[Fictional Character FYI only]
[Name] The Mysterious Stranger aka X.
[Short Description] I am a master of disguise.I
can change everything about me but my husky
physique. Undisguised, I have strong, irregular
features, pale skin, green eyes and fox-red
hair.
[Short Biography] I am an Ethical. A member of one of the many races that were responsible for resurrecting all humans who died on Earth before the age of five. I am a member of the Ethical Council of Twelve who oversee Riverworld and everything that is on it.
[Skills] Acting, compulsive lying, and anything
else that I may need. I dislike violence, but I
believe that the end justifies the means.
[Non-fictional historical character]
[Name] Phoebe Anne Oakley Moses aka Annie Oakley
[Short Description] 5 foot tall, brown hair.
[Short Biography] I was born Aug. 13, 1860. in
Patterson Township, Darke County, Ohio. Parents
farmers from Pennsylvania.
When I was 9 in 1866, my father died, so
I began shooting game to support my family.
I quickly became a dead shot, and when I
turned sixteen, I went to Cincinnati to
enter a shooting contest with Frank E. Butler
(1850-1926), an accomplished marksman who
performed in vaudeville. I won the match,
and also Frank's heart as well. Some time later
we were married, and I became Frank's assistant
in his traveling shooting act.
Later Frank relinquished the limelight to me,
and he become my assistant and personal manager.
In 1885 we joined the legendary frontiersman
Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, where I was
the star attraction for sixteen years.
In a train wreck in 1901, I suffered a
spinal injury that required five operations and
left me partially paralyzed for a while.
Although I recovered very well, I toured less
frequently during the latter part of my career,
but I continued to set records.
[Note] Annie Oakley died of pernicious anemia
on Nov. 3, 1926, in Greenville, Ohio, at the age
of sixty-six.
[Skills] Whether it be a pistol, rifle, or
shotgun, the legendary markswoman Annie Oakley
was masterful with them all. Dubbed "Little Sure
Shot" by Chief Sitting Bull, her sharp shooting
in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show won her many
awards and captivated audiences far and wide.
[Name] Simon (IV) de Montfort
Earl of Leicester
[Short Description] I'm 5'6" tall, Blond haired,
Brown eyed, and fairly muscular.
[Short Biography] I was the son of Simon III de
Montfort, and was born in 1208. In 1230, I tried
my fortunes in England, where, in 1238, I
secretly married Eleanor, sister of King Henry
III of England. Eleanor had previously been
married to William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke,
and had sworn a vow of chastity on his death,
which she broke by marrying me.
Once reconciled to the match, the king created
me Earl of Leicester, but we frequently
disagreed.
Like my father, I was a hardened and ruthless
soldier, as well as a capable administrator.
The main cause of my dispute with the king was
the latter's determination to ignore the
swelling discontent within the country, caused
by a combination of factors which included
famine.
In 1258, at Oxford, I was instrumental in
calling a parliament.(Which is regarded as the
forerunner of the modern institution.)
The king's son, the future King Edward I of
England was at first sympathetic to my cause,
but we later they became enemies, and the
Provisions of Oxford, which the king had sworn
to uphold, were broken at the behest of the Pope
in 1261.
Civil war broke out, and soon my army met and
defeated the royal forces at the Battle of Lewes
in 1264. Prince Edward was taken prisoner, and
the subsequent treaty set up a model parliament
to agree to a constitution formulated by myself. [Note]However, Simon's many enemies turned his
triumph into disaster, and he was defeated and
killed by Edward's forces during the Baron's War
in the Battle of Evesham in 1265. His body was
mutilated, eviscerated and the remains
scattered. His family were forced into exile in
Simon's native France.
[Skills] Administration, sword, lance, shield,
horsemanship, archery, tactics, strategy,
catholic theology, statesmanship.
[Name]Benjamin Franklin
[Short Description]This is me.
[Short Biography] I was born in 1706 in Boston,
but I lived most of his life in Philadelphia,
London, and Paris. I was the 15th of 17 children, born of the second wife of my father
who died at the age of 84 in 1790 of natural
causes. My education consisted of two years of
grammar school and lots of self-education, and
experience. I was brought into my father's trade
as a tallow chandler at age 10, but I left
almost immediately to take work as a cutler.
