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Scouting in Rhode Island

Scouting in Rhode Island has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.

Rhode Island Boy Scouts
The Rhode Island Boy Scouts (RIBS), formerly American Boy Scouts of Rhode Island , was a Scouting organization in the United States from 1910 until its merger with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in 1917. RIBS still exists as a trustee organization.

Boy Scouts of America
In 1910 the First Providence Troop was organized in Washington Park. On October 24, 1910, the troop was formally recognized by Scout headquarters. Troop meetings were held at the Broad Street School. The first Scoutmaster was Herbert R. Dean, a retired Army general. The first charter listed sixty-four boys.

Four BSA councils were formed in the state. The first council, Providence Council (#546), was organized in 1916 based in Providence. The second was Pawtucket Council (#548) in 1917 and ended in 1920. From 1918 to 1924, Newport Council (#547) existed. In 1924, Woonsocket Council (#549) formed a council.

In 1917, Rhode Island Boy Scouts merged with Providence Council to form the Greater Providence Area Council (#546) and recognized its existence back to 1910. In 1922, Pawtucket Council was reorganized into Pawtucket & Central Falls Council (#548). In 1924, Newport Council became Newport County Council (#547). In 1926, the Greater Providence Area Council was created from the merger of Greater Providence Council and Newport County Council. In the years 1929 and 1930, the three Rhode Island councils merged into Narragansett Council. The present Narragansett Council was formed as the result of a 2001 merger between the Moby Dick Council and the Narragansett Council.

Narragansett Council
Narragansett Council is based in East Providence, Rhode Island, but has 3 service areas that serve communities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut:
 * Southeast Service Area- New Bedford, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, Acushnet, Wareham, Fall River, Assonet, Freetown, Somerset, Westport, Swansea, Seekonk, Rehoboth, Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, Tiverton, Little Compton, East Providence, Bristol, Warren, Barrington
 * Southwest Service Area- Coventry, West Warwick, East Greenwich, West Greenwich, Exeter, Frenchtown, Warwick, Block Island, Narragansett, Wakefield, Westerly, Misquamicut, Bradford, Ashaway, Matunuck, Pawcatuck, Charlestown, Richmond, Hopkinton, Hope Valley, Peacedale, South Kingstown, Kingston, West Kingston, Davisville, North Kingstown, Quidnessett, Wickford, Jamestown
 * Northwest Service Area- Burrillville, Scituate, Foster, Glocester, Johnston, Smithfield, North Providence, Providence, Cranston, Woonsocket, Blackstone, Bellingham, North Smithfield, Millville, Uxbridge, Cumberland, Lincoln, Central Falls, Pawtucket
 * Northeast Service Area- North Attleboro, Attleboro, South Attleboro, Chartley, Norton, Mansfield, Dighton, Berkley, Taunton, East Taunton, Raynham, Middleboro, Carver, Lakeville

Massasoit Council
The Fall River Council rechartered as the Massasoit Council. It was headquartered in Fall River, Massachusetts and served that city and the surrounding communities of Somerset, Swansea, Westport, Tiverton and Little Compton. The Wampanoag District served Somerset and Swansea. The Council Office was located in the Women's Union Building on Rock Street. The Massasoit Council existed until 1972.

The primary source for Boy Scout uniforms and gear was McWhirr's department store on South Main Street in Fall River. Many Council-wide Scouting events were often held at Lincoln Park in Westport, Massachusetts. The Firestone Rubber Company, which had a large factory in Fall River, sponsored the Firestone Award for outstanding Boy Scouts in the Massasoit Council in the 1950s and 1960s. These recognition events were held at White's in Westport.

Camping for the Fall River Council began in 1917 at Camp Stanford in Fall River and provided an outlet for boys for four years. It was decided in 1921 at a Fall River Council Executive Board meeting that the purchase of a 100 acre wooded area would take place, naming it Camp Noquochoke. Additional land was purchased in Camp Noquochoke's later years covering over 110 acre on the eastern shore of the Westport River in Westport. Camp site facilities ranged from undeveloped, to tent sites with platforms, to A-frames ("Adirondacks") to cabins with stoves and bunk beds.

The physical facilities were significantly improved in the late 1950s with a new dining hall (constructed by Fall River (Building) Trades Council with site work provided by the Navy SeabeesReservists) and an in-ground pool. The Navy Seabee Reservists did upgrade the camp road from the entrance on Pine Hill Road to its termination by the former or old dining hall ending at the river's bluff. The Seabees also did the site work for the new dining hall, dugout the archery range and may have partially or completely built the rifle range on the newly acquired Donovan property. This work done by the Seabees was part of their community service, especially non-profit agencies.

Camp legend, the basis for many campfire stories, was a character named "Three-fingered Willie." Camp Noquochoke continued to serve area youth until 1980.

Cachalot Council
On May 13, 1935, as part of complying with new rules of incorporation for Boy Scout councils in Massachusetts, the New Bedford Council changed its name to the Cachalot Council. The name, derived from the French and Portuguese words for sperm whale, was proposed by Joe Allen, of the [Martha's] Vineyard Gazette, in January 1933 to honor the history of whaling in New Bedford.

At the time, the Council did own a property that was used as a camp. This property, off Rock O' Dundee Road in South Dartmouth [2], was too small and lacked adequate water sources, both for drinking and swimming. For a short time, from 1937 through 1942, the council shared the summer camp facilities of the Fall River Council [3], but this was deemed "not satisfactory for many reasons." [4] From 1943 through 1945, summer camp was held at Camp Maxim, which was owned by the local Boys Club, and also failed to meet the needs of the program.

In 1945, the Cachalot Council conducted a capital fundraising campaign expressly for the purpose of acquiring a suitable camp. Many local businesses and individuals contributed, and the campaign successfully raised $75,000. At the same time, the council began looking for a suitable property. After considering several properties [5], they placed on offer on a large parcel adjacent to the southeastern corner of Myles Standish State Forest, owned by "The Five Mile Corporation." This corporation, headed by Theodore Steinway (of Steinway & Sons Piano), Albert Hathaway, and Russell Davis, had purchased the property during the Great Depression for a mere $12,000, and agreed to sell it to the council for the same price. The deed was signed over in January 1946, and preparations immediately commenced to open the Camp for its first summer camp season ever, with Roland Deneault as Camp Director, in summer of the same year. It has operated continuously since. Cachalot Scout Reservation remains to this day serving scouts in Southeast Massachusetts. Cachalot Council's Order of the Arrow lodge was Agawam Lodge 509 which had the totem of the whale.

Moby Dick Council
The Moby Dick Council (also known as Moby Dick Council of Massachusetts and Rhode Island) was formed in 1972 by a merger of the Cachalot Council of Greater New Bedford and the Massasoit Council of Greater Fall River. The two former councils were small, and fell victim to the BSA's desire to create larger councils. In 2001, Moby Dick Council suffered a similar fate, and merged with the Narragansett Council of Rhode Island, much to the chagrin of many old-timers of both the smaller councils and the larger Moby Dick Council. Camps Moby Dick Council originally had two camps: Camp Cachalot was the camp for Cachalot Council, and Camp Noquochoke was the camp for Massasoit Council. Camp Noquochoke was sold due to its smaller size and fewer prospects, and later became a residential neighborhood. Camp Cachalot still remains as a weekend and summer resident camp owned and operated by the Narragansett Council.

Massasoit Council's Noquochoke Lodge 124 of the Order of the Arrow merged with Cachalot Council's Agawam Lodge 509 to form Neemat Lodge 124.

Annawon Council 1930-2015
The Annawon Council is a local council of the Boy Scouts of America headquartered in Norton, Massachusetts. It is one of the few small councils that remained in the area.

In 1930 Annawon Council was organized, but it was not until January 9, 1931, that it was incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts, and legally established as of April 20, 1933. At the time of organization, the Council included the communities of Attleboro, Mansfield, Norton, Taunton, Raynham, and Berkley. William Lee Abbott was appointed Scout Executive and secretary. Dr. Joseph L. Murphy of Taunton was the first Council president, Annawon was one of the last Councils in Massachusetts to be organized. In 1916 the first Scouting charters in Massachusetts were granted to the Fall River and the Fairhaven-New Bedford Councils. Annawon Council was incorporated in 1931. The state of Massachusetts required that both Fall River and Fairhaven-New Bedford council recharter under the articles of incorporation, at that time Fall River Council became known as the Massasoit Council and Fairhaven-New Bedford Council became known as the Cachalot Council.

During 1932 first serious consideration was given a Council-owned camp site for Annawon Scouts. Although considerable thought was given to a site on Lake Mashpee on Cape Cod, the Council reneged on a thirty-day option to buy the property. During the summer of 1932 the invitation of Old Colony Council to camp with them at Camp Childs on Morey's Pond was accepted. on October 1, 1932, as a result of the permission of Mr. Clement Jeffers of Attleboro, a camp site for weekend camping was dedicated as Camp Jeffers. During the summer of 1933, the scouts camped on Greenwood Lake, West Mansfield, at Camp Annawon. This was the first year that a camp existed, the site was known as Camp Finberg, it was a YMCA camp. After considerable study in 1934, the Council purchased 25 Acres on Darby Pond in Plymouth for use as a camp site. The site was known as "Camp King" and was purchased from Phillip Cole for $2,500.00. From July 15 to August 19, scouts camped on the shore of Darby Pond at Camp Annawon. The original entrance road was off of  Plymouth street just off of Carver St (Route 44). It crossed over the cranberry dam below the present BB Range. On June 24, 1935, William A. Collins of Norwich, Connecticut and a graduate of MIT was appointed Scout Executive. He immediately went into camp to direct the Council Camp, which was officially named Camp Norse for the first time. That year the boy week count rose to 165.

In 1940 the land north of the original property of 25 acres was purchased for $300.00, it included an abandoned house in a large field. This field became the ball field. A new entrance road into camp was built off of Partings way road. It was later enlarged by the National Guard Army Corps of Engineers. In 1950 Ellis Brewster from the Plymouth Cordage Company donated 100 acres to Annawon council to increase the size of Camp Norse. That same year, the shallow well was replaced with a deeper well and then was enclosed in a block house through a grant from the George Magee Memorial Fund. In 1960 the camp received a bronze bell, dated 1891. Howard Fowler, Editor of The Mansfield News and former Council President, was instrumental in procuring the bell from the Mansfield Fire Department. It came from an old firehouse on West Church St In Mansfield.

