text:
Vsevolod Merkulov

Vsevolod Nikolayevich (Boris) Merkulov (Всеволод Николаевич Меркулов; 27 November 1895 – 23 December 1953) was the head of NKGB from February to July 1941, and again from April 1943 to March 1946. He was a leading member of what was later derisively described as the "Beria gang".

Early life
Merkulov was born in 1895 in Zagatala in present-day Azerbaijan. His Russian father and Georgian mother were both minor members of the nobility. His father, an army captain, was convicted of embezzlement around the year 1900, and died in 1908. In 1913, Vsevolod Merkulov graduated from the Tiflis Gymnasium with a gold medal and became a student at Saint Petersburg University, Department of Physics and Mathematics, but did not graduate. In 1916, he was drafted into the Russian Army. In 1918, he left the army and moved to Tiflis (Tbilisi), where for a time he was unemployed, then worked as a teacher. From September 1921, after the Red Army invasion of Georgia, he was enlisted in Cheka, and its successor, the GPU.

Merkulov first met Lavrentiy Beria in 1923, when Beria was 24 and had been made deputy chairman of the Georgian GPU. He owed his subsequent promotions to Beria's patronage. He joined the Communist Party in 1925. From 1925 to 1931, he was Head of Secret Operations Directorate and Deputy Head of he GPU of Adzharistan. In 1931, he was made head of the Secret Political Department of the Transcaucasian GPU, but soon afterwards transferred to party work, when Beria was First Secretary of the Transcaucasian communist party. He wrote a pamphlet about Beria, entitled The Faithful Son of the Leninist–Stalinist Party. He was head of the Industry and Transport section of the Georgian CP Central Committee in 1936–38.

Transfer to Moscow
Merkulov was transferred to Moscow in August 1938, shortly after Beria had been chosen by Stalin to take over control of the NKVD from Nikolai Yezhov. When Beria took over as head of the Main Directorate of State Security (GUGB) on 29 September 1938, he chose Merkulov as his deputy. In 1939, he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Merkulov interrogated Yefim Yevdokimov, an associate of Yezhov who had been under arrest for five months but had refused to cooperate. On 13 April 1939, Yevdokimov broke down and 'confessed' to being part of the 'Yezhov conspiracy'. At his trial, he said that he had confessed because he could not stand the pain of being beaten on his heels.

In February 1941, the NKVD was divided in two, and Merkulov was appointed Chairman of the NKGB. On 21 July 1941, his department was merged again with the NKVD, with Merkulov was Deputy People's Commissar, under Beria. On 20 July 1943, two departments were separated again, and Merkulov was again head of the NKGB.

War time
In September 1939, following the pact between the USSR and Nazi Germany, Merkulov was sent to Ukraine to supervise the incorporation of territory seized from Poland. On 28 September, he reported to Beria that 1,923 people had been arrested, most of whom were accused of being Ukrainian nationalists. When almost 22,000 Polish officers were executed in the famous Katyn massacre in spring 1940, Merkulov headed the 'troika' who signed off the death sentences. Before it began, he visited the Belorussian soviet republic (Belarus) on 5 March, to check on progress in rounding up Poles trapped in the western part of the republic recently seized from Poland.

In May 1941, Merkulov was in charge of the pacification of the Baltic states, which were being forcibly incorporated in the USSR. On 17 June, he sent a reporting saying that he had had 14,467 people arrested in the three republics, and another 25,711 (mostly families of those arrested) evicted from their homes. It was calculated that in the short period before the German invasion, four percent of Estonia's population, and 2 per cent of the populations of Latvia and Lithuania were deported.

The German invasion
In his role as head of foreign intelligence, Merkulov travelled with Molotov to Berlin in November 1940, to have breakfast with Hitler. He received warnings from well-placed agents that the Germans were planning to invade, but refused to believe them, telling one of his agents: "You are greatly exaggerating." On 25 May 1941, he informed Stalin that Germany had 160–200 divisions concentrated on the Soviet border, but added that war was "unlikely" because "Hitler cannot risk war with the USSR for fear of violating the unity of the Nazi Party."

After the German invasion, Merkulov was in charge of purging the Red Army of officers suspected of disloyalty, including Grigory Shtern who was hit with an electric cable that ripped out his right eye, in Merkulov's office. Merkulov made the officer who struck the blow, Lev Shvartsman apologise – for causing blood to spill on the carpet. He also beat the arrested Red Army officers Kirill Meretskov and Boris Vannikov with a rubber truncheon, though when charged with this offence 12 years later, he claimed that the beatings did not amount to 'torture'. On Stalin's orders, he also kidnapped and killed the wife of Marshal Kulik.

Espionage
He was involved with a plan to build up a network of spies inside the Manhattan Project. The NKVD's first success was the recruitment of Klaus Fuchs. The project was given the codename "Enormoz". In November 1944, Pavel Fitin reported: "Despite participation by a large number of scientific organization and workers on the problem of Enormoz in the U.S., mainly known to us by agent data, their cultivation develops poorly. Therefore, the major part of data on the U.S. comes from the station in England. On the basis of information from London station, Moscow Center more than once sent to the New York station a work orientation and sent a ready agent, too [Klaus Fuchs]."

Another important source was John Cairncross. Fitin reported to Merkulov: "Valuable information on Enormoz is coming from the London station. The first materials on Enormoz were received in late 1941 from our source List [John Cairncross], containing valuable and absolutely secret documents both on the substance of the Enormoz problem and on measures by the British government to organize and develop work on the problem of atomic energy in our country. In connection with American and Canadian work on Enormoz, materials describing the state and progress of work in three countries—England, the U.S., and Canada—are all coming from the London station."

During the war, Merkulov wrote a patriotic play Engineer Sergeyev, using the pseudonym Vsevolod Rokk.

Post war
The author Nikolai Tolstoy, in his Victims of Yalta (1977), recounts Merkulov speaking to the imprisoned Cossack general Pyotr Krasnov in the Lubyanka in 1945. (The report is the testimony of the general's son, Nikolai Krasnov, who was also present and later released from the Gulag under Nikita Khrushchev's 1955 amnesty.)

Sooner or later there will be a clash between the Communist Bear and the Western Bulldog. There will be no mercy for our sugar-coated, honey-dripping, wheedling, grovelling allies! We'll blow them to blazes with all their kings, with all their traditions, lords, castles, heralds, Orders of the Bath and Garter, and their white wigs. When the Bear's paw strikes, no-one will remain to nurse the hope that their gold can rule the world. Our healthy, socially strong young idea, the idea of Lenin and Stalin, will be the victor! ... When we roar they sit tight on their tails! I am told that there were Tsars who watered their horses in the Oder. Well, the time will come when we will water Soviet horses in the Thames!

