The US Department of State is the lead US foreign affairs agency. It advances US objectives and interests through formulating, representing, and implementing the foreign policy of the President of the United States. The US Secretary of State, the ranking member of the Cabinet and fourth in line of presidential succession, is the President's principal adviser on foreign policy and the person chiefly responsible for US representation abroad. The 1947 National Security Act created the National Security Council, which assisted the President on foreign policy and co-ordinated the work of the many agencies involved in foreign relations. During the Cold War, new foreign affairs agencies were placed under the general policy direction of the Secretary of State: the US Information Agency, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and the US Agency for International Development. US Department of State country missions assist in implementing the President's constitutional responsibilities for the conduct of US foreign relations. The Chief of Mission, with the title Ambassador, Minister, or Charge d'Affaires, and, the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) are responsible for and head the mission's "country team" of US Government personnel. The Country Team includes diplomatic officers representing consular, administrative, political, economic, cultural, and legal affairs, as well as all the representatives from agencies other than the Department of State. These are the people responsible for the day to day work of the mission. Department of State employees at missions comprise US-based political appointees, career diplomats, and Foreign Service nationals. The last are local residents, who provide continuity for the transient American staff and have language and cultural expertise. The Confidential US State Department Central Files, Soviet Union, Foreign Affairs, 1945-59 microfilm collection includes files relating to Soviet foreign affairs prepared for the President of the United States by this field of State Department regional experts.
Throughout the Cold War, the US Department of Defense issued official statements to the general public and the media. Also, speeches were made by the Secretary of Defense and official press conferences were devised to relay imperative national security information and to keep the American public abreast of national and international affairs. This was standard policy for successive Secretaries of Defense, designed both for purposes of increased public relations coverage and for the dissemination of reliable defence information. In an era of potentially contentious defence-related issues, the Pentagon considered such public statements essential. Increased military spending, increased US-Soviet rivalry, the steady rise in the lethality of nuclear technology, the perceived spread of communism, US interventions abroad, and the war in Vietnam, all provide the backdrop to Public Statements by the Secretaries of Defense, 1947-1981. Over the span of 35 years, the US Department of Defense compiled statements and press releases issued by the following Secretaries of Defense: James Forrestal, 17 Sep 1947-27 Mar 1949; Louis Arthur Johnson, 28 Mar 1949-19 Sep 1950; George Catlett Marshall, 21 Sep 1950-12 Sep 1951; Robert Abercrombie Lovett, 17 Sep 1951-20 Jan 1953; Charles Erwin Wilson, 28 Jan 1953-8 Oct 1957; Neil H McElroy, 9 Oct 1957-1 Dec 1959; Thomas S(overeign) Gates, Jr, 2 Dec 1959-20 Jan 1961; Robert Strange McNamara, 21 Jan 1961-29 Feb 1968; Clark McAdams Clifford, 1 Mar 1968-20 Jan 1969; Melvin Robert Laird, 22 Jan 1969-29 Jan 1973; Elliot Lee Richardson, 30 Jan 1973-24 May 1973; James Rodney Schlesinger, 2 Jul 1973-19 Nov 1975; Donald H Rumsfeld, 20 Nov 1975-20 Jan 1977; Harold Brown, 21 Jan 1977-19 Jan 1981.
Senior officer oral histories were the central component of the ongoing oral history programme conducted by the US Army Military History Institute (USAMHI). Directed by the Chief, Oral History Branch, USAMHI, the objective of the programme was to interview senior US Army officers. Created in 1970 at the behest of Gen William Childs Westmoreland, then Chief of Staff, US Army, the programme was initiated to produce interviews that would serve the needs of historians as well as professional soldiers interested in leadership techniques. Interviewers were drawn from the US Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, and were selected for their interests, education, and career patterns and the interviews were recorded on audio tape and then transcribed. Transcripts were then edited for continuity, readability, and accuracy.