Camp Norse is the sole camp of the council located at 112 Parting Ways Rd. Kingston, Massachusetts. In 2014, it was announced that Annawon Council will be merging with a neighboring council. In the spring of 2015, Annawon Council's executive committee announced it will be starting merger talks with Narragansett Council headquartered in East Providence, Rhode Island. The council formally merged in September 2015. The council was divided into the following districts serving 11 communities in Bristol and Plymouth Counties:
 * Angle Tree District: North Attleboro, Attleboro, Norton, Mansfield
 * Sachem District: Dighton, Berkley, Taunton, Raynham, Middleboro, Carver, Lakeville

In June 1941, Tulpe Lodge, Order of the Arrow was approved by the executive board. On August 2, 1943, the council applied for and received a charter for their new Order of the Arrow Lodge, and Tulpe Lodge was official. The turtle shell symbol came from the turtles from Camp Norse. Apparently it was custom at the time to hollow out a turtle shell and use it as a neckerchief slide. There is no chapter system in use for the two districts of the lodge/council. Tulpe has hosted three conclaves at Camp Norse for Area 1C, and Section NE-1B. The name Tulpe remained in the Narragansett Council Merger.

South East Camping Association
In 1993 Camp Norse officially became Camp Norse Cub World and was no longer used for the summer camp for the Scout Troops but rather was used by Cub Scouts through the South East Camping Association (SEMCA). This was a North East Region BSA sanctioned program that included the Cape Cod and Islands Council, Annawon Council, and the Moby Dick Council. This effort was designed to use the resources available in these three councils. Troop camping for all three Councils was to be at Camp Cachalot which was owned by the Moby Dick Council. The Cub Scout summer camp would be at Camp Norse, and the Boy Scout High Adventure summer camp, would be at Camp Greenough on Cape Cod.

The Original Narragansett Council 1917-2001
The Narragansett Council, Boy Scouts of America is part of a worldwide Scouting movement with over 15 million members in one hundred countries. Boy Scouting began in England in 1907 when the British military hero, Lord Robert Baden-Powell, organized the first Boy Scout camp. In 1908, he published Scouting for Boys and formed what would become the British Boy Scout Association.

As a result of a “good turn” performed by an English Scout in London for Chicago publisher William D. Boyce, Scouting came to America. The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated in 1910 and chartered by Congress on June 15, 1916.

Scouting in Rhode Island began as the Rhode Island Boy Scouts which was first organized as a voluntary association on September 6, 1910. On April 13, 1911, it was chartered under state laws for the purpose of giving boys of Rhode Island an organization in which they could be formed into groups that mirrored the newly formed national Boy Scout Program. From 1910 to 1917, Rhode Island Boy Scouts established groups (troops) throughout Rhode Island, except in Newport, Blackstone Valley and Woonsocket. In these locations, troops were organized and affiliated with the National Council Boy Scouts of America.

In 1917, Rhode Island Boy Scouts ‘merged’ with the National movement. Under the terms of the agreement, the Greater Providence Council Boy Scouts of America was formed to take over the operation of the Scouting Program and supervision of troops. The National Council Boy Scouts of America recognized the date of the council's organization as September 6, 1910, and granted all members back service to that date. The National Council Boy Scouts of America also agreed that the Rhode Island Boy Scouts could maintain its corporate identity so that it could continue to receive bequests, hold funds and properties and acquire other funds and properties in the future; thus, the formation of Rhode Island Boy Scouts as a Trustee organization.

In 1929 and 1930, the Greater Providence Council Boy Scouts of America merged with the Newport County Council, the Pawtucket-Central Falls Council and the Woonsocket Council to form the Narragansett Council.

The Order of the Arrow Lodge was the Wincheck Lodge 534 which had the totem of the bear and specifically served Yawgoog Scout Reservation. It was formed in the 1950s from Yawgoog's honor society, The Wincheck Indians, when the Order of the Arrow became growing in national popularity.

Narragansett Council 2002-2015
On July 1, 2001, the Moby Dick Council headquartered in New Bedford, Massachusetts, merged with the Narragansett Council in Providence, Rhode Island, adding 17 more cities and towns in Massachusetts to the six cities and towns the Narragansett Council was already serving. The Council serves almost 26,000 registered youth members and Learning for Life participants and supports in excess of 5,000 registered adult volunteers. The Narragansett Council operates two Scout Shops/Service Centers (one in the Summit Square Plaza on Route 2 in Warwick, Rhode Island and one in the Swansea Mall in Swansea, Massachusetts) and owned and operated eight great camps: Camp Aquapaug in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, Buck Hill Scout Reservation in Burrillville, Rhode Island, Camp Buxton in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, Cub World at Buck Hill Scout Reservation in Burrillville, Rhode Island, Cachalot Scout Reservation in Carver, MassachusettsA, Champlin Scout Reservation in Cranston, Rhode Island, Sandsland on Block Island, and Yawgoog Scout Reservation in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. Administrative functions are housed at 10 Risho Avenue in East Providence, Rhode Island.

The Order of the Arrow Lodge is Abnaki Lodge 102 with the totem of a bear and a peace pipe.

Narragansett Council began merger talks with Annawon Council based in Norton, Massachusetts in 2015 and officially merged on September 10, 2015, under the name Narragansett Council.

The Modern Narragansett Council
On September 10, 2015, the Annawon Council headquartered in Norton, Massachusetts, merged with the Narragansett Council in East Providence, Rhode Island, adding 11 more cities and towns in Massachusetts to the 23 cities and towns the Narragansett Council was already serving. The newly merged operation, which will take the name of the Narragansett Council, includes all of Rhode Island, 34 communities in Massachusetts and one in Connecticut, and boasts nearly 14,000 Scouts, the largest in Northeast Area 1. The Narragansett Council’s main headquarters remain at its current location in East Providence. The Narragansett Council operates a Scout Shop in the Summit Square Plaza on Route 2 in Warwick, Rhode Island. The Council owns and operates nine camps: Camp Norse in Kingston, Massachusetts, Camp Aquapaug in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, Buck Hill Scout Reservation in Burrillville, Rhode Island, Cub World at Buck Hill Scout Reservation in Burrillville, Rhode Island, Camp Buxton in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, Cachalot Scout Reservation in Carver, Massachusetts, Champlin Scout Reservation in Cranston, Rhode Island, Sandsland on Block Island, and Yawgoog Scout Reservation in Hopkinton, Rhode Island. Administrative functions are housed at 10 Risho Avenue in East Providence, Rhode Island.

The Order of the Arrow lodge of the council is Tulpe Lodge 102 with the totem of the turtle, formed from a merger of Narragansett Council's Abnaki Lodge 102 and Annawon Council's Tulpe Lodge 245.

Scouting in Rhode Island today
The Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America serves all of the state of Rhode Island and some of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Its several camps include Camp Yawgoog, Champlin Scout Reservation, and Camp Norse.

Girl Scouting in Rhode Island
The first Girl Scout troop in Rhode Island was started in 1914 and the first council in 1919. In 1962 the then existing 9 Rhode Island councils merged to form Girl Scouts of Rhode Island.

Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England
Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England, headquartered in Warwick, Rhode Island is the council serving Rhode Island. It also includes 13 communities in Massachusetts (see Scouting in Massachusetts for map) and Pawcatuck, Connecticut. In 2014, Girl Scouts of Rhode Island underwent a name change to become Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England (GSSNE) in an effort to gully encompass the expanded service demographic which includes all of Rhode Island, thirteen Massachusetts towns, and Pawcatuck, CT.

Camps

 * Camp Cookie is in Glocester, Rhode Island.
 * Camp Hoffman is 75 acre in West Kingston, Rhode Island on the shores of Larkin Pond. It was established in 1921.
 * Camp Narrow River is in North Kingstown, Rhode Island (sold in 2015)
 * Camp Nokewa is in North Kingstown, Rhode Island (sold in 2010)
 * Camp Promising Acres is in Swansea, Massachusetts
 * Camp Rocky Farm is 5 acre in Newport, Rhode Island

The Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England have a museum at Camp Hoffman, and their headquarters is in Warwick, Rhode Island.

title: Scouting in Rhode Island


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Malachi Martin

Malachi Brendan Martin (23 July 1921 – 27 July 1999), also known under the pseudonym of Michael Serafian, was an Irish-born American Traditionalist Catholic priest, biblical archaeologist, exorcist, palaeographer, professor, and writer on the Catholic Church.

Ordained as a Jesuit, Martin became Professor of Palaeography at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. From 1958, he served as secretary to Cardinal Augustin Bea during preparations for the Second Vatican Council. Disillusioned by the council, Martin asked to be released from certain aspects of his Jesuit vows in 1964 and moved to New York City.

Martin's 17 novels and non-fiction books were frequently critical of the Catholic hierarchy, who he believed had failed to act on what he called "the Third Prophecy" revealed by the Virgin Mary at Fátima. His works included The Scribal Character of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1958) and Hostage to the Devil (1976), which dealt with Satanism, demonic possession, and exorcism. The Final Conclave (1978) was a warning against Soviet espionage in the Vatican.

Early life, education and ordination
Martin was born in Ballylongford, County Kerry, Ireland, to a middle-class family in which the children were raised speaking Irish at the dinner table. His parents, Conor and Katherine Fitzmaurice Martin, had five sons and five daughters. Four of the five sons became priests, including his younger brother, Francis Xavier Martin.

Martin attended Belvedere College in Dublin, then studied philosophy for three years at University College Dublin. On 6 September 1939, he became a novice with the Society of Jesus. Martin taught for three years, spending four years at Milltown Park, Dublin, and was ordained in August 1954.

Upon completion of his degree course in Dublin, Martin was sent to the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, where he took a doctorate in archaeology, Oriental history, and Semitic languages. He started postgraduate studies at both the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at the University of Oxford. Martin specialized in intertestamentary studies, Jesus in Jewish and Islamic sources, Ancient Hebrew and Arabic manuscripts. He undertook additional study in rational psychology, experimental psychology, physics, and anthropology.

