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Diagnosis: Murder

Diagnosis: Murder is an American mystery medical crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son Steve, a homicide detective played by Van Dyke's real-life son Barry. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman (Dr. Mark Sloan made his first appearance in the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of the show, "It Never Entered My Mind"), became a series of three television films, and then a weekly television series that premiered on CBS on October 29, 1993. Joyce Burditt, who created the show, wrote the Jake and the Fatman episode.

The series struggled at first and was almost cancelled at the end of the second season, but it returned as a midseason replacement in the third season, and was regularly renewed thereafter. 178 episodes were produced and aired during the show's eight seasons on the CBS network in the United States and two more TV movies aired after the series' final episode aired on May 11, 2001. The show is currently distributed by CBS Television Distribution.

In the Jake and the Fatman episode, Dr. Mark Sloan was a widower with no sons. Dr. Amanda Bentley is played by Cynthia Gibb in the TV movies and, finally, by Victoria Rowell in the TV series. Stephen Caffrey played Dr. Jack Parker in the movies, a role that went to Scott Baio as Dr. Jack Stewart in the weekly series (first two seasons).

The first two TV movies were shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the third was shot in Denver, Colorado. The first 8 episodes of the series were also shot (and set) in Denver, before quickly (and without explanation) shifting to Los Angeles for the remainder of the show's run. Since 1997, reruns of the show have been shown in syndication and on Freeform (formerly ABC Family and originally CBN Satellite Service), Ion Television (formerly PAX-TV), Hallmark Channel, 10 Bold, CBS Action and MeTV. In the UK it is currently being shown on Great! TV.

Plot
The plot centered around Dr. Mark Sloan (Dick Van Dyke), a former United States Army doctor who served in a MASH unit. After his service ended, Dr. Sloan became a renowned physician and consults with the local police, and can't resist a good mystery or a friend in need. Cases often involved his son, Detective Steve Sloan (Barry Van Dyke), and Norman Briggs (Michael Tucci in seasons 1–4), a hospital administrator and a close friend of his. Also assisting Dr. Sloan are his colleagues, medical examiner/pathology Dr. Amanda Bentley (Victoria Rowell) and Dr. Jack Stewart (Scott Baio in the first two seasons), who is later replaced by a new resident, Dr. Jesse Travis (Charlie Schlatter from season 3 onward).

Episodes
Diagnosis: Murder had a total of eight seasons and 178 episodes which were broadcast on CBS between 1993 and 2001.

Main

 * Dr. Mark Sloan (played by Dick Van Dyke), Former army doctor and Chief of Internal Medicine at Community General Hospital, and protagonist of the series. Son of a police officer and father of another, in whose cases he often gets involved. He is a medical consultant to the LAPD. Dick Van Dyke was considered for the lead role after the positive reviews he received from his dramatic role in the 1990 movie Dick Tracy (although the character he played in the movie was villain and very different from the role of Mark Sloan). In the pilot, the character had interests in tap dance and clarinet playing; however, these were considered distracting and were toned down and eventually removed from the character as the series developed.
 * Lieutenant Detective Steve Sloan (played by Barry Van Dyke), a detective sergeant (later lieutenant from season 2 onward) in the Robbery/Homicide Division of the LAPD and Dr. Mark Sloan's son. After an earthquake destroyed his apartment, he lived in a separate apartment in his father's beach house in Malibu, California. Steve often uses his "patented" dive to apprehend criminals.
 * Dr. Amanda Bentley (played by Cynthia Gibb in the TV movies set before the series), later Bentley-Livingston (played there by Victoria Rowell), resident Pathology at Community General Hospital and assistant County Medical Examiner, who is also Dr. Mark Sloan's double act and medical partner, involving in each of Mark's & Steve's cases, after the accident. As a favorable character of the show, she also dated Jack and was later Jesse's best friend. During the series, she married a military man named Colin Livingston, and they had one son named C.J. She named her only biological child Colin Jesse Livingston after his father and Dr. Jesse Travis, who delivered the baby alone in the back of his beloved VW convertible, with Mark assisting over cell phone. Her husband was overseas at the time and unfortunately unreachable. Depending on the episode, she later divorced her husband or he was killed in an airplane crash. Later in the series, she adopted another boy, Deon.
 * Dr. Jack Stewart (played by Stephen Caffrey in the TV movies, Scott Baio in the series from 1993 to 1995, seasons 1–2), a doctor at Community General Hospital and Steve's best friend, whom he often helped in his cases. He left to open his own family medicine in Colorado. Jack Stewart does reappear in a couple of Lee Goldberg's Diagnosis Murder books, "The Silent Partner" and "The Last Word". In the first three TV Movies his name was Jack Parker.
 * Dr. Jesse Travis (played by Charlie Schlatter, 1995–2001, seasons 3–8), a residency and handsome student at Community General Hospital who Mark took under his wing and who became best friends with Amanda. He later went into business with Steve as partners in a barbecue restaurant. Another favorable/list of breakout characters of the series, he often got involved in Mark and Steve's cases, with good intentions but not always good results. In the crossover double episode "Murder Two", he himself became the prime suspect of a rival doctor's killing, hence he badgered Mark to call his old friend Ben Matlock (played by Dick's real-life best friend Andy Griffith) for help. The hospital staff thought he wrote the tell-all book "Big City Hospital" as Dr. Anonymous but later found out it was written by someone else. Jason Tucker was a character in the book who sounded exactly like Jesse, which is why the hospital staff thought it was him.
 * Norman Briggs (played by Michael Tucci, 1993–1997, seasons 1–4), business administration at Community General Hospital and a close friend of Dr. Mark Sloan, even though he is often exasperated by him.
 * Delores Mitchell (played by Delores Hall, 1993–1995, seasons 1–2), Dr. Sloan's lively secretary.

