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NAS Patuxent River

NAS Patuxent River

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, is a U.S. Navy naval air station located in St. Mary's County on Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and serves a center for Research and Development relating to naval aviation. Commissioned on April 1, 1943 on land largely acquired through eminent domain, the air station grew rapidly in response to World War II. The base became a center for testing as several facilities were constructed throughout the 1950s and 1960s; including the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (1958), the Weapons Systems Test Division (1960), and the Propulsion System Evaluation Facility. Since the end of the Cold War, the Navy's Base Realignment and Closure measures have migrated research and testing facilities for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft to NAS Patuxent River from decommissioned bases. The complex now hosts over 17,000 people, including active-duty service members, civil-service employees, defense contractor employees, and military dependents. NAS Patuxent River is home to the Naval Air Systems Command Headquarters, the Air Test Wing Atlantic, and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Commands.

References


- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/patuxent-river.htm Globalsecurity.org] Patuxent River Category:St. Mary's County, Maryland



United States Navy

The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. The U.S. Navy consists of 281 ships and over 4,000 aircraft. It has over half a million men and women on active or ready reserve duty. The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which the Continental Congress established during the American Revolutionary War. The United States Constitution, ratified in 1789, empowered Congress "to provide and maintain a navy." Acting on this authority, Congress ordered the construction and manning of six frigates; one of the original six, USS Constitution, familiarly known as "Old Ironsides," survives to this day. The War Department administered naval affairs from that year until Congress established the Department of the Navy on April 30, 1798. The Navy became part of the Department of Defense upon its establishment in 1947.

History of the Navy

Main article: History of the United States Navy History of the United States Navy The Continental Navy was established in Philadelphia by the Continental Congress on October 13, 1775, which authorized the procurement, fitting out, manning, and dispatch of two armed vessels to search for munitions ships supplying the British Army in America. The legislation also established a Naval Committee to supervise the work. The Continental Navy operated some 50 ships over the course of the American Revolutionary War, but no more than about 20 at one time. After the war, Congress sold the surviving ships and released the seamen and officers. Congress ordered the construction and manning of six frigates on March 27, 1794, and three years later welcomed into service the first three: USS United States, Constellation and Constitution. The frigates became famous in the War of 1812, where they unexpectedly defeated British Royal Navy forces several times. During the American Civil War, the Navy was an innovator in the use of ironclad warships, but after the war slipped into obsolescence. A modernization program beginning in the 1880s brought the U.S. into the first rank of the world's navies by the beginning of the 20th century. 20th century (middle) and USS Annapolis (SSN 760) (front)]] The Navy saw little action during World War I, but grew into a formidable force in the years before World War II. Japan unsuccessfully attempted to allay this strategic threat with a late-1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. During the next three years, the U.S. Navy grew into the most powerful in the world. It is widely accepted that currently the United States Navy remains the most powerful in the world.

Organization

The Navy is administered by the Department of the Navy, led by the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The senior naval officer, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), is the four-star admiral immediately under the Secretary of the Navy. The Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations are responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Navy so the Navy is ready for operation under the command of the Unified Combatant Commanders. (Also see United States Armed Forces Organization.) President | SECDEF | ------------------- | | SECNAV | | | CNO Unified Combatant Commanders | | -------------------- | | | | Shore establishment Operating Forces (including fleets)

Fleets

The two main fleets are the Pacific Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet. Under these two organizations fall the numbered fleets.
- 1st Fleet - no longer active
- 2nd Fleet – Atlantic Ocean — Flagship Iwo Jima, Norfolk, Virginia
- 3rd Fleet – Eastern and Northern Pacific Ocean — Flagship Coronado, San Diego, California (In peacetime the Third Fleet has no ARG and the carriers in the area are either on their way to the Seventh Fleet or conducting training cruises, after an overhaul for example.)
- 4th Fleet – Disbanded.
- 5th Fleet – Middle East — Headquartered at Manama, Bahrain
- 6th Fleet – Mediterranean Sea — Flagship Mount Whitney, Gaeta, Italy
- 7th Fleet – Western Pacific and Indian Ocean — Flagship Blue Ridge, Yokosuka, Japan

Shore commands

In addition to afloat fleets, the Navy maintains several "Naval Forces Commands" which operate naval shore facilities and serve as liaison units to local ground forces of the Air Force and Army. Such commands are answerable to a Fleet Commander as the shore component of the afloat command. During times of war, all Naval Forces Commands augment to become task forces of a primary fleet. Some of the larger Naval Forces Commands include:
- Commander Naval Forces Korea (CNFK)
- Commander Naval Forces Marianas (CNFM)
- Command Naval Forces Japan (CNFJ)

Staff corps

In addition to the regular line commands of the navy, several staff corps are also maintained which augment the line community and whose personnel are assigned to both line and staff commands. The current staff corps of the United States Navy are as follows:
- Navy Supply Corps
- Navy Medical Corps
- Navy Medical Service Corps
- Navy Nurse Corps
- Navy Chaplains Corps
- Navy Civil Engineer Corps (Seabees)
- Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG)

Weapons

Ships

Main article: U.S. Navy ships See also List of ships of the United States Navy for a more complete listing of ships past and present. The names of commissioned ships of the U.S. Navy start with USS, meaning 'United States Ship'. Non-commissioned, civilian-manned vessels of the U.S. Navy have names that begin with USNS, standing for 'United States Naval Ship'. A letter-based hull classification symbol is used to designate a vessel's type. The names of ships are selected by the Secretary of the Navy. The names are usually those of U.S. states, cities, towns, important people, famous battles, fish, and ideals. The U.S. Navy pioneered the use of nuclear reactors aboard naval vessels; today, they power most U.S. aircraft carriers and submarines. See United States Naval reactor. As of January 2004, a relatively small number of ship classes accounted for the bulk of the U.S. naval fleet. These include:

Aircraft carriers

United States Naval reactor on November 3, 2003. Approximately fifty aircraft can be counted on deck.]] Aircraft carriers are the major strategic arm of the Navy. They put U.S. air power within reach of most land-based military power. The US Navy's carriers are much larger and more powerful than those of the rest of the world. See also: List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy and List of escort aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. Modern aircraft carriers since CV-67 are typically named for living or dead politicians; previous aircraft carriers were named for battles and famous fighting ships of the Navy.
- Kitty Hawk class (1 ship)
- Enterprise — Norfolk, Virginia
- John F. Kennedy — Mayport Naval Station, Florida
- Nimitz class (9 ships, 1 under construction)
  - USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
  - USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)
  - USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)
  - USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
  - USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
  - USS George Washington (CVN-73)
  - USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)
  - USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)
  - USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)
  - USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77)

