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Sera Orgãos

Sera orgãos

Serra dos Órgãos (the Organ Hills) is a national park in Brazil about one hour drive from Rio de Janeiro. The park was created in 1939, the third National Park in Brazil. The objective was to protect the native forest on the hillsides and the fresh water springs abundant in the region. When created the park occupied land previously controlled by four municipalities: Petrópolis, Teresópolis, Guapimirim and Magé. The origin of the unusual name is credited to early Portuguese settlers who thought the ensemble of the hill tops resembled the organs in European cathedrals. cathedrals The Park's area is 110 km² and it has 10 peaks higher than 2000 m (6560 ft) and six other peaks over 1500 m (4920 ft) high. The lowest point in the park is located in the relatively flat municipality of Magé, at 145 m (475 ft). The highest peak is Pedra do Sino (Bell Rock), at 2263 m (7424 ft). Most famous formation in the park is the Dedo de Deus (God's Finger) rock, which resembles a left hand with its index finger stretched, pointing towards the sky. It is 1692 m (5551 ft) high and can be seen in the background of the coat of arms of the Rio de Janeiro state, which appears in the center of the state flag. The park is part of the larger Serra do Mar chain of mountains, and the most accepted theory about its origin is that it rose about 60 million years ago during earthquakes that caused the Andes to rise. That means it is located in a geographically unstable location, although no incident has ever been recorded in the area. Temperatures in the Hills can fall as low as 4 °C (39 ºF), and the average temperature at 1000 m (3300 ft) is 17 ºC (62 ºF). Humidity is between 80 and 90 % on average, but it can reach 99 % at higher altitudes. Category:National parks of Brazil

National park

]] A national park is a reserve of land, usually owned by a national government, protected from most human development and pollution. National parks are a form of protected area.

History

Prologue

Fundamental ideas were first articulated in the 19th century by people from various countries. In 1810 the English poet William Wordsworth described the Lake District as a "sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy". The painter George Catlin, in his travels though the American West, wrote in 1832 that the Native Americans in the United States might be preserved: by some great protecting policy of government . . . in a magnificent park . . . A nation's park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!. Similar ideas were expressed in other countries – In Sweden, for instance, Baron Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld made such a proposition in 1880.

Establishment

1880.]] The first effort by any government to set aside such protective lands was in the United States, when President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress on June 30, 1864, ceding the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias (later becoming the Yosemite National Park) to the state of California: :[T]he said State shall accept this grant upon the express conditions that the premises shall he held for public use, resort, and recreation; shall be inalienable for all time. In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first truly national park. When news of the natural wonders of the Yellowstone were first published, the land was part of a territory. Unlike Yosemite, there was no state government that could assume stewardship of the land, so the Federal Government took on direct responsibility for the park, a process formally completed in October 1, 1890. Following the idea established in Yellowstone there soon followed parks in other nations. In Australia, the Royal National Park was established just south of Sydney in 1879. In Canada, Banff National Park (then known as Rocky Mountain National Park) became the first national park in 1887. New Zealand had its first national park in 1887. In Europe the first national park were a set of nine parks in Sweden in 1910. After World War II, national parks were founded all over the world.

Features preserved

National parks are usually located in places which have been largely undeveloped, and often feature areas with exceptional native animals, plants and ecosystems (particularly endangered examples of such), biodiversity, or unusual geological features. Occasionally, national parks are declared in developed areas with the goal of returning the area to resemble its original state as closely as possible. In some countries, such as England and Wales, areas designated as a national park are not wilderness, nor owned by the government, and can include substantial settlements and land uses which are often integral parts of the landscape.

Park mandates

Most national parks have a dual role in offering a refuge for wildlife and as popular tourist areas. Managing the potential for conflict between these two roles can become problematic, particularly as tourists often generate revenue for the parks which, in turn, are spent on conservation projects. Parks also serve as reserves for substantial natural resources, such as timber, minerals and other valuable commodities. The balance of the demand for extraction of these resources, against the damage this might cause, is often a very important challenge in national park management. National parks have been subject to illegal logging and other exploitation, sometimes because of political corruption. This threatens the integrity of many valuable habitats.

Other sites designated for preservation

Some countries also designate sites of special cultural, scientific or historical importance as national parks, or as special entities within their national park systems. Other countries use a different scheme for historical site preservation. Some of these sites are awarded the title World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. In many countries, local governmental bodies may be responsible for the maintenance of park systems. Some of these are even called national parks.

External links

:[http://www.unesco.org/mab/ UNESCO - Man and the Biosphere Programme (Biosphere Reserves)] :[http://whc.unesco.org/nwhc/pages/home/pages/homepage.htm World Heritage Sites] :[http://www.wcmc.org.uk/data/database/un_combo.html UN Protected Places database] :[http://www.europarc.org/ EUROPARC federation - Europe's protected areas] ko:국립공원 ja:国立公園

Brazil

The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Brazilian Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in Latin America, and fifth largest in the world. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean, it is the easternmost country of the Americas and it borders Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French department of French Guiana — every South American nation except for Ecuador and Chile. Named after brazilwood, a tree highly valued by early colonists, Brazil is home to both extensive agricultural lands and rain forests. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. As a former colony of Portugal, Portuguese is its official language.

