History

One of the oldest writings discovered in Bulgaria

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 13:15:50 GMT

On August 3 prof. Nikolai Ovcharov showed the world a clay tablet dated back to 5000 BC – the early stone-copper age. The face of the tablet is completely covered with pictograms and the back is left unfinished.

The tablet was unearthed about 20 years ago but the exact spot is unclear. Prof. Ovcharov said that the tablet was turned over to him by a treasure hunter who recognized its importance.

The small clay tablet is 7 by 8 by 1.3 cm. The face side is divided in 5 zones, each containing two graphic elements – triangles, rhombuses, circles. The pictograms are carved and then filled with white paste, probably made by guano.

The most important thing on the tablet according to prof. Ovcharov is the human figure with an outstretched hand depicted on it. It is still unclear whether the figure is standing or lying down. The latter could be a symbol of human sacrifice. The archeologists are however certain that the writing has a meaning to it. It is still argued if this is writing or not. According to many scientists it is an example of proto-writing – symbols with an exact meaning well known to the populace that are the early steps of ideograms.

Prof. Ovcharov concludes that there is really no way of reading the tablet, as this is a find 2000 years younger than any other written language. However we could try to interpret some of the symbols – there are many suggestions on the meaning and probable use of the tablet. The symbols could represent numbers, cult practices, deed, etc. It is guessed that such early writing is probably the work of a closed group of people – probably priests or shamans who could read and write these.

Prof. Ovcharov himself connects the circle with the cult to the sun, the triangle and rhombus with a dot in the middle - as a symbol for the womb and fertility.

It is speculated that the find contains a prototype of the future syllable writing from the Mediterranean known as Linear A and Linear B. They are however dated to several thousand years later than the tablet. Without a doubt however the tablet tells us that people from the late stone age had a well developed cult system and good knowledge of nature.

At present the archeologist prof Ovcharov is carrying out tests that will give more precise information the age and source of the tablet.

Tags: culture, Bulgaria, archeology, history

source: worldshistory.informbank.com

The Greatest Tennis Players

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 16:40:02 GMT

In the great history of tennis it is too difficult to be named the greatest player of all times. The great players are numerous - from "Big Bill" Tilden to Roger Federer, from Suzanne Lenglen to Justine Henin-Herden, and the easiest way to define a tennis player as a great one is using the number of his cups, especially those from the Grand Slam Tournament.

Some of the greatest players in the times before the Open era are:

Bobby Riggs - his full name is Robert Larimore Riggs; born on 25 February 1918 in Los Angeles, California, died on 10 October 1995. Bobby Riggs won 6 amateur Grand Slam titles, 4 professional Grand Slam titles and was seven times a finalist. He was world's ¹ 1 tennis player in 1946 and 1947. He became very popular years later, with his "Battle of the Sexes" (1973), showed on the national television. He wanted to prove that the male athlete is better than the female no matter the age (he was 55 years old!) and that's why he challenged two of the best female tennis players of those times. He beat N.1 Margaret Smith Court 6-2, 6-1 but was defeated by N.2 Billie Jean King, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

Jack Kramer - John Albert Kramer was born on 1 August 1921 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He won 10 amateur Grand Slam titles and 2 professional Grand Slam titles. Jack Kramer was world's N. 1 tennis player for a number of years, but his best year was 1947 when he was Wimbledon Singles (at the final he defeated Thomas "Tom" Brown, Jr. 6-1, 6-3, 6-2) and Doubles (with Bob Falkenburg) Champion, U.S. Singles and Doubles (with Ted Schroeder) Champion, Davis Cup Champion.

