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‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’ could be
heard playing on Victrolas and everyone danced new dances like the fox trot, turkey trot, bunny hug, lame duck,
chicken scratch, and the kangaroo dip. Silent movies were shown in Nickelodeon theaters – it cost a nickel to get
in. WWI began in 1914 and the Edwardian Era ended. Thousands of American “dough” boys were shipped
“Over There.” The war ended on November 11, 1918. More women than ever joined the work force,
wore makeup, smoked cigarettes, drove automobiles, flew airplanes, and marched for the right to vote! Prohibition was
ushered in after the signing of the Volstead Act of 1919. Fashion: At the beginning of the decade, skirts were still floor length. The higher, looser waistline
saw the end of the corset, but the hemline was still narrow. The remedy was slits which then made it easier
to walk and dance. More emphasis was placed on shoes, boots and hose. Bodices and blouses sported collarless V
and square necklines called “pneumonia” blouses. This was the last decade of complicated construction
of inner bodices consisting of countless snaps and/or hooks and eyes. Hemlines were five to eight inches above
the floor in 1916! The waistline was about normal and looser. The bobbed “Dutch Boy” hairstyle
came in along with the permanent wave. Hats: The Gainsborough and large picture hat were popular at the beginning of the decade but smaller, taller
hats were soon the rage. The second half of the decade, saw small hats with vertical trims. The picture
hat with a wide brim but smaller crown was flattering. Wire basket frames were last used in this decade.
The forerunner of the cloche hat of the ‘20’s made it’s appearance in 1917.
Police Officer William L. Potts of Detroit, Michigan,
decided to do something about the problem caused by the ever increasing number of automobiles on the streets. What he had
in mind was figuring out a way to adapt railroad signals for street use. Potts used red, amber, and green railroad lights
and about thirty-seven dollars worth of wire and electrical controls to make the world’s first 4-way three color traffic
light. It was installed in 1920 on the corner of Woodward and Michigan Avenues in Detroit. Within a year, Detroit had installed
a total of fifteen of the new automatic lights.
Russia and the West had harboured mutual
suspicions of one another since before the Bolshevik revolution. Russia had aggressively sought territory from European states
during the long demise of the Ottoman Empire. In the mid-twentieth century the anti-Russian role that in the past been had
played by Britain, France and Austria was now adopted by the US. The seeds were sown during the inter-war years - Western
intervention in the Russian civil war and the view that had been adopted by many in the West that Nazism would be a bulwark
against Bolshevism increased Stalin's hostility to the Western democracies. What cemented this resentment was the fact
that the West had dithered for so long to open a second front, leaving the Russians to face the full brunt of the Reich's
armies, indeed many considered it to be intentionally done in order that the Germany and Russia would destroy one another.
In turn the West were deeply suspicious of Russia's belligerent expansive policies and Stalin's treatment of Poland
caused this divide to open even further. Poor old Poland, if you look at a map of Europe over the past centuries you will
see that it has moved about quite a lot, parts have been chopped off and parts have been added on. In the post World War II
talks, Stalin insisted that Eastern Poland, seized as part of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939 should remain Russian territory,
Churchill and Roosevelt agreed and compensated Poland with former German territories in the West. But Stalin also wanted the
type of government that he chose to be in power in Poland, hence his refusal to help the Poles who rose in the Warsaw Rising
in 1944. In January 1945 Stalin recognised the Communist dominated Lublin committee as the government of Poland as opposed
to the elected body. Later that year at the Yalta conference it was agreed that the Lublin committee would be expanded to
include non-communists in a Provisional Government. However, by mid-1945 all key posts were held by Communists and in a dubious
election in 1947, the Communists won an overwhelming majority.