History

Main article: History of Brazil Brazil is thought to have been inhabited for at least 10,000 years by semi-nomadic populations when the first Portuguese explorers, led by Pedro Álvares Cabral, disembarked in 1500. Over the next three centuries, it was resettled by the Portuguese and exploited mainly for brazilwood (Pau-Brasil) at first, and later for sugarcane(Cana-de-Açúcar) agriculture and gold mining. Work in the colony was based on slavery. In 1808, Queen Maria I of Portugal and her son and regent, the future João VI of Portugal, fleeing from Napoleon, relocated to Brazil with the royal family, nobles and government. Though they returned to Portugal in 1821, the interlude led to the opening of commercial ports to the United Kingdom — at the time isolated from most European ports by Napoleon — and to the elevation of Brazil to the status of a Kingdom united to Portugal's Crown. Then prince regent Dom Pedro I of Brazil and IV of Portugal declared independence on 7 September 1822, establishing the independent Empire of Brazil. As the crown remained in the hands of the house of Bragança, this was more the severance of the Portuguese empire in two, than an independence movement as seen elsewhere in the Americas. The Brazilian Empire was theoretically a democracy in the British style, although in practice, the emperor-premier-parliament balance of power more closely resembled the autocratic Austrian Empire. Slavery was abolished in 1888, and intensive European immigration created the basis for industrialization. Pedro I was succeeded by his son, Pedro II — who in old age was caught by a political dispute between the Army and the Cabinet, a crisis arising from the Paraguay War. In order to avoid a civil war between Army and Navy, Pedro II renounced the throne on 15 November 1889, when a federal republic was established by Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Brazil attracted over 5 million European and Japanese immigrants. That period also saw Brazil industrialise, further colonize, and develop its interior. Brazilian democracy was replaced by dictatorships three times — 1930–1934 and 1937–1945 under Getúlio Vargas, and 1964–1985, under a succession of generals appointed by the military. Today, Brazil is internationally considered a democracy since 1985, specifically a presidential democracy, which was kept after a plebiscite in 1993 where voters had to choose between a presidential or parliamentary systems, whilst also choosing if Brazil should reinstate its constitutional monarchy.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Brazil Politics of Brazil] The 1988 constitution grants broad powers to the federal government. The President has extensive executive powers: he appoints the Cabinet, and he is also both head of state and head of government. The President and Vice-President are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms. The Brazilian legislature, the bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional, includes the Federal Senate or Senado Federal of 81 seats, of which three members from each state or federal district are elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third elected after a four-year period, two-thirds elected after the next four-year period. Beside the Senate there is the Chamber of Deputies or Câmara dos Deputados of 513 seats, whose members are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms. See also:
- Cangaço (criminal hinterland bands in the first years of the 20th century)
- Café com leite (reference to Brazil's domination by the "coffee oligarchs" in the first years of the 20th century)
- Coronelismo (reference to machine politics in the first years of the 20th century, still present on a lesser scale in modern times)
- Integralismo (influential Brazilian fascist movement in the 1930s)

States

Main article: States of Brazil Brazil consists of 26 states (estados, singular estado) and 1 federal district (distrito federal): Brazil and its 26 states and Federal District are divided by IBGE into 5 distinctive regions: North, Northeast, Center-West, Southeast and South (Division by Regions). See also:
- List of cities in Brazil (all cities and municipalities)
- List of major cities in Brazil (metropolitan areas and major regional cities)

Geography

List of major cities in Brazil Main article: Geography of Brazil Brazil is characterized by the extensive low-lying Amazon Rainforest in the north, and a more open terrain of hills and low mountains to the south — home to most of Brazil's population and its agricultural base. Along the Atlantic seacoast are also found several mountain ranges, reaching roughly 2,900 m high. The highest peak is the Pico da Neblina at 3,014 m, in Guiana's highlands. Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in the world by volume, and often considered the world's longest; the Paraná and its major tributary, the Iguaçu River, where the impressive Iguaçu falls are located; the Rio Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós rivers. Situated on the equator, Brazil's climate is predominantly tropical, with little seasonal variation, although the subtropical south is more temperate, and occasionally experiences frost and snow. Precipitation is abundant in the humid Amazon Basin, but more arid landscapes are found as well, particularly in the northeast. A number of islands in the Atlantic Ocean are part of Brazil:
- Saint Peter and Paul Rocks
- Rocas Atoll
- Fernando de Noronha
- Trindade and Martim Vaz See also:
- Protected areas of Brazil
- National parks (Brazil)
- List of Brazilian National Forests
- List of mountains in Brazil

Economy

Main article: Economy of Brazil Economy of Brazil in the world [http://www.citymayors.com/features/largest_cities1.html 1] ]] Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, as well as a large labor pool, Brazil's GDP (PPP) outweighs that of any other Latin American country, and the country is expanding its presence in world markets. Major export products include airplanes, coffee, vehicles, soybean, iron ore, orange juice, steel, textiles, footwear and electrical equipment. After crafting a fiscal adjustment program, and pledging progress on structural reform, Brazil received a US$41.5 billion IMF-led international support program in November 1998. [http://www.canadianliberty.bc.ca/relatedinfo/BRAZIL'S_IMF_DISASTER.html] During the summer of 1998, investors expressed concerns that a downturn in economic growth was imminent. However, in January 1999, the Brazilian Central Bank announced that the Real would no longer be pegged to the US dollar. This devaluation helped moderate the downturn, and the country posted moderate GDP growth. Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001 — to less than 2% — because of a slowdown in major markets, the hiking of interest rates by the Central Bank to reduce inflationary pressures, and fears over the economic policies of the new government to be elected. Investor confidence was strong at the end of 2001, in part because of the strong recovery in the balance of trade. Chronic poverty remains a pressing problem. After Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's inauguration on 1 January 2003, there was some fear that his party radicals might provoke an economic about-face, and that Brazil might experience a financial crisis. However, the Brazilian economy seems to have detached itself from politics, and after a GDP increase of 0.5% in 2003, Brazil has enjoyed a robust growth in 2004. It is estimated that there will be moderate growth in 2005 and 2006.

Brazil Socioeconomic Rankings
Indicator	World Rank	Value	Comparable countries
Total Nominal GDP	14th	604,855 million USD	Australia, Russia
Total PPP GDP	9th	1,461,564 million Int.Dollars	Italy, Russia
Per capita Nominal GDP	74th	3,325 USD	Romania, Dominica
Per capita PPP GDP	70th	8,049 Int.Dollars	Bulgaria, Thailand
Gini Coefficient	111th	59,3	Paraguay, Guatemala
Human Development Index	63th	0.792	Russia, Romania

But... FIFA soccer ranking for Brazil is number one (with 848 points for January 2005), above France, Spain, Netherlands, Argentina.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Brazil.
See also: Indigenous peoples in Brazil. Indigenous peoples in Brazil, Southern Brazil]] The main ethnic group in Brazil are the Portuguese, who colonized the country after 1500. Until independence in 1822, the Portuguese were the only European nation that successfully settled in Brazil, and most of Brazil's culture is based on that of Portugal. The Dutch and the French also colonized Brazil during the 17th century, but their presence lasted only a few decades. The Amerindian population of Brazil has in large part been exterminated or assimilated into the Portuguese population. Since the beginning of Brazil's colonization, intermarriage between the Portuguese and Native Brazilians has been common. Brazil has a large black population, descended from African slaves brought to the country from the 16th century until the 19th century. The African population in Brazil has mixed substantially with the Portuguese, causing a large mixed-race population. Beginning in the 19th century, the Brazilian government stimulated European immigration to substitute for the manpower of the former slaves. The first non-Portuguese immigrants to settle in Brazil were Germans, in 1824. However, significant European immigration to Brazil began only in the 1870s, when immigration from Italy increased. Brazil has the largest Italian population outside of Italy, with 25 million Italians and Italian-descended Brazilians, constituting 15% of Brazil's population. Another important influx of immigrants came from Spain. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Brazil received immigrants from several other European countries, such as Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Austria. Starting in the early 20th century, Brazil also received a large number of Asians: Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese immigrants. The Japanese are the largest Asian minority in Brazil, and Japanese-Brazilians are the largest Japanese population outside of Japan (1.5 million). Significant immigration from the Middle-East (Lebanon and Syria) has also occurred. Brazil's population is mostly concentrated along the coast, with a lower population density in the interior. The population of the southern states is mainly of European descent, while the majority of the inhabitants of the north and northeast are of mixed ancestry (Amerindians, Africans and Europeans).

