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USS Omaha (CL-4)

USS Omaha (CL-4) was the lead ship of the Omaha-class cruiser light cruiser of the United States Navy. She was originally classified as a scout cruiser. She was the second US Navy ship named for the city of Omaha, Nebraska, the first being USS Omaha (1869), a screw sloop launched in 1869.

Omaha spent most of her career in the Pacific. At this time her primary mission was training, and she proved to be very capable by consistently winning fleet awards in gunnery and communications. She made many ports-of-call throughout the Pacific, Mediterranean and Caribbean during her peacetime cruises, displaying the Stars and Stripes. In 1941, prior to the US entering the war, she was assigned to Neutrality Patrol in the Atlantic, based in Recife, Brazil. Nearly a month before the US entered the war she captured the German blockade runner SS Odenwald, for which her crew won an award in salvage from a federal court sitting as a court of admiralty.

After the US entered the war she continued her activities of guarding convoys in the Atlantic between South America and Western Africa. During this time she sank two German blockade runners and was responsible for rescuing many crewmen whose ships had been sunk by Axis submarines and merchant raiders. In 1944, she sailed for the Mediterranean to support Operation Dragoon, the invasion of the south of France. After the war she was quickly deemed surplus and scrapped at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in February 1946.

Construction and design

Omaha's keel was laid down by the Todd Dry Dock and Construction Company of Tacoma, Washington, on 6 December 1918. She was launched on 14 December 1920. Omaha was sponsored by Louise Bushnell White, a descendant of David Bushnell, the inventor of the first documented submarine to be used in combat, Turtle. She was commissioned on 24 February 1923, with Captain David C. Hanrahan in command.

Omaha was 550 ft long at the waterline with an overall length of 555 ft, her beam was 55 ft and a mean draft of 14 ft. Her standard displacement was 7050 LT and 9508 LT at full load. Her crew during peacetime consisted of 29 officers and 429 enlisted men.

Omaha was powered by four Westinghouse geared steam turbines, each driving one screw, using steam generated by 12 Yarrow boilers. The engines were designed to produce 90000 ihp and reach a top speed of 35 kn. Though the ship's design was intended to provide a range of 10000 nmi at a speed of 10 kn, she only delivered 8460 nmi at that speed.

Omaha's main armament went through many changes while she was being designed. Originally she was to mount ten 6 in/53 caliber guns; two on either side at the waist, with the remaining eight mounted in tiered casemates on either side of the fore and aft superstructures. After the United States entry into World War I the US Navy worked alongside the Royal Navy and it was decided to mount four 6-inch/53 caliber guns in two twin gun turrets fore and aft and keep the eight guns in the tiered casemates so that she would have an eight gun broadside and, due to limited arcs of fire from the casemate guns, four to six guns firing fore or aft. Her secondary armament consisted of two 3 in/50 caliber anti-aircraft (AA) guns in single mounts. She carried two triple and two twin, above-water, torpedo tube mounts for 21 in torpedoes. The triple mounts were fitted on either side of the upper deck, aft of the midships catapults, and the twin mounts were one deck lower on either side, covered by hatches in the side of the hull. Omaha was also built with the capacity to carry 224 mines.

The ship lacked a full-length waterline armor belt. The sides of her boiler and engine rooms and steering gear were protected by 3 in of armor. The transverse bulkheads at the end of her machinery rooms were 1+1/2 in thick forward and three inches thick aft. The conning tower and the deck over the machinery spaces and steering gear had one and a half inches of armor. The gun turrets were not armored and only provided protection against muzzle blast and splinter damage.

Omaha carried two floatplanes aboard that were stored on the two catapults. Initially these were Vought VE-9s, then Vought UO-1s, the ship then operated Curtiss SOC Seagulls from 1935, and Vought OS2U Kingfishers after 1940.

Armament changes

During her career Omaha went through several armament changes. Some of these changes were to save weight, while others were to increase her AA armament. On 8 September 1926, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Edward W. Eberle, along with the Commanders in Chief of the United States Fleet and Battle Fleet, and their subordinate commanding officers, the Secretary of the Navy, Curtis D. Wilbur, ordered that all mines and the tracks for laying the mines be removed from all of the Omaha-class cruisers, the working conditions had been found to be very "wet". In December 1933, while she was undergoing overhaul at Bremerton, her 3-inch AA guns were increased from two to eight, all mounted in the ship's waist. The lower torpedo tube mounts, which had also proved to be very wet, were removed and the openings plated over before the start of World War II. After 1940, the lower aft 6-inch guns were removed and the casemates plated over for the same reason as the lower torpedo mounts. The ship's AA armament was first augmented by three quadruple 1.1 in/75 gun mounts by early 1942, however, these didn't prove reliable and were replaced by twin 40 mm Bofors guns later in the war. At about the same time, she also received 14 20 mm Oerlikon cannons.

Inter-war period

Omaha spent most of August 1923, near Puget Sound where she conducted her sea trials. On 6 October, she proceeded to Puget Sound Navy Yard to have her aircraft catapults installed. She then sailed for Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, on 17 October, where she loaded ammunition for target practice. At the end of November and into early December 1923, Omaha conducted "Short Range Battle Practice" with the battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41) before joining the Battle Fleet on 8 December.

Not satisfied with USS Melville (AD-2)'s suitability as a flagship, Rear Admiral Sumner E. W. Kittelle, Commander Destroyer Squadrons, sought a replacement. Omaha was chosen by RADM Kittelle and reported at San Diego, California, 27 December 1923. She only held the post until 14 March 1924.

Omaha fell into a routine of operations along the Pacific coast, Central America, and exercises in the Caribbean, with occasional trips to Pearl Harbor. In 1925, she visited Australia and New Zealand, and in 1930, she embarked member of the American Samoa Commission for their Congressional investigation of conditions at Pago Pago. In 1931, she sailed for the Caribbean where she joined in exercises from the end of March until early May. She then transferred to the Atlantic, where she participated in joint maneuvers with the US Army in Hampton Roads, at the end of May. From there she continued in maneuvers at Newport, Hampton Roads, and the Southern Drill Ground. Omaha sailed into the Boston Navy Yard at the end of October, where she remained until January when she set sail for her return to the Pacific.

Once again Omaha fell into her routine of steaming along the western coast until July 1937. In addition she returned to Panama several times for exercises and fleet problems, operated in Hawaiian waters and around the Aleutian Islands.

Grounding in the Bahamas

In July 1937, Omaha was serving as flagship of the Special Service Squadron when she was relieved by the year old gunboat USS Erie (PG-50). On 19 July, Omaha became grounded on a reef at Castle Island, Bahamas, near 22.12642°N, -74.32833°W. During the investigation it was stated that, "'she quickly and evenly decelerated as the bottom engaged the smooth reef.'" The grounding had occurred during high tide, which made dislodging the cruiser more difficult. After removing as much as possible in an attempt to lighten the ship the salvagers employed tugs to pull on Omaha while destroyers circled around them to create waves. After ten days of attempts, on 29 July, Omaha was finally floated free. She got underway the following day for the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, where she underwent repairs. A general court martial, held on 11 October 1937, found that Captain Howard B. Mecleary, Omaha's commanding officer at the time of the grounding, was guilty of negligence "resulting in the stranding of the vessel", he was sentenced to the loss of 25 numbers on the captain's list. On 14 February 1938, Omaha got underway after having the damage to her hull repaired, with Captain Wallace L. Lind, as her new commanding officer. She conducted sea trials while en route to Guantánamo.

Germany invades Poland
Omaha set sail for Gibraltar on 30 March 1938, for service in the Mediterranean Sea. Arriving in Marseille, France, 27 April 1938, she would remain in the Mediterranean for over a year, until 2 May 1939. She visited Villefranche-sur-Mer, and Menton, France, during her time before departing from Malta, for her return to the US and an extensive overhaul from 17 June until October 1939. It was during this time that, on 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting what would become World War II.

Omaha operated in the Caribbean after her overhaul conducting gunnery and tactical exercise from the end of October until 6 December 1939, when she arrived at Havana. She had been tasked with the duty of transporting the body of J. Butler Wright, the US Ambassador to Cuba, who had died 4 December, to Washington, D.C. Upon completion, Omaha reported to Naval Operating Base (NOB), staying there until 1 April 1940.

On 1 April 1940, set sail for the Philadelphia Navy Yard before getting underway for the Caribbean. She entered San Juan, Puerto Rico, then proceeded to Guantánamo and Havana, before returning again to Philadelphia, 5 May. On 28 May, Omaha would return to Norfolk, before leaving on 22 June, for Lisbon, Portugal, and her new assignment as flagship of the temporary Squadron 40-T, which had been formed to protect US civilians and interests in Spain, during the Spanish Civil War.

Omaha was to relieve her sister ship USS Trenton (CL-11) in Lisbon. As Trenton, returning to the US, and Omaha passed each other upon her arrival the two crews cheered and waved. Omahas band played "Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" while Trentons musicians responded with "Empty Saddles (in the Old Corral)". Omaha remained near Lisbon, during her service as flagship, until early October 1940, when the squadron was disbanded. On 3 October, she set sail for her return to the US. Omaha visited Monrovia, Liberia, on 10 October. During her stay the necessary conditions for modern military training and equipment for the Liberian Frontier Force were set aboard Omaha at a meeting of the US admiral David McDougal LeBreton with the Liberian Secretary Clarence Simpson. Her final stop was Pernambuco, Brazil, on 14 October, before making way for NOB the next day, where she arrived 23 October, and remained through 7 November.

