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Blanche Hunt

Blanche Hunt (also Linfield) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She was originally played by Patricia Cutts; however, the actress died by suicide after appearing in just two episodes in August 1974. Maggie Jones took over the role, playing Blanche in over 840 episodes from 1974 to her death in December 2009. The character subsequently died off screen in May 2010. Blanche was the mother of Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride), grandmother of Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) and great-grandmother of Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney). Her storylines have revolved around her family life, various romances and her "acerbic tongue". The character's "gallows humour" has been well received by critics, and saw Jones win The British Soap Award for "Best Comedy Performance" in 2005 and 2008. Blanche has been described as "a true Coronation Street icon".

Storylines
Blanche is introduced as the widowed mother of Deirdre Hunt (Anne Kirkbride). Her bank manager husband, Donald, died in January 1963 after being knocked down outside their house by a black Ford Prefect. Blanche immediately makes her mark by slapping Deirdre's love interest, Ray Langton (Neville Buswell), when she thinks he's treating her daughter badly; she is quick to criticise Deirdre when she disapproves of her behaviour. Blanche originally runs a corset business from home but later takes jobs as a barmaid at The Rovers Return and helps Gordon Clegg (Bill Kenwright) run the corner shop.

In 1976, she meets bookmaker Dave Smith (Reginald Marsh), with whom she had a wartime romance. They rekindle their affair, and she decides to move away to help Dave run his country club in Kenilworth. After her affair with Dave Smith ends, Blanche returns to Weatherfield in January 1977 to help look after her newborn granddaughter Tracy (Christabel Finch), accompanied by Warwickshire vet, Steve Bassett (Dennis Chinnery). They become engaged but split up that May. Following the news of Deidre moving to New Zealand Blanche returns to the street in 1978 to talk her out of the idea. In 1981, Blanche returns to Weatherfield for Deirdre's wedding to Ken Barlow (William Roache).

In December 1993, Blanche has a stroke (off-screen) and Deirdre goes to stay with her to nurse her (a storyline devised to cover Anne Kirkbride's sick leave). Deirdre returns to Weatherfield the following year after Blanche has made a full recovery. Blanche briefly returns to Weatherfield in 1996 when Tracy (now played by Dawn Acton) gets married and again in 1998 after Deirdre is sent to prison, following a wrongful conviction for fraud. Blanche begins matchmaking between the divorced Deirdre and Ken, believing Ken is good for Deirdre. She fails but Tracy gets them to reconcile and in 1999, Blanche returns permanently and moves in with the reunited couple.

Blanche quickly gains a reputation as a gossip and a meddler, with Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls) often being the target of Blanche's acid tongue when her 13-year-old granddaughter, Sarah-Louise Platt (Tina O'Brien), becomes pregnant. She makes hurtful comments at Sarah but backs down after the birth of her baby daughter, Bethany, when she finally stands up to Blanche and tells her to leave her and her daughter alone. Blanche briefly becomes Rita Sullivan's (Barbara Knox) assistant at The Kabin but soon drives Rita mad with her meddling and tactlessness. In 2002, Blanche has a new love interest, funeral director Archie Shuttleworth (Roy Hudd) but is unhappy when he makes friends with Audrey. Blanche suspects they are having an affair but later discovers Audrey, a hairdresser, is working with Archie to dress dead bodies for viewings. Archie is angry when Blanche spreads this around and ends their relationship. Blanche is upset but later moves on to supposedly wealthy retiree, Wally Bannister (Bernard Cribbins). Wally is more interested in Tracy (now played by Kate Ford), who simply wants Wally's money and decides to seduce him. This falls flat when Tracy visits Wally's house and discovers that he's actually the gardener, posing as the owner and isn't rich at all. Ken and Deirdre find out and disgusted with their daughter, decide to keep the news from Blanche (who is away visiting her sister) to avoid upsetting her.

When her granddaughter Tracy falls pregnant, she tells Roy Cropper (David Neilson) and his wife Hayley (Julie Hesmondhalgh), that Roy is the father and tells them that she will have a termination if they do not want to adopt it. Blanche tries to persuade Tracy to keep the baby by buying No. 7 Coronation Street for them to live in, upsetting Deirdre, who wonders why Blanche never bought a house for her. Tracy gives birth to a daughter and gives the baby to the Croppers, who name her Patience; Blanche sees through Tracy's "indifference" and encourages her to fight for her daughter. Tracy breaks down and Blanche enlists Ken and Deirdre's help to get the baby back. Although they are disgusted when Hayley reveals Tracy sold her daughter for £25,000. Blanche, Ken and Deirdre stand by Tracy, who reclaims her daughter and renames her Amy (Elle Mulvaney). Blanche is relieved when Tracy later admits Roy isn't the real father. When Tracy and Amy visit Peter (Chris Gascoyne) in Portsmouth, Blanche moves back in with Ken and Deirdre, renting (and later selling) the house to Danny Baldwin (Bradley Walsh). Struggling with a bad hip, Blanche considers using some of the money for a private hip replacement operation but later has the operation in Poland where it is cheaper.

In 2007, Blanche supports Tracy when she is accused of murdering her lover Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward). When Tracy is found guilty Ken refuses to support her and walks out on Deirdre, who knew Tracy was guilty. Blanche worries that her family is disintegrating and is relieved when Ken and Deirdre reconcile. On 25 June 2007 Blanche holds a mock wake for herself to gauge which of her friends truly appreciate her. She is upset by the low attendance and hearing her friends castigate her negative traits. She resolves briefly to be nicer to everyone but quickly reverts to type, believing people should accept her for who she is.

In 2008 Blanche shows her softer side, becoming close to Peter's son Simon (Alex Bain), who finds Blanche's outspoken ways amusing. Blanche is visibly upset when alcoholic Peter turns up drunk to Simon's nativity play and ruins things. In May 2009, Deirdre discovers that Ken has been having an affair with actress Martha Fraser (Stephanie Beacham). When Deirdre takes Ken back, Blanche is incredulous; tired of her mother's interference, Deirdre orders Blanche to move out of their home. She moves in briefly with Peter, returning to live with Ken and Deirdre after apologising a few weeks later. Blanche often makes barbed references to the event, telling everyone at Peter's AA meeting that "Ken recently had an affair with an actress. Oh - it wasn't Nicole Kidman or Glenda Jackson. She lived on a tugboat". Blanche's tactlessness struck again later that year when Simon's maternal grandparents visited and after one too many drinks, she blurted out that Deirdre had been to prison, Ken had had numerous affairs, Peter was an alcoholic and his fiancée Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) was a former prostitute.

Blanche's final scenes aired on 11 December 2009, just days after Maggie Jones' death. In the subsequent episodes, it was revealed that Blanche had unexpectedly been offered a free holiday in Portugal by her friend May and would be spending Christmas abroad. When May hurts her leg Blanche stays on to nurse her. On 3 May 2010 Blanche was due to return; when Peter goes to collect her at the airport he discovers Blanche has died earlier that day, devastating Deirdre. May (June Whitfield) later arrives and explains that the real reason Blanche had stayed in Portugal for so long is that she had fallen in love and become engaged to a man named Arnold. Deirdre is surprised Blanche never told her - and even more surprised to hear Blanche regularly spoke of how proud she was of her daughter "Dee-Dee".

Ken later finds instructions left by Blanche for her funeral, plus a request for a formal will reading. Blanche leaves her dog Eccles to Ken, with a final barbed comment that he shouldn't take her for walks near canals and theatres ("where women of ill-repute may gather"). She also makes a dig at Ken's attempts to creative writing, leaving him her Maeve Binchy book collection and describing her as 'a proper writer'. She also leaves her jewellery to Deirdre, claiming she knew Deirdre had her eye on it, an imitation silver music box to Amy and her late husband Donald's fob watch to Simon. Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden) is also invited to the reading but all Blanche has 'left' him is the chance to be the first to spread details of the will around the street, the only time he would get his hands on a piece of gossip before she did.