Notable guest stars
One unique aspect of the series was that it frequently appropriated characters from various classic television series, or featured veteran actors playing characters inspired by or similar to their classic roles.
 * Rob Petrie (played by Van Dyke himself in The Dick Van Dyke Show) features in a cameo in the episode "Obsession, Part 2" where Dr. Sloan is in a radio station, and walks past a studio where (through use of CGI), Rob is trying his hand at radio Disc jockey. The footage of Rob as a DJ is taken from the Dick Van Dyke Show episode "One Hundred Terrible Hours". This scene moves Diagnosis: Murder into the realm of fantasy as Petrie is shown in black and white (with Sloan visible in a color insert behind him), after which Sloan breaks the fourth wall and looks at the audience before the story continues.
 * Mike Connors reprised his titular character of Mannix in the season 4 episode "Hard-Boiled Murder." The episode's story was a sequel to the Mannix episode "Little Girl Lost."
 * Andy Griffith reprised his titular role of Ben Matlock from Dean Hargrove's Matlock series in Season 4 two-parter "Murder Two" (1997). In a sense, this brought Diagnosis: Murder full circle, as its parent series, Jake and the Fatman, was inspired by a Season 1 episode of Matlock in 1986.
 * Barbara Bain reprised her role of Cinnamon Carter of Mission: Impossible in season 5 episode "Discards."
 * Peter Graves, who starred alongside Barbara Bain on Mission: Impossible as Jim Phelps did not return as his character, but did make a very brief cameo in "Must Kill TV" and the same scene is seen in part 1 of the Series 6 episode Trash TV Part 1 as "Dr. Sloane" [sic] in a Mission: Impossible-style illusion of his first TV pilot of "Doctor Danger," later replaced during the show.
 * Robert Culp also guest starred in the episode "Discards" as Dane Travis, a retired espionage, tennis professional, and Dr. Travis' father. The character was similar to his Kelly Robinson character from I Spy, though Travis was said to have worked with the Impossible Missions Force (also seen on Mission: Impossible).
 * "Discards" also featured appearances by former TV spies Patrick Macnee (The Avengers), Robert Vaughn (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) and Phil Morris (the 1988 version of Mission: Impossible), though they did not play their original characters.
 * Jack Klugman also guest starred in season 4 episode "Physician, Murder Thyself," as a character very similar to his famous role on Quincy, M.E.. He guest-starred again, in season 6 episode "Voices Carry" as police detective Harry Trumble, the former fiance of Dr. Mark Sloan's late wife. Trumble reappeared in Lee Goldberg's Diagnosis Murder novel "The Past Tense."
 * George Takei, Walter Koenig, Majel Barrett, Wil Wheaton, and Grace Lee Whitney (all from Star Trek or Star Trek: The Next Generation), as well as Bill Mumy (from Lost in Space), were guest stars in "Alienated!" one sixth season episode, which involved an apparent extraterrestrial life alien abduction and coverup.
 * The episode "Drill for Death" included appearances by several actors associated with the M*A*S*H franchise: Elliott Gould and Sally Kellerman from the original movie; Jamie Farr, Loretta Swit and William Christopher from the television series; and Christopher Norris from the sequel series Trapper John, M.D..
 * Randolph Mantooth and Robert Fuller, who worked together on NBC's Emergency! appeared together in a 1997 episode about the Malibu, California brushfires.
 * The episode "Must Kill TV" features a number of small cameos by television personalities such as Erik Estrada and Dr. Joyce Brothers playing themselves and a larger one from Stephen J. Cannell as an over-the-top producer of action TV. The role is reprised in the two-parter "Trash TV."
 * The episode "Food Fight" (1998) features Erin Moran, Pat Morita, Don Most, David Lander, Leslie Easterbrook and Conrad Janis. All of these actors starred alongside Scott Baio in Happy Days or its spin-offs, Laverne & Shirley, Joanie Loves Chachi and Mork & Mindy.
 * The episode "Promises to Keep" (1998) features characters introduced in the Promised Land (a spin-off of Touched by an Angel) episode "Total Security" (1998) crossover into the show.
 * A somewhat special case is the appearance of Jennifer Ringley (the internet's first web-based lifecaster with her pioneering JenniCam website from 1996 to 2003) in the 1998's episode "Rear Windows '98", where she played a fictionalized version of herself (with a website called "Joannecam") who is killed in the first minute.

Over the run of the show, various episodes guest starred at least eight different members of the Van Dyke family:
 * Dick Van Dyke and son Barry Van Dyke in the lead roles.
 * Dick's brother, Jerry Van Dyke.
 * One of Dick's daughters, Stacy Van Dyke.
 * Barry's children: Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, Wes Van Dyke and Taryn Van Dyke.

Smaller recurring roles

 * Joanna Cassidy (Season 7) plays Madison Wesley, a doctor friend of Mark Sloan, and Dean of Community General's Medical School. She is in 8 episodes.
 * Kim Little (Seasons 5 and 6) plays Susan Hillard, Jesse's longtime girlfriend, for 10 episodes. In the season 7 episode "Bringing Up Barbie" It is mentioned that she left Jesse to go to Oregon with a male Chiropractor. But in the Diagnosis Murder books which take place after Season 6, she appears in almost every book and Jesse and Susan get married in the book "The Dead Letter".
 * Susan Gibney (Seasons 5–7) plays Detective Tanis Archer, Steve's partner in 4 episodes. Susan Gibney was also in three other episodes as two different characters.
 * Charmin Lee (Seasons 7–8) is Steve's second partner Detective Cheryl Brooks, who is in 11 episodes between seasons 7 and 8.
 * Martin Kove (Seasons 6–7) is Captain Newman, for 3 episodes.
 * Shane Van Dyke (Seasons 4–8) is Alex Smith, a third year medical school, who appears in 14 episodes during seasons 7 and 8. He is also seen as a boxing student in Never Say Die and an actor in Frontier Dad.  (Both these episodes star the rest of Barry Van Dyke's children also.)
 * Carey Van Dyke (Seasons 4–8) plays various characters: Mr. Kelso, Terry Marshall, Kyle Lewis, Brendan Kelly, Carl Simpson, and Craig Wilson. In the TV movie "A Town without Pity" he plays a character named "Billy".
 * Kevin McNally II (Seasons 3–8) as the ubiquitous Emergency Medical Technician in 19 episodes.
 * Tim Conway plays Tim Conrad, an old friend of Mark's and a comedian, in 2 episodes. Conway and Van Dyke had previously worked together on The Carol Burnett Show.
 * Harry Lennix (Seasons 5–6) plays FBI Agent Ron Wagner and Amanda's love interest in 6 episodes.
 * Fred Dryer (Season 5) plays Police Chief Masters in 3 episodes.
 * Nancy Youngblut (seasons 4–5) plays Nurse Nancy Rush in 2 episodes.
 * Mariette Hartley (1st and 2nd TV movies only) plays Kate Hamilton the Administrator at Community General Hospital.
 * Vernee Watson-Johnson (1st and 2nd TV movies only) plays Esther Wiggins Dr. Mark Sloan's secretary.
 * Kimberly Quinn (episode "Dance of Danger" and the TV movie "Without Warning") plays Ellen Sharp, a tabloid news reporter in whom Steve Sloan is interested. Steve proposes to her in the TV movie "Without Warning" and she says yes.
 * Robert Bailey Jr. (Season 7) plays Colin Jesse, or C.J. for short, Amanda Bentley's son. He was born in season three of the show and is played by Robert Bailey Jr. in three of the episodes he appeared in. C.J. appeared in a few more episodes before Season 7 as a different child actor.
 * Aaron Meeks (Season 7) plays Deon a boy who Dr. Amanda Bentley adopts. He appears in 3 episodes.

Denver, Colorado location
The first season’s filming commenced in July 1993 in Denver, Colorado. Much of the cast as well as the production company personnel from Viacom stayed in the (then) Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown, located at 19th Street between Curtis and Arapahoe. Among the reasons that production of Diagnosis: Murder was located in Denver was because the same production people had already been working there since about 1990 filming the new Perry Mason made for TV movies.

At that same time, Raymond Burr and his associates were busily filming their episodes for Perry Mason. In and around the Embassy Suites Hotel at that time, it was not unusual to see several semi-trailers parked street-side in support of the production at various office or exterior locations in and around downtown Denver.

Both series were produced by the Hargrove, Silverman team with Viacom. Therefore, the business decision to combine both productions at the same location was evident. While the Perry Mason series was often filmed in a special courtroom constructed for the production within The Denver City and County Building, Diagnosis: Murder was temporarily set at the then recently closed St. Luke’s Hospital on 19th Street just east of downtown.