Dismissal, arrest and execution
On 4 May 1946, Merkulov was removed from his post as head of what was now the renamed Ministry of State Security. This was a setback for Beria, who lost control of the police apparatus to a younger rival, Viktor Abakumov, while Merkulov was unemployed for over a year. On 25 April 1947, he was appointed head of the main directorate for Soviet property abroad. On 27 October 1950, he was appointed Minister of State Control, replacing Lev Mekhlis.

In July 1953, after Beria was arrested, Merkulov was summoned by Nikita Khrushchev, the new head of the communist party, and ordered to write a report on his links with Beria. He wrote a long letter denouncing Beria as an ambitious schemer, but claiming that despite having known him for 30 years, Merkulov had only now realised that he was a criminal. Khrushchev wrote later: "I admit that I held him in high regard and considered him a good party member. He was unquestionably a cultured person" – but considered his report to be "absolutely worthless. It was more like a piece of fiction ... To my deep regret, since I had trusted him, Merkulov turned out to be deeply implicated in some of Beria's crimes."

Merkulov was tried in secret, with Beria and six others, in December 1953. Pravda reported on 14 December that he had been found guilty of "many years of joint criminal activity" with Beria, "fulfilling many of Beria's criminal missions", treason, terrorism, and "participating in a counter-revolutionary, treacherous, conspiratorial group", for which he was sentenced to death, and shot.

title: Vsevolod Merkulov


text:
Talk:California Zephyr

Sightseeing
How about a section about the train's sightseeing value? From west to east: from SF, CA to Elko, NV; from Helper, UT to Denver, CO and from Omaha, NE to Chicago, IL are sections generally under daylight. I think the Helper to Denver section is the most magnificient part of the trip. Are there any other good sightseeing spots you have to travel at night?

How's the east to west trip? -- Toytoy 14:38, Jun 16, 2005 (UTC)

 * If the train is on time (ha ha) the sections over Soldier Summit, Utah and the Palasade Canyon (between Battle Mountain and Elko Nevada) are kinda neet. But on several runs the train is late enough such that those are in the day time. There is also one spot just west of Salt Lake City (key word one spot) where from the tracks you have a great view of the Great Salt Lake. But I've never caught this in the day on the train, only when I've made the trek by car.
 * Davemeistermoab 14:53, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Midwest/Southwest?
It says that the Zephyr runs in the Southwest. Is the Bay Area in the Southwest? ςפקιДИτς 03:18, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

 * That depends on your definition of northern California. After growing up in Los Angeles, I don't think of the San Francisco Bay Area as southwest (for me, it's just the West), but if you include all of California as part of the southwest, then yes. slambo 17:08, September 4, 2005 (UTC)
 * Here's the wiki answer: Southwestern United States.--Lordkinbote 04:46, September 7, 2005 (UTC)

Lounge car pictured is from Prospector, not CZ
The lounge car pictured in this article does not appear to be a CZ lounge in either the pre or post Cable Car configuration, but is more likely from the Prospector, an overnight Denver-Salt Lake City train. In fact, I suspect the picture is of the lounge portion of the diner-lounge that ran on that train.

User:Sjlevine34 11:38, June 2, 2006

 * Interesting, what makes you say that? Information regarding the photo can be found here please WP:Cite. --Lordkinbote 20:20, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Pictures
I don't want to be so arrogant to put a link to my own images on this page, but if you are interested it may be intersting to add http://www.flickr.com/photos/prasenberg/tags/californiazephyr/ to the external links. This is a large set of images from my recent trip on the Zephyr. It might give readers an impression on what the scenery is like. Prasenberg 09:47, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Fair use image discussion
There is discussion about the possible deletion of the current lead photograph for fair use restrictions. Please join the discussion. Slambo (Speak) 20:54, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

Financial Arangements
Would someone add a section on how the three original railroads handled the finances of the train?

How did they split the take? How did they properly divide the equipment? etc. ..

Thanks

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 75.178.88.168 (talk) 04:04, 3 April 2007 (UTC).

 * I saw a documentary show on RFDTV two weeks ago (as part of the stations "Trains and Locomotives" programming) about the California Zephyr (last week the show was about the Daylight series of trains, and this week was the development of the 4-4-0). In it they mentioned that the equipment ownership was split according to the percent of mileage that each of the three railroads operated when the service was inaugurated.  I imagine that revenues were similarly split.  I haven't added it myself because I didn't think fast enough when the show aired to record it so we could have a reliable reference and I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere in my reference collection yet. Slambo (Speak)  11:05, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Amtrak Stations
Q: Links to Amtrak Stations that don't really exist have been re-added to the station stops section of the article. They have were added earlier and removed. Do they belong?

I would argue no. For example the Amtrak Depots in Green River, Utah, Winnemucca and Elko Nevada, etc. aren't depots at all. Really just railroad sidings where they open the doors. No buildings, no staff, nothing. At least the stop at Elko has a covered bench in case it's raining... but the stop at Green River and Elko truely have nothing. Davemeistermoab 03:09, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Scenery
The article mentions about the spectacular scenery but gives little example. The history section is excellent though. Does anyone know which side is best to see the scenery if travelling from east to west? LordHarris 17:03, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

 * There is of course scenery in all directions, but sitting on the north side of the train will get you the best views on two of the route's most spectacular segments -- the ascent of the Front Range west of Denver, and the crossing of Donner Pass in California. Pitamakan 17:37, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

 * It's hard to give examples of "the best scenery" and conform to wikipedia's NPOV policy. After all, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I'm actually surprised no one has tagged the scenic claims as they are now with a "citation re quested". Although Amtrak claims the CZ is one of their most scenic routes in their own literature, so a source wouldn't be difficult. I've never had a problem. There's been enough empty seats on the train to move to the other side if something looks more interesting on the other there. Davemeistermoab 00:03, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

Pruning is in order for this article?
IMO this article is starting to get "scattered". By that I mean I count 4 different places where the article mentions the current iteration of the CZ follows "almost" the same route as the original. Similarly the D&RG operating a descendant train is mentioned in 2 different places, with almost identical wording. This is a pet peeve of mine. Anybody mind if I do some pruning? Davemeistermoab 19:46, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Caption for Photo
Having just arrived in Galesburg, Illinois, Train No. 5 — the California Zephyr, led by GE Genesis P42DC locomotives #132 and #167 — "cools its heels" for a few minutes before continuing west on September 27, 2004.

What is "cools its heels" supposed to mean? Is it running late, and will soon be running even later? Is it early, and waiting to get back on time? Is this a scheduled wait? Or does the railroad slang term "cools its heels" refer to something specific?