Casting
Blanche was originally played by Patricia Cutts but committed suicide after appearing in only two episodes. The role was re-cast and given to Maggie Jones, who had also auditioned for the part. She accepted the role at short notice, as storylines for Blanche had already been written. Jones had previously appeared in the show in minor roles in the 1960s, as a policewoman and a shoplifter. She appeared in the soap as a series regular from 1974 to 1976, making brief reappearances in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1996 and 1997. She returned as a series regular in 1998.

Departure and death
Jones suffered long periods of ill-health in 1999 and 2003 and took time out of the show to recover. Blanche was again written out of the series in October 2009 while Jones recovered from an operation but she never resumed the role, dying on 2 December 2009. Co-star William Roache stated: "I don't think Maggie ever realised how much she was loved not only by everyone on the show but by the millions of Blanche fans out there. She will be greatly missed". Blanche's final scene was broadcast on 11 December 2009, with the 3 December 2009 episode of Coronation Street dedicated to Jones. The producers decided that Blanche would also die. In May 2010 Blanche's friend May (June Whitfield) arrives from Portugal, where Blanche has been staying with her, to break the news of her death.

Reception
Blanche has been well received by critics and Coronation Street fans. TV critic Patrick Freyne has said of the character: "...Blanche is all curmudgeonly gallows humour and insensitivity; she gets all the best one liners...." In the same article he also praised the quality of writing for the older characters on Coronation Street: "with all the young people wandering around on TV nowadays, with their slang, texting and hippity-hop, it's great to see Coronation Street can still write fantastic older characters. There's prissy, kvetching Norris, long-suffering Rita and saintly Emily. But best of all there's Blanche Hunt, played by Maggie Jones, mother of Deirdre (formerly of the huge glasses) and tormentor of Deirdre's husband Ken..." BBC News named Blanche "Weatherfield's best-loved battle-axe", praising her "brutal honesty and withering put-downs". The Daily Mirror lauded Jones' "superb comic timing" in the role. At the 2005 and 2008 British Soap Awards, Maggie Jones won the award for "Best Comedy Performance" for her role as Blanche. She also won "Funniest Performance" at the 2009 Inside Soap awards. Jones commented at the time that she did not find Blanche funny, explaining:

I don't find her funny and don't think I could play her properly if I did. Blanche genuinely believes what she's saying is right, and doesn't say things for comedic effect. If I started trying to play the lines for laughs, they wouldn't come out right and the performance would suffer. Everyone knows someone like Blanche - or if they don't, they wish they did. We'd all like to be as outspoken as her and have the nerve to say the things she does.

Pop star George Michael stated that Blanche was his favourite soap character, commenting: "When you're as old as her you can get away with saying anything." Following Jones' death, The Daily Telegraph wrote in her obituary: "As a deft exponent of Blanche’s withering one-liners and put-downs, Maggie Jones made the part her own, stealing scene after scene as the acid-tongued widowed mother of Deirdre [...] Maggie Jones's portrayal of Blanche as a meddlesome busybody was beautifully judged and finely understated." They deemed Blanche "a long-term favourite of Coronation Street fans", appraising: "With her trademark scowl and folded arms, Blanche epitomised the tyrannical mother-in-law as portrayed on the seaside postcard." Tim Teeman of The Times appraised: "To many Coronation Street fans Blanche was a finer battleaxe than the legendary Ena Sharples (Violet Carson). To many (including myself), Blanche [...] was our favourite character. She gleefully defied the maxim that if you hadn’t anything nice to say about somebody, you shouldn’t bother saying it. Instead, she broadcast her malevolence from the rooftops and to her victims' astonished, deeply offended faces." Teeman called Jones a "brilliant actress" and noted: "Blanche could be kind, but not often. She and Norris were the great gossip-mongering tag team of the Street, revelling in others' misfortune. Blanche often didn’t have to say anything at all. She’d just purse her lips. That was withering condemnation enough." Low Culture columnist Ruth Deller praised the work of the late Maggie Jones by stating: "even from beyond the grave, she delivered one of Corrie’s best storylines, with the reading of her will providing some classic Blanche moments. She’ll be sorely missed."

title: Blanche Hunt


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1873 in archaeology

Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1873.

Excavations

 * January; November – George Smith sets out for excavations at Nineveh.

Explorations

 * Antonio García Cubas makes first scholarly description of the ruins of the Toltec capital in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico.
 * José Ramos Orihuela discovers the cave paintings in the Painted cave of Galdar ("Cueva Pintada") at Gáldar, Las Palmas, on Gran Canaria.

Finds

 * May 27 - German Classical archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovers "Priam's Treasure" at the presumed site of Troy in Anatolia.
 * The Hiddensee treasure, a hoard of pendants and other gold jewellery from the time of Viking ruler Harald Bluetooth, is found on the German island of Hiddensee in the Baltic.
 * Bharhut stupa is identified in India by Alexander Cunningham.

Births

 * June 29 - Leo Frobenius, German ethnologist (d. 1938)
 * July 28 - John Winter Crowfoot, English educational administrator and archaeologist (d. 1959)

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

title: 1873 in archaeology


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WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It

'WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It', known in Japan as Exciting Pro Wrestling 3 (エキサイティングプロレス3), is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's, and published by THQ for PlayStation 2, and was released in November 2001. It is the third game in the WWF SmackDown! series, based on the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) professional wrestling promotion, the sequel to WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role, the first game in the series to be released on the PlayStation 2 console, and the last game in the series to be released under the "WWF" name.

The game was succeeded the following year by WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, which was released in October 2002.

Gameplay
This was the first game in the SmackDown! series to feature play-by-play commentary, with Michael Cole and Tazz featured as the announcers. One improvement in this game is the appearance of six-man tag team matches, as well as six-man and eight-man battle royals. This would be the only game in the series in which players were allowed to have eight players on the screen at once until the release of WWE 2K18. Additionally, this was the first game of the series to give each wrestler two different finishing moves, as well as the first game to allow editing of the in-game wrestlers' move sets. Just Bring It was also the first game in the series to feature authentic, complete ring entrances. The game features several venues from 2000 and 2001, including the arena for Raw Is War and both the original and new arenas for SmackDown! (Ovaltron, including the Sunday Night Heat version, and the Fist stages). However, all pay-per-view arenas (except for WrestleMania X-Seven and Insurrextion) utilize the same arena with different logos on the ring mat, with the arena being based on the design of WrestleMania 2000.

The game's roster was criticised at the time for being heavily outdated, as it was finalized very early in WWF's Invasion angle and prior to the emergence of several former ECW and WCW wrestlers. Whilst William Regal, Raven, Rhyno, Tajiri, Spike Dudley, Jerry Lynn and Molly Holly were all new additions to the game, several stars who had become more prominent on WWF television, such as Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Diamond Dallas Page, The Hurricane, Lance Storm and Mike Awesome were not included, which was also reflected by the inclusion of Fully Loaded 2000 as one of the featured pay-per-view mats instead of Invasion. In addition to these, Limp Bizkit vocalist Fred Durst appears in the game as an agreement with the WWF and THQ which allowed their song "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" to be included as The Undertaker's then-theme music (it is one of his few game appearances, he also appears in WWF Raw for the Xbox). This is also the only WWF game in which Jerry Lynn appears, as he would be gone from the company within five months of its release.

A new gameplay addition is the reversal system. Just Bring It utilizes a counter-attack mechanic system that allows almost every move to be countered, as well as allowing some counter-attacks (such as punches) to be re-countered.

Game modes
Rather than the Season Modes presented in the previous SmackDown! games, Just Bring It instead has a Story Mode. The player is given more control over their wrestler's activities, such as having the ability to choose which WWF title to go after. Throughout Story Mode, the player is able to attain unlockables, including additional superstars, arenas, and match types.

Release
The game ended up selling more than 400,000 units in North America, for which it was added to the Sony Greatest Hits collection for the PlayStation 2 in October 2002, and became THQ's second Greatest Hits game, only bested by Red Faction. However, when the game was re-released, it was renamed to ''WWE SmackDown! Just Bring It'' because of the World Wrestling Federation's recently lost court battle with the World Wildlife Fund, following which the World Wrestling Federation was renamed to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), although in-game branding was not changed.