When Raymond Burr became terminally ill later that summer, he no longer was seen at the hotel after having filmed his last episode, The Case of the Killer Kiss. (1993) In fact, upon his demise, Paul Sorvino was seen entering the hotel building to begin filming what was to be the last Perry Mason episode ever filmed in Denver, – A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives (1993). Upon completion of that filming, Viacom and the entire production company left Denver in late September, early October 1993, including that of Diagnosis: Murder. Thus, only the Diagnosis: Murder episodes filmed from mid-July through September 1993 were shot in Denver, after which production shifted permanently to Los Angeles.

Community General Hospital
Community General Hospital is the main set for the show. It is six to seven floors depending on the episode. It holds about 400 beds, with three trauma rooms, two psych wards, and one Intensive Care Unit. Dr. Mark Sloan is Chief of Internal Medicine. The Marriott Hotels & Resorts in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, was used as the exterior of Community General Hospital in the final three seasons of the show.

List of Administrators at Community General Hospital
 * 1) Russell Havilland (was The Administrator at Clairemont Hospital in the Pilot of Diagnosis: Murder, "It Never Entered My Mind". He was murdered and Dr. Mark Sloan was framed for his murder.)
 * 2) Kate Hamilton (was The Administrator at Community General Hospital in The 1st and 2nd Diagnosis: Murder TV Movies. It was said in the Diagnosis: Murder book "The Shooting Script" that Kate Hamilton decided to sell her home and use the proceeds to open a nonprofit food bank in the inner city.)
 * 3) Norman Briggs (was The Administrator of Community General Hospital for the first 4 seasons of Diagnosis: Murder. According to the book "The Shooting Script" it sounds like Norman was fired by the new owners Healthcorp International.)
 * 4) Harold Lomax (he appeared in a few episodes like "Do No Harm" and "Today is The Last Day of the Rest of My Life". In the book "The Shooting Script" When Community General Hospital was sold to Healthcorp International they brought in General Harold Lomax who'd spent ten years running battlefield medical operations for the U.S. Marine Corps. Harold Lomax later resigned with an Extreme case of Irritable Bowel syndrome and left behind a hospital literally in ruins, decimated by a serial bomber "Catlin Sweeney" who was stalking Mark for putting her brother "Carter Sweeney" in prison.)
 * 5) Noah Dent (he appeared in the books "The Shooting Script" and "The Last Word". He ended up being hired by the new owners of the hospital "Hollywood International" and had a personal vendetta against Mark Sloan for Catching "Tanya" who murdered a rapist who raped her and killed a homeless War Veteran who saw her kill him. He ended up firing Mark, Amanda, and Jesse's girlfriend Susan. Jesse ended up finding out and blackmailed him into giving everyone back their jobs. He ended up leaving Community General Hospital.)
 * 6) Janet Dorcott (she appeared in the book "The Last Word". She ended up firing Jesse and Susan Travis, after being framed for murder and Amanda Bentley was also fired for selling body parts from dead bodies and fired Mark because she blamed him for all the scandal around Community General Hospital.)

BBQ Bob's
BBQ Bob's is a restaurant that Jesse Travis and Steve Sloan co-own starting in the sixth season. Mark Sloan is also a silent partner. It is located in a small strip mall very close to Community General Hospital. Other stores around it include a jewelry store, travel agency and a bank. It is often frequented by the hospital staff as an alternative to the hospital cafeteria. All staff members get discounts. The exterior of BBQ Bob's was based on a storefront at the Whizin's Center in Agoura, California, where exterior scenes of BBQ Bob's were occasionally filmed.

Mark's house
In the first two seasons of the show Mark Sloan lived in a house in Denver, Colorado. No explanation is given when the show shifts to California for all the remaining episodes.

The Sloans' beach house
Starting in the third season, Mark and Steve Sloan live in a beach house at 3231 Beach Drive, Malibu, with Steve in the basement. The basement was often redressed to act as other sets. The actual house is on Broad Beach Road in Malibu, California. The house was later used as a filming location for the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana.

Pilot
The pilot episode was called "It Never Entered My Mind" from Jake and The Fatman. Mark Sloan was a widower with no sons. The hospital is called Clairemont Hospital instead of Community General Hospital, and there is no Jack or Amanda. His friends who helped him clear his name are
 * 1) Richard (Steven Eckholdt)
 * 2) Josie (Ally Walker)
 * 3) Thad (Kristoff St. John)

TV movies
Diagnosis: Murder had five TV movies between 1992 and 2002, three of which aired prior to the TV series.
 * Diagnosis of Murder, the first TV movie was filmed in July 1991 and aired before the regular series, January 5, 1992, on CBS.
 * The House on Sycamore Street, the second TV movie, aired before the regular series, May 1, 1992, on CBS.
 * A Twist of the Knife, the third TV movie, aired before the regular series, February 13, 1993, on CBS.
 * A Town Without Pity, the fourth TV movie, aired after the end of the regular series, February 6, 2002, on CBS.
 * Without Warning, the fifth and final TV movie, aired after the end of the regular series, April 26, 2002, on CBS.

Backdoor pilots
Fred Silverman insisted that every season the series devote one episode as a television pilot. The following are known backdoor pilots.

Season One

 * 1) Sister Michael Wants You – Delta Burke starred as Sister Michael, a crime solving nun.

Season Two

 * 1) How to Murder Your Lawyer – Mitchell Whitfield and Leah Remini starred as crime solving lawyers Arnold Baskin and Agnes Benedetto.
 * 2) Georgia on My Mind – A possible backdoor pilot about a female private investigator, Georgia (Daphne Ashbrook).

Season Four

 * 1) An Explosive Murder – Starred Tracey Gold as undercover officer Amy Dawson.

Season Five

 * 1) A Mime is a Terrible Thing to Waste – An unsold backdoor pilot for an untitled series. Rachel York played Randy Wolfe who's apparently an expert at everything.
 * 2) Retribution Parts One and Two – "Retribution" was a backdoor pilot for a spinoff called The Chief that would have starred Fred Dryer as Police Chief Masters.

Season Six

 * 1) Blood Ties – Starred two vice unit detectives, Detective Amy Devlin (Kathy Evison) and Detective Taylor Lucas (Zoe McLellan). It was a backdoor pilot for a TV series that would have been named Whistlers.

International

 * Australia: 10 Bold
 * Canada: CTV Television Network and BOOK television
 * Czech republic: Prima televize
 * Estonia: TV3.
 * France: France 2
 * Finland: Yle.
 * Germany: ProSieben, Kabel eins and Sat.1 Gold.
 * Hungary: Viasat 3 and Duna.
 * Ireland: RTÉ2.
 * Italy: Rete 4 and Canale 5.
 * Japan: NHK and Super! drama TV.
 * Philippines: TV5
 * Slovenia: Pop and TV3 Slovenia.
 * Spain: Telecinco
 * Sweden: Kanal 5 and Kanal 9
 * United Kingdom: BBC One (until November 2011), BBC Two (until March 2007), Alibi, the Hallmark Channel and Channel 5 since January 2014. Now being repeated on CBS Justice since March 2017.
 * United States: CBS (original run) Ion Television ran reruns of the show from the summer of 2003 to the spring of 2005. Hallmark Channel (ran reruns until the fall of 2008), Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (movies and 2-parts only). Currently airing on Starz Encore Suspense weeknights at 10pm ET and weekdays at 11 am ET on MeTV
 * Turkey: TNT Turkey.