From November 1940 until February 1941, Omaha was again in the Caribbean for more tactical and gunnery exercises. In February 1941, she entered the New York Navy Yard for overhaul and the installation of a radar system, her first.

Omaha got underway 28 April 1941, but engine trouble soon developed and she was forced to return to Brooklyn, for repairs to her No. 4 turbine until 25 June.

Task Force (TF) 3, which was at the time commanded by RADM Jonas H. Ingram, had initiated patrol operations out of the ports of Recife and Bahia, Brazil, on 15 June 1941. Omaha, along with three of her sisters, were among the resources that were available for Ingram's Southern Atlantic operations, along with five destroyers. On 30 June, with the propulsion and engineering issues having been resolved, Omaha steamed out of Brooklyn, to begin her Neutrality Patrols between Brazil and Ascension Island, which was part of the British Overseas Territories at the time. Omaha was tasked with enforcing a blockade against Germany by intercepting, boarding, and inspecting vessels that may have been German merchants or agents conducting trade in the region. In addition, she also tasked with escorting and protecting the convoys using the shipping lanes between South American port and the ports in Western Africa, from Axis U-boats and merchant raiders. She visited Montevideo, Uruguay, in addition to Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and although not at war during this time she still operated under war conditions.

Search for blockade runners
On 4 November 1941, with the report from the British oiler RFA Olwen that a German surface raider had attacked her at 3.06667°N, -22.7°W, Vice Admiral Algernon Willis, RN, Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic, ordered his heavy cruiser HMS Dorsetshire (40), along with the armed merchant cruiser HMS Canton (F97), to search for the raider. The light cruiser HMS Dunedin and the special service vessels HMS Queen Emma and HMS Princess Beatrix were additionally ordered to assist in the search and departed from Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Dorsetshire and Canton separated, with Dorsetshire steaming southeast and Canton setting an opposite course. Omaha and the destroyer USS Somers (DD-381), TG 3.6, which were positioned far northwest of the stated siting at that time, were tasked with supporting the Royal Navy ships. USS Memphis (CL-13) and the destroyers USS Davis (DD-395) and USS Jouett (DD-396), who were near to the area reported by Olwen, were able to search the area, but were unable to locate the "German raider", while Omaha and Somers's search for survivors was also unsuccessful. The search continued the next day.

Capture of Odenwald
Even though the hunt for the "raider" had been unsuccessful it ultimately proved to not be entirely fruitless. On 6 November, as Omaha and Somers were en route back to Recife, returning from a 3023 mi patrol in the equatorial waters of the Atlantic, smoke was spotted, at 05:06, on the horizon. Captain Theodore E. Chandler, Omaha's commander, put her on an intercept course with the sighting. As Omaha approached the ship, which was flying US colors with the name Willmoto, out of Philadelphia, identifying her on her stern, she began taking evasive action. While multiple attempts were made to signal the merchant ship, they either went unanswered or they were given suspicious responses. Omaha's lookouts also reported that many of the crew visible on the deck of the ship were "uniquely un-American in appearance."

The ship, which identified herself as Willmoto, did not satisfactorily identify herself to the American warships. After ordering "Willmoto" to heave to, Omaha's captain dispatched an armed boarding party. At 05:37 Lieutenant George K. Carmichael, along with the boarding party, began to make way for the vessel. Around this time, the merchant hoisted the signal flags "Fox Mike", indicating that the ship was sinking and that they required assistance. Two distinct explosions could be heard within the ship when the boarding party began to climbing the ship's ladder. In an attempt to leave the sinking ship, several of the crew had lowered lifeboats, but Lt. Carmichael ordered them to return to the ship. At 05:58, Carmichael signaled to Omaha that the ship was indeed a German ship and that the crew had attempted to scuttle her. She was identified as Odenwald, a German blockade runner and that her holds were filled with 3857 MT of rubber, along with 103 B. F. Goodrich truck tires and sundry other cargo that totaled 6223 MT total.

A diesel engine specialist was brought over from Somerss crew to assist with the repairs and prevent Odenwalds sinking. Omaha's SOC floatplanes and Somers guarded the area while the boarding party made Odenwald sea worthy. With repairs finished the three ships set course for Port of Spain, Trinidad, to avoid possible difficulties with the government of Brazil.

Omaha arrived at Port of Spain, on 17 November 1941, with Odenwald flying the German flag on the mast with the US flag flying over it. On the following day, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the United States sued the Odenwald, on its own behalf as well as that of the Omaha's crew, seeking an award for marine salvage services. Judgment for salvors did not come until April 30, 1947. The court awarded the United States $72, 212.40 in compensation and expenses. Members of the  Omaha's boarding party each won $3000, and the remainder of her crew won two months’ pay and allowances. The judgment was affirmed on appeal.

World War II
On 7 December 1941, Omaha was steaming with Somers from San Juan to Recife, when she received a communication that informed her captain that the Japanese had attacked the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. She was ordered to "execute WPL (war plan) 46 (Rainbow 5) against Japan." Captain Chandler mustered the crew to read them the message. On 8 December, the US Congress would officially declare war on Japan with Germany declaring war on the US three days later, on 11 December 1941.

Merchant sinkings
While Omaha was on patrol with Jouett on 8 May 1942, she came across the Swedish ship Astri. Omaha's boarding party found Ensign John F. Kelly, USNR, from the US freighter SS Lammot Du Pont, along with six members of her armed guard detachment and eight crewmen. She had been sunk on 23 April, by GS U-125 (1940) (Kapitänleutnnt Ulrich Folkers) 500 mi southeast of Bermuda. The men had drifted for two days before being picked up. The Office of Naval Operations (OpNav) had informed Omaha that they suspected the Swedish ship of being a tender for German U-boats. Jouett was left to investigate Astri while Omaha set a course to Recife, with the survivors of Lammot Du Pont. Having been pointed to the area by a patrolling aircraft, the destroyer USS Tarbell (DD-142) was able to rescue another 23 survivors from Lammot Du Pont on 16 May.

Omaha spotted a light on the horizon at 01:30, on 1 June 1942. The light was from a small lifeboat with eight surviving crewmen aboard from the sunken British merchant Charlbury. She had been heading to Buenos Aires, Argentina, when she had been attacked on 28 May, by the ITALIAN SUBMARINE Barbarigo. The first torpedo fired by Barbarigo had missed Charlbury, at which point the submarine surfaced to attack with her 10 cm deck guns before submerging again. With her second torpedo attack Barbarigo struck Charlbury which caused the merchant to sink by the stern. Omaha went on to pull another 32 survivors of the sinking from the water and transported all of them to Recife.

On 8 June 1942, only a week later, eight British seamen, from the British merchant Harpagon, where found aboard the Argentinian merchantman Rio Diamante by Omaha. They were the only survivors, 41 had died in the 20 April, attack by GS U-109 (1940) (Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Bleichrodt) near the island of Bermuda. The survivors, being adrift for 35 days, stayed in Rio Diamante, which transported them to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In a two-day period, 16–17 August 1942, five Brazilian merchantmen were sunk by GS U-507 (Korvettenkapitän Harro Schact). More than 500 men had been killed in these attacks on Brazilian shipping which were outside of the territorial waters of Brazil. U-507 then destroyed a sixth vessel on 19 August, that was flying Brazilian colors. On 22 August 1942, while Omaha was waiting for her harbor pilot to take her in at Montevideo, Uruguay, her crew were able to observe the rusting hulk of the GERMAN CRUISER Admiral Graf Spee that had been scuttled almost three years earlier on 18 December 1939, after the Battle of the River Plate. When Omaha had moored, a Brazilian naval officer visited Captain Chandler and informed him Brazil was preparing for a formal declaration of war against both Germany and Italy. The declaration was promulgated that day.

Hazards of life at sea
Even as the threat from Germany and Italy had diminished by August 1942, there were still many ways for the men of Omaha to be harmed. One day, as she was at anchor in Carenage Bay, Trinidad, one of her sailors had returned from an especially "hard liberty" and found a spot on Omaha's direction finder deck to sleep off the effects. When the ship rolled unexpectedly the inebriated sailor rolled from the deck, down an awning, across the quarterdeck and then over the side and into the water. According to Captain Chandler, "probably due to his perfectly relaxed condition", the sailor was uninjured. Other such occurrences did not always end as well.

On 30 October 1942, while in Trinidad, six of Omaha's baseball team were injured when one of the sides of the truck carrying them fell off. Just six days later, while Omaha and USS Marblehead (CL-12) were on escort duty, one of her newly arrived Vought OS2U Kingfishers flipped upon landing, while the aviator was able to make it out safely, the plane sustained serious damage which required it to need overhauling when Omaha put back into port.

Tragedy did strike Marblehead though in November 1942. As her whaleboat was being hoisted back aboard, a sailor from her landing party fell overboard and failed to ever resurface. The sailor had a newly issued style of life vest on that required being inflated by mouth. This incident brought Captain Chandler to order that Omaha's boarding party's return to wearing the older style life jackets that had proven themselves effective even though they were more cumbersome and bulky.

Collision with Milwaukee
The year 1943 proved to be quiet for Omaha. Escorting the stores ship USS Pollux (AKS-4) regularly out of Recife, and patrolling the southern Atlantic with her sister ships USS Milwaukee (CL-5), Memphis, USS Cincinnati (CL-6), and the destroyer USS Moffett (DD-362), she did not come in contact with any enemy ships or submarines or the aftermath of their attacks.

