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Chester F. Carlson

Chester F. Carlson

Chester F. Carlson (February 8, 1906 - September 19, 1968) was an American physicist and inventor born in Seattle, Washington. He invented electrophotography(Xerox), the process of instant copying. A hard worker, he persisted in his quest, meeting disappointment and failure for many years before finally succeeding. His invention did more than make him a millionaire many times over -- it transformed copyright law and the way people work. The changes the Xerox machine has brought about continue to reverberate, and have made possible many other inventions such as the laser printer. When Carlson was young, both his parents had tuberculosis and his father also suffered from arthritis of the spine. Because of their illnesses, Carlson worked to support his family from an early age. His mother died when he was 17 and his father passed away when Carlson was 26. Carlson once said, "Work outside of school hours was a necessity at an early age, and with such time as I had I turned toward interests of my own devising, making things, experimenting, and planning for the future. I had read of [Thomas Alva] Edison and other successful inventors, and the idea of making an invention appealed to me as one of the few available means to accomplish a change in one's economic status, while at the same time bringing to focus my interest in technical things and making it possible to make a contribution to society as well." He earned his B.S. degree in Physics at the California Institute of Technology in 1930, and began working for Bell Telephone Laboratories in New York as a research engineer. Finding the work dull and routine, Carlson transferred to the patent department. Laid off in 1933 during the Great Depression, he found a job as a clerk with a patent attorney near New York City's Wall Street. After about a year he got a better job at the electronics firm P. R. Mallory Company, where he was promoted to head of the patent department. In 1936 he began to study law at night at New York Law School, receiving his LL.B. degree in 1939. His training in patent law stood him in good stead later, when he began to make progress with the basic principles of electrophotography. Carlson began thinking about reproducing print early in his career. When asked by author A. Dinsdale why he chose this field, Carlson said, "Well, I had had a fascination with the graphic arts from childhood. One of the first things I wanted was a typewriter--even when I was in grammar school. Then, when I was in high school I liked chemistry and I got the idea of publishing a little magazine for amateur chemists. I also worked for a printer in my spare time and he sold me an old printing press which he had discarded. I paid for it by working for him. Then I started out to set my own type and print this little paper. I don't think I printed more than two issues, and they weren't much. However, this experience did impress me with the difficulty of getting words into hard copy and this, in turn, started me thinking about duplicating processes. I started a little inventor's notebook and I would jot down ideas from time to time." "There was a gap of some years, but by 1935 I was more or less settled. I had my job, but I didn't think I was getting ahead very fast. I was just living from hand to mouth, you might say, and I had just got married. It was kind of a hard struggle. So I thought the possibility of making an invention might kill two birds with one stone; it would be a chance to do the world some good and also a chance to do myself some good." While doing patent work, Carlson often thought of how convenient it would be to have easily made copies of patent specifications. His job required the preparation of multiple copies for submission to the U.S. Patent Office, and they often took many tedious hours of drawing and re-typing. Photocopies, while an alternative, were too expensive. Carlson knew there had to be a better way. He also knew that the research laboratories of many companies were already working on chemical and thermal means of copying papers, so he began to think about different ways of doing the same thing. Months of research at the New York Public Library led him to photoconductivity, in which light can increase the electric conductivity of certain kind of materials under certain conditions. The basics of the process were simple in principle: when light and shadow strike an electrically charged plate of a certain material, the dark parts can attract an electrostatic or magnetic powder while the light part repels it. If the powder can be fused or melted to the page, it can then form a near-exact copy of the original paper. It took Carlson 15 years to establish the basic principles of electrophotography, and he patented his developments every step along the way. He filed his first preliminary patent application on October 18, 1937. His early experiments, conducted with sulphur in his apartment kitchen, were smoky and smelly and he was soon encouraged to find another place. At about the same time, he developed arthritis of the spine, like his father. He pressed on with his experiments, however, in addition to his law school studies and his regular job. To make things easier, he hired Otto Kornei, an immigrant physicist who had fled the Nazi regime in Germany. They set up their laboratory in a back room of a house in Astoria, Queens. On October 22, 1938 they had their historic breakthrough. Kornei wrote the words 10.-22.-38 ASTORIA. in India ink on a glass microscope slide. The German prepared a zinc plate with a sulphur coating, darkened the room, rubbed the sulphur surface with a handkerchief to apply an electrostatic charge, then laid the slide on the zinc plate, exposing it to a bright, incandescent light. They removed the slide, sprinkled lycopodium powder to the sulphur surface, softly blew the excess away, and transferred the image to a sheet of wax paper. They heated the paper, melting the wax off, and had their first near-perfect duplicate. After repeating the experiment several times, they celebrated by going out to lunch. Years of work and disappointment followed, and years of trying to convince organizations like General Electric, IBM, RCA and the U.S. Army Signal Corps to invest in the invention. No one was interested. In 1944 he finally struck a deal with Battelle Development Corporation, an Ohio-based non-profit organization dedicated to sponsoring new inventions. That was the turning point. Battelle soon got the Haloid Company to further develop the concept. Haloid named the process xerography, and coined the name XeroX (as it was originally spelled). In 1961, Haloid changed its name to the Xerox Corporation. On October 22, 1948, ten years to the day after that first microscope slide was copied, the Haloid Company made the first public announcement of xerography. They made their first sale of the Haloid Xerox Copier in 1950. The company continued to improve the concept, producing the Xerox 914 in 1959. It was the first truly simple, push-button, plain-paper copier, and was so successful that it sold in only six months what the company had projected it would sell in the product's entire lifetime. Carlson realized his early dream of financial success. He received about $150,000,000 from his invention, donating more than $100,000,000 to charitable causes before he passed away in 1968. In 1981 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Further Reading

"Copies in Seconds: How a Lone Inventor and an Unknown Company Created the Biggest Communication Breakthrough Since Gutenberg - Chester Carlson and the Birth of the Xerox", by David Owen Carlson, Chester Carlson, Chester Carlson, Chester Carlson, Chester Carlson, Chester

February 8

February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 326 days remaining, 327 in leap years.

