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William Kissam Vanderbilt

William Kissam Vanderbilt

William Kissam Vanderbilt (December 12 1849 – July 22 1920) was a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family. The second son of William Henry Vanderbilt, from whom he inherited $60 million, he was for a time active in the management of the family railroads, though not much after 1903. His sons William Kissam Vanderbilt II (1878-1944) and Harold Stirling Vanderbilt (1884-1970) were the last to be active in the railroads, the latter losing a proxy battle for the New York Central Railroad in the 1950s. William K. Vanderbilt's first wife was Alva Erskine Smith (1853-1933), who he married in 1875. Born in 1853 to a slave-owning Alabama family, she was the mother of his children and was instrumental in forcing their daughter Consuelo (1877-1964) to marry the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1895. Not long after this the Vanderbilts divorced, William K. later marrying Anne Harriman Rutherford Sands and Alva marrying Oliver Hazzard Perry Belmont. After the death of his brother Cornelius Vanderbilt II in 1899 he was generally regarded as head of the Vanderbilt family. Like other members of his wealthy family, he built magnificent Vanderbilt houses. His homes included Idle Hour (1900) on Long Island, New York and Marble House (1892), designed by Richard Morris Hunt who also designed his 660 Fifth Avenue mansion (1883), in Newport. William Kissam Vanderbilt died in Paris, France in 1920. His remains were brought home and interred in the Vanderbilt family vault in the Moravian Cemetery at New Dorp on Staten Island, New York. Vanderbilt, William Kissam Vanderbilt, William Kissam Vanderbilt, William Kissam Category:The Vanderbilts

December 12

December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 19 days remaining.

Events


- 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeat Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh.
- 1098 - First Crusade: Massacre of Ma'arrat al-Numan - Crusaders breach the town's walls and massacre about 20,000 inhabitants. After finding themselves with insufficient food, they resort to cannibalism.
- 1719 - The Boston Gazette is published for the first time.
- 1781 - American Revolutionary War: Second Battle of Ushant - A Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt in HMS Victory, defeats a French fleet.
- 1787 - Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1870 - Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black U.S. congressman.
- 1897 - Belo Horizonte, the first planned city of Brazil, is inaugurated.
- 1899 - George F. Bryant, of Boston patents the wooden golf tee.
- 1901 - Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.
- 1903 - The city of Fairfield, California is incorporated.
- 1911 - Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.
- 1915 - President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai, reinstates the monarchy and proclaims himself Emperor of China.
- 1917 - In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys.
- 1925 - The Majlis of Iran votes to crown Reza Khan as the new Shah of Persia.
- 1937 - Panay incident: Japanese aircraft shell and sink US gunboat Panay on the Yangtze River in China.
- 1939 - Winter War: Battle of Tolvajärvi - Finnish forces defeat those of the Soviet Union in their first major victory of the conflict.
- 1941 - World War II: Great Britain declares war on Bulgaria.
- 1942 - A fire in a hostel in St. John's, Newfoundland kills 100 people.
- 1946 - A fire at a New York City ice plant spreads to a nearby tenement killing 37 people.
- 1948 - Malayan Emergency: Batang Kali Massacre - 14 members of the Scots Guards stationed in Malaysia allegedly massacre 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village.
- 1950 - Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services.
- 1963 - Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1964 - Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta became the first President of the Republic of Kenya.
- 1969 - Strategia della tensione: Piazza Fontana bombing - The offices of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed.
- 1979 - Coup d'état of December Twelfth: South Korean military officer Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha, alleging involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung Hee.
- 1979 - Pakistan President Zia-ul-Haq conferred Nishan-e-Imtiaz on Nobel laureate Dr Abdus_Salam.
- 1979 - Rhodesia changes its name to Zimbabwe.
- 1985 - Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland killing 256, including 248 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division.
- 1990 - Pakistan became 37th country in the world to send an expedition to Antarctica.
- 1996 - Uday Hussein is seriously injured in an assassination attempt.
- 2000 - The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore, deciding the presidential election of 2000.
- 2003 - Paul Martin, Jr. is sworn-in as the 21st Prime Minister of Canada.
- 2005 - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger denies clemency to Stanley "Tookie" Williams, a former gang leader, on death row.