Reception
The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. However, the game's in-game commentary has been criticized for being disjointed and repetitive, with noticeable pauses when calling wrestler or move names. Gary Whitta of Next Generation was positive to the game despite acknowledging its flaws. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 29 out of 40.

It received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

title: WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It


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File:Adventure Island 2 box art.jpg

Description
Cover art for the game Adventure Island II

Fair use in Adventure Island II
Though this image is subject to copyright, its use is covered by the U.S. fair use laws because:
 * 1) Hudson Soft has released no such images into the public domain, and a replacement image could not be created that would adequately provide the same information.
 * 2) The image is being used for no purpose other than to identify the subject of the article.
 * 3) The image resolution has been significantly decreased from the original, so copies made from it would be of inferior quality.
 * 4) The use of this image neither detracts from the game nor inhibits its salability in any way.

title: File:Adventure Island 2 box art.jpg


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László Rajk Jr.

László Rajk Jr. (26 January 1949, Budapest – 11 September 2019 ) was a Hungarian architect, designer and political activist.

Biography
As an architect, he became the member of the Hungarian avantgarde movement. From 1975, he joined the Democratic Opposition, the underground political movement in Hungary, therefore from 1980 he was blacklisted, and was not allowed to work under his own name.

In 1981, with Gábor Demszky (Mayor of Budapest from 1990) he founded the independent, underground AB Publishing House, and ran an illegal bookstore from his apartment called "Samizdat Boutique".

In 1988, he was one of the founders of the Network of Free Initiatives and the liberal party, the Alliance of Free Democrats, and served six years in the Hungarian Parliament after free elections in 1990. Recently he worked as an architect and a production designer for films and taught film architecture at the Hungarian Film Academy in Budapest. Married to Judit Rajk (1991-)

Politics
The son of the well known show trial victim, Hungary's foreign minister László Rajk, Rajk Jr. was famous in his own right for political/anti-regime activities.

Awards
He was a Chevalier in the Ordre National du Merite, 1999, France.

Film sets
Over 25 years' experience in building filmsets for international and Hungarian films and documentaries including:

title: László Rajk Jr.


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The King's School, Gloucester

The King's School is a co-educational private day school in Gloucester, in the county of Gloucestershire, in South West England. It traces its heritage to a monastic school founded in the 11th century in the cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral. It became one of seven 'King's Schools' established, or re-endowed by King Henry VIII in 1541 after the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

History
The current school was officially founded in 1541 as a direct consequence of the English Reformation, when Gloucester Cathedral was established. However, education had been an important part of the work of the cathedral's predecessor, the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter. When Abbot Serlo arrived in Gloucester in 1072, he found 'about eight little boys' in the abbey. This small medieval school took in two types of boys; some were 'child-oblates' training to become monks, whilst others were learning grammar for more secular careers. Gerald of Wales, who became a senior figure in the church and royal government during the reign of Henry II, attended the school in about 1160. In one of the many books he wrote, Gerald explained 'when I was in the years of boyhood and the days of my green youth I studied in the Abbey of St Peter at Gloucester under that most learned scholar, Master Haimo'. Today the King's School still cherishes the strong links it has with the cathedral that replaced the medieval abbey; these links are formalised by the fact that all Gloucester's boy and girl choristers are educated at King's.

In 1540 Henry VIII closed the Abbey of St Peter. In its place, by a charter of 1541 and statues of 1544, he established the new cathedral and a school known as the 'College School'. The statutes required the headmaster of the school to be "skilful in Latin and Greek, of good character and of godly life, well qualified for teaching, who may train up in piety and good learning those children who shall resort to our school for grammar". From 1541 until 1849 this school met in the former monastic library, a room which today is used as the Cathedral Library. Robert Aufield was the College School's first recorded headmaster.

In 1616 the controversial reformer William Laud was appointed Dean of Gloucester. One of the many changes he made was to insist that the school attend early morning prayers in his Lady Chapel. This decision inaugurated the tradition of morning assemblies, which still take place in the cathedral most days. The school became embroiled in the religious disputes which led to the outbreak of the Civil War. After its victory, in 1649 Parliament abolished all cathedral establishments and the school was brought under the control of the City Council.

After enduring a tumultuous time in the mid-17th century, the school prospered and experienced significant growth during the 18th century. Under headmaster Maurice Wheeler (1684 - 1712), the school housed about 80 boys and a series of reforms were instituted. Cathedral choristers were fully integrated as pupils rather than being educated in separate classes. A proper library was created and, alongside the rigours of Latin and Greek, the curriculum was extended to include Physical Education and gardening. It was in Wheeler's period that the school began to be referred to as "The King's School". Wheeler also initiated a competition known as the 'Combat of the Pen', which is still used by the school today to acknowledge high quality work.

In the mid-19th century, following a serious fire, the school moved into a new purpose-built Victorian schoolroom, where it flourished under headmaster Hugh Fowler. Towards the end of the century, a period of decline set in, mainly due to financial challenges, the rise of other public schools and the unwillingness of the Dean and Chapter to maintain more than a 'music school'. At the time of the First World War the school was a very small one with just 30 or so pupils, the majority of them choristers. A modest recovery occurred in the 1920s, but the striking revival of the school's fortunes came in the 1950s and 1960s inspired by the reforms of headmaster Tom Brown. The school expanded rapidly, gaining a new base in the Old Bishop's Palace from 1955 and moving toward co-education from 1969.

Buildings and facilities
The school is housed in a mix of medieval, 19th century and modern buildings located next to Gloucester Cathedral in the city centre. The cathedral is used for assemblies most mornings and also for concerts, special services and whole school occasions.

Junior School has its own modern classrooms built above the dining hall in the 1970s, opening onto the landscaped Paddock and providing access to the nearby Science laboratories. Senior School is based in the 19th century Old Bishop's Palace and in medieval Little Cloister House, which contains one of the oldest rooms to be used as a classroom anywhere in the country. Dulverton House originated as part of the monastic infirmary and has been imaginatively refurbished to provide a well-resourced Sixth Form Centre. The Victorian schoolroom, now known as the Ivor Gurney Hall, provides an airy and colourful base for dance and drama. Art and Design has its own designated area in Wardle House, a cathedral property which dates back to the 17th century. Music is based in the elegant 19th century former Probate Office.
 * Little King's, for 3-5 year olds
 * Junior school, for ages 6–11
 * Senior school, for ages 11–16
 * Sixth Form, for ages 16–18

Pupils are divided into Houses. In Junior School the houses - Potter, Simpkin and Tailor - take their names from the famous 'Tailor of Gloucester' story. In the Senior School, the houses are Laud, Wheeler and Serlo, named after, respectively, Archbishop William Laud, Maurice Wheeler, a former headmaster, and Abbot Serlo, an important figure in the founding of St Peter's Abbey. There are House competitions all year round, including sports, music, drama and quizzes.

Archdeacon Meadow
The school owns Archdeacon Meadow, which is used as a sports field for rugby and cricket. For many years the Meadow was the home of the annual Gloucester Cricket Festival and still hosts occasional T-20 fixtures. Facilities have recently been modernised to include an indoor sports centre, built in 2012, and an all-weather hockey pitch completed in 2019.

