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Young Tom Morris

Thomas Morris (20 April 1851 – 25 December 1875), known as Tom Morris Junior, Young Tom Morris and also Tommy Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four consecutive titles in the Open Championship, and did this by the age of 21.

Morris was born in St Andrews, the "Home of Golf", and died there on Christmas Day, 1875, aged 24. His father, Old Tom Morris, was the greenkeeper and professional of the St Andrews Links, and himself won four of the first eight Open Championships. Young Tom's first Open Championship win – in 1868 at age 17 – made him the youngest major champion in the PGA, a record which still stands.

Early life and education
For many years it was thought on the basis of a baptismal certificate that Morris was born on 10 May 1851, but in 2006 his birth certificate was discovered in Edinburgh. Young Tom moved with his family as an infant from St Andrews to Prestwick, where his father took a new position as the golf professional and greenkeeper.

Young Tom studied at Ayr Academy up to his early teens. The Morris family was becoming more prosperous, and hence able to afford the expensive private school fees, in the range of £15 per year. At the Academy, Young Tom studied with the sons of noblemen and wealthy businessmen, and would put his schooling to good use in his golf game and in his personal relationships.

Early golf development
Morris learned golf from a young age over the Prestwick Golf Club links, which had been laid out by his father, the club's professional and greenkeeper, in 1851. He bypassed the caddying and clubmaking roles, which were the usual entry to golf for young players at that time; he was the first future top player to do this.

Morris beat his father for the first time at the age of 13 in 1864 in a friendly game at St Andrews; at the time his father was Open Champion. Young Tom, just before his 13th birthday, travelled with his father to a tournament at Perth, at the King James VI Golf Club, in April 1864, but was not allowed to compete in either the professional or amateur sections. The organisers instead arranged a match over the course with a local youth champion. Young Tom won this match decisively and was awarded a prize of five pounds, a significant amount at the time; the two young stars had been followed by a large gallery. His match score would have won the professional tournament.

Young champion
Young Tom made his debut aged 14 in the Open Championship in 1865, performing creditably, but dropped out and failed to complete the event. He was placed 9th in 1866, 18 shots behind the winner, and in 1867 Young Tom was placed fourth in the Open Championship.

Also in 1867, the Morris duo travelled to Carnoustie Golf Links for a significant open tournament, which attracted a strong field of 32 players, the largest seen anywhere up to that time. Young Tom, at the age of 16, finished in a tie for first place, and then won the playoff over Willie Park Sr. (who would eventually win four Open Championships) and Robert "Bob" Andrew. With this win, he came to general notice and acclaim for the first time.

Champion of Scotland
Young Tom won the Open Championship in 1868, 1869, 1870, and 1872 (there was no Open Championship in 1871). No one else has since repeated this feat of four straight Open Championships. All four championships were played at Prestwick Golf Club, the course where he had learned golf as a youth.

Young Tom's 1868 win, at the age of 17, made him the youngest major champion in golf history, a record which still stands. That same year, his father finished second to him, a unique family occurrence in the Championship.

In 1869, Young Tom achieved the tournament's first ever hole-in-one by holing out at the 166-yard 8th hole: the scorecard is on display in Prestwick's clubhouse. In keeping with the Rules of the Tournament, Young Tom was allowed to keep the original Challenge Belt, made of red Moroccan leather with an engraved golf scene on its front silver buckle and funded by Prestwick's members, after his hat-trick of victories. The famous Claret Jug was purchased for the tournament in 1873, and his became the first name to be engraved on it, as he had won the Open Championship in 1872.

During his 1870 win, he began the tournament by scoring a 3 on the first hole of 578 yards, using hickory shafts and a guttie ball, holing a long fairway shot of about 200 yards; given the distances which were possible at that time, this may have been the first-ever albatross (double eagle), assuming a par of 6 for that hole; the term 'par' had not yet been formally invented. His first-round Open score in 1870 of 47 over the 12-hole Prestwick course was the first competitive round anywhere which averaged under four strokes per hole.

The Tom Morrises, father and son, frequently competed as partners against all challengers for match stakes, winning most of the time, although their success rate dropped once Old Tom passed 50, as he sometimes struggled with his putting.

Young Tom also toured Scotland and parts of England, both on his own and with fellow golfer Davie Strath, playing exhibition matches on their own account, without official sanction; this was the first time this had been done. Young Tom and Strath received some criticism for this, as it challenged the established structure of competition at that time.

They were also the first players to insist on receiving money up front before a match was to be held; this was the foundation of appearance money, and prior to this the players were at the mercy of the result and the match's patrons. Morris also bet against members and other takers at St Andrews that he could score below a given standard over the Old Course, and won seven times straight. This form of betting was also an innovation at the time.

Breaks record over Old Course
Young Tom broke the course record over the Old Course at St Andrews by two strokes with a score of 77, to win an extended playoff over Musselburgh's star Bob Ferguson for the 1869 St Andrews Professional Tournament; this score then stood as the course record for 20 years. The previous mark of 79 (first set in 1858) had been scored by Allan Robertson and Old Tom Morris.

Playing style
Morris stood about 5'8" with a sturdy, wiry build, and had very strong wrists. He gripped the club with an interlocking grip as clearly seen on his famous photo with his father, in Gallery below. He had a lengthy backswing, and generally swung quite hard on most of his longer shots, but kept some power in reserve. His long shots were usually low to medium in trajectory, and ran out to very good distances, comparable with most of his main rivals; this technique kept the ball in play, minimized trouble, and fought the wind very well. He was among the first players to intentionally shape shots to curve in flight for shot-making strategy. He invented a new use for the rut iron, a club designed to escape ruts from cart tracks on the course, not an unusual situation in the days before courses were extensively groomed. Morris used the rut iron (a lofted club similar to the modern sand wedge) as a pitching club for short approaches, hitting high shots over hazards, which sometimes landed with backspin, another innovation. This was a very difficult shot requiring great skill. Prior to this, the pure running approach, together with the chip-and-run, were the usual methods. He used the niblick (like a modern 9-iron) for similar purposes from farther away; iron play was developed significantly by his examples, which were taken up by rivals.

Morris was also an exceptional putter and chipper, virtually always giving the hole a chance, and he won many encounters with clutch short shots. One golf historian wrote that Morris missed fewer short putts than any player he had ever seen. His putting method was unusual: he took an open stance and played the ball very close to his right (back) foot. Morris managed his game well, generally choosing high-percentage shots and routes over more risky options (akin to his father's style), but was rarely afraid to take a calculated risk (being more daring than his father). Morris often was able to raise his game when the pressure increased. When on form, his game was complete and without weaknesses. He was the first golfer in that category, and one of no more than a handful throughout golf history.

Personal life and death
In a team match on 11 September 1875 at North Berwick, with the Morrises facing brothers Willie and Mungo Park, Young Tom received a telegram from home requesting his immediate return; his pregnant wife, Margaret Drinnen, had gone into a difficult labour. Only two holes remained in the match; Old Tom and Young Tom finished the match, winning, and hurried home by ship across the Firth of Forth and up the coast, but when Young Tom got there both his wife and newborn baby were dead. Young Tom was broken-hearted. Not quite four months later, on Christmas Day, he died at the age of 24. The official cause of death, according to his death certificate, was pulmonary hemorrhage causing apnea. Young Tom had played and won a marathon challenge match in terrible weather a few weeks earlier, and this may have weakened him.

Legacy
Morris was a tremendous golf innovator who raised the playing standard significantly, and this, together with his aggressive promotion of his own skills, led to an enormous increase in the popularity of golf for spectators. Some of his challenge matches attracted thousands of spectators from all over Scotland. Such was the interest that major London newspapers and magazines sent correspondents to Scotland, a 400-mile trip by rail, to cover his challenge matches in the 1870s. Although Morris won a very high percentage of his matches and tournaments, he managed to minimise animosity among rivals, who had to improve their own games to stay competitive. He had a friendly personality, and was widely respected.

Morris was ranked the 14th best golfer of all time in a survey published in Golf Magazine, September 2009. He was the top player whose career was entirely in the 19th century. His father, Old Tom, was ranked 19th.

Results timeline
{{legend|lime|Win}} {{legend|yellow|Top 10}} NT = No tournament WD = Withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place
 * Note: The Open Championship was the only major played during Morris's lifetime.

Depictions in film and print
The 2016 film Tommy's Honour depicts the lives and careers of Old Tom (Peter Mullan) and Young Tom (Jack Lowden), and focuses on their complex and bittersweet relationship. It is based on Kevin Cook's Herbert Warren Wind Book Award–winning 2007 biography, Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son.

title: Young Tom Morris


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Unary function

In mathematics, a unary function is a function that takes one argument. A unary operator belongs to a subset of unary functions, in that its codomain coincides with its domain. In contrast, a unary function's domain need not coincide with its range.

Examples
The successor function, denoted $$\operatorname{succ}$$, is a unary operator. Its domain and codomain are the natural numbers; its definition is as follows:

\begin{align} \operatorname{succ} : \quad & \mathbb{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{N} \\ & n \mapsto (n + 1) \end{align} $$

In some programming languages such as C, executing this operation is denoted by postfixing ++ to the operand, i.e. the use of n++ is equivalent to executing the assignment $$ n:= \operatorname{succ}(n)$$.

Many of the elementary functions are unary functions, including the trigonometric functions, logarithm with a specified base, exponentiation to a particular power or base, and hyperbolic functions.

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

title: Unary function


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User talk:LordBrocktree

This man is cool.

