banks and securities dealers. Within the interbank market, spreads represent the gap between the bid (the highest price a buyer is willing to pay) and ask (the lowest price a seller is willing to accept) prices in trading. Relationships play a role in a bank's access to interbank market liquidity. Banks with reserve imbalances may prefer to borrow from banks with established relationships and can sometimes secure loans at more favorable interest rates compared to other sources.

The difference between the bid and ask prices widens (for example from 0 to 1 pip to 1–2 pips for currencies such as the EUR) as you go down the levels of access. This is due to volume. If a trader can guarantee large numbers of transactions for large amounts, they can demand a smaller difference between the bid and ask price, which is referred to as a better spread. The levels of access that make up the foreign exchange market are determined by the size of the "line" (the amount of money with which they are trading). The top-tier interbank market accounts for 51% of all transactions. After that, smaller banks, large multinational corporations (requiring risk hedging and cross-border payroll), major hedge funds, and even a few retail market makers come into play. According to Galati and Melvin, “Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, and other institutional investors have played an increasingly important role in financial markets in general, and in FX markets in particular, since the early 2000s.” (2004) In addition, he notes, “Hedge funds have grown markedly over the 2001–2004 period in terms of both number and overall size”. Central banks also participate in the foreign exchange market to align currencies to their economic needs.

Commercial companies
An important part of the foreign exchange market comes from the financial activities of companies seeking foreign exchange to pay for goods or services. Commercial companies often trade fairly small amounts compared to those of banks or speculators, and their trades often have a little short-term impact on market rates. Nevertheless, trade flows are an important factor in the long-term direction of a currency's exchange rate. Some multinational corporations (MNCs) can have an unpredictable impact when very large positions are covered due to exposures that are not widely known by other market participants.

Central banks
National central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They try to control the money supply, inflation, and/or interest rates and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. They can use their often substantial foreign exchange reserves to stabilize the market. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of central bank "stabilizing speculation" is doubtful because central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses as other traders would. There is also no convincing evidence that they actually make a profit from trading.

Foreign exchange fixing
Foreign exchange fixing is the daily monetary exchange rate fixed by the national bank of each country. The idea is that central banks use the fixing time and exchange rate to evaluate the behavior of their currency. Fixing exchange rates reflect the real value of equilibrium in the market. Banks, dealers, and traders use fixing rates as a market trend indicator.

The mere expectation or rumor of a central bank foreign exchange intervention might be enough to stabilize the currency. However, aggressive intervention might be used several times each year in countries with a dirty float currency regime. Central banks do not always achieve their objectives. The combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank. Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992–93 European Exchange Rate Mechanism collapse, and in more recent times in Asia.

Investment management firms
Investment management firms (who typically manage large accounts on behalf of customers such as pension funds and endowments) use the foreign exchange market to facilitate transactions in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager bearing an international equity portfolio needs to purchase and sell several pairs of foreign currencies to pay for foreign securities purchases.

Some investment management firms also have more speculative specialist currency overlay operations, which manage clients' currency exposures with the aim of generating profits as well as limiting risk. While the number of this type of specialist firms is quite small, many have a large value of assets under management and can, therefore, generate large trades.

Retail foreign exchange traders
Individual retail speculative traders constitute a growing segment of this market. Currently, they participate indirectly through brokers or banks. Retail brokers, while largely controlled and regulated in the US by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and National Futures Association, have previously been subjected to periodic foreign exchange fraud. To deal with the issue, in 2010 the NFA required its members that deal in the Forex markets to register as such (i.e., Forex CTA instead of a CTA). Those NFA members that would traditionally be subject to minimum net capital requirements, FCMs and IBs, are subject to greater minimum net capital requirements if they deal in Forex. A number of the foreign exchange brokers operate from the UK under Financial Services Authority regulations where foreign exchange trading using margin is part of the wider over-the-counter derivatives trading industry that includes contracts for difference and financial spread betting.

There are two main types of retail FX brokers offering the opportunity for speculative currency trading: brokers and dealers or market makers. Brokers serve as an agent of the customer in the broader FX market, by seeking the best price in the market for a retail order and dealing on behalf of the retail customer. They charge a commission or "mark-up" in addition to the price obtained in the market. Dealers or market makers, by contrast, typically act as principals in the transaction versus the retail customer, and quote a price they are willing to deal at.

Non-bank foreign exchange companies
Non-bank foreign exchange companies offer currency exchange and international payments to private individuals and companies. These are also known as "foreign exchange brokers" but are distinct in that they do not offer speculative trading but rather currency exchange with payments (i.e., there is usually a physical delivery of currency to a bank account).

It is estimated that in the UK, 14% of currency transfers/payments are made via Foreign Exchange Companies. These companies' selling point is usually that they will offer better exchange rates or cheaper payments than the customer's bank. These companies differ from Money Transfer/Remittance Companies in that they generally offer higher-value services. The volume of transactions done through Foreign Exchange Companies in India amounts to about US$2 billion per day This does not compete favorably with any well developed foreign exchange market of international repute, but with the entry of online Foreign Exchange Companies the market is steadily growing. Around 25% of currency transfers/payments in India are made via non-bank Foreign Exchange Companies. Most of these companies use the USP of better exchange rates than the banks. They are regulated by FEDAI and any transaction in foreign Exchange is governed by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).

Money transfer/remittance companies and bureaux de change
Money transfer companies/remittance companies perform high-volume low-value transfers generally by economic migrants back to their home country. In 2007, the Aite Group estimated that there were $369 billion of remittances (an increase of 8% on the previous year). The four largest foreign markets (India, China, Mexico, and the Philippines) receive $95 billion. The largest and best-known provider is Western Union with 345,000 agents globally, followed by UAE Exchange.

Bureaux de change or currency transfer companies provide low-value foreign exchange services for travelers. These are typically located at airports and stations or at tourist locations and allow physical notes to be exchanged from one currency to another. They access foreign exchange markets via banks or non-bank foreign exchange companies.

Most traded currencies by value
There is no unified or centrally cleared market for the majority of trades, and there is very little cross-border regulation. Due to the over-the-counter (OTC) nature of currency markets, there are rather a number of interconnected marketplaces, where different currencies instruments are traded. This implies that there is not a single exchange rate but rather a number of different rates (prices), depending on what bank or market maker is trading, and where it is. In practice, the rates are quite close due to arbitrage. Due to London's dominance in the market, a particular currency's quoted price is usually the London market price. Major trading exchanges include Electronic Broking Services (EBS) and Thomson Reuters Dealing, while major banks also offer trading systems. A joint venture of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Reuters, called Fxmarketspace opened in 2007 and aspired but failed to the role of a central market clearing mechanism.

The main trading centers are London and New York City, though Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore are all important centers as well. Banks throughout the world participate. Currency trading happens continuously throughout the day; as the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, followed by the North American session and then back to the Asian session.