The only damage she took that year occurred 30 April 1943, while she was changing stations on formation, Milwaukee struck Omaha's starboard bow. The collision destroyed one of her paravanes and rupturing some plating, which caused some flooding. Omaha's damage control party shored up one hole with two mattresses and were able to stop the leak. One compartment was completely flooded with another compartment requiring pumping out every two hours. On Milwaukee, the 6-inch guns and torpedo tubes on her port side were unserviceable. Several holes had opened up along her port side that were above the main deck, along with some leaks under the waterline from damage to plates and rivets. Milwaukee also lost her No.3 main circulation pump. The damage was determined not to be serious enough to halt their mission and the two cruisers, after completing their patrol, put into Rio de Janeiro for the needed repairs at the Brazilian Navy Yard.

Sinking of Rio Grande and Burgenland
Omaha's time of relatively ordinary operations came to an end very early in 1944. While patrolling out of Recife, with Jouett on 4 January, one of Omaha's aircraft spotted a ship about 55 mi northeast of the Brazilian coast. Omaha challenged the vessel at 10:20, with one of her searchlights, that produced no response from the unknown contact. Lookouts were able to spot two guns mounted on the ship's bow though, and soon after a large cloud of heavy smoke was observed coming from the stern of the ship, indicating that her crew were probably in the process of scuttling the ship to avoid capture. As Omaha pulled along the unknown ship's port side she began to fire with her starboard battery as Jouett also began firing. The ship's crew were then observed attempting to escape off her stern in lifeboats. Omaha crew tried to force the sailors back aboard with machine gun fire, but it became clear that the vessel was not salvageable. Omaha began firing on the vessel again, which soon sank by her stern. With fears that this surface action may have alerted enemy U-boats in the area, Omaha and Jouett withdrew without picking up any of the survivors. The ship was later identified as a German blockade runner named Rio Grande. Marblehead was able to rescue 72 survivors later on 8 January.

Omaha returned the following day to the vicinity that Rio Grande had been sunk and again encountered an unknown merchant steamer. She once again challenged the unknown contact with her searchlight, and again received no response to her signals. This time Omaha fired two warning shots over the unknown ship's bow, due to the fact that it appeared that she was dead in the water. An explosion was observed, followed by smoke billowing from her. Captain Elwood M. Tillson ordered Omaha's 6-inch battery to train on the unknown contact and open fire. Captain Tillson then allowed members of the crew to rotate topside to observe the gunfire since many of the men were unable to view the action against Rio Grande the previous day. The ship, later identified as another German blockade runner, Burgenland, sank by her stern thirty minutes later. Two days later 21 of her survivors were rescued by Davis with USS Winslow (DD-359) able to retrieve an additional 35 crewmen on 8 January.

Recovery of U-177 survivors

Omaha was out patrolling with Memphis and Jouett on 6 February 1944, when the ships were given orders to be on the lookout for the survivors of a U-boat that had been sunk earlier in the day near their location. A yellow life raft was later spotted by Omaha's lookouts. The occupants were German sailors that had survived the sinking of their boat, GS U-177, that had been sunk by a Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator from Bombing Squadron (VB) 107 that was operating out of Ascension Island. U-177 had been sitting on the surface while some of the crew were sunning and swimming.

According to Leutnant zur See Hans-Otto Brodt, their commanding officer Korvettenkapitän Heinz Bucholz and another 50 men of the crew of 64, went down with the ship. The prisoners were sent to the sick bay for treatment of shock and exposure and supplied with fresh clothing that had been provided by the Red Cross. Until Omaha put in at Bahia, on 15 February, where they debarked and were transported to Recife, the Germans were placed under armed guard.

Transfer to the European Theater
On 4 July 1944, Omaha got underway to the European Theater with destroyer escorts USS Marts (DE-174), USS Reybold (DE-177), and troop transport USS General W. A. Mann (AP-112). On 13 July, the convoy arrived at Gibraltar, with the addition of USS Marsh (DE-699), USS Hollis (DE-794), and the destroyer USS Kearny (DD-432). Omaha set sail for Palermo, Sicily, on 18 July, in company with the battleships USS Nevada (BB-36) and USS Arkansas (BB-33).

Operation Dragoon

On 7 August 1944, Omaha was guarding the flank of a formation consisting of the US heavy cruisers USS Quincy (CA-71) and USS Augusta (CA-31), the battleship Nevada and the FRENCH BATTLESHIP Lorraine, bombarding Toulon, France. Omaha assisted in the bombardment firing 24 rounds. An enemy shore battery began firing on Omaha at 17:17, Quincy was able to lay a smoke screen out for her while she fired 3.5 in rockets in an attempt to jam their radar. Again on 20 August, while she was supporting Nevada, she once again drew fire from the enemy as she was departing from the area with the shells splashing 1000 yd off her stern and 3000 yd off of her port quarter.

Shortly after, while she was at Porquerolles, France, Omaha responded to the net tender USS Hackberry (AN-25), that had come under fire from a German shore battery, by firing 73 6-inch rounds into the enemy position.

Omaha departed the assault area on 27 August 1944, and returned to Palermo, before getting underway to Oran, Algeria, with Cincinnati, Marblehead, Quincy, and the destroyer USS McLanahan (DD-615). This group then sailed from Oran, on 1 September, after being joined by USS MacKenzie (DD-614), for the Atlantic. When the formation exited the Mediterranean, Marblehead detached from the group and proceeded west independently.

After Omaha returned to Bahia, 9 September, she once again resumed her previous duties of patrolling the southern Atlantic and providing escort services. A break in this routine occurred when she returned to the North Atlantic while escorting the transport USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) in company with the Brazilian Marcílio Dias-class destroyers BRAZILIAN DESTROYER Mariz e Barros and BRAZILIAN DESTROYER Marcilio Dias to Gibraltar. They reached their destination on 4 December, where Omaha handed her escort duty off to USS Edison (DD-439). She then proceeded by herself to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, where she arrived on 14 December, and put in the next day to the New York Navy Yard. Omaha ended 1944 in New York, while undergoing repairs and alterations that would improve the living spaces for her crew.

Search for the Brazilian cruiser Bahia
When the BRAZILIAN CRUISER Bahia (C.12) was reported sunk by a submarine, Omaha set out from Recife, on 8 July 1945, on a search and rescue operation. A report came in from the British steamer Balfe that they had picked up 33 survivors from Bahia. Omaha set course to intercept Balfe so she could transfer her medical staff and aid in treatment of the remaining survivors. In all, only 44 sailors were rescued, with seven dying from their injuries, and eight bodies recovered, out of a crew of 346. An investigation into the sinking of Bahia later determined that on 4 July 1945, while conducting anti-aircraft training, a gunner that had shot down a trailing target kite continued to fire as he was trailing the target's descent. Because the proper safety stops had not been installed on the gun he was able to inadvertently fire into a rack of live depth charges that were positioned on the fantail of the ship.

Decommissioning
Following the sinking of Bahia, Omaha continued to serve in the South Atlantic, until 12 August, two days after the Japanese announced their intention of surrendering under the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, when she departed Recife, for the last time. She made ports of call at San Juan and Norfolk, before getting underway for the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Soon after arriving in Philadelphia, a Board of Inspection and Survey recommended that Omaha be taken out of commission.

Omaha was decommissioned on 1 November 1945, and was struck from the Navy Register on 28 November 1945. She was scrapped at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard by February 1946.

Awards

 * American Defense Service Medal with "A" device
 * American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg American Campaign Medal
 * European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one battle star
 * World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg World War II Victory Medal

title: USS Omaha (CL-4)


text:
The Power of Love (Frankie Goes to Hollywood song)

"The Power of Love" is a song originally recorded and released by British band Frankie Goes to Hollywood. It was written by Holly Johnson, Peter Gill, Mark O'Toole and Brian Nash, four of the five members of the band. It was released by the group as their third single.

Initially issued as a single in November 1984, and taken from the debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1984), "The Power of Love" followed its two predecessors, "Relax" and "Two Tribes", to the top of the UK singles chart. It scored the band an early December number-one. "The Power of Love" was also a top 10 hit in several European countries, in Australia and New Zealand, and in Canada. "The Power of Love" is often regarded as a Christmas song, despite having no reference to Christmas within the song lyrics. However, the accompanying video features the Nativity of Jesus, and the single cover was The Assumption of the Virgin. The single spent just one week at number one in the UK, outsold by the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid, which until 1997 was the best selling single ever in the UK.

Since then, reissues and/or remixes of the Frankie Goes to Hollywood recording of this song have been top 10 UK hits on two other occasions, hitting number 10 in 1993 and number 6 in 2000. "The Power of Love" has also charted in the UK in a version by Holly Johnson (a solo recording from 1999). The original version by Frankie Goes to Hollywood was featured in the 2012 film Sightseers, the same year that the song was reissued as a digital download and peaked at number 42, in response to a cover version by Gabrielle Aplin. Her recording of the song also went to number 1 in the UK, exactly 28 years after the original Frankie Goes to Hollywood single topped the chart.

Holly Johnson, who co-wrote the song, later reminisced: "I always felt like 'The Power of Love' was the record that would save me in this life. There is a biblical aspect to its spirituality and passion; the fact that love is the only thing that matters in the end".