Work
Martin participated in the research on the Dead Sea Scrolls and published 24 articles on Semitic palaeography. He did archaeological research and worked extensively on the Byblos syllabary in Byblos, in Tyre, and in the Sinai Peninsula. Martin assisted in his first exorcism while working in Egypt for archaeological research. In 1958, he published a work in two volumes, The Scribal Character of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In 1958, Martin was assigned to serve as a private secretary to Cardinal Augustin Bea, working with him in the Vatican until 1964. Martin's years in Rome coincided with the beginning of the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), which was to transform the Catholic Church in a way that the initially liberal Martin began to find distressing. He became friends with Monsignor George Gilmary Higgins and Father John Courtney Murray. In Rome, Martin became a professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute, where he taught Aramaic, Hebrew, palaeography, and Sacred Scripture. He also taught theology, part-time, at Loyola University Chicago's John Felice Rome Center. Martin worked as a translator for the Eastern Orthodox Churches and Ancient Oriental Churches Division of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity under Bea. Martin became acquainted with Jewish leaders, such as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, in 1961 and 1962. Martin accompanied Pope Paul VI on a trip to Jordan in January 1964. He resigned his position at the Pontifical Institute in June 1964.

In 1964, Martin requested a release from his vows and from the Jesuit Order. He received a provisional release in May 1965 and a dispensation from his vows of poverty and obedience on 30 June 1965 (cf. qualified exclaustration). Even if dispensed from his religious vow of chastity, Martin remained under the obligation of chastity if still an ordained secular priest. Martin maintained that he remained a priest, saying that he had received a dispensation from Paul VI to that effect.

Martin moved to New York City in 1966, working as a dishwasher, a waiter, and taxi driver, while continuing to write. He co-founded an antiques firm and was active in communications and media for the rest of his life.

Communications and media
In 1967, Martin received his first Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1970, he published the book The Encounter: Religion in Crisis, winning the Choice Book Award of the American Library Association. He then published Three Popes and the Cardinal: The Church of Pius, John and Paul in its Encounter with Human History (1972) and Jesus Now (1973). In 1970, Martin became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

In 1969, Martin received a second Guggenheim Fellowship, allowing him to write his first of four bestsellers, Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Living Americans (1976). In the book, Martin calls himself an exorcist, claiming he assisted in several exorcisms. According to McManus Darraugh, William Peter Blatty "wrote a tirade against Malachi, saying his 1976 book was a fantasy, and he was just trying to cash in." Darraugh also said that Martin became "an iconic person in the paranormal world."

Martin served as religious editor for the National Review from 1972 to 1978. He was interviewed twice by William F. Buckley, Jr. for Firing Line on PBS. He was an editor for the Encyclopædia Britannica.

Martin published several works of fiction and non-fiction in the following years:

 * Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Living Americans (1976)
 * The Final Conclave (1978)
 * King of Kings: a Novel of the Life of David (1980)
 * Vatican: A Novel (1986)

His other works included:

 * The Pilgrim (1964)
 * The Encounter (1970)
 * The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church (1981)
 * The New Castle: Reaching for the Ultimate (1982)
 * Rich Church, Poor Church: The Catholic Church and its Money (1984)
 * There is Still Love: Five Parables of God's Love That Will Change Your Life (1984)

Martin's bestselling 1987 non-fiction book, The Jesuits: The Society of Jesus and the Betrayal of the Roman Catholic Church, was highly critical of the Jesuit Order, accusing the Jesuits of systematically undermining church teachings.

Later life
Martin was a periodic guest on Art Bell's radio program, Coast to Coast AM, between 1996 and 1998. The show continues to play tapes of his interviews on Halloween.

Martin's The Keys of This Blood: The Struggle for World Dominion between Pope John Paul II, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the Capitalist West was published in 1990. It was followed in 1996 by Windswept House: A Vatican Novel.

The Vatican restored Martin's faculty to celebrate Mass in 1989, at his request. He was strongly supported by some Traditionalist Catholic sources and severely criticized by other sources, such as the National Catholic Reporter. Martin served as a guest commentator for CNN during the live coverage of the visit of Pope John Paul II to the United States in October 1995.

In the last three years of his life, Martin forged a close friendship with the Traditionalist Catholic philosopher Rama P. Coomaraswamy (1929–2006). During this period, Martin was received in a private audience by John Paul II.

Death
In 1999, Malachi Martin died in Manhattan of an intracerebral hemorrhage, four days after his 78th birthday. It was caused by a fall in his apartment in Manhattan. The documentary Hostage to the Devil claimed that Martin said he was pushed from a stool by a demonic force.

Martin's funeral took place in St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in West Orange, New Jersey, before burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, in Hawthorne, New York.

Writings
In 1964, under the pseudonym of "Michael Serafian", Martin wrote The Pilgrim: Pope Paul VI, the Council, & the Church in a Time of Decision. The book contained Martin's views on the Jewish question in Europe and on the Second Vatican Council. Martin's fictional works purported to give detailed insider accounts of Church history during the reigns of Popes Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI (The Pilgrim, Three Popes and the Cardinal, Vatican: A Novel ), John Paul I (The Final Conclave ) and John Paul II (The Keys of This Blood, Windswept House).

Martin's non-fictional writings cover a range of Catholic topics, such as demonic possessions, exorcisms, Satanism, liberation theology, the Second Vatican Council (The Pilgrim), the Tridentine liturgy, Catholic dogma, Catholic modernism (Three Popes and the Cardinal; The Jesuits), the financial history of the Church (Rich Church, Poor Church; The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church), the New World Order and the geopolitical importance of the Pope (The Keys of This Blood).

Three secrets of Fátima
Martin often spoke and wrote about the Three Secrets of Fátima and was an ardent supporter of Father Nicholas Gruner's interpretations of them: "Father Gruner is fulfilling a desperately needed function in the ongoing perception of Mary's role in the salvation of our imperiled world. Father Gruner is absolutely correct that the consecration of Russia as Our Lady desired, has not been executed". According to Martin, the unreleased third secret of Fatima was that the Soviet Union would be converted to Christianity. The Vatican released what it claimed to be the third secret letter in 2000. This text did not mention Russia or the Soviet Union.

Other theories
Martin did not believe in the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Međugorje in what is today Bosnia and Herzegovina. He said that false pretenses were used in obtaining earlier his recommendation. Concerning the Garabandal apparitions, he remained open minded.

In March 1997, Martin claimed on Radio Liberty's Steel on Steel, that two popes were murdered during the 20th century: Martin stated that, along with diabolic possession, angelic possession also exists and that angels could have use of preternatural powers in certain circumstances.
 * Pope Pius XI was allegedly murdered by Benito Mussolini, because of his 1931 encyclical, Non abbiamo bisogno, which was critical of the Italian Fascist state.
 * Pope John Paul I was allegedly murdered according to Martin's book, Vatican: A Novel, by Jean-Marie Villot, formerly Cardinal Secretary of State under Pope Paul VI, under orders from the Soviet Union.

Siri theory
Martin partially gave credence to the Siri thesis, saying that Cardinal Giuseppe Siri was twice elected pope in papal conclaves, but declined his election after being pressured by so-called worldly forces acting through cardinals present at the conclaves. Martin called this the little brutality. On the one hand, Martin says that Siri was intimidated; on the other hand he says that Siri did indicate that his decision not to accept was made freely.
 * The first election, according to Martin, happened at Papal conclave, 1963. Martin mentioned the possibility of a nuclear threat which involved "the very existence of the Vatican state" during this conclave on pages 600–610 of The Keys of this Blood,
 * The second election was the Papal conclave, October 1978. Martin said on Steel on Steel in March 1997, that Siri received a written note after his initial election threatening him and his family with death should he accept.

Freemasons
Martin claimed that John XXIII and Paul VI were Freemasons during a certain period and that photographs and other detailed documents proving this were in the possession of the Vatican State Secretariat. He allegorically mentioned these supposed facts in his 1986 novel Vatican: A Novel, where he related the Masonic adherence of Pope Giovanni Angelica and Giovanni De Brescia. Martin also claimed that Archbishop Annibale Bugnini was a Freemason and that Agostino Casaroli, long-time Cardinal Secretary of State, was an atheist.

Metz accord
In his 1987 book The Jesuits, Martin describes negotiations and a diplomatic agreement between the Vatican and the USSR named as the "Moscow Vatican Pact of 1962" or the "Metz Pact". In this "little-known" agreement, the Vatican allegedly promised non-condemnation of Soviet Communism or Marxism in exchange for participation of Russian-Orthodox prelates as observers at the Second Vatican Council. Description of this incident was embedded as background within a larger discussion of a meeting at the Vatican in the middle of spring 1981 between Pope John Paul II and his six most powerful cardinals. In his book The Final Conclave, published on 1 August 1978, the month of the 1978 conclave that resulted in the 26 August election of Albino Luciani, Martin wrote of the unexpected election of a Cardinal Angelico, a figure that has been interpreted as corresponding to Luciani.

Alleged affairs
There were three allegations made against Martin of having affairs with women:
 * Martin was criticized in the book Clerical Error: A True Story by Robert Blair Kaiser, Time magazine's former Vatican correspondent. Kaiser, a former Jesuit, accused Martin of having carried on an extramarital affair with his wife during 1964 in Rome, and claimed that Martin fled to the United States as a renegade from the priesthood. A friend of Martin's, William H. Kennedy, published an article in The Seattle Catholic disputing Kaiser's allegation and other claims made about Martin after his death. Kennedy points out that Kaiser admits in his book that he was diagnosed as having paranoid schizophrenia, and cites passages from Kaiser's book which he believes show that Kaiser was writing from a distorted and delusional perspective due to his mental illness.
 * In her 2008 book, Queen of the Oil Club: The Intrepid Wanda Jablonski and the Power of Information, Anna Rubino wrote that Martin had a love affair with oil journalist Wanda Jablonski on a visit to Beirut, Lebanon in the 1950s. The book was published long after the deaths of both Jablonski (1992) and Martin (1999).