Home media
On September 12, 2006, CBS Home Entertainment (with distribution by Paramount Pictures) released the complete Season 1 of Diagnosis: Murder on Region 1 DVD. The set included the Jake and the Fatman episode 4.19, "It Never Entered My Mind," which introduced the character of Dr. Mark Sloan. It did not however, include the TV movies that were made prior to the show's premiere. Seasons 2 and 3 are also now available. After two years since the release of the first season on Region 1 DVD, a Region 2 DVD of Diagnosis: Murder – Series 1 was released on May 5, 2008, according to Amazon.co.uk

On June 26, 2012, Visual Entertainment released "Diagnosis Murder – The Movie Collection" on DVD in Region 1 for the first time. In the US, the release was distributed by Alchemy. The three-disc set featured all three TV movies that aired in 1992/1993 and spawned the weekly TV series as well as the two TV movies that aired after the series ended.

On December 31, 2012, it was announced that VEI had acquired the rights to the series (via their sublicensing deal with CBS) and planned on releasing the remaining seasons on DVD in 2013. They subsequently released the fourth and fifth seasons both as two-part volumes and as a complete set on August 27, 2013. The sixth season was released on November 12, 2013, in Canada while it was released in the US on November 26, 2013. The seventh season was released on November 19, 2013, in Canada and in the US on February 11, 2014; the eighth and final season on November 19, 2013, in Canada and in the US on May 27, 2014. VEI also released The Complete Collection On November 12, 2013. It includes all 178 episodes, all 5 of the TV movies, The "Jake And The Fatman" Episode "It Never Entered My Mind", and an episode of "Mannix" Called "Little Girl Lost" which was A prequel to the episode "Hard Boiled Murder" on a 51 disc set. It also has an exclusive to The Complete Collection a clip of Van Dyke as Rob Petrie in Obsession Part 2.

On April 7, 2017 VEI released Diagnosis Murder the complete series on Blu-Ray. Total number of discs is 27 and has the same extras that are in  VEI's DVD release.

In Australia, Region 4, Season 1 was released on May 15, 2008 and Season 2 on November 6, 2008, no further releases were released. These two releases were distributed by Paramount. On October 14, 2015 Season 1 and 2 were re-released along with Season 3. Season 4 followed on April 20, 2016 and Season 5 on July 20, 2016. These were distributed by Madman Entertainment. Season 6 was released on May 3, 2017, Season 7 on June 7, 2017 and Season 8 on July 5, 2017. These were distributed by Via Vision Entertainment. The Movie Collection was released on August 7, 2019.

Novels
Between 2003 and 2007, eight original novels were published based on the TV series. All of them were written by Lee Goldberg, a former executive producer and writer on the TV series. According to his website, there will be no more books based on the show. The books are, in order:

 * Diagnosis Murder: The Silent Partner
 * Diagnosis Murder: The Death Merchant
 * Diagnosis Murder: The Shooting Script
 * Diagnosis Murder: The Waking Nightmare
 * Diagnosis Murder: The Past Tense
 * Diagnosis Murder: The Dead Letter
 * Diagnosis Murder: The Double Life
 * Diagnosis Murder: The Last Word

The Past Tense is a prequel to the episode "Voices Carry", which guest-starred Jack Klugman as Harry Trumble, and chronicles Dr. Mark Sloan's first homicide investigation. The final book in the series, The Last Word, is a sequel of sorts to the episodes "Obsession" and "Resurrection" and features the return of Carter Sweeney, who was played by Arye Gross in the TV series.

Crossover with Monk
Two of the characters in The Death Merchant later reappeared in Lee Goldberg's series of novels based on the television series Monk:
 * Lt. Ben Keoloha appears in Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii as the Kauai police lieutenant that Adrian Monk and Sharona Fleming assist in solving several unsolved cases on the island.

title: Diagnosis: Murder


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Manuel Robles Pezuela

Manuel Robles Pezuela (23 May 1817 – 23 March 1862) was a military engineer, military commander, and eventually interim president of Mexico during a civil war, the War of Reform, being waged between conservatives and liberals, in which he served as president of the Conservatives, in opposition to President Benito Juarez, head of the Liberals.

He was a known moderate, and his administration was marked by failed efforts to come to a compromise with the liberals. The Conservatives lost the war in 1860, and only two years later, Robles attempted to join General Almonte's efforts to aid the French during the Second French Intervention, but was captured en route by the liberal government, and executed.

Early life and military career
Manuel Robles Pezuela was born in Guanajuato on May 23, 1817, to Francisco Robles, engineer and colonel, and Josefina Pezuela. He enrolled in the College of Mining at which his father was the director and was awarded prizes for his academic achievements in chemistry, english, and geography. In 1840 he obtain the rank of engineering official with honors.

In 1842, Robles was promoted to captain of engineers and in 1846, a lieutenant colonel. That year he engaged in important geodesic and topographic projects in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. He built the majority of the road between Vera Cruz and San Juan, with the intention of continuing to road up to Jalapa. He drew up plans for Vera Cruz, and worked on that city's docks. He was a member of the Mexican Society of Statistics and of the Paris Geographical Society.

He saw action throughout Mexico during the Mexican–American War. He commanded the engineers in Vera Cruz and was present for the siege and bombardment of that city. For his services in that battle he was given a medal of honor by the state congress of Vera Cruz. As commander of engineers he was present at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, being at the hill of El Telegrafo when the Americans were temporarily repulsed, remaining there until the Mexican forces were ultimately defeated. He found himself under the immediate command of Santa Anna, at the Battle of Chapultepec, after having left defenses ready at Peñol Viejo.

In 1852, he was Minister of War, but dissatisfied with the regime of Santa Anna, he resigned, and traveled through the United States, England, and the Ottoman Empire, making a study of fortresses, military, and scientific establishments.

Presidency
He returned to Mexico in September 1858, after the War of Reform had already begun, and offered his services to General Echeagaray, advising him to dig a trench around the liberal held Fortress of Perote in order to cut off its communications. He traveled to the capital and joined the 'fusionist' wing of the Conservative Party which advocated compromise with the liberals.

Dissatisfaction with Conservative president Zuolaga's handling of the war, and his inability to pass a new constitution caused Echeagaray to revolt against him through the Plan of Ayotla in December, 1858. The revolt was suppressed only for a modified form of the Ayotla Plan to be proclaimed by Robles Pezuela. The plan aimed to form together with the chief civil authority of each department, a Junta of Notables, that would then choose three representatives from each departments to form a constituent congress for the purpose of writing a new constitution which would then be subjected to a national referendum. Robles Pezuela also wished to compromise with the liberals, and hoped that removing Zuolaga would aid in the matter.

Zuolaga was successfully removed from the presidency, and upon ascending to power Robles passed several war measures, and negotiated with the clergy for means to support the war effort. He sent commissioners to the Governor Gutierrez Zamora of the strategic state of Vera Cruz, and to the rest of the Constitutional Governors, inviting them to join the plan. The invitations were largely ignored except in departments of Mexico and Guanajuato did accept the plan.

The plans for a Junta did not include a commissioner to represent the conservative armies of the north, in a seeming effort to ignore conservative hardliner, General Miguel Miramon, a move that proved to be unpopular among the conservatives. Robles conceded and added a representative for Miramon in the Junta.