In 1943 US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued an Executive Order requiring the various departments and special agencies of government to prepare histories of their activities. US Army Ground Forces therefore organised a historical program that required a historian for each army and part-time historical officials in units down to special battalions. Along with these efforts, the US Army Historical Section began to co-ordinate efforts to collect historical material abroad. These efforts were strengthened by US Army Chief of Staff Gen George Catlett Marshall's desire to have studies prepared on lessons learned from current campaigns. The Historical Section, G-2 Division, thus deployed combat historians to interview combat soldiers in order to fill gaps left by official US Army reports. By 1944, the Historical Section selected a small group of historians to go from the US War Department, Washington, DC, to Great Britain in time to be briefed on the plans for the proposed Allied invasion of North-West Europe. The most extensive effort to collect historical material in World War Two was made during and following Operation OVERLORD, the Allied invasion of the Normandy coast, France, 6 Jun 1944. It is from this material that the editors of this collection have drawn their text. Before the conclusion of Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force, US Gen Dwight David Eisenhower's drive from Normandy to Germany and Czechoslovakia, the US Army had five Information and Historical Sections at the five American armies, 1 Army, 3 Army, 7 Army, 9 Army, and 15 Army. By the end of the war, approximately seventy combat historians were engaged in collecting interviews and writing combat narratives. Although field interviews could not be taped, material was often gathered near the place and time of a significant action. Many of the combat interviews of World War Two were conducted in foxholes, cellars, or bomb shelters and recorded manually. Also, it should be noted that all the combat historians who conducted the interviews during World War Two were themselves in military service and familiar with the nature of unit training and weaponry.
US Armed Forces in Vietnam, 1954- 1975 is a themed microfilm compilation of sources drawn from official US Army papers and after action reports presented to the US Adjutant General's Office (Army), Washington, DC, for the purposes of post-operation analysis, 1966-1973; post-war analyses presented by senior US Army officers to the US Department of the Army, Washington, DC, 1972-1980; and papers presented by senior South Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laotian officers to the US Army Center of Military History, Washington, DC, 1979-1980.
The Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) was established by Act 22 USC 2521 on 26 Sep 1961 in response to US Congressional pressure to centralise arms control and disarmament responsibilities for the purposes of US national security. The Act also provided for the establishment of a General Advisory Committee, appointed by the President to advise the President, Secretary of State, and the Director of the ACDA on matters affecting arms control and disarmament. ACDA formulates, implements, and verifies arms control, non- proliferation, and disarmament policies, strategies and agreements that promote the national security of the United States. ACDA also prepares and participates in discussions and negotiations with foreign countries on issues including strategic arms limitations, conventional force reductions in Europe, prevention of the spread of nuclear weapons, prohibition on chemical weapons, and the international arms trade. Its main objectives are to prepare for and manage US participation in negotiations on arms control and disarmament; to conduct and co-ordinate arms control research; and to ensure that the US can verify compliance with existing agreements through on-site inspections.
David Urquhart (1805-1877) was a diplomat and a pioneer of the Turkish Bath in the United Kingdom, helping to establish one in Jermyn Street, London. His wife Harriet Angelina Urquhart (née Fortesque) was a literary figure under the pen-name 'Caritas'.
Founded 1911 in a private home, then moved to 277 Katherine Road, Forest Gate and then Tudor Road, Green Street. United with West Ham District Synagogue in 1972 to form West Ham and Upton Park Synagogue.
Upton entered the East India Company's service as a midshipman in 1788 and served in the ROCKINGHAM during two voyages to China. He was in the GENERAL GODDARD as Fourth Officer on a voyage to Madras and Bengal from 1793 to 1794 and remained in her as part of the Cape Expedition of 1795. Nine Dutch Indiamen were captured during this cruise and Upton was detached in one of them as prize master. He went to China in the TRUE BRITON in 1804 and to Bengal in the WINDHAM in 1809, from which ship he was captured. However, after the taking of the Ile de France (Mauritius), Upton joined the CEYLON, 1810, and brought her home. His next voyage was to China, 1814, in the GLATTON; upon her arrival at St Helena her captain died and Upton was sworn in to command. Nothing further is known about his career.