Amphibious assault ships

The largest of all amphibious warfare ships amphibious assault ships resemble small aircraft carriers; capable of V/STOL, STOVL, VTOL tiltrotor and rotary wing aircraft operations; contains a welldeck to support use of Landing Craft Air Cushion and other watercraft. Amphibious assault ships are typically named after World War II aircraft carriers, a name source kept over from the earliest ones, which were converted WWII carriers.
- Wasp class (7 ships)
- Tarawa class (4 ships active, 1 decommissioned)

Amphibious transport docks

Amphibious transports are warships that embark, transport, and land elements of a landing force for a variety of expeditionary warfare missions. Amphibious transport docks are named for cities, except for USS New York (LPD-21), which is named for the state of New York and USS Somerset (LPD-25), which is named for Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
- San Antonio class (3 launched, 2 under construction, 3 planned, 2 projected)
- Austin class (10 ships active, 1 Decommissioned, 1 converted to AGF)

Submarines

:Main article: Submarines in the United States Navy There are two major types of submarines, ballistic and attack. Ballistic subs have a single, strategic mission: carrying nuclear SLBMs. Attack submarines have several tactical missions, including sinking ships and subs, launching cruise missiles, and gathering intelligence. Sea attack submarines are typically named for cities; land attack submarines (Virginia and Ohio-class boats) are typically named for states. Earlier attack submarines were named for fish, while earlier ballistic missile submarines were named for "famous Americans" (although many of these were actually foreigners).
- Ohio class (18 in commission) — ballistic missile submarines, 4 to be converted into guided missile submarines
- Virginia class (1 in commission, 3 under construction, 2 on order) — attack submarines
- Seawolf class (3 in commission) — attack submarines
- Los Angeles Class (51 in commission) — attack submarines

Cruisers

Guided missile cruisers can conduct air warfare, surface warfare and undersea warfare. All modern cruisers are named for battles. Previous cruisers were either named for cities (until CG-12), the redesignated frigates were named for naval heroes (CG-15 to CG-35) or states (CG-36 to CG-42).
- Ticonderoga class (23 in commission) — first ships to carry the Aegis combat system

Destroyers

See also the List of destroyers of the United States Navy. All destroyers have been named for naval heroes since USS Bainbridge (DD-1).
- Arleigh Burke class (44 in commission as of June 2005) — first ship class with comprehensive design for stealth technology.

Frigates

Modern frigates mainly perform anti-submarine warfare and escort other ships. The U.S. Navy is gradually retiring its frigates; some of their jobs will be performed by the nascent littoral combat ship. [http://peoships.crane.navy.mil/lcs/] Named, like the destroyers, for naval heroes.
- Oliver Hazard Perry class (30 ships in commission)

Battleships

All U.S. battleships have been retired, although two Tomahawk-capable ships remain in "Inactive" Reserve. They are maintained in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act of 1996. Current plans in the United States Navy call for keeping the battleships on the NVR until the naval surface fire support gun and missile development programs achieve operational capability, which is expected to occur sometime between 2003 and 2008. All battleships except USS Kearsarge (BB-5) were named for states.
- Iowa class

Early vessels


- USS Constitution — "Old Ironsides," oldest commissioned warship afloat
- USS Monitor — first US ironclad warship, also first rotating turret
- USS Merrimack — a wooden warship rebuilt by the Confederates as the ironclad CSS Virginia
- USS Alligator — the first submarine of the Civil War, but sunk while being towed during a storm.
- CSS Hunley — First submarine to sink a ship in a combat engagement, though it sunk in the aftermath as well. Built by the Confederates near the end of the Civil War. Sank USS Housatonic with a spar-mounted torpedo.

Naval aircraft

torpedo, 2003]]
- A-4 Skyhawk
- AV-8B Harrier II
- C-2 Greyhound
- E-2C Hawkeye
- E-6B Mercury
- EA-6B Prowler
- ES-3 Shadow
- FH-1 Phantom
- F-14 Tomcat
- F-15 Eagle
- F-16 Fighting Falcon
- F/A-18 Hornet
- F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
- EA-18G Growler
- F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
- H-3 Sea King
- CH-46 Sea Knight
- CH-53 Sea Stallion
- SH-2 Seasprite
- SH-60 Sea Hawk
- P-3C Orion see also Multimission Maritime Aircraft
- S-3B Viking
- V-22 Osprey
- T-6A Texan II
- T-45 Goshawk
- Aerial Common Sensor (no designation yet)

Harbor defense

The United States Navy has, in the last few years, greatly expanded its harbor defense forces in response to the War on Terrorism. The main components of Naval Harbor Defense include:
- Inshore Boat Units (IBUs)
- Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Units (MIUWUs)
- Special Boat Units (SBUs)

Special warfare

The Navy Seals are the U.S. Navy's primary special warfare units whose purpose is to engage in "special activities other than war". The Navy also maintains an EOD Corps (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) as well as a small corps of Surface Warfare personel known by the designator "Special Operations Underway".

Missiles, guns, equipment


- Trident missile
- Poseidon missile
- Tomahawk missile
- Polaris missile
- Naval Space Surveillance System
- CIWS

Submarine warfare and nuclear deterrence

The submarine has a long history in the USN. It began in the late 19th century, with the building of the SS-1, USS Holland. The boat was in service for 10 years and was a developmental and trials vessel for many systems on other early submarines. The submarine really came of age in World War I. The USN did not have a large part in this war, with its action mainly being confined to escorting convoys later in the war and sending a division of battleships to reinforce the British Grand Fleet. However, there were those in the USN submarine service who saw what the Germans had done with their U-boats and took careful note. Doctrine in the inter-war years emphasised the submarine as a scout for the battle fleet, and also extreme caution in command. Both these axioms were proven wrong after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The submarine skippers of the fleet boats of World War II waged a very effective campaign against Japanese merchant vessels, doing to Japan what Germany failed to do to the United Kingdom. They were aggressive and effective, and operated far from the fleet. In addition to their commerce raiding role, submarines also proved valuable in air-sea rescue. There was many an American aircraft carrier pilot who owed his life to the valour of USN submarine crews, including future U.S. President George H. W. Bush.

