text:
Phanariots

Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (Φαναριώτες, Fanarioți, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern Fener), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied four important positions in the Ottoman Empire: Voivode of Moldavia, Voivode of Wallachia, Grand Dragoman of the Porte and Grand Dragoman of the Fleet. Despite their cosmopolitanism and often-Western education, the Phanariots were aware of their Greek ancestry and culture; according to Nicholas Mavrocordatos' Philotheou Parerga, "We are a race completely Hellenic".

They emerged as a class of wealthy Greek merchants (of mostly noble Byzantine descent) during the second half of the 16th century, and were influential in the administration of the Ottoman Empire's Balkan domains in the 18th century. The Phanariots usually built their houses in the Phanar quarter to be near the court of the Patriarch, who (under the Ottoman millet system) was recognized as the spiritual and secular head (millet-bashi) of the Orthodox subjects—the Rum Millet, or "Roman nation" of the empire, except those under the spiritual care of the Patriarchs of Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Ohrid and Peja—often acting as archontes of the Ecumenical See. They dominated the administration of the patriarchate, often intervening in the selection of hierarchs (including the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople).

Overview
Many members of Phanariot families (who had acquired great wealth and influence during the 17th century) occupied high political and administrative posts in the Ottoman Empire. From 1669 until the Greek War of Independence in 1821, Phanariots made up the majority of the dragomans to the Ottoman government (the Porte) and foreign embassies due to the Greeks' higher level of education than the general Ottoman population. With the church dignitaries, local notables from the provinces and the large Greek merchant class, Phanariots represented the better-educated members of Greek society during Ottoman rule until the 1821 start of the Greek War of Independence. During the war, Phanariots influenced decisions by the Greek National Assembly (the representative body of Greek revolutionaries, which met six times between 1821 and 1829). Between 1711–1716 and 1821, a number of Phanariots were appointed Hospodars (voivodes or princes) in the Danubian Principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia) (usually as a promotion from the offices of Dragoman of the Fleet and Dragoman of the Porte); the period is known as the Phanariot epoch in Romanian history.

Ottoman Empire
After the fall of Constantinople, Mehmet II deported the city's Christian population, leaving only the Jewish inhabitants of Balat, repopulating the city with Christians and Muslims from throughout the whole empire and the newly conquered territories. Phanar was repopulated with Greeks from Mouchlion in the Peloponnese and, after 1461, with citizens of the Empire of Trebizond.

The roots of Greek ascendancy can be traced to the Ottoman need for skilled, educated negotiators as their empire declined and they relied on treaties rather than force. During the 17th century, the Ottomans began having problems in foreign relations and difficulty dictating terms to their neighbours; for the first time, the Porte needed to participate in diplomatic negotiations.

With the Ottomans traditionally ignoring Western European languages and cultures, officials were at a loss. The Porte assigned those tasks to the Greeks, who had a long mercantile and educational tradition and the necessary skills. The Phanariots and other Greek as well as Hellenized families primarily from Constantinople, occupied high posts as secretaries and interpreters for Ottoman officials.

Diplomats and patriarchs
As a result of Phanariot and ecclesiastical administration, the Greeks expanded their influence in the 18th-century empire while retaining their Greek Orthodox faith and Hellenism. This had not always been the case in the Ottoman realm. During the 16th century, the South Slavs—the most prominent in imperial affairs—converted to Islam to enjoy the full rights of Ottoman citizenship (especially in the Eyalet of Bosnia; Serbs tended to occupy high military positions.

A Slavic presence in Ottoman administration gradually became hazardous for its rulers, since the Slavs tended to support Habsburg armies during the Great Turkish War. By the 17th century the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople was the religious and administrative ruler of the empire's Orthodox subjects, regardless of ethnic background. All formerly-independent Orthodox patriarchates, including the Serbian Patriarchate renewed in 1557, came under the authority of the Greek Orthodox Church. Most of the Greek patriarchs were drawn from the Phanariots.

Two Greek social groups emerged, challenging the leadership of the Greek Church: the Phanariots in Constantinople and the local notables in the Helladic provinces (kodjabashis, dimogerontes and prokritoi). According to 19th-century Greek historian Constantine Paparrigopoulos, the Phanariots initially sought the most important secular offices of the patriarchal court and could frequently intervene in the election of bishops and influence crucial decisions by the patriarch. Greek merchants and clergy of Byzantine aristocratic origin, who acquired economic and political influence and were later known as Phanariots, settled in extreme northwestern Constantinople (which had become central to Greek interests after the establishment of the patriarch's headquarters in 1461, shortly after Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque).

Patriarchate
After the 1453 fall of Constantinople, when the Sultan replaced de jure the Byzantine Emperor for subjugated Christians, he recognized the Ecumenical Patriarch as the religious and national leader (ethnarch) of the Greeks and other ethnic groups in the Greek Orthodox Millet. The Patriarchate had primary importance, occupying this key role for Christians of the Empire because the Ottomans did not legally distinguish between nationality and religion and considered the empire's Orthodox Christians a single entity.

The position of the Patriarchate in the Ottoman state encouraged Greek renaissance projects centering on the resurrection and revitalization of the Byzantine Empire. The Patriarch and his church dignitaries constituted the first centre of power for the Greeks in the Ottoman state, which infiltrated Ottoman structures and attracted the former Byzantine nobility.

Merchant middle class

The wealth of the extensive Greek merchant class provided the material basis for the intellectual revival featured in Greek life for more than half a century before 1821. Greek merchants endowed libraries and schools. On the eve of the Greek War of Independence, the three most important centres of Greek learning (schools-cum-universities) were in the commercial centres of Chios, Smyrna and Aivali. The first Greek millionaire of the Ottoman era was Michael "Şeytanoğlu" Kantakouzenos, who earned 60,000 ducats a year from his control of the fur trade from Muscovy.

Civil servants
During the 18th century, the Phanariots were a hereditary clerical−aristocratic group who managed the affairs of the patriarchate and the dominant political power of the Ottoman Greek community. They became a significant political factor in the empire and, as diplomatic agents, played a role in the affairs of Great Britain, France and the Russian Empire.

The Phanariots competed for the most important administrative offices in the Ottoman administration; these included collecting imperial taxes, monopolies on commerce, working under contract in a number of enterprises, supplying the court and ruling the Danubian Principalities. They engaged in private trade, controlling the crucial wheat trade on the Black Sea. The Phanariots expanded their commercial activities into the Kingdom of Hungary and then to the other Central European states. Their activities intensified their contacts with Western nations, and they became familiar with Western languages and cultures.

Before the beginning of the Greek War of Independence, the Phanariots were firmly established as the political elite of Hellenism. According to Greek historian Constantine Paparrigopoulos, this was a natural evolution given the Phanariots' education and experience in supervising large parts of the empire. According to Nikos Svoronos argued, the Phanariots subordinated their national identity to their class identity and tried to peacefully co−exist with the Ottomans; they did not enrich the Greek national identity and lost ground to groups which flourished through their confrontation with the Ottoman Empire (the klephts and armatoloi).

Danubian Principalities

A Greek presence had established itself in both Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, resulting in the appointment of Greek princes before the 18th century. After the Phanariot era, some Phanariot families in Wallachia and Moldavia identified themselves as Romanian in Romanian society (including the Rosetti family; C. A. Rosetti represented the radical, nationalist cause during and after the 1848 Wallachian revolution.).