Births


- 1298 - Archduke Albert II of Austria (d. 1358)
- 1418 - Archduke Albert VI of Austria (d. 1463)
- 1574 - Anne of Denmark, Queen of James I of England (d. 1619)
- 1610 - Saint Vasilije (d. 1671)
- 1712 - Prince Charles of Lorraine, Austrian military leader (d. 1780)
- 1724 - Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (d. 1816)
- 1745 - John Jay, Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1829)
- 1779 - Madeline Sophie Barat, French saint (d. 1865)
- 1786 - William L. Marcy, American statesman (d. 1857)
- 1799 - Karl Briullov, Russian painter (d. 1852)
- 1805 - William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist (d. 1879)
- 1806 - Stand Watie, American Confederate general and Cherokee leader (d. 1871)
- 1821 - Gustave Flaubert, French writer (d. 1880)
- 1863 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian expressionist painter (d. 1944)
- 1864 - Paul Elmer More, American critic and essayist (d. 1937)
- 1866 - Alfred Werner, German chemist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
- 1870 - Walter Benona Sharp, American oil baron (d. 1912)
- 1876 - Alvin Kraenzlein, American athlete and Olympic gold medalist (d. 1928)
- 1887 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (d. 1974)
- 1892 - Herman Potočnik Noordung, Austro-Hungarian-born rocket engineer (d. 1929)
- 1893 - Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1900 - Sammy Davis, Sr., American dancer (d. 1988)
- 1903 - Dagmar Nordstrom, American composer and pianist (d. 1976)
- 1903 - Yasujiro Ozu, Japanese film director (d. 1963)
- 1904 - Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, magazine editor and socialite (d. 1981)
- 1905 - Mànes Sperber, Austro-Hungarian-born writer (d. 1984)
- 1914 - Patrick O'Brian (Richard Patrick Russ), British author (d. 2000)
- 1915 - Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998)
- 1918 - Joe Williams, American singer (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Bob Barker, American television game show host
- 1924 - Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City
- 1927 - Honor Blackman, British actress
- 1927 - Robert Noyce, American inventor (d. 1990)
- 1928 - Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet-born Kyrgyz writer
- 1929 - John Osborne, British dramatist (d. 1994)
- 1929 - Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese musician
- 1932 - Bob Pettit, American basketball player
- 1934 - Miguel de la Madrid, President of Mexico
- 1938 - Connie Francis, American singer
- 1940 - Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
- 1940 - Dionne Warwick, American singer
- 1943 - Dickey Betts, American guitarist and singer (The Allman Brothers)
- 1943 - Grover Washington Jr., American saxophonist (d. 1999)
- 1946 - Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian racing driver and Formula 1 World Champion
- 1950 - Rajnikanth (Shivaji Rao Gaekwad), Indian actor
- 1952 - Cathy Rigby, American gymnast and actress
- 1956 - Johan Van der Velde, Dutch cyclist
- 1957 - Sheila E., American musician
- 1962 - Tracy Austin, American tennis player
- 1966 - Royce Gracie, Brazilian martial artist
- 1967 - John Randle, American football player
- 1968 - Laurie Williams, West Indian test cricketer
- 1970 - Jennifer Connelly, American actress
- 1970 - Madchen Amick, American Actress
- 1974 - Rey Mysterio, Jr., American Wrestler
- 1975 - Mayim Bialik, American Actress
- 1976 - Dan Hawkins, British guitarist (The Darkness)
- 1977 - Orlando Hudson, American baseball player
- 1978 - Evren Genis, Turkish composer
- 1979 - Garrett Atkins, American baseball player
- 1979 - Nate Clements, American football player
- 1981 - Yuvraj Singh, Indian test cricketer
- 1981 - Stephen Warnock, British footballer
- 1983 - Katrina Elam, American singer
- 1983 - Brad Smith, American football player
- 1989 - Harry Eden, British actor