This company, operating in India 1862-1979, was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.
Born Coggeshall, Essex, 1838; educated at City of London School; lay student at New College, St John's Wood, London; employed by Sir William Fairbairn, [1856-1861]; Manager of Engineering works, 1861-1868; Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1867; instructor at the Royal School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at Kensington, 1868-72; Professor of Hydraulic Engineering at the Royal Indian Engineering College, Cooper's Hill, 1872-1884; Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1878; Professor of Engineering, Central Technical College of the Guilds of London (later City and Guilds College), 1884-1904, Dean, 1884-1896, 1902-1904; elected Fellow of the Royal Society, 1886; Honorary Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects, 1886; Honorary Member of the Franklin Institute and of the American Philosophical Society, 1890; President of section G of the British Association, 1891; member of the Council of the Royal Society, 1894-1896; Honorary Membership of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1898; member of the General Board of the National Physical Laboratory, 1900; member of the Senate of the University of London, 1900-1905, 1911-1923; member of the Governing Body of Imperial College of Science and Technology, 1910-1926; President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1911; member of the Delegacy of the City and Guilds College, 1911-1926; President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1915-1916; awarded the first Kelvin Medal, 1921; Honorary Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 1922; died, 1933.
Publications: include: Wrought Iron Bridges and Roofs .. With examples of the calculation of stress in girders, etc (London, 1869); On the Movement of the water in a tidal river, with reference to the position of sewer outfalls E & F N Spon, London, 1883); Exercises in Wood-Working for handicraft classes in elementary and technical schools (Longmans & Co, London, 1887); The Testing of Materials of Construction: a text-book for the engineering laboratory and a collection of the results of experiment (Longmans & Co, London, 1888); On the Development and Transmission of Power from central stations, being the Howard Lectures 1893 (Longmans & Co, London, 1894); A Treatise on Hydraulics (Adam & Charles Black, London, 1907).
Peter Unwin (1933-) joined the Foreign Office in 1956. In 1958 his first overseas posting was to Hungary. He left in 1961 but returned in 1983-1986 to serve as British Ambassador. His involvement with Hungarian affairs led to an interest in the Hungarian leader Imre Nagy (1896-1958). Nagy was a member of the Hungarian Government after 1944 and in 1953 became Prime Minister. He was driven from power in 1955 after adopting revisionist policies which angered the Soviet Government and communist hardliners in Hungary. After the 1956 revolution broke out, Nagy sympathised with the rebels, and returned to power, withdrawing hungary from the Warsaw Pact and agreeing to free elections. After the revolution was crushed by the Soviet invasion, Nagy sought asylum in the Yugoslav Embassy but as he left on safe conduct he was seized by the Soviets and executed in 1958. In 1989 he was given a state reburial in Budapest.
Unknown.
Robert Grant was born in Edinburgh on 11 November 1793. He was educated at Edinburgh High School and at the University of Edinburgh, graduating M.D. in 1814. From 1815 to 1820 Grant studied medicine and natural history in Paris and at many continental universities. He returned to Edinburgh in 1820 and devoted himself to natural history. In 1824 he gave lectures on comparative anatomy of the invertebrate for his friend Dr John Barclay, and he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He believed in the transformation of species and the Darwinian theory of natural selection. Charles Darwin was his intimate companion in study. Grant wrote numerous original papers during this period. In June 1827 he was elected Professor of Comparative Anatomy and Zoology at University College London and became absorbed in teaching for the next 46 years. He also lectured at other institutions. In 1836 he became a fellow of the Royal Society. Grant died on 23 August 1874 at the age of 80.
Unknown.