At age 13 I apprenticed to my brother James
in the printing business. I delivered papers,
ran the presses, and composed most of the text
(printed anonymously). My writing was so
liberally slanted, that I actually got my
brother thrown in jail for a month. At the age
of 17 I moved to Philadelphia and became
acquainted with the governor of Pennsylvania, who persuaded me to go to London to establish a
printing business. When I arrived, however, I
did not receive the letters of recommendation
promised to me by the governor, and I ended up
working for two printing companies in London for
two years before returning to Philadelphia,
where I formed what would become the American
Philosophical Society, purchased and revived the
Pennsylvania Gazette, and then founded the first
public library in America. I published Poor
Richard's Almanack for many years, then became
clerk and then deputy postmaster of the
Pennsylvania General Assembly. I was married at
the age of 24 to Deborah Reed and we had a son
William, from whom I was later estranged, when
William remained a loyalist and became royal
governor of New Jersey.
Around this time, I invented the Franklin
stove, formed the first fire company in America,
developed the first guidelines in America for
street paving and lighting and fire prevention,
and developed methods for improving paving and
lighting. I formed the first anti-slavery
organization in America as well. My research
into electricity, in collaboration with an
English friend, led to the theory that lightning
was an electrical phenomenon, confirmed by
others and later by myself using the famous kite
experiment I proposed. I invented the lightning
rod as well. In recognition of all this, I was
granted honorary science degrees from both
Oxford and St. Andrews, and became a Fellow of
the Royal Society of London and was awarded its Copley medal.
In 1749 I wrote a treatise on public
education, leading to the founding in 1751 of
what would become the University of
Pennsylvania, which was notable in its time for
emphasizing study of modern languages (including
English), math, and science as well as the
classics that most universities focused on at
the time. I served 14 years in the Pennsylvania
Assembly, and proposed the Albany Plan which
foreshadowed the constitution, but was too
radical for acceptance, though I thought that it
might have prevented the revolution.
During the French And Indian War I recruited
equipment for the English, but travelled to
England to give testimony that would lead to the
repeat of the Stamp Act. I finally became
resigned to the inevitability of war and
returned to Pennsylvania (after becoming
acquainted with many famous Englishmen of the
time). I became a member of the Second
Continental Congress and was one of the five men
appointed to draft the Declaration of
Independence. I travelled to Canada to try to
persuade the Canadians to support America in the
war, then I went to France to seek economic
assistance. I encouraged and assisted privateers
like John Paul Jones working against the British
navy, then negotiated the treaty with France
that turned the war around. was one of three
Americans to work on the Treaty of Paris ending
the war, and I became the first U.S. Ambassador
to France.
Living in France, I studied the works of
Franz Mesmer under appointment from the king of
France, and became a dignitary of a Freemason
lodge, and using its connections, I encouraged
liberalization of the French government (though
not through violent means). I left France to
work on the Constitution, then sent a petition
to Congress as president of the Pennsylvania
Abolition Society encouraging an abolition of
slavery.
[Note] When he died two months later, his
autobiography was unfinished, yet is considered
the basis for his literary reputation. Franklin
was a great thinker, a very affable person liked
by everyone, even his enemies, and by all
accounts, a lecherous dirty old man. He was
inventive, unafraid of flying in the face of
convention, known for thinking on grand scales
without losing sight of the practical and the
here-and-now. He was a Renaissance man, a
self-made man, and enterprising even among the
colonial northerners he sprang from. He took
great joy in learning and serious thought, but
he also took great joy in less cerebral
activities. His speech was peppered with jokes,
witticisms, and some of the best one-liners of
all time. He was known, in his later years, for
falling asleep in the middle of anything, and
for staying up all night reading or working on
his latest project (these two may have something
to do with one another!). He was known for his
philanthropic principles as well.
[Skills] Scientific method,printing,ironworking,
economic theory, politics, diplomacy,
negotiation, writing, administration, tallow
chandling, cutlering, invention.
[Name] Salomon August Andrée(known as August by
close friends).
[Short Description] I am 5 Ft 11, have blonde
hair and a slightly hawkish nose.
[Short Biography] I was born in Granna in Sweden
on 18th October 1854 as the fifth of seven
children. My father was a Pharmacist and member
of the Cirst council.