A Junta of Notables in accordance with the plan Ayutla Plan did finally meet on December 30 presided over by Mariano Riva Palacio. It passed rules for the executive, and made plans for calling a constituent congress. When it came time for the Junta to elect a president of the Republic, Robles Pezuela lost to General Miguel Miramon by four votes. The presidency passed over to Miramon on January 31, 1859.

Post presidency and execution
President Miramon made Robles governor and commander-general of Veracruz, and he went on to lead the Division of the East, taking charge of it on April 12, 1859.

As a known moderate he attracted offers from the liberal government of Vera Cruz to come to an arrangement and liberal minister Melchor Ocampo also gave him generous offers to join the liberals, both of which came to nothing.

He was present at Miramon's decisive defeat at the Battle of Silao in 1860, and when the conservatives lost the war at the end of the year, Robles accepted an amnesty by the liberal government, though he was prohibited by the government from leaving the interior of the nation, an arrangement that Robles would later violate.

During the French Intervention he accepted an offer from General Juan Almonte to join his government that was working with the French, and he was captured in the town of Tuxtepec on March 20, 1862, en route to join the intervention. He was court martialed and shot on March 23, despite pleas from foreign embassies to spare his life.

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

title: Manuel Robles Pezuela


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François Grimaldi

Francesco Grimaldi (François; ), called il Malizia (from Italian: "the malicious"), was the Genoese leader of the Guelphs who captured the Rock of Monaco on the night of 8 January 1297. He was the son of Guglielmo Grimaldi by his wife Giacobina or Giacoba, a Genoese noble.

Capture of Monaco
The capture of Monaco happened at a time during a long conflict in medieval Italy between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Guelph and Ghibelline members were of two opposing factions in German and Italian politics during the Middle Ages which sparked conflict that would last centuries and contributed to chronic strife within the cities of Northern Italy spanning over the course of the 13th and 14th centuries. The house Grimaldi was one of the most influential and powerful families in Genoa having allegiance to the Pope, against Ghibelline support of the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1295 Guelph forces from Liguria were routed by a successful advance from the Ghibbeline army led by Francesco Grimaldi, who were forced to take refuge on the Rock of Monaco. The assault culminated two years later on January 8, 1927, where Grimaldi, dressed as a Franciscan friar, lead a small contingent of followers and was greeted at the gates of Monaco's castle, only then to seize the castle with his cousin Rainier I, Lord of Cagnes. The event is commemorated on the Monegasque coat of arms, on which the supporters are two friars armed with swords. He held the citadel of Monaco for four years before being chased out by the Genoese. The battle over "the rock" was taken over by his kinsmen. Francesco thus failed to establish the Grimaldis' rule over Monaco, but was the first to attempt to do so.

Family
The Grimaldi lineage descended from Grimaldo Canella. Originating from Genoa, Grimaldo was a twelfth-century statesman and served as Consul of Genoa serveral times, whose forename adorned his predecessors; becoming the family's accepted surname.

Francesco was married in 1295 to Aurelia del Carretto, widow of his cousin, Lanfranco Grimaldi. The marriage was childless, thus the modern Grimaldis are therefore not descendants of Francesco. After his death, in 1309, he was succeeded by his cousin (and stepson), Rainier I of Monaco, Lord of Cagnes.

His cousin's descendants, the Grimaldi family, still rule Monaco today. Over one hundred years after the coup, the Grimaldis purchased Monaco from the crown of Aragon in 1419, and became the official and undisputed rulers of "the Rock of Monaco". Rainier Il's three sons-Ambroise, Antoine and Jean purchased Monaco in the name of Grimaldi from its then owner, Queen Yolande of Aragon.

title: François Grimaldi


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East African Development Bank

The East African Development Bank (EADB) is a development finance institution with the objective of promoting development in the member countries of the East African Community.

Overview
EADB plays a threefold role of lender, adviser, and development partner. The bank provides a range of products and services that are tailored for the region's development requirements. The bank has experience, financial backing, staff, and a knowledge of the region's financial requirements. , the institution's total assets were valued at approximately US$390.411 million, with shareholders' equity of approximately US$261.36 million.

History
EADB was established in 1967 under the treaty of the then East African Cooperation between Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Following the breakup of the first East African Community (EAC) in 1977, the bank was re-established under its own charter in 1980. In 2008, following the admission of Burundi and Rwanda into the new EAC, Rwanda applied and was admitted into the EADB. Under the new charter, the bank's role and mandate were reviewed, and its operational scope expanded. Under its expanded operational scope, the bank offers a broad range of financial services in the member states. Its main objective is to strengthen socio-economic development and regional integration.

Ownership
The ownership of the EADB as of December 2013 is detailed in the table below.

, the bank's shareholders' equity totaled approximately US$166.03 million. In January 2013, the African Development Bank injected US$24 million into EADB in new equity, bringing its shareholding to 15 percent.

Awards
In November 2014, the Association of African Development Finance Institutions ranked EADB, "the best performing development finance institution in Africa" for the second consecutive year, with an AA rating. The bank was ranked the best out of 33 institutions that submitted to the evaluation.

Bank structure
EADB's structure is composed of the following: The details of the current structure of EADB are outlined on the bank's website.
 * Governing Council
 * Advisory Panel
 * Board of Directors
 * Management Team

Branch network
The headquarters of the bank are located in Uganda's capital, Kampala. As of June 2014, EADB had three other branches, one each in the East African capitals of Nairobi, Kigali, and Dar-es-Salaam. A branch will be established in Bujumbura as soon as Burundi joins the bank.

title: East African Development Bank


text:
User:SteveCockram

A extraordinary Swindonian.

title: User:SteveCockram


text:
Polystyrene (disambiguation)

Polystyrene may refer to:
 * Polystyrene, a synthetic material (eg: Styrofoam)
 * Polystyrene sulfonate, group of medications that treat blood potassium levels
 * Poly Styrene (1957–2011), the stage-name of Marianne Elliott-Said, a Somali-British punk musician

title: Polystyrene (disambiguation)


text: Category:Banks of Uganda

title: Category:Banks of Uganda


text: Category:Banks of Kenya

title: Category:Banks of Kenya


text: User talk:69.109.164.114

title: User talk:69.109.164.114


text:
Gordonia (plant)

Gordonia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae, related to Franklinia, Camellia and Stewartia. Of the roughly 40 species, all but two are native to southeast Asia in southern China, Taiwan and Indochina. The remaining species, G. lasianthus (Loblolly-bay), is native to southeast North America, from Virginia south to Florida and west to Louisiana; G. fruticosa is native to the tropical rainforests of Central and South America, from Costa Rica to Brazil.

They are evergreen trees, growing to 10–20 m tall. The bark is thick and deeply fissured. The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, serrated, thick, leathery, glossy, and 6–18 cm long. The flowers are large and conspicuous, 4–15 cm diameter, with 5 (occasionally 6-8) white petals; flowering is in late winter or early spring. The fruit is a dry five-valved capsule, with 1-4 seeds in each section.

The species are adapted to acidic soils, and do not grow well on chalk or other calcium-rich soils. They also have a high rainfall requirement and will not tolerate drought.