This process was repeated in other Eastern European countries
and as the Red Army liberated Bulgaria, Rumania, Czechoslovakia and Hungary communist governments were installed. Of course
another bone of contention was what to do with Germany, the Allies could not agree over this issue, showing a tremendous lack
of trust in one another. They divided up Germany so that East became moulded in the image of Russia while the West followed
the West. Churchill was to define the climate of time and indeed the guts of the century when he famously declared ‘From
Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the continent'. No direct confrontation
had yet occurred but that was all to change in Greece. During the occupation of Greece in the Second World War the communist
resistance movement (EAM) trained a guerrilla army (ELAS) with the intention of achieving a communist revolution similar to
Tito's in Yugoslavia. After British forces liberated Athens in October 1944 the ELAS and the nationalist forces clashed,
a truce was called in February 1945 which left some two-thirds of the country in the hands of the communists. However, the
communists fared badly at the subsequent elections in March 1946, Stalin intervened supporting a Communist rising which resulted
in a renewal of the civil war. Britain could no longer support the non-communist Greek government, they pleaded to the American
administration for support, who at the behest of Under-Secretary of State Dean Acheson formulated the Truman Doctrine. It
was not specifically related to Greece, it was so much more than that, it illustrated that the US was finally abandoning its
isolation replacing Britain as the strong power in the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
The Truman Doctrine was
not confined just to Europe, indeed American involvement in South-East Asia stemmed from the Doctrine. A consequence of it
was the Marshall Plan which was enunciated by General George C Marshall, US Secretary of State with a view to stopping shortages
of food, fuel and raw materials which he believed would make Europe an easy prey for communism. Although Eastern bloc countries
were invited to partake in the Plan, it was only the Western European states that accepted, enthusiastically creating the
Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) to help in the administration of the Plan. It proved to be a major
success, with industrial production rising by twenty-five per cent in two years. Despite the evident benefits of the Truman
Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, Czechoslovakia, the only Eastern European country to have retained a democratic government,
joined the Soviet Bloc in 1948. The Czechs were still disgusted with the West since the Munich sell-out of them in 1938, preferring
to side with the Russians who had liberated them in 1945. However, the majority of the government was non-communist but the
communists originally worked well in the system, initiating a programme of land reform and nationalisation of major industry
thus making them popular with the masses. However, the communists began purging the police force of non-communists and taking
over positions of power and the non-communist foreign minister Jan Masaryk was found dead in suspicious circumstances. Eventually,
the communists launched a coup d'etat, seizing power and probing a long red finger into the heart of the Western democracies.
America swore that it was as far as communism would get, the Russians had other ideas, the scene was set for a show-down
which was to be acted out in Berlin. By 1947, the Western powers had merged their zones of occupation, ended denazification,
released prisoners of war, began a programme of central German government and relaxed economic restrictions on German economies.
These reforms angered Stalin who viewed it as weak and granting an opportunity for the Nazis to rise again. The issue of currency
reform was in many ways the straw that broke the camel's back. The Allies had decided to introduce a new currency to end
black trading and instigate an economic revival - it worked - production rose by fifty per cent in six months. The Russians
responded by introducing a new currency in their zone, thus further widening the division. Subsequently, they blockaded Berlin
on 24 June 1945. The Allies organised a massive air-lift to get supplies to their beleaguered zones in Berlin. Stalin realising
he had failed agreed to reopen road and rail links in May 1949. However, the Cold War was to spread far from the European
arena. Japan had annexed Korea in 1910, following the Second World War, the Americans and the Soviets agreed that they should
occupy Korea. The demarcation line between the Communist North, under Kim Il Sung an the South under the right-wing President
Syngman Rhee was the thirty-eight parallel. Both leaders desired to see the country united under their respective systems.
On 25 June 1950, the North launched a surprise attack that swiftly saw the capture of Seoul, overrunning nearly all
of the South with the exception of the important port of Pusan. The UN found their hands were tied because of the Russian
boycott so the vast majority of troops rallied to defend the South were American. The American offensive was highly successful,
regaining all territory by October 1950. They pushed on invading the North causing the Chinese to enter the war who succeeding
in rolling the American forces all the way back into the South and capturing Seoul. The war now settled into a battle of attrition,
peace talks began in 1951, an agreement reached in 1953 settled on the 38th parallel dividing North and South and thus returning
everything very much to the way it was before the war. To achieve this over four million Korean citizens had perished. Similarly,
at the 1954 Geneva Conference Vietnam was divided along the 17th degree of latitude with the North been under the control
of the communist Ho Chi Minh government. It was seen universally as a breakthrough and a series of conferences were held throughout
the rest of the fifties which led to something of a thaw in the Cold War. However it was far from a total melting as the Russian
invasion of Hungary and the invasion of Suez by Britain and France attested to. The thaw completely ended in May 1960 when
a US spy plane was shot down over Russia, the crisis escalated into the Russian premier's demand that the Allies completely
withdraw from Berlin, which the Allies regarded as an attempt to incorporate the entire city into East Germany. Indeed, the
situation in Berlin had become worrying for the communists as tens of thousands of people arrived in reception centres in
the West during 1960.