Fluctuations in exchange rates are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows. These are caused by changes in gross domestic product (GDP) growth, inflation (purchasing power parity theory), interest rates (interest rate parity, Domestic Fisher effect, International Fisher effect), budget and trade deficits or surpluses, large cross-border M&A deals and other macroeconomic conditions. Major news is released publicly, often on scheduled dates, so many people have access to the same news at the same time. However, large banks have an important advantage; they can see their customers' order flow.

Currencies are traded against one another in pairs. Each currency pair thus constitutes an individual trading product and is traditionally noted XXXYYY or XXX/YYY, where XXX and YYY are the ISO 4217 international three-letter code of the currencies involved. The first currency (XXX) is the base currency that is quoted relative to the second currency (YYY), called the counter currency (or quote currency). For instance, the quotation EURUSD (EUR/USD) 1.5465 is the price of the Euro expressed in US dollars, meaning 1 euro = 1.5465 dollars. The market convention is to quote most exchange rates against the USD with the US dollar as the base currency (e.g. USDJPY, USDCAD, USDCHF). The exceptions are the British pound (GBP), Australian dollar (AUD), the New Zealand dollar (NZD) and the euro (EUR) where the USD is the counter currency (e.g. GBPUSD, AUDUSD, NZDUSD, EURUSD).

The factors affecting XXX will affect both XXXYYY and XXXZZZ. This causes a positive currency correlation between XXXYYY and XXXZZZ.

On the spot market, according to the 2022 Triennial Survey, the most heavily traded bilateral currency pairs were: The U.S. currency was involved in 88.5% of transactions, followed by the euro (30.5%), the yen (16.7%), and sterling (12.9%) (see table). Volume percentages for all individual currencies should add up to 200%, as each transaction involves two currencies.
 * EURUSD: 22.7%
 * USDJPY: 13.5%
 * GBPUSD (also called cable): 9.5%

Trading in the euro has grown considerably since the currency's creation in January 1999, and how long the foreign exchange market will remain dollar-centered is open to debate. Until recently, trading the euro versus a non-European currency ZZZ would have usually involved two trades: EURUSD and USDZZZ. The exception to this is EURJPY, which is an established traded currency pair in the interbank spot market.

Determinants of exchange rates
In a fixed exchange rate regime, exchange rates are decided by the government, while a number of theories have been proposed to explain (and predict) the fluctuations in exchange rates in a floating exchange rate regime, including:

 * International parity conditions: Relative purchasing power parity, interest rate parity, Domestic Fisher effect, International Fisher effect. To some extent the above theories provide logical explanation for the fluctuations in exchange rates, yet these theories falter as they are based on challengeable assumptions (e.g., free flow of goods, services, and capital) which seldom hold true in the real world.
 * Balance of payments model: This model, however, focuses largely on tradable goods and services, ignoring the increasing role of global capital flows. It failed to provide any explanation for the continuous appreciation of the US dollar during the 1980s and most of the 1990s, despite the soaring US current account deficit.
 * Asset market model: views currencies as an important asset class for constructing investment portfolios. Asset prices are influenced mostly by people's willingness to hold the existing quantities of assets, which in turn depends on their expectations on the future worth of these assets. The asset market model of exchange rate determination states that “the exchange rate between two currencies represents the price that just balances the relative supplies of, and demand for, assets denominated in those currencies.”

None of the models developed so far succeed to explain exchange rates and volatility in the longer time frames. For shorter time frames (less than a few days), algorithms can be devised to predict prices. It is understood from the above models that many macroeconomic factors affect the exchange rates and in the end currency prices are a result of dual forces of supply and demand. The world's currency markets can be viewed as a huge melting pot: in a large and ever-changing mix of current events, supply and demand factors are constantly shifting, and the price of one currency in relation to another shifts accordingly. No other market encompasses (and distills) as much of what is going on in the world at any given time as foreign exchange.

Supply and demand for any given currency, and thus its value, are not influenced by any single element, but rather by several. These elements generally fall into three categories: economic factors, political conditions, and market psychology.

Economic factors
Economic factors include: (a) economic policy, disseminated by government agencies and central banks, (b) economic conditions, generally revealed through economic reports, and other economic indicators.

 * Economic policy comprises government fiscal policy (budget/spending practices) and monetary policy (the means by which a government's central bank influences the supply and "cost" of money, which is reflected by the level of interest rates).
 * Government budget deficits or surpluses: The market usually reacts negatively to widening government budget deficits, and positively to narrowing budget deficits. The impact is reflected in the value of a country's currency.
 * Balance of trade levels and trends: The trade flow between countries illustrates the demand for goods and services, which in turn indicates demand for a country's currency to conduct trade. Surpluses and deficits in trade of goods and services reflect the competitiveness of a nation's economy. For example, trade deficits may have a negative impact on a nation's currency.
 * Inflation levels and trends: Typically a currency will lose value if there is a high level of inflation in the country or if inflation levels are perceived to be rising. This is because inflation erodes purchasing power, thus demand, for that particular currency. However, a currency may sometimes strengthen when inflation rises because of expectations that the central bank will raise short-term interest rates to combat rising inflation.
 * Economic growth and health: Reports such as GDP, employment levels, retail sales, capacity utilization and others, detail the levels of a country's economic growth and health. Generally, the more healthy and robust a country's economy, the better its currency will perform, and the more demand for it there will be.
 * Productivity of an economy: Increasing productivity in an economy should positively influence the value of its currency. Its effects are more prominent if the increase is in the traded sector.

Political conditions
Internal, regional, and international political conditions and events can have a profound effect on currency markets.

All exchange rates are susceptible to political instability and anticipations about the new ruling party. Political upheaval and instability can have a negative impact on a nation's economy. For example, destabilization of coalition governments in Pakistan and Thailand can negatively affect the value of their currencies. Similarly, in a country experiencing financial difficulties, the rise of a political faction that is perceived to be fiscally responsible can have the opposite effect. Also, events in one country in a region may spur positive/negative interest in a neighboring country and, in the process, affect its currency.

Market psychology
Market psychology and trader perceptions influence the foreign exchange market in a variety of ways:
 * Flights to quality: Unsettling international events can lead to a "flight-to-quality", a type of capital flight whereby investors move their assets to a perceived "safe haven". There will be a greater demand, thus a higher price, for currencies perceived as stronger over their relatively weaker counterparts. The US dollar, Swiss franc and gold have been traditional safe havens during times of political or economic uncertainty.
 * Long-term trends: Currency markets often move in visible long-term trends. Although currencies do not have an annual growing season like physical commodities, business cycles do make themselves felt. Cycle analysis looks at longer-term price trends that may rise from economic or political trends.
 * "Buy the rumor, sell the fact": This market truism can apply to many currency situations. It is the tendency for the price of a currency to reflect the impact of a particular action before it occurs and, when the anticipated event comes to pass, react in exactly the opposite direction. This may also be referred to as a market being "oversold" or "overbought". To buy the rumor or sell the fact can also be an example of the cognitive bias known as Anchoring, when investors focus too much on the relevance of outside events to currency prices.
 * Economic numbers: While economic numbers can certainly reflect economic policy, some reports and numbers take on a talisman-like effect: the number itself becomes important to market psychology and may have an immediate impact on short-term market moves. "What to watch" can change over time. In recent years, for example, money supply, employment, trade balance figures and inflation numbers have all taken turns in the spotlight.
 * Technical trading considerations: As in other markets, the accumulated price movements in a currency pair such as EUR/USD can form apparent patterns that traders may attempt to use. Many traders study price charts in order to identify such patterns.