Events


- 421 - Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire
- 1555 - Laurence Saunders is led barefoot to his execution and burned at the stake.
- 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots is executed.
- 1601 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed
- 1622 - King James I of England disbands the English Parliament
- 1692 - A doctor in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony declares that three teenaged girls are under domination of Satan, leading to the Salem witch trials.
- 1693 - The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a charter.
- 1807 - Battle of Eylau - Napoleon defeats Russians under General Benigssen.
- 1837 - Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
- 1849 - Roman Republic established
- 1855 - The Devil's Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon.
- 1867 - The Ausgleich results in the establishment of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary,
- 1887 - The Dawes Act authorized the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments.
- 1900 - British troops are defeated by Boers at Ladysmith, South Africa.
- 1904 - Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
- 1910 - The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
- 1915 - D.W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
- 1918 - The Stars and Stripes newspaper publishes for the first time.
- 1922 - President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
- 1924 - Death penalty: The first state execution using gas in the United States takes place in Nevada.
- 1936 - Jay Berwanger becomes the first person to be selected by a National Football League draft, by the Philadelphia Eagles.
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of Kursk - the Russian army captures the city
- 1943 - World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal - United States forces defeat Japanese troops.
- 1949 - Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary sentenced for treason.
- 1960 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
- 1963 - Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
- 1968 - American civil rights movement: A civil rights protest staged at a white-only bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina is broken-up by highway patrolmen leading to the deaths of three college students.
- 1969 - The last weekly issue of the Saturday Evening Post hits magazine stands.
- 1971 - The Nasdaq stock market index debuts.
- 1974 - After 84 days in space, the crew of the temporary American space station Skylab return to Earth.
- 1974 - Military coup in Upper Volta.
- 1978 - Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
- 1979 - Denis Sassou-Nguesso became the President of the People's Republic of the Congo for the first time.
- 1983 - Racehorse Shergar is kidnapped in County Kildare, Ireland. The fate of the horse is still unknown.
- 1984 - 1984 Winter Olympics open in Sarajevo.
- 1985 - After 6-1/2 years, the television series The Dukes of Hazzard goes off the air.
- 1989 - An Independent Air Boeing 707 crashes into Santa Maria mountain in Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal, killing 144.
- 1993 - General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
- 1996 - The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
- 2001 - Disney's California Adventure, the Disneyland Resort's second park in its 46-year history, opens.
- 2002 - Opening ceremony of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.
- 2005 - Israel and Palestinians agree to cease-fire.

Births


- 412 - Proclus, Greek philosopher (d. 487)
- 1191 - Yaroslav II of Russia (d. 1246)
- 1291 - King Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)
- 1487 - Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1550)
- 1552 - Agrippa d'Aubigné, French poet and soldier (d. 1630)
- 1577 - Robert Burton, English cleric and writer (d. 1640)
- 1586 - Jacob Praetorius, German composer (d. 1651)
- 1649 - Gabriel Daniel, French Jesuit historian (d. 1728)
- 1677 - Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (d. 1756)
- 1685 - Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian (d. 1770)
- 1720 - Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
- 1804 - Richard Lemon Lander, British explorer (d. 1834)
- 1807 - Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and naturalist (d. 1889)
- 1819 - John Ruskin, English author
- 1820 - William Tecumseh Sherman, American Union general (d. 1891)
- 1828 - Jules Verne, French author (d. 1905)
- 1834 - Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (d. 1907)
- 1851 - Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)
- 1878 - Martin Buber, German philosopher (d. 1965)
- 1880 - Franz Marc, German painter (d. 1916)
- 1886 - Charles Ruggles, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1888 - Dame Edith Evans, British actress (d. 1976)
- 1894 - Ludwig Marcuse, German author and philosopher (d. 1971)
- 1895 - King Vidor, American film director (d. 1982)
- 1902 - Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (d. 1966)
- 1903 - Greta Keller, Austrian-born cabaret singer and actress (d. 1977)
- 1906 - Chester Carlson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1968)
- 1911 - Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (d. 1979)
- 1911 - Big Joe Turner, American singer (d. 1985)
- 1918 - Fred Blassie, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1920 - Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1925 - Jack Lemmon, American actor and film director (d. 2001)
- 1926 - Neal Cassady, American writer (d. 1968)
- 1926 - Audrey Meadows, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1930 - Alejandro Rey, Argentine actor (d. 1987)
- 1931 - James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
- 1932 - John Williams, American composer and conductor
- 1933 - Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
- 1933 - Jack Larson, American actor
- 1937 - Manfred Krug, German actor
- 1940 - Ted Koppel, American journalist
- 1941 - Nick Nolte, American actor
- 1942 - Robert Klein, American comedian
- 1942 - Terry Melcher, American musician and record producer (d. 2004)
- 1948 - John Ford Coley, American pop singer
- 1949 - Brooke Adams, American actress
- 1950 - Dan Seals, American singer
- 1953 - Mary Steenburgen, American actress
- 1955 - John Grisham, American novelist
- 1961 - Vince Neil, American musician
- 1968 - Gary Coleman, American actor
- 1972 - Paul Wight, American professional wrestler
- 1974 - Seth Green, American actor
- 1977 - Dave Farrell, American musician (Linkin Park)
- 1977 - Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist
- 1983 - Jim Verraros, American singer
- 1987 - Jessica Huang, Saudi Arabian born Asian-American actress