Ethnicity and race

Syria] According to the 2000 IBGE census:
- white 53.7%
- mixed race 38.5%
- black 6.2%
- other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%
- unspecified 0.7% Most white Brazilians are of Portuguese or Italian descent. There are also significant populations of German, Spanish, and Polish descent, and other European ethnic groups. Brazilians of Portuguese ancestry are found in the entire country, while those of Italian descent are predominantly in Southern and Southeastern Brazil. The other white ethnic groups, such as German and Polish, are mostly concentrated in the extreme South of Brazil. There are entire cities settled by Germans-Brazilians in Southern Brazil. Brazilians of mixed-race ancestry are found in the whole country, although most of them live in the Northern and Northeastern states. Mixed-race Brazilians include mulatto, caboclo (or mameluco) and cafuzo, however the majority are a mix of Amerindians, whites and blacks. Black Brazilians are concentrated mostly in the Northeastern states, although large black populations can be found throughout the country. Asian Brazilians (mainly of Japanese descent) and Arab Brazilians are concentrated in the Southeastern states (mainly in São Paulo). Amerindian Brazilians are concentrated in the Northern states, mostly in the Amazon area. Despite their diversity, most Brazilians consider themselves to be part of a single "Brazilian ethnic group", and all people born in Brazil, no matter their origin, are considerated totally Brazilians. The only exceptions are non-assimilated indigenous tribes. Racism in Brazil is an unbailable crime.

Languages

indigenous tribes] Portuguese is the official language, and is spoken by the entire population. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, giving it a national culture distinct from its Spanish-speaking neighbors. Portuguese is the only language with fully official status in Brazil, and there are few regional variances. It is virtually the only language used in schools, newspapers, radio and TV, and for all business and administrative purposes. The language spoken in Brazil is slightly different from that spoken in Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries. Brazilian Portuguese is more archaic than European Portuguese, and has some phonological and orthographic differences, although mutual comprehension is not affected. Spanish is understood in various degrees by most people, since it is very close to Portuguese. English is part of the official high school curriculum, but very few people achieve any usable degree of fluency. Many minority languages are spoken daily throughout the vast national territory of Brazil. Half of these languages are spoken by indigenous peoples, mostly in Northern Brazil. The main indigenous languages are: Guaraní, Kaingang, Nadëb, Carajá, Caribe, Tucano, Arára, Terêna, Borôro, Apalaí, Canela and many others. Still others are spoken by communities of descendants of 19th century immigrants, who are for the most part bilingual, in rural areas of Southern Brazil. These communities speak dialects of Italian, German, Polish or Japanese languages. The most dominant spoken Brazilian German dialect is Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, a Brazilian variation of the Hunsrückisch dialect of German. Talian is the main spoken Italian dialect in Brazil, and is based on the Venetian Language, which has its origin in Northern Italy. Italy]]

Religion

About 3 in 4 people, or 74% of the population in Brazil, are Roman Catholic. The Protestant population has been growing very fast, and is at 15.4%. Other Christian groups make up only 1.3%. African tribal religions are the next largest groups. The Jewish community numbers around 160,000, while Buddhism, Shinto, and other Asian religions are also sizeable. Adherents of Islam number around 28,000, or 0.01%. Brazil is the country with the largest Catholic population in the world, as well the country with the largest number of members of Asian religions in the Western world.

Poverty, illiteracy and income concentration

Western world]] Brazil currently has 25 million people living in conditions of poverty [http://www.pt.org.br/assessor/pobres.htm] [http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/presidencia/noticias/03122002relatorio_onu.shtm]. This is a chronic problem without easy solutions. Two phenomena very relevant to the discussion of poverty and income concentration in Brazil are directly related to each other: the mechanization of agricultural techniques and the focus of Brazilian agribusiness on exports. Poverty in Brazil can be seen in the large metropolitan areas (capitals) and in the "pockets of poverty" (upcountry regions with low rates of economic and social development). The Northeast has chronic problems as a result of its dry climate, with millions of people suffering hunger during the dry seasons. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has proposed a programme (Fome Zero) to mitigate this problem but its success is disputed. About 8% of the Brazilian population is technically considered illiterate (analfabetos in Portuguese), although a growing percentage show some writing and computing abilities.[http://www.ibge.gov.br/ibgeteen/datas/alfabetizacao/alfabetizacao.html]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Brazil
- Brazil Religions
- Brazil Skyscrapers
- Cuisine of Brazil
- List of Brazilians
- Literature of Brazil
- Music of Brazil

Sports

Main Article: Sports in Brazil
- Brazil national football team
- Brazilian Football League Teams Some fight sports with Brazilian origins have become popular around the world:
- Capoeira
- Vale tudo
- Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Miscellaneous topics

- Communications in Brazil
- Foreign relations of Brazil
- Military of Brazil
- Public holidays in Brazil
- Transportation in Brazil Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