Thomas Chalmers: born in Scotland, 1780; influential theologian, preacher and philanthropist; DD; held the Chair of moral philosophy in the University of St Andrews, 1823-1828; held the Chair of theology in the University of Edinburgh, 1828-1843; Principal and Professor of divinity in the New College (of the Free Church), Edinburgh; delivered an influential course of lectures in London, 1838; a reformer, advocating self-government in the Christian church, and engaged in controversy on the subject resulting in the formation of the Free Church in Scotland, of which Chalmers was elected first moderator; devised, as means of support for the disestablished church, the sustentation fund, based on a contribution from each member of a penny a week, which was successful; worked to address the many poor in Scottish cities who attended no church; died, 1847. Publications: various works on theology, Christinity, Scripture and philosophy published during his lifetime and posthumously.
William Sharpey: entered Edinburgh University to study the humanities and natural philosophy, 1817; commenced medical studies, 1818; admitted as amember of the Edinburgh College of Surgeons, 1821; graduated MD of Edinburgh, 1823; obtained the Fellowship of the College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, 1830; elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1834; appointed to the Chair of Anatomy and Physiology at University College London, 1836; elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, 1839; appointed an Examiner in Anatomy at London University, 1840; a member of the Council of the Royal Society, 1844; appointed Secretary of the Royal Society in place of Thomas Bell, 1853; for 15 years from 1861, one of the members appointedby the Crown on the General Council of Medical Education and Registration; retired as Secretary due to failure of eyesight, 1871; died frombronchitis in London, 1880; buried at Arbroath.
Richard Quain: born at Fermoy, county Cork, Ireland, 1800; received his early education at Adair's school at Fermoy; served an apprenticeship to a surgeon in Ireland; went to London to pursue his professional studies at the Aldersgate school of medicine; went to Paris, where he attended the lectures of Richard Bennett, a private lecturer on anatomy and a friend of his father; when Bennett was appointed a demonstrator of anatomy in the newly constituted school of the University of London (later University College London), Quain assisted him, 1828; admitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS), 1828; on Bennet's death, Quain became senior demonstrator of anatomy, 1830; Professor of descriptive anatomy, 1832-1850; appointed the first assistant surgeon to University College (or the North London) Hospital (UCH), 1834; selected Fellow when the fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons was established by royal charter and admitted, 1843; elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, 1844; succeeded as full surgeon and special professor of clinical surgery, UCH, 1848; became a member of the council of the RCS, 1854; a member of the RCS court of examiners, 1865; resigned his post at UCH, 1866; appointed consulting surgeon to the hospital and Emeritus Professor of clinical surgery in its medical school; chairman of the RCS board of examiners in midwifery, 1867; elected President of the RCS, 1868; delivered the Hunterian oration, RCS, 1869; represented the RCS in the General Council of Education and Registration, 1870-1876; at his death, one of Queen Victoria's surgeons-extraordinary; died, 1887; buried at Finchley; left the bulk of his fortune, c£75,000, for promoting, in connection with University College London, general education in modern languages (especially English) and in natural science; the Quain professorship of English language and literature and the Quain studentships and prizes were founded accordingly. Publications: edited his brother Jones Quain's Elements of Anatomy (1848); The Anatomy of the Arteries of the Human Body, with its Applications to Pathology and Operative Surgery, in Lithographic Drawings with Practical Commentaries (London, 1844); The Diseases of the Rectum (London, 1854); Clinical Lectures (London, 1884).
The Order of Saint Benedict comprises the confederated congregations of monks and lay brothers who follow the rule of life of St Benedict (c480-c547), written c535-540 with St Benedict's own abbey of Montecassino in mind. The rule, providing a complete directory for the government and spiritual and material well-being of a monastery, spread slowly in Italy and Gaul. By the late Middle Ages the Benedictine Rule had been translated into many languages owing to the diffusion of the order through many European countries.