OH YEA!

title: User talk:LordBrocktree


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Development Fund for Iraq

In May 2003, following the invasion of Iraq in March of that year, the Central Bank of Iraq-Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) account was created at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York at the request of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Administrator. A part of the fund has been transferred to Baghdad and Iraq, and the DFI-Baghdad account was opened at the Central Bank of Iraq "for cash payment requirements". The fund also eventually received money (US$1.724 billion) from seized and "vested" Iraqi bank accounts and funds seized by coalition forces ($926.7 million). $650 million of this amount belongs to Uday Saddam Hussein, the older son of the former Iraqi president. (This money was also used during the transition period before the DFI was set up.) The DFI have been disbursed mainly for "the wheat purchase program, the currency exchange program, the electricity and oil infrastructure programs, equipment for Iraqis security forces, and for Iraqi civil service salaries and ministry budget operations". The DFI was put under the control of the Coalition Provisional Authority and the administrative arm of the US-UK occupation forces. International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) was created in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 (2003). IAMB is an independent oversight body for DFI and its principal role is to ensure transparency and financial accountability of the DFI. The IAMB was operated from the establishment of the DFI on May 22, 2003 until the dissolution of the CPA on June 28, 2004. In October 2004, the audits conducted by IAMB and KPMG revealed the CPA's inadequate accounting system. IAMB failed its oversight process for several months because of procedural disputes and US manipulation. During this time illegal export of petroleum was conducted secretly from Iraq, and a large amount of funds for DFI were disbursed without accountability. According to the audits conducted by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), US$8.8 billion of the US$23 billion of Iraqi money disbursed for DFI has not been accounted the use. After June 28, 2004, the Iraqi Interim Government had administered the DFI under the IAMB's oversight following to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546 until December 31, 2006.

Paul Bremer led the Coalition Provisional Authority. During his administration Ambassador Bremer was criticized by some for spending down over 90% of the Development Funds for Iraq. Less than 5% of the $18 billion Congress had set aside for reconstruction were spent during that period. These funds make up the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund, which is largely managed by the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office. USAID also plays a role in managing these funds. Since the transfer of sovereignty in June 2004, the Development Fund for Iraq has been managed by the Iraqi Transitional Government.

Audits
There have been several audits of the disbursement from the DFI during the CPA's stewardship. The first was performed by international accounting firm KPMG. United States Congressman Henry Waxman had the staff of the Committee on Government Reform to perform another audit of DFI's expenditures.

KPMG audit
International auditors KPMG were chosen by the Coalition Provisional Authority and the International Advisory and Monitoring Board to perform external audits of the Coalition's expenditures from the humanitarian Development Fund for Iraq. The IAMB started negotiating with the CPA to appoint an external auditor in December 2003. KPMG was appointed in April 2004, to audit the CPA's expenditures from Iraq's oil revenue in 2003. On July 15, 2004 KPMG released audit documents that highlighted several dozen serious accounting discrepancies. Note particularly the appendix devoted to Matters noted involving internal controls and other operational issues during the audit period of the Fund For the period to 31 December, 2003

United Nations Resolution 1483 transferred the authority to authorize expenditures from Iraq's oil revenue from the United Nations to the Coalition Provisional Authority.

It also created an international body to monitor the Coalition's expenditures from Iraq's oil revenue, the IAMB. The Coalition's authority to expend Iraq's oil revenue was conditional. The Coalition was only authorized to expend those funds for the benefit of the Iraqi people. Those expenditures were only authorized if they were made in an open and transparent manner. The Coalition was only authorized to expend funds so long as they cooperated in the IAMB's oversight of those expenditures. The Coalition was charged with the obligation to make those expenditures with meaningful Iraqi input.

Paragraphs 12 and 20 of UN resolution 1483 specified that an external auditor would be appointed to audit the expenditure made from Iraq's oil revenue.

The auditors identified dozens of serious ways in which the CPA failed to meet its obligations:

 * Lack of cooperation with the auditors. CPA administrator Paul Bremer has complained that the independent Inspector General Stuart Bowen, whom the Congress appointed, never met with him. In contrast the KPMG auditors say Mr Bremer never scheduled a meeting with them, prior to the official hand-over, and surprised everyone by leaving Iraq early immediately after his early handover of authority to the Interim government. George Wolfe, the chairman of the Program Review Board, Iraq's de facto Treasurer "was unable to acknowledge the fair presentation of the statement of cash receipts and payments, the completeness of significant contracts entered into by the DFI and responsibilities for the implementation and operations of accounting and internal control systems, designed to prevent and detect fraud and error."
 * Internal auditor. In the CPA Administrator's second regulation, of 10 June 2003, Bremer committed the CPA to "obtain the services of an independent certified public accounting firm to support the objective of ensuring that the Fund is administered and used in a transparent manner for the benefit of the people of Iraq, and is operated consistent with Resolution 1483. The accountants performing this function shall be separate from those public accountants (auditors) approved by the International Advisory and Monitoring Board." But Bremer never obtained the services of an internal auditor. Instead the CPA hired a consulting firm, to set up a bookkeeping system – incomplete at the time of the handover.
 * Double entry bookkeeping. The CPA did not use a double-entry bookkeeping system. Instead, it used what that auditors called a single entry, cash-based, transaction list—$20 billion of petty cash. The CPA did not do a cash-reconciliation until April 2004, eleven months into its administration. At that point, the CPA had disbursed $6 billion in $100 bills.
 * Metering Iraq's oil. Iraq's oil infrastructure was damaged when the CPA took over. The CPA effected selected repairs. But the IAMB found that the CPA had chosen not to repair the meters on the pipelines. The IAMB told the CPA that they were concerned that the lack of metering made auditing Iraq's oil exports unreliable – making it impossible to detect fraud, deception or smuggling. The minutes of the IAMB meeting make clear that the CPA had assured the IAMB that they were in the process of repairing the meters – in bad faith. The CPA's authority came to an end with the meters unrepaired. Estimates of how much oil revenue was siphoned off during the year of the CPA's administration go as high as $4 billion – comparable to the amount Saddam Hussein is suspected of stealing during the entire duration of the oil-for-food program.
 * Record-keeping. The auditors found that the Program Review Board failed to keep proper minutes:
 * The PRB minutes did not always keep minutes of its meetings.
 * The PRB minutes almost never recorded the wording of minutes, or the vote tallies.
 * The auditors felt that the minutes did not record enough details for later readers to understand the reasons why the Board made their decisions.
 * The PRB minutes sometimes did not even record the who attended the meetings.
 * The auditors found that CPA staff responsible for overseeing programs were often unable to find their program files. They could not be counted on to be familiar with the programs they were responsible for.

Waxman audit
On June 20, 2005 the staff on Congressman Waxman's Committee on Government Reform released a highly critical report.

In their International Advisory and Monitoring Board's press release of June 22, 2004 states:
 * "The IAMB was also informed by the CPA that contrary to earlier representations the award of metering contracts have been delayed and continues to urge the expeditious resolution of this critical issue."

The CPA was shipping Iraqi oil through a pipeline system with non-functioning meters. The actual amount of oil being shipped would have had to be estimated. The Iraqi people were left in the position where they had to trust that the CPA's estimates were honest.

Lack of transparency
The Development Fund for Iraq receives 95 percent of the government proceeds from Iraqi oil sales. The 2003 budget also noted that the Development Fund will provide $1.2 billion for the budget. However, the relationship between the DFI and the budget has not been made clear—the budget anticipated oil revenues of $3.4 billion—much greater than the amount in the DFI then. Moreover, only the Provisional Authority Administrator could authorise spending from the DFI. Little information has been made public about the DFI. The Coalition Provisional Authority excluded information on its web site about any transfer of assets into and out of the DFI.

title: Development Fund for Iraq


text: User talk:65.95.88.116

title: User talk:65.95.88.116


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2005–06 NHL season

The 2005–06 NHL season was the 89th season of operation (88th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). This season succeeded the 2004–05 season which had all of its scheduled games canceled due to a labor dispute with the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) over the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the League and its players. The season featured the first time that all 30 of its member teams played games on the same day, which happened the first day of the season, October 5, 2005.

A mid-season break in February occurred to allow participation of NHL players in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Because of the Winter Olympics break, there was no NHL All-Star Game for 2006.

The 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs began on April 21, 2006, and concluded on June 19, with the Carolina Hurricanes defeating the Edmonton Oilers to win their first Stanley Cup, after which the Oilers would miss the postseason ten consecutive times and 12 of their next 13, while the Hurricanes would miss 11 of their next 12.

League business
On July 13, 2005, the NHL, and NHLPA jointly announced that they had tentatively agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement which would allow the resumption of hockey for the 2005–06 season. The agreement was voted on July 21 by NHLPA members, and approved by a nearly 7 to 1 margin. The following day, the NHL's Board of Governors (owners) voted unanimously to approve the new agreement.

A new logo for the NHL was also unveiled, with "NHL" printed in upward-reading letters to project a vibrant, optimistic image, and having silver as the dominant color to pay homage to the Stanley Cup. Also, new Eastern and Western Conference logos were unveiled before the Olympic break, with red as the dominant East color, and blue as the dominant West color.

Rule changes
The league returned with a revamped rulebook, to the point that many refer to "pre-lockout" and "post-lockout" when comparing statistics. The rule experimentation was based on the previous season of play in the AHL, and was based on creating a more exciting game with more scoring opportunities. Furthermore, a new Competition Committee was formed to discuss future rule changes, and players were invited to participate in the discussion.

