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Thomas Blakiston

Thomas Blakiston

Thomas Wright Blakiston (1832 - October 15, 1891) was an English explorer and naturalist. Blakiston explored western Canada with the Palliser Expedition between 1857 and 1859. In 1862 he travelled up the Yangtze River in China, going further than any Westerner before him. He spent the next part of his life in Japan and became one of the major naturalists in that country. He moved to the United States in 1886, dying of pneumonia in San Diego, California. Blakiston was the first person to notice that animals in Hokkaido, Japan's northern island, were related to northern Asian species, whereas those on Honshu to the south were related to those from southern Asia. The Tsugaru Strait between the two islands was therefore established as a major zoogeographical boundary, and became known as the "Blakiston Line". Blakiston collected an owl specimen in Hakodate, Japan in 1883. This was later described by Henry Seebohm and named Blakiston's Fish Owl. Blakiston, Thomas Blakiston, Thomas Blakiston, Thomas Blakiston, Thomas Blakiston, Thomas

1832

1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar).

Events

- February 12 - Ecuador annexes the Galapagos Islands
- February 12 – serious cholera epidemic begins in London from the East London. It is declared officially over in early May but deaths continue. At least 3000 victims
- March 24 - In Hiram, Ohio a group of men beat, tarred and feathered Mormon leader Joseph Smith, Jr.
- April 6 - The Black Hawk War begins
- May 7 - The Treaty of London creates an independent Kingdom of Greece. Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria is chosen King.
- May 11 - Greece is recognized as a sovereign nation - Treaty of Constantinople ends the Greek War of Independence next July
- May 27 - War between the Ottoman Empire and Egypt. The Egyptians, aided by Maronites, seize Acre after a seven-month siege
- May 30 - In the German town of Hambach, a demonstration for civil liberties and against the sectionalism that has prevailed in Germany since the Thirty Years War ends with no result.
- June 4 - The Great Reform Bill becomes law in the U.K.
- June 5 - anti-monarchist riot briefly breaks out in Paris
- June 15 - Seizure of Damascus by Egyptian forces
- July 4 - University of Durham founded, the first in England since 1209.
- July 9 - Republic of Indian Stream comes into its brief existence (until 1835)
- July 10 - President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.
- July 24 - Benjamin Bonneville leads the first wagon train across the Rocky Mountains by using Wyoming's South Pass.
- October 8 - Washington Irving and Henry Leavitt Ellsworth arrive at Fort Gibson, I.T. in the late morning hours. They left the fort on October 10, with a small company of Rangers who escorted them to the camp of Captain Jesse Bean who was waiting for them near the Arkansas River. Thus began one of the first steps in the United States effort to remove the Indians from their homes on the east coast in what would become known as the "Trail of Tears" some six years later.
- November - Andrew Jackson defeats Henry Clay in the U.S. presidential election
- December - Skull and Bones secret society of Yale University established.
- December 21 - Battle of Konya. The Egyptians defeat the main Ottoman army in Central Anatolia.
- December 28 - John C. Calhoun becomes the first Vice President of the United States to resign.
- Cholera epidemic in France
- In July and August there is a cholera epidemic in New York City

Births

- January 6 - Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (d. 1883)
- January 13 - Horatio Alger, Jr., American Unitarian minister and author (d. 1899)
- January 23 - Edouard Manet, French painter (d. 1883)
- January 27 - Lewis Carroll, English author (d. 1898)
- April 19 - José Echegaray y Eizaguirre, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
- May 14 - Charles Peace, British criminal (d. 1879)
- May 28 - Tony Pastor, American vaudeville and theater impresario (d. 1908)
- June 17 - Sir William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (d. 1919)
- July 6 - Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico (d. 1867)
- October 2 - Edward Burnett Tylor, English anthropologist (d. 1917)
- August 8 - King Georg I of Saxony (d. 1904)
- November 29 - Louisa May Alcott, American author (d. 1888)
- December 8 - Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1910)
- December 15 - Gustave Eiffel, French engineer (d. 1923)

Deaths

- March 4 - Jean-François Champollion, French Egyptologist (b. 1790)
- March 10 - Muzio Clementi, Italian composer (b. 1752)
- March 13 - Samuel Eells, Founder of Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity (b. 1810)
- March 22 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer (b. 1749)
- May 13 - Georges Cuvier, French zoologist (b. 1769)
- June 6 - Jeremy Bentham, English philosopher (b. 1748)
- June 23 - James Hall, Scottish geologist (b. 1761)
- September 2 - Franz Xaver, Baron von Zach, Austrian scientific editor and astronomer (b. 1754)
- September 21 - Sir Walter Scott, Scottish writer (b. 1771)
- November 14 - Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Declaration of Independence signer and U.S. Senator (b. 1737) Category:1832 ko:1832년 ms:1832 simple:1832

1891

1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar).