This had the effect of disgracing the supposedly socialist
showpiece of East Berlin and clearing it of vast numbers of skilled personnel. Reacting to this, the East German army closed
all crossings from East Berlin to the West on 13 August 1961 and in subsequent weeks erected the now infamous Berlin wall.
Paradoxically, the Wall contributed to a peaceful co-existence as it removed Berlin from being one of the most dangerous issues
in the Cold War, the conflict once again moved to different arenas, one of which was Cuba. In 1959, Fidel Castro's communist
forces overthrew the dictatorship of Batista. In an attempt to kick-start the economy, many American owned industries were
nationalised, a move which seriously aggravated the US. They refused to purchase Cuba's main export, sugar which was in
turn bought by Russia, bringing Castro closer to Moscow resulting in Russia building missile sites in Cuba which could threaten
American cities. On 16 October, American spy planes procured aerial photographs showing ballistic missiles with atomic warheads
which were on their way to Cuba. US President Kennedy ordered a blockade to prevent the ships arriving reaching Cuba, after
a tentative stand-off where the whole world was held in the balance, the Russians eventually withdrew, the world had come
to the brink of nuclear war. Throughout the sixties the Cold War was marked by the Soviet Union and the US doing their utmost
to retain their respective spheres of influence. In 1965, US President Lyndon Johnson landed troops on the Dominican Republic
with a view to preventing what the US administration styled as another Cuban revolution. In 1968, the Soviets crushed the
Prague Spring of Czechoslovakia. Again in 1965, Johnson sent troops to South Vietnam to bolster the faltering anti-communist
government becoming embroiled in the region for a decade. From the seventies there was an easing of tensions, a détente
between the two old foes. The rise of China, Japan and Western Europe and the rise of African nationalism coupled with the
disunity of the communist alliance augured a new international politic.
Fashion in the years 1910-1919 is characterized by a
rich and exotic opulence in the first half of the decade in contrast with the somber practicality of garments worn during
the Great War. Men's trousers were worn cuffed to ankle-length and creased. Skirts rose from floor length to well above
the ankle, women began to bob their hair, and the stage was set for the radical new fashions associated with the Jazz Age
of the 1920s. crazy hatsDuring the early years of the 1910s the fashionable silhouette became much more lithe, fluid and soft
than in the 1900s. When the Ballets Russes performed Scheherazade in Paris in 1910, a craze for Orientalism ensued. The couturier
Paul Poiret was one of the first designers to translate this vogue into the fashion world. Poiret's clients were at once
transformed into harem girls in flowing pantaloons, turbans, and vivid colors and geishas in exotic kimono. The Art Nouveau
movement began to emerge at this time and its influence was evident in the designs of many couturiers of the time. Simple
felt hats, turbans, and clouds of tulle replaced the styles of headgear popular in the 1900s. It is also notable that the
first real fashion shows were organized during this period in time, by the first female couturier, Jeanne Paquin, who was
also the first Parisian couturier to open foreign branches in London, Buenos Aires, and Madrid. Two of the most influential
fashion designers of the time were Jacques Doucet and Mariano Fortuny. The French designer Jacques Doucet excelled in superimposing
pastel colors and his elaborate gossamery dresses suggested the Impressionist shimmers of reflected light. His distinguished
customers never lost a taste for his fluid lines and flimsy, diaphanous materials. While obeying imperatives that left little
to the imagination of the couturier, Doucet was nonetheless a designer of immense taste and discrimination, a role many have
tried since, but rarely with Doucet's level of success. The Venice-based designer Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo was a curious
figure, with very few parallels in any age. For his dress designs he conceived a special pleating process and new dyeing techniques.
He patented his process in Paris on 4 November 1909. He gave the name Delphos to his long clinging sheath dresses that undulated
with color. The name Delphos came from the bronze statue of the Delphic Charioteer. Each garment was made of a single piece
of the finest silk, its unique color acquired by repeated immersions in dyes whose shades were suggestive of moonlight or
of the watery reflections of the Venetian lagoon. Breton straw, Mexican cochineal, and indigo from the Far East were among
the ingredients that Fortuny used. Among his many devotees were Eleanora Duse, Isadora Duncan, Cleo de Merode, the Marchesa
Casati, Emilienne d'Alencon, and Liane de Pougy. The extravagances of the Parisian couturiers came in a variety of shapes,
but the most popular silhouette throughout the decade was the tunic over a long underskirt. Early in the period, waistlines
were high (just below the bust), echoing the Empire or Dir?ctoire styles of the early 19th century. Full, hip length "lampshade"
tunics were worn over narrow, draped skirts. By 1914, skirts were widest at the hips and very narrow at the ankle. These hobble
skirts made long strides impossible. Waistlines were loose and softly defined. They gradually dropped to near the natural
waist by mid-decade, where they were to remain through the war years. Tunics became longer and underskirts fuller and shorter.