 * The league introduced shoot-outs at the end of over-time if the score is tied. The shootout features only three shots per team, and if it is still tied, the shootout becomes sudden death. In preseason games (regardless of the outcome) shootouts were held. Shootouts are only in effect for regular-season games. Playoff games will continue with twenty-minute periods until a sudden-death goal is scored.
 * The neutral zone becomes smaller by four feet (1.2 m).
 * All blue and red lines are returned to the traditional width of 12 inches (31 cm). The double-width lines used in the AHL 2004–05 season were abandoned.
 * If a team ices the puck, it is not allowed to make a line change afterwards.
 * Linesmen are given more discretion when it comes to waving off icing calls when they are accidentally made as the result of a failed pass attempt.
 * The "two-line offside pass" rule was abolished; this rule required a stoppage in play if a pass originating from inside a team's defending zone was completed on the offensive side of the center line, unless the puck crossed the line before the player.
 * Goalies are now restricted from playing the puck from outside a new trapizod area located in the middle of the area behind the goal line with offenders who do not follow the rule being given a 2 minute delay of game penalty that is served by a teammate.
 * Players who instigate a fight in the last five minutes of a game will be given a game misconduct penalty plus a one-game suspension. Furthermore, the player's coach will be fined $10,000 (US).
 * Goaltender equipment was reduced in size by eleven percent.
 * All referees are equipped with wireless microphones so they can now announce penalties over the public address system, similar to National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) referees.
 * With multiple penalties, only the first will be announced by the referee calling the penalty, with the others being announced by the arena's ice-side PA announcer (in English); penalty announcements will also be relayed in French via the Bell Centre's PA announcer for the Montreal Canadiens.
 * Any player that shoots the puck over the glass (without deflection) from his own defensive zone will be penalized for delay of game. After the 2006 Olympic break, the rule was modified to read that the puck must cross the glass before crossing the blue line.
 * After the 2006 Olympic break, all sticks to be used in the shootout will be measured prior to use.

Regular season
In terms of total goals scored during an NHL regular season, the 2005–06 regular season turned out to be the highest-scoring in NHL history, with 7,443 goals scored in 1,230 games. However, the highest-scoring season in terms of goals per game still belonged to the 1992–93 regular season, in which 7,311 goals were scored in only 1,008 games, for an average of 7.25 per game (the average in 2005–06 was 6.05 per game). The record for most shorthanded goals scored in a season, set in 1992–93 and matched in 1993–94 at 312, was broken as 318 shorthanded goals were scored. A total of 117 shutouts were recorded, down from an all-time high of 192 in 2003–04. The higher offensive numbers were largely attributable, among other things, to greater frequency of power plays. In 2003–04, teams had an average of 348 power plays over 82 games. In 2005–06, the average number of power plays per team over 82 games was 480.

The NHL season began on October 5, which marked the first time ever that all 30 teams in the league played a game on the same day. In the first period of each game, all teams wore a jersey with a special patch; the league and players association then auctioned off the jerseys for the benefit of the Red Cross in both the United States and Canada, earmarking the proceeds for Hurricane Katrina victims (the Islanders' ECHL affiliate in Biloxi, Mississippi suspended operations for the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons because of this disaster, and the NHL toured ECHL cities with the Stanley Cup to raise additional funds for relief efforts). Jean-Pierre Dumont of the Buffalo Sabres scored the first goal of the regular season, and Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley, of the Ottawa Senators became the first players to score the winning goals for a shootout in NHL history, both scoring against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ed Belfour. Their sticks were subsequently sent to the nearby Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

The All-Star Game, which would have been in Phoenix did not take place; the league instead took a break in February so that many of its players could participate in the XX Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. The new schedule features more intra-division games in order to promote division rivalries. Consequently, there are whole divisions in the opposite conference that teams never played during the season.

This season saw the much-hyped debuts of (and immediate rivalry between) Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. It was only the second time that two rookies had over 100 points in a season (Teemu Selanne and Joe Juneau performed the feat in 1992–93). Ovechkin finished with 106 points, which is third best all-time among NHL rookies. Crosby surpassed teammate Mario Lemieux's 100-point rookie season, finishing with 102 points, currently fifth best all-time.

On November 30, 2005, Joe Thornton was traded from the Boston Bruins to the San Jose Sharks in a four-player deal which sent forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau and defenceman Brad Stuart to Boston. Thornton went on to win the scoring title. The Bruins would not make the playoffs until 2008.

On November 26, the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals played the second-longest NHL shootout to date. Rangers defenceman Marek Malik scored the winning goal in the 15th round, pulling the puck between his own legs to defeat Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig, giving the Rangers the victory by the final score of 3–2.

Three early-season games had to be rescheduled due to various events. Hurricane Wilma had forced the NHL to reschedule two Florida Panthers home games, in which their game against Ottawa Senators scheduled on October 22 was rescheduled to December 5; the game against the Washington Capitals scheduled for October 29 was moved to December 1. The Nashville Predators–Detroit Red Wings game on November 22 was called off with 7:30 left in the first period after Red Wings defenceman Jiri Fischer suffered a seizure and had to be resuscitated. It was rescheduled to January 23, 2006, with the game starting 1–0 for Nashville as Greg Johnson's goal from the original date was allowed to stand. The game that was originally scheduled for January 23 at Nashville between the two teams was moved to March 30, 2006.

On January 12, the New York Rangers retired the number 11 of long-time captain Mark Messier to the rafters of Madison Square Garden. The Rangers would beat Messier's former team, the Edmonton Oilers, 5–4 in overtime.

On January 16 in Phoenix, Washington Capitals rookie winger Alexander Ovechkin added himself to the league's historical highlight reel by scoring a goal from his back while rolling and sliding past the goal. Ovechkin was checked to the ice by Coyotes defenceman Paul Mara on a breakaway between the Coyotes' faceoff circles, but rolled to his back, reached over his head with his stick and hooked the puck in behind goaltender Brian Boucher.

On January 19, Los Angeles Kings veteran left winger Luc Robitaille scored his 550th, 551st and 552nd goals as a member of the Kings, eclipsing Marcel Dionne's franchise record of 550 goals. The 40-year-old Robitaille retired at season's end.

The season was rocked with scandal in early February when it came to light that Phoenix Coyotes Assistant coach Rick Tocchet was found to be involved in a $1.6 million illegal sports gambling ring with Mafia ties. Apparently, no betting on NHL games was being done, but bets were being placed on college and professional football and college and professional basketball. Although Coyotes Head Coach Wayne Gretzky denied any knowledge or involvement in the ring, initial reports stated that wiretapped phone conversations he had proved that he not only knew about the ring, but was trying to find ways to conceal his wife's involvement in it. He was later cleared of these accusations, but long-term implications to his reputation are still unknown.

On April 15, in the Nashville Predators' 81st game of the season, Nashville goaltender Chris Mason was credited with a goal when the Phoenix Coyotes' Geoff Sanderson put the puck in his own net. Mason was awarded credit for the goal, as he was the last Predator to have touched the puck. It was the ninth regular season goal scored by a goaltender in NHL history. The last goal of the regular season was scored by Kyle Calder of the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime in a 3–2 victory over the St. Louis Blues, which ended the 2005–06 regular season at 10:50 EDT on April 18, 2006.

The Tampa Bay Lightning narrowly avoided becoming the first team since the New Jersey Devils in the 1995–96 season to miss the post-season after winning the Stanley Cup the previous season.

This season also marked the first time since the 1978–79 season that the St. Louis Blues did not qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, ending the third-longest NHL post-season appearance streak at 25 seasons. Only the Chicago Blackhawks (28 seasons) and the Boston Bruins (29 seasons) had longer streaks.

This season also marked the last time until the 2022–23 season that the Pittsburgh Penguins missed the playoffs.

Final standings
The Detroit Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

For ranking in conference, division leaders are automatically ranked 1–3. These three, plus the next five teams in the conference standings, earn playoff berths at the end of the season.

Tiebreaking procedures
If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, the standing of the clubs is determined in the following order:

 * 1) The fewer number of games played (i.e., superior points percentage).
 * 2) The greater number of games won.
 * 3) The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs.
 * 4) The greater differential between goals for and against.

Scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes Source: NHL.

Leading goaltenders
Minimum 1,000 minutes played.

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Eastern Conference

 * Atlanta Thrashers: Bob Hartley
 * Boston Bruins: Mike Sullivan
 * Buffalo Sabres: Lindy Ruff
 * Carolina Hurricanes: Peter Laviolette
 * Florida Panthers: Jacques Martin
 * Montreal Canadiens: Claude Julien and Bob Gainey
 * New Jersey Devils: Larry Robinson, Lou Lamoriello and Claude Julien
 * New York Islanders: Steve Stirling and Brad Shaw
 * New York Rangers: Tom Renney
 * Ottawa Senators: Bryan Murray
 * Philadelphia Flyers: Ken Hitchcock
 * Pittsburgh Penguins: Michel Therrien
 * Tampa Bay Lightning: John Tortorella
 * Toronto Maple Leafs: Pat Quinn
 * Washington Capitals: Glen Hanlon

Western Conference

 * Mighty Ducks of Anaheim: Randy Carlyle
 * Calgary Flames: Darryl Sutter
 * Chicago Blackhawks: Trent Yawney
 * Colorado Avalanche: Joel Quenneville
 * Columbus Blue Jackets: Gerard Gallant and Gary Agnew
 * Dallas Stars: Dave Tippett
 * Detroit Red Wings: Mike Babcock
 * Edmonton Oilers: Craig MacTavish
 * Los Angeles Kings: Andy Murray and John Torchetti
 * Minnesota Wild: Jacques Lemaire
 * Nashville Predators: Barry Trotz
 * Phoenix Coyotes: Wayne Gretzky
 * San Jose Sharks: Ron Wilson
 * St. Louis Blues: Mike Kitchen
 * Vancouver Canucks: Marc Crawford