Deaths


- 1250 - Robert I of Artois, French crusader (killed in battle) (b. 1216)
- 1250 - William II Longespee
- 1265 - Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
- 1296 - King Przemysł II of Poland (b. 1257)
- 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots (executed) (b. 1542)
- 1599 - Robert Rollock, Scottish educator
- 1623 - Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English politician (b. 1546)
- 1696 - Tsar Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
- 1709 - Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer (b. 1658)
- 1725 - Tsar Peter I of Russia (b. 1672)
- 1749 - Jan van Huysum, Dutch painter (b. 1682)
- 1750 - Aaron Hill, English writer (b. 1685)
- 1768 - George Dance the Elder, English architect (b. 1695)
- 1772 - Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales (b. 1719)
- 1849 - France Prešeren, Slovenian poet (b. 1800)
- 1856 - Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist (b. 1773)
- 1910 - Hans Jæger, Norwegian writer and political activist (b. 1854)
- 1921 - Peter Kropotkin, Russian anarchist (b. 1842)
- 1929 - Maria Christina, Queen Regent of Spain (b. 1858)
- 1956 - Connie Mack, baseball commissioner and manager (b. 1862)
- 1957 - Walther Bothe, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- 1957 - John von Neumann, Hungarian-born mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
- 1960 - Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect (b. 1880)
- 1964 - Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist (b. 1888)
- 1973 - Max Yasgur, American Woodstock Festival host
- 1975 - Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
- 1977 - Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist (b. 1901)
- 1984 - Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer (b. 1903)
- 1985 - Sir William Lyons, British automobile manufacturer
- 1990 - Del Shannon, American entertainer (suicide) (b. 1934)
- 1993 - N. Shanmugathasan, Sri Lankan communist leader
- 1994 - Raymond Scott, American actor and inventor
- 1998 - Halldór Laxness, Icelandic writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1998 - Julian Lincoln Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
- 1999 - Iris Murdoch, Irish author (b. 1919)
- 2000 - Sid Abel, Canadian hockey player and coach
- 2000 - Derrick Thomas, American football player
- 2001 - Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director
- 2002 - Joachim Hoffmann, German historian
- 2004 - Julius Schwartz, American comic book and science fiction editor

Holidays and observances


- Feast day of Saint Jerome Emiliani
- Slovenia - Prešeren Day, the Slovenian cultural holiday

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/8 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050208.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- February 7 - February 9 - January 8 - March 8 -- listing of all days ko:2월 8일 ja:2月8日 nb:8. februar simple:February 8 th:8 กุมภาพันธ์

September 19

September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). There are 103 days remaining.

Events


- 1356 - In the Battle of Poitiers, the English defeat the French.
- 1692 - Giles Corey is pressed to death after refusing to plead in the Salem witch trials.
- 1777 - First Battle of Saratoga/Battle of Freeman's Farm/Battle of Bemis Heights
- 1778 - The Continental Congress passes the first budget of the United States
- 1796 - George Washington makes his farewell address
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Iuka - Union troops under General William Rosecrans defeat a Confederate force commanded by General Sterling Price at Iuka, Mississippi
- 1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Chickamauga
- 1893 - Women's suffrage: In New Zealand, the Electoral Act of 1893 is consented to by the governor giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote, beginning with the 1893 New Zealand general election.
- 1900 - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid commit their first robbery together
- 1934 - Bruno Hauptmann is arrested for the murder of Charles Lindbergh Junior.
- 1944 - Armistice between Finland and Soviet Union signed. (End of the Continuation War)
- 1945 - Lord Haw Haw (William Joyce) sentenced to death in London
- 1946 - The Council of Europe is founded following a speech given by Winston Churchill at the University of Zurich.
- 1952 - The US bars Charlie Chaplin from reentering the country after a trip to England
- 1957 - First U.S. underground nuclear bomb test
- 1957 - Dalida is the first artist to be awarded a gold record in France for 300 000 sales of "Bambino".
- 1959 - Nikita Khrushchev is barred from visiting Disneyland.
- 1970 - Grateful Dead at Fillmore East.
- 1972 - A parcel bomb sent to Israeli Embassy in London kills one diplomat.
- 1973 - King Carl XVI Gustaf accedes to the throne of Sweden
- 1976 - A Turkish Boeing 727 hits a mountain in southern Turkey killing 155
- 1978 - Newspaper boy Carl Bridgewater is shot dead after disturbing burglars at a farm, leading to famous murder trial.
- 1981 - Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunite for a free concert in New York's Central Park
- 1982 - Scott Fahlman posts the first recorded instance of the emoticon :-) to an online bulletin board
- 1983 - Saint Kitts and Nevis gains its independence.
- 1985 - A strong earthquake hits Mexico City and other parts of Mexico, killing thousands and demolishing about 400 buildings.
- 1985 - Tipper Gore and other political wives form the Parents Music Resource Center.
- 1989 - A terrorist bomb explodes UTA Flight 772 in mid-air above the Tùnùrù Desert, Niger, killing 171.
- 1989 - Hurricane Hugo makes landfall in the U.S. state of South Carolina.
- 1991 - Ötzi the Iceman is discovered by a couple of German tourists.
- 1994 - The pilot episode of the hit medical drama ER airs in the United States, on NBC.
- 1995 - The Washington Post and the New York Times publish the Unabomber's manifesto.
- 1997 - Guelb El-Kebir massacre in Algeria; 53 killed.