Notable former pupils
The following people were students at The King's School:

• Samuel Baker (1821−1893), English explorer

• Arthur Benoni Evans (1781−1854), English clergyman and writer

• Terry Biddlecombe (1941−2014), English racing jockey

• Luke Bond (b. 1980), English organist

• Kerensa Briggs (b. 1991), English composer

• George Worrall Counsel (1758−1843), English solicitor and antiquarian

• Edward Gardner (b. 1974), English conductor

• Ivor Gurney (1890−1937), English poet and composer

• Button Gwinnett (1735−1777), English-born American politician

• Hamish Harding (1964−2023), British businessman, pilot and explorer

• F. W. Harvey (1888−1957), English poet

• William Hayes (1706−1777), English organist and composer

• Jackie Hunter (b. 1956), English scientist

• Andy Johns (1950−2013), English recording engineer and record producer

• Charles Lewis (1853−1923), Welsh rugby player

• Paddy Logan (1845−1923), Liberal politician

• George Makins (1853−1933), English surgeon

• William Lort Mansel (1753−1820), English clergyman

• Isambard Owen (1850−1927), English physician and academic

• Jordi Pasqualin (b. 1990), English rugby player

• Simon Pegg (b. 1970), English actor

• Robert Raikes (1736−1811), English philanthropist and Sunday school pioneer

• Gordon Rawcliffe (1910−1979), English engineer and academic

• Richard Shephard (1949−2021), English composer

• George Sheringham (1884−1937), English painter

• John Stafford Smith (1750−1836), English organist and composer

• Charlie Stayt (b. 1962), English journalist and broadcaster

title: The King's School, Gloucester


text: User talk:69.141.124.29

title: User talk:69.141.124.29


text:
Talk:Woof

The dog goes mooooooooooooo, Donald trump is an ideot that is dog water and politics but the king of McDonald’s. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.215.240.233 (talk) 05:58, 18 February 2023 (UTC)

disambig?
Should this page really carry a disambig template? Disambiguation says that disambiguation serves a single purpose: to let the reader choose among different pages that might reside under the same title. Here we don't have different pages — everything is together... I'm not sure what to do with such pages. Should they carry any tags or should they be splitted?undefined—undefinedPt(T) 20:07, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

 * Sorry, now I've found it: Disambiguation says that disambig should be removed. I am bold and now removing it from here, as well as from Oink.undefined—undefinedPt(T) 20:17, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

Heyooo — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.161.84.83 (talk) 01:33, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

title: Talk:Woof


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USS Charleston (LKA-113)

USS Charleston (AKA-113/LKA-113) was an amphibious cargo ship, and was the lead ship of her class in the United States Navy. She was the fifth ship to be named Charleston for Charleston, South Carolina. She served as a commissioned ship for 23 years and 4 months.

She was laid down as AKA-113 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia, and was launched on 2 December 1967. She was commissioned on 14 December 1968, and was redesignated as LKA-113 on 1 January 1969.

Charleston was involved in the Vietnam War, and earned eight awards and campaign ribbons for her service.

Decommissioned 1992, she was mothballed at Portsmouth, Virginia. She is berthed at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, awaiting disposal.

There is no DANFS entry for the ship.

In popular culture
In the Tom Clancy novel Red Storm Rising, The Charleston is sunk by an AS-4 missile launched by a Badger bomber while part of an amphibious group involved in the recovery of Iceland from a Soviet invasion.

title: USS Charleston (LKA-113)


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National Alliance (Pakistan)

The National Alliance was a coalition of Millat Party, Sindh Democratic Alliance, National Peoples Party, National Awami Party (Wali) and Sindh National Front in Pakistan. It was headed by former Pakistani Prime Minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, who was also the head of his own National Peoples Party (NPP).

At the 2002 legislative elections in Pakistan, held on 20 October 2002, the Alliance won 4.6% of the popular vote and 16 out of 342 elected members.

In May 2004, National Alliance merged with the ruling PML (Q) and various other parties to form a united Pakistan Muslim League.

title: National Alliance (Pakistan)


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1810 in archaeology

The year 1810 in archaeology involved some significant events.

Excavations

 * Colosseum, Rome: The arena substructure is partly excavated during 1810-1814.
 * Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England: Second excavations by William Cunnington and Richard Colt Hoare.

Publications

 * Alexander von Humboldt publishes illustrated accounts of Pre-Columbian ruins of Mesoamerica including Mitla and Xochicalco.
 * Richard Colt Hoare begins publication of The Ancient History of Wiltshire in England.

Births

 * 11 April: Henry Rawlinson, English Assyriologist (d. 1895).
 * 26 July: Henry Christy, English ethnologist, archaeologist and sponsor (d. 1865).

Deaths

 * 30 March: Luigi Lanzi, Italian archaeologist (b 1732).
 * 31 December: William Cunnington, English antiquarian (b. 1754).

title: 1810 in archaeology


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Archibald Primrose, Lord Carrington

Sir Archibald Primrose, 1st Baronet, Lord Carrington (16 May 1616 – 27 November 1679) was a notable Scottish lawyer, judge, and Cavalier.

Early life
The eldest son of James Primrose (d. 1641), a writer and solicitor, by his second, or third, wife Catherine Lawson, a daughter of Richard Lawson of Boghall.

Primrose succeeded his father, who had held the office for upwards of forty years, as Clerk to the Privy Council on 2 September 1641.

Career
Following the victory of Kilsyth he joined Montrose, was taken prisoner at Philiphaugh on 13 September 1645. He was tried by the Parliament of St. Andrews the following year, and being found guilty of treason only saved his life through the intercession of the Marquess of Argyll. Following his release at the end of 1646, he was knighted by King Charles I. Subsequently, he joined Charles II and was made a Baronet, of Carrington in the County of Selkirk, dated 1 August 1651, at Woodhouse, during the march to Worcester.

As a consequence of his loyalty to the Crown his estate was sequestrated and his debtors prohibited from paying what they owed to him. He was also deprived of his office by the Act of Classes, the decree against him being sealed on 10 March 1649. Upon the repeal of this Act, and having given testimony of the satisfaction afforded by him to The Church, he was declared capable again of office on 10 January 1651, and was appointed Clerk to the Committee of Estates on 6 June following.

At the Restoration he was appointed Lord Clerk Register by Letters Patent dated 7 August 1660, and on 14 February 1661 was nominated a Lord of Session with the judicial title Lord Carrington. At the same time he was appointed a Lord of Exchequer, and a Privy Counsellor. He was the principal author of the Rescissory Act 1661, which ended Presbyterianism until the Act of 1690 re-established it again.

The enmity of the Duke of Lauderdale forced him to resign as Lord of Exchequer and Lord Clerk Register on 11 June 1676, in exchange for the far less lucrative one of Lord Justice General. He was deprived of this office in 1678.

Personal life
Primrose was twice married. His first marriage was to Elizabeth Keith, daughter of Sir James Keith of Benholme, and Margaret Lindsay. Before her death, they were the parents of:

 * Catherine Primrose (d. c. 1677), who married Sir David Carnegie, 1st Baronet in 1663.
 * Margaret Primrose (d. 1690), who married Sir John Foulis, 1st Baronet, in 1661.
 * Sir James Primrose (1645–c. 1671), who married Elizabeth Sinclair, daughter of Sir Robert Sinclair, 1st Baronet.
 * Maj.-Gen. Gilbert Primrose (1649–1731), a Colonel in the 24th Foot.
 * Sir William Primrose, 2nd Baronet (1649–1687), who married Mary Scott, daughter of Patrick Scott.

After the death of his first wife, he married Agnes ( Gray) Dundas (d. 1699), the daughter of Sir William Gray of Pittendrum, and the widow of Sir James Dundas of Newliston. They were the parents of:

 * Grizel Primrose (1661–1723), who married Francis Sempill, 8th Lord Sempill. After his death, she married Brig.-Gen. Richard Cunningham).
 * Archibald Primrose, 1st Earl of Rosebery (1664–1723), who married Dorothea Cressy in c. 1690.

Primrose died in November 1679, and was buried within Dalmeny church. He and his father between them had served the Crown successively for a hundred years all but one. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son William. Primrose's fourth son and namesake Archibald was created Earl of Rosebery in 1703.

Descendants
Through his third son William, he was a grandfather of James Primrose, 1st Viscount of Primrose (c. 1680–1706).