The large abbey at Ottobeuren, near Memmingen, Bavaria, was founded in 764 and was among the most important early Benedictine monasteries, famous in the Middle Ages for its large library.
After the Great Fire of London in 1666 rebuilding was forbidden until a Committee had considered redevelopment plans and all claims to plots of land had been settled. By November the Committee gave the City powers to control drainage, water supply, and street cleaning; and issued orders regulating the height of private houses.
Eggert Ólafsson: born to a farming family at Snaefellsnes, Iceland, 1726; took his bachelor's degree at the University of Copenhagen; interested in natural history and carried out a scientific and cultural survey of Iceland, 1752-1757; poet, antiquarian and advocate of Icelandic language and culture; died at sea in Breida Bay, off the northwest coast of Iceland, 1768. Publication: Reise igiennem Island (2 volumes, 1772) (Travels in Iceland).
'Edda' comprises a body of ancient Icelandic literature contained in two books, the Prose (or Younger) Edda and the Poetic (or Elder) Edda, and constitutes the fullest source for modern knowledge of Germanic mythology. The Prose Edda was written by the Icelandic chieftain, poet,and historian Snorri Sturluson, probably in 1222-1223, and is a textbook intended to instruct young poets in the metres of the early Icelandic skalds (court poets) and to provide the Christian age with an understanding of the mythological subjects referred to in early poetry. The Poetic Edda is a manuscript of the later 13th century, but containing older materials (hence the 'Elder' Edda), and contains mythological and heroic poems of unknown authorship, usually dramatic dialogues in a terse and archaic style, composed from the 9th to the 11th century.
Factors behind the Indian Mutiny (1857-1858) included the political expansion of the East India Company at the expense of native rulers, harsh land policies of successive Governor-Generals, and the rapid introduction of European civilization. The trigger was discontent among indigenous soldiers (both Hindu and Muslim), who revolted, capturing Delhi and proclaiming an emperor of India. The mutiny became a more general uprising against British rule, spreading through northern central India. Cawnpore (Kanpur) and Lucknow fell to Indian troops. With support from the Sikh Punjab, troops under generals Colin Campbell and Henry Havelock reconquered affected areas. The British government subsequently undertook reform, abolishing the East India Company and assuming direct rule by the Crown. Expropriation of land was discontinued, religious toleration decreed, and Indians were admitted to subordinate civil service positions. The proportion of British to native troops was increased as a precaution against further uprisings.
William Walker: born in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, 1824; adventurer and revolutionary leader; migrated to California, 1850; sailed from San Francisco with a small force, 1853; after landing at La Paz, proclaimed Lower California and Sonora an independent republic; forced back to the USA by lack of supplies and Mexican resistance, 1854; sailed to Nicaragua at the invitation of a revolutionary faction, 1855; by the end of the year his military successes made him virtual master of Nicaragua, then a key transport link between Atlantic and Pacific ocean shipping; President of Nicaragua, 1856-1857; maintained himself against a coalition of Central American states until 1 May 1857; in order to avoid capture, surrendered to the US Navy and returned to the USA; led another foray but was arrested and returned to the USA as a prisoner on parole; went to Central America for a third time, 1860; landed in Honduras and was taken prisoner by the British Navy; turned over to the Honduran authorities and executed at Trujillo, Honduras, 1860.