In 1870 after achieving high grades in my
schooling I moved to Stockholm to attend the
Technical Institute there with the goal of
becoming an engineer where I met Georg Pauli
(later to become a well known artist) and Carl
Erik Svenoni (later to become a prominent
theologian) who I maintained lifelong
friendships with. Carl Erik and I clashed
frequently as I am very strongly anti-religious. I graduate in 1874 in Engineering and am
recognized as excellent in German, Swedish and
Mathematics. My weaknesses are Physics, map
making and singing.
In 1876 I travel to America visiting New York
and also the World fair in Philadelphia. Here I
see for the first time a steam engine and
balloon. It is while I am in America that Custer
falls at Little Big Horn and I am disgusted by
the treatment of the local Indians.
I return to Sweden after six months and work
in metal plating and in the Swedish Railroad
Cooperation's repair shop before becoming a
draughtsman and designer for Göransson's
Mechanical Workshop in Stockholm. After 2 years
there I carry out my military service.
In 1878 I open my own Mechanical Workshop and
Wire-Drawing Shop. The business soon fails. I
then begin working at my old Technical Institute
and also writing for scientific journals.
In 1882-1883 I take part in an Nils Ekholm's
expedition to Spitzbergen comprised of six
scientists and as many workers. It is part of
the Swedish Polar Year. My responsibility is for
the technical equipment and to study drift snow
and atmospheric electricity. In 1884 I become
the manager of the technological department of
the Royal Swedish Patent Registration Office.
In 1886 I become the head teacher of Physics
at the Technical Institute. Industry, technology
and its development are very important parts of
my world of ideas. I also form the Swedish
Inventors Society. It's members (and my friends)
include Alfred Nobel inventor of dynamite;
Gustaf de Laval inventor of the separator; L M
Ericsson inventor of the telephone; Jonas
Wenström inventor of the three phase system; J P
Johansson inventor of the adjustable spanner and
many others. I travel widely in Europe on
business including London, Berlin and Paris. I
believe in and speak out for better education
for women, but not in relation to technology for
which I believe they have no aptitude. I enter
politics suggesting shorter working hours for
men and women. In 1893, I drop all other
interests to concentrate on balloons with Nils
Ekholm. We plan to fly our balloon the Örnen
(Eagle) over the North Pole in 1896. The weather
is poor and this plan is put off until 11th July
1897. Ekholm leaves the project claiming that
the expedition hasn't been planned with adequate
safety procedures. I am joined by my 25 year old
research assistant Nils Strindberg and the
engineer Knut Frænkel, 27. The balloon crashes
on the ice 3 days later at latitude: 82º 58' N
and longitude: 29º 52' E, 300 km from nearest
land. We attempt to travel over the ice to Cape
Flora in Frans Josef's Country, where a rich
depot of supplies had been placed for use of the
expedition. We do not reach solid land until 5th
October 1897 when we arrive on White Island.
There is scant driftwood available and we are
suffering from advanced trichin-poisoning from
eating raw Polar Bear. We make camp to await the
Polar winter. Our last diary entry is 17th
October 1897. Nils dies first. Knut and I bury
him and then return to our tent.
On 6th August 1930, the crew on the Norwegian
whaler Bratvaag lands on White Island and
discovers our remains. Our journal and the
photographs that we have taken are published
around the world.
[Skills] Physics, invention, draughtsman,design,
mechanical engineering, construction, politics,
writing, mathematics, linguistics (speaks
Swedish, English, German, French), ballooning,
administrator, meteorologist, explorer,
survivalist, trained soldier.
[Name] H.G. Wells, Herbert George.
[Short Description]H.G. Wells
[Short Biography] Born in 1866 in Bromley,
England. Died in 1946. A famous author of his time, H.G. Wells was also a humanist, concerned with the future of mankind and the threat of technology. An intelligent and sensitive man, Wells is independent, prideful and quick to take offence.
[Skills] writer, philosopher
[Name] Fred.
[Short Description] Fred is Simon750s
grandfather.
[Short Biography] Born in Victorian times, he
was one of those poor souls destined to be
resolutely working class for the length of their
natural life.
During the second world war, he was just that
little bit too old to be drafted. However, he
was one of the dust covered heroes of that war.
Coming home through blacked out streets after
a hard night pulling his fellow men out of the
rubble, he saw a great deal of suffering. He
never complained, never wanted to talk about his
time during the war, and never boasted about
anything.