By 1916 women were wearing a calf-length dress over an ankle-length underskirt. When the Paris fashion houses reopened after
the war, styles for 1919 showed a lowered and even more undefined waist. The Tailleur or tailored suit of matching jacket
and skirt was worn in the city and for travel. Jackets followed the lines of tunics, with raised, lightly defined waists.
Fashionable women of means wore striking hats and fur stole or scarves with their tailleurs, and carried huge matching muffs.
Most coats were cocoon or kimono shaped, wide through the shoulders and narrower at the hem. Fur coats were popular. Changes
in dress during World War I were dictated more by necessity than fashion. As more and more women were forced to work, they
demanded clothes that were better suited to their new activities; these derived from the shirtwaists and tailored suits. Social
events were postponed in favor of more pressing engagements and the need to mourn the increasing numbers of dead, visits to
the wounded, and the general gravity of the time meant that darker colors and simpler cuts became the norm.[1] A new monochrome
look emerged that was unfamiliar to young women in comfortable circumstances. Women dropped the cumbersome underskirts from
their tunic-and-skirt ensembles, simplifying dress and shortening skirts in one step. [2]By 1915, the Gazette due Bon Ton
was showing full skirts with hemlines above the ankle. These were called the "war crinoline" by the fashion press,
who promoted the style as "patriotic" and "practical". Furthermore people were dressing less extravagantly
due to funds being put toward the war effort. According to Elieen Collard, Coco Chanel took notice of this and created the
new innovation of costume jewelry. She replaced expensive necklaces with glass or crystal beads. "Without grading them
to size, she mixed pearls with other beads to fashion original jewelry to be worn with her designs" that were inspired
by women joining the workforce. Shoes had high, slightly curved heels. Shorter skirts put an emphasis on stockings, and gaiters
were worn with streetwear in winter. "Tango shoes" inspired by the dance craze had criss-crossing straps at the
ankles that peeked out from draped and wrapped evening skirts. During the war years, working women wore sensible laced shoes
with round toes and lower wedge heels. Large hats with wide brims and broad hats with face-shadowing brims were the height
of fashion in the early years of the decade, gradually shrinking to smaller hats with flat brims. Bobbed or short hair was
introduced to Paris fashion in 1909 and spread to avant garde circles in England during the war[6]. Dancer, silent film actress
and fashion trendsetter Irene Castle helped spread the fashion for short hairstyles in America. The sack coat or lounge coat
continued to replace the frock coat for most informal and semi-formal occasions. Three-piece suits consisting of a sack coat
with matching waistcoat (U.S. vest) and trousers were worn, as were matching coat and waistcoat with contrasting trousers,
or matching coat and trousers with contrasting waistcoat. Trousers were ankle length with turn-ups or cuffs, and were creased
front and back using a trouser press. The gap between the shorter trousers and the shoes was filled with short gaiters or
spats. Waistcoats fastened lower on the chest, and were collarless. The blazer, a navy blue or brightly-colored or striped
flannel coat cut like a sack coat with patch pockets and brass buttons, was worn for sports, sailing, and other casual activities.
The Norfolk jacket remained fashionable for shooting and rugged outdoor pursuits. It was made of sturdy tweed or similar fabric
and featured paired box pleats over the chest and back, with a fabric belt. Worn with matching breeches or (U.S. knickerbockers),
it became the Norfolk suit, suitable for bicycling or golf with knee-length stockings and low shoes, or for hunting with sturdy
boots or shoes with leather gaiters. The cutaway morning coat was still worn for formal day occasions in Europe and major
cities elsewhere, with striped trousers. The most formal evening dress remained a dark tail coat and trousers with a dark
or light waistcoat. Evening wear was worn with a white bow tie and a shirt with a winged collar. The less formal dinner jacket
or tuxedo, which featured a shawl collar with silk or satin facings, now generally had a single button. Dinner jackets, worn
with a white shirt and a dark tie, were gaining acceptance outside of the home. Knee-length topcoats and calf-length overcoats
were worn in winter. Fur coats were worn in the coldest climates. Formal dress shirt collars were turned over or pressed into
"wings". Collars were overall very tall and stiffened, with rounded corners. The usual necktie was a narrow four-in-hand.