Frankie Goes to Hollywood version
The track was first featured during the John Peel Sessions the band performed on during 1983, which was slower and emphasised the track's original camp ironic content (such as the Hooded Claw from the cartoon series The Perils of Penelope Pitstop). After recording at the original speed, ZTT/Trevor Horn sped it up, this also caused a change in pitch.

"The Power of Love" became Frankie Goes to Hollywood's third consecutive (and last) UK number 1 single in December 1984. To commemorate the Christmas release, Godley & Creme directed a Nativity-themed video for the single, and the artwork for the single also used traditional Christian iconography. The original showing of the video on The Tube featured the Nativity occupying the whole screen, however the borders of band members were added for later showings due to pressure from UK broadcasters.

The 12" mix of the song featured actor Chris Barrie aping DJ Mike Read's banning of the single "Relax", as well as his impression of Ronald Reagan, instructing the listener in prayer. The single also featured a Christmas message from the band, entitled "Holier Than Thou".

On the cover is a reproduction of the Assumption of the Virgin by Titian, a 16th-century painting in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari of Venice.

The single has been reissued in various formats over the years. The 1993 reissue charted at number 10 in the UK; the 2000 remix version reached number 6.

Critical reception
Richard Harris from NME wrote, "'The Power of Love' is too straight-laced, but still drips with deep-pile quality (Holly Johnson had one of the great pop voices, don't forget)".

Track listing
All discographical information here pertains to UK releases only (unless otherwise noted).

7": ZTT / ZTAS 5 (United Kingdom)
Also available as a picture disc carrying the same tracks. (PZTAS5)
 * 1) "The Power of Love" (7" mix) - 5:27
 * 2) "The World Is My Oyster" (7" mix) - 4:13

12": ZTT / 12 ZTAS 5 (United Kingdom)

 * 1) "The Power of Love" (Extended version) - 9:28
 * 2) "The World Is My Oyster" (Scrapped) - 1:38
 * 3) "Holier Than Thou" (The first) - 1:08
 * 4) "The World Is My Oyster" (Trapped) [ Instrumental] - 2:29
 * 5) "Holier Than Thou" (The second) - 4:10
 * 6) "The Power of Love" (Instrumental) [Unlisted] - 2:27

 * The cassette, 7" single and the standard 12" single were all released in a "hearts and crosses" cardboard envelope.
 * "Holier Than Thou" is a recording of band members attempting to record a Christmas message for fans and generally messing about in the recording studio. The final song on the disc is the continuation of the instrumental version of "The Power of Love" that begins side A, here finally reaching its conclusion. This section of music actually begins during the final part of the "Holier Than Thou" section, when Peter Gill is jokingly listing what he wants for Christmas.
 * Also released as a picture disc carrying the same tracks (12PZTAS5).

12": ZTT / 12 XZTAS 5 (United Kingdom)

 * 1) "The Power of Love" (7" mix) - 5:27
 * 2) "The World Is My Oyster" (12" mix) - 4:23
 * 3) "Welcome to the Pleasuredome" (Pleasure fix) - 9:46
 * 4) "The Only Star in Heaven" (Star fix) - 3:52

 * Released in a white gatefold sleeve with five photos.

MC: ZTT / CTIS 105 (United Kingdom)

 * 1) "The Power of Love" (Extended, singlette version) - 9:18
 * 2) "The World Is My Oyster (Scrapped)" - 1:38
 * 3) "Holier Than Thou (the first)" - 1:08
 * 4) "The World Is My Oyster (Trapped)" - 2:29
 * 5) "Holier Than Thou (the second)" - 4:10
 * 6) "The Power of Love" (Instrumental, singlette version) [Unlisted] - 3:30

This complete cassette was re-released in 2012 on CD Sexmix Disk 1 Tracks 7-12. The end of "Instrumental" is identical to the opening of the regular extended version, but with "Relax" in the background.

1993 reissues
The 1993 re-issues featured the church in Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden on the cover.
 * CD: ZTT / FGTH3CD (United Kingdom)
 * 1) "The Power of Love" - 5:29
 * 2) "The Power of Love" (Original extended mix) - 9:29
 * 3) "Rage Hard" (Original DJ mix) [Vocal edit] - 4:13
 * 4) "Holier Than Thou" (No Rest for the Best - Edit) - 3:29

 * CD: ZTT / FGTH3CDX (United Kingdom)
 * 1) "The Power of Love" - 5:29
 * 2) "The Power of Love" (Original extended mix) - 9:29
 * 3) "Rage Hard" (Original DJ mix) [Vocal edit] - 4:13
 * 4) "The Power of Love" (Alternative mix) - 5:07

 * CD: ZTT-Warner / 4509-94954-2 (Germany)
 * 1) "The Power of Love" (1994 radio love mix) - 3:47
 * 2) "The Power of Love" - 5:29

2000 reissues

 * CD: ZTT / ZTT 150 CD (United Kingdom)
 * 1) "The Power of Love" (Rob Searle club mix edit) - 4:13
 * 2) "The Power of Love" (Rob Searle club mix) - 8:41
 * 3) "The Power of Love" (Minkys Yaba mix edit) - 5:05

 * 12": ZTT / ZTT 150 T (United Kingdom)
 * 1) "The Power of Love" (Rob Searle club mix) - 8:38
 * 2) "The Power of Love" (Minky's Yaba mix) - 8:10

2012 reissue

 * MP3 download (United Kingdom)

 * 1) "The Power of Love" (Original 7" mix) - 5:30
 * 2) "The Power of Love" (Original 7" instrumental) - 5:30
 * 3) "The Power of Love" (Original 12" mix) - 9:30
 * 4) "The World Is My Oyster" - 4:17
 * 5) "The Power of Love" (Alternative mix) - 5:08
 * 6) "The Power of Love" (Best listened to by lovers) - 4:30
 * 7) "The Power of Love" (Instrumental, singlette version) - 3.34

 * Best Listened to by Lovers is an orchestral instrumental from Anne Dudley's arrangement recorded as part of the original Welcome to the Pleasuredome album sessions in 1984 which was used for the first part of the original "Power of Love" 12" single, with added guitars. It was first released on the compilation CD Frankie Said earlier in 2012.
 * Original 7" Instrumental is an instrumental version of the regular single / album track, and is unique to this release.

Other songs with the title in 1985
This was the first of three singles in the British top 10 with the title "The Power of Love" in 1985. The other two were "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News, which peaked at No. 9 at the start of autumn, and "The Power of Love" by Jennifer Rush, which reached No. 1 by the middle of autumn.

Holly Johnson version
Holly Johnson, former singer of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, recorded his own version of "The Power of Love" for his third studio album, Soulstream (1999). It was released as the third single from the album on 13 December 1999 and reached number 56 in the UK Singles Chart.

Background
Johnson was inspired to re-record "The Power of Love" as he felt that the Frankie Goes to Hollywood original was "too pompous and too much like one of those anthemic Queen songs". He told the Bristol Evening Post in 1999, "I wanted to record a version which was more from the heart, one which was more me and more in keeping with my personal taste, but it wasn't a question of trying to better it."

Music video
The song's original music video contained stock footage of Diana, Princess of Wales, which Johnson included as a tribute as he felt she "embodies love" and "brought so much love and hope to so many people in her life and death". The video was subsequently withdrawn after "several major TV shows expressed nervousness at the Princess Diana content". A new edit was then released, removing the footage of Diana and adding in additional live performance footage of Johnson.

Critical reception
Upon its release, Jon Perks of the Sunday Mercury criticised the single as a "Christmas cash-in" and noted, "Apart from the slightly altered spoken opener and a crisper sound, there's virtually nothing to separate it from the original." In a retrospective review of Soulstream, Jon O'Brien of AllMusic called the song an "unnecessary reworking" that "only highlight[s] the creative rut he appeared to be stuck in."

Track listing
CD single #1 (UK)
 * 1) "The Power of Love" (Radio mix) - 5:08
 * 2) "In the House of the Rising Sun" (12" definitive mix) - 5:36
 * 3) "In the House of the Rising Sun" (Doogs House mix) - 5:04

CD single #2 (UK)
 * 1) "The Power of Love" (Millennium mix) - 5:36
 * 2) "In the House of the Rising Sun" (DNA instrumental mix) - 5:32
 * 3) "All U Need Is Love" (Demo version) - 4:59

CD promotional single (UK)
 * 1) "The Power of Love" (Radio mix) - 5:08
 * 2) "The Power of Love" (Millennium mix) - 5:33
 * 3) "In the House of the Rising Sun" (12" definitive mix) - 5:36
 * 4) "In the House of the Rising Sun" (Doogs House mix) - 5:04
 * 5) "In the House of the Rising Sun" (DNA instrumental mix) - 5:30

Gabrielle Aplin version
In 2012, British singer-songwriter Gabrielle Aplin released a cover version of the song produced by Mike Spencer and David Kosten. It was released on 9 November 2012 as a digital download as the lead single from her debut studio album English Rain (2013). The song was selected as the soundtrack to the John Lewis 2012 Christmas advertisement. The song was also used during an episode of Hollyoaks: Enjoy the Ride on 16 November 2012 after the sudden death of one of the show's main characters, and Mary and Francis’s wedding in the TV show, Reign. The song subsequently became popular in Australia in early 2014.

Music video
A music video to accompany the release of "The Power of Love" was first released onto YouTube on 9 November 2012. It shows Aplin in a room in a large house, playing a piano. Then, near the end of the video, fairy lights in the room light up. The video was directed by Alexander Brown.