External links

- ; Government, administration, economy & politics
- [http://www.bcb.gov.br Banco Central do Brasil] - Central Bank of Brazil (in Portuguese/English)
- [http://www.brasil.gov.br Brasil.gov.br] - Official governmental portal (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.camara.gov.br Câmara dos Deputados] - Official Chamber of Deputies site (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.oecd.org/document/60/0,2340,en_2649_34571_34413308_1_1_1_1,00.html Economic Survey of Brazil 2005]
- [http://www.fomezero.gov.br Fome Zero] - Official site of Fome Zero (zero hunger) programme (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.mma.gov.br Ministério do Meio Ambiente] - Ministry of the Environment of Brazil (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.planalto.gov.br Presidência da República] - Official presidential site (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.senado.gov.br Senado Federal] - Official senatorial site (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.stf.gov.br Supremo Tribunal Federal] - Supreme Federal Court (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.stj.gov.br Superior Tribunal de Justiça] - Superior Court of Justice (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.mre.gov.br Ministério das Relações Exteriores] - Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Português/English/Español)
- [http://www.consul.cc/brazil Consular Corps of Brazil] - Official Website of CC Brazil (English) ; Information, statistics
- [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/brtoc.html Library of Congress: A Country Study: Brazil]
- [http://dmoz.org/Regional/South_America/Brazil Open Directory Project - Brazil] directory category
- [http://www.brazilink.org Brazilink] - Selected and updated sources by experts (in English)
- [http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/default.php IBGE] - Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (English, Español, Português)
- [http://www.mapafacil.com.br Mapa Fácil] - Online maps of more than 5000 Brazilian cities (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.bn.br/ National Library] (in Portuguese and English)
- [http://www.spcvb.com.br São Paulo Convention & Visitors Bureau] (in Portuguese and English) ; news media
- [http://www.brasilpost.com.br Brasil-Post] (in German)
- [http://jbonline.terra.com.br Jornal do Brasil] - Brazilian newspaper (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.oglobo.com.br O Globo]- Online version of a famous Brazilian newspaper (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.estadao.com.br O Estado de São Paulo]- Site of one the most important brazilian newspapers (in portuguese)
- [http://www.folhaonline.com.br Folha de São Paulo]- Another important Brazilian newspaper (in portuguese) ; Brazilian television
- [http://www.redeglobo.com Globo]- The first network in Brazil
- [http://www.sbt.com.br SBT]- The second network in Brazil
- [http://www.rederecord.com.br Record]- Important brazilian channel
- [http://www.band.com.br Band]- Important brazilian channel ; Society, social movements, etc.
- [http://www.mst.org.br Movimento dos trabalhadores rurais sem terra]
- [http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/13/brazil9845.htm Human Rights Watch]
- [http://web.amnesty.org/library/eng-bra/index Amnesty International]
- [http://www.oeco.com.br O Eco] - Journalistic website on the environmental issues of Brazil (in Portuguese) ; Art, cooking, culture, history, travel
- [http://www.roadjunky.com/brazil/guide_brazil.shtml Alternative Brazil Travel info] (in English)
- [http://www.destination360.com/south-america/brazil/brazil.php Brazil Travel Guide] (in English)
- [http://www.ceara.com.br Ceará and Fortaleza tourism information] (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.donabrasil.com Dona Brasil] on cooking, culture and travel (in English and Dutch)
- [http://www.colonialvoyage.com/ Dutch Portuguese Colonial History] Dutch Portuguese Colonial History: history of the Portuguese and the Dutch in Ceylon, India, Malacca, Bengal, Formosa, Africa, Brazil. Language Heritage, lists of remains, maps.
- [http://www.easyportuguese.com EasyPortuguese]-- Learn the Portuguese spoken in Brazil.
- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Brazil Ethnologue Languages of the World] - Languages of Brazil
- [http://www.maria-brazil.org Maria-Brazil] - The first Brazilian pop-culture web site produced in the USA. Note: The section Maria's Cookbook is widely praised (site in English)
- [http://www.pernambuco.com.br Recife and Porto de Galinhas tourism information] (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.travel-impressions.de/brazil/mix/baiana.htm Photos of People and Sights]
- [http://www.rioforpartiers.com/ Rio For Partiers] - Award winning travel guide to Rio de Janeiro and [http://www.salvadorforpartiers.com/ Salvador]
- [http://www.sonia-portuguese.com sonia-portuguese] Learning Portuguese
- [http://www.thebraziliansound.com The Brazilian Sound] Brazilian music & culture (in English)
- [http://www.thowra.com/brasil.html Travelling in Brazil] (in English)
- [http://www.portoseguro.tur.br Porto Seguro Bahia tourism information] (in Portuguese)
- [http://www.v-brazil.com Virtual Brazil] - Information about Brazilian culture, economy and tourism (in English)
- [http://www.zmaxmiez-jpn.net/untitled4.html Viva Brasil!] All about Brazilian Culture
- [http://www.brazilbrazil.com/braznam.html Hy-Brazil] Origins of the name Brazil Category:Former Portuguese colonies Category:South American countries Category:CPLP member states zh-min-nan:Pa-se ko:브라질 ms:Brazil ja:ブラジル simple:Brazil th:ประเทศบราซิล fiu-vro:Brasiilia

1939

1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

January-March

- January 2 - End of term for Frank Finley Merriam, 28th Governor of California. He is succeeded by Culbert Levy Olson.
- January 13 - Black Friday: 71 people die across Victoria in one of Australia's worst ever bushfires.
- January 24 - Earthquake kills 30.000 in Chile – about 50.000 sq mi razed
- January 26 - Spanish Civil War: Troops loyal to Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.
- February 2 - Hungary joins Anticomintern Pact
- February 10 - Falangists take Catalonia
- February 27 - United Kingdom and France recognize Franco's government
- February 27 - Borley Rectory burns
- February 27 - Sit-down strikes are outlawed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
- March 2 - Pius XII becomes Pope
- March 3 - In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins to fast in protest of the autocratic rule in India.
- March 14 - Slovak provincial assemble proclaims independence - priest Jozef Tiso becomes the president of independent Slovak government
- March 15 - German troops occupy the remaining part of Bohemia and Moravia; Czechoslovakia ceases to exist; beginning hostilities leading to WWII
- March 16 - Marriage of Princess Fawzia of Egypt to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran
- March 22 - Germany takes Memel from Lithuania
- March 28 - Dictator Francisco Franco conquers Madrid, ending the Spanish Civil War
- March 28 - The last message from an adventurer Richard Halliburton - he disappears later
- March - End of the Great Arab Revolt in the British mandate of Palestine (started 1936)

April-June

- April 4 - Faisal II becomes King of Iraq.
- April 7 - Italy invades Albania - King Zog flees
- April 11 - Hungary leaves the League of Nations
- May 2 - Lou Gehrig's streak of 2130 consecutive Major League Baseball games played comes to an end. The record will stand for 56 years before Cal Ripken, Jr. breaks it.
- May 7 - Spain leaves the League of Nations
- May 22 - Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.
- June 4 - Holocaust: The SS St. Louis, a ship carrying a cargo of 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida after already having been turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, most of its passengers later die in Nazi concentration camps.
- June 17 - Last public execution in France - murderer Eugene Weidmann is decapitated by the guillotine.
- June 23 - Turkey annexes Hatay