Events

- January 1 - Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany
- January 20 - James Hogg becomes the first native Texan to be governor of that state.
- January 29 - Liliuokalani proclaimed Queen of Hawaii
- March 3 - The International Copyright Act of 1891 was passed by the 51st Congress of the United States of America
- March 9 - 12 - Powerful storm off England's south coast; 14 ships sink
- March 14 - In New Orleans, lynch mob storms the Old Parish Prison and lynches eleven Italians arrested but found innocent for the murder of Police Chief David Hennessey.
- March 17 - The British steamship SS Utopia sinks off the coast of Gibraltar, killing 574.
- April 1 - The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
- May 1 - Nine killed and thirty wounded when troops fire on workers' May Day demonstration in support of eight-hour workday in Fourmies, France.
- May 5 - The Music Hall in New York (now known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with maestro Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
- May 20 - First public display of Thomas Alva Edison's prototype kinetoscope (shown at Edison's Laboratory for a convention of the National Federation of Women's Clubs).
- June 16 - John Abbott becomes Canada's third prime minister.
- June 21 - First long-distance transmission of Alternating current by the Ames power plant near Telluride, Colorado by Lucien and Paul Nunn.
- August 27 - France and Russia conclude defensive alliance.
- October 1 - In California, Stanford University opens its doors
- December 29 - Thomas Edison patents the radio
- Building of The Trans-Siberian Railroad begins (ends 1917)
- The Brahmin teacher and nationalist, Bal Bangadhar tilak, begins agitation for Indian home Rule
- Civil War in Chile
- Kicking Bear surrenders
- Earthquake in Japan kills 25.000
- Famine in Russia
- Maria Skłodowska enters Sorbonne University
- New Scotland Yard becomes the HQ of London Metropolitan Police
- Swiss Army Knife
- Eugene Dubois made first discovery of Homo erectus fossils in Dutch colony of Java.
- Winter - James Naismith invents Basketball
- The Tobacco Protest occurs in Iran
- Oba Ovonramwen seizes the throne of Benin
- Auckland University Students' Association founded

Births

- January 8 - Walther Bothe, German physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 1957)
- February 9 - Ronald Colman, English actor (d. 1958)
- February 11 - J.W. Hearne English cricketer (d. 1965).
- February 27 - David Sarnoff, Russian-born broadcasting pioneer (d. 1971)
- March 10 - Sam Jaffe, American actor (d. 1984)
- March 19 - Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1974)
- March 29 - Yvan Goll, French lyricist and dramatist (d. 1950)
- April 2 - Max Ernst, German painter (d. 1976)
- April 13 - Nella Larsen, American novelist (d. 1964)
- April 17 - George Adamski, Polish-born UFO traveler (d. 1965)
- April 23 - Sergei Prokofiev, Soviet composer (d. 1953)
- May 15 - Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian writer (d. 1940)
- May 16 - Richard Tauber, Austrian tenor (d. 1948)
- May 18 - Rudolf Carnap, German philosopher (d. 1970)
- May 19 - Oswald Boelcke, German World War I pilot (d. 1916)
- May 22 - Eddie Edwards, American jazz trombonist (d. 1963)
- May 23 - Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- May 24 - William F. Albright, American archeologist and Biblical scholar (d. 1971)
- June 9 - Cole Porter, American composer and songwriter (d. 1964)
- June 20 - John A. Costello, second President of Ireland (d. 1976)
- June 21 - Hermann Scherchen, German conductor (d. 1966)
- June 30 - Man Mountain Dean, American professional wrestler (d. 1953)
- July 5 - John Howard Northrop, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- September 12 - Pedro Albizu Campos, advocate of Puerto Rican independence (d. 1965)
- September 14 - William F. Friedman, American cryptographer (d. 1969)
- September 16 - Karl Dönitz, President of Germany (d. 1980)
- September 26 - Charles Munch, French conductor and violinist (d. 1968)
- September 28 - Myrtle Gonzalez, American film and stage actress (d. 1918)
- October 12 - Fumimaro Konoe, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1945)
- October 20 - James Chadwick, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- October 24 - Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic (d. 1961)
- November 14 - Frederick Banting, Canadian physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1941)
- November 15 - Vincent Astor, American philanthropist (d. 1959)
- November 15 - Erwin Rommel, German field marshal (d. 1944)
- December 10 - Nelly Sachs, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
- December 26 - Henry Miller, American writer (d. 1980)

Deaths

- January 5 - Emma Abbott, American opera singer (b. 1849)
- January 16 - Léo Delibes, French composer (b. 1836)
- January 21 - Calixa Lavallée, Canadian composer (b. 1842)
- March 15 - Théodore de Banville, French writer (b. 1823)
- March 15 - Sir Joseph Bazalgette, English civil engineer (b. 1819)
- April 7 - P. T. Barnum, American showman (b. 1810)
- April 24 - Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Prussian field marshal (b. 1800)
- May 8 - Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Russian-born author and theosophist (b. 1831)
- July 4 - Hannibal Hamlin, Vice President of the United States (b. 1809)
- August 12 - James Russell Lowell, American poet and essayist (b. 1819)
- August 14 - Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady of the United States (b. 1803)
- September 11 - Antero de Quental, Portuguese poet (b. 1842)
- September 15 - Ivan Goncharov, Russian author (b. 1812)
- September 28 - Herman Melville, American novelist (b. 1819)
- October 6 - Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish nationalist leader (b. 1846)
- October 15 - Gilbert Arthur a Beckett, English writer (b. 1837)
- November 10 - Arthur Rimbaud, French poet (b. 1854)
- December 5 - Pedro II, Brazilian deposed emperor (b. 1826)

Fictional events of the year

Sherlock Holmes is believed to have died in the Reichenbach fall with the "Napoleon of crime", Professor James Moriarty. Category:1891 ko:1891년 simple:1891 th:พ.ศ. 2434

England

:For an explanation of often-confusing terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology). England is a nation and the largest and most populous constituent country of the United Kingdom accounting for more than 83% of the total UK population. It occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and shares land borders with fellow home nations Scotland, to the north, and Wales, to the west. Elsewhere, it is bordered by the sea. England is named after the Angles, one of a number of Germanic tribes believed to have originated in Angeln in Northern Germany, who settled in England in the 5th and 6th centuries. It has not had a distinct political identity since 1707, when Great Britain was established as a unified political entity; however, it has a legal identity separate from those of Scotland and Northern Ireland, as part of the entity "England and Wales;". England's largest city, London, is also the capital of the United Kingdom.