Sir Samuel Bentham: born, 1757; youngest son of Jeremiah Bentham, an attorney, and brother of the philosopher Jeremy Bentham; educated at Westminster; aged fourteen, apprenticed to the master-shipwright of Woolwich Dockyard; lived in France, 1775; invited to accompany the Bienfaisanhim on the summer cruise of the Channel fleet, 1778; witnessed the battle of Ushant; suggested improvements in steering gear and gun fittings; travelled in order to study the shipbuilding and naval economy of foreign powers, arriving in St Petersburg, Russia, 1780; travelled over much of Russia, from Archangel to the Crimea, and through Siberia to the frontier of China, examining mines and methods of working metals; on his return to St Petersburg presented a report to the Empress, 1782; declined a commissionership in the British navy, because his prospects in Russia seemed more advantageous, 1783; accepted Potemkin's offer to send him to Cherson as lieutenant-colonel; settled at Kritchev, where the prince hoped to establish a shipbuilding yard; his military rank was made substantive and he was appointed commander of a battalion, 1784; owing to the limited number of officers at his disposal, introduced the plan of central observation, with workshops radiating from his own office, a scheme of which his brother Jeremy's 'Panopticon' was a modification; ordered to Cherson to direct the equipment of a flotilla against the Turks, 1787; Bentham's innovations allowed the fittings of recoilless guns of larger calibre than was previously thought possible for small craft, and were instrumental in defeating the Turks, 1788; was rewarded with the military cross of St George and the rank of brigadier-general; appointed to a command in Siberia, where he developed navigation of the rivers and promoted further exploration and trade with China; revisited England, 1791; on his return, spent the remainder of his career as Inspector-General of Navy Works, and later as one of the Commissioners of the Navy, urging and introducing improvements in machinery, equipment and administration of navy dockyards; pensioned off, 1812; moved to France, 1814; returned to England, 1827; during his retirement, prepared papers on professional subjects and continued correspondence with several navy departments until his death, 1831.
Robert Lindsay: born, possibly in 1500, at Pitscottie in the parish of Ceres, Fifeshire; Scottish historian; a cadet of the principal family of Lindsays, Earls of Crawford, and probably a descendant of Patrick, fourth Lord Lindsay of the Byres; according to the `Privy Seal Register', received a grant of escheat, 1552; a service in the Douglas charter-chest proves that he was alive in 1562; probably died c1565; his History includes the period of Scottish history, from the death of James I to that of James III, about which very little is known; its preface states the author's intention of continuing what had been left unwritten by Hector Boece and John Bellenden, the period after James I; the History includes narrative passages, but also other brief entries, and contains inaccuracies and confusion as to dates; Pitscottie's History was first published by the printer Robert Freebairn, 1728, and again in 1749 and 1778, and in 1814 (2 volumes) by Graham Dalyell; the History was used as a source by Sir Walter Scott and other writers.
Hector Boece (or Boethius): born at Dundee, Scotland, c1465; historian and humanist; educated at Dundee and the University of Paris; a friend of Desiderius Erasmus; chief adviser to William Elphinstone, bishop of Aberdeen, in the foundation of the University of Aberdeen (King's College, Aberdeen); first Principal of the University; lectured on divinity; received a pension from the Scottish court, 1527-1534; a canon of Aberdeen; vicar of Tullynessle; later rector of Tyrie; author of the Latin history Scotorum historiae a prima gentis origine (The History and Chronicles of Scotland), 1527; the work, based on legendary sources, glorified the Scottish nation; the History had wide currency abroad in a French translation; Boece died, 1536.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux: born in 1090, probably at Fontaine-les-Dijon, near Dijon, Burgundy; monk and mystic; founder and abbot of the abbey of Clairvaux; among the most influential churchmen of his time; died at Clairvaux, Champagne, 1153; canonized, 1174.
John Nider (Johannes Nieder): born in Swabia, 1380; entered the Order of Preachers at Colmar; sent to Vienna for philosophical studies; finished his studies and was ordained at Cologne; active at the Council of Constance; returned to Vienna and taught as Master of Theology, 1425; prior of the Dominican convent at Nuremberg, 1427; served successively as socius to his master general and vicar of the reformed convents of the German province, in which capacity he maintained an earlier reputation as a reformer; prior of the convent of strict observance at Basle, 1431; became identified with the Council of Basle as theologian and legate; made embassies to the Hussites at the command of Cardinal Julian; as legate of the Council, succeeded in pacifying the Bohemians; travelled to Ratisbon to effect further reconciliation with them, 1434; proceeded to Vienna to continue reforming the convents; in dicussions following the dissolution of the Couneil of Basle joined the party in favour of continuing the Council in Germany, but abandoned it when the Pope remained firmly opposed; resumed his theological lectures at Vienna, 1436; twice elected dean of the University; author of various treatises, including (in German) the 'Goldene Harfen' (24 Golden Harps), based on the Collations of Cassianus; died at Colmar, 1438.