Pancho Gonzales - Ricardo Alonso Gonzales was born on 9 May 1928 and died on 3 July 1995. He won 4 amateur Grand Slam titles, 12 professional Grand Slam titles and was 6 times a finalist. Pancho Gonzales was World N. 1 tennis player for the still unequalled 9 years during 1950s and 1960s. One of the highlights in the history of tennis is his 5-set match against Charlie Pasarell at the third round of Wimbledon in 1969. The match took 2 days to finish and lasted 5 hours and 12 minutes. In the fifth set Gonzales won all the seven match points that Pasarell had against him, twice coming back from 0-40 deficits. Gonzales won the match and the final result was 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9.

Among the greatest male tennis players during the Open era are:

Pete Sampras - Peter Sampras was born on 12 August 1971 in Washington, DC. He had won the record 14 Grand Slam singles titles (seven times Wimbledon, five times US Open and twice Australian Open; he hadn't won Roland Garros!). The number of all his titles is 64 (including the Grand Slam) - 5 in Tennis Masters Cup, 11 in ATP Masters Series and 34 in ATP Tour. Pete Sampras had an almost perfect playing style - his first serve is one of the best in the whole history of tennis, leading to the nickname "Pistol Pete"; a superb second serve and one-handed backhand; perfect net game.

Rod Laver - Rodney George Laver was born on 6 August 1938 in Rockhampton, Australia. He is the only player in the history of tennis who had won twice all four Grand Slam titles in the same year - in 1962 (as an amateur) and in 1969 (as a professional). Beside these he had won three more times Grand Slam titles - Australian Championships in 1960 and Wimbledon in 1961 and in 1968. Rod Laver was World N. 1 for 6 consecutive years. In honour of his achievements in 2000 the central court of Melbourne Park, which today hosts the Australian Open, was named the Rod Laver Arena.

Andre Agassi - Andre Kirk Agassi was born on 29 April 1970 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He had won 8 Grand Slam titles (four times Australian Open, twice US Open and once Wimbledon and French Open) and he is the one of the five tennis players to have won all four Grand Slam events. Agassi is the only male player during the Open era who had one all the Grand Slam titles, the Masters, the Davis Cup and the Olympic Gold medal.

One of the greatest female tennis players in the years before the Open era is Suzanne Lenglen. Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen was born on 24 May 1899 in Compiegne, France, and died on 4 July 1938. She won 25 Grand Slam titles (10 times French Open and 15 times Wimbledon - in singles, doubles and mixed doubles). In 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium, she made a medal record, winning the gold medal in women's singles and in the mixed doubles, and the bronze medal in women's doubles. Suzanne Lenglen was the last French female tennis player to win Wimbledon ladies (in 1925) until Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.

Some of the greatest female players during the Open era are:

Margaret Smith Court - she was born on 16 July 1942 in Albury, New South Wales, Australia. She won a record 64 Grand Slam titles - 24 singles (11 times Australian Open, 5 times French Open, 3 times Wimbledon and 5 times US Open), 19 women's doubles and 19 mixed doubles. Margaret Smith Court is the only tennis player to have won the calendar year Grand Slam in both singles (in 1970) and mixed doubles (in 1963 with the Australian tennis player Ken Fletcher, and in 1965 with three different partners). She retired permanently from tennis in 1977.

Steffi Graf - Stefanie Maria Graf was born on 14 June 1969 in Mannheim, Germany. She won 22 Grand Slam singles titles (4 times Australian Open, 6 times French Open, 7 times Wimbledon and 5 times US Open) and she is the only tennis player, male or female, to have won all the four Grand Slam singles events at least four times each. In 1988 Steffi Graf became the only tennis player to have won the "Golden Slam" - she won the four Grand Slam singles tournaments and the Olympic gold medal (in Seoul) in the same year. Graf retired from tennis in 1999. In 2001 she married Andre Agassi.