Spot
A spot transaction is a two-day delivery transaction (except in the case of trades between the US dollar, Canadian dollar, Turkish lira, euro and Russian ruble, which settle the next business day), as opposed to the futures contracts, which are usually three months. This trade represents a “direct exchange” between two currencies, has the shortest time frame, involves cash rather than a contract, and interest is not included in the agreed-upon transaction. Spot trading is one of the most common types of forex trading. Often, a forex broker will charge a small fee to the client to roll-over the expiring transaction into a new identical transaction for a continuation of the trade. This roll-over fee is known as the "swap" fee.

Forward
One way to deal with the foreign exchange risk is to engage in a forward transaction. In this transaction, money does not actually change hands until some agreed upon future date. A buyer and seller agree on an exchange rate for any date in the future, and the transaction occurs on that date, regardless of what the market rates are then. The duration of the trade can be one day, a few days, months or years. Usually the date is decided by both parties. Then the forward contract is negotiated and agreed upon by both parties.

Non-deliverable forward (NDF)
Forex banks, ECNs, and prime brokers offer NDF contracts, which are derivatives that have no real deliver-ability. NDFs are popular for currencies with restrictions such as the Argentinian peso. In fact, a forex hedger can only hedge such risks with NDFs, as currencies such as the Argentinian peso cannot be traded on open markets like major currencies.

Swap
The most common type of forward transaction is the foreign exchange swap. In a swap, two parties exchange currencies for a certain length of time and agree to reverse the transaction at a later date. These are not standardized contracts and are not traded through an exchange. A deposit is often required in order to hold the position open until the transaction is completed.

Futures
Futures are standardized forward contracts and are usually traded on an exchange created for this purpose. The average contract length is roughly 3 months. Futures contracts are usually inclusive of any interest amounts.

Currency futures contracts are contracts specifying a standard volume of a particular currency to be exchanged on a specific settlement date. Thus the currency futures contracts are similar to forward contracts in terms of their obligation, but differ from forward contracts in the way they are traded. In addition, Futures are daily settled removing credit risk that exist in Forwards. They are commonly used by MNCs to hedge their currency positions. In addition they are traded by speculators who hope to capitalize on their expectations of exchange rate movements.

Option
A foreign exchange option (commonly shortened to just FX option) is a derivative where the owner has the right but not the obligation to exchange money denominated in one currency into another currency at a pre-agreed exchange rate on a specified date. The FX options market is the deepest, largest and most liquid market for options of any kind in the world.

Speculation
Controversy about currency speculators and their effect on currency devaluations and national economies recurs regularly. Economists, such as Milton Friedman, have argued that speculators ultimately are a stabilizing influence on the market, and that stabilizing speculation performs the important function of providing a market for hedgers and transferring risk from those people who don't wish to bear it, to those who do. Other economists, such as Joseph Stiglitz, consider this argument to be based more on politics and a free market philosophy than on economics.

Large hedge funds and other well capitalized "position traders" are the main professional speculators. According to some economists, individual traders could act as "noise traders" and have a more destabilizing role than larger and better informed actors.

Currency speculation is considered a highly suspect activity in many countries, such as Thailand. While investment in traditional financial instruments like bonds or stocks often is considered to contribute positively to economic growth by providing capital, currency speculation does not; according to this view, it is simply gambling that often interferes with economic policy. For example, in 1992, currency speculation forced Sweden's central bank, the Riksbank, to raise interest rates for a few days to 500% per annum, and later to devalue the krona. Mahathir Mohamad, one of the former Prime Ministers of Malaysia, is one well-known proponent of this view. He blamed the devaluation of the Malaysian ringgit in 1997 on George Soros and other speculators.

Gregory Millman reports on an opposing view, comparing speculators to "vigilantes" who simply help "enforce" international agreements and anticipate the effects of basic economic "laws" in order to profit. In this view, countries may develop unsustainable economic bubbles or otherwise mishandle their national economies, and foreign exchange speculators made the inevitable collapse happen sooner. A relatively quick collapse might even be preferable to continued economic mishandling, followed by an eventual, larger, collapse. Mahathir Mohamad and other critics of speculation are viewed as trying to deflect the blame from themselves for having caused the unsustainable economic conditions.

Risk aversion
Risk aversion is a kind of trading behavior exhibited by the foreign exchange market when a potentially adverse event happens that may affect market conditions. This behavior is caused when risk averse traders liquidate their positions in risky assets and shift the funds to less risky assets due to uncertainty.

In the context of the foreign exchange market, traders liquidate their positions in various currencies to take up positions in safe-haven currencies, such as the US dollar. Sometimes, the choice of a safe haven currency is more of a choice based on prevailing sentiments rather than one of economic statistics. An example would be the financial crisis of 2008. The value of equities across the world fell while the US dollar strengthened (see Fig.1). This happened despite the strong focus of the crisis in the US.

Carry trade
Currency carry trade refers to the act of borrowing one currency that has a low interest rate in order to purchase another with a higher interest rate. A large difference in rates can be highly profitable for the trader, especially if high leverage is used. However, with all levered investments this is a double edged sword, and large exchange rate price fluctuations can suddenly swing trades into huge losses.

title: Foreign exchange market


text:
Talk:1707

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:39, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:1707


text:
Talk:1706

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:39, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:1706


text:
Talk:1704

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:40, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:1704


text:
User:Hcheney/Michael Snow

Please direct comments about this page here.

I contacted the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) on May 11, 2004 (16:28 UTC) by telephone and obtained the following information about Michael A. Snow:

 * Michael Snow is a member of the WSBA in good standing.
 * Michael Snow has never been reprimanded, disciplined, and is not subject to any pending grievance or disciplinary hearing.

Caveat lector. However, I have yet to confirm that Michael Snow, Esq. is User:Michael Snow.

I would like to disclose that I have never met Michael Snow, nor have I ever communicated with him outside of Wikimedia universe.

--"D ICK " C HENEY 16:40, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

title: User:Hcheney/Michael Snow


text:
Talk:1703

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:40, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:1703


text:
Talk:1702

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:41, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:1702


text:
Commencement (disambiguation)

Commencement most commonly refers to graduation, the ceremony at which students receive academic degrees. It may also refer to:

 * Commencement (album), a 2002 album by American band Deadsy
 * Commencement (novel), a 2010 novel by J. Courtney Sullivan
 * "Commencement" (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Academy)
 * "Commencement" (Smallville), an episode in season four of Smallville
 * "Commencement" (The West Wing), an episode in the fourth season of The West Wing
 * Coming into force, or commencement, is the day legislation begins to have legal effect

title: Commencement (disambiguation)


text:
Talk:1701

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:41, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

I do not think "William Moore" is going to the right "William Moore", just look for yourself. 69.134.128.54 14:34, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

Dead link
During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!