Ascot ties were worn with formal day dress and white bow ties with evening dress. Silk top hats remained a requirement for
upper class formal wear; soft felt Homburgs or stiff bowler hats were worn with lounge or sack suits. Flat straw boaters were
acceptable for a wider range of activities than previously, and Panama hats were worn for travel.
In 1899, the company introduced the trademark Oxo for
a cheaper version; the origin of the name is unknown, but presumably comes from the word ox; or it may have been a mark made
on crates of the extract at the docks. In 1908 Oxo sponsored the London Olympic Games (despite claims by Coca Cola to being
the 'first' commercial sponsor of the Games) and supplied athletes with Oxo drinks to fortify them. The first Oxo
cubes were produced in 1910 and further increased Oxo's popularity as the cubes were cheaper than the liquid. During the
first half of the 20th century, Oxo was promoted through issues of recipes, gifts and sponsorships before fading into the
background as a part of the fabric of British life in the latter parts of the century. For the beginning of the 21st century
a new image was promoted with modern television advertising and sensibilities.
In the UK between 1983-1999 there
was a famous Oxo campaign "The Oxo Family", which featured a family eating a meal selling the Oxo product. In 1999
the campaign stopped and the Oxo family shared their meal on TV for the last time, when the family moved out of the house
after 23 years
World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The
influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population
was attacked by this deadly virus. Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history.
The plague emerged in two phases. In late spring of 1918, the first phase, known as the "three-day fever,"
appeared without warning. Few deaths were reported. Victims recovered after a few days. When the disease surfaced again that
fall, it was far more severe. Scientists, doctors, and health officials could not identify this disease which was striking
so fast and so viciously, eluding treatment and defying control. Some victims died within hours of their first symptoms. Others
succumbed after a few days; their lungs filled with fluid and they suffocated to death.
The plague did not discriminate.
It was rampant in urban and rural areas, from the densely populated East coast to the remotest parts of Alaska. Young adults,
usually unaffected by these types of infectious diseases, were among the hardest hit groups along with the elderly and young
children. The flu afflicted over 25 percent of the U.S. population. In one year, the average life expectancy in the United
States dropped by 12 years.
Tanks were first introduced by the British during World
War I as a means to break the deadlock of trench warfare. They were first deployed at the Battle of Somme in limited numbers.
During construction, to conceal their true identity as weapons, they were designated as water carriers for the Mesopotamian
campaign and referred to as "tanks" (as in water tank).
Interwar developments in both design and tactics
culminated in important concepts of armoured warfare which persist to this day and were prominently displayed during World
War II. The Soviet Union introduced T-34, widely considered to be the best tank in service throughout the war and forerunner
to the main battle tank. Germany introduced blitzkrieg, a strategy which makes use of massed concentrations of tanks supported
by artillery and air power to break through the enemy front to surround enemy forces and accomplish objectives.
WWI saw the introduction of the tank to the field of
battle. The British and French came up with their own designs at roughly the same time (1915-1916. But one of the first tank
designs submitted to the British was from an Australian, in 1912). The Russians also made tanks. Actually, this is a picture
of probably the largest tank ever made. Two prototypes were produced by the Russians in 1915, but were scrapped because of
the huge cost
Emmeline Pankhurst, c.1908 © 'Deeds not words'
was the motto of the Women's Social and Political Union founded by Emmeline Pankhurst. It is a motto that could also serve
well to sum up Pankhurst's life, both as a woman and as a suffragette. She worked her entire life for the cause of women's
suffrage, and was certainly not afraid to back up her words with action.
In 1879 she married Richard Pankhurst, who was
a Manchester lawyer and a radical. He was the author of the first women's suffrage bill in Britain, as well as the Married
Women's Property Acts of 1870 and 1882, which allowed women to keep earnings or property acquired before and after marriage.
In 1889 Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Franchise League, which fought to allow married women to vote in local
elections. In October 1903, together with her daughter Christabel, she helped found the Women's Social and Political Union
(WSPU) - an organisation that gained much notoriety with their militant actions.
From 1906 onwards, Pankhurst would lead
the WSPU against the Liberal Party, whom she felt were the main obstacles standing in the way of women's suffrage. From
1908 to 1909, she was arrested three times, once after calling on people to 'rush the House of Commons' for the suffrage
cause.
WSPU members were frequently arrested over the next few years, sometimes in response to a spate of arson attacks
orchestrated by Christabel Pankhurst. In 1912 Emmeline herself was arrested monthly, over a period of a year.