Through his fourth son Archibald, he was the ancestor of among others Prime Minister Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery.

title: Archibald Primrose, Lord Carrington


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50-50 club

50-50 club may refer to:

 * 50 goals in 50 games (National Hockey League)
 * The 50/50 Club, a Cincinnati television talk/variety show hosted by Ruth Lyons during 1953–1967

title: 50-50 club


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Santa Maria hijacking

The Santa Maria hijacking was carried out on 22 January 1961 when Portuguese and Spanish political rebels seized control of a Portuguese passenger ship, aiming to force political change in Portugal. The action was also known as Operation Dulcinea, the code name given by its chief architect and leader, Portuguese military officer, writer and politician Henrique Galvão, who had been exiled in Caracas, Venezuela since 1959. After United States naval intervention, the ship arrived in Brazil, and the hijacking ended on 2 February when the rebels were given political asylum there.

The ship
Owned by the Lisbon-based Companhia Colonial de Navegação, the 609 ft 20,900-ton ship was the second largest ship in the Portuguese merchant navy at the time, and along with her sister ship, Vera Cruz was among the most luxurious Portuguese-flag liners.

The ship was primarily used for colonial trade to the Portuguese overseas provinces of Angola and Mozambique, in Africa, and migrant transportation to Brazil. The ship's mid-Atlantic service was also viewed as rather out of the ordinary: Lisbon to Madeira, to Tenerife, to La Guaira, to Curaçao, to Havana (later San Juan), and lastly Port Everglades. The average trade for this gray-hulled ship was mostly migrants to Venezuela and the general passenger traffic.

Hijacking
On 22 January 1961, the ship had 600 passengers and 300 crew members. Among the passengers were men, women, children, and 24 Iberian leftists led by Henrique Galvão. Henrique Galvão was a Portuguese military officer and political opponent of Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar, the head of the Estado Novo regime. Galvão had carefully planned the hijacking in Caracas with the intention of waging war until Salazar was overthrown in Portugal and the overseas territories were subsequently offered independence. He planned on using the hijacking as a way to bring attention to the Estado Novo in Portugal and the related fascist regime in Francoist Spain. The rebels had boarded the ship in La Guaira (Venezuela) and in Willemstad (Curaçao), disguised as passengers, bringing aboard suitcases that had secret compartments to hide their weapons. In the early hours of 22 January, rebels, along with Henrique Galvao, seized the ship and shut down all communication. One officer (3rd Pilot Nascimento Costa) was killed and several others wounded in the process of taking control of the ship. The rebels forced Captain Mário Simões Maia and his crew to divert the ship eastwards. The next day they called at Saint Lucia, then a British possession, to drop off Costa's body and some injured crewmen in a launch; but, speaking only Portuguese, the sailors were unable to successfully communicate what had happened to their ship until after it had left.

The whereabouts of the ship then remained unknown for several days, until an extensive air and sea search by the Americans, British, and Dutch discovered her and established communication in mid-Atlantic. Subsequently, a United States Navy fleet, including four destroyers and USS Hermitage (LSD-34), which carried a detachment of Marines from "G" Company, 2nd Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina) under the overall command of Rear Admiral Allen E. Smith. The force cut short Galvão's plans, when they surrounded Santa Maria some 50 mi off Recife, Brazil. The following day, Admiral Smith left his flagship, USS Gearing (DD-710), and proceeded via launch to Santa Maria to begin negotiations with Galvão.

Because of an anticipated change of presidency in Brazil (the incoming President Jânio Quadros being more sympathetic to Galvão's political interests), it was not until the next day that Santa Maria, surrounded by United States naval vessels, entered the harbor of Recife. There, on 2 February, Galvão and his 24 activists surrendered Santa Maria, 600 passengers and crew of 300 to Brazilian authorities in exchange for political asylum.

Galvão later announced that his intention had been to sail to Angola, to set up a rebel Portuguese government in opposition to Salazar.

Legacy
Henrique Galvão wrote his account of the hijacking as ''A Minha Cruzada Pró-Portugal. Santa Maria (São Paulo, Livraria Martins, 1961), translated as Santa Maria: my crusade for Portugal'' (Cleveland OH, World Publishing/London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1961).

The story of the hijacking was told in the 2010 Portuguese feature film Assalto ao Santa Maria.

title: Santa Maria hijacking


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Poly(hydridocarbyne)

Poly(hydridocarbyne) (PHC) is one of a class of carbon-based random network polymers primarily composed of tetrahedrally hybridized carbon atoms, each having one hydride substituent, exhibiting the generic formula [HC]n. PHC is made from bromoform, a liquid halocarbon that is commercially manufactured from methane. At room temperature, poly(hydridocarbyne) is a dark brown powder. It can be easily dissolved in a number of solvents (tetrahydrofuran, ether, toluene etc.), forming a colloidal suspension that is clear and non-viscous, which may then be deposited as a film or coating on various substrates. Upon thermolysis in argon at atmospheric pressure and temperatures of 110 °C to 1000 °C, decomposition of poly(hydridocarbyne) results in hexagonal diamond (lonsdaleite).

More recently poly(hydridocarbyne) has been synthesized by a much simpler method using electrolysis of chloroform (May 2008) and hexachloroethane (June 2009).

The novelty of PHC (and its related polymer poly(methylsilyne)) is that the polymer may be readily fabricated into various forms (e.g. films, fibers, plates) and then thermolyzed into a final hexagonal diamond ceramic.

title: Poly(hydridocarbyne)


text:
1901 in archaeology

Below are notable events in archaeology that occurred in 1901.

Events

 * British School at Rome established.

Excavations

 * KV44 at the Valley of the Kings, Egypt by Howard Carter and Donald P. Ryan.
 * Excavations and renovations at Mitla conducted by Leopoldo Batres.
 * Excavation of the Minoan town at Gournia by Harriet Boyd-Hawes and Blanche Wheeler Williams begins (continues to 1904).

Finds

 * December: Code of Hammurabi at Susa.
 * Ivory Bangle Lady in York, England, the skeleton and grave goods of a later fourth century high-status, possibly Christian, inhabitant of Eboracum, much later identified as of mixed race.
 * Heracles of Antikythera in the Antikythera wreck, Greece.

Miscellaneous

 * Edward Herbert Thompson buys the ruins of Chichen Itza for 75 United States dollars
 * General Land Office special agent S. J. Holsinger recommends creating a national park to preserve archaeological sites in Chaco Canyon

Births

 * February 15 – André Parrot, French archaeologist of the Near East (d. 1980)
 * July 17 – Theresa Goell, American archaeologist of the Near East (d. 1985)
 * October 18 – A. Ledyard Smith, American archaeologist of the Americas (d. 1985)
 * October 27 – Aage Roussell, Danish archaeologist of Greenland (d. 1972)
 * Charles Green, English archaeologist (d. 1972)

Deaths

 * May 10 – Christian Maclagan, Scottish antiquary (b. 1811)

title: 1901 in archaeology


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Mike Baldwin (Coronation Street)

Michael Vernon "Mike" Baldwin is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Johnny Briggs. He first appeared on 11 October 1976 and became one of the show's central characters until his final appearance on 7 April 2006.

Before his debut on the series, Mike started off his career as a market stall holder until a few years later the character had evolved into a legitimate businessman who was running his own factory. Mike soon opened his namesake denim-maker business, Baldwin's Casuals, in Weatherfield and moved there after ending his relationship with his common-law wife Anne Woodley. Quickly establishing himself as the street's most uncompromising employer, Mike was quick to threaten his machinists with the sack if they slacked and had additionally taken a dim view of workers getting above themselves.

Since his first appearance, Mike was involved in several of the show's highly profiled events. This included a love triangle scenario which saw Mike having an affair with local resident Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) while she was still married to her husband Ken Barlow (William Roache). The storyline continued onto 1983 and became a ratings winner, with the UK's newspapers giving the story much coverage. The episode where Deirdre ends her affair with Mike and reconciles with Ken was the show's highest-rated episode at the time; as such, the news was so big that it ended up being announced on the scoreboard during a Manchester United v Arsenal match at Old Trafford - with the words "Ken and Deirdre reunited. Ken 1 – Mike 0" resulting in cheers from the spectators.