 * http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_spanishsuccession.html/
 * In 1701 on 2011-05-25 01:55:43, 404 Not Found
 * In 1701 on 2011-06-01 19:31:41, 404 Not Found

--JeffGBot (talk) 19:32, 1 June 2011 (UTC)

title: Talk:1701


text:
Talk:1700

years page layout
I have made some year layout proposals which would affect a significant proportion of the year pages: an example of proposed style is 1850. It is detailed on my talk page. However pre 1800 the change is largely cosmetic.

If no-one flags where I have put the discussion on my talk page that they object in a month I will start making everything consistent. It may take some time... --(talk)BozMo 16:41, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

Walter Clarke link
Walter Clarke link is wrong: it is associated with a IX-XX century linguist instead of the correct XVII-XVIII Rhode Island governor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.220.105.241 (talk) 13:10, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

 * No article on the governor exists so I'm unlinking his name. — Joe Kress (talk) 00:46, 16 October 2008 (UTC)

AD
In which century did the BC ended and AD started? 117.204.90.139 (talk) 10:33, 19 November 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 20:07, 14 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Duhameldemonceau.jpg

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 08:22, 15 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Duhameldemonceau.jpg

title: Talk:1700


text:
Lionel Blue

Lionel Blue (né Bluestein; 6 February 1930 – 19 December 2016) was a British Reform rabbi, journalist and broadcaster, described by The Guardian as "one of the most respected religious figures in the UK". He was best known for his longstanding work with the media, most notably his wry and gentle sense of humour on Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He was the first British rabbi publicly to declare his homosexuality.

Career
Blue was born in the East End of London in 1930. His parents were Jews of Russian origin and his father worked as a tailor. Blue did not receive a religious education, declaring that he lost his religious faith at the age of five after a petitionary prayer failed to remove Adolf Hitler and Oswald Mosley. Instead, Blue became interested in Marxism. He entered Hendon County School at sixth form level, following education in the East End and a year out of school at age 16–17. He served in the British Army but was discharged after having a nervous breakdown brought on by anxiety over his closet homosexuality.

Blue read history at Balliol College, Oxford and Semitics at University College London. He regained his faith while at Oxford, when he found some resolution to severe personal conflicts regarding his sexual orientation at a Quaker meeting. He also found Victor Gollancz's A Year of Grace helpful during this time, and finally became one of the first two students at Leo Baeck College for training rabbis in 1956.

Blue was ordained as a rabbi in 1960. Between 1960 and 1963, Blue was the minister of the Settlement Synagogue and Middlesex New Synagogue. He then became the European Director of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. In 1967, he began a long-term engagement as a lecturer at Leo Baeck College in London. He lived in Finchley, north London.

Blue made his first radio broadcast in 1967 and was a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day programme for 25 years. He made numerous appearances on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 2, also producing a television programme entitled In Search of Holy England in 1989. In 1978, he collaborated with the author June Rose, on a cookbook, A Taste of Heaven: Adventures in Food & Faith. In 2006, a return trip to his childhood home in London's East End to mark the 350th anniversary of Jewish life in Britain was the subject of an evocative audioslideshow on the BBC News website.

Blue was awarded honorary doctorates from the Open University and Durham University. In 1994, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Personal life
Blue came out in 1980 while he was involved with sailboat designer Christopher "Kim" Holman, a relationship which lasted from 1962 to 1982. He published Godly and Gay in 1981.

After his split with Holman, Blue met Jim Cummings through a personal ad in Gay Times. They remained together until Cummings's death in 2014. He was involved with various gay charities, including the Jewish Gay and Lesbian Group, and Kairos in Soho.

Illnesses and death
Blue was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 57; however, he successfully controlled his disorder with medication. During an operation in 1997, a surgeon discovered a tumour which tests proved to be malignant. He received radiotherapy and hormonal treatment to reduce any further growth. He was also diagnosed as having Parkinson's disease. Blue died on 19 December 2016 at the age of 86.

Books

 * To Heaven with Scribes and Pharisees (Darton, Longman and Todd,1975) ISBN 0232512892.
 * A Backdoor to Heaven (Fount, 1985) ISBN 9780006269786.
 * Kitchen Blues (ISIS Large Print, 1986) ISBN 9781850890850.
 * Bolts from the Blue (Hodder & Stoughton, 1986) ISBN 9780340413715.
 * Simply Divine - with Reverend John Eley (British Broadcasting Corporation, 1986) ISBN 9780563204596.
 * Bedside Manna (Victor Gollancz, 1991) ISBN 9780575054417.
 * Tales of Body and Soul (Coronet, 1995) ISBN 9780340649558.
 * My Affair with Christianity (Hodder & Stoughton General, 1999) ISBN 9780340669075.
 * Sun, Sand and Soul (Hodder & Stoughton General, 1999) ISBN 9780340669273.
 * Kindred Spirits (Fount, 1999) ISBN 9780006278191.
 * Hitchhiking to Heaven – Autobiography (Hodder & Stoughton General, 2004) ISBN 9780340786611.
 * Best of Blue (Continuum, 2006) ISBN 9780826490452.
 * The Godseeker's Guide (Continuum, 2010) ISBN 9781847064189.

title: Lionel Blue


text:
Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoung (born February 18, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist. He was a founding member of the rock band Styx and served as its primary lead vocalist and keyboardist from 1972 until 1999. DeYoung was the band's most prolific and successful writer, having been credited as the writer of more Styx songs than any other band member. DeYoung penned seven of the band's eight Billboard top 10 singles as well as a solo top 10 single.

1947–1970: Early life
Dennis DeYoung was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Maurice DeYoung (1918–1997) and Loraine Rolla DeYoung (1923–2001). He had a younger sister, Darcy, who died in 2021. DeYoung is a devout Roman Catholic and is of Italian ancestry. Growing up in the Roseland area of Chicago, DeYoung started his career as an accordionist in 1962 at the age of 15 when he teamed up with his 13-year-old neighbors Chuck and John Panozzo in a three-piece combo originally called The Tradewinds. The trio added guitarist Tom Nardini in 1964 and renamed the band TW4. In 1968, Nardini was replaced by John Curulewski and in 1970 DeYoung hired James Young to become the second guitarist in TW4. The band changed the name to Styx in 1972, upon signing their first record contract.

Before the band met with success, DeYoung spent time as a school teacher in the Southern suburbs of Chicago, where he was a music teacher in District 143. One teacher hosted dinner parties for co-workers; DeYoung always attended. He had crazy hair and would inevitably offer to play the piano, entertaining all for hours. During this period, the band played a number of small venues and school auditoriums in an effort to secure a record deal.

DeYoung met his sweetheart Suzanne when he was 17 and she was 15 at a high school dance. They married in 1970.