July-August

Hatay]
- July 4 - The concentration camp Neuengamme becomes autonomous.
- July 6 - Holocaust: The last remaining Jewish enterprises in Germany are closed.
- August 2 - Albert Einstein writes President Franklin Roosevelt about developing the Atomic Bomb using Uranium. This led to the creation of the Manhattan Project.
- August 23 - Hitler and Stalin divide eastern Europe between themselves. Finland, the Baltic states and eastern Poland to the USSR. Western Poland to Germany (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)
- August 25 - An IRA bomb explodes in the centre of Coventry, England killing five people.
- August 27 - A Heinkel 178, the first jet-powered aircraft, flies for the last time.
- August 30 - Poland begins mobilization

September-October

- September 1 - World War II: Polish September Campaign - Nazi Germany attacks Poland, beginning the war
- September 2 - Following the invasion of Poland, Freie Stadt Danzig Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) is annexed to Nazi Germany.
- September 3 - World War II: France, Australia and the United Kingdom declare war on Germany.
- September 5 - World War II: The United States declares its neutrality in the war.
- September 6 - World War II: South Africa declares war on Germany.
- September 10 - Canada declares war on Germany.
- September 16 - Cease Fire ending undeclared Border War between The Soviet Union (and Mongolian allies) and Japan.
- September 17 - Soviet Union invades Poland and then occupies eastern Polish territories.
- September 27 - Warsaw surrenders to Germany; Modlin surrenders day later; last Polish large operational unit surrenders near Kock eight days later.
- October 8 - World War II: Germany annexes Western Poland.
- October 11 - Manhattan Project: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt is presented with a letter signed by Albert Einstein urging the United States to rapidly develop the atomic bomb.
- October 15 - The New York Municipal Airport (later renamed La Guardia Airport) is dedicated.

November-December

- November 4 - World War II: US President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the United States Customs Service to implement the Neutrality Act of 1939, allowing cash-and-carry purchases of weapons by belligerents.
- November 6 - World War II: Sonderaktion Krakau
- November 6 - The Hedda Hopper Show debuts with Hollywood gossip Hedda Hopper as host (the show ran until 1951 and made Hopper a powerful figure in the Hollywood elite).
- November 8 - Venlo Incident: Two British agents of SIS are captured by the Germans.
- November 8 - In Munich, Adolf Hitler narrowly escapes an assassination attempt while celebrating the 16th anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch.
- November 15 - In Washington, DC, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt lays the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial.
- November 16 - Al Capone released from Alcatraz
- November 30 - Winter War begins: Soviet forces invade Finland and reach the Mannerheim Line, starting the war.
- December 2 - La Guardia Airport opens for business in New York City.
- December 14 - League of Nations expels the USSR because of attacking Finland
- December 25 - A Christmas Carol was read before a radio audience for the first time.
- December 27 - Earthquake in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey, destroys the town of Erzingan - about 100.000 dead
- December 26 - Mining strike in Boringae, Belgium
- December 30 - USSR invades Finland

unknown dates

- Batman created by Bob Kane (and, unofficially, Bill Finger).
- Nuclear fission discovered independently by Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn
- Kirlian photography invented by Semyon Kirlian
- Siam changes its name to Thailand
- A logging crew sets off a second forest fire in the Tillamook Burn, which destroys 190,000 acres (769 km²)

Ongoing events

- Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
- Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945)

Births

January

- January 2 - Jim Bakker, American televangelist
- January 2 - John McBon, Argentianian Tv Star Ed the Repairman
- January 3 - Bobby Hull, Canadian hockey player
- January 6 - Valeri Lobanovsky, Ukrainian footballer and manager (d. 2002)
- January 10 - Sal Mineo, American actor (d. 1976)
- January 10 - Bill Toomey, American athlete
- January 11 - Ann Heggtveit, Canadian skier
- January 17 - Maury Povich, American talk show host
- January 18 - James Gritz, U.S. Presidential candidate
- January 19 - Phil Everly, American musician
- January 20 - Chandra Wickramasinghe, British Astonomer, Scientist, Poet.
- January 21 - Wolfman Jack, American disk jockey and actor (d. 1995)
- January 22 - Ray Stevens, American musician
- January 29 - Germaine Greer, Australian writer

February-March

- February 6 - Mike Farrell, American actor
- February 10 - Adrienne Clarkson, 26th Governor General of Canada
- February 10 - Roberta Flack, American singer
- February 10 - Peter Purves, British actor and television presenter
- February 12 - Ray Manzarek, American keyboardist
- February 13 - Beate Klarsfeld, Romanian Nazi hunter
- February 21 - Gert Neuhaus, German artist
- February 28 - Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- February 28 - Tommy Tune, American dancer, choreographer, and actor
- March 8 - Robert Tear, Welsh tenor
- March 13 - Neil Sedaka, American singer
- March 20 - Brian Mulroney, eighteenth Prime Minister of Canada
- March 26 - James Caan, American actor
- March 31 - Zviad Gamsakhurdia, President of Georgia (d. 1993)
- March 31 - Volker Schlöndorff, German film director

April-May

- April 2 - Marvin Gaye, American singer (d. 1984)
- April 4 - Hugh Masakela, South African musician
- April 7 - Francis Ford Coppola, American film director
- April 7 - Sir David Frost, English television personality
- April 13 - Seamus Heaney, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- April 13 - Paul Sorvino, American actor
- April 16 - Dusty Springfield, English singer (d. 1999)
- April 22 - Jason Miller, American actor (d. 2001)
- May 1 - Judy Collins, American singer and songwriter
- May 7 - Sidney Altman, Canadian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- May 7 - Ruud Lubbers, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- May 7 - Jimmy Ruffin, American singer
- May 7 - Marco St. John, American actor
- May 9 - Ralph Boston, American athlete
- May 12 - Ron Ziegler, Richard Nixon's White House Press Secretary (d. 2003)
- May 13 - Harvey Keitel, American actor
- May 19 - Livio Berruti, Italian athlete
- May 19 - Dick Scobee, astronaut (d. 1986)
- May 21 - Heinz Holliger, Swiss oboist and composer
- May 23 - Reinhard Hauff, German film director
- May 25 - Ian McKellen, English actor
- May 29 - Al Unser, American race car driver
- May 30 - Michael J. Pollard, American actor