Navy revolutions

After WWII, things continued along much the same path until the early 1950s. Then a revolution, that was to forever change the nature of the submarine arm occurred. That revolution was USS Nautilus. The Nautilus was the first nuclear-powered submarine. Up until that point, submarines had really been, at their most basic level, torpedo boats that happened to be able to go underwater. They had been tied to the surface by the need to charge their batteries using diesel engines relatively often. The nuclear power plant of the Nautilus meant that the boat could stay underwater for literally months at a time, the only limit in the end being the amount of food that the boat could carry. Another revolution in submarine warfare came with USS George Washington. Nuclear powered, like Nautilus, George Washington added strategic ballistic missiles to the mix. Earlier submarines had carried strategic missiles, but the boats had been diesel powered, and the missiles required the boat to surface in order to fire. The missiles were also cruise missiles, which were vulnerable to the defences of the day in a way that ballistic missiles were not. George Washington's missiles could be fired whilst the boat was submerged, meaning that it was far less likely to be detected before firing. The nuclear power of the boat also meant that, like Nautilus, George Washington's patrol length was only limited by the amount of food the boat could carry. Ballistic missile submarines, carrying Polaris missiles, eventually superseded all other strategic nuclear systems in the USN. Deterrent patrols continue to this day, although now with the Ohio class boats and Trident missiles. Trident missile]] Given the lack of large scale conventional naval warfare since 1945, with the USN's role being primarily that of power projection, the submarine service did not fire weapons in anger for very many years. The development of a new generation of cruise missiles changed that. The BGM-109 Tomahawk missile was developed to give naval vessels a long range land attack capability. Other than direct shore bombardment, and strikes by aircraft flying off carriers, the ability of naval vessels to influence warfare on land was limited. Now, instead of being limited to firing shells less than 20 miles inland from guns, any naval vessel fitted with the Tomahawk could hit targets up to 1,000 miles inland. The mainstay of the Tomahawk equipped vessels in the early days of the missile's deployment were the Iowa class battleships, and the submarine fleet. The Tomahawk was first used in combat on 17 January 1991, on the opening night of Operation Desert Storm. On that day, for the first time since the surrender of Japan in 1945, an American submarine fired in combat, when Tomahawks were launched by US boats in the eastern Mediterranean. Since then, the Tomahawk has become a staple of American campaigns. It has seen use in no less than three separate wars. It has also been exported to the United Kingdom, which has also fitted it to submarines. The Tomahawk has seen a change in the design of attack submarines. At first it was fired through torpedo tubes, but more recent US boats have been fitted with vertical launch systems to enable them to carry more of the weapons. In the early 21st century, the USN submarine fleet is made up entirely of nuclear powered vessels. It is the most powerful of its type in the world. However, there are those who worry that there are not enough boats in the fleet. As with other branches of the US military the budget cuts of the late 1980s and the early 1990s, as the Cold War ended, followed up by the War on Terrorism, have left little or no slack in the system. This point is illustrated by the fact that in 2003, for the first time since 1945, a US submarine made two back-to-back war patrols.

Major naval bases


- Complete list of US Naval facilities
- Norfolk, Virginia — The largest Naval base in the world, situated in southeastern Virginia. This is the main port on the Eastern Seaboard.
- Pearl Harbor, Hawaii — A deep water naval base and headquarters of the Pacific Fleet
- San Diego, California — A large complex of Navy bases, and the primary port for ships on the West Coast of the United States
- Naval Base Kitsap, Washington — Home base for Ohio Class nuclear missile submarines in the Pacific Ocean
- Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia — Home base for Ohio Class nuclear missile submarines in the Atlantic Ocean
- Naval Station Mayport, Florida
- Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada
- Guantanamo Bay — A small section on the south coast of Cuba is leased by the United States and used as a naval base.
- U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan. Largest overseas Naval facility.

Personnel

Commissioned officer

Commissioned officers in the Navy have paygrades from O-1 to O-10. Officers with superior performance may be promoted. Officers between O-1 and O-4 are called junior officers, O-5 and O-6 are called senior officers, and O-7 to O-10 are called flag officers. See U.S. Navy officer rank insignia for a complete list of paygrades and corresponding ranks. Commissioned officers belong to one of the following communities:
- Unrestricted line: Surface Warfare, Aviation Warfare, Submarine Warfare, Special Warfare, Nuclear
- Restricted line: Engineering Duty, Aerospace Engineering Duty, Aerospace Maintenance Duty, Cryptologic, Naval Intelligence, Public Affairs, Meteorology and Oceanography, Information Professional, Human Resource
- Staff Corps: Supply Corps, Medical Corps, Medical Service Corps, Dental Corps, Nurse Corps, Chaplain Corps, Civil Engineer Corps, Judge Advocate General Corps, Navy Band Corps The term "line" officer means someone who may command a warship or an aviation unit. It is a carryover from the 18th-century British tactic of employing warships in a "line" to take advantage of cannons on each side of the ship. The captains of such vessels commanded "ships of the line." Today, all Navy line officers wear a star on the sleeves of uniforms near the cuff braid that denotes rank. Staff officers wear different insignias. Note: Marine Corps officers, also part of the Department of the Navy, are all considered "line" officers because they are qualified as troop commanders in addition to their specialties. Commissioned officers originate from the United States Naval Academy, Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), Officer Candidate School (OCS), direct commission, and other commissioning programs (such as [https://www.sta-21.navy.mil/ Seaman to Admiral-21] and Limited Duty Officer programs).

Enlisted

Enlisted members of the Navy have paygrades from E-1 to E-9. Enlisted members with superior performance may be advanced in paygrade. Two notably significant advancements are Seaman to Petty Officer Third Class (E-3 to E-4) and Petty Officer First Class to Chief Petty Officer (E-6 to E-7). Advancement to Chief Petty Officer is especially significant, marked by a special initiation ceremony. See U.S. Navy enlisted rate insignia for a complete list of the paygrades. All new active-duty enlisted members receive basic training ("boot camp") at the Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois. Those who have a contract for a specific rating continue onto "A" schools for training in the rating. Those who don't have a specific rating go into the fleet to learn on the job and later strike for a rating. Some members may go to additonal training in a "C" school either before a tour of duty, or after a tour of duty. A "C" school assigns a member a Navy Enlisted Classification code, or NEC, which shows that a sailor is able to perform a specific task requiring that NEC, such as NEC 2780 - Network Security Vulnerablity Technician. Enlisted members of paygrades E-4 and above are said to be "rated" and have a rating: an occupational specialty. As of June 2005, there are more than 50 ratings, including Boatswain's Mate, Quartermaster, Engineman, Damage Controlman, Electronics Technician, Information Systems Technician, Air Traffic Controller, Fire Control Technician, Gunner's Mate, Sonar Technician, Construction Mechanic, Hospital Corpsman, Yeoman, Disbursing Clerk, Culinary Specialist, Photographer's Mate, Musician, Master-at-Arms, Aviation Electronics Technician, and Cryptologic Technician. Some ratings have subspecialties acquired either through an initial "A" school for training (such as Cryptologic Technician Technical and Cryptologic Technician Collection) or through a separate "C" school (such as Aviation Electronics Technician Organizational and Aviation Electronics Technician Intermediate.)