Laicization dispute
The Traditionalist Catholic website Daily Catholic said in 2004 that Father Vincent O'Keefe, former Vicar General of the Society of Jesus and a past President of Fordham University, stated that Martin had never been laicized. According to this report, O'Keefe stated that Martin had been released from his Jesuit vows except for chastity. No claim has been made that Martin was incardinated into any particular diocese.

Martin himself is quoted as stating that "'In 1965, Mr. Martin received a dispensation from all privileges and obligations deriving from his vows as a Jesuit and from priestly ordination' (Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, 25 June 1997, Prot. N. 04300/65)".

The Daily Catholic said its 2004 statement was based on one by William Kennedy, according to which the declaration of Martin's laicization was mounted in retaliation for his book The Jesuits, which accused the Jesuits of deviating from their original character and mission by embracing liberation theology.

Alleged ordination as a bishop
During a videotaped memorial titled Malachi Martin Weeps For His Church, Rama Coomaraswamy claimed that Martin had told him that he had been secretly consecrated a bishop by Pius XII. Martin's mission was to ordain priests and bishops for the underground churches of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Coomaraswamy died in 2006.

Alleged authorship

 * The book The Pilgrim: Pope Paul VI, The Council and The Church in a time of decision was written by Martin under the pseudonym Michael Serafian. This was confirmed by Martin himself and corroborated independently by the Swiss Catholic dissident and priest Hans Küng. Martin related that his choice of surname, Serafian, was due to meeting a carpet dealer in Jerusalem with that name, during the trip of Paul VI to Jordan in January 1964. Serafian is a common Armenian surname.
 * The pseudonym of Xavier Rynne, used to write more than 20 books on Vatican II, is not that of Martin, but of Fr. Francis X. Murphy C.Ss.R.
 * The 1966 article Laures et ermitages du désert d'Egypte published in Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph by the hand of "M. Martin" was written by Maurice Martin, not Malachi Martin.

Joseph Roddy allegations
Journalist Joseph Roddy alleged — in a 1966 Look Magazine article about the debate about Jews during the Second Vatican Council — that one and the same person under three different pseudonyms had written or acted on behalf of Jewish interest groups, such as the American Jewish Committee, to influence the outcome of the debates. Roddy wrote that two timely and remunerated 1965 articles were penned under the pseudonym F.E. Cartus, one for Harper's Magazine and one for the American Jewish Committee's magazine Commentary.

Roddy alleged that tidbits of information were leaked to the New York press that detailed Council failings vis a vis Jews under the pseudonym of Pushkin. Roddy claimed two unidentified persons were one and the same person — a "young cleric-turned-journalist" and a "Jesuit of Irish descent working for Cardinal Bea...who was active in the Biblical Institute" — he figuratively named as Timothy O'Boyle-Fitzharris, S.J. so as not to reveal the true identity of his source.

In his 2007 book Spiritual Radical: Abraham Joshua Heschel in America, Edward K. Kaplan confirmed that Martin cooperated with the American Jewish Committee during the Council "for a mixture of motives, both lofty and ignoble...[He] primarily advised the committee on theological issues, but he also provided logistical intelligence and copies of restricted documents." It is confirmed in the book that Martin used the pseudonyms Forest and Pushkin. Kaplan acknowledges that The Pilgrim by Michael Serafian, was requested from Martin by Abraham J. Heschel, who arranged for the book to be published by Roger W. Straus, Jr.'s Farrar, Straus and Giroux printing company. It was published in the hope that it would influence the deliberations in the council. Once Martin's identity as author was revealed, it led to protests "and the book had to be removed from circulation at considerable financial loss to the publisher". Kaplan lastly states that Martin was the primary source of information for Joseph Roddy in writing his 1966 article for Look Magazine, and that O'Boyle-Fitzharris was, in fact, Martin. Kaplan judges the Roddy article as "dangerously misleading [due] to the credence it gives to the claim that without organised Jewish pressure the council declaration on the Jews would not have been accepted."

Martin explicitly denied he was a spy, along with denying other rumors. Michael Cuneo, in his book American Exorcism, writes, "Martin told me that he was perplexed, and more than a little annoyed, by the swirl of rumors surrounding his personal life."

Elsewhere, Martin admitted some of his work involved intelligence gathering behind the Iron Curtain and throughout the Middle East, and at times threatening cardinals with blackmail if they did not want to do what Bea and John XXIII wanted from them at the council. "I saw cardinals sweating in front of me," Martin recalled. "And I began to enjoy it."

Alleged Jewish heritage
Rumors appearing on various Catholic or sedevacantist websites and magazines alleged that Martin had Jewish ancestry that descended from Iberian Jews who migrated to Medieval Ireland and the Kingdom of England in the 15th century, and also alleged him being an Israeli spy because of his first name, Malachi, after a Hebrew prophet and his extensive travels in the Levant. These allegations were rebutted by William H. Kennedy (In Defense of Father Malachi Martin). After having made genealogical inquiries with surviving relatives of Martin in Ireland, Kennedy concluded that Martin's father was an Englishman who moved to Ireland, and that Martin's mother was Irish on both sides. Fr. Rama Coomasrawamy confirmed this independently. The Irish language name Maélsheachlainn is usually anglicized as "Malachy", and Saint Malachy was a 12th-century Irish Catholic saint.

Alleged photograph
Claims that Martin features as a curial monsignor in full regalia on a prominent photograph next to John Paul I and his assistant Diego Lorenzi appeared on the Internet. The photograph, published in David Yallop's In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I as number 28 between pages 120 and 121, shows a "Monsignor Martin", visibly different from Malachi Martin. This is a case of mistaken identity: the cleric in the photograph was Jacques-Paul Martin, Prefect of the Casa Pontificia from 1969 to 1986.

Books

 * The Scribal Character of the Dead Sea Scrolls Vol. 1, Bibliothèque du Muséon 44, Publications Universitaires, Louvain, 1958
 * The Scribal Character of the Dead Sea Scrolls Vol. 2, Bibliothèque du Muséon 45, Publications Universitaires, Louvain, 1958
 * The Pilgrim: Pope Paul VI, The Council and The Church in a time of decision, Farrar, Straus, New York, 1964 (written under the pseudonym of Michael Serafian)
 * The Encounter: Religion in Crisis, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1969; ISBN 0-374-14816-3 (in collaboration with Henry Allen Moe)
 * Three Popes and the Cardinal: The Church of Pius, John and Paul in its Encounter with Human History, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1972; ISBN 0-374-27675-7
 * Jesus Now, E. P. Dutton, New York, 1973; ISBN 0-525-13675-4
 * The New Castle: Reaching for the Ultimate, E.P. Dutton, New York; 1974 ISBN 0-525-16553-3
 * Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Living Americans, 1st edition, Reader's Digest, New York, 1976; ISBN 0-06-065337-X; 2nd edition with a new preface by the author, HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco, CA, U.S. 1992; ISBN 0-06-065337-X
 * The Final Conclave Stein and Day New York 1978 ISBN 978-0-8128-2434-6.
 * King of Kings: a Novel of the Life of David, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1980; ISBN 0-671-24707-7
 * The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1981; ISBN 0-399-12665-1
 * Rich Church, Poor Church: The Catholic Church and its Money, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1984; ISBN 0-399-12906-5
 * There is Still Love: Five Parables of God's Love That Will Change Your Life, Macmillan, New York, 1984; ISBN 0-02-580440-5
 * Vatican: A Novel, Harper & Row, New York, 1986; ISBN 0-06-015478-0
 * The Marian Year of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, Saint Paul, Remnant Press, 1987
 * The Jesuits: The Society of Jesus and the Betrayal of the Roman Catholic Church, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1987; ISBN 0-671-54505-1
 * God's Chosen People: The Relationship between Christian and Jews, Remnant Press, Saint Paul, 1988
 * Apostasy Within: The Demonic in the (Catholic) American Church, Christopher Publishing House, Hanover, 1989 ISBN 0-8158-0447-4 (in collaboration with Paul Trinchard S.T.D.)
 * The Keys of This Blood: The Struggle for World Dominion between Pope John Paul II, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the Capitalist West, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1990; ISBN 0-671-69174-0
 * The Thunder of Justice: The Warning, the Miracle, the Chastisement, the Era of Peace, MaxKol Communications, Sterling, 1993; ISBN 0-9634307-0-X (in collaboration with Ted Flynn and Maureen Flynn)
 * Windswept House: A Vatican Novel, Doubleday, New York, 1996; ISBN 0-385-48408-9
 * In the Murky Waters of Vatican II, MAETA, Metairie, 1997; ISBN 1-889168-06-8 (in collaboration with Atila Sinke Guimarães)
 * Fatima Priest: The Story of Father Nicolas Grüner, Gods Counsel Publishing, Pound Ridge, 1997; ISBN 0-9663046-2-4 (in collaboration with Francis Alban and Christopher A. Ferrara)

Articles

 * "Revision and reclassification of the Proto-Byblian signs", in Acta Orientalia, No. 31, 1962
 * "The Balu'a Stele: A New Transcription with Paleographic and Historical Notes", Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, 1964, pp. 8–9 (in collaboration with Ward William)
 * (debate with James A. Rudin and David R. Hunter).
 * "Death at Sunset", in National Review, November 22, 1974
 * "The Scientist as Shaman", in Clarke, Robin, Notes for the future: an alternative history of the past decade, Universe Books, New York, 1975; ISBN 0-87663-929-5
 * "On Toying with Desecration", in National Review, October 10, 1975
 * "On Human Love", in National Review, September 2, 1977
 * "Test-Tube Morality", in National Review, October 13, 1978
 * "Test-Tube Morality", in National Review, October 13, 1978

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

title: Malachi Martin


text:
Klaus Hänsch

Klaus Hänsch (born 15 December 1938 in Szprotawa) is a German politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament representing the SPD from 17 July 1979 until 13 July 2009, and sat with the Party of European Socialists group. He was vice-chairman of the PES group since 1989, except during his service as President of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1997.

title: Klaus Hänsch


text:
Regina Leader-Post

The Regina Leader-Post is the daily newspaper of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and a member of the Postmedia Network.

Founding
The newspaper was first published as The Leader in 1883 by Nicholas Flood Davin, soon after Edgar Dewdney, Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories, decided to name the vacant and featureless site of Pile-O-Bones, renamed Regina by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, the wife of the Governor General of Canada, as territorial capital, rather than the previously-established Battleford, Troy and Fort Qu'Appelle, presumably because he had acquired ample land on the site for resale.