June-August

- June 3 - Ian Hunter, English singer (Mott the Hoople)
- June 6 - Louis Andriessen, Dutch composer
- June 9 - Ileana Cotrubas, Romanian soprano
- June 9 - Dick Vitale, American basketball broadcaster
- June 11 - Jackie Stewart, Scottish race car driver
- July 5 - Booker Edgerson, American football player
- July 14 - George E. Slusser, American scholar and writer
- July 21 - John Negroponte, U.S. Director of National Intelligence
- July 26 - John Howard, twenty-fifth Prime Minister of Australia
- July 26 - Bob Lilly, American football player
- August 5 - Princess Irene of the Netherlands
- August 17 - Luther Allison, American musician (d. 1997)
- August 22 - Carl Yastrzemski, baseball player
- August 29 - Joel Schumacher, American film producer and director
- August 30 - John Peel, English disk jockey (d. 2004)

September-December

- September 6 - Brigid Berlin, American actor and artist
- September 8 - Carsten Keller, German field hockey player
- September 8 - Susumu Tonegawa, Japanese moleular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- September 9 - Ron McDole, American football player
- September 16 - Breyten Breytenbach, South African writer and painter
- September 23 - Janusz Gajos, Polish actor
- September 30 - Len Cariou, Canadian actor and singer
- September 30 - Jean-Marie Lehn, French chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- October 1 - George Archer, American golfer (d. 2005)
- October 7 - John Hopcroft, American computer scientist
- October 7 - Harold Kroto, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- October 7 - Bill Snyder, American football coach
- October 14 - Ralph Lauren, American fashion designer
- October 24 - F. Murray Abraham, American actor
- October 27 - John Cleese, British actor
- October 30 - Leland H. Hartwell, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- October 31 - Ron Rifkin, American actor
- November 1 - Barbara Bosson, American actress
- November 21 - Mulayam Singh Yadav, Indian politician
- November 23 - Bill Bissett, Canadian poet
- November 27 - Laurent-Désiré Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 2001)
- December 2 - Yael Dayan, Israeli writer and politician
- December 8 - James Galway, Irish flutist
- December 18 - Robert T. Bennett, American politican
- December 18 - Michael Moorcock, English writer
- December 18 - Harold E. Varmus, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Deaths

- January 2 - Roman Dmowski, Polish politician (b. 1864)
- January 23 - Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer (b. 1903)
- January 24 - Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician and nutritionist (b. 1867)
- January 28 - William Butler Yeats, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
- February 10 - Pope Pius XI (b. 1857)
- February 11 - Franz Schmidt, Austrian composer (b. 1874)
- February 12 - S. P. L. Sørensen, Danish chemist (b. 1868)
- February 22 - Antonio Machado, Spanish poet (b. 1875)
- March 2 - Howard Carter, British archaeologist (b. 1874)
- March 19 - Lloyd L. Gaines, American civil rights activist
- April 7 - Joseph Lyons, tenth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1879)
- June 4 - Tommy Ladnier, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1900)
- June 19 - Grace Abbott, American social worker and activist (b. 1878)
- June 26 - Ford Maddox Ford, English writer (b. 1873)
- July 14 - Alfons Mucha, Czech painter and decorative artist (b. 1860)
- August 2 - Harvey Spencer Lewis, American mystic (b. 1883)
- August 11 - Jean Bugatti, German automobile designer (b. 1909)
- September 18 - Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish writer and painter (b. 1885)
- September 23 - Sigmund Freud, Austrian psychiatrist (b. 1856)
- October 7 - Harvey Cushing, American neurosurgeon (b. 1869)
- November 12 - Norman Bethune, Canadian humanitarian (b. 1890)
- November 28 - James Naismith, Canadian inventor of basketball (b. 1861)
- December 22 - Ma Rainey, American singer (b. 1886)
- December 23 - Anthony Fokker, Dutch aircraft manufacturer (b. 1890)

Nobel Prizes

- Physics - Ernest Orlando Lawrence
- Chemistry - Adolf Friedrich Johann Butenandt, Leopold Ruzicka
- Physiology or Medicine - Gerhard Domagk
- Literature - Frans Eemil Sillanpää
- Peace - not awarded Category:1939 ko:1939년 ms:1939 ja:1939年 simple:1939 th:พ.ศ. 2482

Petrópolis

Petrópolis, also known as The Imperial City of Brazil, is a town in the state of Rio de Janeiro, about 60 km from the state's capital. Population: about 300,000. County area: 811 square km (313.12 square miles). Altitude: 830 meters (2750 feet) above sea level. Nested among the forested hills of the Serra dos Órgãos ("Organ Hills"), in the valley of the Quitandinha and Piabanha rivers, Petrópolis is a popular summer holiday spot. Besides the climate and surroundings, the main attraction is the former Summer Palace of the Brazilian Emperors, which is now a Museum, specializing in Imperial history and memorabilia.

History

Museum
The Imperial Crown in Petrópolis

The town's name ("city of Peter") honors Emperor Pedro I, the nation's first monarch. The city was the summer residence of the Brazilian Emperors and aristocrats in the 19th century, and was the official capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro between 1894 and 1903. The town's origins can be traced to a certain Bernardo Soares de Proença , who in 1720 opened an alternative route between Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, across the Serra da Estrela. While traveling to Minas Gerais along this route, Emperor Peter I found the region's climate pleasant, so in 1830 he bought a farm, and had his Summer Palace built there. Other Brazilian aristocrats eventually followed suit. Under his successor Pedro II, German farmers from the Rhineland were encouraged to immigrate and to settle on the Emperor's outlying lands, to help give the Palace a charming urban setting. The settlement of Petrópolis was founded on March 16, 1843, being promoted to district in 1844 and finally city in 1857. The road connecting the city to Rio de Janeiro was opened in 1910 and paved in 1928.

1928
The Imperial Museum, former Summer Palace
of the Imperial Family

On a visit at the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876, Pedro II was impressed by Alexander Graham Bell's new telephone, and had a line installed between the Summer Palace and the farm headquarters. telephone Even after the establishment of the Republic and the exile of the Imperial family in 1889, the Summer Palace continued to play a significant role in Brazilian history. In 1903 it saw the signing of a peace treaty with Bolivia, which gave Brazil the Acre territory. In August 15, 1947, the Organization of American States opened there the Conference for the Maintenance of Peace and Security in the Continent, from which derived the Interamerican Treaty for Reciprocal Assistance. Stefan Zweig and his wife spend their final year in Petropolis before committing suicide in 1942. Category:Cities in Brazil Category:Rio de Janeiro state

Teresópolis

Teresópolis (informally known as Terê) is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, near Petrópolis, in the Rio de Janeiro highlands region (Região Serrana, in Portuguese).
- Population: 138,081 (2000)
- Municipal area: 772.4 square km (298.2 square miles)
- Altitude: 871 meters (2857 feet) above mean sea level
- Average temperature: 19.3ºC (annual), 22.8ºC (February), 15.9ºC (July) July

History

Teresópolis began as a quilombo founded by Maroons and povos indígenas. In 1818, Englishman Georg March (1781–1845) established a farm there, and when he died in the middle of the 19th century, the locals divided the farm into several shares, some of which the new owners eventually resold. In 1855, the settlement became an incorporated village, and was officially renamed Freguesia de Santo Antonio de Paquequer; however, the local inhabitants had already become accustomed to calling their home Therezopolis (named for the Empress Tereza Cristina). At this time, the village had a population of 2,000. Count D’Eu and Princess Isabel visited Teresópolis in 1868; Emperor Dom Pedro II visited in 1870, and praised the village's beauty. On July 6 1891, Brazilian officials upgraded the village's status to municipality.