Phanariot attention focused on occupying the most favorable offices the empire could offer non-Muslims and the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which were still relatively rich and—more importantly—autonomous (despite having to pay tribute as vassal states). Many Greeks had found favorable conditions there for commercial activities, in comparison with the Ottoman Empire, and an opportunity for political power; they entered Wallachian and Moldavian boyar nobility by marriage.

Reigns of local princes were not excluded on principle. Several hellenized Romanian noble families, such as the Callimachis (originally Călmașul), the Racovițăs and the Albanian Ghicas penetrated the Phanar nucleus to increase their chances of occupying the thrones and maintain their positions.

Most sources agree that 1711 was when the gradual erosion of traditional institutions reached its zenith, but characteristics ascribed to the Phanariot era had made themselves felt long before it. The Ottomans enforced their choice of hospodars as far back as the 15th century, and foreign (usually Greek or Levantine) boyars competed with local ones since the late 16th century. Rulers since Dumitraşcu Cantacuzino in Moldavia and George Ducas (a prince of Greek origin) in Wallachia, both in 1673, were forced to surrender their family members as hostages in Constantinople. The traditional elective system in the principalities, resulting in long periods of political disorder, was dominated by a small number of ambitious families who competed violently for the two thrones and monopolized land ownership.

1711–1715

A change in policy was indicated by the fact that autonomous Wallachia and Moldavia had entered a period of skirmishes with the Ottomans, due to the insubordination of local princes associated with the rise of Imperial Russia's power under Peter the Great and the firm presence of the Habsburg Empire on the Carpathian border with the principalities. Dissidence in the two countries became dangerous for the Turks, who were confronted with the attraction on the population of protection by a fellow Eastern Orthodox state. This became obvious with Mihai Racoviță's second rule in Moldavia, when the prince plotted with Peter to have Ottoman rule overthrown. His replacement, Nicholas Mavrocordatos, was the first official Phanariot in his second reign in Moldavia and replaced Ștefan Cantacuzino in Wallachia as the first Phanariot ruler of that country.

A crucial moment was the Russo−Turkish War of 1710−1713, when Dimitrie Cantemir sided with Russia and agreed to Russian tutelage of his country. After Russia experienced a major defeat and Cantemir went into exile, the Ottomans took charge of the succession to the throne of Moldavia. This was followed by similar measures in Wallachia, prompted by Ștefan Cantacuzino's alliance with Habsburg commander Prince Eugene of Savoy in the closing stages of the Great Turkish War.

Rulers and retinues

The person raised to the office of prince was usually the chief dragoman of the Porte, well-versed in contemporary politics and Ottoman statecraft. The new prince, who obtained his office in exchange for a generous bribe, proceeded to the country he was selected to govern (whose language he usually did not know). When the new princes were appointed, they were escorted to Iași or Bucharest by retinues composed of their families, favourites and creditors (from whom they had borrowed the bribes). The prince and his appointees counted on recouping these in as short a time as possible, amassing an amount sufficient to live on after their brief time in office.

Thirty-one princes, from eleven families, ruled the two principalities during the Phanariot epoch. When the choice became limited to a few families due to princely disloyalty to the Porte, rulers would be moved from one principality to the other; the prince of Wallachia (the richer of the two principalities) would pay to avert his transfer to Iaşi, and the prince of Moldavia would bribe supporters in Constantinople to appoint him to Wallachia. Constantine Mavrocordatos ruled a total of ten times in Moldavia and Wallachia. The debt was owed to several creditors, rather than to the Sultan; the central institutions of the Ottoman Empire generally seemed determined to maintain their rule over the principalities and not exploit them irrationally. In an early example, Ahmed III paid part of Nicholas Mavrocordatos' sum.

Administration and boyars

The Phanariot epoch was initially characterized by fiscal policies driven by Ottoman needs and the ambitions of some hospodars, who (mindful of their fragile status) sought to pay back their creditors and increase their wealth while in a position of power. To make the reigns lucrative while raising funds to satisfy the needs of the Porte, princes channeled their energies into taxing the inhabitants into destitution. The most odious taxes (such as the văcărit first imposed by Iancu Sasul in the 1580s), mistakenly identified with the Phanariots in modern Romanian historiography, were much older.

The mismanagement of many Phanariot rulers contrasts with the achievements and projects of others, such as Constantine Mavrocordatos (who abolished serfdom in Wallachia in 1746 and Moldavia in 1749) and Alexander Ypsilantis, who were inspired by Habsburg serf policy. Ypsilantis tried to reform legislation and impose salaries for administrative offices in an effort to halt the depletion of funds the administrators, local and Greek alike, were using for their own maintenance; it was, by then, more profitable to hold office than to own land. His Pravilniceasca condică, a relatively modern legal code, met stiff boyar resistance.

The focus of such rules was often the improvement of state structure against conservative wishes. Contemporary documents indicate that, despite the change in leadership and boyar complaints, about 80 percent of those seated in the Divan (an institution roughly equivalent to the estates of the realm) were members of local families. This made endemic the social and economic issues of previous periods, since the inner circle of boyars blocked initiatives (such as Alexander Ypsilantis') and obtained, extended and preserved tax exemptions.

Russian influence
The Phanariots copied Russian and Habsburg institutions; during the mid-18th century they made noble rank dependent on state service, as Peter I of Russia did. After the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji (1774) allowed Russia to intervene on the side of Ottoman Eastern Orthodox subjects, most of the Porte's tools of political pressure became ineffective. They had to offer concessions to maintain a hold on the countries as economic and strategic assets. The treaty made any increase in tribute impossible, and between 1774 and the 1820s it plummeted from about 50,000 to 20,000 gold coins (equivalent to Austrian gold currency) in Wallachia and to 3,100 in Moldavia.

Immediately afterward, Russia forcefully used its new prerogative. The deposition of Constantine Ypsilantis (in Wallachia) and Alexander Mourousis (in Moldavia) by Selim III, called on by French Empire's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Horace Sébastiani (whose fears of pro−Russian conspiracies in Bucharest were partially confirmed), was the casus belli for the 1806–1812 conflict, and Russian general Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich swiftly reinstated Ypsilantis during his military expedition to Wallachia.

Such gestures began a period of effective Russian supervision, culminating with the Organic Statute administration of the 1830s. The Danubian principalities grew in strategic importance with the Napoleonic Wars and the decline of the Ottoman Empire, as European states became interested in halting Russian southward expansion (which included the 1812 annexation of Bessarabia). New consulates in the two countries' capitals, ensuring the observation of developments in Russian−Ottoman relations, had an indirect impact on the local economy as rival diplomats began awarding protection and sudit status to merchants competing with local guilds. Nicholas I of Russia pressured Wallachia and Moldavia into granting constitutions (in 1831 and 1832, respectively) to weaken native rulers.

The boyars began a petition campaign against the princes in power; addressed to the Porte and the Habsburg monarchy, they primarily demanded Russian supervision. Although they referred to incidents of corruption and misrule, the petitions indicate their signers' conservatism. The boyars tend to refer to (fictitious) "capitulations" which either principality would have signed with the Ottomans, demanding that rights guaranteed through them be restored. They viewed reform attempts by princes as illegitimate; in alternative proposals (usually in the form of constitutional projects), the boyars expressed desire for an aristocratic republic.