From the charterhouse 'zu Yttingen' (Ittingen, Thurgau, Switzerland).
Written in southern Germany for Dominican use.
The Franciscan order, the largest religious order in the Roman Catholic church, was founded in the early 13th century by St Francis of Assisi (1181/82-1226), and comprises three orders: the First Order (priests and lay brothers who have sworn to lead a life of prayer, preaching, and penance), divided into three independent branches, the Friars Minor, the Friars Minor Conventual, and the Friars Minor Capuchin; the Second Order (cloistered nuns who belong to the Order of St Clare, known as Poor Clares); and the Third Order (religious and lay men and women who try to emulate Saint Francis' spirit in performing works of teaching, charity, and social service). This manuscript was written in Italy.
Written in Italy, perhaps by Franciscus de Arimino.
Details of the creator were unknown at the time of the compilation of this finding aid.
Herbert Somerton Foxwell (1849-1936) was a dedicated book-collector and bibliophile, who formed a large collection of economic books printed before 1848. In 1901, Foxwell sold his library to the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths (Goldsmith's Company) for £10, 000 in 1901. At that time it contained about 30,000 books. The Company also generously provided Foxwell with a series the wherewithal to make further acquisitions for addition to the Library, which was given to the University of London in 1903.
Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) was a Roman advocate and senator, who acted as tutor and, following his accession, political advisor to the Roman emperor Nero. He was implicated in a conspiracy and forced to commit suicide. His writings included a series of Moral Essays, which included 'De Beneficiis' ('On Benefits'), in which he discussed favours and the nature of gratitude and ingratitude.
St Jerome (c340-420) wrote a large number of theological works. Amongst his earliest were his revisions of the Latin version of the New Testament, including the Epistles of St Paul in 385.
The Clementinae is a collection of canon law, promulgated (1317) by John XXII, and drawn mostly from the constitutions of Clement V at the Council of Vienne.
The Missal is a liturgical book which contains the prayers said by the priest at the altar as well as all that is officially read or sung in connection with the offering of the holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the ecclesiastical year.
By 1811, relations between Russia and France were deteriorating. In 1805, Alexander I, Tsar of Russia, had joined the coalition against Napoleon I. Defeats at Austerlitz and Friedland, however, led to a Russian-French Alliance agreed by the Treaty of Tilsot in 1807. Relations were soured by Alexander's liberal interpretation of Napoleon's Continental System, Russian fears concerning the possible unification of Poland, and quarrels over the independence of Prussia which led to French troops close to the Russian border. In 1811, Napoleon broke the Treaty of Tilsot by annexing Oldenburg, and the alliance was broken. Napoleon invaded Russia the next year, but was defeated.
For a reconstruction of this interview, see A.Vandal, Napoleon et Alexandre I (Paris, 1896), vol.III, c.6, and vol.III, p.212 n.1 for the sources on which he bases his account.
Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte (1763-1844) was a French soldier who rose through the ranks to serve under Napoleon in the Italian Campaign (1796-1797). He was French Ambassador at Vienna (1798) and Minister of War (1799), and played a prominent part in the victory of Austerlitz in 1805. Napoleon created him Marshal of the Empire (1804) and Prince of Ponte Corvo (1806). In 1809, Gustavus IV of Sweden abdicated and was succeeded by his aged and childless uncle Charles XIII. In the search for a successor, the Swedes approached Bernadotte, who, with the support of Napoleon, was elected crown prince and adopted (1810) by Charles XIII as Charles John. Taking control of the government, Charles John, who desired the acquisition of Norway from Denmark, threw in his lot with England and Russia against France and Denmark, and played an important part in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig (1813). In 1814, the Danes ceded Norway in the Treaty of Kiel. Charles John succeeded to a joint kingdom in 1818 as Charles XIV.