Deaths


- 884 - Carloman, King of the West Franks
- 1212 - Geoffrey, Archbishop of York
- 1569 - Metropolitan Philip of Moscow (b. 1507)
- 1574 - Selim II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1524)
- 1685 - John Pell, English mathematician (b. 1610)
- 1751 - Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English statesman and philosopher (b. 1678)
- 1754 - Wu Jingzi, Chinese writer (b. 1701)
- 1766 - Johann Christoph Gottsched, German writer (b. 1700)
- 1789 - John Ponsonby, Irish politician (b. 1713)
- 1790 - Mikhail Shcherbatov, Russian philosopher and writer (b. 1733)
- 1843 - King William I of the Netherlands, (b. 1772)
- 1889 - Robert Browning, British poet (b. 1812)
- 1894 - Sir John Thompson, fourth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1845)
- 1913 - Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia (b. 1844)
- 1923 - Raymond Radiguet, French author (b. 1903)
- 1926 - Jean Richepin, French poet (b. 1849)
- 1929 - Charles Goodnight, American cattle baron (b. 1836)
- 1939 - Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (b. 1883)
- 1952 - Bedřich Hrozný, Austro-Hungarian-born Czechoslovak orientalist and linguist (b. 1879)
- 1963 - Ozu Yasujiro, Japanese film director (b. 1903)
- 1968 - Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1970 - Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (b. 1889)
- 1971 - David Sarnoff, Russian-born American General Manager of RCA(b. 1891)
- 1994 - Stuart Roosa, American astronaut (b. 1933)
- 1996 - Vance Packard, American author (b. 1914)
- 1999 - Joseph Heller, American author (b. 1923)
- 2001 - Jean Richard, French actor (b. 1921)
- 2002 - Dee Brown, American author (b. 1908)
- 2003 - Geidar Aliev, President of Azerbaijan
- 2003 - Keiko, the star orca whale of "Free Willy"
- 2003 - Joseph Anthony Ferrario, American Catholic prelate (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances


- R.C. Saints - optional memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Also see December 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Masá'il (Questions) - First day of the 15th month of the Bahá'í Calendar
- Kenya - Jamhuri Day: Independence Day (from Britain, 1963)
- United Nations - Digital Solidarity Day

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/12 BBC: On This Day] ---- December 11 - December 13 - November 12 - January 12 -- listing of all days ko:12월 12일 ms:12 Disember ja:12月12日 simple:December 12 th:12 ธันวาคม