Births


- 86 - Antoninus Pius, Roman Emperor (d. 161)
- 866 - Leo VI, Byzantine Emperor (d. 912)
- 1377 - Duke Albert IV of Austria (d. 1404)
- 1551 - King Henry III of France (d. 1589)
- 1676 - Eberhard IV Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1733)
- 1714 - Charles Humphreys, American delegate to the Continental Congress (d. 1786)
- 1737 - Charles Carroll of Carrollton, American signer of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Senator (d. 1832)
- 1749 - Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre, French mathematician (d. 1822)
- 1759 - William Kirby, English entomologist (d. 1850)
- 1778 - Henry Peter Brougham, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
- 1811 - Orson Pratt, American religious leader (d. 1881)
- 1828 - Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1880)
- 1894 - John D. Dingell, U.S. Congressman from Michigan (d. 1955)
- 1901 - Joe Pasternak, Russian-born film producer (d. 1991)
- 1905 - Leon Jaworski, American Watergate scandal special prosecutor (d. 1982)
- 1908 - Mika Waltari, Finnish novelist (d. 1979)
- 1909 - Ferry Porsche, Austrian automobile pioneer (d. 1998)
- 1911 - Sir William Golding, English writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
- 1912 - Kurt Sanderling, German conductor
- 1913 - Frances Farmer, American actress (d. 1970)
- 1919 - Mary Midgley, American philosopher
- 1920 - Roger Angell, American sports writer
- 1922 - Damon Knight, American writer (d. 2002)
- 1922 - Emil Zátopek, Czech athlete (d. 2000)
- 1922 - Dana Zátopková, Czech runner
- 1926 - Masatoshi Koshiba, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1926 - Duke Snider, baseball player
- 1928 - William Hickey, American actor (d. 1997)
- 1928 - Adam West, American actor
- 1930 - Antonio Margheriti, Italian filmmaker
- 1931 - Brook Benton, American singer (d. 1988)
- 1933 - David McCallum, Scottish actor
- 1934 - Brian Epstein, English musical group manager (the Beatles) (d. 1967)
- 1935 - Benjamin Hacker, American naval aviator (d. 2003)
- 1936 - Al Oerter, American athlete
- 1937 - Abner Haynes, American football player
- 1940 - Paul Williams, American composer
- 1941 - Mama Cass Elliot, American musician (d. 1974)
- 1942 - Freda Payne, American singer and actress
- 1943 - Joe Morgan, baseball player
- 1945 - Randolph Mantooth, American actor
- 1948 - Jeremy Irons, English actor
- 1949 - Twiggy Lawson, English model
- 1950 - Joan Lunden, American journalist and television host
- 1952 - Nile Rodgers, American musician and composer
- 1958 - Lita Ford, English singer
- 1958 - Kevin Hooks, American actor and director
- 1958 - Azumah Nelson, Ghanian boxer
- 1963 - David Seaman, English footballer
- 1964 - Trisha Yearwood, American singer
- 1965 - Alexandra Vandernoot, Belgian actress
- 1967 - Jim Abbott, American baseball player
- 1967 - Alexander Karelin, Russian wrestler
- 1973 - Nick Colgan, Irish footballer
- 1974 - Jimmy Fallon, American actor and comedian
- 1974 - Victoria Silvstedt, Swedish model
- 1979 - Dannielle Brent, British actress

Deaths


- 690 - Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 602)
- 1339 - Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan (b. 1288)
- 1356 - Killed at the Battle of Poitiers:
  - Peter I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1311)
  - Walter VI of Brienne, Constable of France (born 1304)
- 1668 - William Waller, English soldier
- 1692 - Giles Cory, American farmer killed in the Salem Witch Trials
- 1693 - Janez Vajkard Valvasor, Slovenian polymath (b. 1641)
- 1710 - Ole Rømer, Danish astronomer (b. 1644)
- 1881 - James Garfield, 20th President of the United States (b. 1831)
- 1927 - Michael Peter Ancher, Danish painter (b. 1849)
- 1935 - Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, Russian rocket scientist (b. 1857)
- 1938 - Pauline Frederick, American actress (b. 1883)
- 1942 - Condé Nast, American publisher (b. 1873)
- 1949 - Will Cuppy, American humorist (b. 1884)
- 1949 - Nikolaos Skalkottas, Greek composer (b. 1901)
- 1967 - Zinaida Serebryakova, Russian painter (b. 1884)
- 1968 - Chester Carlson, American inventor (b. 1906)
- 1968 - Red Foley, American singer (b. 1910)
- 1969 - Rex Ingram, American actor (b. 1895)
- 1972 - Robert Casadesus, French pianist (b. 1899)
- 1973 - Gram Parsons, American musician (b. 1946)
- 1985 - Italo Calvino, Italian writer (b. 1923)
- 1987 - Einar Gerhardsen, Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1897)
- 1990 - Hermes Pan, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1910)
- 1997 - Rich Mullins, American singer (b. 1955)
- 2003 - Slim Dusty, Australian singer (b. 1927)
- 2002 - Robert Guéï, ruler of Côte d'Ivoire (b. 1941)
- 2004 - Skeeter Davis, American singer (b. 1931)
- 2004 - Ellis Marsalis, Sr., American businessman, musician, and activist

Holidays and observances


- In ancient Greece, the sixth day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the procession to Eleusis began at the Kerameikos in Athens.
- RC Saints - Saint Januarius Also see September 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Church of England - Theodore of Tarsus
- Chile - Day of the Glories of the Army
- Japan - Respect for the Aged Day (beginning in 2003, Respect for the Aged Day is held on the third Monday of September.)
- Saint Kitts and Nevis - Independence Day (from Great Britain, 1983)
- International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Fictional


- Hermione Granger's birthday, from J.K. Rowling's series Harry Potter.
- Heine Westenfluss's birthday, from Gundam SEED DESTINY.