A sequentiary is a book, or portion, of a Gradual or Troper containing sequences (extended melodies) sung by a soloist between the Alleluia and the Gospel lesson at Mass.
This manuscript was probably prepared in connection with the proceedings for the Union of 1707. The Act of Union was a treaty (1 May 1707) that effected the union of England and Scotland under the name of Great Britain.
The Exchequer was responsible for receiving and dispersing the public revenue. The lower Exchequer, or receipt, closely connected with the permanent Treasury, was an office for the receipt and payment of money. The upper Exchequer was a court sitting twice a year to regulate accounts.
For a reference to Carpenter as messenger in 1577, see Cal.S.P.Dom. 1547-1580, 569.
The term 'customs' applied to customary payments or dues of any kind, regal, episcopal or ecclesiastical until it became restricted to duties payable to the King upon export or import of certain articles of commerce. A Board of Customs for England and Wales was created in 1671.
Son of the deposed King James II of England, James Edward Francis Stuart made several abortive attempts to regain the English throne. In 1715 John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, raised a Jacobite rebellion in Scotland, and the Pretender landed at Peterhead, Aberdeen, on 22 Dec 1715. By 10 Feb 1716, the uprising had collapsed and James had returned to France.
The North Midland Railway to Masborough opened on 11 May 1840.
In 1724-1725, the British government attempted to impose a new and debased currency of copper halfpence and farthings on Ireland. The "Drapier's Letters" (1724-1725) by Johnathan Swift attacked this scheme, and were part of a successful campaign against it.
The Executive Intelligence Review is an American weekly news magazine founded by Lyndon H LaRouche Jr in 1974. Lyndon LaRouche (b 1922) is an American economist and management consultant, and has sought the office of President of the USA on six occasions between 1976 and 2000. He was convicted and sentenced by the US Government on conspiracy charges, 1988-1994.
There was a movement in the early 18th century on the part of British merchants to get a free importation of iron, though plantation iron was most spoken of. The home manufacturers and proprietors of iron works objected.
The registers were printed in Enkhuisen by Jan von Guissen.
In 1523 King Francis I of France established a new central treasury, the Trésor de l'Épargne, into which all his revenues, ordinary and extraordinary, were to be deposited. In 1542 he set up 16 financial and administrative divisions, the généralités, appointing in each a collector general with the responsibility for the collection of all royal revenues within his area. In 1551 King Henry II added a treasurer general; from 1577 the bureaux des finances, new supervisory bodies composed of a collector general and a number of treasurers, made their appearance in each généralité.
Gregory King's work was not published until 1802, when George Chalmers added it to a new edition of his Estimate of the comparative strength of Great Britain. It was later reprinted in Two Tracts ed George E Barnett (Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1936).
The English Royal Mint was responsible for the making of coins according to exact compositions, weights, dimensions and tolerances, usually determined by law. Minting in England was reorganised by King Edward I to facilitate a general recoinage in 1279. This established a unified system which was run from the Royal Mint in London by the Master and Warden of the Mint.. There remained smaller mints in Canterbury and elsewhere until 1553, when English minting was concentrated into a single establishment in London. For several centuries control of policy relating to the coinage rested soley with the monarch, with Parliament finally gaining control following the Revolution of 1688. The Mint itself worked as an independent body until that date, when it came under the control of the Treasury.
The term 'customs' applied to customary payments or dues of any kind, regal, episcopal or ecclesiastical until it became restricted to duties payable to the King upon export or import of certain articles of commerce. A Board of Customs for England and Wales was created by Letter Patent in 1671.