Chart performance
On 11 November 2012 "The Power of Love" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 36, a week later it climbed to number 5. On 9 December 2012 the single reached number 1. Aplin's version was certified gold in the United Kingdom on 11 January 2013.

On 8 December 2013, the song re-charted at number 88 on the UK Singles Chart, due to downloads.

Dalton Harris version
In 2018, the Jamaican-British singer Dalton Harris, a contestant and eventual winner of the 15th series of the UK TV talent competition programme The X Factor, released the song as his winning song from the series. The song was in association with and featuring additional vocals by the same series' 9th season winner James Arthur, making it the second time the winning song UK X Factor is promoted as a duet or group performance rather than a solo performance by the winner, after the winners of 2017 when Rak-Su duetted with Wyclef Jean and Naughty Boy for their single entitled "Dimelo".

As in many earlier X Factor-winning releases, VAT collected on sales of the X Factor winner's charity song will be donated to children's charities, Together for Short Lives and Shooting Star Chase, declared the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond. The UK Department of Health and Social Care will make the donation of the VAT on the UK government's behalf. This is reportedly The X Factor UK's 11th charity release.

Other cover versions
The song has been recorded by many other acts. Several Dutch heavy metal artists, including the lead singers of Nightwish, Epica and Within Temptation recorded a cover in support of the Red Cross aiding victims of sexual violence in war-zones. German band Oomph! also covered the song for their best-of album Delikatessen. Feeder also covered the song in 2002.

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


text:
William Henry Channing

William Henry Channing (May 25, 1810 – December 23, 1884) was an American Unitarian clergyman, writer and philosopher.

Early life
William Henry Channing was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Channing's father, Francis Dana Channing, died when he was an infant, and responsibility for the young man's education was assumed by his uncle, William Ellery Channing, the pre-eminent Unitarian theologian of the early nineteenth century. His other uncles included physician and Harvard professor Walter Channing, and Harvard professor of rhetorici Edward Tyrrel Channing. His grandfather was William Channing, Attorney General of Rhode Island.

Channing graduated from Harvard College in 1829 and from Harvard Divinity School in 1833.

Career
Channing was ordained and installed over the Unitarian church in Cincinnati in 1835. He became warmly interested in the schemes of Charles Fourier and others for social reorganization. He moved to Boston about 1847, afterward to Rochester, New York and to New York City, where, both as preacher and editor, he became a leader in a movement of Christian socialism. As an early supporter of the socialistic movement in the United States, he was editor of the Present, the Spirit of the Age and the Harbinger. In 1848 he presided over The Religious Union of Associationists in Boston, a socialist group which included many members of the Brook Farm commune.

Channing took active part in the early years of the woman’s rights movement. He signed the call for and attended the first National Woman's Rights Convention in 1850, where he was appointed to the National Women’s Rights Central Committee. As minister of the First Unitarian Church of Rochester in 1852, he influenced Susan B. Anthony, a member of his congregation who was a young schoolteacher on the threshold of her career as a women's rights activist. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Anthony's close friend and co-worker, said in her autobiography that, "She [Anthony] first found words to express her convictions in listening to Rev. William Henry Channing, whose teaching had a lasting spiritual influence upon her." Channing wrote the call for and played a leading role in the Women's Rights Convention that Anthony organized in Rochester in 1853. The convention launched a petition campaign for equal legal and voting rights for women, for which Channing wrote the petitions and, with Ernestine Rose, addressed a select committee of the New York Senate in February 1854.

Between 1854-1857, Channing was minister at Renshaw Street Unitarian Chapel in Liverpool, England. In 1857, he succeeded James Martineau as minister of the Hope Street Unitarian Chapel, Liverpool, England. At the commencement of the American Civil War, he returned (1862) and took charge of the Unitarian church in Washington, D. C. William Henry Channing, along with the younger Ellery Channing, was a Transcendentalist. He was a prolific writer, contributing to the North American Review, the Dial, the Christian Examiner, and other serials, a member of the Transcendental Club, a close friend of Henry David Thoreau and corresponded with Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Among his inspirational writings, one piece, his "Symphony", is well-known:

 * To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common — this is my symphony.

Channing was, in 1863 and 1864, the Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives. He died in London.

Personal life
Channing was married to Julia Maria Allen. Their children include the author and poet, Blanche Mary Channing, and Francis Channing, 1st Baron Channing of Wellingborough. He died in London.

Larger works

 * A translation of Jouffroy's Ethics'' (1840)
 * Memoir of [his uncle] William Ellery Channing (three volumes, 1848)
 * Memoir of [his cousin] the Rev. James H. Perkins (1851)
 * Memoir of Margaret Fuller Ossoli (in conjunction with Emerson and J. F. Clarke (1852)

Literature

 * For his Life consult O. B. Frothingham (Boston, 1886)

title: William Henry Channing


text:
Methine group

In organic chemistry, a methine group or methine bridge is a trivalent functional group \dCH\s, derived formally from methane. It consists of a carbon atom bound by two single bonds and one double bond, where one of the single bonds is to a hydrogen. The group is also called methyne or methene, but its IUPAC systematic name is methylylidene or methanylylidene.

This group is sometimes called "methylidyne", however that name belongs properly to either the methylidyne group \tCH (connected to the rest of the molecule by a triple bond) or to the methylidyne radical ⫶CH (the two atoms as a free molecule with dangling bonds).

The name "methine" is also widely used in non-systematic nomenclature for the methanetriyl group (IUPAC): a carbon atom with four single bonds, where one bond is to a hydrogen atom (>CH\s).

Overlapping methines
Two or more methine bridges can overlap, forming a chain or ring of carbon atoms connected by alternating single and double bonds, as in piperylene H2C\dCH\sCH\dCH\sCH3, or the compound Every carbon atom in this molecule is a methine carbon atom, except for three; two that are attached to the two nitrogen atoms and not to any hydrogen atoms, and the carbon attached to the nitrogen atom, which is attached to two hydrogen atoms (far right). There is a five-carbon-atom poly-methine chain in the center of this molecule.

Chains of alternating single and double bonds often form conjugated systems. When closed, as in benzene (\dCH\sCH\d)3, they often give aromatic character to the compound.

title: Methine group


text:
Hugh Miller

Hugh Miller (10 October 1802 – 23/24 December 1856) was a Scottish geologist, writer and folklorist.

Life and work
Miller was born in Cromarty, the first of three children of Harriet Wright (bap. 1780, d. 1863) and Hugh Miller (bap. 1754, d. 1807), a shipmaster in the coasting trade. Both parents were from trading and artisan families in Cromarty. His father died in a shipwreck in 1807, and he was brought up by his mother and uncles. He was educated in a parish school where he reportedly showed a love of reading. It was at this school that Miller was involved in an altercation with a Afro-Caribbean classmate in which he stabbed his thigh. Miller was subsequently expelled from the school following an unrelated incident. At 17 he was apprenticed to a stonemason, and his work in quarries, together with walks along the local shoreline, led him to the study of geology. In 1829 he published a volume of poems, and soon afterwards became involved in political and religious controversies, first connected to the Reform Bill, and then with the division in the Church of Scotland which led to the Disruption of 1843.

In 1834 he became accountant in one of the local banks, and in the next year brought out his Scenes and Legends in the North of Scotland. In 1837 he married the children's author Lydia Mackenzie Falconer Fraser. In 1840 the popular party in the Church, with which he had been associated, started a newspaper, the Witness, and Miller was called to be editor in Edinburgh, a position which he retained until the end of his life. He was an influential writer and speaker in the early Free Church. From 1846 he was joined at "The Witness" by Rev James Aitken Wylie.

Among his geological works are The Old Red Sandstone (1841), Footprints of the Creator (1850), The Testimony of the Rocks (1857), Sketch-book of Popular Geology. Of these books, perhaps The Old Red Sandstone was the best known. The Old Red Sandstone is still a term used to collectively describe sedimentary rocks deposited as a result of the Caledonian orogeny in the late Silurian, Devonian and earliest part of the Carboniferous period.

Miller held that the Earth was of great age, and that it had been inhabited by many species which had come into being and gone extinct, and that these species were homologous; although he believed the succession of species showed progress over time, he did not believe that later species were descended from earlier ones. He denied the Epicurean theory that new species occasionally budded from the soil, and the Lamarckian theory of development of species, as lacking evidence. He argued that all this showed the direct action of a benevolent Creator, as attested in the Bible – the similarities of species are manifestations of types in the Divine Mind; he accepted the view of Thomas Chalmers that Genesis begins with an account of geological periods, and does not mean that each of them is a day; Noah's Flood was a limited subsidence of the Middle East. Geology, to Miller, offered a better version of the argument from design than William Paley could provide, and answered the objections of sceptics, by showing that living species did not arise by chance or by impersonal law.

In a biographical review about him, he was recognized as an exceptional person by Sir David Brewster, who said of him: "'Mr. Miller is one of the few individuals in the history of Scottish science who have raised themselves above the labors of an humble profession, by the force of their genius and the excellence of their character, to a comparatively high place in the social scale.'"

Illness and death
For most of 1856, Miller had severe headaches and mental distress, and the most probable diagnosis is of psychotic depression. Victorian medicine did not help. He feared that he might harm his wife or children because of persecutory delusions.

Miller died by suicide, shooting himself in the chest with a revolver in his house, Shrub Mount, Portobello, on the night of 23/24 December 1856. That night he had finished checking printers' proofs for his book on geology and Christianity, The Testimony of the Rocks. Before his death, he wrote a poem called Strange but True. He died on 24 December 1856.