Slang should be avoided in encyclopedic articles. 66.234.220.195 (talk) 20:27, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

Any opinions on the second list of station stops?
Originally, this section was to show the list of station stops on the original route of the CZ. However it has since evolved to be a 2nd listing of the the current station stops, with more formatting and information than the first listing in the infobox? Any opinions on how we should handle this? I do thing that there should be a section on the differences in the route, but not sure if it should be in prose or list format. Any ideas? Dave (talk) 19:46, 21 March 2010 (UTC)

Lead Image?
This edit: changed the lead image. IMO it should be undone, but would like input first, as I may be somewhat biased. My reasoning: Can I get some opinions on what should be the lead image? Dave (talk) 14:51, 29 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The current lead image: File:Zephyr_westbound_arriving_Galesburg.jpg is of the train stopped at a station. IMO, there isn't anything unique or special about this. I've taken dozens of pictures similar to this, as has virtually every Amtrak passenger.
 * The previous lead image: File:California_Zephyr--Eastbound_meets_Westbound_in_Glenwood_Canyon.jpg is pretty unique. Someone either waited a long time to take this, or got darn lucky.
 * Hard to say. Aesthetically, I think the Galesburg photo is a little nicer - the composition is better, the train is easier to see in thumbnail size and even the lighting is a bit better. But you're right, the Glenwood Canyon photo is unique to the Zephyr and the two trains meeting there is certainly unique. Between the two, I think the Glenwood Canyon photo makes for a better photo for an encyclopedia (as it is a photo unique to the Zephyr), so I'd be in favor of reverting to it - but only until a nicer and less generic photo of the Zephyr becomes available. 184.56.92.166 (talk) 01:41, 12 April 2011 (UTC)
 * That is a very good point, I guess we can wait until more pictures come in before making any firm decisions. Dave (talk) 20:35, 12 April 2011 (UTC)

Surviving rolling stock
I appreciate that a lot of work has gone into the new section "Lists of Surviving Rolling Stock" but I have some concerns. For one, I can't find the corresponding list on the referenced website. For another, if there's an authoritative list there, which the website proprietor surely updates, wouldn't it be better to just link to that instead of reproducing it? We don't have articles on any of the individual cars, and that's unlikely to change. We already have a section discussing museums with ex-Zephyr equipment. The list also takes up a disproportionate amount of space. It might make sense to create and curate a wholly new article called List of California Zephyr rolling stock, which would include all rolling stock 1949-1970. Mackensen (talk) 23:20, 13 October 2013 (UTC)

Update; it's apparently derived from the selections here. The dispositions appear to be word-for-word in some cases, which is both unavoidable and problematic. Mackensen (talk) 23:55, 13 October 2013 (UTC)

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California Zephyr History
You dont know about the predessesor of California Zephyr (Exposition Flyer) — Preceding unsigned comment added by AJ Pachano (talk • contribs) 03:13, 3 October 2017 (UTC)

Kudos to everyone who worked on this entry!
I rarely say this, but copyediting this Wikipedia entry was a pleasure. So a sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to this delightful, informative article. Any editors who have the time/inclination may want to add more in-line citations to bring California Zephyr into compliance with WP guidelines. Otherwise, a fantastic job all-around. Thanks again. Kinkyturnip (talk) 20:32, 1 September 2018 (UTC)

October 31 move
Why did you move the Amtrak information to another article and create California Zephyr (Amtrak train)? I would assume readers are looking for information on the (still-operating) Amtrak train, which started service in 1971, rather than the previous train that ran from 1949 to 1970. It's tough, as this is a case of conflicting guidelines from WP:PRIMARYTOPIC:

Though the California Zephyr article has a lot more detail and information in it and has long-term significance, the Amtrak train is still running today, so it also has long-term significance. The question is what are most readers looking for? –Daybeers (talk) 04:33, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
 * A topic is primary for a term with respect to usage if it is highly likely—much more likely than any other single topic, and more likely than all the other topics combined—to be the topic sought when a reader searches for that term.
 * A topic is primary for a term with respect to long-term significance if it has substantially greater enduring notability and educational value than any other topic associated with that term.
 * I think the CZ article was getting big and the split was probably a good thing. I also agree that the Amtrak iteration is likely to be the primary topic, and I think California Zephyr should lead to the Amtrak iteration. I say give it a day or so and if nobody can justify the WP/D&RG/CB&Q Califoria Zephyr as the primary topic, let's go ahead and swap the primary topic. Dave (talk) 04:39, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Honestly,the reason that I separated the Amtrak train is that there didn't seem to be a good name for the previous train, as it was operated by three railroads. I wouldn't be opposed to California Zephyr (1949–1970), though that's still a bit clunky. There are also a *lot* of internal links to fix regardless, and whatever the end result, would you mind helping check them? Pi.1415926535 (talk) 05:04, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
 * I agree, we should reach consensus on a name before moving. I do like California Zephyr (1949–1970), but you're right that it's a bit clunky. What can I help with the internal links? –Daybeers (talk) 05:42, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
 * I've tried and I can't think of anything better. The best I can do is California Zephyr (original) and California Zephyr (Western Pacific). However to understand the latter one would have to know that is referring to the fact that it is the WP portion of the route that is the primary difference between the two, which someone first reading this article would not likely know. So I think your idea is the best so far. However, if the decision is to keep the original iteration as the primary topic, I would say the current iteration should be California Zephyr (Amtrak), not (Amtrak train). IMHO that's redundant. Dave (talk) 19:43, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
 * The Amtrak train might be the primary topic, I'm unconvinced. Fully support splitting the article; it really is two trains with the same name. The route is different in places, the equipment is different, the ownership is different, and there's a gap of 13 years. Mackensen (talk) 11:09, 31 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Using the infamous (and highly reliable and utterly scientific ;) ) first page of Google hits test yields the following (regardless of weather I use USA, Canada or UK localization : 9 results on the first page, plus 3 YouTube videos. The YouTube Videos are all of the Amtrak iteration. Of the 9 weblinks, number one hit is to Amtrak.com, number 2 is to the Wikipedia article with a blurb that resembles the pre-split state of the article (i.e. Google hasn't figured out the article has been split yet).  Of the 7 remaining, 6 are referring to the Amtrak iteration and mostly trip reviews and media coverage only 1 is of the pre-Amtrak iteration. So despite my sarcasm above, Google seems to imply the Amtrak iteration is the primary topic. Also, the first iteration has ran for 21 years, the Amtrak iteration has run for 35 years and counting.Dave (talk) 19:20, 31 October 2018 (UTC)