"A group of prominent citizens approached lawyer Nicholas Flood Davin soon after his arrival in Regina and urged him to set up a newspaper. Davin accepted their offer –and their $5000 in seed money. The Regina Leader printed its first edition on March 1, 1883." Published weekly by the mercurial Davin, it almost immediately achieved national prominence during the North-West Rebellion and the subsequent trial of Louis Riel. Davin had immediate access to the developing story, and his scoops were picked up by the national press and briefly brought the Leader to national prominence.

Davin's greatest coup was sending his reporter Mary McFadyen Maclean to conduct a jailhouse interview with Riel. Maclean obtained this by masquerading as a francophone Catholic cleric and interviewing Riel in French under the nose of uncomprehending anglophone watch-house guards.

Growth and absorbing competitors
Having begun with a small wooden shack before Regina had full streets, or electricity and plumbing outside Government House, The Leader soon moved to a substantial office building on the southwest corner of Hamilton Street and 11th Avenue, one block east of what was then the post office, southwest across street from City Hall. Also around this time, it was acquired by the Sifton family It then moved to a multi-story building across Hamilton Street to the south of the Simpson's department store. It ultimately relocated in the 1960s to east-city outskirts on Park Street at Victoria Avenue, where it still remains.

In 1920, the Leader merged with another paper, the Regina Evening Post, itself in a building on Twelfth Avenue at Rose Street before the merger, and continued to publish daily editions of both before consolidating them under the title The Leader-Post in 1930. In 1922, the paper launched one of the oldest radio stations in Canada, CKCK. Five years later, the company was purchased by the Sifton family, which launched CKCK-TV, Saskatchewan's first television station, in 1954.

Newspapers were a thriving industry in the days through television's arrival in the 1950s until the Internet in the 1990s began to change people's gathering of news, compounded by the merger of local companies into ownership of local companies by national multi-corporation organizations. Other titles absorbed by the Leader-Post included the Regina Daily Star and The Province.

In 1995, the Leader-Post released an electronic version of the newspaper so that subscribers could view their newspapers on the Internet. Electronic and daily print subscribers also enjoy access to extra content not available to all readers.

Corporate ownership
Decline of local news coverage radically occurred in 1996, when the paper and its sister, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, were acquired from their owner based in Markham, Ontario, Armadale group, by Hollinger Inc., a company that was headed by the Canadian media baron Conrad Black. Within three months, the staffs at each newspaper had been cut by one quarter, which becoming a cause célèbre in Canadian journalism. The event with substantial elimination of staff and coverage of local news corresponded with one at the Regina television station CKCK-DT, once locally owned but by 1985 no longer so.

An immediate effect was a significant reduction in coverage of local and provincial news, and a greater coverage of national events. Loss of news reporter staff, the increasing television news coverage and the arrival and growth of the internet all increased difficulty in preserving, much less increasing, the Leader-Post significance.

Black's company subsequently divested itself of the Leader-Post in 2000, together with most other Canadian news media it had owned, in conjunction with Black's renunciation of his Canadian citizenship to obtain a British peerage.

Eventually branding itself as the Regina Leader-Post, the newspaper shut down its printing facilities in 2015 in favor of being printed in Saskatoon with the press of The StarPhoenix. In 2023, Postmedia announced that the StarPhoenix press would be shut down; both the StarPhoenix and Leader-Post were to continue publication, but printed at facility in Estevan.

Circulation
Like most Canadian daily newspapers, the Leader-Post has seen a decline in circulation. Its total circulation dropped by 0 percent to 34,136 copies daily from 2009 to 2015.

In popular culture
The opening sequence of the television sitcom The Big Bang Theory features a photo of the original building of The Leader.

Notable journalists

 * Dave Dryburgh, sports editor from 1932 to 1948, and Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductee

title: Regina Leader-Post


text:
ASPA (car)

Příbramská strojírna a slévárna was a Czech automobile manufacturer, a successor to the Stelka.

History
The company was founded in Příbram. It started producing automobiles in 1924 under the brand name, ASPA. Production ended in 1929.

Vehicles
The first model was powered by the four-cylinder engine of the Ford Model T. Another model, referred to as Type B 5/15 HP, 5/14 HP or Type B depending on the source, had a water-cooled four-cylinder engine with 1327cc displacement and an output of 15 hp. The engine had OHV valve timing, magneto ignition, a Bosch starter and a four-speed gearbox. The engine drove the rear wheels and weighted 650 kg. The open four-seater had only one door. 40 examples of this model were produced. Delivery vans and ambulances were also offered.

In 1926, the M 7/24 HP was introduced. Powered by a four-cylinder engine with 75 mm bore and 110 mm stroke and a displacement of 1944cc.

In 1933, 30 passenger cars, 4 vans, 1 bus and 1 ambulance of this manufacturer were registered in Czechoslovakia.

Literature

 * Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader: Die Internationale Automobil-Enzyklopädie. United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8. (German)
 * George Nicholas Georgano (Editor-in-chief.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Band 1: A–F. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1. (English).
 * Marián Šuman-Hreblay: Encyklopedie automobilů. České a slovenské osobní automobily od roku 1815 do současnosti. Computer Press, Brünn 2007, ISBN 978-80-251-1587-9. (Czech)

title: ASPA (car)


text:
HIH Insurance

HIH Insurance was Australia's second-largest insurance company before it was placed into provisional liquidation on 15 March 2001. The demise of HIH is considered to be the largest corporate collapse in Australia's history, with liquidators estimating that HIH's losses totalled up to $5.3 billion. Investigations into the cause of the collapse have led to conviction and imprisonment of a handful of members of HIH management on various charges relating to fraud. A Royal Commission was formed in the wake of the collapse. It also led to the 2002 Review of the Law of Negligence led by David Ipp and subsequent Tort reform.

History
In 1968, Ray Williams and Michael Payne formed M W Payne Underwriting Agency Pty Ltd, which was acquired in 1971 by British company CE Heath plc. Ray Williams was appointed to the board of CE Heath in 1980. The business operations of CE Heath were subsequently transferred to CE Heath International Holdings Limited in 1989 with CE Heath plc retaining 90% ownership of CE Heath International Holdings. In 1992, CE Heath International Holdings floated on the Australian Securities Exchange.

In 1995, CE Heath International Holdings acquired CIC Insurance Group. The remaining 48% holding that CE Heath PLC maintained in CE Heath International Holdings was sold to a subsidiary of CIC Insurance Group called CIC Holdings Limited. CIC Holdings increased its share in CE Heath International Holdings to 50% and CIC Holdings was purchased by Winterthur. In May 1996, CE Heath International Holdings changed its name to HIH Winterthur.

Through 1997 and 1998, HIH Winterthur acquired a large number of companies both in Australia and globally, including Colonial Ltd General Insurance's operations in Australia and New Zealand, Solart in Argentina and Great States Insurance Co in the United States. Most notably, however, HIH acquired the large Australian insurance company FAI Insurance, whose chief executive Rodney Adler became a director of HIH in 1999. Winterthur Swiss sold its 51% share in HIH Winterthur to the public and HIH changed its name to HIH Insurance Limited.

Collapse
With $8 billion in assets, HIH was considered one of Australia's largest insurance firms. However, after offsetting its assets with debts and potential insurance claims against the company, HIH was left, on paper, with net assets of only $133 million. McGrath & Riddell described HIH's solvency as "marginal" and stated in their report that "an extremely small movement (just 1.7%) in the value of assets could move the balance sheet into net asset deficiency." That is, even the slightest setback would cause the company to become insolvent.

On 15 March 2001, the board of HIH appointed a provisional liquidator to take control of HIH and 17 of its controlled entities. The board hoped this would give HIH time to review its operations and assess its financial position. On the same day, HIH was to announce its first-half result for the six months to 31 December 2000. The announcement had already been delayed once and rumours suggested that HIH's first-half result was a loss of $100 million. This figure quickly ballooned to $200 million, and then $300 million. Although the result was never announced, when Tony McGrath announced his appointment as provisional liquidator he estimated that HIH had lost over $800 million over the six months to 31 December 2000. He attributed the HIH company failures to rapid expansion, unsupervised delegation of authority, extensive and complex reinsurance arrangements, under-pricing, reserve problems, false reports, reckless management, incompetence, fraud, greed, and self-dealing.

Formal winding-up orders were made on 27 August 2001. By then, HIH liquidators estimated the deficiency of the group to be between $3.6 billion and $5.3 billion. The demise of HIH was the largest corporate failure in Australia's history.

HIH insurance is currently in run–off, which means it is managing its outstanding claims and not writing any new business. On 11April 2011 the provisional liquidator said that it could be up to 10 years before all creditors are paid.

Royal Commission
On 21May 2001 Prime Minister John Howard announced that a Royal Commission would be established to inquire into the company's collapse. Justice Neville John Owen headed the Royal Commission, which tabled its report to Parliament on 16 April 2003. The findings of the Royal Commission were available on the HIH Royal Commission web site which has been archived by the National Library of Australia.

Adler pleads guilty
Former HIH director Rodney Adler was sentenced on 14 April 2005 to $4 1/2$ years in prison, with a non-parole period of $2 1/2$ years. Adler's sentence came after pleading guilty on 16 February 2005 to four criminal charges, which included:

 * two counts of disseminating information knowing it was false
 * one count of obtaining money by false or misleading statements
 * one count of being intentionally dishonest and failing to discharge his duties as a director in good faith and in the best interests of the company

The sentence was a lenient one, since the judge accepted the defendant's plea of mitigation, citing that he had not sold any of his own shares, or personally benefitted from his actions.

Stock market manipulation
Criminal charges for stock market manipulation were laid against Adler after an investigation by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) into the purchase of HIH shares by Pacific Eagle Equities Pty Ltd, an Adler-controlled company. Pacific Eagle Equities purchased 1,873,661 HIH shares on 15 June 2000, 951,339 HIH shares on 16 June 2000 and 425,000 HIH shares on 19 June 2000 with HIH funds after Adler persuaded Ray Williams to shift $10 million from HIH to Pacific Eagle Equities. Adler's defence team negotiated with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to drop charges of stock market manipulation in exchange for a guilty plea to other charges.