The series
of incarcerations followed a regular pattern: Once in prison, Emmeline would go on a hunger strike, and she would eventually
be released in order for her to regain her health. She would then be put back in jail, where she would again starve herself.
This way of dealing with hunger strikers was named the Cat and Mouse Act.
This period of militancy was abruptly ended
by the start of World War One, when Emmeline turned her skills to supporting the war effort. Post-war, she moved around, from
the US to Bermuda to Canada.
Upon her return to Britain in 1926, she was hailed as a leader of the women's rights
movement and asked to stand as Conservative candidate for an East London constituency. She would die before she could be elected,
yet she lived long enough to see the Voting Rights for Men and Women Act passed, only weeks before her death.
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The U.S. population reaches 92 million with 13.5 million
of it foreign-born. Just over half live in cities and towns of 2,500 or more, up from 21 percent in 1860 (in Germany, 34.5
percent of the people live in cities of 20,000 or more, up from 18.4 percent in 1885). Seoul, Korea, has a population of only
about 250,000, up from about 100,000 in 1429.
The Angel Island immigrant station opens in San Francisco
Bay, where it will continue until 1943 to serve as a processing center for Asian immigrants, and although the Chinese Exclusion
Act of 1880 requires officials to keep out would-be immigrants from China nearly 180,000 will be admitted, many of them wives
who have pretended to be sisters or other relatives of Chinese already in the country (wives are not eligible). The U.S. Immigration
Commission winds up nearly 4 years of study with a 41-volume report that recommends restricting immigration, especially of
unskilled labour
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865
– 20 January 1936) was the first British monarch belonging to the House of Windsor, which he created from the British
branch of the German House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. As well as being King of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth
Realms, George was the Emperor of India and the first King of Ireland post independence. George reigned from 1910 through
World War I (1914–1918) until his death in 1936.
From the age of twelve George served in the Royal Navy,
but upon the unexpected death of his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, he became heir to
the throne and married his brother's fiancée, Mary of Teck (known as "May" to her family after her birth
month). Although they occasionally toured the British Empire, George preferred to stay at home with his stamp collection and
lived what later biographers would consider a dull life because of its conventionality.
George became King-Emperor
in 1910 on the death of his father, King Edward VII. George was the only Emperor of India to be present at his own Delhi Durbar,
where he appeared before his Indian subjects crowned with the Imperial Crown of India, created specially for the occasion.
During World War I he relinquished all German titles and styles on behalf of his relatives who were British subjects; and
changed the name of the royal house from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor. During his reign, the Statute of Westminster separated
the crown so that George ruled the dominions as separate kingdoms, preparing the way for the future development of the Commonwealth.
His reign also witnessed the rise of socialism, fascism, Irish republicanism and the first Labour ministry, all of which radically
changed the political spectrum.
The use of poison gas in World War I was a major military
innovation. The gases ranged from disabling chemicals, such as tear gas and the severe mustard gas, to lethal agents like
phosgene and chlorine. This chemical warfare was a major component of the first global war and first total war of the 20th
century. The killing capacity of gas, however, was limited — only 4% of combat deaths were due to gas. Because it was
possible to develop effective countermeasures against gas attacks, it was unlike most other weapons of the period. In the
later stages of the war, as the use of gas increased, its overall effectiveness diminished. This widespread use of these agents
of chemical warfare, and wartime advances in the composition of high explosives, gave rise to an occasionally expressed view
of World War I as "the chemists' war".
Georges Melies
To animate is to infuse life into something that is inanimate
or without life. An animation film breathes life into painted or sketched characters. The hero and heroines are not real life
movie stars or animals and birds.
Animation films involve the quick display of a series of images to give the illusion
of movement. It is a kind of optical illusion of movement. The phenomenon is known as vision persistence.
Animation
effects began long time ago and not some new invention of the movie world. In the cave paintings of the Old Stone Age the
animals were having many legs on superimposed positions in an attempt to capture movement. In the 1800 flip books became popular
when by rapidly thumbing through these special books the viewer got the impression of movement. However it was not until the
debut of motion picture films that animation films really took off. No one person can be credited to be the creator of animation
films. It involved several people in several projects.