1972–1984: Tenure with Styx
Within Styx, DeYoung acted as lead vocalist, keyboardist, accordion player, producer and songwriter. From the start of Styx's commercial success with the 1973 DeYoung-penned single "Lady", DeYoung became the creative force behind most of the band's hit songs. DeYoung wrote and sang lead on seven of the band's eight top 10 Billboard Hot 100-ranked hits during this period, with Tommy Shaw's "Too Much Time on My Hands" (No. 9) being the sole exception. The seven DeYoung penned-and-performed top 10 Billboard hits, in order of their peak chart placement are:

 * "Babe", the band's only Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit to date. Also hit No. 1 on Radio and Records chart.
 * "Mr. Roboto" (No. 3 Billboard, No. 3 R & R)
 * "Show Me the Way" (No. 3 Billboard, No. 7 R & R)
 * "The Best of Times" (No. 3 and No. 1 R & R)
 * "Don't Let It End" (No. 6 Billboard, No. 3 R & R)
 * "Lady", the band's 1973 breakthrough hit (No. 6 in March 1975 Billboard and No. 7 R & R)
 * "Come Sail Away" (No. 8 Billboard, No. 9 R & R)

A self-taught pianist, DeYoung quickly became one of the most notable keyboard players in rock. Featured on the cover of the January 1981 issue of Contemporary Keyboard magazine (a story that was reprinted in Contemporary Keyboard's book on the greatest rock keyboardists), DeYoung described many of his steps along the way through his keyboard-playing career: He had never played an acoustic piano until the recording session for 1973's "Lady"; he recorded the track for 1979's "Babe" on a Fender Rhodes electric piano, an instrument he had never touched before, at Pumpkin Studios because the studio's grand piano was out of tune; when playing accordion for the song "Boat on the River" from the Cornerstone album, DeYoung discovered how small the keys felt to his fingers after years of playing pianos and Hammond organs.

As a keyboardist in Styx, DeYoung was best remembered for his prominent lead synthesizer solos performed on the Oberheim 4 voice synthesizer that dominated the mix with a unique tone, a key element of the Styx sound. Influenced by the recent release of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's first album, DeYoung – a novice synthesizer player at the time – used a modular Moog to record the keyboard tracks for Styx's debut album in 1972. This album featured a rock version of "Fanfare for the Common Man", more than five years before ELP came up with a similar idea of recording this classical composition as a rock band featuring the synthesizer, that would later become one of ELP's best known recordings.

DeYoung's songs often had a grandiose style to them in the tradition of 1970s theatrical rock, which heavily influenced the group's direction in the late 1970s, culminating in the concept albums Paradise Theatre (1981) and Kilroy Was Here (1983). The dissent of some members in the band during Kilroy brought tensions between the group's members over the future direction of the band, leading to guitarist Tommy Shaw's departure in 1984 to pursue a solo career.

1984–1989: Early solo career
With Styx in limbo following Shaw's 1984 departure, DeYoung began a solo career of modest success. His first solo album, Desert Moon (1984), generated a top 10 hit, "Desert Moon", and the follow-up single, "Don't Wait for Heroes", cracked the Billboard Top 100 as well. The Desert Moon album was certified gold in Canada in 1984. To date, "Desert Moon" is the only solo single by any Styx member to hit the Billboard Top 10.

DeYoung's solo career continued with Back to the World (1986), which contained the singles "Call Me" and "This Is the Time", which was featured in the soundtrack of Karate Kid II (1986) movie. His third solo album Boomchild (1988) failed to have a hit single, though the video for "Boomchild" received a fair amount of music video airplay.

After a five-year hiatus; DeYoung and several other members of Styx began discussing a possible reunion in 1989. By December 1989, Styx had unofficially reformed. Tommy Shaw, who joined Damn Yankees in 1988, did not return.

1990–1992: Reuniting with Styx
In 1990, Styx (minus Tommy Shaw, who was replaced by guitarist/singer-songwriter Glen Burtnik) returned to the studio for the album Edge of the Century (1990). "Show Me the Way", a track written by DeYoung for his son Matthew, received extensive radio play, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart (Styx's 8th top 10 single, and 7th written and sung by DeYoung) particularly after a number of radio stations mixed it with voice tracks of members of Congress debating whether or not to send troops to the first Persian Gulf War. This put the group in an exclusive group as one of only a few bands to have a top ten hit single under four different United States presidents. The group toured extensively before A&M Records (which had just merged with PolyGram Records) dropped the group from its roster in 1992; the group broke up again shortly afterwards.

1993–1995: Venture into acting
Between stints with Styx, DeYoung was asked to appear in the 20th Anniversary revival tour of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar in 1993, including Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson and Irene Cara, appearing in 268 performances as Pontius Pilate. DeYoung was asked to perform by Tony-winning producer Forbes Candlish. Danny Goldberg, former DeYoung manager and head of A&R at Atlantic Records, asked DeYoung to record an album of Broadway standards; the resulting album, 10 on Broadway, was released in 1994. While touring with Jesus Christ Superstar, DeYoung began writing the book and score of a musical of his own based on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Hunchback was first produced in 1997 at the Tennessee Repertory Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee.

1995: "Lady '95"
A&M Records had released the compilation album Styx - Classics, Volume 15, but since A&M did not own the rights to the original recording of "Lady" (which had been released by Wooden Nickel Records through a distribution deal with RCA Records), the track could not be included on the disc. In 1995, DeYoung called Shaw to sing on a new version of "Lady" even though he had not performed on the original. Styx reunited, but without a terminally ill John Panozzo. The band recorded a new version of "Lady," which became the lead track ("Lady '95") of a new compilation album, Styx Greatest Hits, for A&M. Todd Sucherman (uncredited) provided the drum track for the recording session. Panozzo died on July 16, 1996. Sucherman took his place, and in 1996, Styx toured for the first time in four years.

1996–1997: "Return to Paradise" tour
Styx's 1996 tour, dubbed the "Return to Paradise" tour by the band, proved remarkably successful, and a 2-disc live recording of the show (with three new studio tracks) proved even more so; 1997's Return to Paradise live album, produced by DeYoung, went gold and spawned a top-30 hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, the DeYoung-penned "Paradise". With the positive response and a new record label (CMC International), Styx returned to the studio in 1998 and began work on their first studio album in eight years.

1999: Departure from Styx
DeYoung and his bandmates celebrated the success of 1996's "Return to Paradise" tour, and 1997's "Grand Illusion" tour. In 1998 the band began work on a new album, Brave New World. In January 1998, DeYoung's physical health took a turn for the worse; DeYoung said he was afflicted with a severe case of the flu, and the extremely high fever damaged his eyes resulting in severe sensitivity to light which caused him heavy fatigue. James Young and Tommy Shaw of Styx suggested booking a tour in support of the Brave New World album. DeYoung asked for six months to recover; Shaw and Young instead replaced him with Canadian rocker Lawrence Gowan in 1999 and went on tour without DeYoung.