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/19 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050919.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- September 18 · September 20 · August 19 · October 19 · more historical anniversaries ko:9월 19일 ms:19 September ja:9月19日 simple:September 19 th:19 กันยายน

United States

:For alternative meanings, see the disambiguation page for US, USA, United States, or American. The United States of America is a federal democratic republic situated primarily in central North America. It comprises 50 states and one federal district, and has several territories. It is also referred to, with varying formality, as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., the States, or simply and most commonly, America. The official founding date of the United States is July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress—representing thirteen British colonies—adopted the Declaration of Independence. However, the structure of the government was profoundly changed in 1788, when the states replaced the Articles of Confederation with the United States Constitution. The date on which each of the fifty states adopted the Constitution is typically regarded as the date that state "entered the Union" (became part of the United States). Since the mid-20th century, following World War II, the United States has emerged as a dominant global influence in economic, political, military, scientific, technological, and cultural affairs.

Geography and climate

The United States shares land borders with Canada (to the north) and Mexico (to the south), and territorial water boundaries with Canada, Russia, the Bahamas, and numerous smaller nations. It is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, in the west; the Arctic Ocean, in the northernmost areas; and the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, in the eastern and southeastern areas. Forty-eight of the states are in the single region between Canada and Mexico; this group is referred to, with varying precision and formality, as the continental or contiguous United States, sometimes abbreviated CONUS, and as the Lower 48. Alaska, which is not included in the term contiguous United States, is at the northwestern end of North America, separated from the Lower 48 by Canada. The archipelago of Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean. The capital city, Washington, District of Columbia is a federal district located on land donated by the state of Maryland. (Virginia also donated land, but it was returned in 1847.) The United States also has overseas territories with varying levels of independence and organization. When inland water is included in the total area, only Russia and Canada are larger than the United States; if inland water is excluded, China ranks third and the U.S. ranks fourth. The United States' total area is 3,718,711 square miles (9,631,418 km²), of which land makes up 3,537,438 square miles (9,161,923 km²) and water makes up 181,273 square miles (469,495 km²). The United States' landscape is one of the most varied among those of the world's nations: among its many features are temperate forestland and rolling hills, on the east coast; mangrove, in Florida; the Great Plains, in the center of the country; the Mississippi–Missouri river system; the Great Lakes, four of the five of which are shared with Canada; the Rocky Mountains, west of the Great Plains; deserts and temperate coastal zones, west of the Rocky Mountains; and temperate rain forests, in the Pacific northwest. Alaska's tundra, and the volcanic, tropical islands of Hawaii add to the geographic diversity. Hawaii The climate varies along with the landscape, from tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida to tundra in Alaska and atop some of the highest mountains. Most of the North and East experience a temperate continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. Most of the South experiences a subtropical humid climate with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers. Rainfall decreases markedly from the humid forests of the Eastern Great Plains to the semi-arid shortgrass prairies on the high plains abutting the Rocky Mountains. Arid deserts, including the Mojave, extend through the lowlands and valleys of the southwest, from westernmost Texas to California and northward throughout much of Nevada. Some parts of California have a Mediterranean climate. Rainforests line the windward mountains of the Pacific Northwest from Oregon to Alaska.