Greek War of Independence and legacy
The active part taken by Greek princes in revolts after 1820 and the disorder provoked by the Filiki Eteria (of which the Ghica, Văcărescu and Golescu families were active members after its uprising against the Ottoman Empire in Moldavia and Tudor Vladimirescu's Wallachian uprising) led to the disappearance of promotions from the Phanar community; the Greeks were no longer trusted by the Porte. Amid tense relations between boyars and princes, Vladimirescu's revolt was primarily the result of compromise between Oltenian pandurs and the regency of boyars attempting to block the ascension of Scarlat Callimachi (the last Phanariot ruler in Bucharest). Ioan Sturdza's rule in Moldavia and Grigore IV Ghica's in Wallachia are considered the first of the new period, although the new regime abruptly ended in Russian occupation during another Russo−Turkish War and the subsequent period of Russian influence.

Most Phanariots were patrons of Greek culture, education and printing. They founded academies which attracted teachers and pupils from throughout the Orthodox commonwealth, and there was awareness of intellectual trends in Habsburg Europe. Many of the Phanariot princes were capable, farsighted rulers. As prince of Wallachia in 1746 and Moldavia in 1749, Constantine Mavrocordatos abolished serfdom and Alexander Ypsilantis of Wallachia (reigned 1774–1782) initiated extensive administrative and legal reforms. Ipsilanti's reign coincided with subtle shifts in economic and social life and the emergence of spiritual and intellectual aspirations which pointed to the West and reform.

Condemnation of the Phanariots is a focus of Romanian nationalism, usually integrated into a general resentment of foreigners. The tendency unifies pro− and anti−modernisation attitudes; Phanariot Greeks are painted as reactionary elements (by Communist Romania) and agents of brutal, opportunistic change (as in Mihai Eminescu's Scrisoarea a III-a).

Extant Phanariot families

Here is a non-exhaustive list of Phanariot families:

 * Angelos, imperial family originally from central Philadelphia, Byzantine emperors.
 * Argyropoulos, noble family of the Byzantine Empire also known as Argyros, see John Argyropoulos.
 * Athanasovici
 * Callimachi family, also known as Călmașu, Kalmaşu or Kallimaşu, originally a Romanian boyar family from Moldavia.
 * Callivazis, originally from Trebizond, relocated to the Russian Empire.
 * Cantacuzino, claimed to be originated from the Byzantine noble family Kantakouzenos.
 * Caradjas, also known as Caragea or Karatzas.
 * Caratheodoris family, see also Constantin Carathéodory
 * Cariophyllis
 * Chrisoscoleos
 * Chrisovergis, also known as Hrisovergis, from the Peloponnese
 * Caravia family, noble family from the Ionian Islands, a branch of the Byzantine Kallergi House
 * Diamandis
 * Doukas, also known as Dukas, imperial family originally from Paphlagonia, Despotate of Epirus despots.
 * Evalidis, also known as Evaoglous, Hadjievalidis, from Trebizond
 * Gerakis, from Kefalonia
 * Geralis, from Mytilene and Kefalonia
 * Ghica family, originally Albanians from Macedonia
 * Hantzeris, also known as Handjeri, Hançeri, Pıçakçı and Hançeroglou, see Constantine Hangerli
 * Kanellos, also known as Kanellou or Canello, originally from Chios (see Stefanos Kanellos)
 * Kavadas, from Chios
 * Komnenos, also known as Komnenus or Comnenos, including its cadet branches of Axouch, Axouchos or Afouxechos, from Trebizond, Byzantine and Trebizond emperors.
 * Lambrinos
 * Lapithis, from Crete
 * Lazaridis, also known as Lazarević, a Serbianized family originally from Montenegro.
 * Lermis, also known as Lermioglous or Lermilis, from Pontus.
 * Levidis officials on the Patriarchate and dignitaries in the Imperial Court (Sublime Porte).
 * Mamonas
 * Manos, originated from Kastoria, see Aspasia Manos
 * Mavrocordatos, from Chios, see Alexandros Mavrokordatos.
 * Mavrogenis, from Paros, see Manto Mavrogenous.
 * Mavroudis
 * Mourouzis family, see Alexander Mourouzis
 * Musurus, see Marcus Musurus
 * Palaiologos, imperial family originally from central Asia minor, later marquesses of Montferrat
 * Photeinos
 * Philanthropenos, noble family of the Byzantine Empire.
 * Rallis, from Chios, later a political family in the Hellenic Republic.
 * Rizos Rangavis, see Alexandros Rizos Rangavis
 * Racoviță, also known as Racovitza, Romanian noble family from Moldavia and Wallachia.
 * Ramalo
 * Rodocanachi
 * Romalo
 * Rosetti family, also known as Ruset or Russeti, Moldavian Boyar family of Byzantine and Genoan origins.
 * Scanavis
 * Schinas
 * Sereslis
 * Soutzos family, also known as Suțu, Sutzu or Sütçü, see Michael Soutzos.
 * Tzanavarakis, also known Tzanavaris, Çanavaris or Canavaroğulları.
 * Venturas
 * Vlachoutzis
 * Văcărescu family, Romanian boyars from Wallachia and the first poets in Romanian literature
 * Vlastos, from Crete
 * Ypsilantis, from Trebizond, see Alexander Ypsilantis and Demetrios Ypsilantis

Extinct Phanariot families

 * Aristarchis
 * Ballasakis
 * Cananos
 * Caryophyles
 * Dimakis
 * Eupragiotes
 * Iancoleos (della Rocca)
 * Moronas
 * Negris
 * Paladas, from Crete
 * Plaginos
 * Rizos Neroulos
 * Ramadan
 * Souldjaroglou
 * Tzoukes

title: Phanariots


text:
Starlight (disambiguation)

Starlight is the visible radiation emitted by stars other than the Sun.

Starlight or Star light may also refer to:

Books and comics

 * Starlight (comics), a six-issue limited series from Image Comics
 * Starlight (character), a protagonist in the media franchise The Boys
 * Starlight (Marvel Comics), Dr. Tania Belinsky, a Marvel Comics character
 * "Starlight" (fairy tale), by Marie-Madeleine de Lubert
 * Starlight (novel), 2006 novel in Warriors: The New Prophecy series by Erin Hunter
 * "Star Light" (short story), by Isaac Asimov
 * Starlight (anthology series), science fiction and fantasy
 * Star Light, a novel by Hal Clement

Film and television

 * Starlight (TV series), a 1930s BBC programme
 * Starlight, a 1996 film starring Rae Dawn Chong and Willie Nelson
 * Starlight, an upcoming film directed by Joe Cornish
 * Starlight: A Musical Movie, a 1988 film featuring Tichina Arnold
 * Starlight Glimmer, a character in the series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
 * Revue Starlight, a Japanese media franchise

Music

 * Starlight (band), an alias used by Italian band Black Box for their hit single "Numero Uno"
 * The Starlight, a bar and concert venue in Fort Collins, Colorado, US

Albums

 * Starlight (Joan Armatrading album), 2012
 * Starlight (Bethel Music album), 2017
 * Starlight (Jon Stevens album), 2017
 * Starlight (Wagakki Band EP), 2021
 * Starlight, an EP by Regie Hamm