After a year-and-a-half of touring under the name "Styx," without any compensation to DeYoung for usage of the name, DeYoung sued his former bandmates seeking the rights to use the group's name in support of his solo career. The suit was settled in 2001, with the group being allowed to keep the name "Styx" and DeYoung able to use the name in descriptive phrases such as "the music of Styx" or "formerly of Styx" (but not "the voice of Styx"). DeYoung has said that the manner in which Shaw and Young vilified him on VH1's Behind the Music triggered the lawsuit.

Styx has consistently maintained that any chance of a reunion with DeYoung is unlikely. When asked about any possible reunions with DeYoung, James (JY) Young of Styx commented on an edition of VH1's Behind the Music television series, "Maybe when they are playing hockey on the river Styx. And maybe not even then." Young also addressed the reunion issue on an episode of VH1's Feuds 2000, noting the possibility of a reunion would only happen "[as] the Eagles said, 'when Hell freezes over'." Bassist Chuck Panozzo, no longer actively touring with Styx due to health problems associated with his HIV-positive status, offered a more hopeful tone to a writer doing a story on the band for tampabay.com; while reflecting on the effect the loss of his fraternal twin brother, John had on the band, Panozzo noted, "Before any more of us die, I would hope that it could happen. Every year that it doesn't happen is another year that goes by. And if you wait too long, who will care?" However, in a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, Tommy Shaw indicated that he didn't think a reunion was realistic, noting, "We're crazy, but we're not insane."

2000–2019: Post-Styx career
In February 2000, DeYoung was approached to perform a concert featuring his many songs from Styx, as well as his solo works and his 1997 stage musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with an orchestra. The show, performed at the Rosemont Theatre near DeYoung's hometown of Chicago, was a family affair for DeYoung. His wife Suzanne and sister-in-law Dawn Marie Feusi sang backup, his daughter Carrie Ann was in charge of publicity, while his son Matthew designed the stage lighting. The concert was well received and formed the basis for a touring version of the show, and eventually a 2004 live album, The Music of Styx - Live with Symphony Orchestra.

Healthy once again, DeYoung returned to touring with a 50-piece orchestra augmented by a five-piece rock band, which included Tommy Dziallo on guitar, Hank Horton on bass, and Kyle Woodring (formerly with John Mellencamp and Deana Carter) on drums, all of whom also played shows with DeYoung with or without the orchestra.

DeYoung made his major motion picture debut in 2005's The Perfect Man, in which he played the lead vocalist in a Styx tribute band.

In August 2006, DeYoung appeared along with Supertramp's Roger Hodgson on Canadian Idol, where he performed with and mentored the contestants.

On April 20, 2006, at the Community Theatre in Morristown, New Jersey, DeYoung took to the stage once again with former Styx guitarist and bassist Glen Burtnik as part of his Lost Treasures concert series. It marked the first time in nearly seven years that the two had appeared together. On his website, DeYoung jokingly dubbed the performances "The Denny and Glenny Show". While on stage, the duo opened with the Beatles classic "We Can Work It Out", and also performed "Watching the World Go By" and "All for Love", songs that were originally written for the unreleased Edge of the Century 2 Styx album.

On September 14 and 15, 2006, DeYoung appeared with Hal Sparks on Celebrity Duets, an American reality television show produced by Simon Cowell. They sang Styx songs "Come Sail Away" and "Mr. Roboto". DeYoung was invited back to perform on Celebrity Duets on September 28, 2006, with finalist Hal Sparks. The pair performed the Styx breakthrough hit "Lady", written by DeYoung in 1973, with DeYoung serenading his wife Suzanne in the audience while Hal did the same for his long-time girlfriend.

In 2007, DEP Records of Canada released DeYoung's stateside 2004 live CD Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx Live with Symphony Orchestra, which went on to achieve platinum status. (In Canada 50,000 plus copies sold for a double CD qualifies as platinum.) They also released his DVD The Rock: Symphonic Music of Styx, which went triple platinum. In addition, he appeared on the Canadian reality TV series Star Académie.

On June 19, 2007, DeYoung released in Canada his fifth solo album, One Hundred Years from Now, marking a return to his rock roots. The first single, the title track, was a duet with Québécois singer Éric Lapointe. The single reached number 1 on the Québec Radio Single and Soundscan charts. The album was released in the U.S. on April 14, 2009, with slightly different tracks. One song "I Believe In You" received some airplay on Sirius XM and some local radio stations.

On New Year's Eve 2007, he performed "Mr. Roboto", "Come Sail Away" and many other Styx classics to a large audience at Victoria Park in Niagara Falls, Canada, and viewers via live television on CHCH-TV Channel 11. Following his concert, he did a brief live interview with CHCH-TV's Mat Hayes.

On May 8, 2008, DeYoung's musical version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame premiered at the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre in Chicago. This production went on to win the Joseph Jefferson Award for best musical in Chicago in 2008.

On September 20, 2008, DeYoung performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame benefit concert for the John Entwistle foundation. The benefit concert was held at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, North Carolina, and featured many other rock and roll musicians. He and his band performed many of Styx's hits.

In November and December 2008, DeYoung was a featured artist on the German Night of the Proms 20-city tour. He joined Robin Gibb, Tears for Fears, 10CC and Kim Wilde on the sold-out tour. He also accompanied Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees on piano performing "How Deep Is Your Love".

On July 12, 2009, DeYoung was honored by his native city Chicago with the "Great Performer of Illinois Award". Following the award ceremony in the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in Chicago, DeYoung and his band performed many of Styx's hits in a free concert.

In 2010, DeYoung formed a new band dedicated to the music of Styx, adding guitarist and lead vocalist August Zadra and bassist-vocalist Craig Carter to join John Blasucci, guitarist Jimmy Leahey, Tom Sharpe (later replaced by Mike Morales), and wife Suzanne DeYoung in performing Styx hits "Renegade", "Blue Collar Man" and others as well as DeYoung's solo works.

On October 21, 2014, a 2CD + DVD and Blu-ray package, Dennis DeYoung... And the Music of Styx Live in Los Angeles, was released in the U.S. via Frontiers Records. The European release date was October 17, 2014. Also on October 21, 2014, a condensed version of this live concert package was broadcast on AXS TV Headliner Club Concert Series. The concert took place at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 18, 2014.

2020–present: New studio albums
On May 22, 2020, DeYoung released 26 East, Vol. 1, his seventh solo studio album and first in over a decade. The title comes from the real-life address on the South Side of Chicago which DeYoung grew up in, where he formed the nucleus of what would become Styx. The last song on the record, "To the Good Old Days", features Julian Lennon.

26 East, Vol. 2 was released on June 11, 2021, and is intended to be DeYoung's final album. The album features fellow Chicago natives guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave on a track co-written with Jim Peterik of The Ides of March, formerly of Survivor and 38 Special fame.

On June 5, 2022, Styx was inducted into the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum Hall of Fame. That same night Dennis DeYoung was additionally inducted as a songwriter.

In August 2023, it was announced the music publishing catalog rights for a majority of DeYoung's compositions had been acquired by the New York-headquartered music publishing and talent management company, Primary Wave. The deal included master recording rights for a majority of recordings featuring DeYoung's performances.