I think it makes sense to do a formal RM after agreeing on what this article would be called. I'm completely fine with California Zephyr (1949–1970) as the title for the pre-Amtrak article. Maybe it's clunky, but it's also immediately obvious to most people what train we're talking about. Most people will get to it via navigation or search anyway; no one's typing it out. Using dates as a disambiguator has precedence in other areas. "Original" is odd-looking, and getting the private companies involved just complicated things. Mackensen (talk) 03:01, 3 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Well, this has sat for almost 6 days, and nobody has so far objected to the name California Zephyr (1949–1970). So unless someone objects soon I'll start moving the pages. Dave (talk) 15:03, 5 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Pages moved. There's a LOT of wikilinks to fix, but I'll wait a few days to see if there is any push to move the pages back before I make changes that affect other articles. Dave (talk) 00:06, 6 November 2018 (UTC)

Train Jam
Train Jam took place on this train from 2014 to 2019, with plans to revive it again soon. Considering Train Jam is notable enough to have its own Wikipedia page, I do think it should be mentioned in this page. I didn't add it myself as I wasn't sure whether to put it under history or in its own section or what, so in the interests of not messing up your article I'll let the previous contributors decide. Gave2haze (talk) 15:23, 14 March 2023 (UTC)
 * I would not created a dedicated heading for it, but certainly ok to mention in the article.Dave (talk) 16:16, 14 March 2023 (UTC)

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

title: Talk:California Zephyr


text:
Category:Anti-tank weapons

Anti-tank weapons are designed to target enemy armored vehicles—in particular, tanks—and destroy them.

title: Category:Anti-tank weapons


text:
Talk:Day school

I don't have time to wokr onthis now, but it seems a bit POV - "day schools are better than boarding schools", is pretty much what it says... ugen64 01:22, Sep 28, 2004 (UTC)

Everything i deleted was essentially opinion as mentioned above. I think the sentence is enough explanation and no opinion need be involved, but if you can rewrite it so it sounds less defensive, be my guest. 216.207.246.230 02:32, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
 * for instance "the pervasive importance of day schools in community-building and in societies in fact makes day schools significantly more important and fruitful than any other form of educational institution." can you really pretend that is neutral language?  that assertion would require an external source 216.207.246.230 02:41, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

Day School vs Country Day School
Is there a clear distinction between a "day school" and a "country day school"? They could be referring to the same thing. This entry is so sparse, it may just need to be rolled into the larger article. --Blackbox77 (talk) 01:14, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

 * "A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular school"
 * What is a "regular school"?! Tonto1979 (talk) 10:30, 31 January 2024 (UTC)

I have made changes to content in Day School. I have used references and citations. I have read the rules on editing. Please stop deleting my edits without telling me why. It's one thing to edit the information, it's another to just delete it all together. It seems malicious and not the intent of Wikipedia. (21 November 2021)

title: Talk:Day school


text:
User:Kate

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this user is on an indefinite wikibreak.

title: User:Kate


text:
Pilot boat

A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship got the business. Today, pilot boats are scheduled by telephoning the ship agents/representatives prior to arrival.

History
Pilots and the work functions of the maritime pilot go back to Ancient Greece and Roman times, when incoming ships' captains employed locally experienced harbour captains, mainly local fishermen, to bring their vessels safely into port. Eventually, in light of the need to regulate the act of pilotage and ensure pilots had adequate insurance, the harbours themselves licensed pilots for each harbour.

Although licensed by the harbour to operate within their jurisdiction, pilots were generally self-employed, meaning that they had to have quick transport to get them from the port to the incoming ships. As pilots were often still dual-employed, they used their own fishing boats to reach the incoming vessels. But fishing boats were heavy working boats, and filled with fishing equipment, and so a new type of boat was required.

Early boats were developed from single masted cutters and twin masted yawls, and latterly into the specialist pilot cutter. These were effectively light-weight and over-powered single-masted boats with large, steeply angled keels, making them deep draft under power and shallow draft in lighter sail.

If legend is to be believed, the first official Bristol Channel pilot was barge master George James Ray, appointed by the Corporation of Bristol in May 1497 to pilot John Cabot's Matthew from Bristol harbour to the open sea beyond the Bristol channel. In 1837 Pilot George Ray guided Brunel's SS Great Western, and in 1844 William Ray piloted the larger SS Great Britain on her maiden voyage.

United States
In 1840, there were only eight New York pilot boats. They were the Phantom, No. 1; Washington, No. 2; New York, No. 3; Jacob Bell, No. 4; Blossom, No. 5; T. H. Smith, No. 6; John E. Davidson, No. 7; and the Virginia, No. 8.

In 1860 there were twenty-one New York pilot boats and four under the New Jersey dispensation.

In the spring of 1896, the New York and New Jersey pilots discarded pilot-boats and moved them to the Erie Basin in Brooklyn. They were for sale because of the change from wood and sail to steel and steam pilot boats.

Great Britain
In Great Britain, pilot boats were rigged as schooners in Fleetwood, Swansea and Liverpool. In Liverpool, the Pioneer, No. 6 was built in 1852 and was 53-tons. The clipper George Holt, No. 10 was built in 1892.

India
The Bengal Pilot Service was established by the British East India Company to control piloting. The pilot boats were responsible for guiding East Indiaman, and other vessels, up and down the Hooghly River between Calcutta and the sea.

Some historic pilot boats still sailing

 * Eighteen Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters are believed to survive worldwide
 * German pilot schooner, Elbe, No. 5 was launched in 1883 and had a long history as pilot boat, as private yacht named Wander Bird and later as home to hippies in San Francisco, before returning to Germany and being restored as a traditional sailing boat
 * German pilot schooner Cuxhaven was launched in 1901 and survived as a sailing boat, renamed Atalanta and still active as a traditional sail training ship
 * US motorboat USS California was completed in 1910 and served in World War I on harbor patrol duty
 * US two-masted gaff-rigged schooner Adventuress launched in 1913, saw service as a pilot boat, and during World War II served with the United States Coast Guard
 * US two-masted gaff-rigged schooner Zodiac was built as a racing sailboat in 1924 and named California after being acquired by the San Francisco Bar Pilots Association for use as a pilot boat
 * US schooner Roseway, built in 1925, owned by the Boston Pilot Association for thirty years until 1973, now a registered U.S. National Historic Landmark operating in Boston and St. Croix, USVI by World Ocean School, Camden, Maine
 * US pilot-boat Moses H. Grinnell was built in 1850 and designed by George Steers. It was owned by George W. Blunt. In 1863, the Grinnell was hit by the steamer Union on the outer Middle Ground. The Grinnell was named after Moses H. Grinnell, a successful New York merchant and shipper.

The Zodiac and Adventuress are both listed with the National Register of Historic Places and are now cruising in Washington state after restorations.

Modern pilot boats
Modern pilot boats can be from 7 metres to over 25 metres (7-25 m) in length, built to withstand heavy seas and bumping against 100,000 ton tanker and cruise ships. They are high-powered and hence both very quick and durable purpose-built boats. They are normally painted a highly visible colour such as orange, red or yellow.