His funeral procession, attended by thousands, was amongst the largest in the memory of Edinburgh residents.

He is buried in the Grange Cemetery in Edinburgh. His is a simple red granite monument on the north boundary wall, close to the northwest corner.

His son Hugh Miller FRSE (1850-1896), who was six years old when his father killed himself, lies on his left side.

Legacy
Though he had no academic credentials, he is today considered one of Scotland's most influential Victorian palaeontologists, particularly in communicating science to a wider audience. Miller made many new discoveries, including several Silurian sea scorpions (the eurypterid genus Hughmilleria was named in his honour), and many Devonian fishes, including several placoderms (the arthrodire Millerosteus also honoured him), described in his popular books. The fossil cypress Hughmillerites, and the parareptile Milleretta were also named after him. The BP-operated Miller oilfield in the North Sea was named after Hugh Miller. Hugh Miller Place, a street in the Stockbridge Colonies area of Edinburgh, is named in his honour.

Miller's wife Lydia played a major role in editing and securing posthumous publication of compilations as books of many of his Witness articles and public addresses, thus gaining for him a continued wider readership for another 50 years after his death. His second daughter, Harriet Miller Davidson was a published poet who married a clergyman after her father's suicide. She moved to Adelaide where her husband was a minister and she published poems and stories in both countries about temperance and of daughters left by inspirational fathers.

There is a bust of Hugh Miller in the Hall of Heroes at the Wallace Monument in Stirling. His home in Cromarty is open as a geological museum, with specimens collected in the immediate area; a weekend event at the site in 2008 was part of celebrations marking the bicentenary of the Geological Society of London.

The Hugh Miller Trail starts at a small car park on a minor road just past Eathie Mains, about 3 mi south of Cromarty, and leads about 1 mi down a steep slope through woodland to the foreshore at Eathie Haven on the Moray Firth, where Miller began collecting fossils. It was here that he found his first fossil ammonite, in Jurassic rocks. The haven was originally a salmon fishing station, and a former fishermen's bothy, open to the public, has a display board about the geology of the area and Miller's fossil discoveries.

The Friends of Hugh Miller are a charity set up to celebrate and promote his legacy, and encourage the study and practice of the earth sciences in the 21st century in Miller's name. Since 2015 the bi-annual Hugh Miller Writing Competition has been held, with entries inspired by Miller and related themes.

Main works

 * Scenes and legends of the north of Scotland : or, The traditional history of Cromarty (1834)
 * The old red sandstone : or, New walks in an old field (1841)
 * First impressions of England and its people (1847)
 * The foot-prints of the Creator: or, The Asterolepis of Stromness (1849)
 * My schools and schoolmasters; or, The story of my education (1854)
 * The cruise of the Betsey : or, a summer ramble among the fossiliferous deposits of the Hebrides ; with Rambles of a geologist ; or, Ten thousand miles over the fossiliferous deposits of Scotland (1857)
 * The testimony of the rocks; or, Geology in its bearings on the two theologies, natural and revealed (1857)
 * old red sandstone; or, New walks in an old field. To which is appended a series of geological papers, read before the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh'' (1858)
 * of popular geology being a series of lectures delivered before the Philosophical Institution of Edinburgh'' (1859)
 * Popular geology: a series of lectures read before the Philosophical Institution of Edinburgh, with Descriptive sketches from a geologist's portfolio (1859)
 * The headship of Christ and The rights of the Christian people (1860)
 * Tales and sketches (1862)
 * Edinburgh and its neighbourhood, geological and historical; with the geology of the Bass rock (1863)
 * Essays, historical and biographical, political, social, literary and scientific (1865)
 * Hugh Miller's memoir : from stonemason to geologist by Hugh Miller (1995)
 * Hugh Miller and the controversies of Victorian science (1996)

Biographies

 * The Life of Hugh Miller – A Sketch for Working Men (1862) The Compiler (Northern Daily Express)
 * Peter Bayne (1871), The Life and Letters of Hugh Miller, Volume 1, Volume 2
 * Life of Hugh Miller (1880)
 * Hugh Miller – A Critical Study (1905)
 * George Rosie (1981), Hugh Miller: Outrage and Order, Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh, ISBN 0-906391-17-2
 * Anderson, Lyall I. (2005) "Hugh Miller: introducing palaeobotany to a wider audience", in Bowden, A.J., Burek, C.V. & Wilding, R. (eds). History of Palaeobotany: Selected Essays. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 241, 63 – 90.

title: Hugh Miller


text:
CARTA

CARTA may refer to:
 * Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny (CARTA), University of California, San Diego
 * Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority
 * Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority
 * Continuous adaptive risk and trust assessment, an approach in information security

title: CARTA


text:
Hetepheres II

Hetepheres II was a Queen of Ancient Egypt during the 4th Dynasty.

Birth and family
Queen Hetepheres II may have been one of the longest-lived members of the royal family of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, which lasted from ca. 2723 to 2563 BC. She was a daughter of Khufu and was either born during the reign of her grandfather Sneferu or during the early years of her father's reign. She was named after her grandmother, Hetepheres I and she had an aunt named Hetepheres A. A fragmentary titulature found in the tomb of Meritites I may indicate that she was the mother of Hetepheres II.

 * Titles of Hetepheres II
 * Daughter of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Khufu (zat-nesut-biti-Khufu, zꜣt nswt bjtj ḫw.f-wj)
 * King’s beloved daughter of his body (zat-nesut-khetef-meretef, zꜣt nswt ẖt.f mrt.f)
 * King’s Daughter (zat-nesut, zꜣt nswt)
 * King’s wife (hemet-nesut, ḥmt nswt)
 * King’s wife, his beloved (hemet-nesut-meretef, ḥmt nswt mrt.f)
 * Beholder of Horus and Seth, (maat-hor-setesh, mꜣꜣt ḥr-stš)
 * Follower of Horus (xt ḥr)
 * Intimate of Horus (Tist ḥr)
 * Companion of Horus (semer[et]-hor, sm r[ t] ḥr)
 * Consort of him who is beloved of the Two Ladies (sem ayet-meret-nebti, smꜣyt mry nbtj)
 * Great favorite (wrt Hts)
 * Controller of the butchers of the acacia house (kherep-seshem-shendjet, ḫrp sšm[tyw] šnḏt)
 * Priestess of Thoth (hemet-netjer-djehuti, ḥmt-nṯr ḏḥwtj)
 * Priestess of Bapefy (hemet-netjer-bapef, ḥmt-nṯr bꜣpf)
 * Priestess of Tjasep (ḥmt-nṯr TA-sp)

Marriages
During the reign of Khufu, Hetepheres II married her brother, the Crown Prince Kawab, with whom she had at least one child, a daughter named Meresankh III. After the death of her first husband, she married another of her brothers, Djedefre who later succeeded Khufu as king of Egypt.

She was widowed a second time when Djedefre died. The marriage of her daughter, Meresankh III, to her late second husband's successor Khafre made Hetepheres II the mother-in-law of the new king. She would later out-live Meresankh III. A mark of her affection for Meresankh III may be seen in the fact that Hetepheres II had her own mastaba in the eastern cemetery of Giza converted into a tomb for her daughter's use. Hetepheres II herself was probably buried in tomb G7350 even though she possessed a joint tomb with her first husband, Kawab (G7110 and 7120 respectively).

While marriage within the royal family was common, multiple marriages to this extent was not. It has been suggested her subsequent marriage to Djedefre was honorary in nature and done in order to maintain her position at court. She never produced an heir to the throne in her second marriage and was never given the title of King's Mother.

Hetepheres finally died early in the reign of Shepseskaf, the son and successor of Menkaura, and had thus witnessed the reigns of at least five and perhaps six (if she was born during the reign of Sneferu) pharaohs of the fourth Dynasty.

Children of Hetepheres II and Kawab

 * Duaenhor   (Manuel de Codage: dwAnHr) – "King’s son of his body", "Companion of his father". Buried in G 7550.
 * Kaemsekhem  (Manuel de Codage: kAmsxm) – "King’s son", "Director of the Palace". The wife of Kaemsekhem is named Ka'aper   (Manuel de Codage: kAapr). He may be the father of Rawer and Minkhaf. His tomb was located in Giza: G 7660.
 * Mindjedef – "King’s son of his body", "Hereditary prince", "Treasurer of the King of Lower Egypt", etc. His wife was named Khufu-ankh. His tomb is located in Giza: G 7760.
 * Meresankh III – Wife of Khafre.

Children of Hetepheres II and Djedefre

 * Neferhetepes  (Manuel de Codage: nfrHtps) – It has been suggested that this daughter named Neferhetepes was the mother of King Userkaf.

title: Hetepheres II


text:
Thomas Miller (poet)

Thomas Miller (31 August 1807 – 24 October 1874) was an English poet and novelist who explored rural subjects. He was one of the most prolific English working-class writers of the 19th century and produced in all over 45 volumes, including some "penny dreadfuls" on urban crime.

Early life
Miller was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, the son of George Miller, an unsuccessful wharfinger and ship-owner, who deserted his wife and two sons in 1810. Thomas grew up in Sailors Alley, Gainsborough. His childhood friends included the future poet and journalist Thomas Cooper. He attended the White Hart Charity School. Although he left school at nine, he became a voracious reader. His love of the countryside was reinforced by summers spent on his grandfather's farm.