Tags: sports history, tennis, sport, players

» Wilson nCode N6 110 Tennis Racquet - T6379
This is a very great racquet. I always had tennis-elbow problem. Not this one. Not sure whether it has anything to do with the advertised nano technology but the frame has better feedback and control than most of the popular racquets that I have tried. More power even with slow or medium stroke. The look is also great.
The Wilson nCode n6 110 is a versatile choice in the nCode line, combining the power of nCode with a more flexible, controlled beam. The n6 suits a wide variety of playing styles and ability levels, as long as the player possesses a moderate to long swing.
- Headsize: 110 sq in
- Length: 27.5 in

source: worldshistory.informbank.com

The president of Cuba Fidel Castro

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 21:54:31 GMT

The real name of Fidel Castro is Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz. He was born on 13 August 1926 in town Biran, Cuba. Fidel Castro is son of possessor of plantation for sugar-cane near Santiago de Cuba. In the period 1931-1947 Fidel Castro was studied in La Sal College in Santiago de Cuba, then in Jesuitical college in town Dolores and in Jesuitical college in Belen. After that he studied in Havana's university and then he worked as a lawyer. Fidel Castro decided to be a revolutionist, because he was shocked from the way of living of poor and destitute people in the country. He was motivated from Marxist-Leninist ideology. In 1952 Fulhensio Batista took up the authority in Cuba after coup d`etat and he put dictatorial regime (administration), which was embodiment of corruption decline, inequality and poorness. After the coup d`etat Fidel Castro took apart in anti-government actions and he concealed. He was at the head of unsuccessful armed rebellion against the barrack in Monkada. 69 people from 111 were killed in the attack and Fidel Castro was arrested. He was sentenced and sent off in prison for 15 years. In 1955 he was free, because of common amnesty. After that he migrated in Mexico, where he was in the making of a new group from revolutionists for the following stage in the fight against dictatorial administration of Batista. Fidel Castro arrived underground in Cuba on 2 December 1956. With him were 80 his followers among them was Che Guevara. Castro leaded the partisan fight 18 months from the basis in mountain Sierra Maestra. In March 1958 he published a manifesto with which he called the Cubans for nation-wide fight against Batista. The bursting rebellion was so successful that Fidel Castro went into Havana triumphal on 8 January 1959. After one month he got up a prime minister of Cuba.

Fidel Castro transformed Cuba in socialist country. He made many changes in social and economics politics. He made programmes which totally raise the literates and the quality of the health services for all of the Cuban people. Fidel sent off many members of the Cuban elite in exile, he made the society militarized; he put control of the media and made the education political. Conservative and moderate people in Cuba went in Spain, Mexico, France and most of them in USA, Florida-Miami. In 1960 Fidel Castro made allies with USSR. He supported the revolutions in Latin America, Africa and Asia too. He got up very strong opposition of USA, with which before that were main merchant partners. Most of the American politicians saw in Castro's politics threat to the security of USA. In 1961 the attitudes between Cuba and USA made worse. The US president Eisenhower accused the Cuban leader of pushing his country in the hands of USSR and Nikita Khrushchev. USA made armed attack against Cuba from 17 to 19 April 1961. USA made army from Cuban exiles which have to take down Fidel Castro. But Cuban army killed most of the US army in the Bay of Pigs and the rest 1000 people were taken captive. In the period 22-28 October 1962 started the crisis. American reconnaissance planes uncovered that USSR was bringing in Cuba atom fighting heads. The world was in danger of nuclear war. USSR succeeded to cope with crisis. They made a secret alliance with USA. Since that Fidel Castro is one of the biggest enemies of USA. The American politicians and secret services made over 600 attempts to kill the Cuban president but all of them were unsuccessful. After the crisis USSR helped to Cuba with import of goods and other material assistances, because USA made blockade of Cuba. USSR bought up most of the Cuban production from sugar- cane. On 15 October 1967 Fidel Castro announced that Ernesto Che Guevara was killed in partisan fight in Bolivia. In 1975 Castro sent off Cuban military units in Angola to help of partisan fight for independence.