Georges Melies was the first one to dabble with special
effects in movies by using animation techniques. Accidentally he discovered it - the stop-motion animation, when his camera
happened to break down. He was shooting a bus. But when he fixed the camera a horse came in the view and the net result was
that the bus changed into a horse! J. Stuart Blackton came to combine the techniques of hand-drawn animation and stop-motion
for the first time at the turn of the 20th century. Blackton is often referred to as the first successful animator.
French artist Emile Cohl made a film from hand painted cartoon strips name Fantasmagorie in 1908. The film depicted a stick
moving and meeting other objects like a wine bottle that becomes changed into a flower. Sometimes the hands of the animator
entered the scene. Each frame was drawn on paper and then each was shot on to a negative film that gave a blackboard effect.
Thus it can be said that Fantasmagorie was the first animated film to make its debut.
Soon many other artists began
to experiment. One was newspaper cartoonist Winsor McCay who began to work with a team. He came to produce some noted films
like Little Nemo and Gertie the Dinosaur. In the 1910`s cartoon animated films began to rule the scene. The technique came
to known as cel-animation.
Warner Bros and Walt Disney studio came to be legendary names associated with full animation
industry in the film world. Limited animation uses less detail. Japan and United Productions of America produced animated
films using this method. Another popular technique is rotoscoping. In 1917 Max Fleischer patented it. Here the animators copy
frame-by-frame live actions.
The other methods are stop-motion-animation, clay-animation (using clay figures),
cutout-animation (using paper and cloth), silhouette-animation, graphic-animation, model-animation, object-animation and puppet
animation. In pixilation human beings are used in stop motion roles. This allows for surreal effects like disappearances and
appearance. The latest technique of computer animation includes many kinds of techniques. These are made digitally on a computer
machine.
Thus we find that in animated films drawings and or paintings are photographed individually by stop-frame
cinematography. One frame is slightly different from the other thus giving the illusion of movement. These are moved in rapid
succession - about 24 frames in each second. Animation can be regarded as a film technique and not a distinct category of
film. These films were ideal for depicting fairy tales and captured the hearts of children for all times to come. It is difficult
to find an adult who will not admit enjoying animation films.
Florence Nightingale was a pioneer of the nursing field.
She was first publicly noticed as an administrator during the Crimean War. Her unwavering determination to provide the best,
sanitary care possible cut the death rate considerably for her side. She continued to contribute to the field of nursing throughout
her life and continued to open doors for nurses and women in general.
In 1893, Mrs. Lystra E. Gretter and the Farrand
Training School for Nurses wrote an adaptation of the physician's Hippocratic Oath for nurses. It was named the Florence
Nightingale Pledge in honor of the esteemed founder of nursing.
This pledge is most often recited at graduation/pinning
ceremonies for nurses. It is also often included in programs honoring nurses during Nurses Week (May 6-12) or on Nurses Day
(May 6). May 12 is the birth date of Nurse Nightingale.
The Florence Nightingale Pledge
I solemnly pledge
myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully.
I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I
will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters
committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor
to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.
In the 1910s the chic silhouette was lithe compared to
clothes of the 1900s. Soon the trend for Orientalism began, however, with Paul Poiret one of the early designers to introduce
this to the fashion world. He also made the earliest outfit which enabled women to put it on without relying on the assistance
of someone else.
Also emerging at this point was the Art Deco movement. Many couturiers showed how much the movement
influenced them. Headgears in the 1900s were soon replaced by simple felt hats. During this period too, the first fashion
show was organized by Jeanne Paquin, considered to be the first female couturier. She likewise opened foreign couturier branches
in other parts of the world like Madrid, London, and Buenos Aires.
Jacques Doucet, like Mariano Fortuny, was an
influential designer of the era. The former was known for placing pastel colors, and his clients were impressed with his preference
for using delicate materials. Fortuny meanwhile was known for his dyeing techniques as well as a unique pleating process.
He called his long, tight fitting dress “Delphos.” Each cloth was manufactured from the finest silk, while the
colors were made from continued immersions in dyes. He also made use of a lot of ingredients in his dyeing techniques.
By the time of World War II, trends in the way people wore and designed clothes were influenced more by necessity.
Clothes were manufactured to help women in their work. In 1915, fashionable skirts had grown above the ankle.
The history of Korea stretches from Lower Paleolithic
times to the present. The earliest pottery period lead to Neolithic period and then to Bronze Age followed by Gojoseon Kingdom.
By 3rd century BC, it disintegrated into many successor states. In the early Common Era, the three kingdoms of Silla, Goguryeo
and Baekje, conquered the states of Gojoseon and dominated the peninsula. Goguryeo became the most powerful and defeated massive
Chinese invasion. Silla extended across Korea and established the first unified state of Korean peninsula.