Miller found work as a ploughboy, then as a shoemaker's apprentice, but he was released from his indentures after he threw "an iron instrument" at his vicious and tyrannical master. He was then apprenticed as a basket-maker to his stepfather.

When Miller had completed his apprenticeship, he moved to Nottingham in 1831 to set up a basket-making business. There he published his first writings, Songs of the Sea Nymphs (1832), which he dedicated to Lady Blessington. Godfrey Malvern (1842) has been called "his most interesting novel... telling the story of a poor schoolmaster who enters the London literary world."

London poverty
After moving to London he was befriended by Lady Blessington and by Samuel Rogers, and for a time engaged in business as a bookseller, but was unsuccessful and then devoted himself exclusively to literature, producing over 45 volumes, including novels, in which he successfully delineated rural characters and scenes. Among them were Royston Gower (1838), Gideon Giles the Roper, Rural Sketches and Pictures of Country Life, illustrated by Samuel Williams. He contributed a series to the run of "penny dreadfuls" entitled The Mysteries of London, which depict urban crime.

Although Miller attracted some patronage and some sums from the Royal Literary Fund, he was often in financial need. He appealed directly to Charles Dickens for assistance in 1851, but Dickens declined and wrote to his friend Bulwer Lytton, "I fear he [Miller] has mistaken his vocation."

Miller had a wife and four children: Henry, George, Emma and Ellen. He died of a stroke at his home at 24 New Street, Kensington, on 24 October 1874 and was buried in West Norwood Cemetery. He was survived by one of his sons and his two spinster daughters.

Evening (The Poem)
• The day is past, the sun is set,

• And the white stars are in the sky;

• While the long grass with dew is wet,

• And through the air the bats now fly.

• The lambs have now lain down to sleep,

• The birds have long since sought their nests;

• The air is still; and dark, and deep

• On the hill side the old wood rests.

• Yet of the dark I have no fear,

• But feel as safe as when 'tis light;

• For I know God is with me there,

• And He will guard me through the night.

• For God is by me when I pray,

• And when I close mine eyes to sleep,

• I know that He will with me stay,

• And will all night watch by me keep.

• For He who rules the stars and sea,

• Who makes the grass and trees to grow.

• Will look on a poor child like me,

• When on my knees I to Him bow.

• He holds all things in His right hand,

• The rich, the poor, the great, the small;

• When we sleep, or sit, or stand,

• He is with us, for He loves us all.

title: Thomas Miller (poet)


text:
Djedefre

Djedefre (also known as Djedefra and Radjedef) was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He is well known by the Hellenized form of his name Rhatoisēs (Ῥατοίσης) by Manetho. Djedefre was the son and immediate throne successor of Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza; his mother is not known for certain. He is the king who introduced the royal title Sa-Rê (meaning “Son of Ra”) and the first to connect his cartouche name with the sun god Ra.

Family
Djedefre married his brother Kawab's widow, Hetepheres II, who was sister to both of them, and who perhaps married a third brother of theirs, Khafre, after Djedefre's death. Another queen, Khentetenka is known from statue fragments in the Abu Rowash mortuary temple. Known children of Djedefre are:
 * Hornit (“Eldest King's Son of His Body”) known from a statue depicting him and his wife.
 * Baka (“Eldest King's Son”) known from a statue base found in Djedefre's mortuary temple, depicting him with his wife Hetepheres.
 * Setka (“Eldest King's Son of His Body; Unique Servant of the King”) known from a scribe statue found in his father's pyramid complex. It is possible that he ruled for a short while after his father's death; an unfinished pyramid at Zawiyet el-Arian was started for a ruler whose name ends in ka; this could have been Setka or Baka.
 * Neferhetepes (“King's Daughter of His Body; God's Wife”) is known from a statue fragment from Abu Rowash. Until recently, she was believed to be the mother of a pharaoh of the next dynasty, either Userkaf or Sahure.

The French excavation team led by Michel Valloggia found the names of two other possible children of Djedefre in the pyramid complex:
 * Nikaudjedefre (“King's Son of His Body”) was buried in Tomb F15 in Abu Rowash; it is possible that he wasn't a son of Djedefre but lived later and his title was only honorary.
 * Hetepheres (“King's Daughter of His Body”) was mentioned on a statue fragment.

Reign

The Turin King List credits him with a rule of eight years, but the highest known year referred to during this reign appears to be the year of his 11th cattle count. The anonymous year of the 11th count date presumably of Djedefre was found written on the underside of one of the massive roofing-block beams which covered Khufu's southern boat-pits by Egyptian work crews. Miroslav Verner notes that in the work crew's mason marks and inscriptions, "either Djedefra's throne name or his Golden Horus name occur exclusively." Verner writes that the current academic opinion regarding the attribution of this date to Djedefre is disputed among Egyptologists: Rainer Stadelmann, Vassil Dobrev, Peter Jánosi favour dating it to Djedefre whereas Wolfgang Helck, Anthony Spalinger, Jean Vercoutter and W.S. Smith attribute this date to Khufu instead on the assumption "that the ceiling block with the date had been brought to the building site of the boat pit already in Khufu's time and placed in position [only] as late as during the burial of the funerary boat in Djedefre's time."

The German scholar Dieter Arnold, in a 1981 MDAIK paper noted that the marks and inscriptions of the blocks from Khufu's boat pit seem to form a coherent collection relating to the different stages of the same building project realised by Djedefre's crews. Verner stresses that such marks and inscriptions usually pertained to the breaking of the blocks in the quarry, their transportation, their storage and manipulation in the building site itself: "In this context, the attribution of just a single inscription—and what is more, the only one with a date—on all the blocks from the boat pit to somebody other than Djedefra does not seem very plausible."

Verner also notes that the French-Swiss team excavating Djedefre's pyramid have discovered that this king's pyramid was really finished in his reign. According to Vallogia, Djedefre's pyramid largely made use of a natural rock promontory which represented circa 45% of its core; the side of the pyramid was 200 cubits long and its height was 125 cubits. The original volume of the monument of Djedefre, hence, approximately equalled that of Menkaura's own pyramid. Therefore, the argument that Djedefre enjoyed a short reign because his pyramid was unfinished is somewhat discredited. This means that Djedefre likely ruled Egypt for a minimum of 11 years if the cattle count was annual, or 22 years if it was biennial; Verner, himself, supports the shorter, 11-year figure and notes that "the relatively few monuments and records left by Djedefra do not seem to favour a very long reign" for this king.

Pyramid complex

Djedefre continued the move north in the location of pyramids by building his (now ruined) pyramid at Abu Rawash, some 8 km to the north of Giza. It is the northernmost part of the Memphite necropolis.

While Egyptologists previously assumed that his pyramid at this heavily denuded site was unfinished upon his death, more recent excavations from 1995 to 2005 have established that it was indeed completed. The most recent evidence indicates that its current state is the result of extensive plundering in later periods while "the king's statues [were] smashed as late as the 2nd century AD." During the Roman period (ca. 2000 years ago), Djedefre's pyramid was quarried for its stone and, as such, there is little left standing today. The 20th century has also not been kind to this monument – during the last century it was used as a military camp and its proximity to Cairo exposed it to modern development.

Some believe that the sphinx of his wife, Hetepheres II, which was part of Djedefre's pyramid complex, was the first sphinx created. In 2004, evidence that Djedefre was responsible for the building of the Sphinx at Giza in the image of his father was reported by the French Egyptologist Vassil Dobrev.

Due to the poor condition of Abu Rawash, only small traces of his mortuary complex have been found. Only the rough ground plan of his mud brick mortuary temple was able to be traced—with some difficulty—"in the usual place on the east face of the pyramid." His pyramid causeway proved to run from north to south rather than the more conventional east to west, while no valley temple has been found.

title: Djedefre


text:
Tokuji

Tokuji (徳治) was a Japanese era name (年号) after Kagen and before Enkyō. This period spanned the years from December 1306 through October 1308. The reigning emperor was Go-Nijō-tennō (後二条天皇).

Change of era

 * 1306 Tokuji gannen (徳治元年): The new era name was created to timestamp events or series of events. The previous era ended and the new one commenced in Kagen 4.

Events of the Tokuji era

 * 1308 (Tokuji 3, 8th month): In the 8th year of Go-Nijo-tennō's reign (後二条天皇8年), the emperor died at the young age of 24; and the succession (senso) was received by his cousin. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Hanazono is said to have acceded to the throne (sokui).
 * 1308 (Tokuji 3, 10th month): The nengō was changed to Enkyō with the accession of Emperor Hanazono.

title: Tokuji


text:
Laurence Minot (poet)

Laurence Minot (1300? – 1352?) was an English poet. Nothing definite is known of him. It has been suggested that he was a cousin of Thomas Minot, Archbishop of Dublin 1363-75. If this is so, he came from a family from the north of England. He may have been a soldier. Eleven poems are attributed to him, all of which appear uniquely in Cotton MS Galba E IX in the British Library Department of Manuscripts, London. In them, he celebrates in northern English and with a somewhat ferocious patriotism the victories of Edward III over the Scots and the French.

title: Laurence Minot (poet)


text:
USS Milwaukee (CL-5)

USS Milwaukee (CL-5) was an Omaha-class cruiser light cruiser built for the United States Navy during the 1920s. The ship spent most of her early career assigned to the Asiatic and Battle Fleets. In 1941, she was assigned to the Neutrality Patrol until she was refitted in New York in late 1941. She escorted a troop convoy to the Pacific in early 1942 before returning to the South Atlantic where she patrolled for German commerce raiders and blockade runners. In November, she intercepted one of the latter, but it scuttled itself before it could be captured. In 1944, she was temporarily transferred to the Soviet Navy and commissioned as Murmansk. The ship was returned by the Soviets in 1949 and sold for scrap in December.