Qualifications

Sailors prove they have mastered skills and deserve responsibilities by completing Personal Qualification Standards (PQS) tasks and examinations. Among the most important is the "warfare qualification," which denotes a journeyman level of capability in Aviation Warfare, Special Warfare, Surface Warfare, or Submarine Warfare. Many qualifications are denoted on a sailor's uniform with U.S. Navy badges and insignia.

Sea Warrior

Launched in 2003 as part of the Navy's [http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/cno/proceedings.html Sea Power 21] transformation plan, Sea Warrior is intended to link the fleet's personnel processes (recruiting, training, and assigning) with acquisition processes (buying ships, aircraft, etc.) in a way that also improves each individual sailor's ability to guide his or her own career in a satisfying direction. The aim is to more efficiently muster the right number of sailors with the right skills and seniority at each ship, squadron, and duty station. Sea Warrior is led by the Chief of Naval Personnel[http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/people/flags/biographies/hoewinggl.html], and the commander of the [https://www.cnet.navy.mil/netc/netc.html Naval Education and Training Command].

Naval culture

Navy sailors are trained in the core values of Honor, Courage, Commitment. Sailors cope with boredom on long cruises of six months to a year, and cherish their time in their home ports, as well as vacations at ports abroad.

Naval jack

Chief of Naval Personnel Chief of Naval Personnel Chief of Naval Personnel The naval jack of the United States is the First Navy Jack, first used during the American Revolutionary War. On May 31, 2002, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England directed all U.S. naval ships to fly the First Navy Jack for the duration of the War on Terrorism. Many ships chose to shift colors on September 11, 2002. The jack is flown from the bow of the ship and the ensign from the stern when the ship is moored or anchored. When underway, the ensign is flown from the main mast. The former naval jack was a blue field with 50 white stars, identical to the canton of the ensign, both in appearance and size. A jack of similar design was first used in 1794, though with 13 stars arranged in a 3–2–3–2–3 pattern.

Naval jargon

Main article: Military slang A distinct jargon has developed among sailors over the course of the last four centuries. Naval jargon is spoken by American sailors as a normal part of their daily speech. There are three distinct components of Naval jargon:
- Words that are unique to sailing and have no use in standard English, such as yardarm, bow, and stern.
- Archaic English that remains common in naval jargon, such as "aye" (the common English word for "Yes" until the 16th century), "Fo'c'sle" (from Fore Castle), and Bo'sun (from "Boat Swain", swain being Middle English for a young man or a servant).
- Modern jargon, such as "Bird" to refer to missiles, or 1MC. See U.S. Navy slang for more information. Also see Covey Crump.

Notable members of the U.S. Navy

Covey Crump Officers
- Vern Clark — former Chief of Naval Operations
- Robert Dennison — retired admiral, presidential aide
- George Dewey — Hero of the Battle of Manila Bay in Spanish-American War; first and only Admiral of the Navy
- David Farragut — American Civil War Admiral, first officer to become an Admiral in the U.S. Navy
- Wilson Flagg — retired Admiral, killed in Sept 11 attack
- William Halsey, Jr. — Third Fleet Commander, won battles off Guadalcanal and the Solomons; attained rank of Fleet Admiral (5 stars)
- Esek Hopkins — first Commander in Chief of the navy during the Revolutionary War
- Grace Hopper — early computing pioneer, attained the rank of Rear Admiral in the Navy Reserve
- John Paul Jones — commander during the American Revolutionary War, considered to be the founder of the American Naval tradition
- Ernest King — Fleet Admiral; former Chief of Naval Operations
- William D. Leahy — first Fleet Admiral; first head of the Chiefs of Staff (before the post was renamed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff); former Chief of Naval Operations; former Governor of Puerto Rico; former U.S. ambassador to France
- Richard Marcinko — author, founder and commander of SEAL Team Six
- Chester Nimitz — Fleet Admiral; former Chief of Naval Operations; signed for the U.S. when Japan formally surrendered onboard the USS Missouri, class of carriers named after him
- Matthew Perry — Commodore who forced the opening of Japan
- Eli Thomas Reich — Vice Admiral, only submariner to sink a Japanese battleship unaided during WW2.
- Hyman G. Rickover — Admiral, "Father of the Nuclear Navy"
- Raymond A. Spruance -Commander at the Battle of Midway, led the Fifth Fleet in the Central Pacific and Okinawa. Rebuilt the Naval War College after World War II Politicians
- George H. W. Bush — former U.S. President; youngest Naval Aviator in World War II; former director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- Jimmy Carter — former U.S. President; Cold War submariner and Peace Prize laureate
- Glenn Robert Davis — former member of the US House of Representatives
- Gerald Ford — former U.S. President; served aboard carrier during World War II
- Lyndon B. Johnson — former U.S. President; worked as a bomb observer with the Army during World War II
- John F. Kennedy — former U.S. President; decorated PT Boat commander in World War II
- John Kerry — junior U.S. Senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate; swift boat commander during the Vietnam War
- John McCain — senior U.S. Senator from Arizona and Republican presidential primary candidate in 2000; former naval aviator and POW
- Richard M. Nixon — former U.S. President; supply officer in World War II Astronauts
- Neil Armstrong — astronaut, first man on the moon
- James Lovell — naval aviator, astronaut, pilot of first lunar orbit flight (Apollo 8) and commander of Apollo 13 mission
- Alan Shepard — naval aviator, first American in space (Mercury-Redstone 3) and Apollo 14 commander
- John Young — naval aviator and Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle astronaut Others
- Bill Cosby — actor, comedian and educational philanthropist
- Lenny Bruce — American comedian
- Robert A. Heinlein — science fiction author
- L. Ron Hubbard — science fiction author and founder of the Church of Scientology
- David Robinson — former NBA star (San Antonio Spurs), commonly nicknamed "The Admiral"
- Bill Sharman — basketball Hall of Famer
- Roger Staubach — football hall of Famer, Vietnam veteran
- Jesse Ventura — actor, professional wrestler, Governor of Minnesota

See also


- Continental Navy
- Electronics Technician rating
- Information Systems Technician rating
- Seabees, US Navy Construction Battalions, hence CBs
- Navy SEAL, special forces
- BUPERS
- Fleet Week
- WAVES
- Ship-Submarine recycling program
- U.S. Navy officer rank insignia
- U.S. Navy enlisted rate insignia
- Unrestricted Line Officer
- Restricted Line Officer
- Limited Duty Officer
- Awards and decorations of the United States military
- Military badges of the United States
- United States armed forces
- United States Secretary of the Navy
- Comparative military ranks
- List of United States Navy bases
- List of ships of the United States Navy
- List of active Navy ships, sorted by homeport
- List of units of the United States Navy
- U.S. Navy munitions
- Navy Band
- Eternal Father Strong to Save (the U.S. Navy hymn)