Debuts
The following are players of note who played their first NHL game in 2005-06:

 * Alex Burrows, Vancouver Canucks
 * Dustin Byfuglien, Chicago Blackhawks
 * Gregory Campbell, Florida Panthers
 * Jeff Carter, Philadelphia Flyers
 * Matthew Carle, San Jose Sharks
 * Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
 * Ryan Getzlaf, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
 * Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
 * Mike Green, Washington Capitals
 * Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks
 * Andrew Ladd, Carolina Hurricanes
 * Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
 * Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
 * Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils
 * Dustin Penner, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
 * Corey Perry, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
 * Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames
 * Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers
 * Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
 * Brent Seabrook, Chicago Blackhawks
 * Alexander Steen, Toronto Maple Leafs
 * Ryan Suter, Nashville Predators
 * Maxime Talbot, Pittsburgh Penguins
 * Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres
 * Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes
 * Shea Weber, Nashville Predators

Last games
The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2005–06, listed with their team:

 * Tommy Albelin, New Jersey Devils
 * Dave Andreychuk, Tampa Bay Lightning
 * Andrew Cassels, Washington Capitals
 * Eric Daze, Chicago Blackhawks
 * Eric Desjardins, Philadelphia Flyers
 * Tie Domi, Toronto Maple Leafs
 * Brett Hull, Phoenix Coyotes
 * Alexander Karpovtsev, Florida Panthers
 * Brian Leetch, Boston Bruins
 * Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
 * Alexander Mogilny, New Jersey Devils
 * Zigmund Palffy, Pittsburgh Penguins
 * Keith Primeau, Philadelphia Flyers
 * Luc Robitaille, Los Angeles Kings
 * Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
 * Alexei Zhamnov, Boston Bruins

Broadcasting rights
In Canada, CBC and TSN resumed their coverage of the NHL after the lockout. CBC aired Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada regular season games, while TSN's coverage included Wednesday Night Hockey and other selected weeknights. During the first three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, TSN televised all-U.S. games while CBC aired all games involving Canadian teams. CBC then had exclusive coverage of the Stanley Cup Finals.

In the U.S., NBC began its first season as the league's over-the-air partner after initially signing its contract prior to the lockout. NBC's deal involved a revenue sharing agreement with the NHL as opposed to a traditional rights fee, and included rights to six weekend regular season windows, seven weekend postseason broadcasts and games 3–7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. However, ESPN exercised its opt-out clause after the lockout, leaving the NHL without a U.S. cable partner. In August 2005, Comcast (who owns the Philadelphia Flyers) signed a three-year deal to put games on its Outdoor Life Network (OLN). The agreement called for 54 or more games each regular season, generally on Monday and Tuesday nights. Due to the abbreviated off-season, the 2005–06 regular season schedule did not offer OLN exclusivity, which they received in 2006–07. Comcast high-speed cable internet customers could watch at least seven games a week over the Internet as part of the new TV deal. OLN also televised selected first and second round playoff games, all Conference Finals games not aired on NBC, and the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals.

title: 2005–06 NHL season


text:
Ugress

Ugress is an electronica project from Bergen, Norway, the main project of electronic musician Gisle Martens Meyer (GMM). Meyer started his music career in the early 1990s making Scream Tracker and Fast Tracker modules under the alias Gnosis. Among Meyer's other projects are Nebular Spool, Shadow of the Beat and Ninja9000 as well as scoring soundtracks for moving pictures and several TV-shows.

Ugress has released multiple albums, singles, and EPs to date. Their first five albums: Resound, released in 2002, climbed to the second place on the official Norwegian chart board. A second album, Cinematronics, was released two years later. It reached the third place on the same list. A third Ugress album titled Unicorn was released on January 28, 2008. On June 15, 2009, Ugress released their fourth studio album, called Reminiscience. Collectronics, a compilation album including previously unreleased material, was released in July 2010.

Ugress is notable for providing free mp3-versions of many of its songs through its web page and the web pages of associated acts like Nebular Spool.

The Norwegian word ugress means "weeds" (not as in cannabis).

Style
Ugress uses a lot of sample snippets from various artists, movies (in particular horror and science fiction movies) and TV shows. Ugress is not the only project of Gisle Martens Meyer, it is actually one of several different projects by Uncanny Planet Records.

Albums

 * Resound (2002)
 * La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (2003)
 * Cinematronics (2004)
 * Cowboy Desperado (2005)
 * Film Music (2006)
 * Unicorn (2008)
 * Reminiscience (2009)
 * Collectronics (2010)
 * Pushwagner (2011)
 * Aelita – Queen Of Mars (2013)
 * Häxan (2016)
 * It Came From Beyond Eternal September (2016)
 * The Wrong Future (2018)
 * Black Anorak (2018)
 * Ghoststorm (2019)
 * Scavenger Royale (2021)
 * Boulevard of Broken Dystopias (2023)

Singles and EPs

 * E-Pipe (2000)
 * Ugress Promo (2001)
 * Loungemeister (2002)
 * Sophisticated Wickedness (2006)
 * Retroconnaissance (2006)
 * Kosmonaut (2006)
 * Chromosome Corrupt (2007)
 * Loungemeister (2008)
 * Schizophonica (2009)
 * Reminiscience (2009)
 * Loungemeister (2010) — Re-issue of the 2002 limited edition 12" with a slightly different tracklist.
 * Planet U: Episode One - Planetfall (2011)
 * Planet U: Episode Two - The Lost Ruins (2011)
 * Planet U: Episode Three - Wulfhöken Spaceport Affairs (2011)
 * Planet U: Episode Four - Luftslott (2011)
 * Planet U: Episode Five - Time Machine (2012)
 * Planet U: Episode Six - Another Planet (2013)
 * Phantom Of The Wuxia Codec (2019)
 * Static Troopers (2019)
 * The Teddy Bears' Picnic (2020)
 * the door into the room with a.jpg (2020)
 * Incandescent Structures of Ambiguity (2020)
 * Anemoia 22 (2020)
 * Miracle of the Shaolin Moonwolf (2020)
 * Your Apathy is Important to Us (2020)
 * Curse of the Cancelled (2021)
 * Like A Petal But Not Really (2022)
 * Pharos Époque (2022)
 * Where the Streets Once Had the Moves (2022)
 * Nevrotic Umbrella Approaches the Fold (2022)
 * This track is no longer available (2022)
 * Stasis 44 (2022)
 * All of the Colours Except Those Visible (2023)

Miscellaneous

 * The B Vault (2008) — Compilation of unreleased tracks 2000-2007

title: Ugress


text:
Dar-Alages

Dar-Alages (Դարալագյազ ) is a group of six cinder lava cones south of Lake Sevan in Armenia. Fissure eruptions from Vaiyots-Sar dammed the Arpa river at Vayk and continued down the valley for 6 km. These lava flows are considered Holocene in age given the lack of a soil cover and their placement above a Pleistocene river terrace. Smbatassar cinder cones likewise generated two lava flows of 11 and 17 km length that overlie Pleistocene Yeheghis river terraces, thus also dating to the Holocene. Legends of the destruction of the towns Yegheghis and Moz in 735 AD may be linked to activity in these volcanoes.

title: Dar-Alages


text:
Tom Morris

Tom Morris may refer to:

 * Old Tom Morris (1821–1908), early golf champion
 * Young Tom Morris (1851–1875), son of the above, also a golf champion
 * Tom Morris (footballer, born 1875) (1875–1942), English footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur in the 1890s and 1900s
 * Tom Morris (footballer, born 1884) (1884–1918), English footballer
 * Tom Morris (cyclist) (born 1944), Canadian Olympic cyclist
 * Tom Morris (businessman) (born 1954), British billionaire businessman, founder of Home Bargains
 * Tom Morris (director) (born 1964), British theatre director, producer, and writer
 * Tom Morris Jr., television personality
 * Tom Morris (journalist) (born 1991), Australian sports journalist

title: Tom Morris


text:
Araucarioxylon arizonicum

Araucarioxylon arizonicum (alternatively Agathoxylon arizonicum) is an extinct species of conifer that is the state fossil of Arizona. The species is known from massive tree trunks that weather out of the Chinle Formation in desert badlands of northern Arizona and adjacent New Mexico, most notably in the 378.51 km2 Petrified Forest National Park. There, these trunks are locally so abundant that they have been used as building materials.

Description
The petrified wood of this tree is frequently referred to as "Rainbow wood" because of the large variety of colors some specimens exhibit. The red and yellow are produced by large particulate forms of iron oxide, the yellow being limonite and the red being hematite. The purple hue comes from extremely fine spherules of hematite distributed throughout the quartz matrix, and not from manganese, as has sometimes been suggested.

The trunks were large and slender, tapering slightly towards their apex. The largest known trunk in Petrified Forest was 'Old Faithful', from the Rainbow Forest sandstone beds of the Sonsela Member. This trunk had a diameter of 2.9 meters (9.5 feet) at its base, and a maximum estimated height of 59 meters (194 feet) based on modern conifer proportions. Branches are broken off in most fossils, but their bases leave scars indicating that the branches were slender and bent upwards at around 30-40 degrees above the horizontal. The branches are regularly and widely spaced around nearly the entire trunk. Some fragments from the upper part of the trunk have thin branches arranged in small clusters.

Preserved bark is rare, but known bark fossils show that it is thin and "rippled", with low ridges and longitudinal furrows similar to some modern pines. The roots, when preserved, are significantly different from modern conifers: There is a massive central taproot, up to 5 meters (16.4 feet) long, ringed by four to six thick lateral roots. Modern conifers, on the other hand, typically bear a circular cluster of relatively small, narrow roots. No known conifer foliage is directly associated with the trunks, but common conifer leaves such as Pagiophyllum, Brachyphyllum, and Podozamites are also known from the Chinle Formation. In life, Araucarioxylon arizonicum may have looked similar to a medium-sized Sequoiadendron giganteum (giant sequoia).