Description
Milwaukee was 550 ft long at the waterline and 555 ft long overall, with a beam of 55 ft and a mean draft of 13 ft. Her standard displacement was 7050 LT and 9150 LT at full load. Her crew consisted of 29 officers and 429 enlisted men. The ship was fitted with a powerful echo sounder.

The ship was powered by four Westinghouse geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam generated by 12 Yarrow boilers. The engines were rated at 90000 ihp and designed to reach a top speed of 35 kn. At deep load she carried 1852 LT of fuel oil that provided her a range of 6500 nmi at a speed of 10 kn.

Milwaukee mounted a dozen 53-caliber 6 in guns; four in two twin gun turrets and eight in tiered casemates fore and aft. Her secondary armament initially consisted of two 50-caliber 3 in anti-aircraft (AA) guns in single mounts, but this was doubled to four guns during construction. Milwaukee was initially built with the capacity to carry 224 mines, but these were removed early in her career to make more space for crew accommodations. The ship carried above-water two triple and two twin torpedo tube mounts for 21 in torpedoes. The triple mounts were fitted on the upper deck, aft of the aircraft catapults, and the twin mounts were one deck lower, covered by hatches in the side of the hull. These lower mounts proved to be very wet and were removed, and the openings plated over, before the start of World War II. Another change made before the war was to increase the 3 in guns to four, all mounted in the ship's waist.

The ship lacked a full-length waterline armor belt. The sides of her boiler and engine rooms and steering gear were protected by 3 in of armor. The transverse bulkheads at the end of her machinery rooms were 1.5 in thick forward and three inches thick aft. The deck over the machinery spaces and steering gear had a thickness of 1.5 inches. The gun turrets were only protected against muzzle blast and the conning tower had 1.5 inches of armor. Milwaukee carried two floatplanes aboard that were stored on the two catapults. Initially these were probably Vought VE-9s, but the ship operated Curtiss SOC Seagulls from 1935 and Vought OS2U Kingfishers after 1940.

Wartime changes
After 1940 the lower aft six-inch guns were removed and the casemates plated over. The ship's anti-aircraft armament was augmented by two quadruple 1.1-inch gun mounts by early 1942, although these were replaced by twin Bofors 40 mm gun mounts later in the war. At about the same time, Milwaukee received eight Oerlikon 20 mm cannon.

Inter-war period
The contract for Milwaukee, the third ship named for the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was signed on 27 August 1917, and the ship was laid down by Todd Dry Dock and Construction Company, at their Tacoma, Washington shipyard on 13 December 1918. She was launched on 24 March 1921 and was commissioned on 20 June 1923. During the ship's shakedown cruise, she visited Sydney, Australia, during the Pan-Pacific Scientific Congress which opened on 23 August. With her new depth–finding equipment, Milwaukee surveyed the floor of the Pacific en route. "The Milwaukee Seamounts in the Northern Pacific are named after a set of soundings taken by Milwaukee in 1929."

During Fleet Problem VI, she collided with her sister ship USS Detroit (CL-8) in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on 1 February 1926, although neither ship was seriously damaged. Milwaukee and the destroyer USS Goff (DD-247) assisted victims of a fierce hurricane which had devastated the Isle of Pines in October. She was assigned to Cruiser Division 2 of the Asiatic Fleet in 1928. During an engagement with "enemy" cruisers during Fleet Problem IX on 16 April 1930, the ship was ruled to have been knocked out by the exercise's umpires. Three years later, during Fleet Problem XIV, Milwaukee was spotted by fighters from the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) and "sunk" by some of the opposing cruisers. In 1933, the ship was assigned to Cruiser Division 3 of the Battle Fleet. After the Panay Incident in December 1937, Milwaukee made a cruise through the Western Pacific from January to April 1938.

While steaming north of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico on 14 February 1939, Milwaukee discovered the deepest place in the Atlantic Ocean. The spot—which has a depth of 28680 ft—is now known as the "Milwaukee Deep". By January 1941, the ship had returned to Cruiser Division 2 which was now assigned to the Caribbean Patrol, commanded by Rear Admiral Jonas H. Ingram, part of the Neutrality Patrol established after the war began. Cruiser Division 2 was ordered to patrol the Atlantic between Trinidad, the Cape Verde Islands and the eastern bulge of Brazil in April, although Milwaukee was not immediately available. The ship, escorted by the destroyers USS Somers (DD-381) and USS Jouett (DD-396), began her first patrol in May, making a port visit to Recife, Brazil, on 1 June, before returning to San Juan, Puerto Rico. These patrols continued in the same manner for most of the rest of the year.

South Atlantic
Milwaukee, commanded by Captain Forrest B. Royal, was being overhauled in the Brooklyn Navy Yard when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December. The ship escorted a convoy to the Caribbean from New York on 31 December and then escorted eight troop transports from the Panama Canal to the Society Islands. She rejoined the South Atlantic Patrol Force upon her return and spend the next two years making patrols between Brazil and the African coast. On 19 May she received an SOS from the Brazilian cargo ship SS Commandante Lyra, which had been torpedoed by the ITALIAN SUBMARINE Barbarigo off the coast of Brazil. Milwaukee found the freighter abandoned, burning, and listing to port. She rescued 25 survivors from their lifeboats, including the ship's master. Reinforced by her sister USS Omaha (CL-4) and the destroyer USS McDougal (DD-358), the fires were brought under control, cargo was jettisoned to lighten the ship, and Commandante Lyra was towed to Fortaleza, Brazil. Shortly after, on the night of 20 May, she was attacked by the Barbarigo, commanded by Enzo Grossi (who mistook her for a "Maryland- or California- type battleship") with two torpedoes, which missed and were not even noticed by the American ships; however, Grossi claimed to have sunk his target, and was promoted to Capitano di Fregata (Commander) and decorated with the Gold Medal of Military Valour and the Iron Cross. Two subsequent commissions in 1949 and 1962 would eventually reverse the promotion and the decorations.

Rear Admiral Oliver M. Read assumed command of Cruiser Division 2 in October and hoisted his flag aboard Milwaukee. On 21 November, Milwaukee, her sister USS Cincinnati (CL-6) and the destroyer Somers intercepted the German blockade runner MS Anneliese Essberger (1935). When Somers had closed to 4 mi, the German ship scuttled herself to prevent capture. Milwaukee rescued 62 of the ship's crew. On 2 May 1943, while the ship was under repair at Recife, her crew helped to fight a fire on the oil tanker SS Livingston Roe. Milwaukee and Omaha collided on 31 May off the coast of Brazil, although the extent of the damage is not known. The ship sailed for the Brooklyn Navy Yard on 8 February 1944, preparatory to her temporary transfer to the Soviet Union in lieu of Italian ships allotted after the Italian surrender that could not be delivered. She escorted a convoy to Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 8 March before forming part of the escort of Convoy JW 58 during her voyage to Murmansk beginning on 29 March.

Soviet service
On 20 April, the ship was transferred on loan to the Soviet Northern Fleet in Murmansk. She was commissioned in the Soviet Navy as Murmansk and performed convoy and patrol duty in the Arctic Ocean for the remainder of the war. Afterward, she became a training ship and participated in the 1948 fleet maneuvers. On 16 March 1949, Milwaukee was transferred back to the United States. She was the first of 15 American warships returned by the Soviet Union. She entered the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 18 March 1949, and was sold for scrapping on 10 December to the American Shipbreakers, Inc. of Wilmington, Delaware.

title: USS Milwaukee (CL-5)


text:
Scornicești

Scornicești is a town in Olt County, Romania, with a population of 10,795. The town administers 13 villages (Bălțați, Bircii, Chițeasca, Constantinești, Jitaru, Mărgineni-Slobozia, Mihăilești-Popești, Mogoșești, Negreni, Piscani, Rusciori, Șuica, and Teiuș) and has a total area of 170 km2, being the locality with the largest area in the county of Olt, surpassing even its capital, Slatina. Scornicești is situated in the historical region of Muntenia. It officially became a town in 1989, as a result of the Romanian rural systematization program.

History
Scornicești was the birthplace of communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu, who lived there until the age of 11, when he left for Bucharest to become a shoemaker. During his dictatorship, Ceaușescu wanted to make Scornicești a "model town" to house the newly created "Socialist Man". Consequently, in 1988, he began his plan by demolishing the traditional village houses and replacing them with apartment buildings, and changed the town's status from "village" to "city" (however, the bulldozers did not destroy Ceaușescu's birth home, which is now one of the local attractions - see on WikiMapia).

Ceaușescu also built a large stadium (with a capacity of 18,000 spectators) for the local football team, FC Olt, which, with the help of the Ceaușescus, was promoted to Divizia A. Nowadays, the team plays in the Olt County Championship.

The Scornicești Solar Park power system of solar panels is located in the town.

Natives

 * Radu Băldescu (1888–1953), major general during World War II
 * Ion Barbu (born 1977), footballer
 * Marin Ceaușescu (1916–1989), economist and diplomat, the older brother of Nicolae
 * Nicolae Ceaușescu (1918–1989), communist politician, general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last communist leader of Romania
 * Valentin Coșereanu (born 1991), footballer
 * Emil Dică (born 1982), footballer

title: Scornicești