Disseminating false information
Adler attempted to induce investors to purchase HIH shares by telling a finance journalist on 19 June 2000 and 20 June 2000 that he had purchased 1,873,661 HIH shares on 15 June 2000 and 951,339 HIH shares on 16 June 2000 for himself. Adler also told the journalist that he believed the share price for HIH was undervalued and presented an opportunity for a quick profit.

Intentionally acting dishonestly
In October 2000, a company in which Adler had an interest, Business Thinking Systems (BTS), was in financial trouble. Adler sought a $2 million investment from HIH. Williams had been told by Adler that the company had raised $2.5 million, which it had not, and that Adler was prepared to invest $500,000, which he had no intention of doing, if HIH invested $2 million in BTS. HIH executive John Ballhausen was then told by Adler that he had invested the $500,000. The HIH board discussed and approved the $2 million investment in BTS in a November 2000 meeting. Adler attended the meeting and failed to disclose his financial interest in the business. Nor did he disclose his knowledge of its financial affairs. In April 2005 Adler was sentenced to $4 1/2$ years in prison.

On 13 October 2007, Adler was released from the St Heliers Correctional Centre in the Hunter Valley on parole, after serving $2 1/2$ years of his sentence. However, in November 2007, he faced court in a NSW civil case related to bonuses he recommended for executives of the failed telco One.Tel. Adler was on One.Tel's remuneration committee.

Other charges
On 15 April 2005, Ray Williams was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months' jail with a non-parole period of 2 years and 9 months, after pleading guilty to misleading shareholders about the financial position of HIH. Williams was also banned from leading an Australian corporation for ten years. On 14 January 2008, Williams was released from jail after serving just under three years.

Sydney businessman Brad Cooper was sentenced in the Supreme Court on 23 June 2006, after a jury found him guilty on 13 charges relating to bribes he paid a senior HIH official to push through false claims in the months before the insurer's collapse. He was sentenced to 8 years' jail with a non-parole period of 5 years. Cooper reportedly admitted to having a cocaine addiction during his high-flying days when he worked as a motivational speaker and as a salesman. At the time he entered jail in October 2005, Australian media stated he reported to prison officials that he had further addictions to painkillers, dex-amphetamines, and was on a valium addiction program. Prior to his arrest, he had begun a relationship with Sascha Ricci Griffin, and she continued their relationship with visits to him in court and jail, until his release in late 2010. Cooper filed an appeal from jail against the severity of his sentence, but the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed the application in March 2009.

On 21 November 2008, it was reported that a charge had been dropped against former HIH chairman Geoffrey Cohen a week before it was due to be heard in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court. The decision by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions not to proceed followed a similar decision in February 2008 relating to a more serious charge. Both were laid in 2005. Both abandoned charges related to Cohen's address to shareholders at the HIH annual general meeting in December 2000. In the second charge, ASIC alleged Cohen did not take reasonable steps to ensure that the information he gave to the shareholders at annual meeting was not misleading about a joint venture between Allianz Australia Ltd (Allianz) and HIH. The first charge alleged Cohen knowingly misled investors.

title: HIH Insurance


text:
Asquith (1901 automobile)

The Asquith was a short-lived English automobile manufactured by William Asquith at his Halifax machine tool works from 1901 to 1902. The car originally had a front-mounted De Dion engine and belt-drive; this last was later replaced by a two-speed gearbox because the belts kept slipping disastrously. Probably only one example of the car was built before the firm decided to concentrate on the production of boring machinery.

title: Asquith (1901 automobile)


text:
Asquith Motors

Asquith Motors is an English commercial vehicle manufacturer of hand built replicas since 1981 and originally based in Braintree, Essex. The company was founded by Bruce West, who designed the logo, created the name and designed all the early vehicles. His concept was to create modern vehicles with the potential of mass advertising through the appeal of historic vehicles. In 1984, West sold the moulds to Hunnable Holdings of Yeldham, Great Yeldham, Essex. Mr West started building "retro-style" delivery vans on the Ford Transit chassis in 1982. In 1991, the company announced production of a 1930s-style taxi cab that would meet the London Public Carriage Office regulations on a purpose-built chassis.

Originally based in Braintree in Essex, Asquith employed 30 full-time craftsmen who handmade over 1,000 vehicles, many exported to countries as far away as Paraguay, Japan and USA, though Germany has always been the biggest export market.

In the late 1990s after the sale to Hunnables, the company experienced some challenges. The cost of manufacture had increased, research and development on new vehicles including the London Taxi had spiralled and a large Japanese order was cancelled due to increases in the exchange rate. The company was forced into receivership.

The company was purchased from the liquidators by Mike Edgar in 1997. He built a team of designers led by Paul Keegan and engineers led by Eddie Parsons. Further investment was required to move the company forward and Edgar soon found that UK manufacture was too expensive and sought partnerships in other countries. At the time, relationships were established with third-party companies in Barcelona (Spain) and Katowice (Poland).

In 2003, the molds and intellectual property rights were purchased by Simon Rhodes and Asquith Motors was established to develop new versions of the original vehicles. Due to various quality, language and distance issues with the overseas companies, it was decided to stop them manufacturing further vehicles.

In 2005, Asquith Motors bought the assets of the 'Vintage Motor Company Ltd', based in Doncaster. The main assets included The Royale Windsor (a 1940s-style limousine) and The Royale Sabre (a 1940s-style sports car). These are due to manufactured in the future. In 2009, Asquith Motors appointed John Barlow, a well known and respected car designer and engineer, to develop new moulds for the Shire and Mascot, to be based on the Iveco Daily chassis. Launch of these vehicles was due in early 2010 and enquiries had been received from companies all over the world, who appreciated the classic style to advertise their business. No such model was ever produced though.

As of September 2020, the website claims to have three new products in development; The Mascot eight seater bus, the smaller Shetland electric van and numerous vintage style trailers. These will be based on Iveco Daily commercial vehicles. No official launch date is set, apart from a twitter post in June 2019 announcing that the "New Asquith Shire is coming soon...".

title: Asquith Motors


text:
Fath-Ali Shah Qajar

Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (May 1769 – 24 October 1834) was the second Shah (king) of Qajar Iran. He reigned from 17 June 1797 until his death on 24 October 1834. His reign saw the irrevocable ceding of Iran's northern territories in the Caucasus, comprising what is nowadays Georgia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, to the Russian Empire following the Russo-Persian Wars of 1804–1813 and 1826–1828 and the resulting treaties of Gulistan and Turkmenchay. Historian Joseph M. Upton says that he "is famous among Iranians for three things: his exceptionally long beard, his wasp-like waist, and his progeny."

At the end of his reign, his difficult economic problems and military and technological liabilities took Iran to the verge of governmental disintegration, which was quickened by a consequent struggle for the throne after his death.

Under Fath-Ali Shah, many visual portrayals of himself and his court were created in an effort to commend the crown. The notable ones include rock reliefs next to the ones erected under the pre-Islamic Sasanian Empire (224–651) in Ray, Fars and Kermanshah. This was done so that he could represent himself as heir to the ancient Persian empire to his countryfolk and the generations that followed.

Early life
He was born in May 1769 in the city of Damghan, then under the governorship of his father. He was called Fath-Ali, a name borne by his prominent great-grandfather, Fath-Ali Khan Qajar. But he was mainly known by his second name of Baba Khan until his coronation in 1797. However, the Russians still called him Baba Khan until 1813, as they refused to recognize his rule. He was the eldest son of Hossein Qoli Khan Qajar (the brother of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar) and the daughter of the Mohammad Agha Ezz al-Dinlu of the Ashaqa-bash branch of the Qajar tribe. Due to Hossein Qoli Khan being suspected of plotting to rebel against the Zand dynasty, Baba Khan (then aged five) was sent as a hostage to the court of the Zand ruler Karim Khan Zand ((r. 1751 – 1779)) in Shiraz. There Baba Khan joined his uncle Agha Mohammad Khan, who was also a hostage at the court.

Baba Khan later returned to Damghan (according to the 19th-century Iranian writer Reza-Qoli Khan Hedayat, this took place in 1775), where he was witness to the conflict amongst the Davallu Qajar chiefs of Astarabad, which ultimately led to the murder of his father by the Kuklan Turkmens in 1777. Baba Khan sought shelter with his uncle Morteza Qoli Khan Qajar in the village of Anzan (near Astarabad), where he stayed for two years. Following the death of Karim Khan in 1779, Baba Khan shifted his allegiance to Agha Mohammad Khan, who had returned to Mazandaran and overpowered Morteza Qoli and two other brothers in Barforush. Albeit Agha Mohammad Khan had been castrated at a young age, he married Baba Khan's mother in Sari and practically became his stepfather and guardian.

In 1780, Baba Khan and Agha Mohammad Khan were captured in Baforush by the latter's brother Rezaqoli Khan Qajar, who was displeased of the favour that Baba Khan received by Agha Mohammad Khan. They were eventually released, and in 1781 Baba Khan seized Damghan from Qader Khan Arab Bestami, thus recovering his father's former domain. Baba Khan also captured and married Qader Khan's daughter Badr Jahan. In 1783, Baba Khan married his first Qajar wife, Asiyeh Khanum in Sari. The marriage was a political union organized by Agha Mohammad Khan to make peace with the Yokhari-bash branch of the Qajars, the clan of Asiyeh Khanum. Following Agha Mohammad Khan's accession to the throne at Tehran on 21 March 1786, Baba Khan was designated as his heir and vice-regent.

Baba Khan took part in his uncle's war with the Zands in southern Iran, where he in 1787 narrowly succeeded in defeating the governor of Yazd, Mohammad-Taqi Bafqi, who acknowledged Qajar suzerainty. Baba Khan then went to Gilan to protect it against Qajar chiefs whose loyalty was questionable.

Baba Khan was governor of Fars when his uncle was assassinated in 1797. Baba Khan then ascended the throne and used the name of Fath Ali Shah (with the word "shah" added to his name). He became suspicious of his chancellor Ebrahim Khan Kalantar and ordered his execution. Hajji Ebrahim Khan had been chancellor to Zand and Qajar rulers for some fifteen years. Much of his reign was marked by the resurgence of Persian arts and painting, as well as a deeply elaborate court culture with extremely rigid etiquette. In particular during his reign, portraiture and large-scale oil painting reached a height previously unknown under any other Islamic dynasty, largely due to his personal patronage.