When he was dying he didn't want any fuss
either. I never knew him that well myself, I was
very young when he died of cancer.
[Skills] I do remember him cleaning the windows
of the flat in Hackney, with my mum absolutely
distraught at the prospect. It was the fourth
floor, and he would just climb out on the ledge
and get on with it. Not exactly Sir Richard
Francis Burton, I admit, but he was quite a
character in his own right. Given different
circumstances, he might have been something
quite different.
[Name] John Wesley Hardin was born May 26,
1853, in Bonham, Texas. Rumored to be so mean he
once shot a man for snoring.
In the opinion of many, Texas outlaw John
Wesley Hardin is the greatest of all
gunfighters, and just about the deadliest.
Hardin was the epitome of the western gun
fighter. In terms of speed, accuracy, and
ruthlessness, there was probably no one better.
He led a life of hatred, murder, and constant
fear of being captured. Throughout his 7 years
of gunfighting, he is attributed with at least
41 killings. The first 31 killings did not
concern most people because the kind of people
that had been killed may have had it coming to
them. That all changed when former Texas Ranger
Charlie Webb was gunned down.
John's father, James G. Hardin, was a
Methodist preacher, lawyer, schoolteacher and
circuit rider. His mother was Elizabeth Hardin.
At age fourteen, John stabbed a schoolmate.
At age fifteen, he shot a black man to death in
Polk County. While fleeing from the law
following that murder, he killed at least one,
and possibly four Union soldiers who were
attempting to apprehend him.
As a cowboy on the Chisolm Trail in 1871,
Hardin killed seven people. He killed three more
upon arriving in Abilene, Kansas.
Back in Texas, following a run-in with the
State Police back in Gonzales County, Hardin got
married, settled down and had three children.
But he soon resumed his murder spree, killing 4
more times before surrendering to the Cherokee
County sheriff in September 1872. A couple of
weeks later however, he broke out of jail.
Hardin next killed Jack Helm, a former State
Police captain, who led the fight against the
anti-Reconstructionist forces of Jim Taylor in
the Sutton-Taylor Feud. Hardin had become a
supporter of Taylor's from 1873 to 1874.
In May 1874, Hardin killed a deputy sheriff
in Brown County while visiting the town of
Comanche. Deputy Charles Webb, who had been
stalking him shot him from behind as he entered
a Texas bar. Fleeing to Florida with his family,
Hardin was captured by Texas Rangers in
Pensacola on July 23, 1877. During that flight,
he killed at least one, and perhaps as many as
five more victims.
On the trail in Oklahoma and Kansas, he killed
at least 7 men. In one dramatic gunfight, he
took on 7 Mexicans along the Little Arkansas
River, killing 5 of them.
Abilene, Kansas was no different than other
places, and several more people died, one
possibly for snoring too loud.
In his free time, he tracked down Wild Bill
Hickok. Hickok spotted Hardin brandishing 2
pistols in clear violation of town ordinance.
Hickok knew of Hardin's notoriety, and drew on
him. Hardin held out his guns as if give them to
Wild Bill, and Hickok holstered his pistols. In
what would later be his signature move, the
border roll, Hardin twisted around his guns and
pointed them both at Hickok. Luckily for Wild
Bill, he talked Wesley out of doing something he
might regret, and they later went out and had a
drink.
On September 28, 1878, Hardin was sentenced to
twenty-five years in a frame-up trial for the
Brown County deputy's murder. He was pardoned on
March 16,1894.
Having studied law while in prison, Hardin was
admitted to the Texas bar soon after his release.
In 1895, Hardin went to El Paso to testify for
the defense in a murder trial. Following the
trial, he stayed and established a law practice.
Just when he seemed to finally be going
straight, Hardin began an affair with one of his
married female clients in El Paso. Her husband found out about the affair and Hardin hired some
law officials to kill him. One of the hired
gunmen Constable John Selman, however shot
Hardin in the back with a shotgun instead on
August 19, 1895.
Eye witnesses say Hardin even drew as he fell
dead to the floor.
Legend has it that his last words were, "Four
sixes to beat, Henry." When killed, Hardin was
shooting dice with local furniture dealer Henry
Brown at the Acme saloon in El Paso.
Thus ended the life and career of one of Texas
deadliest gunslingers. Despite his killing of
over thirty people, Hardin had a reputation as a
gentleman among those who knew him, and he
always claimed he never killed anyone who didn't
need killing.