History

Main article: History of England England has been inhabited for at least 500,000 years, although the repeated Ice Ages made much of Britain uninhabitable for extended periods until as recently as 20,000 years ago. Stone Age hunter-gatherers eventually gave way to farmers and permanent settlements, with a spectacular and sophisticated megalithic civilisation arising in western England some 4,000 years ago. It was replaced around 1,500 years later by Celtic tribes migrating from Western and continental Europe, mainly from France. These tribes were known collectively as "Britons", a name bestowed by Phoenician traders — an indication of how, even at this early date, the island was part of a Europe-wide trading network. The Britons were significant players in continental politics and supported their allies in Gaul militarily during the Gallic Wars with the Roman Republic. This prompted the Romans to invade and subdue the island, first with Julius Caesar's raid in 55 BC, and then the Emperor Claudius' conquest in the following century. The whole southern part of the island — roughly corresponding to modern day England and Wales — became a prosperous part of the Roman Empire. It was finally abandoned early in the 5th century when a weakening Empire pulled back its legions to defend borders on the Continent. Unaided by the Roman army, Roman Britannia could not long resist the Germanic tribes who arrived in the 5th and 6th centuries, enveloping the majority of modern day England in a new culture and language and pushing Romano-British rule back into modern-day Wales and western extremities of England, notably Cornwall and Cumbria. Others emigrated across the channel to modern-day Brittany, thus giving it its name and language (Breton). But many of the Romano-British remained in and were assimilated into the newly "English" areas. The invaders fell into three main groups: the Jutes, the Saxons, and the Angles. As they became more civilised, recognisable states formed and began to merge with one another. (The most well-known state of affairs being the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy.) From time to time throughout this period, one Anglo-Saxon king, recognised as the "Bretwalda" by other rulers, had effective control of all or most of the English; so it is impossible to identify the precise moment when the Kingdom of England was unified. In some sense, real unity came as a response to the Danish Viking incursions which occupied the eastern half of "England" in the 8th century. Egbert, King of Wessex (d. 839) is often regarded as the first king of all the English, although the title "King of England" was first adopted, two generations later, by Alfred the Great (ruled 871–899). The principal legacy left behind in those territories from which the language of the Britons were displaced is that of toponyms. Many of the place-names in England and to a lesser extent Scotland are derived from celtic British names, including London, Dumbarton, York, Dorchester, Dover and Colchester. Several place-name elements are thought to be wholly or partly Brythonic in origin, particularly bre-, bal-, and -dun for hills, carr for a high rocky place, coomb for a small deep valley. Until recently it has been believed that those areas settled by the Anglo-Saxons were uninhabited at the time or the Britons had fled before them. However, genetic studies show that the British were not pushed out to the Celtic fringes – many tribes remained in what was to become England (see C. Capelli et al. A Y chromosome census of the British Isles. Current Biology 13, 979–984, (2003)). Capelli's findings strengthen the research of Steven Bassett of the University of Birmingham; his work during the 1990s suggests that much of the West Midlands was only very lightly colonised with Anglian and Saxon settlements.

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,—
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

William Shakespeare
Richard II (Act 2, Scene 1)

The English are great lovers of themselves, and of everything belonging to them; they think that there are no other men than themselves, and no other world but England; and whenever they see a handsome foreigner, they say that 'he looks like an Englishman', and that 'it is a great pity that he should not be an Englishmen'.

Venetian ambassador to England
Early 16th century
Charlotte Augusta Sneyd
Italian Relations of England (p. 20)

Richard II] Richard II] In 1066, William the Conqueror and the Normans conquered the existing Kingdom of England and instituted an Anglo-Norman administration and nobility who, retaining proto-French as their language for the next three hundred years, ruled as custodians over English commoners. Although the language and racial distinctions faded rapidly during the middle ages, the class system born in the Norman/Saxon divide persisted longer — arguably with traces lasting to the modern day. While Old English continued to be spoken by common folk, Norman feudal lords significantly influenced the language with French words and customs being adopted over the succeeding centuries evolving to a Romance-Germanic hybrid of Middle English widely spoken in Chaucer's time. England came repeatedly into conflict with Wales and Scotland, at the time an independent principality and an independent kingdom respectively, as its rulers sought to expand Norman power across the entire island of Britain. The conquest of Wales was achieved in the 13th century, when it was annexed to England and gradually came to be a part of that kingdom for most legal purposes, although in the modern era it is more usually thought of as a separate nation (fielding, for example, its own athletic teams). Norman power in Scotland waxed and waned over the years, with the Scots managing to maintain a varying degree of independence despite repeated wars with the English. Although it was on the whole only a moderately successful power in military terms, England became one of the wealthiest states in medieval Europe, due chiefly to its dominance in the lucrative wool market. The failure of English territorial ambitions in continental Europe prompted the kingdom's rulers to look further afield, creating the foundations of the mercantile and colonial network that was to become the British Empire. The turmoil of the Reformation embroiled England in religious wars with Europe's Catholic powers, notably Spain, but the kingdom preserved its independence as much through luck as through the skill of charismatic rulers such as Elizabeth I. Elizabeth's successor, James I was already king of Scotland (as James VI); and this personal union of the two crowns into the crown of Great Brittaine was followed a century later by the Act of Union 1707, which formally unified England, Scotland and Wales into the Kingdom of Great Britain. This later became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801 to 1927) and then the modern state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1927 to present) For post-unification history, see history of the United Kingdom.