History

American history started with the migration of people from Asia across the Bering land bridge approximately 12,000 years ago following large animals that they hunted into the Americas. These Native Americans left evidence of their presence in petroglyphs, burial mounds, and other artifacts. It is estimated that 2-9 million people lived in the territory now occupied by the U.S. before European contact, and the subsequent introduction of foreign diseases such as small pox that greatly diminished the native populations. Some advanced societies were the Anasazi of the southwest, who inhabited Chaco Canyon, and the Woodland Indians, who built Cahokia, located near present-day St Louis, a city with a population of 40,000 at its peak in AD 1200. Vikings first visited North America around 1000, but did not settle permanently. Following the discovery voyages of Christopher Columbus around 1492, other Europeans began to explore and settle there. During the 1500s and 1600s, the Spanish settled parts of the present-day Southwest and Florida, founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565 and Santa Fe (in what is now New Mexico) in 1607. The first successful English settlement was at Jamestown, Virginia, also in 1607. Within the next two decades, several Dutch settlements, including New Amsterdam (the predecessor to New York City), were established in what are now the states of New York and New Jersey. In 1637, Sweden established a colony at Fort Christina (in what is now Delaware), but lost the settlement to the Dutch in 1655. This was followed by extensive British settlement of the east coast. The British colonists remained relatively undisturbed by their home country until after the French and Indian War, when France ceded Canada and the Great Lakes region to Britain. Britain then imposed taxes on the 13 colonies, widely regarded by the colonists as unfair because they were denied representation in the British Parliament. Tensions between Britain and the colonists increased, and the thirteen colonies eventually rebelled against British rule. British Parliament, George Washington (1789-1797).]] In 1776, the 13 colonies split from Great Britain and formed the United States, the world's first constitutional and democratic federal republic, after their Declaration of Independence of that year, and the Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783). The original political structure was a confederation in 1777, ratified in 1781 as the Articles of Confederation. After long debate, this was supplanted by the Constitution in 1789, forming a more centralized federal government. Prior to all these was the Albany Congress in 1754, in which a union was first seriously proposed. From early colonial times, there was a shortage of labor, which encouraged unfree labor, particularly indentured servitude and slavery. In the mid-19th century, a major division occurred in the United States over the issue of states' rights and the expansion of slavery. The northern states had become opposed to slavery, while the southern states saw it as necessary for the continued success of southern agriculture and wanted it expanded to the territories. Several federal laws were passed in an attempt to settle the dispute, including the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. The dispute reached a crisis in 1861, when seven southern states seceded1 from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, leading to the Civil War. Soon after the war began, four more southern states seceded. During the war, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, mandating the freedom of all slaves in states in rebellion, though full emancipation did not take place until after the end of the war in 1865, the dissolution of the Confederacy, and the Thirteenth Amendment took effect. The Civil War effectively ended the question of a state's right to secede, and is widely accepted as a major turning point after which the federal government became more powerful than state governments. Thirteenth Amendment). The title of the painting, from a 1726 poem by Bishop Berkeley, was a phrase often quoted in the era of Manifest Destiny, expressing a widely held belief that civilization had steadily moved westward throughout history. [http://americanart.si.edu/t2go/1lw/1931.6.1.html (more)] ]] During the 19th century, many new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the continent. Manifest Destiny was a philosophy that encouraged westward expansion in the United States. As the population of the Eastern states grew and as a steady increase of immigrants entered the country, settlers moved steadily westward across North America. In the process, the U.S. displaced most American Indian nations. This displacement of American Indians continues to be a matter of contention in the U.S. with many tribes attempting to assert their original claims to various lands. In some areas American Indian populations were reduced by foreign diseases contracted through contact with European settlers, and US settlers acquired those emptied lands. In other instances American Indians were removed from their traditional lands by force. Though some would say the U.S. was not a colonial power until the Spanish-American War when it acquired Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, the dominion exercised over land in North America the United States claimed is essentially colonial. The Philippines became independent in 1946. During this period, the nation also became an industrial power. This continued into the 20th century, which has been termed "the American Century" because of the nation's overriding influence on the world. The US became a center for innovation and technological development; major technologies that America either developed or was greatly involved in improving include the telephone, television, computer, the Internet, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, aviation, and aeronautics. In addition to the Civil War, another major traumatic experience for the nation was the Great Depression (1929 to 1939). The nation has also taken part in several major foreign wars, including World War I and World War II (in both of which the US later joined the Allies). During the Cold War, the US was a major player in the Korean War and Vietnam War, and, along with the Soviet Union, was considered one of the world's two "superpowers". With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US emerged as the world's leading economic and military power. Beginning in the 1990s, the United States became very involved in police actions and peacekeeping, including actions in Kosovo, Haiti, Somalia and Liberia, and the first Persian Gulf War driving Iraq out of Kuwait. After attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the United States and other allied nations found themselves involved in what has come to be called the "War on Terrorism," which has primarily encompassed military actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Government

Iraq of the United States.]]

Republic and suffrage

The United States is an example of a constitutional republic, with a government composed of and operating through a set of limited powers imposed by its design and enumerated in the United States Constitution. Specifically, the nation operates as a presidential democracy. There are three levels of government: federal, state, and local. Officials of each of these levels are either elected by eligible voters via secret ballot or appointed by other elected officials. Americans enjoy almost universal suffrage from the age of 18 regardless of race, sex, or wealth. There are some limits, however: felons are disenfranchised and in some states former felons are likewise. Furthermore, the national representation of territories and the federal district of Washington, DC in Congress is limited: residents of the District of Columbia are subject to federal laws and federal taxes but their only Congressional representative is a non-voting delegate.

Federal government

The federal government is the national government, comprising the Legislative Branch (led by Congress), the Executive Branch (led by the President), and the Judicial Branch (led by the Supreme Court). These three branches were designed to apply checks and balances on each other. The Constitution limits the powers of the federal government to defense, foreign affairs, the issuing and management of currency, the management of trade and relations between the states, and the protection of human rights. In addition to these explicitly stated powers, the federal government—with the assistance of the Supreme Court—has gradually extended these powers into such areas as welfare and education, on the basis of the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution.

The Congress

necessary and proper The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 435 members, each of whom represents a congressional district and serves for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population; in contrast, each state has two Senators, regardless of population. There are a total of 100 senators, who serve six-year terms. The powers of Congress are limited to those enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the states and the people. The Constitution also includes the necessary-and-proper clause, which grants Congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers."