Mountain peaks of Teresópolis

Teresópolis is famous in Brazil for its mountain peaks which attract many alpinists from all over the country.
- Peak of Pedra do Sino (2,263 meters)
- Peak of Pedra do Açu (2,230 meters)
- Peak of Agulha do Diabo (2,020 meters)
- Peak of Nariz do Frade (1,919 meters)
- Peak of Dedo de Deus (1,651 meters)
- Peak of Pedra da Ermitage (1,485 meters)
- Peak of Dedo de Nossa Senhora (1,320 meters). Of these, perhaps Dedo de Deus ("God's finger") is the most famous.

Sport and recreation

Teresópolis has excellent facilities for visitors of the Serra dos Órgãos National Park. Teresópolis hosts Brazil's football team training center, the Granja Comary. It is also the home of two football teams: Teresópolis Futebol Clube and Teresópolis Esporte Clube.

External links

- [http://www.teresopolison.com/ TeresopolisOn]
- [http://www.simetria.net/teresopolis/ Teresópolis Up]
- The entry for [http://www.arquivodeclubes.com/rj/teresopolisec.htm Teresópolis Esporte Clube] at [http://www.arquivodeclubes.com Arquivo de Clubes]
- The entry for [http://www.arquivodeclubes.com/rj/teresopolis.htm Teresópolis Futebol Clube] at [http://www.arquivodeclubes.com Arquivo de Clubes] Category:Cities in Brazil Category:Rio de Janeiro state

Mag

Mag is the short form of several words:
- Magazine, either as a periodical publication or a firearm component.
- Magnum, stemming from the latin word for large
- Magnet
- Magnification, in optical devices
- Magneto, an engine component (typically in the context of aviation)
- Magnesium-Alloy wheels, commonly called 'Mags'
- Mines Advisory Group, a non-governmental organization (NGO) concerned with removal of debris of war (landmines, UXO etc)

Organ (music)

at Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica, Montreal]] The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the western musical tradition, with a rich history connected with the Christian religion and civic ceremony. Its sound output is continuous rather than decaying, i.e., the sound continues for as long as a key is depressed and does not depend on how hard the key is struck—as is the case with a (velocity sensitive) piano—nor decay quickly, as with the harpsichord and clavichord. Some modern electronic organs, however, have the capacity for velocity sensitivity and for aftertouch (pressure sensitivity) responding to how hard a key is held down. Organs range in size from a single, short keyboard to large instruments intended to play a full range of repertoire, which typically have three or four manuals, sometimes as many as seven, plus a two-and-a-half octave pedalboard. Most classical music for the organ is written on three staves; the upper two for the manuals and the lower one for the pedals. The bar lines are broken between the lowest two staves.

Pipe organs

See the main article at pipe organ for more details and the history of the pipe organ. The original organ was the pipe organ, and many organ enthusiasts still regard all other forms as imitations. Pipe organs may be broadly divided into three categories:
- The church organ was developed originally for congregational singing, and is still found in many houses of worship. Accompaniment of human voices, whether a congregation, a choir or a cantor or soloist is the primary purpose of the church organ, and it is highly developed to be suitable for this task. Often just called a pipe organ (whether it actually has pipes or not), it may be called a church organ or classical organ to differentiate it from the theatre organ, which is a distinctly different instrument. However, as classical organ repertoire was developed for the church organ and in turn influenced its development, the line between a church and a concert organ is hard to draw. Instruments of any size may include some stops designed for independent performance of this music rather than for accompaniment.
- The theatre organ (see that article) or cinema organ was designed to replace orchestras or instrumental ensembles that accompanied silent movies with a single performer. These instruments differ from church organs in three main ways:
- Their pipes are designed and voiced for this role, rather than as accompaniment to voices.
- They may include a far greater variety of non-organ sounds, notably drums and other percussion and sometimes a piano in larger instruments.
- Even the largest instruments tend to rely unashamedly on extension to produce the maximum variety of sound from the minimum number of pipes.
- The concert organ or symphonic organ which flourished during the first third of the twentieth century in town halls and other secular public venues, particularly in the United States and the UK. As these were developed primarily to perform repertoire originally written for the church organ, the line between the two types can be hard to draw, to the point that two identical instruments, one in a church and the other in a concert hall, might be termed one a church organ, the other a concert organ.

Reed organs

Prior to the development of electric and electronic organs, the only alternative to the pipe organ was the reed organ, which generated its sounds using reeds similar to those of a piano accordion. Smaller, cheaper and more portable than the corresponding pipe instrument, these were widely used in smaller churches and in private homes, but their volume and tonal range was extremely limited, and they were generally limited to one or two manuals, pedalboards being extremely rare. piano accordion A development of the reed organ was the chord organ, which provided chord buttons for the left hand, again similar to a piano accordion in concept. A few chord organs were later built using frequency divider technology.

Electric and electronic organs

See the main article electronic organ for more details and history. Since the 1930s, pipeless electric instruments have been available to produce similar sounds and perform similar roles to pipe organs. Many of these have been bought both by houses of worship and other potential pipe organ customers, and also by many musicians both professional and amateur for whom a pipe organ would not be a possibility. Far smaller and cheaper to buy than a corresponding pipe instrument, and in many cases portable, they have taken organ music into private homes and into dance bands and other new environments, and have almost completely replaced the reed organ.

Electric organs

The Hammond organ (see that article) was the first successful electric organ, and was sold beginning in the 1930s. It utilized mechanical, rotating tonewheels to produce the sound waveforms. The Hammond controlled registration by a system of drawbars that took advantage of the possibility of setting the volume of each set of tonewheels individually, rather than merely imitating the on/off function of a pipe organ stop. It also provided new vibrato-like sounds, both by devices that acted on the drive belts and later by revolving loudspeakers. These features gave it new sounds that organists eagerly explored. The Hammond organ became popular in jazz, particularly soul jazz, and in gospel music. Since these were the roots of rock and roll, the Hammond organ became a part of the rock and roll sound. It was widely used in rock and popular music during the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1980s the polyphonic synthesizer became popular, replacing the organ in most pop acts. The Hammond enjoyed something of a resurgence in popularity in pop music around 2000, in part due to the availability of clonewheel organs that were light enough for one person to carry.