Fath Ali also ordered the creation of much royal regalia, including coronation chairs; the "Takht-e Khurshīd" or Sun Throne; the "Takht-e Nāderi" or Naderi Throne, which was also used by later kings; and the "Tāj-e Kiyāni" or Kiani Crown, a modification of the crown of the same name created by his uncle Agha Mohammad Khan. The latter, like most of his regalia, was studded with a large number of pearls and gems.

In 1797, Fath Ali was given a complete set of the Britannica's 3rd edition, which he read completely; after this feat, he extended his royal title to include "Most Formidable Lord and Master of the Encyclopædia Britannica." In 1803, Fath-Ali Shah appointed his cousin Ebrahim Khan as the governor of the Kerman Province, which had been devastated during the reign of Agha Mohammad Khan.

In Khorasan, there would be a growing revolt led by Nader Mirza, who would restore the Afsharid dynasty. The Shah's control was so limited in fact that an 1800–1801 tax register listed only Sabzevar and Neyshabur as paying taxes to the government, while the rest of the local Khorasani leaders paid no taxes to the state at all.

Russo-Persian War (1804–1813)
During the early reign of Fath Ali Shah, Imperial Russia took control of Georgia, a territory which Iran had ruled intermittently since 1555 with the Peace of Amasya. Georgia, led by Erekle II, had forged an alliance with Persia's rival, Russia, following the Treaty of Georgievsk. To punish his Georgian subjects, his uncle, Agha Mohammad Khan, had invaded and sacked Tbilisi, seeking to reestablishing full Persian suzerainty over Georgia, in which he succeeded. Even though the Russian garrisons in the city had to retreat, Persia did not manage to put back all of its needed garrisons over the country as Agha Mohammad Khan was assassinated soon afterwards in Shusha, following with Russia's act of annexation of those priorly-Iranian ruled parts of Georgia in 1801, after many Georgian embassies and a treaty. Also, not only was Georgia annexed but Dagestan was also invaded, which had also been under Persian rule since the early Safavid era. As it was seen as a direct intrusion into Persian territory, Fath Ali Shah, determined to reassert Persian hegemony over the whole region, declared war on Russia after General Pavel Tsitsianov attacked and stormed the city of Ganja, massacring many of its inhabitants and forcing many thousands to flee deeper within the Iranian domains. In 1804, Fath Ali Shah ordered the invasion of Georgia in order to regain it, under pressure from the Shia clergy, who were urging a war against Russia. The war began with notable victories for the Persians, but Russia shipped in advanced weaponry and cannons that disadvantaged the technologically inferior Qajar forces, who did not have the artillery to match. Russia continued with a major campaign against Persia; Persia asked for help from Britain on the grounds of a military agreement with that country (the military agreement was signed after the rise of Napoleon in France). However, Britain refused to help Persia claiming that the military agreement concerned a French attack not Russian.

Persia had to ask for help from France, sending an ambassador to Napoleon and concluding a Franco-Persian alliance with the signature of the Treaty of Finkenstein. However, just when the French were ready to help Persia, Napoleon made peace with Russia. At this time, John Malcolm arrived in Persia and promised support but Britain later changed its mind and asked Persia to retreat. Though many years the war had been stale and located in various parts of Transcaucasia, the peace with Napoleon enabled the Russians to increase their war efforts in the Caucasus against Iran. In early 1813, under General Pyotr Kotlyarevsky, the Russians successfully stormed Lankaran. Russian troops invaded Tabriz in 1813 and Persia was forced to sign the Treaty of Gulistan with Russia.

Treaty of Gulistan

On account of consecutive defeats of Persia and after the fall of Lankaran on 1 January 1813, Fath Ali Shah, was forced to sign the disastrous Treaty of Gulistan. The text of treaty was prepared by a British diplomat; Sir Gore Ouseley; and was signed by Nikolai Fyodorovich Rtischev from the Russian side and Hajji Mirza Abol Hasan Khan from the Iranian side on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gulistan.

By this treaty all of the cities, towns, and villages of Georgia, villages and towns on the coast of the Black Sea, all of the cities, towns and villages of the Khanates in the South Caucasus and North Caucasus, and part of the Talysh Khanate, including Megrelia, Abkhazia, Imeretia, Guria, Baku khanate, Shirvan Khanate, Derbent, Karabakh khanate, Ganja khanate, Shaki Khanate and Quba Khanate became part of Russia. These territories altogether comprise modern-day Georgia, southern Dagestan, and most of the contemporary Azerbaijan Republic. In return, Russia pledged to support Abbas Mirza as heir to the Persian throne after the death of Fath Ali Shah.

Interlude on a different front
Between 1805 and 1816, Qajar rulers began invading Herat in neighboring Afghanistan with small detachments. The Persians were attempting to retake control of the city but were forced to abandon it due to Afghan uprisings. In 1818 the Shah sent his son Mohammad Vali Mirza to capture the city but he was defeated at the Battle of Kafir Qala.

Russo-Persian War (1826–1828)

In 1826, 13 years after the Treaty of Gulistan, the Shah on the advice of British agents and the utter dissatisfaction with the outcome of the previous war, Fath Ali Shah decided to occupy the lost territories. Crown prince Abbas Mirza, head of the armies, invaded the Talysh Khanate and Karabakh khanate with an army of 35,000 on 16 July 1826. The first year of the war was very successful, and the Persians managed to regain most of their lost territories of the 1804–1813 war, including the principal cities of Lenkoran, Quba, and Baku. However the tide turned after the winter. In May 1827, Ivan Paskevich, Governor of Caucasus, invaded Echmiadzin, Nakhichevan, Abbasabad and on 1 October Erivan. Fourteen days later, General Eristov entered Tabriz. In January 1828, when the Russians reached the shores of Lake Urmia, Abbas Mirza urgently signed the Treaty of Turkmenchay on 2 February 1828.

Treaty of Turkmenchay
The Turkmenchay Treaty was signed on 21 February 1828 by Hajji Mirza Abol Hasan Khan and General Ivan Paskevich. By this treaty the Erivan khanate (most of present-day Armenia, and also a small part of Eastern Anatolia), Nakhchivan khanate (most of the present-day Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan), the Talysh Khanate (southeastern Azerbaijan), and the Ordubad and Mughan came under the rule of Imperial Russia. By this treaty, Iran had lost all of its Caucasian territories comprising all of Transcaucasia and Dagestan to neighboring Imperial Russia. Iran furthermore pledged to pay Russia 10 Million in Gold, and in return Russia pledged to support Abbas Mirza as heir to the Persian throne after the death of Fath Ali Shah. The treaty also stipulated the resettlement of Armenians from Persia to the Caucasus, which also included an outright liberation of Armenian captives who were brought and had lived in Iran since 1804 or as far back as 1795.

Later life
Fath Ali later employed writers and painters to make a book about his wars with Russia, inspired by the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi. This book, considered by many to be the most important Persian book written in the Qajar period, is called the Shahanshahnama.

In 1829, Alexander Griboyedov, the Russian diplomat and playwright was killed in the encirclement of the Russian embassy in Tehran. To apologize, the Shah sent prince Khosrow Mirza to Tsar Nicholas I to deliver a formal apology, as well as one of the biggest diamonds of his crown jewelry, namely Shah Diamond.

When his favourite son and crown prince Abbas Mirza died on 25 October 1833, Fath Ali named his grandson Mohammed Mirza as his crown prince. Fath Ali died a year later, on 24 October 1834. He was buried in a tomb in the Fatima Masumeh Shrine of Qom.

He is instantly recognizable in all 25 known portraits – mainly due to his immense, deeply black beard, which reached well beneath his narrow waist. One of these portraits is being exhibited in the collection of the University of Oxford. Another one, by the artist, Mihr Ali, is at the Brooklyn Museum.

Besides eulogistic chronicles, the only real sources that allow us to judge his personality are those of British, French and Russian diplomats. These vary greatly: earlier in his reign they tend to portray him as vigorous, manly and highly intelligent. Later they begin to point out his extreme indolence and avarice. The image of decadence was epitomised by the story that he had a special harem slide of marble constructed. Every day he would lie on his back naked "as, one by one, naked harem beauties swooped down a slide, specially made for the sport, into the arms of their lord and master before being playfully dunked in a pool."

Titles
Fath-Ali Shah used both the ancient Persian title of shahanshah (King of Kings), i.e., Emperor, and the Turco-Mongol title of khaqan (khan of khans), thus representing himself as both ruler of the country and the tribes.

Appearance
Fath-Ali Shah was the last Qajar shah to dress in the traditional manner, which included a decorated Persian long robe, high heels, and a long beard. The Scottish statesman and historian John Malcolm, who met Fath-Ali Shah in 1800, described him as "above the middle size, his age little more than thirty, his complexion rather fair, his features regular and fine, with an expression denoting quickness and intelligence."

Legacy
During his reign, Fath-Ali Shah successfully revamped his realm from a mostly Turkic tribal khanship into a centralized and stable monarchy based on the old imperial design.

Marriage and children
Fath-Ali Shah is reported to have had more than 1,000 spouses. He was survived by fifty-seven sons and forty-six daughters, along with 296 grandsons and 292 granddaughters.

A book published in England in 1874 provided different numbers:

"'It is believed that Fetteh Ali had the largest number of children ever born to a man. Like a pious Mohammedan, he had only four wives, but his harem generally contained from 800 to 1,000 ladies. By these he had 130 sons and 150 daughters, and it is believed that at the time of his death his descendants numbered five thousand souls. The three grandsons who merit notice were the sons of Hussein Ali, the governor of Fars, who aspired to the throne. The princes, Riza Kuli Mirza, Nejeff Kuli Mirza, and Timour Mirza, were at Shiraz when their father attempted to seize the throne. They were able to make their escape from the city.'"

While this is a large number of children, the claim that Fatḥ-ʻAli holds the record is not true. (Moulay Ismail ibn Sharif, who lived a hundred years earlier in Morocco, is said to hold the record for the most number of children born to a man.)