Politics

Main article: Politics of the United Kingdom, Government of England Since the promulgation of the 1284 Statute of Rhuddlan and the Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542, Wales has shared a legal identity with England as the joint entity of England and Wales. The Act of Union with the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 created the Kingdom of Great Britain, subsuming England, Wales and Scotland into a single political entity. Scotland, along with Northern Ireland, retain separate legal systems. The duchy of Cornwall also retains some unique rights. All of Great Britain has been ruled by the government of the United Kingdom since that date, although in 1999 the first elections to the newly created Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales left England as the only part of the Union with no devolved assembly or parliament. As all legislation for England is passed by Parliament at Westminster there are some complaints about the ability of non-English Members of Parliament to influence purely English affairs. This apparent anomaly has been highlighted by both English and non-English politicians, often those opposed to devolution, and has become popularly known as the West Lothian question. Administratively, England is something of an anomaly within the UK. Unlike the other three nations, it has no local parliament or government and its administrative affairs are dealt with by a combination of the UK government, the UK parliament and a number of England-specific quangos, such as English Heritage. There are calls from some for a devolved English Parliament and from others for the dissolution of the UK and an independent England. The current Labour government favoured the establishment of regional administration, claiming that England was too large to be governed as a sub-state entity. A referendum on this issue in North East England on 4 November 2004 decisively rejected the proposal. Some criticised the English regional proposals for not decentralising enough, saying that they amounted not to devolution, but to little more than local government reorganisation, with no real power being removed from central government. The English regions would not even have had the limited powers of the Welsh Assembly, much less the tax-varying and legislative powers of the Scottish Parliament. Rather, power was simply re-allocated within the region, with little new resource allocation and no real prospects of Assemblies being able to change the pattern of regional aid. Responsibility for regional transport was added to the proposals late in the process. This was perhaps crucial in the North East, where resentment at the Barnett Formula, which delivers greater regional aid to adjacent Scotland, was a significant impetus for the North East devolution campaign. There has also been a campaign for a Cornish assembly along Welsh lines by groups such as Mebyon Kernow, which recently collected 50,000 signatures in support. Some eurosceptics believe that the establishment of English regions as administrative entities is designed to undermine the concept of English nationhood and more easily fit England into a European federal model. Conventionally the national capital of England is London, although technically it would be more exact to call London the capital of "England and Wales" given England's lack of a distinctive political identity separate from the Principality. Winchester served as the country's first national capital until some time in the late 11th century after the Norman Conquest. The City of London became England's commercial capital, while the City of Westminster (where the Royal court was located) became the political capital. These roles have, broadly speaking, been maintained to the present day.

Subdivisions

Main article: Subdivisions of England Historically, the highest level of local government in England was the county. These divisions had emerged from a range of units of old, pre-unification England, whether they were Kingdoms, such as Essex and Sussex; Duchies, such as Yorkshire, Cornwall and Lancashire or simply tracts of land given to some noble, as is the case with Berkshire. Until 1867, they were subdivided into smaller divisions called hundreds. These counties all still exist in, or near to, their original form as the traditional counties. In many places, however, they have been heavily modified or abolished outright as administrative counties. This came about due to a number of factors. The fact that the counties were so small meant, and still means, that there was no regional government able to coordinate an overarching plan for the area. This was especially true in the metropolitan areas surrounding the cities, as the county lines were usually drawn up before the industrial revolution and the mass urbanisation of England. The solution was the creation of large metropolitan counties centred on cities. These were later broken up, with several other counties, into unitary authorities, unifying the county and district/borough levels of government. London is a special case, and is the one region which currently has a representative authority as well as a directly elected mayor. The 32 London boroughs and the Corporation of London remain the local form of government in the city. Other than Greater London, the official regions are:
- North East England
- North West England
- Yorkshire and the Humber
- West Midlands
- East Midlands
- East of England
- South West England
- South East England Outside London the regions have very little power and are not accountable to elected representatives; regional authority is placed in the hands of unelected assemblies. If, as now seems unlikely, regions opt to replace these bodies with elected assemblies, local government in England will remain as variable and, some might say, as confusing as ever

Geography

Main articles: Geography of the United Kingdom, Geography of England Geography of England England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. It is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of Britain, divided from France only by a 38 km (24 statute mile or 21 nautical mile) sea gap. Most of England consists of rolling hills, but it is more mountainous in the north with a chain of low mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. The dividing line between terrain types is usually indicated by the Tees-Exe line. There is also an area of flat, low-lying marshland in the east, much of which has been drained for agricultural use. The list of England's largest cities is much debated because in British English the normal meaning of city is "a continuously built-up urban area"; these are hard to define and various other definitions are preferred by some people to boost the ranking of their own city. London is by far the largest English city. Manchester and Birmingham vie for second place. A number of other cities, mainly in the north of England, are of substantial size and influence. These include: Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham, Bristol and Sheffield Using the standard U.S. city limits definition of a city the top six are: Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Liverpool and Manchester. Note that London is not on this list (Greater London is a region and the City of London is tiny), and that one of the two candidates for the status of England's "second city", Manchester, is down in sixth. In the UK, this method of ranking cities is generally used only by people whose own city is promoted by it. The Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, links England to the European mainland. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel. The largest harbour in England is at Poole, on the south-central coast. Internationally, it is the second largest harbour in the world, although this fact is disputed (See harbors for a list of other potential second largest harbours) The highest temperature ever recorded in England is 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on August 10, 2003 in Kent. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/3153532.stm]. The lowest temperature ever recorded in England is -26.1 °C (-15.0 °F) on January 10, 1982 at Newport in Shropshire. [http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/location/england/#temperature]

Major rivers

Shropshire.]]
- Thames
- Severn
- Trent
- Humber
- Yorkshire Ouse
- Tyne
- Mersey
- Dee
- Avon Main article: Waterways in the United Kingdom