Songs

 * "Starlight" (Babymetal song), 2018
 * "Starlight" (Matt Cardle song), 2011
 * "Starlight" (Dave song), 2022
 * "Starlight" (Sophie Ellis-Bextor song), 2011
 * "Starlight" (Muse song), 2006
 * "Starlight" (The Supermen Lovers song), 2001
 * "Starlight" (Taeyeon song), 2016
 * "Starlight", by Accept from their 1981 album Breaker
 * "Starlight", by Bethel Music and Amanda Cook from Starlight, 2017
 * "Starlight", by Brave Combo from their 2004 release Let's Kiss: 25th Anniversary Album
 * "Starlight", by Christophe Willem from his 2012 album Love Shot Me Down
 * "Starlight", by Coco & Puttnam, vocals by Cathy Battistessa
 * "Starlight", by Dreamcatcher from their 2022 album Apocalypse: Save Us
 * "Starlight", by Electric Light Orchestra from their 1977 album Out of the Blue
 * "Starlight", by Freedom Call from their 2005 album The Circle of Life
 * "Starlight", by Freezepop from their 2001 EP Fashion Impression Function
 * "Starlight", by Andy Gibb from his 1977 debut album, Flowing Rivers
 * "Starlight", by Gone Is Gone from their 2016 release Gone Is Gone
 * "Starlight", by Gotthard from their 2012 album Firebirth
 * "Starlight", by Helloween from their 1985 album Helloween
 * "Starlight", by Loona from their 2017 album Mix & Match
 * "Starlight", by Lou Reed and John Cale from their 1990 album Songs for Drella
 * "Starlight", by Mumm-Ra from their 2007 album These Things Move in Threes
 * "Starlight", by Savatage from their 1995 album Dead Winter Dead
 * "Starlight", by Slash featuring Myles Kennedy from the 2010 album Slash
 * "Starlight", by Stephanie Mills from the 1979 album What Cha Gonna Do with My Lovin'
 * "Starlight", by Taylor Swift on her 2012 album Red and its 2021 re-recorded version
 * "Starlight", by Tonight Alive from their 2011 debut album What Are You So Scared Of?
 * "Starlight", by Trúbrot
 * "Starlight", by VIXX
 * "Starlight", by Westlife from their 2021 album Wild Dreams
 * "Starlight", by Wonderland from their 2011 album Wonderland
 * "Starlight", by Yola from her 2021 album Stand for Myself

Other uses

 * Starlight (interstellar probe)
 * STARlight, a physics computer program
 * Starlight (clipper)
 * Starlight, Indiana, U.S., an unincorporated community
 * Starlight, Pennsylvania, U.S., an unincorporated community
 * Coast Starlight, an Amtrak train
 * Starlight Children's Foundation, a charitable organization
 * Starlights (women's cricket), a women's cricket team from South Africa

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

title: Starlight (disambiguation)


text:
Fan Changjiang

Fàn Changjiang (6 October 1909 – 23 October 1970), born Fan Xitian (范希天), was a Chinese journalist and writer. Fan was born in Sichuan Province and educated at Peking University. Fan was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and committed suicide in 1970.

Biography
Fan started his career as a journalist in 1933. He was sent to the northwest of China by Ta Kung Pao as a string correspondent in 1935. At that time, he editorialized a series of news which sensationalized the public. These pieces of news were later anthologized in a book called Northwest China (中國的西北角). In this book, he described the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the activities of Red Army and the Long March. Besides that, Fan Changjiang showed his determination and strong animosity towards feudalism warlords, rich landowners and bad scholars in this book. Meanwhile, he concerned with the development of China's future and also sympathized those who suffered from the political turmoil.

In 1936, when the political scene became chaotic and the first Chinese civil war (1928-1937) started, he went to the Inner Mongolia for observation. In December, when the famous Xi'an Incident broke out, Fan grasped the opportunity to interview Zhou Enlai at the risk of life. Zhou was amazed by his studies and analyses when he read his journals.

Later on, he went to Shaanxi province Yan'an to have a personal conversation with Mao Zedong It paved the way for Fan's future career as a journalist. When he returned to Shanghai, he published his viewpoints on the anti-Japanese movement and it was generally accepted by the mass. At that time, he was the first journalist who reported the red terror in China.

On November 8, 1937, Fan established the Chinese Young Journalists Association (中國青年記者協會) with Yang Zao (羊棗) and Xu Maijin (徐邁進) and was elected as the chief executive officer of the association. In the same year, he cofound the International News Association (國際新聞社) with Hu Yuzhi in Changsha.

In 1939, he joined the CCP and was one of the people who established Hua Shang Daily《華商報》in Hong Kong. He also took up the posts of the principal of Huangzhong Journalism College (華中新聞專科學校), chairman of Huangzhong Branch of the Xinhua News Agency and Huangzhong Post of Xinhua Daily 《新華日報》(華中報).

In July 1949, he established the All-China Journalists Association with Hu Qiaomu and many other famous journalists. He was the chief editor of the Xinhua News Agency, chairman of Jiefang Daily and People's Daily.

In 1991, the "Fan Changjiang Journalism Awards" were established by the Chinese Journalists Association Committee in order to encourage young journalists in China.

Fan's posts and his careers
Apart from being an award-winning journalist, Fan was also considered a good leader by others. He had hold various official posts, such as:

 * 1) President of Huangzhong Journalism College (華中新聞專科學校) in 1939
 * 2) Chairman of Huangzhong Branch of Xinhua News Agency in 1939
 * 3) Chairman of Huangzhong Post of Xinhua Daily in 1939
 * 4) Chief editor of Xinhua News Agency in 1949
 * 5) President of Jiefang Daily and People's Daily in 1949
 * 6) Vice-chancellor of the General Administration of Press and Publication
 * 7) Vice-secretary of the State Council Committee of Culture and Education (政務院文化教育委員會副秘書長)
 * 8) Second director of office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
 * 9) Vice minister in charge of the Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense

Ideology in newspaper aspect
In the book, Communication and essay, Fan believed that newspaper was a political tool. It was the basic principle of journalism. A journalist should not fear to discuss politics, should not tend to avoid politics. More importantly, journalist should not violate era. In addition, Fan suggested that if there were correct politics to make instructions, the news work would be an important power to accelerate the advancement of the society.

Obligation to tell the truth
Fan had a clear political and journalistic stand. When he was young, he was greatly influenced by the revolutionary movement and joined series of anti-imperialism movements. He was almost sent to death in the Chongqing Massacre. But this experience further strengthened his ideology which was to seek and report the truth. He believed that honesty should be the most important element of being a journalist.

Political views
Fan believed that journalists should support the reforms and determine to be loyal to the CC. The public should not fear danger and harshness but have incentive to learn and think. He even became a communist journalist and joined CCP after he left Ta Kung Pao. He was strongly against the capitalist class and supported communism.

Loyalty to citizens
As described before, Fan wrote a series of articles disclosing the north-west rotten policy, the secret agreements and the hidden side of the red army. What he wanted to show to the people was the urgent need for revolution. He insisted that all his reports and articles should let the people know what was happening in their country.

Views on journalism
Fan claimed that a reporter who intended to write excellent journal articles, one must get himself involved in the public. He thought that journalism was the fact of what people want to know and what people should know but had not known. Fan said "This is a thought which is not very across the board, but it does penetrate a spirit to serve the public. As a reporter or journalist, we should always learn to examine the problems and issues raised up by the public and citizens which means to learn what you report. We should also learn the technique of writing by being aware of the response of the public. If the article is not related to the public, there is always no response or voice. Public is considered as the source of journalism, so newspaper should always think of ways to let reporters and journalists get connected to it."