The follow-up of their love triangle with Deirdre created a longstanding feud between Mike and Ken, with the rivalry between the two men dominating the show's impact for over the next two decades. This involved Mike meddling in Ken's subsuqent relationships with the latter's old mistress Wendy Crozier (Roberta Kerr) and later with the farmer's old flame Maggie Redman (Jill Kerman) respectively. At one point, Mike went on to marry Ken's daughter Susan (Wendy Jane Walker) and it ultimately led to the two arch-enemies going on a custody battle for Mike and Susan's son Adam (Iain De Caestecker) following her death in 2001. However, there were times where Ken and Mike were often forced to work together in events which saw Deirdre being wrongfully imprisoned by her fraudulent new love interest Jon Lindsay (Owen Aaronovitch) in 1998 and then the two rivals later becoming hostages in an armed robbery at Fresco's Supermarket in 2000.

In his other major storylines, Mike conducted a short-lived marriage of convenience with his second spouse Jackie Ingram (Shirin Taylor); established a much-more prolonging marriage with his third wife Alma Halliwell (Amanda Barrie) that progressively lasted until the pair's divorce and Alma's eventual death of cervical cancer; triggered a dangerous conflict with fellow nemesis Don Brennan (Geoffrey Hinsliff) that culminated with the latter kidnapping Alma and then attempting to kill Mike in their final confronation; formed a complicated romance his fourth spouse Linda Sykes (Jacqueline Pirie) after their ill-fated marriage collapsed as a result Linda's gold-digging agenda that gradually emerged ever since she cheated on Mike with his long-lost son Mark (Paul Fox); and formed a close companionship with his supposed nephew Danny (Bradley Walsh) along with the latter's family after it had slowly transpired that Danny was actually Mike's son.

The character's exit saw Mike being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which commenced in late 2005 and continued on in 2006 until Mike was eventually killed off in the story's climax; Mike, in his last moments, collapsed and then died in the arms of Ken. A couple of years later, Mike would posthumously reappear in a 2012 short special episode shown as part of Text Santa - with the character appearing as a ghost sent from Hell to give Ken's next-door neighbour, Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden), a warning to change his ways.

Storylines
Mike Baldwin began the majority of his life with a relationship with florist Maggie Dunlop (Jill Kerman). Problems for the pair soon emerged when Maggie became pregnant and she eventually ended things with him after Mike refused to buy the florist's she worked in. She married Harry Redman shortly before the birth of her son, Mark. The Redmans moved away, and Mike did not see Mark for years.

One major storyline involving Mike came in 1983 when he had an affair with local resident Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) during her marriage to central protagonist Ken Barlow (William Roache). At first Deirdre had dated Mike, but then decided Ken suited her better for marriage. Ken and Deirdre soon married, but she turned to Mike when her marriage with Ken began to face problems. After she had confessed everything to Ken about the affair, Mike turned up on the doorstep in the hope of taking her away; but in the end she decided to stay with Ken after choosing him over Mike. This event began the long-running feud between Mike and Ken, with the two men becoming sworn arch-enemies in the process.

In 1986, Mike began dating Ken's daughter, Susan Barlow (Wendy Jane Walker) - who was many years his junior - and soon proposed to her. She accepted despite family reservations; when Ken found out that her daughter's relationship with Mike, he confronted him at the factory and punched Mike after telling him "I've had enough of your poisoning in my family - more than enough!!". Ken was further upset to hear about Susan's prospects of marrying Mike, but he reluctantly accepted this after Susan confronts her father about her decision. Mike eventually married Susan in May 1986, but their marriage steadily failed a year later due to the pair having a dispute about their plans for the future. On discovering that Susan was pregnant, Mike wanted her to become a stay-at-home wife and mother. But Susan decided to have an abortion, and moved to Newcastle after Mike broke up with her in response to this.

The result of Susan's departure and the break-up of her marriage with Mike escalated the amniosty between him and Ken. This soon continued when Mike later found out Ken had cheated on Deirdre with his mistress Wendy Crozier (Roberta Kerr) and proceeded to taunt Ken about it. Eventually, after Deirdre discovered Ken's betrayal and ended their marriage in 1990, he faced many problems and went in The Rovers Return Inn public house to cope with his troubles. But then Mike taunted Ken in public and provoked him into a fight that ended with the latter's humiliation. Years later, Ken got his life back on track when he met Maggie and began dating her until he learned about her past with Mike. Eventually the couple broke up due to Ken's growing resentment towards Mike.

By then, Mike's on/off relationship with local neighbour Alma Sedgewick (Amanda Barrie) lasted the longest. He initially abandoned Alma to marry wealthy widow Jackie Ingram (Shirin Taylor), who inherited a factory from her late husband Peter - the latter of whom had died of a heart attack during an argument with Mike over their past as business competitors. However, Mike's marriage with Jackie lasted one week when she discovered his marriage of convenience agenda. She responded by breaking up with Mike and threatening him with a shotgun if he did not get out of her sight. Then in 1992, Mike proposed to Alma after her relationship with Ken failed; she accepted and Mike finally married her soon afterwards. Several years later, Mike's marriage with Alma was tested when he contemplated going into business partnership with fellow entrepreneur Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) and was initially unaware that Alma had been smitten with Stephan. But then Stephan attempted to get one over Mike by seducing Alma, who responded by slapping Stephan and reconciling with Mike afterwards.

The year 1996 saw Mike making another sworn nemesis - this time with local taxi driver Don Brennan (Geoffrey Hinsliff). The conflict between them started when Mike bankrupted Don in a poker game many years ago before he later tricked him into buying a garage at an overrated price; Don consequently lost everything and he blamed Mike for his losses. Later on, Don confronted Mike in the pub and attempted to punch him; Mike dodged it and humiliated Don by punching him back. By 1997, the quarrel between them had intensified as Don sought to get revenge on Mike. At one point Don vandalised what he believed to be Mike's car, only to later find out that he mistook him for somebody else's vehicle. It was then Don broke into Mike's factory and set the building on fire. However, Don's plan backfired as he destroyed evidence that would have led to Mike facing police charges of counterfeiting his products. Thereafter Mike was acquitted from police investigation and he soo received an insurance claim that all but financially saved his business from liquidation, thereby allowing Mike to reinstate his business into an underwear factory called "The Underworld". Don, enraged by his failure to get revenge on Mike, decided to target Alma by kidnapping her in his taxi while her husband was taking his solicitor for dinner. Alma's plight culminated dramatically when Don tried to kill her by driving the taxi into a canal, but they both survived the crash and Don was held in police custody whilst Mike comforted Alma over the ordeal. Several months later, however, Don escaped and resolved to kill Mike at all costs. Don soon ambushed Mike in the factory and attempted to beat him to death, but was interrupted and forced to flee. Mike then rushed outside to find Don inside his car, intending to run him over. Don drove the car at Mike, who ducked out of the way in time; Don crashed the car in the viaduct and was killed when the vehicle exploded as Mike watched on along with many other residents.

In 1998, Mike clashed with Ken again over Deirdre when the pair learned that she was facing a prison sentence after being implicated by her ex-fiance Jon Lindsay (Owen Aaronovitch) for his fraudulent activities. But the two rivals are soon forced to work together and they eventually managed to exonerate Deirdre by exposing Lindsay's past felony as a bigamist. Coincidentally, Mike's marriage with Alma was in trouble due to him spending less time with her throughout the Deirdre prison scandal. Mike assured Alma that he loved her, but then their marriage ended permanently when he cheated on Alma by having a short-lived fling with his employee Julia Stone when she blackmailed him for large sums of cash. When Alma discovered the betrayal, she confronted Mike and broke up with him; Alma later divorced Mike and thus reverted her identity back to her old maiden name of Halliwell.