References


- [http://www.navy.mil Official U.S. Navy Website]
- [http://www.hq.navy.mil/ Department of the Navy Website]
- [https://www.nko.navy.mil Navy Knowledge Online]
- [http://www.seawarrior.navy.mil Sea Warrior]
- [http://www.nosi.org Naval Open Source Intelligence (NOSI)] — a digital library of world naval operational news, curated from open source intelligence, and intended to serve as a source of continuing education on naval and military affairs
- [http://www.microworks.net/pacific/ U.S. Navy in WW II] — a web site devoted to the U.S. navy in the Pacific theater during World War II

External links


- [http://www.navsource.org NavSource Naval History - Photographic History Of The U.S. Navy ] — a source of thousands of photographs of US Navy ships.
- [http://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/us_navy_pages/us_battleship_list.htm Maritimequest US Battleship photo gallery]
- [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ The Offical Chronology of the US Navy In World War II]
- Category:Navies ja:アメリカ海軍

Naval air station

A Naval Air Station is an airbase of the United States Navy. Such bases are used to house Naval Aviation units as well as port facilities for aircraft carriers and their support vessels.
-

Saint Mary's County, Maryland

Saint Mary's County is a county located in the state of Maryland. As of 2000, the population is 86,211. Its county seat is Leonardtown. The name is in honor of Mary, mother of Jesus. This county is a part of the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Area.

History

The settlement of Lord Baltimore's Maryland began with the arrival of passengers from England at St. Clement's Island in the Potomac River in what is now southwestern St. Mary's County on March 25, 1634 (the anniversary of this landing being annually celebrated as Maryland Day). The passengers arrived in two vessels, the Ark and the Dove, which had set sail from the Isle of Wight on November 22, 1633. St. Mary's County was the first county established in Maryland, in 1637, probably by an order of the Governor. The county seat and state capital was St. Mary's City. St. Mary's County is where professional wrestler Scott Hall and actor Ben Stein grew up.

Notable residents


- Steny Hoyer: Senator and Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives.

Law and Government

St. Mary's County is governed by county commissioners, the traditional form of county government in Maryland.

County Executive

The county commissioners exercise such executive powers as exist in the government of the county.

Geography

The county has a total area of 1,582 km2 (611 mi2). 847 km2 (327 mi2) of it is land and 734 km2 (284 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 46.43% water. The county is largely bordered by water: the Patuxent River, the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River, and the Wicomico River.

Adjacent Counties


- Calvert County (north)
- Charles County (northwest)

Demographics

As of 2000, there are 86,211 people, 8,361 households, and 5,443 families residing in the county. The population density is 29/km2 (76/mi2). There are 10,092 housing units at an average density of 12 persons/km2 (31 persons/mi2). The racial makeup of the county is 56.37% White, 41.10% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 1.35% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 8,361 households out of which 25.90% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.10% are married couples living together, 15.10% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 34.90% are non-families. 29.40% of all households are made up of individuals and 12.90% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.37 and the average family size is 2.92. In the county the population is spread out with 18.50% under the age of 18, 15.70% from 18 to 24, 29.50% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.20% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 114.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 119.10 males. The median income for a household in the county is $29,903, and the median income for a family is $37,643. Males have a median income of $27,496 versus $23,035 for females. The per capita income for the county is $15,965. 20.10% of the population and 15.00% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 28.40% are under the age of 18 and 19.10% are 65 or older.

Cities and towns

Saint Mary's County includes one municipality, classified as a town under Maryland law: Leonardtown, the county seat (incorporated 1858). #California #Charlotte Hall #Golden Beach #Lexington Park #Hollywood #Mechanicsville

Colleges and universities


- St. Mary's College of Maryland, located in St. Mary's City.

Military Bases

The county houses the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, which plays a significant role in the local economy. The Naval Air Station also has an annex at Webster Field in Saint Inigoes, MD.

External link

[http://www.co.saint-marys.md.us/ Saint Mary's County government] Category:Maryland counties Category:Potomac River counties