In terms of design, monohull hullforms are most commonly used, though examples of catamarans, SWATHs and Wave Piercing Hulls also exist. Although some pilot boats are still constructed from steel, the need to travel quickly means lighter weight materials such as aluminium, fibreglass and composites are now commonly used. In some instances, such as the Berkeley Class vessels produced in Australia, a combination of materials is used.

Signalling
Pilots identified pilot boats with a large number on the mainsail and by flying a large pilot flag, bisected vertically into two colours, usually white and blue, which added to the boat's visibility. In distress, they would fire rockets and blue-lights at night. A brass signal gun was carried to be used when there was fog and sometimes on fair days.

Pilot boats are specially marked to indicate their function. During the day they fly the "H" flag and normally the word PILOT (or PILOTS) is written in clearly visible, large, letters on the sides.

At night they have special navigation lights: in addition to the "normal" navigation lights, a pilot boat has a white round light at top and below that a red round light, while a fishing vessel has the red light at top and the white light below.

To remember this, some people use the mnemonic "white cap, red nose" to reflect the idea that pilots consumed a lot of alcohol while waiting for ships, thus the white captain's cap with a red nose below it.

Pilot boats often also use bright colours, like flashy yellow, to make them clearly visible and distinctive in even the worst conditions. This last mainly applies to the so-called pilot tenders: the vessels that go to the ships to bring the pilot on board of arriving ships or pick them up from departing ships. Depending on the local situation the tenders might be launched directly from a nearby harbour or they are coming from the central (large) pilot station: a pilot boat located at a pre-defined location at sea near a pilotage area. In earlier days nearly all pilots came from a "pilot station" at sea, but with the modern very fast tenders it is often more practical not to have a permanently manned pilot station at sea, but transfer the pilots directly to/from shore.

title: Pilot boat


text:
2003 AMF Futsal Men's World Cup

The 2003 AMF Futsal Men's World Cup was the 8th edition of the AMF Futsal World Cup. It was held in Paraguay from 21 to 29 November 2003. Twenty teams were involved, with the host nation eventually emerging as champions.

The matches were played in Asunción, Pedro Juan Caballero, Concepción, Minga Guazú and Encarnación.

Group A
(played in Asunción)

Group B
(played in Pedro Juan Caballero)

Group C
(played in Concepción)

Group D
(played in Minga Guazú)

Group E
(played in Encarnación)

Second round
(played in Asunción & Encarnación)

Third round
(played in Encarnación)

title: 2003 AMF Futsal Men's World Cup


text: Template:Laboratory equipment

title: Template:Laboratory equipment


text:
User talk:JeanLukPikkrd

Palpatine's first name is not Dantius. I'm not going to consider this vandalism, as I beileve you mean well, but it's just not true. If you can find somewhere on the offical website that it says Palpatine's first name is Dantius, I'll revert the page and apolgize.

Hi there. Welcome to Wikipedia!

I've just received an email through wikimail from you: ''Could you add totals of troops/droids to the Battle of Geonosis for comparison? Or allow me to do it? Thanx.''

If you want to add information to an article, you are welcome to do that yourself. You do not need anyone else to "allow" you to do it. If you need editing help, visit How does one edit a page. For format questions, visit our manual of style. You can use the Show preview button before you save a page, to make sure your edits do what you intended.

If you have any other questions about the project then check out Help or add a question to the Village pump. You are also welcome to leave your questions on my talk page, although while I like Star Wars, I do not know enough on the subject to make my contributions encyclopedia-worthy and I do not possess sufficient information to update existing articles.

Happy editing, --Ëzhiki (erinaceus europeaus) 04:40, Oct 2, 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:JeanLukPikkrd


text:
Stuckey's

Stuckey's is a convenience store in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwestern United States. It is known for its pecan log rolls and kitschy souvenirs. Additionally, Stuckey's sells candy, apparel, souvenirs, and other products online.

Stuckey's Corporation is headquartered in Eastman, Georgia, and in 2021, purchased a pecan processing and candy making plant in Wrens, Georgia. The current CEO of Stuckey's is Stephanie Stuckey, granddaughter of the brand's founder W.S. Stuckey Sr.

Early days
In the 1930s, with a Model A Ford coupe borrowed from a friend and $35 borrowed from his grandmother, W.S. Stuckey Sr., drove around the Eastman, Georgia countryside buying pecans from local farmers and selling them to pecan processors. Stuckey made over $4,500 his first year in the pecan business.

By 1937, Stuckey was selling over $150,000 worth of pecans a year that he bought himself and sold to local processors. That same year, he opened a roadside stand along Highway 23 in Eastman selling pecans, sugar cane juice, syrup, homemade quilts, and “all you can drink for five-cents” cherry cider.

Business increased after Stuckey's wife Ethel began making pecan pralines, after she came up with a recipe for pecan log rolls and added a secret ingredient, (maraschino cherries), to the mix. Business improved enough that Stuckey built his own store in Eastman, opening another store in Unadilla, Georgia soon after. Another soon followed in Hilliard, Florida with each Stuckey’s making their own candy on site.

Stuckey’s franchise expansion was slowed by World War II when Stuckey was forced to close his Unadilla branch. During the war, Stuckey managed to stay afloat after buying a candy making factory in Jacksonville, Florida and securing government contracts making candy for the troops.

After the war ended, Stuckey's business once again began to grow as it opened a number of new franchises. The company then constructed its own candy factory in Eastman to supply an eventual 350-plus Stuckey's stores located throughout the continental US. As the post-war baby boom flourished and families undertook more long-distance auto travel, Stuckey's continued to grow along major highways.

Downfall, then rise
In the early 1960s, with over 368 stores across the country now filled with candy, novelty toys, and kitschy souvenirs, the franchise seemed to become something bigger than one man alone could handle. As a result, Stuckey sold his franchise to Pet, Inc., maker of Pet Milk.

W.S. Stuckey Sr. died in 1977, the same year that Illinois Central Industries, a Chicago conglomerate, bought Pet Milk Co., and they began to close Stuckey’s stores across the country. By the end of the decade, only 75 original Stuckey’s stores remained.

In 1984, W.S. “Billy” Stuckey, Jr., son of the founder, repurchased Stuckey’s and began to turn the company around. Billy had a new idea for the company – Stuckey’s Express, a store-within-a-store concept that resulted in over 165 licensed Stuckey’s Express stores in 17 states.

Stuckey’s “comeback” really began taking off, however, after W.S. Stuckey Sr.’s granddaughter, Ethel “Stephanie” Stuckey took her life’s savings, bought the company from her father and became its CEO in November 2019.

In August 2020, Stuckey’s acquired Front Porch Pecans, a pecan snack company that sells to domestic and foreign markets, including grocery channels in the Southeast U.S. With this merger, Stuckey’s gained management support and co-owner, R.G. Lamar, who was named as new President to run Stuckey’s with Stephanie.

