The Act of Mediation was the Swiss constitution of February the 19th 1803, which Bonaparte substituted for that of the Helvetic republic, which lasted to the end of 1813. In it, the name 'Switzerland' was first officially used as the name of the Swiss confederation. Research Act of Mediation
Alfa Romeo is an Italian motor-car manufacturer. The company was founded in 1906 as 'Societa Italiana Automobili Darracq' with the aim of manufacturing low cost Darracq motor cars. That company quickly ran into difficulties when the once booming car market began to falter. In 1910 the Darracq factory that had been built in the Portello district of Milan was sold to a group of Italian car enthusiasts who called themselves 'Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili' (ALFA). Success was to be short lived, because the company went into liquidation in 1915, and was then taken over by an engineer and entrepreneur called Nicola Romeo. After the Great War the company changed its name to 'Societa Anonima Ing. NicolaRomeo & Co.' having taken over several smaller firms: Officine Meccaniche di Saronno, Officine Meccaniche Tabanelli of Rome and Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali of Naples. Formally constituted by the notary, Federico Guasti, in Milan on February the 3rd 1918, the new company proclaimed its purpose to be 'the
construction and management of engineering, steel, agricultural, mining, chemical and quarrying companies, with particular emphasis on military, aviation, marine and agricultural equipment, internal combustion engines for all possible applications: aeroplanes, automobiles, locomotive and other wheeled transport.' Today Alfa Romeo is known for its range of sporty motor-cars. Research Alfa Romeo
The Alfa Romeo 147 is an Italian automobile produced in three- and five-door models since 2001 when it was voted European Car of the Year, before undergoing revisions in 2005. The Alfa Romeo 147 is marketed as a stylish family car and is powered by a 1.9 litre four-cylinder engine providing a top speed of 129 mph, acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in just under nine seconds and a combined fuel consumption of almost 48 mpg. The Alfa Romeo 147 has been plagued by reliability issues and in October 2003 models were recalled due to a fire risk caused by an engine bay wiring short circuit on cars built between January 2002 and April 2003. Another recall occurred in April 2004 due to the power-assisted steering which could fail on GTAs made between November 2000 and March 2003. In May 2005 another recall occurred due to fuel leaks discovered on cars built between May and September 2004, in September 2006 a braking fault was discovered with the space-saver spare fitted on non-GTAs made between June 2004 and February 2006 resulting in a recall of these vehicles and in October 2006 clutch issues were discovered on vehicles made between March 2003 and October 2005. Research Alfa Romeo 147
The Boston Massacre was an incident that occurred in 1770. In February 1770 at Boston. Massachusetts, USA. A press gang from the British frigate 'Rose' boarded a ship belonging to Hooper of Marblehead, and a riot followed. On the night of March the 5th, 1770, the ringing of fire bells brought together a large crowd which collided violently with English soldiers. The soldiers opened fire, killing three people and wounding several others. News of the killings spread and strengthened resolve among the colonists for independence from Britain. Research Boston Massacre
The Bread Riots were a series of riots that took place in New York during the financial panic of 1837 which saw prices rise enormously. Rents were exorbitant and flour was twelve dollars a barrel. During February and March the poor of New York held frequent riotous meetings which culminated in violent assaults upon flour warehouses, on several instances the warehouses being opened and the crowd helping themselves. The disturbances were quelled by militia. Research Bread Riots
A calendar (named from the Latin calendarium, from calendce, the first day of the month), is a record or marking out of time as systematically divided into years, months, weeks, and days.
The periodical occurrence of certain natural phenomena gave rise to the first division of time, the division into weeks being the only purely arbitrary partition. The year of the ancient Egyptians was based on the changes of the seasons alone, without reference to the lunar month, and contained 365 days divided into twelve months of thirty days each, with five supplementary days at the end of the year.
The Jewish year consisted of lunar months of which they reckoned twelve in the year, intercalating a thirteenth when necessary to maintain the correspondence of the particular months with the regular recurrence of the seasons.
The Greeks in the earliest period also reckoned by lunar and intercalary months, but after one or two changes adopted the plan of Meton and Euctemon, who took account of the fact that in a period of nineteen years, the new moons return upon the same days of the year as before. This period of nineteen years was found, however, to be about six hours too long, and subsequent calculators still failed to make the beginning of the seasons return on the same fixed day of the year. Each month was divided into three decads.