Unable to win Alma back, Mike began to romantically settle himself with loud-mouthed machinist Linda Sykes (Jacqueline Pirie). It seemed as though as the pair formed a romantic interest in each other, but it quickly turned out Linda is a golddigger who was only interested in Mike for his fortune. It was then Mike's long-lost son Mark Redman (Paul Fox), the product of Mike's past fling with Maggie, came to Weatherfield to settle himself in the street. Mike steadily bonded with Mark and took him on at the factory as manager. Soon enough Mike's relationships with both Mark and Linda had developed, but little did he know that Mark and Linda would end up having an affair when she seduced his son behind his back. Mike eventually proposed to Linda and they got married, but then he learned about her affair with his son after Mark reveals the truth to him. When he confronted the pair over the betrayal, Mike was tricked by Linda into believing that Mark had been pursuing her and that she tried to end their affair - when in reality it had been the other way round; Linda was the one pursuing Mark behind his father's back. But in the end Mike believed Linda and forgave her, disowning Mark as a result. A month later, Mike is held hostage alongside Ken and many other residents in a supermarket siege; the crisis ended when the gunman, Linda's brother Ryan, was killed and it was then Mike comforted Linda over her loss despite the ordeal.

Following the supermarket siege, Mike and Ken called a truce with each other. But this doesn't last long when Susan resurfaces and reveals that she has a son named Adam (Iain De Caestecker/Sam Robertson), before later telling her family that Mike was the father; Susan had been lying when she said she had terminated her pregnancy years ago. When Mike finds out that Susan lied about the pregnancy and that he is Adam's father, he threatened to fight for custodial rights for their son; Susan thereupon attempted to escape again, but tragically she crashed her car on the motorway and was killed. Adam survived the crash and was rushed to hospital, where Mike and Ken along with his family learned about the tragedy. Ken blamed Mike for Susan's death and the two rivals started a custody battle over Adam following Susan's funeral, during which Mike told Adam that he was his father. In the end Mike was awarded custody, but he returned Adam to his boarding school in Scotland as his friends were there.

By mid-2001, Mike's marriage with Linda seemed to have improved. But trouble soon reemerges when Alma returns and tells Mike that she is dying of cervical cancer. At this point, he realised that marrying Linda was a mistake and resolved to spend time with Alma in her last few days of life; Linda grew unhappy with this and so slept with Mike's new business associate Harvey Ruben in retribution. When Mike found out what Linda had done, he admitted that Alma was dying and slapped Linda when she reacted indifferently to the news. Mike threatened to end his marriage to Linda, but eventually agreed to give her one more chance following Alma's funeral; Alma had died after spending time with her last ones, including Mike. Before she died, though, Alma learned that Mike had disowned Mark and persuaded him to make peace with his son in her honour; Mike agreed to this and Mark went to visit his father on the day Linda's mother, Eve Sykes (Melanie Kilburn), was due to marry his best friend Fred Elliott (John Savident) at the same church where Mike and Linda had got married a year ago. However, Mike later overheard Linda taunting Mark over their past affair and how she managed to trick his father into believing her over his son. This caused Mike to realise that Mark was telling the truth about Linda all along, and he responds by breaking up with Linda after confronting her over the extent of her lies and deceit. Afterwards, Linda disappeared mysteriously and Mike was accused of murdering her; he was soon questioned by the police on suspicion of murder, but the charges were quickly dropped when Linda was found in Ireland with a new man.

In 2004, Mike's extended family came to Weatherfield. Among them were Mike's nephew Danny (Bradley Walsh), his wife, Frankie (Debra Stephenson), their son Warren (Danny Young), and Danny's other son Jamie (Rupert Hill). In late October 2005, it is discovered that Danny is actually Mike's son as a result of a fling between Mike and his sister-in-law Viv (Patricia Brake) in the past.

Towards the end of 2005, Mike was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease - aged 63. He soon split from his beautiful fiancé Penny King (Pauline Fleming), whom he had recently intended to marry. He once asked his close friend Rita Fairclough (Barbara Knox) how her husband Len (Peter Adamson) was doing - when he had in fact died more than 20 years ago. He also went into The Rovers Return and asked where his old flame Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear) was, not remembering that she had left the pub 10 years earlier. A further misunderstanding caused him to become estranged from Adam. Soon enough Danny engineered sole inheritance of Mike's empire at the bequest from his girlfriend Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson).

In 2006, Mike's condition had rapidly deteriorated to the point where he was eventually admitted to hospital with pneumonia in early April that year. But then Mike escaped and made his way back to his factory in Coronation Street, where he was found by his old rival Ken. Shortly afterwards, Mike collapsed and died in Ken's arms after having a massive heart attack. He was 64 years old. His passing – like that of Alma in 2001 – was respected with the theme tune not being played over the credits, though a continuity announcement was made. His last words were "You're finished Barlow, Deirdre loves me, she's mine." Over the last few months of his life, he had been confusing the past and present: Alma, his beloved former wife who had died in 2001, was often mentioned, as was Bet – he even broke into Bet's former home in 2006, only to be confronted by Leanne's father Les (Bruce Jones) as he was the current resident of the house.

In October 2019, Adam discussed Mike's death with Ken and states the irony of Mike dying in Ken's arms - given the rivalry that Ken and Mike had each other in the past decades.

Backstory
Making his first appearance in 1976 as a Cockney businessman with an eye for the ladies, Mike was the son of an occasional character, Frank "Frankie" Baldwin, a former docker and Cockney wide boy. He is said to have been introduced following pressure from Thames Television and Southern Television to introduce a character from the South of England, as the series' ratings fell in the mid-1970s especially in those regions. The Mike Baldwin character was thus an embodiment of England's north-south divide as his affluence and success in business contrasted strongly with the generally downtrodden lifestyles of the locals. He became chiefly known for his ruthlessness in business and his string of ruined relationships. During his time on the show, Mike had 25 girlfriends and four wives.

Mike's family history was retconned in 2004 when mention was made of his brother Harry. Prior to this, Mike was always referred to as an only child.

Relationship with Alma Halliwell
Mike and Alma Sedgewick's (Amanda Barrie) romance stemmed back to 1989 and they wed on-screen in 1992, the marriage lasting seven years. It has been suggested in a 2006 ITV documentary that Mike, an antagonistic womanising character, met his match in Alma. William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow, has stated that of all Mike's many women in the serial, he always felt that Alma was Mike's true love, the one that was right and good for him. Briggs has stated that he always enjoyed watching the scenes between Mike and Alma, because Alma knew how to handle Mike. Barrie has discussed the way she approached playing the romance between Mike and Alma, suggesting that as Alma she treated Mike in the same way that she [Barrie] treated Briggs off-set, poking fun at him.

Feud with Ken Barlow
It was suggested in an ITV documentary in 2006 that Ken and Mike's hatred was a clash of cultures: "Barlow the lefty do-gooder versus Baldwin, the cut-and-thrust money grabber." Briggs has claimed that Ken was jealous of Mike because he was rich and successful while Ken was not, and Roache has claimed that the reason Ken disliked Mike was because he was a self-centred and self-made individual.

Ken's feud with Mike—spanning over 20 years—began in 1983, when Ken discovered that his wife, Deirdre, was having an affair with Mike. Of the love triangle storyline, Briggs has said, "the way it captured the nation was amazing. Everyone was talking about it and the pubs were empty. Men were shouting out: 'Go on Mike, give her one.' People were disappointed when she went back to Ken". The storyline had significant cultural impact, with the press claiming that the country was divided between those who thought Deirdre should remain with Ken, and those who thought she should leave with Mike. In her 2003 book, Hobson suggested that Ken "spent at least nineteen years unable to cope with the sense of rejection and betrayal" caused by Mike's and Deirdre's affair.

Scriptwriters capitalised on the rivalry between the characters when, in 1986, Mike married Ken's daughter Susan, a union that Ken strongly opposed. Numerous fights between Ken and Mike were featured, and Briggs has suggested that they became famous for their brawls. The first fight between the pair occurred in 1986, when Ken confronted Mike in his factory about Mike's maltreatment of his daughter. Of the confrontation, Briggs has said, "It was a classic – Baldwin getting it in his own territory, the factory. It took a lot to get Ken angry but after the way Mike had treated his daughter, he was furious. He marched into the office and let him have it. This was one of those rare times he caught Mike off-guard." Mike was shown to get revenge on Ken, though it took a further four years before he could do so on-screen. In a scene which aired in 1990, Mike punched Ken, knocking him over a table in the Rovers Return public house. Briggs has suggested that he and Roache became old hands at doing on-screen fistfights, and that both really enjoyed doing the stunts. According to Briggs, no choreographers were ever used. In 1998 one incident left Briggs with an injury after he fell backwards.