In January 2021, Stephanie and R.G. acquired Atwell Pecans, The Orchards Gourmet, and Thames corporations to add candy making, pecan processing, and fundraising businesses to the company’s portfolio. In this same year, Ted Wright invested in the company becoming the third co-owner. Ted is also the CEO of a word of mouth marketing and growth strategy company called Fizz and focuses on the marketing of all things Stuckey's.

Today, Stuckey’s has 65 licensed locations, a distribution center based in Eastman, a pecan and candy plant to make their own Stuckey’s products, an active online business, and some 200 retailers that sell Stuckey’s pecan snacks and candies in over 5,000 outlets. With fresh leadership, new acquisitions, and increased market share for Georgia’s homegrown nut, the pecan, Stuckey’s is on the rebound.

title: Stuckey's


text:
User talk:Vt-aoe

Nomination of Old Hokie for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Old Hokie is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The article will be discussed at Articles for deletion/Old Hokie until a consensus is reached, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on good quality evidence, and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion template from the top of the article.  P G Pirate  22:50, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Virginia Tech Project Invite
Go Hokies (talk) 00:24, 17 November 2015 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 08:53, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Vt-aoe


text:
Category:Packard vehicles

__NOGALLERY__

title: Category:Packard vehicles


text:
Peter Vallone Sr.

Peter Fortunate Vallone Sr. (born December 13, 1934) is an American politician.

Background
His father, Judge Charles J. Vallone (1901–1967) of the Queens County Civil Court, encouraged young Peter to broaden his horizons beyond the limited social interactions with other ethnic and religious groups that were discouraged in the pre-Vatican II era. His mother, Leah Palmigiano Vallone, was a teacher and a Democratic State Committeewoman. With his wife, Tena, he has three children (Peter Jr., Paul, and Perry) and eight grandchildren.

Education
He attended Fordham University, where he received his BSS (1956) and his LLB (1959).

Political career
A former Democratic New York City Councilman who represented Astoria, Queens, from 1974 to 2001, he was the second most powerful official in New York City's government after the mayor, when he became the city's first Speaker of the City Council in 1986. He held that position until Gifford Miller took over in 2002.

Vallone drafted changes to the City Charter in 1989 that he claimed allowed the Council more say on the budget.

He was an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1998 as the Democratic nominee receiving in total 1,570,317 votes or 33.16% of the electorate. Vallone was also notably the first ever candidate endorsed by the Working Families Party, with the party receiving 51,325 votes for Vallone via fusion voting. Vallone also ran for mayor in 2001, placing third in the Democratic primary.

Later career
Vallone currently teaches political science at Baruch College and his autobiography, Learning to Govern: My Life in New York Politics, From Hell Gate to City Hall, described his years in government. He practices law in Astoria with his son, Peter Vallone Jr., who succeeded him in the City Council in 2002. After he retired from politics, Peter Vallone Sr. founded a lobbying firm with a partner, Constantinople and Vallone

In 2005, Vallone endorsed Republican Michael Bloomberg for Mayor of New York City. In 2009, he endorsed a former rival in the mayoral race, Mark Green, who attempted to win back the job of Public Advocate.

title: Peter Vallone Sr.


text: Category:Packard

title: Category:Packard


text:
User:Sahara~enwiki

I'm only starting to get used to this, but it seems like an interesting project.

I don't know what to say, so...umm...yeah.

My main interest is politics (mainly American and British, but a few other places as well). There's so much done already - (I mean, there's already articles on almost all of the mayors of Chicago!) - it's hard to find places that need my help.

I've made contributions to the following articles:

 * Eugene Sawyer
 * Patrick Dalzel-Job

title: User:Sahara~enwiki


text:
Talk:Joss Stone

Russell Brand
Should the reporting of Russell Brand’s 2007 spat with Joss Stone be revisited in light of current revelations? I have always regarded his remarks as misogynistic and recent events reinforce this view. EcclesMan (talk) 21:32, 16 September 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Joss Stone


text: Category:Convenience stores

title: Category:Convenience stores


text:
File:Manufacturing Consent movie poster.jpg

Summary
Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media movie poster, deemed fair use.


text:
Talk:Abu Bakr

"Brigades of Abu Bakr Al-Sidiq" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brigades_of_Abu_Bakr_Al-Sidiq&redirect=no Brigades of Abu Bakr Al-Sidiq] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Edward-Woodrow :) [ talk ] 15:25, 4 September 2023 (UTC)

Abu Bakr was not monotheistic
Source needs to be cited on claim he was monotheistic before converting. All known historical claims have been that he worshipped idols and then converted to Islam. 47.155.249.154 (talk) 03:52, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 7 February 2024
Change “Muslim view” subheading within the Assessments and Legacy section to “Sunni view”. 162.154.227.115 (talk) 02:50, 7 February 2024 (UTC) — Urro[ talk ] [ edits ] 14:21, 7 February 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 30 April 2024
The name 'Abu Fuhayra' is not appropriate in the list of eight freed slaves by Hazrat Abu Bakr (Ra.). It should be 'Amir ibn Fuhayra' instead of 'Abu Fuhayra'. Arabic names should be handled and written correctly to prevent any confusion.

Thanks. Farhan Akter Arnab (talk) 15:04, 30 April 2024 (UTC)
 * ✅ Charliehdb (talk) 10:18, 1 May 2024 (UTC)

Abu Bakr's birth name
Which is the birth name of Abu Bakr, Abd Allah or Abd Al Ka'bah? MahmoudAbbasAlDilfti (talk) 00:49, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Abu Bakr


text:
Lawson

Lawson may refer to:

Australia

 * Lawson, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
 * Lawson, New South Wales, a town in the Blue Mountains

Canada

 * Lawson, Saskatchewan
 * Lawson Island, Nunavut

United States

 * Lawson, Arkansas
 * Lawson, Colorado
 * Lawson, Missouri
 * Lawson, Mesquite, Texas
 * Balmoral, Wisconsin, previously known as Lawson

Music

 * Lawson (band), a British pop rock band
 * Lawson (EP), a 2015 EP by the band
 * Lawson (album), a 2005 album by John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew

Aircraft

 * Lawson Airplane Company-Continental Faience and Tile Company, a historic demolished factory complex in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
 * Lawson L-2, a 1920s biplane airliner
 * Lawson L-4, a 1920 biplane airliner designed for long-distance flights

Ships

 * HMS Lawson, an American-built British Royal Navy frigate 1943–1946
 * Thomas W. Lawson (ship), a seven-masted, steel-hulled schooner built in 1902 and destroyed 1907