July 22

22 July is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining.

Events


- 1298 - Battle of Falkirk - Edward I (Longshanks) of England and his longbowmen defeat William Wallace and his scottish schiltrons outside the town.
- 1499 - Battle of Dornach - The Swiss decisively defeat the Imperial army of Emperor Maximilian I.
- 1587 - Colony of Roanoke: A second group of English settlers arrive on Roanoke Island off of North Carolina to re-establish the deserted colony.
- 1793 - Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing north of Mexico.
- 1796 - Surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company name an area in Ohio "Cleveland" after Gen. Moses Cleaveland, the superintendent of the surveying party.
- 1805 - Napoleonic Wars: War of the Third Coalition - inconclusive battle of Cape Finisterre fought between a combined French and Spanish fleets under Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve of Spain and a British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder.
- 1812 - Napoleonic Wars: Peninsular War - Battle of Salamanca - British forces led by Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) defeat French troops near Salamanca, Spain.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Atlanta - Outside of Atlanta, Georgia, Confederate General John Bell Hood leads an unsuccessful attack on Union troops under General William T. Sherman on Bald Hill.
- 1908 - Albert Fisher establishes the Fisher Body Company to manufacture carriage and automobile bodies.
- 1916 - In San Francisco, California, a bomb explodes on Market Street during a Preparedness Day parade killing 10 and injuring 40.
- 1933 - Wiley Post becomes first person to fly solo around the world traveling 15,596 miles in 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes.
- 1934 - Outside Chicago's Biograph Theatre, "Public Enemy No. 1" John Dillinger is mortally wounded by FBI agents.
- 1937 - New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.
- 1942 - The United States government begins compulsory civilian gasoline rationing due to the wartime demands.
- 1942 - Holocaust: The systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto begins.
- 1943 - Allied forces capture the Italian city of Palermo.
- 1944 - The Polish Committee of National Liberation publishes its manifesto, starting the period of Communist rule in Poland
- 1946 - King David Hotel bombing: Irgun bombs King David Hotel in Jerusalem, headquarters of the British civil and military administration, killing 90.
- 1962 - Mariner program: Mariner 1 spacecraft flies erratically several minutes after launch and has to be destroyed.
- 1977 - Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power.
- 1991 - Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested after the remains of 11 men and boys are found in his Milwaukee apartment.
- 1992 - Near Medellín, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison fearing extradition to the United States.
- 1997 - The second Blue Water Bridge opens between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario.
- 2002 - Israel assasinates Salah Shahade, the Commander-in-Chief of Hamas's military arm, Ezzedeen-al-qassam Brigades, along with 14 civilians.
- 2003 - Members of 101st Airborne of the United States, aided by Special Forces, attack a compound in Iraq, killing Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay, along with Mustapha Hussein, Qusay's 14-year old son, and a bodyguard.
- 2005 - A man is shot dead by police as the hunt begins for the London Bombers. See 7 July 2005 London bombings and 21 July 2005 London bombings
- 2005 - Microsoft releases the final name for its next-gen operating system, Longhorn. The name will be "Windows Vista".

Births


- 1210 - Joan of England, queen of Alexander II of Scotland (d. 1238)
- 1478 - King Philip I of Castile (d. 1506)
- 1510 - Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence (d. 1537)
- 1519 - Pope Innocent IX (d. 1591)
- 1535 - Katarina Stenbock, queen of Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1621)
- 1559 - Lawrence of Brindisi, Italian monk (d. 1619)
- 1621 - Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician (d. 1683)
- 1711 - Georg Wilhelm Richmann, Russian physicist (d. 1753)
- 1713 - Jacques-Germain Soufflot, French architect (d. 1780)
- 1733 - Mikhail Shcherbatov, Russian philosopher and writer (d. 1790)
- 1784 - Friedrich Bessel, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1846)
- 1822 - Gregor Mendel, Austrian geneticist (d. 1884)
- 1844 - William Archibald Spooner, English priest and scholar (d. 1930)
- 1859 - Emma Lazarus, American poet (d. 1887)
- 1882 - Edward Hopper, American painter (d. 1967)
- 1887 - Gustav Ludwig Hertz, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
- 1888 - Selman Waksman, Ukrainian-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1973)
- 1893 - James Whale, English film director (d. 1957)
- 1898 - Stephen Vincent Benét, American author (d. 1943)
- 1898 - Alexander Calder, American artist (d. 1976)
- 1905 - Doc Cramer, baseball player (d. 1990)
- 1908 - Amy Vanderbilt, American author on etiquette (d. 1974)
- 1913 - Gorni Kramer, Italian bandleader and songwriter
- 1916 - Marcel Cerdan, French boxer (d. 1949)
- 1921 - William Roth, U.S. Senator (d. 2003)
- 1923 - Bob Dole, U.S. Senator from Kansas and Presidential candidate
- 1923 - Mukesh, Indian singer (d. 1976)
- 1924 - Margaret Whiting, singer
- 1928 - Orson Bean, American film actor
- 1932 - Oscar De la Renta, Dominican-born fashion designer
- 1934 - Louise Fletcher, American actress
- 1936 - Tom Robbins, American author
- 1939 - Terence Stamp, English actor
- 1940 - Alex Trebek, Canadian-born game show host
- 1941 - George Clinton, American musician
- 1941 - Ron Turcotte, Canadian jockey
- 1943 - Kay Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Senator from Texas
- 1944 - Estelle Bennett, American singer (Ronettes)
- 1944 - Rick Davies, British musician (Supertramp)
- 1944 - Sparky Lyle, baseball player
- 1946 - Mireille Mathieu, French singer
- 1946 - Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian musician (d. 2000)
- 1947 - Albert Brooks, American comedian
- 1947 - Danny Glover, American actor
- 1947 - Don Henley, American drummer, singer, and songwriter (Eagles)
- 1948 - S.E. Hinton, American author
- 1948 - Otto Waalkes, German comedian
- 1949 - Alan Menken, American composer
- 1949 - Lasse Virén, Finnish athlete
- 1954 - Lonette McKee, American actress
- 1954 - Al Di Meola, American guitarist
- 1955 - Willem Dafoe, American actor
- 1961 - Keith Sweat, American singer
- 1964 - Patrick Labyorteaux, American actor
- 1964 - John Leguizamo, Colombian actor
- 1964 - David Spade, American actor, comedian, and producer
- 1965 - Shawn Michaels, American professional wrestler
- 1966 - Tim Brown, American football player
- 1971 - Kristine Lilly, American soccer player
- 1972 - Keyshawn Johnson, American football player
- 1973 - Mike Sweeney, baseball player
- 1973 - Rufus Wainwright, American singer and songwriter
- 1974 - Daddy Kev, American record producer and engineer
- 1974 - Franka Potente, German actress
- 1978 - Dennis Rommedahl, Danish footballer
- 1980 - Scott Dixon, New Zealand race car driver
- 1980 - Dirk Kuyt, Dutch football striker
- 1983 - Shelby Belle, Canadian actress