Patuxent River

The Patuxent River, Middle Patuxent River and Little Patuxent River form a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. The furtherst source, 113 miles from the Chesapeake, is in the hills of the Maryland Piedmont near the intersection of four counties - Howard, Frederick, Montgomery and Carroll. Flowing in a generally southeastward direction, the Patuxent crosses the heavily urbanized corridor between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. and opens up into a navigable tidal estuary near the colonial town of Queen Annes in Prince George's County, Maryland, just southeast of Bowie, Maryland, finding the Chesapeake Bay 50 miles later. The Patuxent River is the longest river to be located entirely within the state of Maryland. The river marks the boundary between Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles and St. Mary's Counties on the west and Howard, Anne Arundel, and Calvert Counties on the east. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: The Potomac River to the west passing through Washington D.C., the Patapsco River to the east passing through Baltimore, and the Patuxent River in the middle part of the state. The Middle Patuxent River and the Little Patuxent River, each respectively further to the east of the main river, and each respectively smaller in water flow, coverge just upstream from the historic Savage Mill in Savage, Maryland. The Little Patuxent then joins the main branch just northeast of Bowie, Maryland. The Middle Patuxent flows through the middle of Howard County, while the Little Patuxent flows through northeast Howard County. The Patuxent River was first named ("Pawtuxunt") on the detailed map resulting from the 1608 voyage upriver probably as far as the Lyons Creek vicinity, 38 miles from the Chesapeake on what is now the Anne Arundel - Calvert County boundary by Jamestown, Virginia settler John Smith. This was most likely the second visit by Europeans to the Patuxent, as in June 1588 a small Spanish expedition under Vincente Gonzales most likely anchored for the night in the Patuxent mouth. By the mid 1600's, colonists spread upriver to Mt. Calvert and Billingsley Point, two colonial mansions 41 miles from the Chesapeake that are today part of Patuxent River Park. By the early 1700's, the Snowden iron ore furnace just southeast of Laurel, Maryland was shipping "pig iron" downriver from the current vicinity of the 1783 Snowden Montpelier Mansion, also part of Patuxent River Park. The Patuxent was plied by regular steamship service, mostly from the Weems Line, from the 1820's to the 1920's, replacing the schooners and sailing packets that had for the previous centuries served the river's many landings and docks along the 50 mile navigable reach. Tobacco farming dominated the Patuxent's ecomomy for the two centuries following settlement, with about sixty per cent of Maryland's tobacco coming from the Patuxent valley by the late 1700's. In 1814, Commodore Joshua Barney and his Maryland flotilla were trapped in the Patuxent by the British fleet. Barney's men ignited the magazines of his fleet in the stretch from Pig Point (42 miles upriver from the Chesapeake, named after Snowden's "pig iron") to Queen Annes. The British launched their attack on Washington, D.C. from their boats along the Patuxent at Benedict, 20 miles from the Chesapeake, Nottingham, 36 miles upriver, and the Pig Point-Upper Marlboro, Maryland vicinity in August, 1814. Destruction of the plantations by the British and of the soil by centuries of tobacco farming brought the mid and lower Patuxent valley into a period of decline that would last until the 1930's, when there were fewer residents in the Patuxent's Calvert County than there were in the 1840's, and only some hundreds more than in the first Calvert County census in 1790. The 20th century saw the construction of two major dams on the Patuxent River and thus two reservoirs. These reservoirs provide drinking water for millions in central Maryland and are owned and operated by the WSSC. The upper dam is called Brighton Dam and the lower dam is called Rocky Gorge, both along the Howard and Montgomery county border, where a relatively deep and narrow valley exists in the otherwise Piedmont surrounding terrain The Middle and Little Patuxent watersheds include nearly all of Columbia, Maryland (a large planned community in Howard County that opened in 1967 and contains a downtown road called Little Patuxent Parkway), forming the source of its downtown urban Lake Kittamaqundi and Wilde Lake. It was the largely unchecked erosion from this late 1960's and 1970's building spree that contributed the bulk of the Patuxent River's highest and most damaging sediment and siltation and pollution levels to date downstream. The river's best known environmentalist, Bernie Fowler, as an early 1970's Calvert County Commissioner, led the way in a lawsuit filed by downriver Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's counties against upriver counties, which forced the state, those counties, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enact pollution control measures. Over the past fifty years, nationally-recognized land preservation efforts in this part of Maryland have saved tens of thousands of acres from the Baltimore-Washington bedroom community sprawl. The southern half of the U.S. Army's Ft. Meade was added to the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center which at 12,300 acres is the second largest contiguous public park-refuge within 30 miles of either Washington or Baltimore. It is located precisely midway between these two huge metropolitan area. The 8300 contiguous public acres centered on Jug Bay, 40 miles upriver from the Chesapeake, form the fifth largest such Baltimore-DC preserve, and the 6600 acre Patuxent River State Park in the uppermost part of the basin is the seventh largest. Including boating on the main river and the reservoirs, the impact that recreation in natural settings now has on the river's economy is obvious. The Patuxent Naval Air Station at the mouth of the river has continued to grow over past decades, providing along with tourism the main economic engine of the lower river valley, including the popular boating center of Solomons, Maryland. Category:Chesapeake Bay Watershed Category:Rivers of Maryland

Research and development

The phrase research and development (also R and D or R&D) has a special commercial significance apart from its conventional coupling of research and technological development. In general, R&D activities are conducted by specialized units or centers belonging to companies, universities and State agencies. In the context of commerce, "research and development" normally refers to future-oriented, longer-term activities in science or technology, using similar techniques to scientific research without pre-determined outcomes and with broad forecasts of commercial yield. Statistics on organisations devoted to "R&D" may express the state of an industry, the degree of competition or the lure of scientific progress. Some common measures include: budgets, numbers of patents or on rates of peer-reviewed publications. Bank ratios are one of the best measures, because they are continuously maintained, public and reflect risk. In the U.S., a typical ratio of research and development for an industrial company is about 3.5% of revenues. A high technology company such as a computer manufacturer might spend 7%. Although Allergan (a pharmaceutical) tops the spending table 43.4% investment, anything over 15% is remarkable and usually gains a reputation for being a high technology company. Companies in this category include the "big pharma" such as Merck & Co. (14.1%) or Novartis (15.1%), and the engineering companies like Ericcson (24.9%). Such companies are often seen as poor credit risks because their spending ratios are so unusual. Generally such firms prosper only in markets whose customers have extreme needs, such as medicine, scientific instruments, safety-critical mechanisms (aircraft) or high technology military armaments. The extreme needs justify the high risk of failure and consequently high gross margins from 60% to 90% of revenues. That is, gross profits will be as much as 90% of the sales cost, with manufacturing costing only 10% of the product price, because so many individual projects yield no exploitable product. Most industrial companies get only 40% revenues. Generally the largest technology companies not only have the largest technical staffs, but also manage them most effectively. On a technical level, high tech organizations explore ways to repurpose and repackage advanced technologies as a way of amortising the high overhead. They often reuse advanced manufacturing processes, expensive safety certifications, specialized embedded software, computer-aided design software, electronic designs and mechanical subsystems.

See also


- R&D100
- Science policy

Notes

All figures [http://www.innovation.gov.uk/rd_scoreboard/home.asp UK R&D Scoreboard] as of 2004.

External link


- [http://www.innovation.gov.uk/rd_scoreboard/ R&D Scoreboard] Category:Innovation Category:Marketing Category:Product management category:Management category:Production and manufacturing Category:Research ja:研究開発

April 1

April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining.