Some botanists include Franklinia within Gordonia, even though recent phylogenetic studies show that Franklinia's closest living relationship is with the Asian genera Schima and not Gordonia; it differs in being deciduous and flowering in late summer, not late winter. The draft Flora of China account of Theaceae in China splits Gordonia into two genera, with G. lasianthus retained in Gordonia, and the Asian species transferred to Polyspora; this treatment is not yet widely accepted. Gordonia chrysandra may have anti-inflammatory medicinal properties.

Species
There are about 40 species, including:

 * Gordonia anomala
 * Gordonia balansae
 * Gordonia ceylanica
 * Gordonia curtyana
 * Gordonia fruticosa
 * Gordonia hirta
 * Gordonia hirtella
 * Gordonia javanica
 * Gordonia lasianthus
 * Gordonia maingayi
 * Gordonia multinervis
 * Gordonia penangensis
 * Gordonia scortechinii
 * Gordonia shimidae
 * Gordonia sinensis
 * Gordonia singaporeana
 * Gordonia speciosa
 * Gordonia tagawae
 * Gordonia taipingensis
 * Gordonia villosa
 * Gordonia wallichii
 * Gordonia yunnanensis

Gordonia species from East Asia were transferred to Polyspora, including:
 * Polyspora acuminata
 * Polyspora axillaris
 * Polyspora chrysandra
 * Polyspora hainanensis
 * Polyspora kwangsiensis
 * Polyspora longicarpa
 * Polyspora tiantangensis
 * Polyspora tonkinensis

Cultivation and uses
Several species of Gordonia are grown as ornamental plants for their flowers produced in winter when few other trees are in flower. They are however difficult to grow compared to the similar but generally smaller-growing camellias.

title: Gordonia (plant)


text: User talk:82.168.69.192

title: User talk:82.168.69.192


text: Category:Banks of Tanzania

title: Category:Banks of Tanzania


text:
Fishfinder

A fishfinder or sounder (Australia) is an instrument used to locate fish underwater by detecting reflected pulses of sound energy, as in sonar. A modern fishfinder displays measurements of reflected sound on a graphical display, allowing an operator to interpret information to locate schools of fish, underwater debris, and the bottom of a body of water. Fishfinder instruments are used both by sport and commercial fishermen. Modern electronics allow a high degree of integration between the fishfinder system, marine radar, compass and GPS navigation systems.

Fathometer
Fishfinders were derived from fathometers, active sonar instruments used for navigation and safety to determine the depth of water. The fathom is a unit of water depth, from which the instrument gets its name. The fathometer is an echo sounding system for measurement of water depth. A fathometer will display water depth and can make an automatic permanent record of measurements. Since both fathometers and fishfinders work the same way, and use similar frequencies and can detect both the bottom and fish, the instruments have merged.

Operating theory
In operation, an electrical impulse from a transmitter is converted into a sound wave by an underwater transducer, called a hydrophone, and sent into the water. When the wave strikes something such as a fish, it is reflected back and displays size, composition, and shape of the object. The exact extent of what can be discerned depends on the frequency and power of the pulse transmitted. Knowing the speed of the wave in the water, the distance to the object that reflected the wave can be determined. The speed of sound through the water column depends on the temperature, salinity and pressure (depth). This is approximately c = 1404.85 + 4.618T - 0.0523T2 + 1.25S + 0.017D (where c = sound speed (m/s), T = temperature (degrees Celsius), S = salinity (per mille) and D = depth). Typical values used by commercial fish finders are 4921 ft/s (1500 m/s) in seawater and 4800 ft/s (1463 m/s) in freshwater.

The process can be repeated up to 40 times per second and eventually results in the bottom of the ocean being displayed versus time (the fathometer function that eventually spawned the sporting use of fishfinding).

The temperature and pressure sensitivity capability of fishfinder units allow one to identify the exact location of the fish in the water by the use of a temperature gauge. Many modern fishfinders also have track-back capabilities to check changes in movement in order to switch position and location whilst fishing.

It is easy to get more detail on screen when the fishfinder's frequency is high. Deep-sea trawlers and commercial fishermen normally use low frequency (50–200 kHz); modern fishfinders have multiple frequencies to view split-screen results.

General interpretation

The image above, at right, clearly shows the bottom structure—plants, sediments and hard bottom are discernible on sonar plots of sufficiently high power and appropriate frequency. Slightly more than halfway up from the bottom to the left of the screen centre and about a third away from the left side, this image is also displaying a fish – a light spot just to the right of a 'glare' splash from the camera's flashbulb. The X-axis of the image represents time, oldest (and behind the soundhead) to the left, most recent bottom (and current location) on the right; thus the fish is now well behind the transducer, and the vessel is now passing over a dip in the ocean floor or has just left it behind. The resulting distortion depends on both the speed of the vessel and how often the image is updated by the echo sounder.

Fish arches
With the Fish Symbol feature disabled, an angler can learn to distinguish between fish, vegetation, schools of baitfish or forage fish, debris, etc. Fish will usually appear on the screen as an arch. This is because the distance between the fish and the transducer changes as the boat passes over the fish (or the fish swims under the boat). When the fish enters the leading edge of the sonar beam, a display pixel is turned on. As the fish swims toward the centre of the beam, the distance to the fish decreases, turning on pixels at shallower depths. When the fish swims directly under the transducer, it is closer to the boat so the stronger signal shows a thicker line. As the fish swims away from the transducer, the distance increases, which shows as progressively deeper pixels.

The image to the right shows a school of white bass aggressively feeding on a school of threadfin shad. Note the school of baitfish near the bottom. When threatened, baitfish form a tightly packed school, as the individuals seek safety in the center of the school. This typically looks like an irregularly shaped ball or thumbprint on the fishfinder screen. When no predators are nearby, a school of baitfish frequently appears as a thin horizontal line across the screen, at the depth where the temperature and oxygen levels are optimal. The nearly-vertical lines near the right edge of the screen show the path of fishing lures falling to the bottom.

History
The first fishfinder, i.e. sonar device meant to find underwater fish or schools of fish, was invented in Japan in the 1940s by the Furuno brothers, who were radio repairmen. Building from the knowledge of fishermen who were able to determine the presence of fish, and their number, from bubbles, the Furuno brothers first planned to detect these bubbles with sonar, a new technology at the time. They invented the first through-hull transducer and found they were able to detect the fish themselves. In 1948 they introduced their fishfinder for use in commercial fishing vessels; the Furuno Fish Finder is the world's first practical fishfinder.

The first fishfinder marketed to consumers in America for recreational fishing was the Lowrance Fish Lo-K-Tor (also nicknamed "The Little Green Box"), which was invented in 1957 and entered the market in 1959. It retailed for $150 at the time, equivalent to $1,610 in 2024. Originally the subject of controversy due to its perceived unfair advantage, it faced the potential of being banned by some states but its use was eventually accepted.

By the early 1970s, a common pattern of depth finder used an ultrasonic transducer immersed in water, and an electromechanical readout device. A neon lamp mounted on the end of an arm was rotated around a circular scale at a fixed speed by a small electric motor. The circular scale was calibrated in terms of depth of water. The instrument was arranged to send out a pulse of ultrasonic waves as the lamp passed the zero point of the scale. The transducer was then arranged to detect any reflected ultrasound impulses; the lamp would flash when an echo returned to the transducer, and by its position on the scale would indicate the elapsed time and therefore the depth of the water. These also gave a small flickering flash for echos off of fish. Like today's low-end digital fathometers, they kept no record of the depth over time and provided no information about bottom structure. They had poor accuracy, especially in rough water, and were hard to read in bright light. Despite the limitations, they were still usable for rough estimates of depth, such as for verifying that the boat had not drifted into an unsafe area.