Paleoecology
In the Triassic period (around ), Arizona was a flat tropical expanse in the northwest corner of the supercontinent Pangaea. There, a forest grew in which A. arizonicum towered as high as 60 m and measured more than 60 cm in diameter. Fossils frequently show boreholes of insect larvae, possibly beetles similar to members of the modern family Ptinidae.

Taxonomy
Araucarioxylon arizonicum has alternatively been called Agathoxylon arizonicum due to Araucarioxylon being a junior synonym of Agathoxylon. They were first described in 1889 by the American paleobotanist Frank Hall Knowlton.

The validity of the name Araucarioxylon arizonicum has been questioned. A. arizonicum may actually be composed of several different genera and species. A 2007 study on the syntypes used by Knowlton in describing the species has revealed that they belonged to three species. They were tentatively reclassified as Pullisilvaxylon arizonicum, Pullisilvaxylon daughertii, and Chinleoxylon knowltonii. The genus Araucarioxylon may thus be superfluous and illegitimate; and the petrified logs of Petrified Forest National Park may be composed of a greater diversity than initially believed.

title: Araucarioxylon arizonicum


text:
Talk:Stephen Decatur

Untitled
I thought he was a Marine Officer ?

 * Of course not, no navy would let a Marine captain a ship! I suppose maybe some in the USMC consider him an "honorary Marine" for his unusual willingness to get in there hand-to-hand... Stan 00:55, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)

he's my great-great uncle

Stephen Decatur is legended to have shot at the Jersey Devil. Put a whole through the beast, which was unaffected.
 * I had never heard the legend, but after some checking, I do find corroboration for the legend. That is fascinating! Auror 16:31, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

Revision: I removed the link to "John Carden", as the linked page for him wasn't the right John Carden.

Suggestion: In the communities list, there should also be Decatatur Island in WA State in the San Juan Islands.

This article states that he is the youngest Captain in the history of the U.S. Navy, but it doesn't specify what ship and at what age he attained his captaincy. Request a referenced clarification is made as soon as possible. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.42.144.161 (talk) 06:09, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

How his name sounds in English?
Hi, I'm Russian so I don't know the true pronounciation of his name. Is it like French or like English? --Maxrossomachin (talk) 17:23, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

NPOV?
This written in an incredibly non-encyclopedic way. Just from the first few paragraphs alone "Before marrying the beautiful and intelligent Wheeler he had already made vows to serve his country faithfully and honorably and felt to not do so would make him unworthy of her hand" and "In every theater of operation Decatur's service in the nation's young Navy was characterized with heroism and exceptional performance where he emerged as a national hero who ultimately came to be identified as the father of the post revolutionary American Navy". Needs to be completely re-written to remove all of the hyperbole. If I knew how to insert the NPOV box thingy, I would do so Robinr22 (talk) 08:12, 6 July 2011 (UTC)
 * Have reworded. Two authors, Waldo and Mackenzie, both make mention of her beauty and intelligence in the context that she was pursued by other notable individuals, including the Brother of Napoleon, thus portraying the type of woman Decatur chose to marry, however my original wording perhaps needed toning down on that one note. Gwillhickers (talk) 20:06, 17 July 2011 (UTC)
 * It's less whether the assertions are sourced, but really whether the tone itself is appropriate. For example, I could easily find a reputable source stating that Bill Gates is the most generous entreprenuer in history, all Africa is grateful to him for wise and magnanmous contributions to medical research and he is the world's most amazing businessman. But if I put that in his article it would be reverted and rightly so, because the language would give an unbalanced impression of him and wouldn't be neutral, not to mention that it would add very little to the article. This article, while very comprehensive, well written and well sourced comes across as a hagiography. Even Mother Teresa gets some criticsm...

 * Though, on looking at it further large parts of the article seems to have been lifted from http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/naval/p/sdecatur.htm albeit closely paraphrased in places. For example, from this page "the Intrepid, disguised as a Maltese merchant ship and flying British colors, casually entered Tripoli harbor. Claiming that they had lost their anchors in a storm, Decatur asked permission to tie up alongside the captured frigate...When the two ships were close enough, Decatur stormed aboard Philadelphia with sixty men. Fighting with swords and pikes, they took control of the ship without losing a single man and began preparations to set it on fire." vs from the about.com page "Intrepid, disguised as a Maltese merchant ship and flying British colors, entered Tripoli harbor. Claiming that they had lost their anchors in a storm, Decatur asked permission to tie up alongside the captured frigate. As the two ships touched, Decatur stormed aboard Philadelphia with sixty men. Fighting with swords and pikes, they took control of the ship and began preparations to burn it". This would seem to be in breach of Copyrights, especially as the original page is not sourced in any of the links. So now I would say that the article should not only be written to remove the POV but also to remove the copyright violations. Robinr22 (talk) 09:46, 27 July 2011 (UTC)

 * I share your concerns. With enough time I will be overhauling the page appropriately. elle vécut heureuse  à jamais  (be free) 16:12, 2 August 2011 (UTC)

 * First my apologies for not responding sooner and for the edit with the copyright issue on the Stephen Decatur page. Some times I will edit in a general statement closely worded from a given source, reorganize/word it and then build on it, using more reliable sources. It looks in this case that I never got around to this passage in that regard. I would be happy to make any corrective edits immediately but as you must know the page is tagged and can't be edited at this time. I am wondering if this was necessary, as almost anyone could have made a corrective edit. I often make similar corrections (usually for lack of citations) in my travels. When I first came to the Stephen Decatur page in May the article was tagged for lack of citations and was lacking them throughout the page. As for the article's tone and such, it does paint Decatur in sort of a biased way, but not such where any meaning or history has been altered. Again, my apologies. I would be more than happy to edit/correct any issues the page has. I am also hoping that the editor who said 'he' (alone?) will "overhaul" the page will do so without deleting information and approach the page in a constructive manner. I am quite familiar with this subject and have several hard texts for sources and know of and am familiar with many others and will be more than happy to take on any issues and work with others who would also like to bring the page up to WP standards. Regards, Gwillhickers (talk) 22:05, 5 August 2011 (UTC)

Rewrite
I have corrected an edit with copyright issues and placed the 'rewrite' in the appropriate sub page here. If there are other items that might need attention please bring it to the attention of any contributing editors here. Thank you. Gwillhickers (talk) 10:40, 7 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Progress: -- The longer passages with similarities in text are being corrected on the 'rewrite' sub page. The common short phrases that appear in the source, I am hoping, pose no copyright issues in their use here. My apologies once again. -- Gwillhickers (talk) 01:45, 8 August 2011 (UTC)

His Mother's Name?
His mother is stated to have been Priscilla Pine. In the Wiki piece on his father, Stephen Decatur, Sr., she is named as Ann Pine. ?? Irish Melkite (talk) 13:31, 24 June 2012 (UTC)

Was the duel unfair?
I understand that both the commodores fired after the word "two" rather than waiting for the "three". That would render the behaviour of those "alleged" gentlemen less than honest. Stephen Decatur was well-known for his bravery and sense of honour and I really doubt he can resort to such a fellonery. Are we supposed to believe his adversary, who was 11 year older than him, had the ability to woundly hit him? In any case, according to the duel rules, the duel-assistants had to fire on the cheat sniper. Why did'nt they do that?

 * According to the article they were instructed "You are neither to fire before the word 'one', nor after the word 'three'" Which means that they were correct to fire at two. I do not know why you should consider an age difference of 11 years a handicap in a pistol duel.

(Alan3278 (talk) 09:48, 12 September 2012 (UTC))

Endymion and President
Endymion and President The whole tenor of this article is overly hagiographic for instance "In almost every theater of operation, Decatur's service was characterized with acts of heroism and exceptional performance in the many areas of military endeavor." but the passage on the battle between Endymion and President is vary inaccurate. Decatur surrended to Endymion ( a more lightly armed ship ) long before the other ships in the squadron came near. Endymion was not disabled to the extent suggested in the article. Please see "The Challenge", Andrew Lambert

Alan3278 (talk) 13:56, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

Our Country, Right or Wrong
This quote seems to be incorrectly worded. As far as I can tell, it should be "Our Country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right' but our country, right or wrong!" I couldn't find anywhere on the internet besides wikipedia and wikiquotes that does not use this version, so I assume it to be correct. Zraans (talk) 03:41, 12 November 2013 (UTC)

Blockade at New London
Correcting "Mohawk Point" to "Montauk Point", since the location of the British fleet disagrees with the two online sources cited.

The edit that introduced "Mohawk Point" was 509722862

This edit says: ...Hardy's squadron, which emerged from behind Mohawk Point, consisted of the ships...

 * 1) The first source, Waldo, pp. 199-200, says: "At this moment the remainder of the British squadron - a 74 a Razee and a frigate showed themselves coming from their covert behind Montauk Point."
 * 2) The second source, Fenimore, p. 22, says: "..., the three vessels got under way, and passed Hell Gte on the 27th of May, with a view to run off the coast between Montauk and Block Island.  It was June the 1st before the ships found an opportunity to pass through the race: but they were met at the end of island by a greatly superior force, and were chased into New London.  "

This makes sense as Montauk Point is south east of the fast running entrance to Long Island Sound. Further, online searches find no "Mohawk Point" on the Eastern Seaboard.