The President

necessary-and-proper clause At the top level of the executive branch is the President of the United States. The President and Vice-President are elected as 'running mates' for four-year terms by the Electoral College, for which each state, as well as the District of Columbia, is allocated a number of seats based on its representation (or ostensible representation, in the case of D. C.) in both houses of Congress (see U.S. Electoral College). The relationship between the President and the Congress reflects that between the English monarchy and parliament at the time of the framing of the United States Constitution. Congress can legislate to constrain the President's executive power, even with respect to his or her command of the armed forces; however, this power is used only very rarely—a notable example was the constraint placed on President Richard Nixon's strategy of bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam War. The President cannot directly propose legislation, and must rely on supporters in Congress to promote his or her legislative agenda. The President's signature is required to turn congressional bills into law; in this respect, the President has the power—only occasionally used—to veto congressional legislation. Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses. The ultimate power of Congress over the President is that of impeachment or removal of the elected President through a House vote, a Senate trial, and a Senate vote. The threat of using this power has had major political ramifications in the cases of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton. The President makes around 2,000 executive appointments, including members of the Cabinet and ambassadors, which must be approved by the Senate; the President can also issue executive orders and pardons, and has other Constitutional duties, among them the requirement to give a State of the Union address to Congress once a year. Although the President's constitutional role may appear to be constrained, in practice, the office carries enormous prestige that typically eclipses the power of Congress: the Presidency has justifiably been referred to as 'the most powerful office in the world'. The Vice President is first in the line of succession, and is the President of the Senate ex officio, with the ability to cast a tie-breaking vote. The members of the President's Cabinet are responsible for administering the various departments of state, including the Department of Defense, the Justice Department, and the State Department. These departments and department heads have considerable regulatory and political power, and it is they who are responsible for executing federal laws and regulations. George W. Bush is the 43rd President, currently serving his second term.

The Courts

George W. Bush The highest court is the Supreme Court, which consists of nine justices. The court deals with federal and constitutional matters, and can declare legislation made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. Below the Supreme Court are the courts of appeals, and below them in turn are the district courts, which are the general trial courts for federal law. Separate from, but not entirely independent of, this federal court system are the individual court systems of each state, each dealing with its own laws and having its own judicial rules and procedures. A case may be appealed from a state court to a federal court only if there is a federal question; the supreme court of each state is the final authority on the interpretation of that state's laws and constitution.

State and local governments

supreme court of each state. Note that Alaska and Hawaii are shown at different scales, and that the Aleutian Islands and the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are omitted from this map.]] The state governments have the greatest influence over people's daily lives. Each state has its own written constitution and has different laws. There are sometimes great differences in law and procedure between the different states, concerning issues such as property, crime, health, and education. The highest elected official of each state is the Governor. Each state also has an elected legislature (bicameral in every state except Nebraska), whose members represent the different parts of the state. Of note is the New Hampshire legislature, which is the third-largest legislative body in the English-speaking world, and has one representative for every 3,000 people. Each state maintains its own judiciary, with the lowest level typically being county courts, and culminating in each state supreme court, though sometimes named differently. In some states, supreme and lower court justices are elected by the people; in others, they are appointed, as they are in the federal system. The institutions that are responsible for local government are typically town, city, or county boards, making laws that affect their particular area. These laws concern issues such as traffic, the sale of alcohol, and keeping animals. The highest elected official of a town or city is usually the mayor. In New England, towns operate directly democratically, and in some states, such as Rhode Island and Connecticut, counties have little or no power, existing only as geographic distinctions. In other areas, county governments have more power, such as to collect taxes and maintain law enforcement agencies.

Political divisions

With the Declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies proclaimed themselves to be nation states modeled after the European states of the time. Although considered as sovereigns initially, under the Articles of Confederation of 1781 they entered into a "Perpetual Union" and created a fully sovereign federal state, delegating certain powers to the national Congress, including the right to engage in diplomatic relations and to levy war, while each retaining their individual sovereignty, freedom and independence. But the national government proved too ineffective, so the administrative structure of the government was vastly reorganized with the United States Constitution of 1789. Under this new union, the continued status of the individual states as sovereign nation states fell into dispute in 1861, as several states attempted to secede from the union; in response, then-President Abraham Lincoln claimed that such secession was illegal, and the result was the American Civil War. Since the Union victory in 1865, the independent status of the individual states has not been broached again by any state, and the status of each state within the union has been deemed by mainstream officials and academics to be settled as being subordinate to the union as a whole. In subsequent years, the number of states grew steadily due to western expansion, the purchase of lands by the national government from other nation states, and the subdivision of existing states, resulting in the current total of 50. The states are generally divided into smaller administrative regions, including counties, cities and townships. The United States–Canadian border is the longest undefended political boundary in the world. The U.S. is divided into three distinct sections:
- the "continental United States," also known as "the Lower 48" and more accurately termed the conterminous, coterminous or contiguous United States
- Alaska, which is physically connected only to Canada
- the archipelago of Hawaii, in the central Pacific Ocean. The United States also holds several other territories, districts, and possessions, notably the federal district of the District of Columbia, which is the nation's capital, and several overseas insular areas, the most significant of which are American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Palmyra Atoll is the United States' only incorporated territory; it is unorganized and uninhabited. The United States Navy has held a base at a portion of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 1898. The United States government possesses a lease to this land, which only mutual agreement or United States abandonment of the area can terminate. The present Cuban government of Fidel Castro disputes this arrangement, claiming Cuba was not truly sovereign at the time of the signing. The United States argues this point moot because Cuba apparently ratified the lease post-revolution, and with full sovereignty, when it cashed one rent check in accordance with the disputed treaty.

Foreign relations and military

sovereign] The immense military and economic dominance of the United States has made foreign relations an especially important topic in its politics, with considerable concern about the image of the United States throughout the world. Reactions towards the United States by other nationalities are often strong, ranging from uninhibited admiration and mimicking of all things American to anti-Americanism. US foreign policy has swung about several times over the course of its history between the poles of strict isolationism and imperialism and everywhere in between. Three of the nation's four military branches are administered by the Department of Defense: the Army, the Navy (including the Marine Corps), and the Air Force. The Coast Guard falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime, but is placed under the Department of the Navy in time of war. The combined United States armed forces consist of 1.4 million active duty personnel, along with several hundred thousand each in the Reserves and the National Guard. Military conscription ended in 1973. The United States Armed forces are considered to be the most powerful military (of any sort) on Earth and their force projection capabilities are unrivaled by any other nation. The 2005 defense budget amounted to $401.7 billion, which is an increase of 4% over 2004 and of 35% since 2001. Over 50% of that number is spent in research & development. (For comparison, in 2004 the European Union (considered as the second-largest military force) had a combined total of 1.6 million troops, and a defense budget of €160 billion, with less than 10% of that being spent on R&D.)