Fan and journalism in China
As the president of the Chinese Journalists Association Committee, Fan focused on the overall development of journalism in China. He once said, "A telegraph, a letter or a news article influence the attitude of the readers towards the war. It influences the feeling of soldiers in the frontier and the morale of workers at the back." Fan emphasized that journalism played an extremely important role during war. He requested all the journalists to have respectable personality, important sense of responsibility and outstanding quality in news reporting. Fan also pointed out the importance of strengthening self-education as well as the promotion of noble-quality with combinations of present political, social and journalistic environment for young journalists.

Famous journals of Fan
After his journey to Xi'an and Yan'an, he was employed by Da Gong Bao as a reporter. At that period of time, he wrote a lot of articles such as

On 7 July 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out. Fan went there to investigate the event. He went to Lugouqiao, Changxindian, etc. Fan wrote plenty of battlefield communications including
 * Cong Jiayushuo Dao Shanhaiguan ("From Jiayu Pass to Shanhai Pass"《從嘉峪說到山海關》 )
 * Bailingmiao Zhan Hou Hang ("The War in Bailingmiao" 《百靈廟戰後行》)
 * Yi Xi Meng《憶西蒙》

After China Young Journalists Association was founded, Fan went to the Tianjin–Pukou railway, where the Second Sino-Japanese War was the most fiercest, to report the event. He wrote a lot of communications to reveal the war situation and front tactical situation in Tai'erzhuang. Those communications were compiled and printed under the headline "Breakthrough at Xuzhou" (徐州突圍).
 * Beside the Lugouqiao《盧溝橋畔》
 * Xi Xian Feng Yun《西線風雲》
 * Shiue Bo Ping Jin《血泊平津》

China Young Journalists Association
It was established by Fan and other journalists at Shanghai in 1937. The aim of this association was to unite all journalists at that time and to spread the message of protecting China against the Japanese. This association later became the All-China Journalists Association. The day of its establishment, November 8, has been proclaimed by the Central government and the CCP as "Journalists' day" (記者節) since 2000. This day serves as a reminder to Chinese people of the devotion and dedication of the former journalists.

International News Association
During the Sino-Japanese War, Fan Changjiang, Hu Yuzhi and other journalists founded the International News Association at Changsha in 1936. Fan was the president of this association at that time. It was a left-leaning press agency during the period that China was still under the ruling of Kuomintang. It had a legal news gathering and the right of reporting to release the news and reviews of the Sino-Japanese War to the newspaper publishers in mainland China and the rest of the world, especially the news of the CCP, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.

Fan Changjiang Journalism Award
The Fan Changjiang Journalism Award is one of the three national journalists awards (the other two are the Taofen Journalism Award and Top 100 Journalists) issued by the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA). This is a prize for middle-aged and young journalists. It is named after Fan for his bold and objective coverage of the Chinese Revolution led by the CCP against the Kuomintang regime. The award started in 1991. Since 2000, the award is issued by the ACJA every two years (with the other two awards simultaneously). In the first three Fan Changjiang Journalism Awards, 10 reporters would receive the award and 30 reporters would receive the nominated award each time. But the nominated awards were cancelled starting from the fourth Awards. The nominee should age below 50 and work in the field of formal journals, public newspapers, national press agency, authorized radio stations, television stations and other news agency, with a minimum of 10-years successive reporter experience.

Fan and literature in China
Fan Changjiang is considered as one of the most prominent journalists in Chinese history. He had written a huge number of outstanding news articles and taken up a lot of leading positions in this field. His style of writing are considered as very modern, righteous and vivid.

Sai Shang Xing
Sai Shang Xing (塞上行) is a book written by Fan Changjiang in 1937. The Xi'an Incident was a turning point in Chinese political history. At that time, Fan's journey to Xi'an and Yan'an as a reporter had changed his political standpoint from a patriotic [journalist to a communist who fought for the proletariat. The release of his book The Journey to Northern Shaanxi (陝北之行) facilitated the understanding of Chinese citizens from different classes about the CCP and Red Army. It also spread out the idea of unity of the nation against Japan. It was the first time Fan got direct contact with the CCP and his mind got changed after talking to Mao Zedong overnight. Later, Mao even wrote two letters to Fan answering his questions concerning the topic about the unity of the nation against Japan. Mao also affirmed Fan's news article on Xiabei. Sai Shang Xing is a book and a record of Fan's change of his mind.

Northwest China
This book revealed the rotten policy in the north-west side. It also showed the hidden side of the red army and exposed all the secret agreements made among the leaders at that time. Fan definitely told people the truth. He wasn't afraid of the pressures from the government and reported it in the book to express his concerns on the country. Hu Yuzhi commented that “it is an excellent work which shocks all the Chinese.”

Communication and Essay
In this book, Fan described the use of communications and essays clearly which not only gave a format and spirit to the youth journalists for reporting, but also for the writers have the sense of persuasive communication.

Collection of Fan Changjiang's News Articles
"Collection of Fan Changjiang's News Article" was published in 1989. It contains some parts of the news articles written by Fan without editing. It focuses and respects on the original face of those records, just like Fan said in the preface that "Journalists must respect history, must respect the reality".

Fan and the Xi'an Incident in China
On December 12, 1936, Xi'an Incident broke out in China during the invasion of Japan and nationalist-communist confrontation (1927-1936), which had great effects on political and military aspects. Fan Changjiang, as a reporter, headed to Xi'an in order to unveil the situation to the public. He said, 'I determined to go to Xi'an to unveil the truth of China's politics at all costs.' He gained the insight into the current affairs. Fan went there alone to find out the mysteries of Xi'an Incident.

On February 4, 1937, Fan was finally permitted to interview CCP negotiator Zhou Enlai, who would become (in 1954) the first premier of People's Republic of China. Zhou told him all the details about Xi'an Incident, such as the reasons of the incident, the ideas of the CCP and the important issues about defensing the country against Japan. All these information had made Fan's articles even more accurate and in-depth.

Later, with the permission of Zhou, Fan went to Yan'an with great welcome for further details or even investigation. In Yan'an, he visited the "Red Army University" (紅軍大學) and interviewed some senior and important officers in the CCP, for example, Lin Biao, Liao Chengzhi and Zhu De, especially the first chairman of People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong on February 9.

Fan told Mao that he wanted to stay in northern Shaanxi; in order to get more information about CCP, so that he could write a few book on them to propagate the party ideology. However, Mao pointed out that the most important thing was to utilize the important position of Ta Kung Pao in the public to propagate the ideas and policies of CCP, so the co-operation between the CCP and Kuomintang could be facilitated.

After returning to Shanghai, Fan wrote the news article Turmoil in the Northwest (動盪中之西北大局) on the Ta Kung Pao on February 16. This article finally shocked the public and embarrassed Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of Nationalist Government by unveiling the truth in Xi'an. Mao was glad after reading his article and even wrote a letter to Fan to appreciate his efforts.

Fan had written a lot of exclusive articles about Red Army March and Xi'an Incident, which acted as a forwarding power to the Chinese history. He was an initial reporter writing about the details of Red Army March in his two articles called "Minshan Nanbei Jiaofei Zhi Xianshi" (岷山南北剿匪軍事之現勢) and "Chenglan Jixing" (成蘭紀行).