Fatḥ-Ali's first son, Mohammad Ali Mirza Dowlat Shah, was seven months older than the second son Abbas Mirza. Yet it was the latter who was named "Wali-ahd" or crown prince. This was on account of the fact that Dowlat Shah's mother, Ziba Chehreh Khanoum, was of non-Qajar origin (she was a Georgian woman), and therefore he was passed over in favour of his younger brother.

 * Consorts
 * Ziba Chehar Khanum, a Georgian woman from the Tzicarashwili family;
 * Badr Jahan Khanum, daughter of Muhammad Jafar Khan Bastami Arab;
 * Asiyeh Khanum "Mehd-i-aulya", daughter of Fath Ali Khan Davallu;
 * Nushafrin Khanum, a Zand woman;
 * Maryam Khanom, a Jewish woman from Mazandaran;
 * Hajiyeh Badr al-Nesa Khanum Badran, daughter of Mustafa Quli Khan Qajar Qavanlu;
 * Kheyr al-Nessa Khanum (Aay Baaji), daughter of Majnoun Khan Pazouki, daughter of Morteza Qoli Khan Qajar Qavanlu;
 * Tawus Khanum "Taj-al-Dawleh", a Georgian concubine from Esfahan.
 * Golbadan Baji Khanum "Khazen-ol-Dowleh", a Georgian concubine, originally a woman in service to Fath Ali Shah's mother;
 * Kulsum Khanum, a woman from the family of Sayyeds of Pazvar;
 * Begum Jan Khanum, a woman from Qazvin;
 * Agha Baji Begum, daughter of Ibrahim Khalil Khan of Karabakh;
 * A daughter of Sadiq Khan Shaqaqi of Sarab Khanate;
 * Gul Pirhan Khanum, an Armenian concubine from Tbilisi;
 * Humai Khanum, a Kurdish woman from Mazandaran;
 * A daughter of Imam Qoli Khan Afsar Urumi;
 * Sunbul Khanum, a prisoner taken by Agha Mohammad Khan;
 * Khatun Jan Khanum, sister of Gulrukh Khanum, wife of Farukh Khan Amin-al-Dawleh;
 * Mihr al-Nesa Khanum, sister of Mahmud Khan Dunbuli;

 * Sons

Daughters;
 * Mohammad Ali Mirza 'Dowlatshah' (1788–1821) – with Ziba Chehr Khanum;
 * Abbas Mirza 'Nayeb os-Saltaneh' (1789–1833) – with Asiyeh Khanum;
 * Hossein Ali Mirza 'Farman Farma' (1789–1835) – with Badr Jahan Khanum;
 * Hasan Ali Mirza 'Etemad os-Saltaneh' 'Shoja os-Saltaneh' (1789–1854) – with Badr Jahan Khanum;
 * Ali Shah Mirza 'Zell os-Soltan' (1789–1854)- with Asiyeh Khanum;
 * Mohammad Taqi Mirza 'Hessam os-Saltaneh' (1791–1853)
 * Ali Naqi Mirza 'Rokn od-Doleh' (1793) – with Begum Jan Khanum;
 * Sheikh Ali Mirza 'Sheikh ol-Molouk' (1796) – with Hajiye Khanum;
 * Abdollah Mirza 'Dara' (1796–1846) – with Kulsum Khanum;
 * Emamverdi Mirza 'Keshikchi Bashi' (1796–1869) – with Begum Jan Khanum;
 * Mohammad Reza Mirza 'Afsar' (1797)
 * Mahmud Mirza (1799–1835) – with Maryam Khanum;
 * Heydar Qoli Mirza (1799) – with Kheyr al-Nesa Khanum;
 * Homayoun Mirza (1801–1856/1857) – with Maryam Khanum;
 * Allah Verdi Mirza 'Navab' (1801–1843) – with Banafshah Badam Khanum;
 * Esma'il Mirza (1802–1853)
 * Ahmad Ali Mirza (1804) – with Maryam Khanum;
 * Ali Reza Mirza
 * Keyghobad Mirza (1806) – with Shah Pasand Khanum;
 * Haj Bahram Mirza (1806)
 * Shapour Mirza (1807)
 * Malek Iraj Mirza (1807)
 * Manouchehr Mirza 'Baha ol-Molk'
 * Keykavous Mirza (1807) – with Shah Pasand Khanum;
 * Malek Ghassem Mirza (1807–1859)
 * Shah Qoli Mirza (1808)
 * Mohammad Mehdi Mirza 'Zargam ol-Molk' (1808) – with Mushteri Khanum;
 * Jahanshah Mirza (1809) – with Maryam Khanum;
 * Keykhosrow Mirza 'Sepahsalar' (1809) – with Shah Pasand Khanum;
 * Kiomarth Mirza "Il-Khani" (1809–1872/1873)
 * Soleiman Mirza 'Shoa od-Doleh' (1810)
 * Fathollah Mirza 'Shoa os-Saltaneh' (1811–1869/1870) – with Sunbul Khanum;
 * Malek Mansour Mirza (1811)
 * Soltan Mohammad Mirza 'Sayf ol-Dowleh' (1812–1899) – with Taj ol-Dowleh
 * Bahman Mirza 'Baha od-Doleh' – with Khazin-al-Dawleh;
 * Soltan Ebrahim Mirza (1813) – with Begum Jan Khanum;
 * Soltan Mostafa Mirza (1813)
 * Seyfollah Mirza (Jahanbani) (1814) – with Khazin-al-Dawleh;
 * Yahya Mirza (1817) – with Begum Khanum;
 * Mohammad Amin Mirza (1819–1886) – with Mushteri Khanum;
 * Zakaria Mirza (1819) s.p.
 * Farrokhseyr Mirza 'Nayer od-Doleh' (1819) – with Taj-al-Dawleh
 * Soltan Hamzeh Mirza (1819)
 * Tahmoures Mirza (1820) s.p.
 * Aliqoli Mirza 'Etezad os-Saltaneh' (1822) – with Gul Pirhan Khanum;
 * Soltan-Ahmad Mirza Azod od-Dowleh (1824–1902) – with Taj ol-Dowleh;
 * Eskandar Mirza 'Saheb Khaghan'
 * Parviz Mirza 'Nayer od-Doleh' – with Begum Khanum;
 * Jalal al-Din Mirza 'Ehtesham ol-Molk' (1826) – with Humai Khanum;
 * Amanollah Mirza 'Agha Lili'
 * Soltan Hossein Mirza – with Allahqoz Khanum;
 * Hossein Qoli Mirza 'Jahansouz Mirza " 'Amir Toman' (1830–1900/1901) – with Begum Khanum;
 * Haj Abbas Qoli Mirza – with Gul Pirhan Khanum;
 * Nouroldar Mirza
 * Kamran Mirza – with Naneh Khanum;
 * Orangzeb Mirza (1830/1831-1867/1868) – with Naneh Khanum;
 * Mohammad Hadi Mirza (1832) – with Mushteri Khanum;
 * Ziaʾ al-Saltaneh (1799–1873)
 * Khadijeh Soltan Begom, "Esmat-ad-Dowleh." Wife of Mirza Ebrahim Khan Nazer (son of Haji Mohammad Hossein Khan Sadr-e Esfahani). They had one daughter and three sons: Sadr ed-Dowleh, Assef ed-Dowleh and Mohammad Bagher Khan
 * Sarv-i Jahan Khanum. Wife of the Aga Khan I.

title: Fath-Ali Shah Qajar


text:
José María Gil-Robles

José María Gil-Robles y Gil-Delgado (17 June 1935 – 13 February 2023) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament in the European People's Party group, and was President of the European Parliament from 1997 to 1999.

Early life
José María Gil-Robles was born on 17 June 1935 in Madrid, during the Spanish Second Republic. He was the son of José María Gil-Robles y Quiñones, leader of the CEDA and a prominent figure in the period leading up to the Spanish Civil War, and Carmen Gil-Delgado Armada. Thus, he was grandson of Carlist theorist Enrique Gil Robles and brother of Álvaro Gil-Robles, who was the second Ombudsman of Spain between 1988 and 1993.

Due to the Civil War, the family went into exile in Estoril, Portugal. Gil-Robles, in 1953, returned to Spain to study Law at the University of Deusto, from which he graduated with an Extraordinary Prize. In 1959 he became a lawyer in the Francoist Courts, a position he held during the Spanish transition to democracy and the democratic Congress of the Deputies. was also editor of the "Boletín de Legislación extranjera" (Foreign Legislation Bulletin) and between 1959 and 1964 he was a professor of Political Law at the Complutense University of Madrid. Between 1959 and 1997 and from 1999 onwards he practiced law and since 1974 he has published several legal works related to the restoration of democracy and to parliamentary and public law. In 2004 Gil-Robles obtained the "Jean Monnet" Chair at the Complutense University of Madrid.

Political career
In 1989, and after the re-foundation of People's Party, Marcelino Oreja asked Gil-Robles to accompany him in the candidacy for the 1989 European Parliament election. Gil-Robles was elected member of the European Parliament in the elections that took place in July, as part of the European People's Party, party of which he was vice-president between 1990 and 1992.

In 1994, after being re-elected MEP in the 1994 election, was appointed Vice-President of the European Parliament, a position he held until 1997. In January of that year he was elected President of the European Parliament after obtaining a large majority of 338 votes, office he held until 1999. This position allowed him to play a key role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997, treaty that expanded the powers of the European Parliament. He also oversaw the beginning of negotiations of the accession of new state members to the European Union, and the approval of the Agenda 2000. He also had to manage the institutional crisis after the resignation of the Santer Commission.

In the 1999 European Parliament election Gil-Robles was reelected member of the European Parliament and succeeded on 20 July by Nicole Fontaine as its president. In the 2004 elections he no longer repeated as an MEP.

Gil-Robles was president of the Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe between 2009 and 2014.

Personal life and death
He was married with Magdalena Casanueva, with whom he had four children.

Gil-Robles died on 13 February 2023, at the age of 87.

Honors

 * Robert Schuman Medal, EPP Group (1995).
 * Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (2000). and the Grand Cross of Civil Merit (Spain).

title: José María Gil-Robles