Personal life
On January 18, 1970, DeYoung married his longtime sweetheart Suzanne Feusi. The couple have two children, daughter Carrie Ann and son Matthew. Suzanne DeYoung frequently joined her husband on the road, and eventually their children came along as well, as a way to provide stability for their family.

DeYoung is an avid fan of the Chicago White Sox and personal friend of former manager, Hall-of-Famer Tony LaRussa.

Current members

 * Dennis DeYoung – lead and backing vocals, keyboards
 * Suzanne DeYoung – backing vocals, percussion
 * John Blasucci – keyboards (2005–present)
 * Jimmy Leahey – guitar, backing vocals (2008–present)
 * August Zadra – guitar, lead and backing vocals (2010–present)
 * Craig Carter – bass, backing vocals (2010–present)
 * Michael Morales – drums (2016–present)

Former members

 * Tom Dziallo – guitar, backing vocals (1984–1988, 2003–2009)
 * Hank Horton – bass, backing vocals (2003–2009)
 * Kyle Woodring – drums, percussion (2003–2008)
 * Rick Snyder – keyboards, vocals (2003–2004)
 * Dawn Feusi – backing vocals (2003–2004)
 * Glen Burtnik – guitar, backing and lead vocals (2006–2009)
 * Jeff Watson – guitar, backing vocals (2009)
 * Tom Sharpe – drums, percussion (2008–2016)

Studio albums

 * Desert Moon (1984)
 * Back to the World (1986)
 * Boomchild (1989)
 * 10 on Broadway (1994)
 * The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
 * One Hundred Years from Now (2007)
 * 26 East, Vol. 1 (2020)
 * 26 East, Vol. 2 (2021)

with Styx

 * Styx (1972)
 * Styx II (1973)
 * The Serpent Is Rising (1973)
 * Man of Miracles (1974)
 * Equinox (1975)
 * Crystal Ball (1976)
 * The Grand Illusion (1977)
 * Pieces of Eight (1978)
 * Cornerstone (1979)
 * Paradise Theatre (1981)
 * Kilroy Was Here (1983)
 * Caught in the Act (live, 1984)
 * Edge of the Century (1990)
 * Return to Paradise (live, 1997)
 * Brave New World (1999)

Live albums

 * The Music of Styx – Live with Symphony Orchestra (2004)
 * Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx - Live in Los Angeles (2014)

Compilation albums

 * The Ultimate Collection (1999)

Video albums

 * Caught in the Act (1984)
 * Return to Paradise (1997)
 * Dennis DeYoung – Soundstage (2003)
 * Symphonic Rock Music of Styx (2003)
 * The Best of Styx – 20th Century Masters (2004)
 * The Best of Dennis DeYoung – 20th Century Masters (2005)

Other appearances
Music written by DeYoung has been featured in the following films:
 * Kilroy Was Here (1983)
 * ''The Karate Kid, Part II (1986)
 * The Virgin Suicides (1999)
 * Big Daddy (1999)
 * Detroit Rock City (1999)
 * Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
 * Old School (2003)
 * Shrek 2 (2004)
 * The Perfect Man (2005), as "Dennis DeYoung impersonator"

Music either written by DeYoung or performed by him has been featured in the following stage productions:
 * "Pilate and Jesus", "Pilate's Dream" (Jesus Christ Superstar) (1993) (Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics: Tim Rice)

The debut of musical The Hunchback of Notre Dame in May 2008 in Chicago, Illinois brought finally DeYoung's music and songs to the theatrical stage.

Music written by DeYoung has also been featured in television shows and commercials. Among the more notable are:
 * The Simpsons
 * My Name is Earl
 * Arrested Development
 * That '70s Show
 * Freaks and Geeks
 * Dharma and Greg
 * ER
 * Chuck
 * King of Queens
 * Sex and the City
 * South Park
 * Family Guy
 * The Office
 * It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
 * Glee
 * Modern Family
 * The Goldbergs

title: Dennis DeYoung


text:
William Gell

Sir William Gell FRS (29 March 1777 – 4 February 1836), pron. "Jell", was a British classical archaeologist and illustrator. He published topographical illustrations of Troy and the surrounding area in 1804. He also published illustrations showing the results of archaeological digs at Pompeii. His best-known work is Pompeiana; the Topography, Edifices and Ornaments of Pompeii, published between 1817 and 1832.

Early years and education
Born at Hopton in Derbyshire, the son of Philip Gell and Dorothy Milnes (daughter and coheir of William Milnes of Aldercar Park). The Gell family was one of the oldest families in England with a tradition of service in the Army, Navy, Parliament and the Church going back to 1209, in the reign of King John. His great grandfather was the parliamentarian Sir John Gell and his uncle was Admiral John Gell. Gell was educated at Derby School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He matriculated there in 1793, took a BA degree in 1798 and an MA in 1804, and was elected a fellow of Emmanuel.

The Topography of Troy, and its Vicinity
In 1801, at the age of 24, Gell was sent on his first diplomatic mission to Greece.

From 1804 to 1806 he travelled in Greece, the neighbouring islands, and coastal Asia Minor. In 1804 he fixed the site of Troy at Bournabashi, some distance south—approximately six miles or nine-and-a-half kilometres directly, eight miles or thirteen kilometres by modern roads – of the modern consensus site at Hisarlik. He cited Jean Baptiste LeChevalier "and others" as his sources for the idea, which his own observations seemed to him to confirm, although he pointed out what he considered unresolved problems.

He published The Topography of Troy and its vicinity illustrated and explained by drawings and descriptions etc. in 1804.

Lord Byron mentions him in his work 'English Bards' thus: Of Dardan tours let dilettanti tell I leave topography to classic Gell.

Publications
William Gell was a great friend of Thomas Moore, Walter Scott and Lord Byron. He wrote many books, most of them illustrated with his own sketches.

He was in 1807 elected a Member of the Society of Dilettanti and a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1811 the Society of Dilettanti commissioned him to explore Greece and Asia Minor. These travels resulted in several publications, e.g. Geography and Antiquities of Ithaca and Itinerary of Greece, with a Commentary on Pausanias and Strabo.

With these publications he achieved fame in the scholarly circles as a classical topographer. He went with Princess (afterwards Queen) Caroline to Italy in 1814 as one of her chamberlains. He gave evidence in her favour on 6 October 1820, at her trial before the House of Lords, stating that he had left her service merely on account of a fit of the gout and had seen no impropriety between her and her courtier Bergami. However, in letters of 1815 and 1816, written under such pseudonyms as 'Blue Beard', 'Adonis' and 'Gellius', he related bits of scandal about the Queen. He was Knighted on 11 May 1814. Gell was a close friend of Keppel Richard Craven and travelled around Italy with him.

Later years
From 1820 until his death, he resided in Rome, where he painted. He had another house in Naples, where he received visitors including his particular friends Sir William Drummond, the Hon. Keppel Craven, John Auldjo, Lady Blessington and Sir Walter Scott.