In our days Fidel Castro has problems with his health. Temporarily the authority is in hands of Castro's brother Raul. In these days Fidel Castro will make 80 years. In Cuba there are many speculations for the health of Cuban president. Some opposition Cuban politicians in USA even propagate that Fidel is dead. The Cuban president says that he endured little operation after a problem. He says that USA can be calm that he doesn't rule when he will be 100 years old. The personal doctor of Fidel Castro thinks that Cuban leader will reach 120 years without any problems. Euhenio Selman says that Fidel Castro makes regularly physical exercises and eats narrow field of food. The Cuban leader saw 9 American presidents and he gets off safe. He is very important person for the world history.

Tags: leaders, Fidel Castro, Cuba, history

source: worldshistory.informbank.com

Henry Ford

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 15:42:11 GMT

Henry Ford did not invent the automobile but he was the first man to mass-produce it and thus make it available to the ordinary man. Many automobiles were being built by hand at the turn of the century and were much too expensive for all but the wealthy. In 1903 Henry Ford's first mass- produced Model T cars cost 850 dollars. By the early 1920s he was able to reduce the price to 350 dollars. Between 1903 and 1927 Ford manufactured 15 000 000 Model T Fords and earned a profit of 700 000 000 dollars.

Henry Ford was himself a born mechanic and could build a car with his own hands. So he respected his workers and treated them well. He built them a special town on the outskirts of the city.

Ford's basic wage of five dollars a day caused not only a wages explosion in the city it also caused a population explosion. Blacks from the south poured into the city until there were almost as many blacks in Detroit as whites.

Tags: persons, ford, automobile

source: worldshistory.informbank.com

Caernaforn castle

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 20:52:28 GMT

Caernaforn Castle is one of the most beautiful castles in the United Kingdom. The English built it between 1285 and 1322. Edward I of England ordered the castle to be built three years after the last independent Prince of Wales, Llewellyn, was killed and his principality occupied by the English. Entrance is through the Gate of the King, a great arch surmounted by a statue of Edward II, the first English Prince of Wales. Although the castle is now only a shell, it is no less impressive for that. The Eagle Tower, which is over 40 meters high, can be reached by climbing 158 steps, passing by a small chamber that is known as the Queen's Oratory, where Edward II, Prince of Wales, was said to have been born.

Legend also tells us that the entrance to the castle on the east side, known as the Gate of Queen Eleanor, was where the infant Edward was presented to the people of Wales as their new Prince. Since those days the ceremony of the investiture of the Prince of Wales has always been held in Caernaforn.

source: worldshistory.informbank.com

Vasil Levsky

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 01:19:32 GMT

The idea of preparing a popular revolution inside Bulgaria was conceived by Levsky in 1868, following the failure of the detachment of Hadji Dimiter and Stefan Karadja and the disbanding of the Second Bulgarian Legion in Belgrade. Levsky realized that the people were not prepared for such a struggle and now he was convinced that in their struggle for liberation the Bulgarians had to rely exclusively on their own strength and resources. He toured the country and met with people of different social strata. He returned for a second and longer tour in 1869 in Bulgaria and founded the first local revolutionary committees which were to prepare the people for the future armed struggle. But Levsky went further on. He drew up a new programme for the preparation of the popular revolution and in the course of several years managed to set up a revolutionary organization stood a Central Revolutionary Committee based in the town of Lovech.

During Levsky`s lifetime the number of the local revolutionary committees reached several hundred, including many auxiliary groups. In creating this network, Levsky displayed his exceptional qualities as a revolutionary because neither in the Bulgarian nor in the world revolutionary movement had anyone before him managed to put the struggle for national liberation on such broad organizational foundations.

source: worldshistory.informbank.com

The Father of the Computer - John Atanasov

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 01:16:57 GMT

A citizen of the United States, John Atanasov had a Bulgarian father and a French-Irish mother. His mother's father fought in the US Civil War. His father's was killed in the Bulgarian April 1876 Uprising against the Ottoman yoke. As a lecturer at Iowa State University in 1937 John Atanasov had some ideas about improving an IBM tabulator but the company refused to authorize his meddling. It took 35 years and a series of exhausting court cases until he succeeded in proving that he was the father of the intelligent machine. In the land of his father - BULGARIA, John Atanasov was awarded the order of Cyril and Methodius, first class in 1970 and was awarded the order oh the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He gave the following definition of his brainchild: “The computer is but a means, a tool, and a useful instrument and remains one so long as people manage to use it well.” John Atanasov after long and hard examinations in 1937 with the help of the assistant Berry and 650 dollars from the University made the first prototype of electrical - computing machine.