Major Conurbations

:See main article: List of towns in England The largest cities in England are much debated but according to the urban area populations (continuous built up areas) these would be the 15 largest conurbations. (Population figures taken from 2001 census) #Greater London (8,278,251) #West Midlands (2,284,093) #Greater Manchester (2,244,931) #Leeds/Bradford (1,499,465) #Tyneside (879,996) #Liverpool (816,216) #Nottingham (666,358) #Sheffield (640,720) #Bristol (551,066) #Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton (461,181) #Portsmouth (442,252) #Leicester (441,213) #Bournemouth/Poole (383,713) #Reading (369,804) #Teesside (365,323)

Economy

Main article: Economy of England

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of England, Population of England England is both the most populous and the most ethnically diverse nation in the United Kingdom with around 49 million inhabitants, of which roughly a tenth are from non-White ethnic groups. It is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, second only to the Netherlands. This population is made up of, and descended from, immigrants who have arrived over millennia. The principal waves of migration have been in c. 600 BC (Celts), the Roman period (garrison soldiers from throughout the Empire), 350–550 (Angles, Saxons, Jutes), 800–900 (Vikings, Danes), 1066 (Normans), 1650–1750 (European refugees and Huguenots), 1840–1850 (Irish), 1880–1940 (Irish, Jews), 1950— (Irish, Caribbeans, Africans, South Asians), 1985— (citizens of European Community member states especially Ireland, East Europeans, Iranians, Kurds, refugees). The general prosperity of England as the largest partner of the UK, has also made it a destination for economic migrants particularly from Ireland and Scotland. This segment of English homogeneous society continues to create a diverse and dynamic language that is widely used internationally. The other image of foreign ethnic components in England is still mostly seen as a legacy of the British Empire; especially the Commonwealth of Nations.

English identity

The simplest view is that an English person is someone who is from England and holds British nationality, regardless of his or her racial origin. However, inhabitants of England quite commonly refer to themselves as "British" rather than "English"; centuries of English dominance within the United Kingdom has created a situation where to be English is, as a linguist would put it, an "unmarked" state (i.e. a British person, institution, custom, city, etc. is assumed English unless specified otherwise). The English frequently include their neighbours in the general term "British" while the Scots and Welsh, proud of their separate identities, tend to be more forward about referring to themselves by one of those more specific terms. Although currently a part of England, a notable percentage of those living in Cornwall feel similarly, considering themselves Cornish first. One significant exception is in Northern Ireland, where the Unionist community tend to identify very strongly as "British" (Republicans living in the province are more likely to consider themselves "Irish"), and there is not a "Northern Ireland" or "Northern Irish" identity to the same extent as there is (e.g.) a Scottish one. A person, therefore, using the term "English" to describe him or herself (regardless of personal history) may be going out of his or her way to do so; hence he or she may also be seen (rightly or wrongly, and not necessarily pejoratively) as nationalistic. While Scottish, Welsh, Irish and Cornish patriotism are widely exhibited, specifically English patriotism has often been viewed with suspicion, and most English people feel more comfortable identifying themselves with Britain as a whole. However, this may be to avoid being seen as bullies by their neighbours. The extent to which specifically English patriotism is linked to a right-wing xenophobic agenda has also generated discomfort. The appropriation of English symbols by racist far-right organisations such as the National Front made many people uncomfortable with expressions of Englishness. In recent years, English identity has recently been a topic of debate in the national press, with many English people trying to "reclaim" the term and the flag from the far-right. See English nationalism. One notable exception to the above is in relation to sports, in particular Association football, Rugby football and to a lesser extent Cricket. Transient successes are often accompanied by a revival of the use of the "St George's Cross". While it has not yet replaced the "Union Flag" its use is on the increase. Many English people who have spent a lot of time overseas fall into the habit of referring to themselves as "English". It is the most recognisable designation by speakers of many languages, especially where their own language uses a similar word. Even in other English-speaking countries, people are often perplexed by concepts of "British" or the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". All these distinctions are only possible because there is no "English citizenship" or legal definition of Englishness. Moreover, the hazy understanding many people have of the distinction between "England" and "Britain" compounds the confusion. If in doubt, refer to an "English" person as "British": this will always be correct. It may not be as precise as "English", but it will avoid offence in the event the person is actually from a different part of Britain.

Culture

Union Flag Main article: Culture of England
- English literature
- Sir Thomas Browne
- Geoffrey Chaucer
- John Milton
- William Shakespeare
- Jane Austen
- Mary Shelley
- Charles Dickens
- Thomas Hardy
- George Orwell
- J. R. R. Tolkien
- C. S. Lewis
- Douglas Adams
- List of national parks of England and Wales
- Food and Drink
- English folklore
- English art
- English school of painting
- Music of England