[Name]MIYAMOTO MUSASHI I was born in the
village of Miyamoto in province of Mimasaka in
the twelveth year of the rule of Tensho (1584).
I died on Kyushu Island in 1645.
My ancestors were a branch of the powerful
Harima clan in Kyushu, the southern island of
Japan.
[Short Description] I was a giant amongst men
of my time. I stood over 184cm, or just over
6 feet. The average Japanese of my time were
well under 153cm (or well under 5 feet).
When I was a child I contracted eczema caused by
a congenital disease that left scars that I
would carry throughout my life. Worst of all, I
couldn't shave my sakayaki ( the front area the
top of my head) because of the scars, and
therefore I could not properly wear the Topknot
that would distinguish me as a Samurai.
[Short Biography] When I was about sixteen years
of age, I left home to embark on the "Warrior
Pilgimage". During this time I was victor in
scores of contests of single combat, and I
fought in six wars.
This part of my life was spent living apart from
others while I devoted myself to the search for
enlightenment by the Way of the sword, and concerned only with perfecting my skill. I lived
as men need not live, wandering over Japan
soaked by the cold winds of winter, not dressing
my hair, nor taking a wife, nor following any
profession save my study. It is said that I
never entered a bathtub lest I be caught
unawares without a weapon, and that my
appearance was uncouth and wretched. I bathed,
but only in the cold water of the early
mornings. It was only when I reached the age of
fifty years that I finally settled down, having
reached the end of my search for reason.
There must have been many ronin travelling the
country on similar expeditions such as mine,
some alone like myself and some enjoying
sponsorship, and then there was the famous
swordman Tsukahara Bokuden who travelled with a
retinue of over one hundred men one hundred
years before me.
[Skills] I was the master of the sword and thejitte,the sword catcher
and deflector, and in later life I used two long wooden swords of my own making.
[Name] I was bornAnne Cormac Bonny on March 8, 1700, in
County Cork, Ireland.
[Description] I was a well-endowed lass with a
fiery spirit and a temper to match, and I often
wore men's clothing.
[Biography] I was the illegitimate daughter of
a prominent lawyer and his wife's maid. The
ensuing scandal forced my father to flee Ireland
with his lover and daughter in disgrace, but my
family found refuge in the Carolinas. There
Cormac amassed a fortune and bought a large
plantation.
When I was sixteen, I married a ne'er-do-well
sailor named James Bonny in an attempt to steal
the plantation, but my father instead disowned
me. Bonny then took me to the pirate lair of
New Providence in the Bahamas,where he turned
stoolpigeon to Governor Woodes Rogers, accusing
any sailor he didn't like of piracy for a
handsome reward. I grew to dislike my spineless
husband and spent most of my time with the
pirate elite. My best friends consisted of the
pirates' paramours and of Pierre, the most
celebrated homosexual on the island, who ran a
popular ladies' establishment, and with whom I
had a teasing rivalry for the favors of the male
population.
I managed to capture the attentions of Chidley
Bayard, one of the richest men in the
Carribean, although in order to keep him I had
to duel his current lover, a violent Spanish
beauty. I enjoyed spending his money, and
traveled with him everywhere, until at a ball,
I met up with the spiteful sister-in-law of
Governor Lawes of Jamaica. When the woman, after asking me catty questions about my position in
Bayard's life, rudely told me that she didn't
consider me worth knowing and to keep my
distance. I cheerfully told her I'd make sure
there was quite a bit of distance between us,
and I promptly punched the woman in the mouth,
knocking out two of her teeth in the process.
I grew tired of Bayard before long, as he was away for much of the time and I quickly caught
the eye of one Calico Jack Rackham, a pirate of
some renown. Governor Rogers had recently passed
an amnesty for pirates which left me out of
work. The attraction between myself and Jack was
mutual.
Calico Jack was a handsome rogue who knew how to
spend money as well as steal it. Jack decided to
go back to sea with another pirate, Captain
Charles Vane, but when he announced his plans to
me, I refused to stay ashore and wait for him.
I would go a-pirating, too. And so we began a
life of piracy together.