Eventually, CRTs were married with a fathometer for commercial fishing and the fishfinder was born. With the advent of large LCD arrays, the high power requirements of a CRT gave way to the LCD in the early 1990s and fishfinding fathometers reached the sporting markets. Nowadays, many fishfinders available for hobby fishers have color LCD screens, built-in GPS, charting capabilities, and come bundled with transducers. Today, sporting fishfinders lack only the permanent record of the big ship navigational fathometer, and that is available in high end units that can use the ubiquitous computer to store that record as well.

Fishfinders may use higher frequencies to improve the image of underwater objects. Side-looking transducers provide additional visibility of underwater objects on either side of the boat's path.

Commercial and naval units
Commercial and naval fathometers of yesteryear used a strip chart recorder where an advancing roll of paper was marked by a stylus to make a permanent copy of the depth, usually with some means of also recording time (each mark or time 'tic' is proportional to distance traveled) so that the strip charts could be readily compared to navigation charts and maneuvering logs (speed changes). Much of the world's ocean depths have been mapped using such recording strips. Fathometers of this type usually offered multiple (chart advance) speed settings, and sometimes, multiple frequencies as well. In the deep ocean, low frequency carries better, while in shallows, high frequency shows smaller structures—like fish, submerged reefs, wrecks, or other bottom composition features of interest. At high frequency settings, high chart speeds, such fathometers give a picture of the bottom and any intervening large or schooling fish that can be related to position. Fathometers of the constant recording type are still mandated for all large vessels (100+ tons displacement) in restricted waters (i.e. generally, within 15 mi of land).

title: Fishfinder


text: User talk:67.70.104.125

title: User talk:67.70.104.125


text:
Juan Álvarez

Juan Nepomuceno Álvarez Hurtado de Luna, generally known as Juan Álvarez, (27 January 1790 – 21 August 1867) was a general, long-time caudillo (regional leader) in southern Mexico, and president of Mexico for two months in 1855, following the liberals' ouster of Antonio López de Santa Anna. His presidency inaugurated the pivotal era of La Reforma.

Álvarez had risen to power in the Tierra Caliente, in southern Mexico with the support of indigenous peasants whose lands he protected. He fought along with heroes of the insurgency, José María Morelos and Vicente Guerrero in the War of Independence and went on to fight in all the major wars of his day, from the "Pastry War", to the Mexican–American War, and the War of the Reform to the war against the Second French Intervention. A liberal reformer, a republican and a federalist, he was the leader of a revolution in support of the Plan de Ayutla in 1854, which led to the deposition of Santa Anna from power and the beginning of the political era in Mexico's history known as the Liberal Reform. According to historian Peter Guardino: "Álvarez was most important as a champion of the incorporation of Mexico's peasant masses into the polity of [Mexico] ... advocating universal male suffrage and municipal autonomy."

Early life
Juan Álvarez was born in the town of Santa Maria de la Concepcion Atoyac on 27 January 1790. His parents were Antonio Álvarez from Santiago Galicia and Rafaela Hurtado from Acapulco. He was educated in Mexico City under the direction of Ignacio Aviles, whom Álvarez later entrusted the education of his first son with.

He took part in the Mexican War of Independence when it first broke out in 1810, joining the forces of José María Morelos as part of the second battalion of the Guadalupe Regiment on 17 November 1810, and being promoted to sergeant the following month. He was promoted to colonel less than a year afterward. One of the first important tasks entrusted to him by Morelos was making a trip to Zacatula amidst great risk. He gained Morelos' trust enough to be a part of his personal escort, and on 11 January took part in the rout of the Spanish General Francisco Paris.

He was the head of the company sent by Morelos to accept the surrender of the Fort of San Diego, during which he became a victim of perfidy as the Spanish commander of the fort allowed Álvarez' forces to get close to the fort before firing upon them. Most of Álvarez' men died and Álvarez himself was injured in both legs, but was saved by the soldier Diego Eugenio Salas who carried him to safety despite being injured himself.

Amidst the fighting he lost his home and his wealth which amounted to thirty-five pesos, and he had to live off of the land, but he kept the fight against the Spaniards and earned the nom du guerre Gallego. In 1821, he joined the Agustin de Iturbide's Trigarantine Army, and led a siege of Acapulco with three hundred men until finally taking possession of the port on 15 October. After independence was won, he asked the government for permission to retire but it was denied, and instead was tasked with commanding the Acapulco fortress.

First Mexican Republic
At the end of 1822 when Vicente Guerrero and Nicolás Bravo proclaimed against the First Mexican Empire, Álvarez joined them, and upon the adoption of the Constitution of 1824, he joined the moderate republican party. He was opposed to the Plan of Jalapa which sought to overthrow president Vicente Guerrero, and fought for him, though President Guerrero was eventually overthrown.

He fought against the conservative revolt against the liberal administration of Valentín Gómez Farías in May, 1833, and once Gómez Farías had been overthrown by Santa Anna, Álvarez raised up the south against him, but his movement failed and he was sentenced to be banished, a sentence that was later commuted for peacefully diffusing another revolt in Acapulco.

Centralist Republic of Mexico
He offered his services to the government against the French during the Pastry War of 1838, and having taken part in the revolt against Anastasio Bustamante in 1841, the triumphant Santa Anna promoted Álvarez to division general. He suppressed Indian uprisings in the mountains of Chilapa and the Tierra Caliente, insurgencies which tended to take on the characteristics of ethnic conflicts.

He fought in the Mexican-American War though he played no notable role. During the conflict he was made commandant general of Puebla and harassed the American occupiers. He contributed to the establishment of the State of Guerrero in the south of the country and was its first governor. He fought against the Plan of Jalisco which overthrew President Mariano Arista and paved the way for the return of Santa Anna in 1853.

Plan of Ayutla
Álvarez was opposed to Santa Anna's subsequent dictatorship and on 20 February 1854, proclaimed a revolt against the government. The dissident colonel Florencio Villareal on 1 March, proclaimed a revolutionary program in the town of Ayutla, Guerrero. A preamble set forth grievances against the dictatorship, and was followed by nine articles. 1. Santa Anna and his officers were stripped of authority in the name of the people. 2. After a majority of the nation had accepted the plan the revolutionary commander in chief was to convoke an assembly of representatives from each state and territory to choose an interim government. 3. The interim president was granted sufficient authority to carry out the tasks of government and protect national sovereignty. 4. The states who accepted the plan were to form new government while the indissolubility of the republic as a whole was emphasized. 5. The interim president was to convoke a congress. 6. Trade and military affairs were to be adequately administered. 7. Conscription and passport laws were to be abolished. 8. Opponents of the plan were to be treated as threats to national independence. 9. Placed at the head of the movement Nicolas Bravo, Tomas Moreno and Juan Álvarez. The plan was ratified at Acapulco with a few amendments, including a provision allowing changes to be made in accordance with the national will, and Álvarez was chosen as head of the movement.