Languages

Music of England.]] As its name suggests, the English language, today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language of England, where it remains the principal tongue today (although not officially designated as such). An Indo-European language in Anglo-Frisian branch of the Germanic family, it is closely related to Scots and Frisian. As the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms merged into England, "Old English" emerged; some of its literature and poetry has survived. Used by aristocracy and commoners alike before the Norman Conquest (1066), English was displaced in cultured contexts under the new regime by the Norman French language of the new Anglo-French aristocracy. Its use was confined primarily to the lower social classes while official business was conducted in a mixture of Latin and French. Over the following centuries, however, English gradually came back into fashion among all classes and for all official business except certain traditional ceremonies. (Some survive to this day.) But Middle English, as it had by now become, showed many signs of French influence, both in vocabulary and spelling. During the Renaissance, many words were coined from Latin and Greek origins; and more recent years, Modern English has extended this custom, being always remarkable for its far-flung willingness to incorporate foreign-influenced words. The law does not recognise any language as being official, but English is the only language used in England for general official business. The other national languages of the UK (Welsh, Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic) are confined to their respective nations, and only Welsh is treated by law as an equal to English (and then only for organisations which do business in Wales). The only non-Anglic native spoken language in England is the Cornish language, a Celtic language spoken in Cornwall, which became extinct in the 19th century but has been revived and is spoken in various degrees of fluency by around 3,500 people. This has no official status (unlike Welsh) and is not required for official use, but is nonetheless supported by national and local government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Cornwall County Council has produced [http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/cornish/strategy/english/engl01.htm a draft strategy] to develop these plans. There is, however, no programme as yet for public bodies to actively promote the language. Scots is spoken by some adjacent to the Anglo-Scottish Border. Most deaf people within England speak British sign language (BSL), a sign language native to Britain. The British Deaf Association estimates that 70,000 people throughout the UK speak BSL as their first or preferred language, but does not give statistics specific to England. Like Cornish, BSL has no official status, but has been granted a degree of recognition by the government. The BBC broadcasts several of its programmes with BSL interpreters. Different languages from around the world, especially from the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, have been brought to England by immigrants. Many of these are widely spoken within ethnic minority communities, including Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Chinese and Vietnamese. These are often used by official bodies to communicate with the relevant sections of the community, particularly in big cities, but this occurs on an "as needed" basis rather than as the result of specific legislative ordinances. Other languages have also traditionally been spoken by minority populations in England, including Romany. Despite the relatively small size of the nation, there are a large number of distinct English regional accents. Those with particularly strong accents may not be easily understood elsewhere in the country.

Nomenclature

The country is named after the Angles, one of several Germanic tribes who settled the country in the 5th and 6th centuries. There are two distinct linguistic patterns for the name of the country. The majority of European languages use names akin to "England":
- "England" (Danish, German, Swedish, Norwegian)
- "Engeland" (Dutch)
- "Inglismaa" (Estonian)
- "Angleterre" (French)
- "Inghilterra" (Italian)
- "Inglaterra" (Spanish, Portuguese, Galician)
- "Anglia" (Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian)
- "Anglija" (Russian, Slovene, Lithuanian, Ukrainian)
- "Engleska" (Croatian, Serbian)
- "Αγγλία" ("Anglía") (Greek)
- "Englanti" (Finnish) The Celtic names are quite different:
- "Bro-Saoz" (Breton)
- "Pow Sows" (Cornish)
- "Sasana" (Irish)
- "Sasainn" (Scottish Gaelic)
- "Lloegr" (Welsh) — but "Saeson" for the inhabitants.
- "Sostyn" (Manx Gaelic) Except for Lloegr, which is an ancient geographic term, these names are all derived from the Saxons, another family of Germanic tribes which arrived at about the same time as the Angles. See: Wiktionary:England for a further list of non-English names for England. "England" is sometimes mistakenly used to refer to the entire United Kingdom, the island of Great Britain, or the British Isles. This may offend people from other parts of the UK. Frequently the English use the less-specific "Britain" or "the UK", even when "England" is technically correct and commonly also use "England" when "Britain" would be correct. Alternative names include:
- the slang "Blighty", from the Hindustani "bila yati" meaning "foreign"
- "Albion", an ancient name popularised by Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy in the 1st century. Supposedly referring to the white (Latin alba) cliffs of Dover, this term has also been interpreted as a relative of Alba, today the Scots Gaelic name for Scotland. Whatever its origins, "Albion" originally referred to the whole island of Great Britain and is still sometimes seen that way today — but is more often used for England.
- More poetically, England has been called "this sceptred isle...this other Eden" and "this green and pleasant land", quotations respectively from the poetry of William Shakespeare (in Richard II) and William Blake (And did those feet in ancient time). The inhabitants of England are the English. The slang terms sometimes used for them include "Sassenachs" (from the Scots Gaelic), "Limeys" (in reference to the citrus fruits carried aboard English sailing vessels to prevent scurvy) and "Pom/Pommy" (used in Australian English and New Zealand English), but these may be perceived as offensive. Also see alternative words for British.

Symbols and insignia

alternative words for British.]] The two traditional symbols of England are the St. George's cross (the English flag) and the Three Lions coat of arms (see above), both derived from the great Norman powers that formed the monarchy – the Cross of Aquitaine and the Lions of Anjou. The three lions were first definitely used by Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) in the late 12th century (although it is also possible that Henry I may have bestowed it on his son Henry before then). Historian Simon Schama has argued that the Three Lions are the true symbol of England because the English throne descended down the Angevin line. A red cross acted as a symbol for many Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries. It became associated with St George and England, along with other countries and cities (such as Georgia, Milan and the Republic of Genoa), which claimed him as their patron saint and used his cross as a banner. It remained in national use until 1707, when the Union Flag (which English and Scottish ships had used at sea since 1606) was adopted for all purposes to unite the whole of Great Britain under a common flag. The flag of England no longer has much of an official role, but it is widely flown by Church of England properties and at sporting events. (Paradoxically, the latter is a fairly recent development; until the late 20th century, it was commonplace for fans of English teams to wave the Union Flag, rather than the St George's Cross). The rose is widely recognised as the national flower of England and is used in a variety of contexts. Predominantly, this is a red rose (which also symbolises Lancashire), such as the badge of the English Rugby Union team. However, a white rose (which also symbolises Yorkshire) or a "tudor rose" (symbolising the end of the War of the Roses) may also be used on different occasions. The Three Lions badge performs a similar role for the English national football team and English national cricket team.