--Lent (talk) 03:30, 14 May 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Mass deletions
Please discuss the changes if you want to reduce the article in such a capacity. Most of the content that was deleted has been in place for many years, and we've received nothing but thanks and compliments about the article. We will need a clear consensus if you are insisting, You also reverted my latest edits, some major details involving Decatur. Much research and sourcing has gone into this article. It's not right that it's all swept away without discussing it first. I see a few things that the article can live without, so I'll make some edits to this effect, but deleting entire paragraphs and entire sections is a bit overkill. For example, your claim in edit history that the "Leopard-Chesapeake affair which has nothing whatsoever to do with Decatur", is wrong. It is central to the reasons why Barron and Decatur had a duel, where Decatur was killed. Readers, at least those interested in history, should see the circumstances that prompted Decatur to confront Barron in such a strong fashion. Please let's not edit war and discuss any changes you feel strongly about, one step at a time. Thanx. -- Gwillhickers (talk) 18:03, 4 April 2018 (UTC)
 * I concur with Gwillhickers' rationale above. The article was not overlong to begin with, but appropriately touched on the subjects that served as background to what might be the main thrust of Decatur's bio. I disagreed or was 50/50 on most of these edits as I saw them in watchlist, but was waiting until I had more time to properly engage with a discussion on them. I do agree that some things can be removed, such as the root causes of the War of 1812, or other individual edits, but on the whole I think a more engrossing approach is a better service to the reader than a bare bones narrative of just his deeds with minimal context. JesseRafe (talk) 19:40, 4 April 2018 (UTC)
 * I agree with both of the comments above. I suggest that Dilidor prioritize his changes and bring them here for discussion. Tom (North Shoreman) (talk) 19:51, 4 April 2018 (UTC)

_____________

The article suffers severely from bloat. Here is just one random example from my earlier edits; the following was the original text (and current due to mass wholesale reverts):
 * By July 1, 1799, United States had been refitted and repaired and commenced its mission to patrol the south Atlantic coast and West Indies in search of French ships which were preying on American merchant vessels. After completing this mission the ship was taken to Norfolk, Virginia, for minor repairs and then set sail for Newport, Rhode Island, arriving on September 12. While the ship was berthed there, Commodore Barry received orders to prepare for a voyage to transport two U.S. envoys to Spain and on December 3 sailed on United States for Lisbon via England. During the crossing the ship encountered gale force winds, and at their insistence the two envoys were dropped off at the nearest port in England.[34] Upon returning home and arriving on the Delaware River on April 3, 1800, it was discovered that United States had incurred damage from the storms she had weathered at sea. Consequently, the vessel was taken up the Delaware to Chester, Pennsylvania, for repairs.[35] Not wanting to remain with United States during the months of repairs and outfitting, Decatur obtained a transfer to the brig USS Norfolk[36] under the command of Thomas Calvert. In May the Norfolk sailed to the West Indies to patrol its waters looking for French privateers and men-of-war. During the months that followed 25 armed enemy craft were captured or destroyed. With orders to rendezvous with merchantmen bound for America, Norfolk continued on to Cartagena (Colombia) with orders to escort the ships back to the United States, protecting them from pirates and privateers.

The following is what I edited that paragraph into:
 * United States commenced its mission of patrolling the south Atlantic and West Indies in search of French ships which were preying on American merchant vessels in July, 1799. After several missions, it was discovered that United States had incurred damage from storms at sea, and she was taken up the Delaware to Chester, Pennsylvania for repairs in April 1800.[34] Decatur did not want to remain with United States during the months of repairs and outfitting, so he obtained a transfer to the brig USS Norfolk[35] under the command of Thomas Calvert. In May, the Norfolk sailed to the West Indies to patrol its waters looking for French privateers and men-of-war and 25 armed enemy craft were captured or destroyed over the following months.

I have bolded the bulk of what I removed in my edit on the Quasi-War subsection. You will note that the details are extraneous to the overall topic—which is the life and career of Stephen Decatur, not the history of the quasi-war or the ship he was sailing or the weather. I have merely been trying to focus this article on Decatur and jettison some of the excessive ballast that is sinking it down to Davy Jones, to utilize a suitable metaphor. Nevertheless, I do not feel strongly enough about it to do battle on whether or not my edits were improving it. —Dilidor (talk) 10:58, 5 April 2018 (UTC)
 * This, on the large was an example of a largely good one. Others not so much. There was a lot of them, and on the balance, I'd err on restoring fully, and then culling, rather than delete so much and then having to re-add (or more tedious, yet, re-source!). But things that happen to a ship under Decatur's command are relevant, things that happened immediately prior to the ship that influence his decision can be a sentence or even a clause. JesseRafe (talk) 13:49, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

To any one interested in the subject, this is called historical context, not "bloat". It gives the interested reader a comprehensive understanding of some of the surrounding circumstances. There are no page length issues, and all information is well sourced, so all we really have is a difference of opinion. e.g.At what point does the shade of grey become dark.

Examples :

 * Here is just a sampling of some of the items deleted, all directly involving Decatur:

 * a squadron under the command of Commodore John Rodgers in President, along with Commodore Stephen Decatur of United States, Argus, Essex and Hornet, departed from the harbor at New York City.

 * After overseeing the completion of gunboats, Decatur returned to Norfolk in March 1807 and was given command of the Naval Yard at Gosport. While commissioned there he received a letter from the residing British consul to turn over three deserters from the British ship ''Melampus
 * ...an event whose controversy would lead to a duel between Barron and Decatur some years later, as Decatur served on Barron's court-martial and later was one of the most outspoken critics of the questionable handling of ''Chesapeake'
 * Preble divided his gunboats into two divisions, putting Decatur in command of the second division.
 * Decatur's vessel was made to look like a common merchant ship from Malta and was outfitted with British colours.
 * As Decatur's ship came closer to Philadelphia, Catalano called out to the harbor personnel in Arabic that their ship had lost its anchors during a recent storm and was seeking refuge at Tripoli for repairs.
 * As Decatur approached the berthed Philadelphia he encountered a light wind that made his approach tedious.
 * Because of Decatur's great successes in the War of 1812 and for his knowledge of and past experience at the Algerian port, Crowninshield chose him to command the lead ship...
 * Decatur surprised the few Tripolitans on board when he shouted the order "board!", signaling to the hidden crew below to emerge and storm the captured ship

There were many more such statements that were removed wholesale. What's also troubling is that many of the comments in edit history were very misleading and often simply wrong.

 * e.g."deleting Leopard-Chesapeake affair which has nothing whatsoever to do with Decatur".

Also, some of the other comments in edit history were rather sarcastic and sometimes derogatory. -- Having said that, I will work to trim any text that really goes far afield. -- Gwillhickers (talk) 18:27, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

title: Talk:Stephen Decatur


text:
Kate Seelye

Kate Seelye is vice president for Arts and Culture at the Middle East Institute where she has worked for a decade in different roles, including as senior vice president. Prior to that, she was a journalist specializing in coverage of the Middle East. Seelye reported for NPR, and has contributed to the BBC, Channel 4, and Frontline/World. She has also worked as a producer for the PBS Newshour based in Los Angeles and as an associate producer at Marketplace.

Seelye graduated from Amherst College in 1984. In addition to her work at the Middle East Institute and before becoming a journalist, she has been employed by Queen Noor of Jordan and as Manager of Media Relations for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. In 2004, Seelye received an honorary doctorate from Amherst College and is also a Fulbright Scholar.

Family
Seelye is a daughter of Talcott W. Seelye (1922–2006), a former U.S. ambassador to Tunisia and Syria, and Joan Hazeltine. Seelye is a descendant of former Amherst College president Julius H. Seelye.

External links to reportage

 * PBS Frontline "Syria: Beyond the Axis of Evil?" (October 24, 2008)
 * PBS Frontline Palestinian Territories: "Inside Hamas" (May 9, 2006)
 * PBS Frontline Syria: "U.N. Murder Investigation Closes in on Syria" (September 21, 2005)
 * PBS Frontline Lebanon: "The Earthquake" (May 17, 2005)
 * NPR (articles sorted by date)
 * NPR (articles sorted by relevance)
 * The World (articles sorted by date)
 * The World (articles sorted by relevance)

title: Kate Seelye


text:
Talk:Human Rights Day

The development of this article is on my to-do list: do not merge. Gareth Hughes 22:40, 16 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Gone on for quite long enough, that has. I'm going to remove the merge header. –Hajor 22:08, 10 Apr 2005 (UTC)'t

I don't understand this statment, "Because the UDHR holds the world record as the most translated document (with more than 360 language versions available)" when, in fact, the Bible has over 2500 translations? CrummyVerses (talk) 15:07, 11 December 2011 (UTC)Keith RoperCrummyVerses (talk)

Need update 2 External Link
The external link to the HR Day site goes to info for 2005. I can't find UN/2006 HR page ... how about you? rewinn 19:01, 13 November 2006 (UTC)
 * somebody has done it. XavierV 22:28, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

Spoken article
One of the reasons to include spoken articles is that "(T)hey are a valuable learning tool for non-native English speakers and those that don't speak it at all. Having a large number of examples of how words are pronounced can be important." The speaker mispronounces "enunciation" as /ɪnʌŋˡkeɪʃn/. Should the entire recording be dumped?

Human Rights?
In this article the section entitled "Human Rights" seems very random and does not seem to fit with the rest of the article, and the reference to India seems totally out of left field....anyone agree?216.179.3.166 (talk) 01:25, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Just as a thought …
Just as a thought, I know the article links to the UN’s external text of The Declaration: but does Wikipedia reproduce that text?