Timeline
- February 4 – Fan met Zhou Enlai in Xi'an
 * 1909 October 6 – Fan was born in Sichuan province.
 * 1927 August 1 – Fan participated in the Nanchang Uprising.
 * 1928 spring – Fan entered the Nanjing Central Party Affair School (南京中央黨務學校) which later called Central School of Politics (中央政治學校)--(1)
 * 1931 September – Fan quit the school as it suppressed Fan's effort to lead the students to fight against Japan’s invasion, after the Mukden Incident on September 18. He also quit the Kuomintang.
 * 1932 – Fan started studying philosophy in Peking University.
 * 1933 – He started writing articles in several newspapers, such as Chen Bao (晨報) in Beijing, and Shi Jie Ri Bao (世界日報) and Yi Shi Bao (益世報) in Tianjin.
 * 1934 – Fan was hired by Tianjin's Ta Kung Pao.
 * 1935 May – Fan, as a commissioner of Ta Kung Pao, visited the northwest part of China for 10 months. He wrote a series of articles and later were collected and published in Northwest China.
 * 1937 – Fan went to Xi'an in early February in an attempt to unveil the situation there after the Xi'an incident. The articles were later collected in The Journey to Shanbei (陝北之行).

- February 9 – Fan met Mao Zedong in Shaanxi

- February 15 – Da Kung Bao published Fan's famous article: "Dongdangzhong Zhi Xibei Daju" (動盪中之西北大局)

- November 8 – Fan established the Chinese Young Journalists Association (中國青年新聞記者協會) with his colleagues.
 * 1938 March 30 – Chinese Young Journalists Association (中國青年新聞記者協會) was renamed as Chinese Young Journalists Society (中國青年新聞記者學會) and Fan was appointed as the society representative.
 * 1939 May – Fan joined the CCP. and cofound the Hua Shang Daily (華商報) in Hong Kong. His posts included the principal of Huangzhong Journalism College (華中新聞專學校), chairman of Huangzhong Branch of Xinhua News (新華社華中分社) and Huangzhong Post of Xinhua Daily (新華日報; 華中報).
 * 1940 December 8 – Fan married Shen Junru's daughter, Shen Pu in Chongqing.
 * 1949 July – Establishment of the All-China Journalists Association.
 * 1967 – Fan was forced to solitary confinement since the Cultural Revolution started.
 * 1970 October 23 – Fan committed suicide by jumping into a well in Henan Province when he was 61 years old.
 * 1978 December 27 – Fan was redressed by the Central Government.
 * 1991 – Fan Changjiang Journalism Awards was set up by the Chinese Journalists Association Committee and served as an encouragement of the young journalists in China.

• (1): All students were obliged to join Kuomintang at that time.

title: Fan Changjiang


text:
List of destroyer classes of the United States Navy

The first automotive torpedo was developed in 1866, and the torpedo boat was developed soon after. In 1898, while the Spanish–American War was being fought in the Caribbean and the Pacific, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt wrote that the Spanish torpedo boat destroyers were the only threat to the American navy, and pushed for the acquisition of similar vessels. On 4 May 1898, the US Congress authorized the first sixteen torpedo boat destroyers and twelve seagoing torpedo boats for the United States Navy.

In World War I, the U.S. Navy began mass-producing destroyers, laying 273 keels of the Clemson-class destroyer and Wickes-class destroyer destroyers. The peacetime years between 1919 and 1941 resulted in many of these flush deck destroyers being laid up. Additionally, treaties regulated destroyer construction. The 1500-ton destroyers built in the 1930s under the treaties had stability problems that limited expansion of their armament in World War II. During World War II, the United States began building larger 2100-ton destroyers with five-gun main batteries, but without stability problems.

The first major warship produced by the U.S. Navy after World War II (and in the Cold War) were "frigates"—the ships were originally designated destroyer leaders but reclassified in 1975 as guided missile cruisers (except the Farragut-class destroyer (1958) became guided missile destroyers). These grew out of the last all-gun destroyers of the 1950s. In the middle 1970s the Spruance-class destroyers entered service, optimized for anti-submarine warfare. A special class of guided missile destroyers was produced for the Shah of Iran, but due to the Iranian Revolution these ships could not be delivered and were added to the U.S. Navy.

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, introduced in 1991, has been the U.S. Navy's only destroyer class in commission since 2005; construction continued through 2012 and was restarted in 2015. A further class, the Zumwalt-class destroyer, is entering service; the first ship was launched in 2013. The Zumwalt class will number three ships.

Pre–World War I
In 1864, US Navy Lt. William B. Cushing sank the ironclad CSS Albemarle using a "spar torpedo"—an explosive device mounted on a long pole and detonated underwater. Two years later in Austria, the British engineer Robert Whitehead developed a compressed air "automotive" torpedo; capable of 6 - 8 kn over a distance of 200 - 400 yd. The threat a small, fast, torpedo–delivering ship could pose to the battle line became clear to navies around the world; giving birth to the torpedo boat, including USS Cushing (TB-1) of the United States Navy.

During the Spanish–American War, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt wrote Spanish torpedo boat destroyers (such as the 370-ton SPANISH DESTROYER Furor) were "the only real menace" to the fleet blockading Santiago, and pushed for the acquisition of torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroyers. As President, Theodore Roosevelt continued to pay close attention to naval affairs, including the expansion of the Navy's fleet of destroyers.

In 1898 Congress authorized 16 torpedo boat destroyers, which would join the fleet by 1903. The first torpedo boat destroyers, the Bainbridge-class destroyer, featured two torpedo tubes and two 3 in guns, displacing 400 ST. The subsequent Smith-class destroyer and Paulding-class destroyer classes displaced 740 ST, the reason these classes were nicknamed "flivvers" (lightweights, after the Model T Ford). By the time the United States entered World War I, destroyers displaced 1000 ST and burned oil instead of coal. These "1000 tonners" were armed with eight to twelve torpedo tubes, four 4 in/50 caliber guns; and had a complement of approximately 100 officers and men. The 1000 tonners were the Cassin-class destroyer through Sampson-class destroyer classes, and were also called "broken deckers", due to their high forecastles.

World War I
Prior to entering World War I in 1917, the United States began producing destroyers to a new design with a continuous sheer strake, collectively referred to as "flush deckers". Six prototypes of the Caldwell-class destroyer were dissimilar: three had three stacks; two of these also had three screws. The others of this and the 267 ships of the mass-production Wickes-class destroyer and Clemson-class destroyer classes that followed all had two screws. As built, they also had four stacks, which gave rise to the nicknames "four stackers" or "four pipers". Eleven shipyards participated in their construction, which peaked in 1917 and 1918. By the time of the Armistice of 11 November 1918, keels for 177 ships had been laid and 41 had joined the fleet. Though the remaining ships were not needed in peacetime, the building program continued and by the end of May 1921, all but four of the 273 flush-deckers had been placed in commission. The final two did not follow until August 1922.

While the flush-deckers' freeboard fore and aft were designed to match preceding classes, the new ships differed in other respects. The waist guns were moved to a platform amidships, the galley beneath them; and a bulwark added between the galley and the bridge.