This
unified Silla fell apart in late 9th century, giving way to three kingdom period that came to an end with establishment of
Goryeo Dynasty. Even the Balhae was added into the same after the fall. During the Goryeo rule, laws were codified, Buddhism
flourished and a civil service system was introduced. Then, it was invaded in 993-1019 by Khitan Liao Dynasty, which in turn
was invaded by Mongolian Empire in 1238 and then a peace treaty was signed after thirty long years of war.
In 1392,
the Joseon Dynasty was established by General Yi Seong-gye. It lasted from 1392- 1910. King Sejong the Great (1418-1450) promulgated
hangul, the Korean alphabet. Japan invaded Korea between 1592-1598, but all its efforts were in vain as it was eventually
repelled with the efforts by the Navy led by Admiral Yi Sun-shin, resistance armies. Manchu Qing Dynasty invaded Joseon in
the 1620s and 1630s.
After it, some of the main events that took place in history of Korea are year wise mentioned
below.
* In the beginning of 1870s, Japan started forcing Korea out of China's sphere of
influence into its own.
* In 1895, Empress Myeongseong of Korea was assassinated by three of
the Japanese agents.
* In 1905, Japan forced Korea to sign the Eulsa Treaty making Korea a protectorate
* In 1910 annexed Korea, although neither is considered to be legally valid
* In 1919, Korean resistance to the Japanese occupation was manifested in the massive nonviolent March 1st Movement of 1919.
Thereafter the Provisional Government of Korean Republic coordinated the Korean liberation movement, which was largely
active in neighboring Manchuria, China and Siberia.
In 1945, Japan was defeated and then the United Nations developed
plans for a trusteeship administration by the Soviet Union and the United States, but the plan was soon abandoned. In 1948,
new governments were established, the democratic South Korea
and Communist North Korea divided at the 38th parallel.
The Korean war of 1950 brought forward the unresolved tensions of the division when finally North Korea invaded South Korea.
From an early age, Shackleton knew he would become an
explorer: 'I seemed to vow to myself that some day I would go to the region of ice and snow and go on and on till I came
to one of the poles of the earth, the end of the axis upon which this great round ball turns.' This dream explains why
he didn't become a doctor as his father wanted. Instead, he went to sea at the age of 16, travelling through the Far East
and America and by the age of 24 had qualified to become a Master, making him able to captain a British ship on any sea.
On leave in London in 1900, Shackleton volunteered for Scott's National Antarctic Expedition. Shackleton, having
impressed those close to the expedition with his personality, was chosen to go with Scott to the South Pole on the famous
Discovery expedition in the summer of 1901.
The trip would be a bittersweet one, as Shackleton became seriously
ill on the journey and had to be returned home. It was not an empty journey, however, as Shackleton gained invaluable experience
in Antarctic expeditioning. Once recovered, he was asked to take a ship to rescue Scott and dissuade him from continuing for
another winter at the Pole. Shackleton declined, wanting not to save Scott, but 'prove himself a better man' with
his own expedition.
His dream was realised as commander of the Nimrod Expedition (1907-09), during which his team
climbed Mount Erebus, made numerous important scientific discoveries and set a record by coming within 97 miles of the South
Pole.
Knighted in 1909, he commanded another voyage from 1914-1916 on the Endurance. The ship was crushed in the
ice in 1915, yet he led his men to safety against all odds-making an incredible journey across 800 frozen miles to South Georgia
to get aid - a testament to his skill as a leader of men.
Shackleton's last journey would be with the goal
of circumnavigating the Antarctic continent. Under great mental and physical stress, Shackleton died on South Georgia Island
in 1922 of natural causes and was buried at a whaling station at the insistence of his wife.
Agnes Baden-Powell (1858-June 2, 1945) became the first
president of the Girl Guides when it was formed in 1910. She was sister to Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the world scouting
movement, and was asked by him to organise Girl Guides in the United Kingdom. She stepped down as president of the Girl Guides
in 1917 and was replaced by Princess Mary. She remained as vice-president of the Girl Guides until her death at age 86. Female equivalent of the Scout organization, founded in 1910
in the UK by Robert Baden-Powell and his sister Agnes. There are three branches: Brownie Guides (age 7–11); Guides (10–16);
Ranger Guides (14–20); they are led by Guiders (adult leaders). The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
(as they are known in the USA) has some 9 million members (1998).
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