It strikes me as being possibly a handy thing to do …

Cuddy2977 (talk) 16:33, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

Wikipedia Primary School invitation
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Review within the Wikipedia Primary School project

Hi all. As anticipated, some weeks ago Dr.Stephen Lowry agreed to review this article within the scope of the project linked above. You can find her notes in the PDF I just uploaded to Commons. We'd like to thank Dr. Lowry for his work and for his helpful notes. We invite everybody to feel free to reuse the review to improve the article and/or to comment it here. Best, Anthere (talk) 15:03, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

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title: Talk:Human Rights Day


text:
Category talk:Rebels

The distinction made in the introduction, in my opinion, is wrong. A revolutionary is a person who is engaged in a political or social revolution, that is the transformation of society by the masses (the people) examples of revolutions are: The French Revolution and the Russian Revolution. A rebel is a person who is engaged in a rebellion that does not entail the changing of society by the masses, but by a part of the masses (e.g. an oppressed minority). To say that a revolutionary is a successful rebel is total nonsense, in my opinion. I think the introduction to this category should be changed.
 * I just changed it. Feel free to alter it for accuracy. -    — BanyanTree 22:59, 16 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Your definition makes a lot more sense, and I'll stick to that. But, let me please say that my idea isn't complete nonsense... Were Washington, Jefferson, and Adams not rebelling against the English throne? There would have been no revolution had they not been successful. Had the English won, they would have said they had suppressed a rebellion, not a revolution. It may not seem nice, you might not like it, but history is written by the victors, to some extent, and this is reflected in the terminology...

LordAmeth 03:30, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * First, let me make clear that I did not make the initial comment above. I've always seen revolutionary as a subset of rebel, in that rebels are against authority, while revolutionaries are against authority and want to replace that authority with a completely new system.  I have noticed though that there has been a slow motion edit war at rebellion where people remove the American revolutionaries from the list.  So your point is well taken. -    — BanyanTree 04:27, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I am the one who made the first comments, I did not intend to offend only to emphasis the point. I am very happy with the result, thanks. --130.161.31.18 18:38, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Additions
To add once articles are written: Somatau (or Somadau), Julien Fédon, Anastasio Aquino, Macario Sakay (individual article instead of redirect), Monja Jaona, Pierre Anga, Ruben Um Nyobé, Félix Moumié, Bernard Kolélas, Pierre Mulele, Christophe Gbenye, Gaston Soumialot, Bildad Kaggia, Diamacoune Senghor, John Okello, Nicolau dos Reis Lobato, Chris Soumokil, Johannes Alvarez Manusama, Seth Rumkorem, Thomas Kanza —Sesel 05:27, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

title: Category talk:Rebels


text:
Fred Smoot

Fredrick Smoot (born April 17, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, and was recognized as an All-American. The Washington Redskins chose him in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft, and he played for the Minnesota Vikings as well.

Early years
Smoot was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He attended Provine High School in Jackson, and played for the Provine Rams high school football team. He was selected to play in the Mississippi-Alabama high school all-star game as a senior.

College career
Smoot attended Hinds Community College from 1997 to 1998 and Mississippi State University, where he played for the Bulldogs from 1999 to 2000. He started his junior and senior years, and was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection both years, and a consensus first-team All-American as a senior. He was also a finalist for the Conerly Trophy in 2000.

First stint with Redskins
Smoot was selected by the Washington Redskins as the 14th pick in the second round (45th pick overall) of the 2001 NFL draft out of Mississippi State. Many believed he was a first-round caliber player but because of questionable off-the-field problems many teams shied away from him. Afterwards, he proclaimed himself to be the steal of the draft. In Smoot's four years with the Redskins, he collected 16 interceptions, and formed an impressive duo with Champ Bailey.

Minnesota Vikings
Following a strong season as part of the impressive Redskins defense in 2004, Smoot left the club as a free agent to sign with the Minnesota Vikings. However, he was not able to duplicate his success in Minnesota.

Smoot reportedly bulked up in the 2006 offseason. His playing weight was listed at 178 lb for the 2005 season and in May 2006 the press reported he weighed about 200 lb. He faced very stiff competition for the starting spot since the Vikings drafted cornerback Cedric Griffin in the second round and cornerback Ronyell Whitaker was named All NFL Europa. In the third game of the season against Chicago, Smoot sat out the opening drive reportedly for discipline reasons. Coach Brad Childress said that was between him and Smoot. In the 11th game of the season, Smoot was benched in favor of starting Griffin instead. Childress said the switch was merited in performance and Griffin had been doing an excellent job.

Love Boat scandal
Smoot was at the center of the 2005 Minnesota Vikings boat cruise scandal involving several of his Minnesota Vikings' teammates. Some Vikings players had rented a boat on Lake Minnetonka and reportedly hired prostitutes to have a "sex party" on the boat. Smoot allegedly held a purple double-headed dildo and inserted it into the vaginas of two women who were lying on the floor in the lounge area. After one woman left, he continued to "manipulate the dildo" inside the other woman in front of the young crew. Formal charges for the Boat Scandal were filed on December 15. Smoot was also alleged to have organized the whole party, an accusation he denied.

On May 2, 2006, Smoot pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and being a public nuisance on a watercraft in connection with the Love Boat scandal. He agreed to pay a $1,007 fine and perform 48 hours of community service. Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said, in addition to community service, he would participate in numerous service events that season. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said fines were likely, but Smoot would not be suspended.

On September 9, 2006, the NFL imposed a fine equivalent to one game's salary against Smoot and former Vikings teammate Bryant McKinnie for their role in the Love Boat scandal, Smoot's fine was $82,352.

Car crash
Smoot broke his jaw in a single-vehicle crash in Mississippi on December 22, 2006, where he was spending the week. His jaw was broken in five different spots. As a result, he was out for the rest of the season.

Second stint with the Redskins
He was released on March 1, 2007 from the Vikings. On March 3, 2007, the Redskins signed Smoot to a five-year deal worth $25 million. He was released on March 4, 2010.

Personal life
Smoot has advocated for the passage of the FIT Kids Act, federal legislation that would require school districts to report on students' physical activity while also distributing health and nutritional information.

Domestic violence accusation
On November 25, 2014, Smoot was arrested by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office on a domestic abuse charge by his former girlfriend, Valerie Jackson. Smoot was officially cleared of all charges on January 6, 2015.

Civil misdemeanor charge
On August 10, 2023, Smoot surrendered himself to the Loudoun County sheriff's department and arrested on a civil misdemeanor charge of "failure to comply with a support obligation". Smoot claimed to be initially unaware of his arrest warrants due to them being sent to an address where he no longer lived. Smoot was released by the sheriff's department the following day.

title: Fred Smoot


text:
Claret Jug

The Golf Champion Trophy, commonly known as the Claret Jug, is the trophy presented to the winner of The Open Championship (also called the "British Open"), one of the four major championships in golf.

The awarding of the Claret Jug dates from 1872, when a new trophy was needed after Young Tom Morris had won the original Challenge Belt (presented by Prestwick Golf Club) outright in 1870 by winning the Championship three years in a row. Prestwick had both hosted and organised the Championship from 1860 to 1870.

By the time that Prestwick had reached agreement with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (based at Musselburgh) for the championship to rotate at these three venues, more than a year had passed. So, there was no event in 1871.

Each club contributed £10 to the cost of the new trophy, which is inscribed 'The Golf Champion Trophy', and was made by Mackay Cunningham & Company of Edinburgh.

When the 1872 event was played, the trophy was not ready in time to be presented to Morris (who had won his fourth in a row), although his name was the first to be engraved on it. In 1872, Morris was presented with a medal as have all subsequent winners. In 1873 Tom Kidd became the first winner to be actually presented with the Claret Jug after winning the Championship.

The original Claret Jug has been on permanent display at the clubhouse of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews since 1928. The original Challenge Belt is also on display at the same site, having been donated in 1908 by the Morris family.

The current Claret Jug was first awarded to Walter Hagen for winning the 1928 Open. The winner must return the trophy before the next year's Open, and receives a replica to keep permanently. Three other replicas exist: one in the R&A World Golf Museum at St Andrews, and two used for travelling exhibitions.

Every year, the winner's name is engraved on the Claret Jug before it is presented to him. The BBC always shows the engraver poised to start work, and the commentators like to speculate about when he will be sure enough of the outcome to begin. Despite some suggestions, at the 1999 Open Championship, Jean van de Velde's name was not engraved on the trophy before he famously choked with a triple-bogey on the 18th hole and Paul Lawrie subsequently won the playoff; engraver Alex Harvey stated, "No, I didn't start engraving the Jug with his name. I've got to wait until the secretary hands me a slip of paper with the winner's name on it, and they always wait until the last putt is dropped." Upon being awarded the Jug in 1989, Mark Calcavecchia said, "How's my name going to fit on that thing?"

The Claret Jug has twice appeared on commemorative £5 Scottish banknotes issued by the Royal Bank of Scotland: first in 2004, for the 250th Anniversary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, then in 2005, the jug is shown held by Jack Nicklaus to mark his retirement.

title: Claret Jug


text:
Gohonzon

Gohonzon (御本尊) is a generic term for a venerated religious object in Japanese Buddhism. It may take the form of a scroll or statuary. The term gohonzon typically refers to the mainstream use of venerated objects within Nichiren Buddhism, referring to the calligraphic paper mandala inscribed by the 13th Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren to which devotional chanting is directed.

Linguistically, the rootword honzon (本尊) derives from ancient word konpon-sogyo, signifying a devotional object of respect or worship, and with the honorific go- (御) prefix.