Other uses

 * Lawson (Breaking Bad), a fictional character in the TV series Breaking Bad
 * Lawson (name), people with the surname or given name
 * Lawson (store), a convenience store chain headquartered in Japan
 * Lawson Arena, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, US
 * Lawson criterion, a figure of merit in nuclear fusion research
 * Lawson Software, a company acquired by Infor

title: Lawson


text:
Category talk:Pantheists

It looks like Paul Vogel snuck in his version of the cosmotheism article here, and no one noticed. Shouldn't what is below be removed? I don't think that this is appropriate for "Category Talk:Pantheism" --Nat 02:23, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

 * Vogel is hard-banned, so yeah, anything he writes may be removed by anyone. —No-One Jones 02:24, 9 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Criteria for inclusion
I tagged the category with cleancat and clarify as requiring inclusion criteria. The article Pantheism does not really help when deciding whether a person is a member or not, because it appears to cover a range from atheism to theism. What might be usable improvements for this category? I have posted short notices at Talk:List of pantheists and Talk:Pantheism. Does anyone have better ideas? -84user (talk) 15:51, 15 October 2009 (UTC)
 * inclusion criteria to require a reliable source stating that subject X is a naturalistic pantheist?
 * split category into three (each with stated criteria as above): Classical pantheists, Biblical pantheists and Naturalistic pantheists?
 * abandon category as being too difficult to reliably assign members, and/or merge to List of pantheists where each member's beliefs can be sourced and qualified?

 * The above issue no longer applies as the article - which previously was highly inaccurate, sabotaged with OR and POV - has now been radically edited for accuracy and neutrality. A Pantheist is someone for whom the Universe is the only "God" - this is clearly the case for Hawking (see below) and Einstein (who accepted "Spinoza's God". --Naturalistic (talk) 23:54, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

I'm not sure the Pantheism types as found on the pantheism article are appropriate. For example biblical pantheism, if it actually ever existed, has no internet presence at all. The few things I could find were basically christians saying the (very few) bits in the bible that could be mistaken as pantheism are in fact god's omniscience, which isn't pantheism. The only form of pantheism that seems to survive today is scientific (naturalistic?) pantheism. Classical pantheism shouldn't have been merged with that article, it created a big mess. Naturalistic  ✉  23:13, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

Also, I'd like to keep only people who identified themselves as pantheists. I'm not sure that Hawking claims to be pantheist in saying he believes in god "if by God is meant the embodiment of the laws of the universe.", and the same could probably go for Einstein. I mean, I believe in god too, if by god is meant Jimi Hendrix... I wouldn't like being categorized by other people (especially after my death) when all I do is appreciate good music. Naturalistic  ✉  23:22, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

 * Classifying people as pantheists even if they did not/do not use the term is very similar to classifying people as pacifists, socialists etc who did not use those terms. A Pantheist is someone with Pantheistic beliefs, which means the Universe/Nature is their only God or "God." Such people existed before 1710, when "pantheistic" was first defined. Such people existed and exist after that word was invented, even though they did not/do not use the term. Naturalistic   ✉  19:20, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

title: Category talk:Pantheists


text:
User talk:Sahara~enwiki

Rex listed you on the vandalism in progress page for Stolen Honor. This hasn't been the first time he's pulled this crap, and he's been warned before not to use ViP for content disputes, but Rex is the type of person who ignores the rules when it suits him. Just thought I'd give you a heads up. 01:49, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Don't let Rex get you down...
... and don't let him drag you down to his level, either. That's just my advice, but keep in mind that Rex is not representative of the average Wikipedian. And the average Wikipedian is very sick of him and his antics. He'll do everything he can to try and rattle you: he'll lie to you, he'll make empty threats to call RfAs on you, he'll call you a sockpuppet and a vandal -- but see, everything he does is logged in the edit history. If you don't get lured into doing it back to him, then anyone looking at the edit history can see clearly that all the bad faith has been from him. That's my strategy, anyways.

Good luck! -- Antaeus Feldspar 02:55, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Arbitration proceeding: User Rex071404 3
I've begun an arbitration proceeding based in part on Rex's attacks on you. See Requests for arbitration. The next step is for the Arbitration Committee to vote on whether to accept it. The Arbitration Committee has wide powers to deal with problem users. You can read more about the procedure at Arbitration policy. You don't need to do anything; I'm just letting you know for information. If the ArbCom accepts the case, you or anyone else can add evidence, but I think I've covered it pretty thoroughly already.

As the others have said to you, don't let Rex discourage you from participating here! JamesMLane 06:55, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)

 * My answer to JamesMLane's most recent attempt at advancing his admitted agenda of getting me hard banned can be read here . [[User:Rex071404|Rex071404 [[Image:Happyjoe.jpg]] ]] 16:23, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Your account will be renamed
Hello,

The developer team at Wikimedia is making some changes to how accounts work, as part of our on-going efforts to provide new and better tools for our users like cross-wiki notifications. These changes will mean you have the same account name everywhere. This will let us give you new features that will help you edit and discuss better, and allow more flexible user permissions for tools. One of the side-effects of this is that user accounts will now have to be unique across all 900 Wikimedia wikis. See the announcement for more information.

Unfortunately, your account clashes with another account also called Sahara. To make sure that both of you can use all Wikimedia projects in future, we have reserved the name Sahara~enwiki that only you will have. If you like it, you don't have to do anything. If you do not like it, you can pick out a different name. If you think you might own all of the accounts with this name and this message is in error, please visit Special:MergeAccount to check and attach all of your accounts to prevent them from being renamed.

Your account will still work as before, and you will be credited for all your edits made so far, but you will have to use the new account name when you log in.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Yours, Keegan Peterzell Community Liaison, Wikimedia Foundation 02:32, 20 March 2015 (UTC)

Renamed
 This account has been renamed as part of single-user login finalisation. If you own this account you can |log in using your previous username and password for more information. If you do not like this account's new name, you can choose your own using this form after logging in: . -- Keegan (WMF) (talk) 18:24, 22 April 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Sahara~enwiki


text:
List of rock formations in Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a country in south-eastern Europe situated in the north-eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The country has a great variety of topographical features and diverse landscape ranging from the Alpine snow-capped peaks in Rila, Pirin and the Balkan Mountains to the mild and sunny Black Sea coast; from the typically continental Danubian Plain in the north to the strong Mediterranean climatic influence in the valleys of Macedonia and the lowlands in the southernmost parts of Thrace. The diverse morphological, climatic and hydrological conditions of Bulgaria favour the formation of a large number of geological features.

Partial list of rock formations in Bulgaria
{{legend|#CFECEC|Sites included in the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}}

title: List of rock formations in Bulgaria


text:
Spar (retailer)

SPAR, originally "DESPAR", styled as "DE SPAR", is a Dutch multinational franchise that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, and consists of 13,996 stores in 48 countries. Its headquarters are in Amsterdam. The company operates a partnership programme and has a presence in most European countries, as well as many others throughout Asia, Africa and Oceania.