The standard displacement of the flush deck destroyers was 1200 +/-, the length approximately 314 ft, the beam measured approximately 31 ft, and the draft approximately 116 in. A typical flush deck destroyer had a normal crew of 105 officers and men, and was armed with four 4-inch deck guns, one 3-inch anti-aircraft gun, 12 21 in torpedo tubes, two stern-mounted depth charge racks, along with .50-caliber machine guns and small arms. The mass-produced classes also had four boilers providing steam to a pair of steam turbines, each of which drove a 9 ft screw at a combined 27000 shp for a top speed of about 33 kn. Destroyers quickly acquired the anti-submarine warfare mission against U-boats in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, being equipped with depth charge racks, hydrophones, and eventually Y-gun depth charge throwers. However, it was very difficult to successfully attack a U-boat with World War I technology, and US anti-submarine forces only scored two kills in that war.

Between the World Wars
After the end of World War I, there was little need for the destroyers built, so many were laid up, and fourteen had their torpedo tubes removed and were converted to minesweepers. On 8 September 1923, seven of the ships ran aground off the coast of California in the U.S. Navy's worst ever peacetime disaster.

In 1922, the Washington Naval Treaty was signed by the United States, the British Empire, the Empire of Japan, France, and Italy. The treaty called for a freeze in the size and composition of the world's major navies, including the U.S. Navy, which ceased production of large capital ships and destroyers. The London Naval Treaty, a 1930 agreement between the same parties (except France), established total destroyer tonnage limits for the navies. The treaty also defined two categories: destroyer and destroyer leader; along with the maximum tonnage of each category, and the allowable ratio of one category to another.

In the London Naval Treaty, destroyers were established as "surface vessels of war the standard displacement (S.D.) of which does not exceed 1,850 tons and with a gun not above 5.1 inch caliber", as published in Ship’s Data for U.S. Naval Vessels. The “total completed tonnage not to be exceeded on December 31, 1936” was 150,000 S.D., but “not more than 16% of the allowed tonnage... shall be employed in vessels over 1,500 tons S.D.”. The new, higher limits rendered the existing flush-deckers obsolete, and the General Board soon moved to replace them. Since Japan was considered a probable adversary and was building destroyers through the 1920s, the General Board replaced the four-stackers with ships that could carry large quantities of fuel, ammunition, and supplies as needed to conduct operations across the vast Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. Navy resumed destroyer construction in 1932 with the Farragut-class destroyer (1934). For the next seven years, the United States Navy constructed "1500 tonners", or "goldplaters". The goldplaters earned this name because of the "over–lavish facilities", which drew comment from seasoned destroyermen. The armament of the Farragut and Mahan class destroyers initially included five 5 inch dual purpose guns, a number later reduced to four due to stability problems and a desire for a larger torpedo armament. With the introduction of the dual purpose main guns, destroyers acquired an anti-aircraft mission. The 1500-ton Mahan-class destroyer, Dunlap-class destroyer, Gridley-class destroyer, Bagley-class destroyer, and Benham-class destroyer classes, the 1570-ton Sims-class destroyer, and the 1850-ton Porter-class destroyer and Somers-class destroyer destroyer leaders were all laid down in quick succession following the original goldplaters.

The Gleaves-class destroyer and Benson-class destroyeres were similar in design to the Sims class, but had two stacks and a "split" or echeloned powerplant for extra endurance against torpedo attacks.

World War II
On 7 December 1941, the day the United States entered World War II, the United States Navy had 100 destroyers seven years old or newer. This number included 27 Benson and Gleaves-class destroyers. However, none were equipped with torpedoes comparable to the (then unknown) Type 93 torpedoes ("Long Lance torpedo" ) of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and only destroyer leaders had more than four main guns—inferior to the six guns on a Japanese Fubuki-class destroyer destroyer (the first 24 ships of the Benson/Gleaves class were built with five guns, but excessive topweight led to one being removed).

In 1940, fifty "flush deckers" were transferred to the British Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. Other "flush deckers" were converted as high speed transports (APD), seaplane tenders (AVD), minelayers (DM), minesweepers (DMS), and other roles (AG), while some were retained as destroyers. Most remaining in US service were rearmed with varying numbers of 3 inch dual purpose guns.

After the 1500 ton limit on destroyers was changed to a 3000 ton limit with the Second London Naval Treaty, the United States Navy began sketches for a five-gun ship— on an enlarged hull. Introduced in 1942, the 175 Fletcher-class destroyer "2100 tonners". became the U.S. Navy's signature destroyer in the Pacific War. By the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy had also commissioned 112 six-gun destroyers derived from the Fletcher design; 67 Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer 2200 tonners and 45 Gearing-class destroyer 2250 tonners. The Allen M. Sumner class' hull was slightly wider than the Fletcher class', while the Gearing-class design was a lengthened version of the Allen M. Sumners. By 1945, as the threat from kamikazes increased and the threat from the Japanese surface fleet decreased, torpedoes and guns were partially (or completely in the case of torpedoes on some ships) removed from most US destroyers in favor of light anti-aircraft guns. Destroyers had acquired the hazardous radar picket mission by this time. Collectively, these destroyer designs are sometimes regarded as the most successful of World War II.

Cold War and beyond
The first major warship the U.S. Navy constructed after World War II was an all-weather, anti-submarine hunter-killer, designated "destroyer leader" (DL) but referred to as a "frigate". The majority of these carried long-range surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) to escort carrier and amphibious task forces and were designated "guided missile destroyer leaders"; some were nuclear-powered (DLG or DLGN). In 1975, the 12 remaining Mitscher-class destroyer- and Farragut-class destroyer (1958) ships were reclassified as guided-missile destroyers (DDGs 35-46), and the other classes were reclassified as guided-missile cruisers (CG or CGN).

Derived from the Fletcher concept, the all-gun Forrest Sherman-class destroyer destroyer was the successor to the Fletcher, Allen M. Sumner, and Gearing classes. The following Charles F. Adams-class destroyer added a short-range SAM launcher on an enlarged hull and were classified as DDGs.

The Spruance-class destroyer was designed to serve as all-weather anti-submarine escorts for aircraft carrier task forces, as their anti-air missile complement was only sufficient for point defense. The Spruance-class destroyers were the first ships in the United States Navy powered with gas turbines—four marine turboshaft (jet-type) engines driving two shafts with reversible-pitch propellers. The 31 Spruance-class ships began service in September 1975 through the 1990s, when 24 members of the class were upgraded with vertical launching systems, and the last was decommissioned in 2005. The Kidd-class destroyer was based on the Spruance class, but designed as more advanced multi-purpose ships with a significant SAM armament, intended for the Iranian Navy. In 1979, a revolution took place in Iran; the Shah was dethroned, but instead of cancelling the four ships, they were acquired by the U.S. Navy, where they were nicknamed the "Ayatollah" or "dead Admiral" class.

USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), the lead ship of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, was the first destroyer named after a living person—World War II Admiral Arleigh Burke. At her commissioning, USS Arleigh Burke was extolled as the most powerful surface warship ever built. Arleigh Burke is one-third longer and correspondingly heavier than the Fletcher-class destroyers of the squadron Burke commanded in World War II, but of about the same complement. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyers were based around the Aegis Combat System, like the larger Ticonderoga-class cruisers. The Arleigh Burke class comprises four "Flights": Flight I, composed of 21 ships; Flight II, composed of 7 ships; Flight IIA, to be composed of 47 ships; and Flight III, to enter Initial operating capability in 2023.