In October of 1720, Jack and I were aboard the
Providence, a sloop newly-captured by Mary Read,
another female pirate. The Providence was caught
by surprise, the male pirates being drunk at the
time, and much to my dismay, instead of
fighting, the men hid in the hold and were taken
far too easily. Mary Read and I were also
captured, but confessed our true gender. At our
trial, when asked if we had any words to say
before we were sentenced, I spoke up for the
both of us: "We plead our bellies, sir!" Both of
us were pregnant at the time. We received
separate trials from the men, but we were
sentenced to hang after the birth of our babies.
Mary Read escaped the hangman by dying from
fever while in jail, her unborn babe dying with
her. I on the other hand was lucky in receiving
several stays of execution.
((Note: Anne's files mysteriously vanished from
official records. The most common story is that
her father, who had contacts in the island,
forgave his daughter for her acts and ransomed
her back to the Carolinas, where she assumed a
new name and a new life. Some say that she went
West with a wagon train and began a new life.
She was only twenty years old at this time.
[Skills] I was an expert with pistol and rapier,
and I proved myself as dangerous as any male
pirate. Fearless in battle, I was often a member
of the boarding party when a prize was about to
be taken.
[Name] Harry Houdini (1874-1926)
was born Ehrich Weiss on March 24, 1874 in
Budapest, Hungary. His family emigrated to the
United States while he was an infant, and his
father became the first rabbi in Appleton,
Wisconsin. They later moved to Milwaukee, and
eventually settled in New York. Young Ehrich's
life was transformed after he learned his first
trick (the vanishing quarter). At the age of 17,
he changed his name to Harry Houdini and began
performing in medicine shows, circuses,
theaters, etc. When 100,000 people watched "The
King of Handcuffs" wriggle free while hanging
from a building in 1916, a newspaper reported
that this was "the biggest crowd ever assembled
in Washington at one place except for the
inauguration of the President." One of Houdini's
most spectacular illusions was the "Vanishing
Elephant," in which the pachyderm lumbered on to
the stage and walked straight into a large
cabinet. Almost simultaneously the cabinet's
walls would be pulled back and the elephant had
disappeared. Houdini said "Even the elephant
does not know how it is done."
Four years after the Wright Brothers flew the
first practical airplane, Houdini bought a
French plane and made his first flight. And just
5 months later, on March 16, 1910, he became the
first person to make a successful flight in
Australia!
Houdini was also a motion picture star, making
his first appearance in 1918 in a serial "The
Mastery Mystery." Soon he set up the Houdini
Picture Corporation where he wrote and starred
in "The Man from Beyond" and "Haldane of the
Secret Service." On October 31, 1975 Houdini's
pioneering accomplishments earned him a star on
Hollywood Boulevard. Houdini was lounging in his
dressing room at the Princess Theater in
Montreal on October 22, 1926 when a student from
McGill University asked if it was true that
Houdini could sustain punches to his midsection
without injury. The visitor struck him
immediately, not realizing that Houdini had to
brace himself. Even though Houdini had stomach
pain, he boarded the train for his next
appearance in Detroit. Collapsing after the
final curtain, Houdini was taken to the hospital
where his ruptured appendix was removed. But it
was too late, and he passed away on October 31
-Halloween. At his funeral, Rabbi Bernard
Drachman called Houdini "one of the truly great
men of the age."
HARRY HAWKER (1889-1921) was
born in 1889 at Moorabbin, Victoria, the son of
an engineer and wheelwright. His father had an
engineering interest and designed and built
various steam engines, and a steam powered
automobile. The enthusiasm influenced Harry, and
on leaving school he found work with a company
manufacturing bicycles, before becoming a
chauffer and mechanic.
He took time off work in 1910 to see Harry
Houdini make what has been recognised as the
first flight by a powered, controlled aircraft
in Australia. The following year, his enthusiasm
for aviation fully fired, Hawker left for
England to learn to fly. He spent some time
finding work, finally being employed as a
mechanic by the new Sopwith Aviation Company.
Within a few weeks he had persuaded the founder,
Tom Sopwith, to teach him to fly. Four days
after his first lesson he was capable of flying
a 50 minute solo, and after a month he had his
"Aviator's Certificate".
At the age of 20, Harry Hawker was put in charge
of Sopwith's hangars and of competition,
demonstration and test flying. Hawker then set
about establishing new records. Hawker took
various dignitaries for joy flights, a sound
public relations move directed towards enhancing
the image of aviation as a professional business
and safe mode of transportation, and not just a
barnstorming sport.