Events


- 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
- 1318 - Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by the Scottish from the English
- 1572 - The Watergeuzen succeeded in capturing Den Briel, effectively sealing off the Meuse from the Spaniards.
- 1789 - In New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first House Speaker.
- 1826 - Samuel Morey patents the internal combustion engine.
- 1854 - Hard Times begins serialisation in Charles Dickens magazine, Household Words.
- 1857 - Herman Melville publishes The Confidence-Man.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Five Forks - In Petersburg, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee begins his final offensive.
- 1867 - Singapore becomes British crown colony.
- 1868 - Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute is established in Hampton, Virginia
- 1873 - The British steamer SS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia killing 547.
- 1891 - The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1918 - The Royal Flying Corps is replaced by the Royal Air Force.
- 1924 - Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch." However, he spends only nine months in jail, during which he writes the book Mein Kampf.
- 1924 - First revenue flight for Belgium's Sabena Airlines
- 1933 - The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in the series of anti-Semitic acts that will be known as the Holocaust.
- 1934 - Bonnie and Clyde kill two young highway patrolmen near Grapevine, Texas.
- 1937 - Aden becomes a British crown colony.
- 1941 - The Blockade Runner Badge for German navy is instituted.
- 1945 - World War II: Operation Iceberg - United States troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war.
- 1946 - Aleutian Island earthquake: A 7.8 magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands creates a tsunami that strikes the Hawaiian Islands killing 159 (mostly in Hilo, Hawaii).
- 1946 - Formation of the Malayan Union.
- 1948 - Cold War: Berlin Airlift - Military forces, under direction of the Soviet-controlled government in East Germany, set-up a land blockade of West Berlin.
- 1948 - Faroe Islands receive autonomy from Denmark
- 1949 - Newfoundland becomes the tenth Province of Canada
- 1949 - Chinese Civil War: Communist Party of China hold unsuccessful peace talks with the Kuomintang in Beijing, after three years of fighting.
- 1949 - The twenty-six counties of the Irish Free State become the Republic of Ireland.
- 1954 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
- 1960 - The United States launches the first weather satellite, TIROS-1.
- 1967 - The United States Department of Transportation begins operation.
- 1969 - The Hawker Siddeley Harrier enters service with the RAF.
- 1970 - Phil Spector finishes the orchestral overdubs for the upcoming Beatles album, Let It Be, including the songs "Let It Be", "Across the Universe", and "The Long and Winding Road". This causes controversy among Beatles fans who feel that Phil Spector has overproduced the album.
- 1970 - President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law banning cigarette advertisements in the United States starting on January 1, 1971.
- 1970 - American Motors introduces the Gremlin.
- 1973 - Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Corbett National Park, India.
- 1974 - In the United Kingdom, new administrative counties come into being.
- 1976 - Apple Computer Company is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
- 1976 - The Central Railroad of New Jersey goes bankrupt and Conrail takes over its operations.
- 1979 - Iran's government becomes an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, overthrowing the Shah officially.
- 1996 - University of Kentucky team wins NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.
- 1999 - Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved from the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.
- 2001 - An EP-3E United States Navy plane collides with a Chinese People's Liberation Army fighter jet. The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, People's Republic of China and is detained.
- 2001 - Former president of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on charges of war crimes.
- 2001 - The first legal same-sex marriage in the Netherlands is celebrated.
- 2002 - The Netherlands legalizes euthanasia, becoming the only nation in the world to do so.
- 2004 - George W. Bush signs the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which makes an attack that leads to the death of a mother and her unborn child two criminal charges.
- 2004 - The first legal same-sex marriage in the Canadian province of Quebec: Michael Hendricks and René Leboeuf wed in Montreal. Montreal
- 2004 - Faroese Prime Minister's Office announces that from then on the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office would use a new version of the Faroese Coat of Arms.
- 2004 - Gmail, an email service from Google launches.

Births


- 1220 - Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (d. 1272)
- 1543 - François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, Constable of France (d. 1626)
- 1578 - William Harvey, English physician (d. 1657)
- 1610 - Charles de Saint-Évremond, French soldier (d. 1703)
- 1640 - Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician (d. 1697)
- 1647 - John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet (d. 1680)
- 1732 - Franz Josef Haydn, Austrian composer (d. 1809)
- 1765 - Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian engraver (d. 1810)
- 1776 - Sophie Germain, French mathematician (d. 1831)
- 1815 - Otto von Bismarck, German politician (d. 1898)
- 1815 - Edward Clark, Governor of Texas (d. 1880)
- 1834 - Big Jim Fisk, American entrepreneur (d. 1872)
- 1854 - Bill Traylor, American artist (d. 1949)
- 1856 - Acacio Gabriel Viegas, Indian physician (d. 1933)
- 1865 - Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
- 1866 - Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1924)
- 1873 - Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer, pianist, and conductor (d. 1943)
- 1875 - Edgar Wallace, English writer (d. 1932)
- 1883 - Lon Chaney, Sr., American actor (d. 1930)
- 1885 - Wallace Beery, American actor (d. 1949)
- 1895 - Alberta Hunter, American singer (d. 1984)
- 1897 - Nita Naldi, American actress (d. 1961)
- 1898 - William James Sidis, eccentric genius and child prodigy (d. 1944)
- 1899 - Gustavs Celmins, Latvian politician (d. 1968)
- 1900 - Robert McDowell, Mayor of Maryborough, Queensland (d. 1988)
- 1901 - Whittaker Chambers, American writer, editor, and defector (d. 1961)
- 1906 - Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev, Russian engineer and airplane designer (d. 1989)
- 1908 - Abraham Maslow, American psychologist (d. 1970)
- 1914 - Jerome L. Walton, Canadian author
- 1915 - Otto Wilhelm Fischer, Austrain actor (d. 2004)
- 1919 - Joseph Murray, American surgeon, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1920 - Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (d. 1997)
- 1922 - William Manchester, American writer (d. 2004)
- 1924 - Brendan Byrne, Governor of New Jersey
- 1926 - Charles Bressler, American tenor
- 1926 - Anne McCaffrey, American author
- 1928 - George Grizzard, American actor
- 1929 - Milan Kundera, Czech writer
- 1929 - Jane Powell, American dancer, actress, and singer
- 1929 - Bo Schembechler, American football coach
- 1930 - Grace Lee Whitney, American actress
- 1931 - Rolf Hochhuth, German writer
- 1932 - Gordon Jump, American television actor (d. 2003)
- 1932 - Debbie Reynolds, American actress
- 1933 - Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1934 - Don Hastings, American actor
- 1934 - Rod Kanehl, baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1935 - Larry McDonald, American politician (d. 1983)
- 1938 - Ali MacGraw, American actress
- 1938 - John Quade, American actor
- 1939 - Phil Niekro, American baseball pitcher
- 1940 - Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1942 - Samuel R. Delany, American author
- 1942 - Annie Nightingale, British disc jockey
- 1946 - Ronnie Lane, British musician (The Small Faces and The Faces) (d. 1997)
- 1947 - Alain Connes, French mathematician
- 1948 - Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican musician
- 1949 - Gérard Mestrallet, French businessman
- 1949 - Gil Scott-Heron, American musician and composer
- 1952 - Annette O'Toole, American actress
- 1953 - Barry Sonnenfeld, producer and director
- 1964 - Erik Breukink, Dutch cyclist and manager
- 1965 - Mark Jackson, American basketball player
- 1965 - Robert Steadman, English composer
- 1970 - Sung Hi Lee, Korean-born model
- 1971 - Method Man, American musician
- 1972 - Allen and Albert Hughes, American film directors
- 1973 - Stephen Fleming, New Zealand cricketer
- 1975 - George Bastl, Swiss tennis player
- 1980 - Randy Orton, American professional wrestler
- 1980 - Takeuchi Yuko, Japanese actress
- 1981 - Hannah Spearritt, British singer (S Club 7)
- 1982 - Sam Huntington, American actor
- 1983 - Ólafur Ingi Skúlason, Icelandic footballer
- 1983 - Sean Taylor, American football player