Largest cities

The United States has dozens of major cities, including 11 of the 55 global cities of all types — with three "alpha" global cities: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The figures expressed below are for populations within city limits. A different ranking is evident when considering U.S. metro area populations, although the top three would be unchanged. Note that some cities not listed (such as Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.) are still considered important on the basis of other factors and issues, including culture, economics, heritage, and politics. The twenty largest cities, based on the United States Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, are as follows:

Economy

The United States has the largest single-country economy in the world, with a per-capita gross domestic product of $40,100. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. gross domestic product The largest industry of the U.S. is now service, which employs roughly three quarters of the U.S. work force. The United States has many natural resources, including oil and gas, metals, and such minerals as gold, soda ash, and zinc. In agriculture, the U.S. is a top producer of, among other crops, corn, soy beans, and wheat; the United States is a net exporter of food. The U.S. manufacturing sector produces goods such as, cars, airplanes, steel, and electronics, among many others. Economic activity varies greatly from one part of the country to another, with many industries being largely dependent on a certain city or region; New York City is the center of the American financial, publishing, broadcasting, and advertising industries; Silicon Valley is the country’s primary location for high-technology companies, while Los Angeles is the most important center for film production. The Midwest is known for its reliance on manufacturing and heavy industry, with Detroit, Michigan, serving as the center of the American automotive industry; the Great Plains are known as the "breadbasket" of America for their tremendous agricultural output; the intermountain region serves as a mining hub and natural gas resource; the Pacific Northwest for fish and timber, while Texas is largely associated with the oil industry; the Southeast is a major hub for both medical research and the textiles industry. Several countries continue to link their currency to the dollar or even use it as a currency (such as Ecuador), although this practice has subsided since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. Many markets are also quoted in dollars, such as those of oil and gold. The dollar is also the predominant reserve currency in the world, and more than half of global reserves are in dollars. The largest trading partner of the United States is Canada (19%), followed by China (12%), Mexico (11%), and Japan (8%). More than 50% of total trade is with these four countries. In 2003, the United States was ranked as the third most visited tourist destination in the world; its 40,400,000 visitors ranked behind France's 75,000,000 and Spain's 52,500,000. Labor unions have existed since the 19th century, and grew large and powerful from the 1930s to the 1950s. See Labor history of the United States. Since 1970 they have shrunk in the private sector and now cover fewer than 8% of the workers. However union membership has grown rapidly in the public sector, especially among teachers, nurses, police, postal workers, and municipal clerks. There have been few strikes in recent years. The United States' imports exceed exports by 80%, leading to an annual trade deficit of $700,000,000,000, or 6% of gross domestic product. It is the largest debtor nation in the world, with total gross foreign debt of over $13,000,000,000,000 (2005 estimate); and it absorbs more than 50% of global savings annually. Since the 1980s, the U.S. has increased the use of neoliberal economic policies that reduce government intervention and reduce the size of the welfare state, backing away from the more interventionist Keynsian economic policies that had been in favor since the Great Depression. As a result, the United States provides fewer government-delivered social welfare services than most industrialized nations, choosing instead to keep its tax burden lower and relying more heavily on the free market and private charities. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than the national level ($5.15 per-hour), including the highest, Washington State at $7.35. Twenty-six states are the same as the federal level; two--Ohio and Kansas--are below; and six do not have state laws. America's wealth is relatively highly concentrated. The average C.E.O. earns 500 times the typical amount a worker grosses, this is up from 25 times in the late 1970s. In terms of wealth the top 1% of Americans own 40% of all assets and 50.1% of the country's income goes to the top twenty percent of households. Average wages for the majority of employees have been largely stagnating since the 1970s. America's poverty line defined as a family of four earning less than $19,157 is at 12.7% of the general population. Approximately one out of every five children in the United States grows up below the official poverty line. Among racial groups; African Americans have the lowest median income while Asians had the highest. Regionally, the southern states had the lowest median incomes while the West Coast and New England had the highest. The current Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan remarked that the U.S.’s growing income inequality since the 1970s is, "not the type of thing which a democratic society - a capitalist democratic society - can really accept without addressing."[http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0614/p01s03-usec.html?s=itm] However, Greenspan also noted, "...you can look at the system and say it's got a lot of problems to it, and sure it does. It always has. But you can't get around the fact that this is the most extraordinarily successful economy in history."

Transportation

Alan Greenspan ]] Because the United States is a relatively young nation, most of the development of U.S. cities has taken place since the invention of the automobile. To link its vast territory, the United States built a network of high-capacity, high-speed highways, of which the most important element is the Interstate Highway system, commissioned in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and modeled after the German Autobahn. The United States also has a transcontinental rail system, which is used for moving freight across the lower forty-eight states. Passenger rail service is provided by Amtrak, which serves forty-six of the lower forty-eight states. Many cities in the United States have extensive mass-transit systems. New York City operates one of the world's largest and most heavily used subway systems. The regional rail and bus networks that extend into Long Island, New Jersey, Upstate New York, and Connecticut are among the most heavily used in the world. Air travel is often preferred for destinations over 300 miles (500&nb