Frequency divider organs

With the development of the transistor, electronic organs that used no mechanical parts to generate the waveforms became practical. The first of these was the frequency divider organ, the first of which which used twelve oscillators to produce one octave of chromatic scale, and frequency dividers to produce other notes. These were even cheaper and more portable than the Hammond. Later developments made it possible to run an organ from a single radio frequency oscillator. Frequency divider organs were built by many companies, and also offered in kit form to be built by hobbyists. A few of these have seen notable use, such as the Lowrey played by Garth Hudson. Its electronic design made the Lowrey easily equipped with a pitch bend feature that is unavailable for the Hammond, and Hudson built a style around its use. During the period from the 1940s through approximately the 1970s, a variety of more modest self-contained electronic home organs from a variety of manufacturers were popular forms of home entertainment. These instruments often simplified the traditional organ stops into imitative voicings such as "trumpet" and "marimba" and as technology progressed they increasingly included automated features such as one-touch chords, electronic rhythm and accompaniment devices, and even built-in tape players. These were intended to make playing complete, layered "one-man band" arrangements extremely easy, especially for those not necessarily trained as organists. While a few such instruments are still sold today, their popularity has waned greatly, and many of their functions have been incorporated into more modern and inexpensive portable keyboards. The Lowrey line of home organs is the epitome of this type of instrument. In the '60s and '70s, a type of simple, portable electronic organ called the combo organ was popular, especially with pop and rock bands, and was a signature sound in the pop music of the period (e.g. The Doors, Iron Butterfly). The most popular combo organs were manufactured by Farfisa and Vox.

Digital organs

The development of the integrated circuit enabled another revolution in electronic keyboard instruments. Electronic organs sold since the 1980s utilize digital sampling to produce the sound. Also available are hybrids, incorporating a few ranks of pipes to produce some sounds, and using digital samples for other sounds and to resolve borrowing collisions. Major manufacturers include Allen Organ and Rodgers. There are also custom digital organ builders like Phoenix Organs[http://www.phoenixorgans.com]with several representatives throughout the US[http://www.qualityorgans.com].

Similar instruments

Other instruments which are played from a reservoir of gas and have separate tone-producing mechanisms for each pitch include:
- the accordion and concertina, in which the bellows is operated by the squeezing action of the instrumentalist;
- the melodeon, a reed instrument with an air reservior and a foot operated bellows, popular in the USA in the mid-19th century;
- the Harmonium or parlor organ, a reed instrument usually with many stops and two foot-operated bellows which the instrumentalist operates alternately;
- the steam calliope, being essentially a pipe organ operated on steam rather than air;
- the band organ, essentially a pipe organ, but instead of a keyboard, mechanical means are used to play a prepared song.
- the barrel organ made famous by the organ grinder in its portable form, and relatively invisible in its larger form because it was then often fitted out with keyboards to give the option for totally a human performance
- the portative organ, a small portable medieval instrument
- the positive organ, a somewhat larger though still portable medieval instrument
- various sorts of novelty instruments operating on the same principles. Other wind instruments that have no reservoir of gas but use a separate tone-producing mechanism for each pitch
- the harmonica, where the musician effectively blows directly onto the reeds is also known as a mouth organ;
- the pan-pipes Other wind instruments that are played from a reservoir of gas but do not use a separate tone-producing mechanism for each pitch
- bagpipes

External links

- [http://www.lawrencephelps.com/Documents/Articles/Beginner/pipeorgans101.html Pipe Organs 101]
- [http://www.die-orgelseite.de/index_e.html The World's Largest Organs]
- [http://www.organfocus.com/links/index.php?CID=17 OrganFocus.com Link Directory]
- [http://qualityorgans.com D.L. Simmons & Company Church Organs] Category:Electronic music instruments Category:Keyboard instruments Category:Pipe organ ja:オルガン

Metre

:This article is about the unit of length. For other uses of metre or meter, see meter (disambiguation). The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. It is defined as the length of the path travelled by light in absolute vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second. Adding SI prefixes to metre creates multiples and submultiples; for example kilometre (1000 metres; kilo- = 1000) and millimetre (one thousandth of a metre; milli- = 1 / 1 000).

Conversions

1 metre is equivalent to:
- exactly 1/0.9144 yards (approximately 1.0936 yards)
- exactly 1/0.3048 feet (approximately 3.2808 feet)
- exactly 10000/254 inches (approximately 39.370 inches)

History

The word metre is from the Greek metron (μετρον), "a measure" via the French mètre. Its first recorded usage in English is from 1797. In the 18th century, there were two favoured approaches to the definition of the standard unit of length. One suggested defining the metre as the length of a pendulum with a half-period of one second. The other suggested defining the metre as one ten-millionth of the length of the earth's meridian along a quadrant (one-fourth the polar circumference of the earth). In 1791, the French Academy of Sciences selected the meridional definition over the pendular definition because of the slight variation of the force of gravity over the surface of the earth, which affects the period of a pendulum. In 1793, France adopted the metre, with this definition, as its official unit of length. Although it was later determined that the first prototype metre bar was short by a fifth of a millimetre due to miscalculation of the flattening of the earth, this length became the standard. So, the circumference of the Earth through the poles is approximately forty million metres. Earth in a vacuum.]] In the 1870s and in light of modern precision, a series of international conferences were held to devise new metric standards. The Metre Convention (Convention du Mètre) of 1875 mandated the establishment of a permanent International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM: Bureau International des Poids et Mesures) to be located in Sèvres, France. This new organisation would preserve the new prototype metre and kilogram when constructed, distribute national metric prototypes, and would maintain comparisons between them and non-metric measurement standards. This organisation created a new prototype bar in 1889 at the first General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM: Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures), establishing the International Prototype Metre as the distance between two lines on a standard bar of an alloy of ninety percent platinum and ten percent iridium, measured at the melting point of ice. In 1893, the standard metre was first measured with an interferometer by Albert A. Michelson, the inventor of the device and an advocate of using some particular wavelength of light as a standard of distance. By 1925, interferometry was in regular use at the BIPM. However, the International Prototype Metre remained the standard until 1960, when