Deaths


- 1085 - Emperor Shenzong of China (b. 1048)
- 1204 - Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of Henry II of England
- 1205 - King Amalric II of Jerusalem (b. 1145)
- 1528 - Francisco de Peñalosa, Spanish composer
- 1580 - Alonso Mudarra, Spanish composer
- 1621 - Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (b. 1577)
- 1637 - Niwa Nagashige, Japanese warlord (b. 1571)
- 1682 - Franz Egon of Fürstenberg, Bishop of Strassburg (b. 1625)
- 1684 - Roger Williams, English theologian and colonist (b. 1603)
- 1787 - Floyer Sydenham, English classical scholar (b. 1710)
- 1839 - Benjamin Pierce, Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1757)
- 1872 - Frederick Maurice, English theologian (b. 1805)
- 1878 - John Corry Wilson Daly, Canadian politician (b. 1796)
- 1914 - Rube Waddell, baseball player (b. 1876)
- 1917 - Scott Joplin, American musician and composer (b. 1868)
- 1922 - Emperor Karl I of Austria (b. 1887)
- 1946 - Noah Beery, American actor (b. 1882)
- 1947 - King George II of Greece (b. 1890)
- 1950 - Charles R. Drew, American physician (b. 1904)
- 1966 - Flann O'Brien, Irish humorist (b. 1911)
- 1968 - Lev Davidovich Landau, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
- 1976 - Max Ernst, German artist (b. 1891)
- 1984 - Marvin Gaye, American singer (b. 1939)
- 1986 - Erik Bruhn, Danish ballet dancer, choreographer (b. 1928)
- 1988 - Joe Besser, American actor and comedian (b. 1907)
- 1991 - Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1894)
- 1994 - Léon Degrelle, Belgian Nazi (b. 1906)
- 1993 - Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (b. 1954)
- 1998 - Rozz Williams, American musician (Christian Death) (b. 1963)
- 1998 - Gene Evans, American actor (b. 1922)
- 2003 - Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong actor and singer (b. 1956)
- 2004 - Carrie Snodgress, American actress (b. 1946)
- 2005 - Harald Juhnke, German entertainer (b. 1929)
- 2005 - Jack Keller, songwriter (leukemia) (b. 1936)
- 2005 - Robert Coldwell Wood, American university president and political appointee (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances


- April 1 is known as April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day in many countries.
- Feast day of Saint Hugh in the Roman Catholic Church calendar
- Roman Empire - Veneralia celebrated to honor Venus
- Japan - The official start of school years in most universities and schools. Also, the official First Day of Work at companies and offices for new university graduates hires, marked by welcoming ceremonies and speeches.
- Canada - Beginning of government's fiscal year
- India - Start of financial year.
- Brielle celebrates victory of 1572 over Spaniards.
- In San Marino, two Captains Regent, elected by Parliament, take office for six months
- Date that bobhouses, used for ice-fishing, must be taken off frozen lakes in New Hampshire.
- International Day of the Birds

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/1 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050401.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- March 31 - April 2 - March 1 - May 1 -- listing of all days ko:4월 1일 ja:4月1日 simple:April 1 th:1 เมษายน

Eminent domain

Eminent domain (US), compulsory purchase (England and Wales), compulsory acquisition (Australia) or expropriation (Canada, South Africa) in common law legal systems is the power of the state to appropriate private property for its own use without the owner's consent. The term eminent domain is used primarily in the United States, where the term was derived in the mid-19th Century from a legal treatise written by the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius in 1625. The term compulsory purchase, also originating in the mid-19th Century, is used primarily in England and Wales, and other jurisdictions that follow the principles of English law. Originally, the power of eminent domain was assumed to arise from natural law as an inherent power of the sovereign. Governments most commonly use the power of eminent domain when the acquisition of real property is necessary for the completion of a public project such as a road, and the owner of the required property is unwilling to negotiate a price for its sale. In many jurisdictions the power of eminent domain is tempered with a right that just compensation be made for the appropriation. Some coined the term expropriation to refer to "appropriation" under eminent domain law, and may especially be used with regard to cases where no compensation is made for the confiscated property. Examples include the 1960 Cuban expropriation of property held by U.S. citizens, following a breakdown in economic and diplomatic relations between the Eisenhower Administration and the Cuban government under Fidel Castro. The term "condemnation" is used to describe the act of a government exercising its authority of eminent domain. It is not to be confused with the term of the same name that describes the legal process whereby real property, generally a building, is deemed legally unfit for habitation due to its physical defects. Condemnation via eminent domain indicates the government is taking the property; usually, the only thing that remains to be decided is the amount of just compensation. Condemnation of buildings on grounds of health and safety hazards or gross zoning violation usually does not deprive the owner of the property condemned but requires the owner to rectify the offending situation. The exercise of eminent domain is not limited merely to real property. Governments may also condemn the value in a contract such as a franchise agreement (which is why many franchise agreements will stipulate that in condemnation proceedings, the franchise itself has no value).

Origins

The power of eminent domain in English law derives from the form of real property. Many landowners assume that their property right is absolute under the law, but this is rarely the case. Instead, a county or other authority has created the property in fee simple, a concept that derives from feudal fiefs. The same authority may void (or condemn) the fee and seize the land, as when a landowner fails to pay property tax. According to William Blackstone, :"The reason of originally granting out this complicated kind of interest, so that the same man shall, with regard to the same land, be at one and the same time tenant in fee-simple and also tenant at the lord's will, seems to have arisen from the nature of villenage tenure. ... Though they were willing to enlarge the interest of their villeins, by granting them estates which might endure for their lives, or sometimes by descendible to their issue, yet did not care to manumit them entirely; and for that reason it seems to have been contrived, that a power of resumption at the will of the lord, should be annexed to these grants, whereby the tenants were still kept in a state of villenage, and no freehold at all was conveyed to them in their respective lands." English-speaking countries that never had the feudal system have perpetuated the system of fee-simple property, including the power of eminent domain, for legal continuity.

United States

In the United States, the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution requires that just compensation be paid when the power of eminent domain is used, and requires that "public use" of the property be demonstrated. Most courts have interpreted "just compensation" to be the fair market value of the condemned property. Over the years the definition of "public use" has expanded to include economic development plans which use eminent domain seizures to enable commercial development for the purpose of generating more tax revenue for the local government. [http://reclaimdemocracy.org/civil_rights/public_use_corporate_abuse.php] Critics contend this perverts the intent of eminent domain law and tramples personal property rights. In Calder v. Bull, , Justice Chase thought it was preposterous for the government to take one person's property with no restriction and give it to another private party for their own profit. The definition of 'public use' was mostly viewed as 'use by the public' until the 20th century. The Supreme Court started expanding the definition in the 1920's to condemn slums [http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj4n3/cj4n3-8.pdf]. In 1981, in Michigan, the Michigan Supreme Court, building on the precedent set by Berman v. Parker, , permitted the neighborhood of Poletown (a section of Detroit, Michigan