But the good Bulgarian man Atanasov didn't look for his copyright 40 years. Just about in 1973 the court restores the copyright of John Atanasov. Then the news arrived in Bulgaria and Bulgarian filming team made the first documental film for the inventor of the century.

» Book: The Engines of Our Ingenuity: An Engineer Looks at Technology and Culture
Based on episodes from Lienhard's widely broadcast public radio series, this intriguing set of essays begins with a simple premise: more than we often care to admit, our lives are shaped by our machines. Fleshing out this proposition, Lienhard ransacks 2,000 years of scientific and technological history, cobbling together a quirky biography of the strange being he calls homo technologicus. From Galileo's inspired tinkerings to a thumbnail history of the DC-3, this book plunges into the annals of mechanical culture and turns up a technophile's delight of canny observations.

source: worldshistory.informbank.com

The kings and queens of England

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 21:35:40 GMT

Since 1066 there have been 40 monarchs (thirty-five kings, five queens and seven dynasties) in England. The British monarchy is 400 years older than their Parliament. The rule of the monarchy has only been broken once. That was after the English Civil War. Then (between 1649-60) the country was governed by Oliver Cromwell and his Parliament. Only 14 monarchs have stayed on the throne for more than twenty-five years. One of them is Queen Elizabeth II. In over 1000 years, the British monarchy has collected lots of royal customs and traditions. Some are very ancient, some are surprisingly new.

1066-87 William the Conqueror
1087-1100 William II
1100-35 Henry I
1135-54 Stephen
1154-89 Henry II
1189-99 Richard I (the Lionheart)
1199-1216 John
1216-72 Henry III
1272-1307 Edward I
1307-27 Edward II
1327-77 Edward III
1377-99 Richard II
1399-1413 Henry IV
1413-22 Henry V
1422-61 Henry VI
1461-83 Edward IV
1483 Edward V
1483-85 Richard III
1485-1509 Henry VII
1509-47 Henry VIII
1547-53 Edward VI
1553-58 Mary
1558-1603 Elizabeth I
1603-25 James I (James of Scotland)
1625-49 Charles I
1649-60 Civil War ruled by Oliver Cromwell and Parliament
1660-85 Charles II
1685-89 James II
1689-1702 William III and Mary
1702-14 Anne
1714-27 George I
1727-60 George II
1760-1820 George III
1820-30 George IV
1830-37 William IV
1837-1901 Victoria
1901-10 Edward VII
1910-36 George V
1936 Edward VIII
1936-52 George VI
1952- Elizabeth II

Six of these kings and queens changed the history of the country. William I was the first Frenchman to become king of England. He knew exactly how many people, towns, villages and farms England had. He ordered all this information to be written into the DOMESDAY BOOK.

Henry VIII started the Church of England. He left the Roman Church and started a new English church.

While Elizabeth I was Queen, explorers like Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world and soon England began to develop as an empire. It was also an important age for the arts. The most famous writer of her reign was William Shakespeare.

The Civil War in England was between Charles I`s army of `Cavaliers` and Oliver Cromwell’s army of `Roundheads`. After seven years the Roundheads won and in 1649 they executed Charles I. Monarchy was restored in 1660.

Queen Victoria ruled for 64 years. At that time England was the richest and most powerful country in Europe. It traded all over the world and was a huge empire. But by the 19th century Parliament had all the real political power. The Queen was `Head of State` but the Prime Minister was `Head of Government`.