The Romans at first divided the year into ten months, but they early adopted the Greek method of lunar and intercalary months, making the lunar year consist of 354, and afterwards of 355 days, leaving ten or eleven days and a fraction to be supplied by the intercalary division. This arrangement continued until the time of Julius Caesar. The first day of the month was called the calends. In March, May, July, and October the 15th, in other months the 13th, was called the ides. The ninth day before the ides (reckoning inclusive) was called the nones, being therefore either the 7th or the 5th of the month. From the inaccuracy of the Roman method of reckoning the calendar came to represent the vernalequinox nearly two months after the event, and at the request of Julius Caesar, the Greek astronomer Sosigenes with the assistance of Marcus Fabius, contrived the so-called Julian calendar. The chief improvement consisted in restoring the equinox to its proper place by inserting two months between November and December, so that the year 707 (46 BC), called the year of confusion, contained fourteen months.
In the number of days the Greek computation was adopted, which made it 365.25. To dispose of the quarter of a day it was determined to intercalate a day every fourth year between the 23rd and 24th of February. This calendar continued in use among the Romans until the fall of the empire, and throughout Christendom until 1582.
By this time, owing to the cumulative error of eleven minutes, the vernalequinox really took place ten days earlier than its date in the calendar, and accordingly PopeGregory XIII issued a brief abolishing the Julian calendar in all Catholic countries, and introducing in its stead the one now in use, the Gregorian or reformed calendar. In this way began the new style, as opposed to the other or old style. Ten days were to be dropped; every hundredth year, which by the old style was to have been a leap year, was now to be a common year, the fourth excepted; and the length of the solar year was taken to be 365 days, five hours, forty-nine minutes, and twelve seconds, the difference between which and subsequent observations is immaterial. The new calendar was adopted in Spain, Portugal, and France in 1582; in Catholic Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands in 1583; in Poland in 1586; in Hungary in 1587; in ProtestantGermany, Holland, and Denmark in 1700; in Switzerland in 1701; in England in 1752; and in Sweden, 1753.
In the English calendar of 1752, also, the 1st of January was now adopted as the beginning of the legal year, and it was customary for some time to give two dates for the period intervening between 1st January and 25th March, that of the old and that of the new year, as January 1752/3. Russia alone retained the old style, which by 1906 differed twelve days from the new.
In France, during the revolution, a new calendar was introduced by a decree of the rational Convention, on November the 24th, 1793. The time from which the new reckoning was to commence was the autumnal equinox of 1792, which fell upon the 22nd of September, when the first decree of the new republic had been promulgated. The year was made to consist of twelve months of three decades each, and, to complete the full number, five fete days, or sansculotides (in leap years six) were added to the end of the year. The seasons and months were as follows: Autumn; 22nd September to 22nd December Vendimiaire, vintage month; Brumaire, foggy month; Frimaire, sleet month. Winter; 22nd December to 22nd March: Nivose, snowy month; Plumose, rainy month; Ventose, windy month. Spring; 22nd March to 22nd June: Germinal, budmonth; Floreal, flowermonth; Prairial, meadowmonth. Summer; 22nd June to 22nd Sept.: Messidor, harvest month; Thermidor, hot month; Fructidor, fruit month. The common Christian or Gregorian calendar was re-established in France on the 1st of January, 1806, by Napoleon. Research Calendar
Candlemas day is a Christian feast of the purification of the Virgin Mary. The celebration is held on February the 2nd and involves a candle procession to consecrate all the candles which will be needed in the church during the year. Research Candlemas Day
The Cato Street Conspiracy was a plot to murder British ministers in 1820. Arthur Thistlewood, who had already been mixed up with revolutionary projects, conceived a plan for assassinating Lord Castlereagh and his ministerial colleagues at a dinner in Grosvenor Square, London on February 23rd. Arms were collected in a hired rendezvous in the neighbouring Cato Street. The plot was discovered, and Thistlewood and his colleagues (Brunt, Davidson, Harrison, Ings, Monument, Tidd and Wilson) were arrested (Arthur Thistlewood escaped at the time, but was arrested the next day). All eight were sent to the Tower of London and Thistlewood and four others were hanged for high treason on May the 1st 1820. Research Cato Street Conspiracy
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Act of Mediation