Deaths


- 1362 - Louis of Durazzo, Italian soldier (poisoned) (b. 1324)
- 1387 - Franz Ackerman, Flemish statesman (b. 1330)
- 1461 - King Charles VII of France (b. 1403)
- 1525 - Richard Wingfield, English diplomat
- 1619 - Lawrence of Brindisi, Italian monk (b. 1559)
- 1645 - Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, Count-Duke of Olivares, Spanish statesman (b. 1587)
- 1676 - Pope Clement X (b. 1590)
- 1713 - Jacques-Germain Soufflot, French architect (d. 1780)
- 1734 - Peter King, 1st Baron King, Lord Chancellor of England
- 1789 - Joseph-François Foulon, French administrator (executed) (b. 1715)
- 1802 - Marie François Xavier Bichat, French anatomist (b. 1771)
- 1832 - Emperor Napoleon II of France (b. 1811)
- 1852 - Auguste Marmont, French marshal (b. 1774)
- 1904 - Wilson Barrett, English actor (b. 1846)
- 1908 - William Randal Cremer, English politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1828)
- 1916 - James Whitcomb Riley, American author and poet (b. 1849)
- 1922 - Jokichi Takamine, Japanese chemist (b. 1854)
- 1932 - Errico Malatesta, Italian anarchist (b. 1853)
- 1932 - Florenz Ziegfeld, theatrical producer (b. 1867)
- 1934 - John Dillinger, American bank robber (shot) (b. 1903)
- 1950 - William Lyon Mackenzie King, tenth Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)
- 1958 - Mikhail Zoshchenko, Russian writer (b. 1895)
- 1967 - Carl Sandburg, American poet (b. 1878)
- 1974 - Wayne Morse, U.S. Senator from Oregon (b. 1900)
- 1979 - Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer (b. 1929)
- 1989 - Martti Talvela, Finnish bass (b. 1935)
- 1990 - Manuel Puig, Argentinian writer (b. 1932)
- 1998 - Hermann Prey, German bass-baritone (b. 1929)
- 2000 - Eric Christmas, British actor (b. 1916)
- 2003 - Qusay Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein (b. 1966)
- 2003 - Uday Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein (b. 1964)
- 2003 - Wahome Muthahi, Kenyan humourist
- 2004 - Sacha Distel, French singer (b. 1933)
- 2004 - George Kidd, Canadian diplomat (b. 1917)
- 2005 - Jean Charles de Menezes, Brazilian electrician (shot) (b. 1978)

Holidays and observances


- Saint Mary Magdalene
- Swaziland - Birthday of former King Sobhuza II
- Pi Approximation Day
- Ratcatcher's Day. See:The Pied Piper of Hamelin.

