John Flamsteed was an English astronomer. He was born in 1646 and died in 1719. He graduated at Cambridge in 1674, took orders in the church, but devoted himself chiefly to mathematical and astronomical pursuits. He was appointed by Charles II astronomical observator to the king, and carried on his observations at the Queen's House at Greenwich, until the observatory was built for him in 1676. Here he passed his life; formed the first trustworthy catalogue of fixed stars; and supplied the lunar observations by means of which Isaac Newton verified his lunar theory. His great work, Historia Coelestis, was finished in 1723. In 1832 the discovery of a collection of his letters disclosed a protracted quarrel between him and Isaac Newton. Research John Flamsteed
Pontiac was an American Shawanese Indian chief. He was born about 1720 and died in 1769. He was one of the Indian chiefs most dangerous to the English. He was a leader of the Ojibwas, Ottawas and Pottawatomies. He acquired great influence, and is said to have contributed to Braddock's defeat. Though he consented to the surrender of Detroit to the British at the end of the French and Indian War, he forthwith organized a wide-spread conspiracy in 1762. Assembling a large force near Detroit, he fired the warriors in a remarkable oration, but the plot was disclosed, and Pontiac's siege from May to October, 1763, was fruitless. He fought during the siege the battle of the Bloody Bridge. Although Detroit was saved, many other English posts, Sandusky, Mackinaw, Presque Isle, etc, fell before Pontiac's allies. The great chief signed a treaty in 1766, and three years later was assassinated. Research Pontiac
Data protection are safeguards relating to personal data in the UK, i.e. personal information about individuals that is stored on a computer. The principles of data protection, the responsibilities of data users, and the rights of data subjects are governed by the Data Protection Act (1984).
The principles of data protection include the following: (1) The information to be contained in personal data shall be obtained, and personal data shall be processed, fairly and lawfully. (2) Personal data shall be held only for specified and lawful purposes and shall not be used or disclosed in any manner incompatible with those purposes. (3) Personal data held for any purpose shall be relevant to that purpose. (4) Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. (5) Personal data held for any purpose shall not be kept longer than necessary for that purpose. (6) Appropriate security measures shall be taken against unauthorized access to, or alteration, disclosure, or destruction of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of personal data.
Data users must register their activities with the Data Protection Registrar by means of a registration form obtained from a post office. This requires the data user to give: a description of the personal data it holds and the purposes for which the data is held; a description of the sources from which it intends or may wish to obtain the data or the information to be contained in the data; a description of any persons to whom it intends or may wish to disclose the data; the names or a description of any countries or territories outside the UK to which it intends or may wish directly or indirectly to transfer from data subjects for access to the data. A data user who fails to register is guilty of the offence of failing to register. An individual is entitled to be informed by any data user whether he holds personal data of which that individual is the subject. He is also entitled to obtain a printout from a registered data user of any personal data held by him and to demand that any inaccurate or misleading information is corrected or erased. If a court is satisfied on the application of a data subject that personal data held by a data user concerning him is inaccurate it may order the rectification or erasure of the data. Additionally it may order the rectification or erasure of any data held by the data user that contains an expression of opinion that appears to the court to be based on the inaccurate data. Research Data Protection
Dissolving Views were a form of early cinematographic entertainment in which paintings upon glass magnified and thrown with great distinctness upon a screen by means of one or two projectors (magic lanterns) with strong lenses, and illuminated by oxyhydrogen light. If one lantern was used the picture was drawn out of focus gradually, and a second substituted, which was brought gradually into focus, thus producing the haze and brilliancy which gained this sort of exhibition its name. When two projectors (lanterns) were used, they were placed side by side with their lens tubes slightly convergent, so that the images could be superposed on the screen. By means of a revolving shutter either lantern could be wholly or partially shut off and the image of other lanterns be correspondingly disclosed. Research Dissolving Views
A director is a person appointed to carry out the day-to-day management of a company. A public company must have at least two directors, a private company at least one. The directors of a company, collectively known as the board of directors, usually act together, although power may be conferred (by the articles of association) on one or more directors to exercise executive powers; in particular there is often a managing director with considerable executive power. The first directors of a company are usually named in its articles of association or are appointed by the subscribers; they are required to give a signed undertaking to act in that capacity, which must be sent to the Registrar of Companies. Subsequent directors are appointed by the company at a general meeting, although in practice they may be appointed by the other directors for ratification by the general meeting.
Directors may be discharged from office by an ordinary resolution with special notice at a general meeting, whether or not they have a service contract in force. They may be disqualified for fraudulent trading or wrongful trading or for any conduct that makes them unfit to manage the company. Directors owe duties of honesty and loyalty to the company (fiduciary duties) and a duty of care; their liability in negligence depends upon their personal qualifications (e.g. a chartered accountant must exercise more skill than an unqualified man).
Directors need no formal qualifications. Directors may not put their own interests before those of the company, may not make contracts (other than service contracts) with the company, and must declare any personal interest in work undertaken by the company. Their formal responsibilities include: presenting to members of the company, at least annually, the accounts of the company and a directors' report; keeping a register of directors, a register of directors' shareholdings, and a register of shares; calling an annual general meeting; sending all relevant documents to the Registrar of Companies; and submitting a statement of affairs if the company is wound up. Directors' remuneration must be disclosed in the company's accounts and shown separately from any pension payments or compensation for loss of office.
Abbreviations
Research John Flamsteed