National anthems

Although England does not have an official anthem of its own, the following are widely regarded as English national hymns:
- "Jerusalem:" Words by William Blake, Music by Hubert Parry
- "I Vow to Thee, My Country": Words by Cecil Spring-Rice, Music by Gustav Holst
- "Land of Hope and Glory": Words by A C Benson, Music by Edward Elgar (although this refers to all of Great Britain, not only England)
- "Nimrod": Music by Edward Elgar "God Save The Queen" (the national anthem for the UK as a whole) is usually played for English sporting events (e.g. football matches), although "Land of Hope and Glory" has also been used as the English anthem for the Commonwealth Games. "Rule Britannia" despite being a song about Britain as a whole was often used for the English national football team when they play against another of the home nations but more recently "God Save The Queen" has been used by both the rugby and football teams. Many believe that English teams should use their own anthems, most popular of which is the use of "Jerusalem".

References

- [http://www.statistics.gov.uk Office of National Statistics]

References

External links

- [http://www.enjoyengland.com/ The official website of the English Tourist Board — Enjoy England]
- [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/state/nations/ BBC Nations]: articles on England and her neighbours Category:Monarchies Category:European countries als:England zh-min-nan:England ko:잉글랜드 ms:England ja:イングランド simple:England th:แคว้นอังกฤษ

List of explorers

:Expedition redirects here. See also explorations, sea explorers, astronaut, conquistador, travelogue, the History of Science and Technology and Biography. Also, see International Space Station for ISS explorers, and for the Ford Motor Company's large SUV, see Ford Expedition (especially replacing the Ford Excursion). For the science-fiction book, see Expedition (book). __NOTOC__

A

- Antonio de Abreu (16th century Portuguese explorer of Indonesia)
- Charles Albanel (1616-1696), Canada
- Afonso de Albuquerque (16th century Portuguese naval explorer and viceroy of India)
- Pêro de Alenquer (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Benedict Allen, (1960-), modern day British explorer
- Diego de Almagro
- Francisco de Almeida (16th century Portuguese naval explorer and viceroy of India)
- Pedro de Alvarado
- Francisco Alvarez (16th century Portuguese missionary and explorer in Ethiopia)
- Jorge Álvares (16th century Portuguese, the first to reach China)
- Roald Amundsen, (1872-1928), Norwegian, first at the South Pole, first to navigate the Northwest Passage in a single ship
- Fernão Pires de Andrade (16th century Portuguese merchant in China)
- Salomon August Andrée (1854 – 1897) Swedish, Arctic explorer
- Roy Chapman Andrews, (1884-1960), US explorer
- Diogo de Azambuja (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)

B

- George Back, (1796—1878), British naval officer, several expeditions to the Canadian Arctic
- William Baffin, (1584-1622)
- Samuel Baker, Africa
- Vasco Núñez de Balboa, (c. 1475-1519), Spanish, first to sight the Pacific Ocean, founded Darién, oldest surviving European settlement in the South American continent.
- Pêro de Barcelos (15th century/16th century Portuguese explorer of North America)
- Willem Barents, (1550?-1597), Dutch, died on Novaya Zemlya Northeast Passage
- Heinrich Barth (1821-1865), Northern and Central Africa
- Robert Bartlett (1875-1946), notable Arctic explorer
- George Bass - Australian explorer
- Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta, (1304?-1377?), Moroccan Berber Muslim, visited Mecca several times, travelled to Central Asia, East Africa, China, Tombouctou and other places
- Nicolas Baudin - 18th century French explorer, mapped the West Australian coastline.
- Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian explorer
- Joseph René Bellot French Arctic explorer
- Moric Benovsky, Slovak
- Vitus Bering
- W T Blake The man who led the first attempt to fly round the world in 1922
- Vittorio Bottego (1860,1897), Italian explorer of the Giuba region in northeast Africa
- Pierre Savorgan de Brazza Italian explorer naturalized French. French Congo's founder.
- Saint Brendan - Irish abbot who sailed the Atlantic Ocean
- James Bruce
- William S. Bruce, (1867-1921) Scottish explorer of Antarctica
- Cornelis de Bruijn, (1652-1727), Dutch traveler and artist
- Lafayette Bunnell, (1824-1903), described Yosemite Valley
- Richard Francis Burton, (1821-1890), looking for the source of the Nile, discovered Lake Tanganyika
- Richard E. Byrd, (1888-1957), flew over South Pole

C

- John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), (c. 1450 – 1499), Italian navigator in English service, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to North America
- Pedro Álvares Cabral, (c. 1467-c. 1520), Portuguese navigator, discovered Brazil and Madagascar
- João Rodrigues Cabrilho (16th century Portuguese discoverer of California)
- Alvise Cadamosto (1432-1488), Portuguese explorer of Venetian origin
- Alvaro Caminha (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands)
- Pêro Vaz de Caminha (15th century Portuguese explorer of the sea route to Brazil)
- Diogo Cão, (15th century), Portuguese navigator, explored the area around the West African coast
- Jan Carstensz, (c.1595—?), Dutch explorer of New Guinea coast, navigated the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1623
- Jacques Cartier, (1491-1557), discovered the St. Lawrence River and sailed up it to Montreal; failed in an attempt to set up a colony
- Thomas Cavendish, (died 1592), English sailor and explorer.
- Samuel de Champlain, (c. 1567-1635), established the French colony in Canada; discovered the Great Lakes
- William Clark, (1770-1838), with Meriwether Lewis led the first American expedition to reach the west coast.
- Gonçalo Coelho (15th century/16th century Portuguese explorer of the South American coast)
- Nicolau Coelho (15th century Portuguese explorer of the sea route to Brazil)
- Christopher Columbus, (1451-1506), reached America looking for a searoute to the Indies; discovered various lands and islands and established a colony on Hispaniola
- Niccolò Da Conti, (1395–1469), Venetian explorer of South and Southeast Asia
- James Cook, (1728-1779), explored the Pacific, discovering or mapping many lands and islands
- Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, (c. 1510-1554), explored New Mexico and American southwest
- João Vaz Corte-Real (15th century Portuguese explorer of North America)
- Gaspar Corte-Real (16th century Portuguese explorer of North America)
- Miguel Corte-Real (16th century Portuguese explorer of North America)
- Hernán Cortés, (1485-1547), conquered the Aztec empire in Mexico; sent out expeditions to Baja California
- Juan de la Cosa
- Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (1910-1997), French marine biologist and explorer
- Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral (20th century Portuguese air pioneers, the first to cross the South Atlantic Ocean by air)
- Pero da Covilhã (15th century/16th century Portuguese diplomat and explorer in Ethiopia)
- Tristão da Cunha (16th century Portuguese naval general and discoverer)