Mike and Ken were forced to work together in 2000, when they were featured in a storyline dubbed the "Freshco siege". Ken and Mike were among several series regulars held up at gunpoint in the soap's local supermarket, where Ken had been working as a trolley pusher. The episode was broadcast after the 9 pm watershed due to its depiction of violence. Ken and Mike were bound together by armed robbers, which facilitated an end to their feud; Ken helped Mike to combat a panic attack. The pair resolved to put the past behind them; it was a temporary reprieve. Mike had unknowingly fathered a son, Adam, during his brief marriage to Susan Barlow; she kept the baby a secret from him. Mike discovered Adam's existence in 2001; Susan attempted to flee, but was killed in a motor accident. Then followed a battle between Mike and Ken for custody of Adam, with Ken adamant that Mike should not look after his grandson. However both Ken and Mike made the peace again after promising Alma that they would be nice to each other before she dies.

The feud came to an end on-screen in 2006, when Briggs quit the role of Mike. Mike was killed-off, dying of Alzheimer's disease; he died in Ken's arms. In the final scenes, a disoriented and dying Mike was found wandering the streets by Ken, and as Ken cradled Mike in his arms, the rivals talked about old times before Mike died, signifying the end of their 20-year feud. To promote Mike's final scenes, Radio Times released a series of photographs with Ken and Mike re-enacting Arthur Devis's (1807) painting of the death of Horatio Nelson—Baldwin was shown surrounded by his nearest and dearest during his final moments, with Ken prominently positioned next to him, taking on the role of Captain Hardy, Nelson's trusted colleague to whom Nelson famously uttered "Kiss me" before he died. Producer Maire Tracey said, "The fact that Mike dies in Ken's arms says it all. For most of Mike's life, it was his battles with Ken that kept him going. Like two cowboys, they spent their lives sizing each other up. Behind the scenes Bill Roache has even suggested to Johnny Briggs that they should make a version of Brokeback Mountain for the two elderly cowboys. Both Ken and Mike will miss the bust-ups."

Reception
Journalist Johann Hari, writing for The Independent heaped praise upon Mike's dementia storyline: "You can see some of these qualities in the storyline that has just stuttered to a close, the tale of the cracking and breaking of wide-boy Street stalwart Mike Baldwin into dementia and death. A soap can do Alzheimer's perfectly because it can draw on the collected memories of it audience in a way no other art form, except perhaps the epic novel, can. When Mike loses it and starts crying for Alma – the ex-wife who died years ago – we remember her too. When we see him breaking from his dementia-fever for a moment and asking his old flame Deirdre to dance – an almost unimaginably sad scene, as he beams in mid-dance and says: 'This is lovely', while she quietly weeps over his shoulder – the performances are layered with literally decades of shared experience." In 2008, All About Soap included Mike's Alzheimer's plot in their list of "top ten taboo" storylines of all time. Their writer described it as one of the "taboos which have bravely been broken by soaps."

Grace Dent, writing for The Guardian heaped similar praise on the storyline as she paid tribute to the legendary character: "So, farewell Mike Baldwin. Laid on the cobbles in front of the Kabin, this week Mike took his last breaths, clutched to the breast of his nemesis Ken Barlow, witnessed by Rita and Emily, both neighbours of 30 years. A peculiarly fitting end to the cockney king of knickers. He'll be sadly missed. No more Mike Baldwin in his Edinburgh Woollen Mill golfing jerseys and smart-casual slacks sneaking a fine single malt and a lamb hotpot. No more clashes with Fizz over shoddy stitching or scanning the obituaries for wealthy widows to woo. No more boozy afternoons at the 19th hole. Literally the end of an era. Although Mike's decline from Alzheimer's was bleak and harrowing, there were bittersweet moments to his final days. Imaginary meetings with Bet Lynch, Alma Halliwell and his mother. Chess with Chesney and a day out in town with old flame Deirdre. The time, at last, to watch Ready Steady Cook and wear pyjamas until tea-time."

title: Mike Baldwin (Coronation Street)


text:
KV12

Located in the Valley of the Kings, Tomb KV12 is an unusual tomb, used originally in the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, and then again in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. It was probably used for multiple burials of royal family members, similarly to KV5.

The builders of KV9 broke unintentionally into KV12 whilst excavating that tomb. During the modern excavation of KV9, rumors of the second tomb had circulated throughout the camp, however, leading scientists dismissed the idea and continued on. The tomb diggers broke through the ground into the tomb only to find the remains of multiple family members in the KV12. Researchers are still working on identifying the family members and collecting the other artifacts in the tomb.

title: KV12


text:
Amphibious cargo ship

Amphibious cargo ships were U.S. Navy ships designed specifically to carry troops, heavy equipment and supplies in support of amphibious assaults, and to provide naval gunfire support during those assaults. A total of 108 of these ships were built between 1943 and 1945—which worked out to an average of one ship every eight days. Six additional AKAs, featuring new and improved designs, were built in later years. They were originally called Attack Cargo Ships and designated AKA. In 1969, they were renamed as Amphibious Cargo Ships and redesignated LKA.

Compared to other cargo ship types, these ships could carry landing craft, were faster, had more armament, and had larger hatches and booms. Their holds were optimized for combat loading, a method of cargo storage where the items first needed ashore were at the top of the hold, and those needed later were lower down. Because these ships went into forward combat areas, they had Combat Information Centers and significant amounts of equipment for radio communication, neither of which were present in other cargo ships.

As amphibious operations became more important in World War II, planners saw the need for a special kind of cargo ship, one that could carry both cargo and the LCM and LCVP boats with which to attack the beach, and that carried guns to assist in anti-air defense and shore bombardment. Specifications were drawn up, and beginning in early 1943, the first 16 U.S. attack cargo ships were converted from Navy cargo ships that had previously been designated AK. During the course of the war, 108 such ships were built; many of them were converted from non-military ships, or started out as non-military hulls.

Attack cargo ships played a vital role in the Pacific War, where many were attacked by kamikazes and other aircraft, and several were torpedoed, but none were sunk or otherwise destroyed. Nine AKAs were present at the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945.

After the war, many AKAs were put into the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Others were converted for other uses, such as oceanographic surveying, undersea cable laying, and repairing other ships.

Some of the reserve ships were recommissioned for service in the Korean War, and some stayed in service during the Vietnam War.

Six more amphibious cargo ships, somewhat faster, larger and of improved design regarding cargo handling, were built between 1954 and 1969: the USS Tulare (APA/LKA-112) and the Charleston-class.

In 1969, the U.S. Navy redesignated all its remaining AKA attack cargo ships as LKA amphibious cargo ships. At the same time, several other "A" designations of amphibious ships were changed to similar "L" designations; for example, all the attack troop transport APAs were redesignated as LPAs.

In the 1960s, both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy developed amphibious transport docks which gradually took on this unique amphibious role and today have assumed it completely. The last amphibious cargo ship in the U. S. Navy, USS El Paso (LKA-117), was decommissioned in April, 1994.

Classes

 * Type C1 ship
 * USS Fomalhaut (AKA-5)
 * Type C2 ship
 * USS Alhena (AKA-9)
 * 11 Arcturus-class attack cargo ship (in the range AKA-1 ... AKA-14)
 * 32 Tolland-class attack cargo ship (in the range AKA-64 ... AKA-108)
 * 30 Andromeda-class attack cargo ship (in the range AKA-15 ... AKA-100)
 * Type C3 ship
 * USS Almaack (AKA-10)
 * Type S4 ship
 * 32 Artemis-class attack cargo ship (AKA-21 ... AKA-52)
 * Type C4 ship
 * USS Tulare (AKA-112)
 * 5 Charleston-class amphibious cargo ship (LKA-113 ... LKA-117)

title: Amphibious cargo ship