Apart from his public record setting and
experimentation, Hawker, as Sopwith's chief
test-pilot, helped develop 295 aircraft
throughout World War 1 including The Sopwith
company's Sopwith Camel and Sopwith Pup.
Post-War, Hawker entered into long distance
flights. In 1919, with Commander Grieve, in a
single-engine biplane, he left Newfoundland in
an attempt to cross the Atlantic. The aircraft
was a two-seater, specially adapted by Sopwiths,
and incorporating a detachable fuselage section
which could serve as a life-boat if required.
The aircraft came down at sea, the rescue by a
merchant ship going unannounced as the
fortunately-placed vessel had no radio. Hawker
was presumed lost until the ship docked. The
London Daily Mail awarded the two aviators £5000
despite the failure; and Hawker and Grieve were
awarded the Air Force Cross for their attempt.
In 1921 Hawker entered that years Aerial Derby,
flying a Nieuport Goshawk racer. He took off for
a test flight on the evening of July 12. In a
short time the aircraft caught fire and crashed.
Hawker was killed. Tributes flowed in from
everywhere, including among them those from the
King, and from Australia's Prime Minister.
Hawker's name survived him. Tom Sopwith took
over the company, renaming it Hawker Aircraft
Ltd. in 1933.
[Name}JACK LONDON (1876-1916)is best known
for his books The Call of the Wild, White Fang,
and The Sea-Wolf, and a few short stories, such
as "To Build a Fire" and "The White Silence."
In fact, he was a prolific writer whose fiction
explored three geographies and their cultures:
the Yukon, California, and the South Pacific.
He experimented with many literary forms, from
conventional love stories and dystopias to
science fantasy. His noted journalism included
war correspondence, boxing stories, and the life
of Molokai lepers. A committed socialist, he
insisted against editorial pressures to write
political essays and insert social criticism in
his fiction. He was among the most influential
figures of his day, who understood how to create
a public persona and use the media to market his
self-created image of poor-boy-turned-success.
London's great passion was agriculture, and he
was well on the way of creating a new model for
ranching through his Beauty Ranch when he died
of kidney disease at age 40. He left over fifty
books of novels, stories, journalism, and
essays, many of which have been translated and
continue to be read around the world.
[Name] SUN TZU (sn dz) c.500-320 B.C.
was a Chinese general who has attributed to him
a collection of essays on war called, The Art of
War.
Knowledge of Sun Tzu reached Europe shortly
before the French Revolution in the form of a
translation by Father J. J. M. Amiot, a French
Jesuit priest.
In the various translations, Sun Tzu is
sometimes referred to as Sun Wu, and Sun Tzi.
The most fundamental of Sun Tzu's principles
for the conduct of war is that "All warfare is
based upon deception". Another key Sun Tzu
principle is that "The supreme art of war is to
subdue the enemy without fighting." Sun Tzu's
ideas spread to the rest of Asia and to Japan.
The works of Sun Tzu have been widely known in
the United States since the mid-1970s. Diplomat
Henry Kissinger has made reference to Sun Tzu
and the principles for the conduct of warfare,
and it has been the subject of serious study in
U.S. military circles for many years.
The Art of War as applied to business, sports,
diplomacy and personal lives has been
popularized in American business and management
texts, and Sun Tzu may be the most frequently
quoted Chinese personality in the world today.
[Name] Charlotte de Berry also disguised herself
as a man, joining the English navy with her
husband. She eventually found herself forced
onto a ship to Africa, whose captain attacked
her. She led a mutiny, beheaded the captain, and
turned the crew to piracy, raiding gold ships on
the African coast.
Charlotte's pirate career demonstrates not only
her own abilities, but also the thin line (or
morally, no line) between then-legal imperialism
and piracy. After all, the gold she stole had
originally been stolen from Africans, who were
themselves being violently kidnapped by the
slave trade—rapine of the worse possible kind.
Similarly, the pirates of the Spanish Main were
taking what the conquistadores had stolen from
the Aztecs, Incas, and other Mesoamerican
peoples. Charlotte's crew had been law-abiding
sailors when serving under a sadistic rapist,
but outlaws when she led them. This, of course,
in no way excuses the crimes she and these other
pirates committed, it just speaks of the
violence of their time, and that at least these
criminals were straightforward about what they
were doing.
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