Although crippled by gout, Sir William took Scott to Pompeii and showed him around the excavations. After Scott's death, Sir William drew up an account of their conversations in Naples, part of which is printed in Lockhart's 'Life of Scott'. It was then that he published some of his best known archaeological work including Pompeiana and The Topography of Troy.

Gell died at Naples in 1836 and was buried in the English Cemetery, Naples. On his death he left all his personal belongings to Craven.

Legacy
His numerous drawings of classical ruins and localities, executed with great detail and exactness, are preserved in the British Museum. Gell was a thorough dilettante, fond of society and possessed of little real scholarship. Nonetheless his topographical works became recognised text-books at a time when Greece and even Italy were but superficially known to English travellers. He was a fellow of the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries of London, and a member of the Institute of France and the Royal Academy in Berlin.

His best-known work is Pompeiana; the Topography, Edifices and Ornaments of Pompeii, published between 1817 and 1832, in the first part of which he was assisted by J. P. Gandy. It was followed in 1834 by the Topography of Rome and its Vicinity. He wrote also Topography of Troy and its Vicinity (1804); Geography and Antiquities of Ithaca (1807); Itinerary of Greece, with a Commentary on Pausanias and Strabo (1810); and Itinerary of the Morea (1816). Although these works have been superseded by later publications, they continue to provide valuable information for the study of classical topography. He is, together with his friends Edward Dodwell and Keppel Richard Craven, by some modern scholars seen as the founder of the study of the historical topography of the hinterland of Rome. His works and notebooks proved very valuable for the topographical studies done by Thomas Ashby at the beginning of the 20th century.

Works

 * A Tour in the Lakes Made in 1797, [Edited by W. Rollinson, published 1986]
 * The Topography of Troy and its vicinity illustrated and explained by drawings and descriptions etc.. London, 1804
 * The Geography and Antiquities of Ithaca. London, 1807
 * The Itinerary of Greece, with a commentary on Pausanias and Strabo, and an account of the Monuments of Antiquity at present existing in that country, compiled in the years 1801, 2, 5, 6 etc.. London, 1810. [2nd ed. containing a hundred routes in Attica, Boeotia, Phocis, 1827]
 * The Itinerary of the Morea, being a description of the Routes of that Peninsula. London, 1817
 * Views in Barbary – taken in 1813. London, 1815
 * Pompeiana. The Topography of Edifices and Ornaments of Pompeii. 2 vols. London, 1817–8. [New ed. 1824. Further edition by Gell alone incorporating the results of latest excavations. London 1832 and 1852]
 * Narrative of a Journey in the Morea. London, 1823
 * Le Mura di Roma disegnate sa Sir W. Gell, illustrate con testo e note da A. Nibby. Rome, 1820
 * Probestücke von Städtemauern des alten Griechenlands ... Aus dem Englischen übersetzt. Munich, 1831
 * The Topography of Rome and its Vicinity with Map. 2 vols. London, 1834. [Rev. and enlarged by Edward Henry Banbury. London 1846]
 * Analisi storico-topografico-antiquaria della carta de' dintorni di Roma secondo le osservazione di Sir W. Gell e del professore A. Nibby. Rome 1837 [2nd ed. 1848]

title: William Gell


text:
Qalam

A qalam (قلم) is a type of reed pen. It is made from a cut, dried reed, and used for Islamic calligraphy. The pen is seen as an important symbol of wisdom in Islam, and references the emphasis on knowledge and education within the Islamic tradition.

Etymology
The word was borrowed from Greek kálamos (κάλαμος, "reed"),from akkadian possibly via Ge'ez ḳäläm (ቀለም, "reed") mixed into the root of ḳälämä (ቀለመ, "to color, to stain, to write").

Manufacturing
The stems of hollow reeds are cut at specific angles depending on intended script so that they can be used for calligraphy, and the type of reed used varies depending on the specific calligrapher's preferences. For example, master calligrapher Ja'far Tabrizi preferred the wāṣeṭi and āmuyi reeds of eastern Iraq and the Oxus River, respectively. It was desired that the qalam should be roughly twelve to sixteen inches long, and could not be too dry as they needed to be a specific balance of not too sturdy and not too flexible.

Qalam in the Islamic tradition
The concepts of knowledge and writing are very important in Islam, and thus the qalam is revered as a symbol of wisdom and education in the Qur'an; Sura 68 is called Al-Qalam. Even in pre-Islamic societies, writing was widely used for commercial and occasionally legislative purposes. It is a commonly held belief amongst the Muslim population that disrespect of calligraphy as a tradition would reveal a person as being uneducated and unwise. In Islam, the physical presence of the written letters of the Quran functioned the way icons did to the Byzantines, as a blessing and protection. Because of this, Islamic calligraphers often had a high place in society, while their counterparts in regions like Byzantium would only be known to their family and patrons. Calligraphy holds a central position in the Islamic artistic tradition, and because of this there exist a large variety of accessories to accompany the qalam and its user, such as pen boxes, ink wells, and knives for cutting the reeds. These tools were often very ornamented and cherished objects and reflected countless hours of other artists and craftsmen. The ink used in antiquity was most frequently black or dark brown, and was made from gum arabic, soot, gallnuts, or vitriol. Some Qurans, however, are written entirely in gold, and more contemporary calligraphers may use a wider variety of colors. Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Muqla, a Persian official of the Abbasid caliphate, developed a standardized system of writing calligraphy based on the marks made with the point of a reed pen, in combination with other geometric principles. As far as other aspects of ornamentation go, metallic inks on colored parchment passed from Byzantium to Muslim Spain, and Arabic calligraphy in turn made its way back to Europe.

title: Qalam


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Brick Factory

Non-topic. No potential to become a real encyclopedia article. Perhaps it could be added to an "abstractions" or "quandaries" page or something similar. --Bceaglejoe 17:02, 11 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Bceaglejoe added this to VfD and then removed it, but I agree with its addition. It's an in joke, an not a particularly good one. --Ben Brockert 22:12, May 14, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Not encyclopedic, and as you say posted as an in joke it seems. Andrewa 16:47, 15 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Before the first brick factory, people made bricks by hand. Problem solved. DopefishJustin (・∀・) 22:11, May 15, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete - tries to be funny, isn't. -- Cyrius|&#9998 22:59, May 16, 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Arrant nonsense. Could/should have been a speedy deletion, I think. No, NOT an abstraction or a quandary or a paradox or a riddle or a puzzle.One obviously false premises: "In the construction of a brick factory, one must use bricks." Followed by a meaningless sentence: "In the purpose of a brick factory, it must be used for the manufacturing of bricks, hence a factory which makes bricks." This is probably meant to be another false premise, namely "to obtain bricks, one must have a brick factory." No evidence that this is actually discussed on the Internet anywhere, much less on http://www.gold-team.net/forums which happens to be a 404 Not Found. Clumsy effort at promotion for the site? Dpbsmith 19:02, 18 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Agreed. Delete. --bceaglejoe 06:08, 19 May 2004 (UTC)