In fiscal year 2022, SPAR earned €43.5 billion in global sales, which represented a 5.6 percent increase over the previous year.

Etymology
The name was originally DESPAR, an acronym of the Dutch phrase Door Eendrachtig Samenwerken Profiteren Allen Regelmatig ("Through united co-operation everyone profits equally "), which was used by Van Well to describe the brand. The acronym was chosen to resonate with the verb, which (related to English spare) means "save [money]" in Dutch and some other languages, among them German and Scandinavian languages (with variants such as spara or spare). Spar is Dutch for "spruce tree", after which the logo was chosen. As the organisation expanded across Europe, the name was abbreviated by dropping the DE prefix.

There are some international naming variants:
 * In Hungary, 17 stores owned by SPAR located at Orlen (former Lukoil) filling stations operate under the name DESPAR. However, there are also many SPAR and INTERSPAR locations.
 * In Italy, the name is still DESPAR, though in keeping with the international branding, the SPAR section of the logo is highlighted, and the larger shops are still called EuroSPAR and InterSPAR.
 * In Austria, DESPAR is SPAR's Italian food product range. There are also INTERSPAR locations within Austria.
 * In Croatia, SPAR and INTERSPAR locations run concurrently.
 * In Arabia, the Latin letters SPAR are displayed next to the Arabic سبار (sbār).
 * In Iran, it is called اسپار (Aspar).
 * In China, it is known as 斯巴超市 (Sībā chāoshì, "Siba supermarket").
 * In Ireland, Northern Ireland, Russia and Switzerland both the SPAR and EUROSPAR names are used, with EUROSPAR being used mostly for larger supermarket sized stores and SPAR for smaller convenience stores.
 * In Slovenia both SPAR and INTERSPAR are used, with INTERSPAR being used for a larger supermarket sized stores and SPAR for smaller convenience stores

20th century
Spar was founded in 1932 in Zegwaart, Netherlands. In 1953, an International Spar office opened in Amsterdam to manage international expansion. Spar shops can be found in Europe, Australia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Cameroon, China, and India. Spar opened in Vanuatu on 1 December 2009, ending Au Bon Marché's grocery monopoly.

A Spar shop may be owned independently, by a franchise, or be part of a chain, depending on the model applied in any given country. The owners of the parent company vary from country to country and may include the shop owners themselves. The name and the current logo was most recently revised in 1968 by Raymond Loewy and has since remained unchanged.

In the United Kingdom, Spar was founded in 1959 and may be a supermarket or a convenience shop. In 1997, Spar was introduced to most United Kingdom military bases by the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (Naafi), where it sells a variety of civilian and military products. In Ireland and Northern Ireland, the Spar brand is known for neighbourhood shops and also the subformat Eurospar acting as mini-supermarkets.

Since 1996, the company has been a major sponsor of the European Athletic Association and its events.

Spar stores in the Netherlands are members of Superunie, an inventory purchasing organisation for a number of otherwise unaffiliated supermarket brands.

In 1988, SPAR South Africa became a wholly owned subsidiary of Tiger Brands, a holding company with a large diversified portfolio. It was unbundled and listed as a separate company in 2004.

21st century
In July 2014, SPAR South Africa opened its first supermarket in Angola but no expansion of the brand is planned for this market. Since 2021, the group has 100% of BWG Foods, which had outlets in Ireland and southern Britain.

In 2015, Ahold acquired all 35 hypermarkets and 14 supermarkets from Spar Czechia for more than 5.2 billion Czech koruna. and converted them into Albert super- and hypermarkets. However, it had to divest itself of some shops in order not to have a monopoly.

The first SPAR shop in Oman was inaugurated in January 2015, in Muscat. Spar Oman had plans to open more shops over time as part of its expansion plans in Oman. Spar opened its first store in Qatar in 2017, with the second store opening in 2018. A further two stores were planned to open in 2018, but it got cancelled.

SPAR opened in Saudi Arabia in 2017, sublicensed to Al-Sadhan Group opening its first stores in Riyadh.

In 2017, Ceylon Biscuits Limited in Sri Lanka acquired a license to operate the Spar brand in Sri Lanka as Spar Lanka. This is a joint venture of Ceylon Biscuits Limited and SPAR South Africa. They opened the first store in Thalawathugoda, Colombo. The plan is to open 50 outlets in the country by 2023.

In 2020, there were more than 13,500 SPAR stores in 48 countries.

In 2022, SPAR International entered the Kazakhstan retail market.

In 2022, Israeli supermarket chain Shufersal announced plans to open SPAR stores in Israel; with 10 stores to be opened in the first three years of operation. Also in 2022, SPAR entered Latvia where by 2023 it opened 23 stores. A first Israeli Spar store was opened in 2024.

Shop types
In most, but not all countries, SPAR operates shops of different types and sub-brands: SPAR Express, SPAR Neighbourhood, EuroSPAR and InterSPAR.

EuroSPAR/SuperSPAR
The EuroSPAR name is used in Europe and SuperSPAR in South Africa. These are mid-sized supermarkets, designed to fit in a niche between convenience shops and traditional supermarkets.

InterSPAR
These are hypermarkets and compete directly against major international chains such as Real, Carrefour, and Tesco.

KwikSPAR
KwikSPAR, only found in South Africa, is a smaller quick stop shop for convenience, larger than the conventional SPAR Express and smaller than the normal SPAR. These stores tend to have extended trading hours, some operating as 24-hour convenience stores.

HOT SPAR
HOT SPAR was a brand of convenience stores licensed to franchisees in Japan.

SPAR Express
This is the smallest type of shop. They are designed for small sites and filling station forecourts, airports and train stations.

SPAR Drive-Thru
There was a drive-through SPAR on the Cliftonville Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This has now been converted to a Centra shop, and retained the drive-through for a while afterwards, but now no longer has one.

SPAR Gourmet
The Austrian Spar Group has around 50 supermarkets branded SPAR Gourmet, mainly in and around Vienna. They are smaller supermarkets that specialize in foods, with a reduced range of other household goods. They originate from the acquisition of retail units from the Julius Meinl coffee and tea chain in 2000.

International statistics (2021)

 * 48 countries
 * 255 distribution centres
 * 13,623 stores
 * €41.2 billion total sales
 * 410,000 SPAR colleagues
 * 7.5 million m2 retail sales area
 * 14.5 million customers per day

Controversies
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on February 24, many international, particularly Western, companies pulled out of Russia. Unlike most of its Western competitors, Spar has been slow to announce any disinvestments or scaling back of its operations in Russia, drawing criticism. Ukrainian government officials called for a global boycott of the company.

title: Spar (retailer)