Zumwalt-class destroyer destroyer production was limited to three ships due to burgeoning costs. Including research, the program costs reached $22.5 billion for the three ships. The first was commissioned in 2016, and the last is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

Production summary
Production of United States Navy destroyers, broken out by shipyard and class of destroyer.

A decade passes, during which some of the previously produced destroyers are scrapped to comply with treaty limitations. In the early 1930s, the Navy begins to modernize its destroyer fleet. USS Farragut (DD-348) is the point in time where U.S. destroyers start carrying 5-inch main guns that can shoot at aircraft with a high rate of fire and good accuracy (in contrast to previous single purpose destroyer guns and much less capable contemporary dual purpose guns) as well as many other improvements. The Destroyer design basically starts from scratch. Production during this period is a cold arms race where each nation tries to make the most of the limited tonnage that the international treaties allow.

There are 3 production periods covered in the following table.

 * 1) 6 Benson and 18 Gleaves in FY38, FY39, FY40 (8 per year)
 * 2) 24 Benson and 48 Gleaves roughly in a vastly extended FY41 covering the regular FY41 approriations act of 11 June (8 ships) and the first and second supplemental appropriations acts of 26 June and 9 September (64 ships), in addition most of the Fletchers in the same 1940 acts
 * 3) the remaining Fletchers, all Sumners, Smiths and Gearings covered by later legislation, continuing the expansion of production initiated in 1940, carried out starting during 1941, slowing down by 1944 and lasting into 1946

The Consolidated Steel yard in Orange, the Seattle-Tacoma plant in Seattle and Bethlehem San Pedro were essentially purpose-built to produce destroyers between the fall of 1940 and the spring of 1941.

Gulf Shipbuilding was reactivated from essentially nothing, but had a primary focus of merchant ship production.

The other yards were significantly expanded during the same time period.


text: File:The Eagles - On the Border.jpg

title: File:The Eagles - On the Border.jpg


text:
Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham

Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, PC (23 December 1620 – 18 December 1682), Lord Chancellor of England, was descended from the old family of Finch, many of whose members had attained high legal eminence, and was the eldest son of Sir Heneage Finch, Recorder of London, by his first wife Frances Bell, daughter of Sir Edmond Bell of Beaupre Hall, Norfolk.

Early career
In the register of Oxford University, he is entered as born in Kent, and probably his native place was Eastwell in that county. He was educated at Westminster and at Christ Church, Oxford, where he remained until he became a member of the Inner Temple in 1638. He was called to the bar in 1645, and soon obtained a lucrative practice.

Career
In April 1660, he was elected Member of Parliament for Canterbury and Mitchell in the Convention Parliament and chose to sit for Canterbury. Shortly afterwards he was appointed Solicitor General, in which capacity he served as the prosecutor of the regicides of Charles I, and was created a baronet the day after he was knighted. In May 1661 he was elected MP for Oxford University in the Cavalier Parliament. In 1665 the university created him a D.C.L. In 1670 he became Attorney General, and in 1675 Lord Chancellor. He was created Baron Finch in January 1673 and Earl of Nottingham in May 1681.

Popish Plot
During the Popish Plot, he played an active part in the interrogation of witnesses and preparation of the Crown's evidence. He is said to have been sceptical about the credibility of much of the evidence, and drew up a private report referring to the difficulties with Titus Oates' testimony. In general he behaved with moderation and restraint during the Plot, as shown most notably in his impartial conduct, as Lord High Steward, of the trial of William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford, (apart from a curious remark that it was now clear that the Great Fire of London was a Catholic conspiracy). Kenyon notes that during the examination of the informer Miles Prance, Finch threatened him with the rack, but such a lapse was most uncharacteristic of Finch, who was a humane and civilised man; in any case, the threat could hardly have been serious since the use of the rack had been declared illegal in 1628.

Finch and Nottingham House, now Kensington Palace
The original early 17th-century building was constructed in the village of Kensington as Nottingham House for the Earl of Nottingham. It was acquired from his heir, who was Secretary of State to William III, in 1689, because the King wanted a residence near London but away from the smoky air of the capital, because he was asthmatic. At that time Kensington was a suburban village location outside London, but more accessible than Hampton Court, a water journey on the Thames. A private road was laid out from the Palace to Hyde Park Corner, broad enough for several carriages to travel abreast, part of which survives today as Rotten Row. The Palace was improved and extended by Sir Christopher Wren with pavilions attached to each corner of the central block, for it now needed paired Royal Apartments approached by the Great Stairs, a council chamber, and the Chapel Royal. Then, when Wren re-oriented the house to face west, he built north and south wings to flank the approach, made into a proper cour d'honneur that was entered through an archway surmounted by a clock tower. Nevertheless, as a private domestic retreat, it was referred to as Kensington House, rather than "Palace". The walled kitchen gardens at Kensington House supplied fruits and vegetables for the Court of St. James's.

Personal life
On 30 July 1646, he was married to Elizabeth Harvey, daughter of William Harvey's younger brother Daniel, and his wife Elizabeth Kinnersley. Together, Elizabeth and Heneage were the parents of six children, including:

 * Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham (1647–1730), who married Lady Essex Rich.
 * Margaret Finch (1648–1700), who married Denis MacCarthy of the MacCarthy Reagh.
 * Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Aylesford (c. 1649–1719), who had a distinguished career as a lawyer and politician and was Solicitor General 1679–86.
 * Elizabeth Finch (1650–1675), who married Sir Samuel Grimston, 3rd Baronet.
 * William Finch
 * Charles Finch

Lord Nottingham died in Great Queen Street, London on 18 December 1682. He was buried in the church of Ravenstone in Buckinghamshire. His son Daniel inherited his earldom, and would later also inherit the Earldom of Winchelsea.

Character
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, his contemporaries on both sides of politics agree in their high estimate of his integrity, moderation and eloquence, while his abilities as a lawyer are sufficiently attested by the fact that he is still spoken of as the father of equity. His most important contribution to the statute book is The Statute of Frauds. While attorney-general he superintended the edition of Sir Henry Hobart's Reports (1671). He also published Several Speeches and Discourses in the Tryal of the Judges of King Charles 1. (1660); Speeches to both Houses of Parliament (1679); Speech at the Sentence of Viscount Stafford (1680). He left Chancery Reports in MS., and notes on Coke's Institutes.

title: Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham


text:
Bombardier Badge

The Bombardier Badge was a military badge of the United States military which was issued between the years of 1918 and 1949. The decoration was intended to recognize the military training and qualification required by those servicemen who were bombardiers on board military aircraft.

Originally known as the Bombing Aviator Badge, the Bombardier Badge was first issued by the United States Army Air Service during the First World War. The badge consisted of a standard observer badge, centred upon which was a downward facing bomb. The badge remained unchanged until the late 1930s, at which time it was redesignated the Bombardier Badge. This change was primarily made due to the rapid advances in aircraft (and aircraft bombing technology) that took place between 1920 and 1939.

During World War II, the Bombardier Badge was a common aeronautical badge of the United States Army Air Forces. The badge was issued to all military bombardiers upon completion of basic flight training and advanced bomber instruction.

With the creation of the United States Air Force in 1947, the Bombardier Badge was gradually phased out and none were issued after 1949. The modern-day Navigator Badge is considered the U.S. Air Force successor to the Bombardier Badge.

Physically the badge had stamped sterling silver wings, a bomb like look in the middle, and a pin on the back.

title: Bombardier Badge