D

- Alexandra David-Néel, (1868-1969), French explorer, visited Lhasa, Tibet in 1924
- Semyon Dezhnev, Russian explorer, first European who sailed through Bering Strait
- Bartolomeu Dias, (1450-1500), Portuguese explorer who first rounded the Cape of Good Hope
- Dinis Dias, 15th century Portuguese explorer, first European to reach Cape Verde
- Diogo Dias (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands, of the African coast and the Indian Ocean, discovered Madagascar)
- Pêro Dias (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Bernal Díaz del Castillo
- David Douglas, Scottish explorer, botanist
- Sir Francis Drake, (c. 1540-1596), pirate, leader of the second circumnavigation
- Jules Dumont d'Urville, (1790-1842), explorer of the Pacific and Antarctica

E

- Gil Eanes (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Juan Sebastián Elcano - completed the first circumnavigation, started by Magellan
- Eric the Red, (c.950-1003), explored and colonized Greenland
- Leif Ericson, (born 970), attempted to colonize Vinland, discovered America
- Pedro Escobar (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic islands)
- George Everest, (1790-1866)

F

- Edmund Fanning, (1769-1841), "Pathfinder of the Pacific", discoverer of numerous South Pacific islands
- António Fernandes (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Baltazar Fernandes (17th century Portuguese explorer of Brazil's interior)
- Duarte Fernandes (16th century Portuguese diplomat in Thailand)
- Matthew Flinders, (1774-1814), first to circumnavigate Australia and Tasmania, extensively charted the coastline and named such features as the Great Barrier Reef and the Great Australian Bight.
- Alexander Forbes, Scottish explorer of North American Pacific coast
- John Franklin, (1786-1847), disappeared exploring Arctic Canada in search of the Northwest Passage
- John C. Fremont, (1813-1890), "Pathfinder of the West" explored the Oregon Trail and the Sierra Nevada, first Republican nominee for President of the United States
- Louis de Freycinet, (1779-1842), explored coastal regions of Western Australia

G

- Alfons Gabriel, (1892-1976) Austrian explorer of the Iranian deserts.
- Yuri Gagarin first man in Space and Cosmonaut
- Juan Galindo (1802-1839) explorer of Central American ruins
- Estevão da Gama (16th century Portuguese explorer of the Indian Ocean)
- Paulo da Gama (15th century Portuguese explorer of the sea route to India)
- Vasco da Gama, (1469?-1524), Portuguese navigator, first to reach India from Europe by sea route in 1498
- Thomas Gann, explorer
- Francis Garnier, (1839-1873), Mekong River
- Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye, (1685-1749), explorer
- Romolo Gessi ( (1831, 1881)), Italian explorer of the Nile and of Sudan
- Ernest Giles, (1835-1897), explorer of central Australia
- André Gonçalves (15th century Portuguese explorer of the sea route to Brazil)
- Antão Gonçalves (15th century Portuguese explorer of the West African coast)
- Lopes Gonçalves (15th century Portuguese explorer of the Atlantic)
- James Augustus Grant, (1827-1892), Scottish officer and explorer, explored the eastern equatorial Africa
- João Grego (15th century Portuguese explorer of the African coast)
- Juan de Grijalva

H

- Hanno the Navigator - Carthageinian who travelled along the coast of Africa
- Hannu, ancient Egyptian explorer (around 2750 BC) and the first explorer of whom there is any knowledge
- Dirk Hartog, (1580—1621), Dutch VOC captain, charted mid-western coast of Australia
- Sven Hedin, (1865-1952), Swedish explorer of Central Asia
- Louis Hennepin - discoverer of Niagara Falls and the Saint Anthony Falls (the only waterfall on the Mississippi)
- Bjarni Herjulfsson - Viking, probable discoverer of North America
- Thor Heyerdahl, (1914-2002), Norwegian explorer
- Sir Edmund Hillary, with Tenzing Norgay was the first person to the summit of Mount Everest
- Himilco the Navigator, Carthaginian navigator
- Clement Hodgkinson - (1818-1893) Australian explorer
- Cornelis de Houtman, (1565—1599), brother to Frederick, established Dutch trading route to the Spice Islands
- Frederick de Houtman, (1571—1627), brother to Cornelis, charted several constellations in the southern skies, explored coast of Western Australia
- William Hovell - Australian explorer
- Henry Hudson, (died 1570), discovered the Hudson River and sailed up it to Albany, discovered Hudson Bay
- Alexander von Humboldt, (1769-1859), German naturalist, explored Central and South America, visited Siberia
- Hamilton Hume - Australian explorer

I

- Ibn Battuta, (1304-1377), Moroccan explorer of Africa and Asia, author of the Rihla
-