Santa Anna took fierce measures against the insurgency including the confiscation of property belonging to the revolutionists, the burning of hostile towns, and the execution of revolutionary commanders taken in arms. Santa Anna personally led his troops against Acapulco but failed to take the city, and was forced to retreat back to Mexico City. He continued the struggle, but the revolution continued to spread and by August, 1855 Santa Anna abdicated. His successor at the capital, Martín Carrera attempted to be a compromise candidate and began carrying out clauses of the Ayutla Plan, but Álvarez and the rest of the leaders did not trust him, viewing him as holdover from the Santa Anna regime, and an effort to dilute or coopt the revolution. After a month of failing to come to any agreement, Carrera resigned and the administrative responsibilities of government were handed over to the commander of the Mexico City garrison Rómulo Díaz de la Vega who supported the Plan of Ayutla, and awaited the arrival of Juan Álvarez.

Álvarez and his army reached Chilpancingo on 8 September 1855. Meanwhile, his lieutenant Ignacio Comonfort was at Lagos attempted to convince other, independent revolutionary leaders to recognize the leadership of Álvarez. This was achieved, and Álvarez continued his march towards Iguala intending to stay some time in Cuernavaca. At Iguala on 24 September 1855, in accordance with Article 2 of the Aytula Plan, he issued a decree appointing one representative from each state and territory and summoned them to assemble at Cuernavaca on 4 October to elect an interim president. The representatives assembled accordingly with ex liberal president Valentín Gómez Farías as the assembly president, and future president of Mexico Benito Juárez as one of the secretaries. On the same day they elected Álvarez to the position of president.

Presidency
The president proceeded to form a cabinet and chose one of the commanders during the Aytula Plan, Ignacio Comonfort as Minister of War. Melchor Ocampo was made Minister of Relations, Guillermo Prieto was made Minister of the Treasury, and Benito Juarez of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs. Miguel Lerdo de Tejada was made Minister of Development.

The first measure of the administration was the framing of an organic statue to serve as an interim constitution. Álvarez needed to strengthen the powers of the federal government and alleviate Mexico's chronic financial crisis. The president decreed that in the event of a vacancy in the executive office it ought to be filled by the council of state. On 15 October he also granted an amnesty to all military deserters, of which there had been many due to Santa Anna's conscription measures. On 16 October, a call was made for a congress to assemble at Dolores Hidalgo in February 1856, to organize the nation under the republican, democratic, and representative form, based upon a decree dating back to the Bases of Tacubaya in 1841. The congress would eventually meet on schedule though Álvarez would have stepped down from the presidency before then.

Due to the disorders which had flowed from militarism throughout Mexican history, the idea began to be floated in the cabinet of dissolving the military and starting over, Ocampo and Juarez being in favor while Comonfort being against wishing instead to reform the military class but not destroy it. This was just one example of the divisions that existed within the cabinet and Comonfort was publicly perceived as being more moderate than the rest of his fellow ministers. Continuing clashes within the cabinet led to the resignation of the radical Ocampo in 7 December, and his office was handed over to Miguel Maria Arrioja.

Meanwhile, there was a constitutional disorder throughout the republic. The new local governments which had been created by Article 4 of the Aytula Plan were now assuming virtual complete sovereignty over their territories, and the federal government took strict measures against this trend, forbidding the military governors, the commandant generals from interfering in treasury matters or seizing the funds of custom houses. Álvarez, who had meanwhile been governing from Cuernavaca now moved himself and his troops to Mexico City. The alleged brutality of his troops known as 'pintos' (the mottled ones), caused distrust and alarm, and led to rumors that Álvarez was going to be overthrown in favor of Comonfort.

Inauguration of La Reforma
Álvarez' cabinet which had included the progressive state governors Benito Juarez and Melchor Ocampo, and the poet Guillermo Prieto represented a new generation of liberals that had grown up since independence, and intended to pass unprecedented reforms during a period which began with the Álvarez administration and would eventually come to be known as La Reforma. The reforms would culminate in the Constitution of 1857, and open conflict with the opponents of the measures which would not entirely end until 1867.

They began with the Ley Juarez, which stripped the Mexican clergy of their independent legal privileges (fueros) which they had hereunto enjoyed under canon and civil law. The Ley Juarez was prefaced by the cause celebre of Father Javier Miranda. On 20 November 1855, the former conservative minister, Father Miranda was arrested in his home at Puebla. He was then transported to Mexico City where he was held at the barracks of San Hipolito. This was technically illegal as the government could not at the time imprison a priest without collaboration from church authorities. The conservative press was outraged, and even the liberal press criticized the arrest as arbitrary and advocated for Miranda to be tried and for the government to explain its motives in arresting him. The bishop of Puebla protested to the government, but to no avail. The only response of the government was to transport Miranda to the fortress of San Juan de Ullua in Veracruz Harbor. It was suspected that the arrest was due to Miranda's political views.

The Ley Juarez was passed on 22 November 1855. Ecclesiastical tribunals were stripped of their ability to judge civil law cases. They were allowed to continue judging clergy in the cases of canon law. With Father Miranda's case in mind, conservatives accused this measure as a means of passing severe anti-clerical laws, arresting priests on the slightest pretext, and then judging them in civil courts. Opponents of the measure accused government deputies of hypocrisy for claiming to support equality before the law while maintaining their own immunity.

The Archbishop protested against the measure and suggested that the question of the ecclesiastical fuero should be submitted to the pope, a suggestion which was rejected by the government. The conservative generals Santa Anna and Blanco were officially stripped of their charges and the liberals Degollado and Moreno were commissioned as generals. Comonfort was now threatening to resign and only keep the office of general in chief. Álvarez directed his secretaries to lay before him proposals on how to proceed, he also directed his council to prepare a draft of the organic statute. Meanwhile, the conservatives began to favor the moderate Comonfort for the presidency.

Resignation
Álvarez seriously considered stepping down from the presidency and handing it over to Comonfort, but the latter's enemies urged Álvarez to stay in office. On 4 December, Álvarez summoned a meeting of the most prominent members of the liberal party for advice on how to proceed. He wavered on the matter and on the following day accepted the resignation of his entire ministry and summoned Luis de la Rosa in organizing another. The portfolios would remain empty for the rest of Álvarez' presidency.

In Guanajuato, Manuel Doblado pronounced against the government of Juan Álvarez on 6 December, holding up the moderate Ignacio Comonfort as the new president. His proclamation accused Álvarez of attacking religion, the one thing that bound Mexicans together. This would prove to be redundant, as before news of the revolt even reached the capital, the elderly President Álvarez who was not enjoying administrative tasks or the climate of Mexico City, decided to step down, and he announced as such on 8 December. Álvarez met with Comonfort and officially transferred the presidency to him on 11 December.

Later life
Álvarez left the capital on 18 December, with a military escort and headed to Guerrero where he fought against uprisings opposed to the Comonfort administration. He continued to fight for the liberal cause during the Reform War having the southern states as his base of operations. During the Second French intervention which began in 1861, he counseled President Juarez to keep the struggle alive, and Juarez gave orders for his Eastern forces to obey Álvarez in case they lost contact with the central government. He lived long enough to see the retreat of the French in 1866 and the fall of the Second Mexican Empire in June 1867. Álvarez died the same year on 21 August.

title: Juan Álvarez


text: User talk:70.19.160.241

title: User talk:70.19.160.241