Varying Nichiren groups accord their own meanings to the term gohonzon in different ways, signifying their treatment of the object:

 * "Object of Devotion" — Soka Gakkai
 * "Object of Worship" — Nichiren Shōshū
 * "The Great Mandala, Venerated Supreme" — Nichiren-shū sects

Paper scroll gohonzon are sometimes known as kakejiku gohonzon or "script mandala" (文字曼荼羅). The term butsuzo gohonzon is used for statuary. Gohonzon are often enshrined within an altar shrine (butsudan).

Description
Nichiren himself attached the greatest importance to his inscription of the gohonzon and claimed this as a pivotal moment in his life. He stated that by using sumi ink to inscribe it, he was acting like a "lion king." Nichiren's calligraphy shifted over the years he inscribed gohonzon. Details of the composition of the gohonzon are clear from the approximately 120-125 inscribed in Nichiren's own hand, dating from 1271 to 1282, that are extant. For example, a gohonzon he inscribed in July 1273 was inscribed on a piece of silk 2.5 by 5.5 ft. Copies of the original gohonzon have been made by others and can be found in varying sizes.

A joju gohonzon is inscribed for a specific person or organization, while an okatagi gohonzon is generic and produced through a woodblock printing process. Nichiren and his successors also inscribed smaller omamori gohonzon that are carried on the person.

Opinions on its significance

 * Author Philip Yampolsky describes Nichiren's gohonzon as a mandala, a concretized object that Nichiren inscribed to transmit what he regarded as the essence of the Lotus Sutra. It is also described as a depiction of the Ceremony in the Air in the 11th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, "The Emergence of the Treasure Tower". It is the first of the "three great secret laws" of Nichiren Buddhism, the others being Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō and the platform of ordination or place of worship.
 * Authors Robert Ellwood and Richard Pilgrim describe gohonzon as a "mandala of the cosmos as perceived inwardly by Nichiren."
 * Masaharu Anesaki describes gohonzon as "a physical embodiment of the truth of cosmic existence as realized in the all-comprehensive conception of 'mutual participation, and illuminated by the all-enlightening power of the Truth.'"
 * Jacqueline Stone claims that "By having faith in the daimoku and chanting it before this object of worship, [Nichiren taught] one could in effect enter the mandala and participate in the enlightened reality that it depicts."

The founder Nichiren referred to gohonzon as "the banner of propagation" and "a cluster of blessings."

Calligraphic meanings
"Without exception, all these Buddhas, bodhisattvas, great sages, and, in general, all the various beings of the two worlds and the eight groups who appear in the “Introduction” chapter of the Lotus Sutra dwell in this Gohonzon. Illuminated by the light of the five characters of the Mystic Law, they display the dignified attributes that they inherently possess. This is the object of devotion."

A Nichiren gohonzon is usually written in traditional kanji characters with the addition of two Siddhaṃ scripts. Although exclusive to the other Buddhist sects of his contemporaneous society, Nichiren was highly inclusive of Vedic and Chinese traditions, viewing them as precursors of his own teachings and personages from these traditions are present on the gohonzon.

Most prominent to all such gohonzon is the phrase 'Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō'—the primary mantra in Nichiren Buddhism—written down the center in bold calligraphy. This is called the daimoku (題目) or "title" (主題). Right below, also in bold, Nichiren writes his name followed by his seal. This signifies Nichiren's conviction that his life had manifested the essence of the Lotus Sutra.

On the top row can be found the names of Shakyamuni Buddha and Prabhutaratna and the four leaders of the Bodhisattvas of the Earth. The names of deities believed to protect the Buddha land, called the Four Heavenly Kings (Bishamonten, Jikokuten, Kōmokuten, and Zōjōten), further occupy the four corners, and Sanskrit characters depicting Aizen Myō-ō and Fudō Myō-ō are situated along the left and right outer edges. Within this frame are the names of various Buddhas, bodhisattvas, historical and mythological figures in Buddhism, personages representing the ten realms, and deities drawn from Vedic, Chinese, and Japanese traditions are arranged hierarchically. Each of these names represents some aspect of the Buddha's enlightenment or an important Buddhist concept.

History
Research has documented that Nichiren inscribed 740 gohonzon. He began inscribing gohonzon immediately before and during his exile on Sado between late 1271 and early 1274. This follows the attempted and failed execution of him at Tatsunokuchi Beach in 1271. In various letters he referred to this event as his "casting off the transient and revealing the true" (hoshaku-kempon), at which time he claimed to have discarded his transient status and revealed his essential identity as the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law. According to Ikeda, Nichiren's intent in manifesting the gohonzon was to allow people to connect directly with the Law so they, too, could discard the transient and reveal their essential enlightened selves.

The first extant gohonzon was inscribed by Nichiren on 12 October 1271 before his transport to Sado Island. Stone describes it as embryonic in form. On 8 July 1273, Nichiren inscribed a gohonzon in its full form with the inscription "Nichiren inscribes this for the first time."

During his exile in Sado Island (1271–1274) Nichiren wrote two treatises explaining the significance of the object of devotion from the theoretical perspectives of the person (The Opening of the Eyes) and the law (The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind). Nichiren wrote additional letters to his followers bestowing gohonzon to them and further explaining their significance: "Letter to Misawa," "Reply to Kyo'o," "The Real Aspect of the Gohonzon," and "On the Treasure Tower."

The gohonzon issue of Soka Gakkai
The Nichiren Shoshu religion claims that the original Dai Gohonzon mandala at its head temple is the original source of power that is transcribed by the High Priests of Nichiren Shoshu. All gohonzon loaned by Nichiren Shoshu are copied from the Dai Gohonzon, including the ones currently used both by Soka Gakkai and Kenshokai for their services.

In 28 November 1991, the Soka Gakkai was expelled by Nichiren Shoshu and thereby lost its source of gohonzon. By September 1993, the Soka Gakkai began to manufacture their own version and artistic format used today for current members. A gohonzon transcribed by Nichikan Shonin, the 26th chief abbot of Taisekiji was selected through one of the dissident breakaway priest who provided the woodblock copy when he sided with President Daisaku Ikeda.

The gohonzon used today by Soka Gakkai was copied and transcribed from the Dai Gohonzon in July 1720 by Nichikan Shonin (1665–1726), the twenty-sixth High Priest of Nichiren Shoshu. Another gohonzon in possession of the Soka Gakkai is the wooden copy manufactured in 1974 transcribed from the Dai Gohonzon by 64th High Priest Nissho Shonin, previously enshrined in Osaka, and now enshrined in the main SGI headquarters of Daiseido Hall in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.

 * Former Soka Gakkai President Jōsei Toda described the gohonzon simply as "a happiness-producing machine," a means for harmonizing with "universal life force."
 * Current President of Soka Gakkai International Mr. Daisaku Ikeda refers to the gohonzon as a mirror that reflects one's inner life.

Inscriptions
The following inscriptions are found in the gohonzon transcribed by 26th High Priest Nichikan Shonin, as is the mainstream format also transcribed by the Successive High Priests of Nichiren Shoshu:
 * Nichiren Daishonin: — Butsumetsugo ni-sen hi-hyaku san-ju yo nen no aida ichienbudai no uchi misou no daimandara nari; "Never in 2,230-some years since the passing of the Buddha has this great mandala appeared in the world."
 * Nichikan Shonin: — Kyojo go-nen roku-gatsu jusan-nichi; "The 13th day of the sixth month in the fifth year of Kyoho, cyclical sign kanoe-ne."

There are also two inscriptions from Miao-lo's commentary Hokke Mongu, The Annotations on "The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra":

 * U kuyo sha Fuku ka jugo — "Those who make offerings will gain good fortune surpassing the ten honorable titles [of the Buddha]"
 * Nyaku noran sha zu ha shichibun — "Those who vex and trouble [the practitioners of the Law] will have their heads split into seven pieces."

The Soka Gakkai organization maintains that only the gohonzon conferred by their leadership brings both personal happiness and Kosen-rufu, claiming that they possess the true mandate of Nichiren for widespread propagation.

By contrast, Nichiren Shoshu Hokkeko members often omit the honorific term go- (御) when referring to gohonzon used outside their religion, most especially against the Soka Gakkai variant either as a pejorative derision or refusal to acknowledge the implied sacred nature of the gohonzon outside their sectarian beliefs, often citing them as either fake and lacking the "eye-opening" ceremony prescribed to animate a gohonzon for its spiritual efficacy. The lesser value of hon-zon is used by Nichiren Shoshu members instead.

Outside of Nichiren Buddhism
The terms honzon and gohonzon are often used interchangeably and with some confusion. In the Japanese new religion Risshō Kōsei Kai, members receive and practice to a 'Daigohonzon' enshrined in their homes; the scroll consists of an image of Gautama Buddha. At the Risshō Kōsei Kai headquarters there is a gohonzon that is a statue of Shakyamuni.

In the Jōdo Shinshū school of Pure Land Buddhism, under Hōnen and Shinran, the use of honzon became more prevalent; they took the form of inscriptions of the sect's mantra Namu Amida Buddha, other phrases, images of the Buddha, statuary, and even representations of the founder. Rennyo thought the written mantra was more appropriate than a statue but did not ascribe particular powers to it as do Nichiren's followers to their gohonzon.

In Mikkyō practices such as in Shingon Buddhism, the term honzon to refers to the divinity honored in a rite but later came to represent the formal object of worship. The tutelary figure's role is similar to that of the yidam in Tibetan Buddhism. Tutelary deities in Vajrayana, including Mikkyō, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism, are crucial to many religious practices. In the famous goma fire ritual ceremony, the fire itself, while it is being consumed and animated, is also considered a temporary gohonzon.

title: Gohonzon