Edward VIII changed royal history in a very unusual way. After just eleven months on the throne he decided to stop being King. He abdicated because the government and the royal family were against his marriage to an American woman.

source: worldshistory.informbank.com

Marco Polo

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 21:19:07 GMT

In the thirteenth century, large parts of Asia were controlled by the Mongol Empire. One of this empire's most famous leaders was Kublai Khan and his capital Khanbalik (modern day Peking). Two of the first Europeans to visit him were Niccolo and Maffeo Polo. These two merchants were brothers and they came from Venice. Venice was a great sea - port in the thirteenth century. The most important source of her wealth was goods imported from Asia which were sold in Europe. These goods were for rich people in Europe - silk cloth from China, precious stones from India, spices from south - East Asia. In 1271 Niccolo and Maffeo made a second journey to Khanbalik. This time, Niccolo`s seventeen year - old son, Marco, went with them. They went by the ancient `silk` road, stopping at the great trading centres - Mosul, Baghdad - and over the great Persian desert and Khurasan to Samarkand. Their caravan climbed slowly up to the land of the Pamirs. Then they passed through the `oasis` cities of Yarkand and Khotan, and the mysterious lake of Lop Nor. Then the road went on, for 2500 kilometres over the Great Gobi Desert, to the Great Wall of China. It was the year 1275 when they reached the Great Wall. The journey was difficult and often very dangerous but Kublai Khan sent an escort of honour to protect them. Kublai Khan liked Marco very much. He had an ability to learn languages and customs, and Kublai gave the boy a special diplomatic job. As a result Marco spent the next 21 years in Asia as Kublai Khan`s special representative. During that time Marco visited: Malaya, Sumatra, Tibet, India, Sri Lanka, and Burma. Finally, though, Marco, along with his father and uncle, left China in 1292. When they returned to Venice three years later, Marco was 41 and had been away for 24 years. But that wasn't the end of his adventures. Soon after, during a war between Venice and Genoa, he was captured and put in prison. There, he told another prisoner (a writer called Rustichello) about his life in Asia. Rustichello later wrote a book called "The Travels of Marco Polo" which made Marco famous all over the world.

source: worldshistory.informbank.com

The Jews in Early America

Sat, 08 Jul 2006 20:17:28 GMT

Though the first group of Jews to settle in the American colonies came to New Amsterdam in 1654, the history of Jews in America begins with the discovery of America itself.

Christopher Columbus wrote in his diary: "After the Spanish monarchs had banished all the Jews from their kingdoms and territories, in the same month they gave me the order to undertake with sufficient men my voyage of discovery to the Indies." Was this mere coincidence, or was Columbus aware of a link between the banishment of the Jews and the order to undertake a voyage of discovery? We know that after Columbus had been turned down by the King of Portugal, he appealed to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain for men, money and ships, and that the Spanish monarchs for several years fefused his request. Spain was not yet a sea power. The King and Queen, who by their marriage had united the provinces of Aragonand Castile in the north, were busy driving the Moors out of Southern Spain, Christianizing their own people, and consolidating their Kingdom. They had neither the time, nor the money to risk on a venture such as Columbus proposed - to find a route East by sailing West.

But in year 1492 two important events took place. In January, Granada, the last stronghold of the Moorsin Southern Spain, fell. At the end of March the King and Queen signed an order that all the Jews who didn't convert to Christianity leave within four months, and that their wealth and property be left to the Crown. At last Queen Isabella had the money - and the inclination - to listen to the sailor from Genoa. She conferred on him the title of Admiral and gave him three ships and 90 men for his voyage of discovery. Columbus sailed with the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, on August 3, 1492, exactly one day after the final expulsion of the Jews from Spain.

This is how Jews are related to the discovery of America. Today 5.7 out of 13 million Jews live in the United States.

source: worldshistory.informbank.com