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/22 BBC: On This Day] ---- 21 July - 23 July - 22 June - 22 August -- listing of all days ko:7월 22일 ms:22 Julai ja:7月22日 simple:July 22 th:22 กรกฎาคม

United States

:For alternative meanings, see the disambiguation page for US, USA, United States, or American. The United States of America is a federal democratic republic situated primarily in central North America. It comprises 50 states and one federal district, and has several territories. It is also referred to, with varying formality, as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., the States, or simply and most commonly, America. The official founding date of the United States is July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress—representing thirteen British colonies—adopted the Declaration of Independence. However, the structure of the government was profoundly changed in 1788, when the states replaced the Articles of Confederation with the United States Constitution. The date on which each of the fifty states adopted the Constitution is typically regarded as the date that state "entered the Union" (became part of the United States). Since the mid-20th century, following World War II, the United States has emerged as a dominant global influence in economic, political, military, scientific, technological, and cultural affairs.

Geography and climate

The United States shares land borders with Canada (to the north) and Mexico (to the south), and territorial water boundaries with Canada, Russia, the Bahamas, and numerous smaller nations. It is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, in the west; the Arctic Ocean, in the northernmost areas; and the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, in the eastern and southeastern areas. Forty-eight of the states are in the single region between Canada and Mexico; this group is referred to, with varying precision and formality, as the continental or contiguous United States, sometimes abbreviated CONUS, and as the Lower 48. Alaska, which is not included in the term contiguous United States, is at the northwestern end of North America, separated from the Lower 48 by Canada. The archipelago of Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean. The capital city, Washington, District of Columbia is a federal district located on land donated by the state of Maryland. (Virginia also donated land, but it was returned in 1847.) The United States also has overseas territories with varying levels of independence and organization. When inland water is included in the total area, only Russia and Canada are larger than the United States; if inland water is excluded, China ranks third and the U.S. ranks fourth. The United States' total area is 3,718,711 square miles (9,631,418 km²), of which land makes up 3,537,438 square miles (9,161,923 km²) and water makes up 181,273 square miles (469,495 km²). The United States' landscape is one of the most varied among those of the world's nations: among its many features are temperate forestland and rolling hills, on the east coast; mangrove, in Florida; the Great Plains, in the center of the country; the Mississippi–Missouri river system; the Great Lakes, four of the five of which are shared with Canada; the Rocky Mountains, west of the Great Plains; deserts and temperate coastal zones, west of the Rocky Mountains; and temperate rain forests, in the Pacific northwest. Alaska's tundra, and the volcanic, tropical islands of Hawaii add to the geographic diversity. Hawaii The climate varies along with the landscape, from tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida to tundra in Alaska and atop some of the highest mountains. Most of the North and East experience a temperate continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. Most of the South experiences a subtropical humid climate with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers. Rainfall decreases markedly from the humid forests of the Eastern Great Plains to the semi-arid shortgrass prairies on the high plains abutting the Rocky Mountains. Arid deserts, including the Mojave, extend through the lowlands and valleys of the southwest, from westernmost Texas to California and northward throughout much of Nevada. Some parts of California have a Mediterranean climate. Rainforests line the windward mountains of the Pacific Northwest from Oregon to Alaska.

History

American history started with the migration of people from Asia across the Bering land bridge approximately 12,000 years ago following large animals that they hunted into the Americas. These Native Americans left evidence of their presence in petroglyphs, burial mounds, and other artifacts. It is estimated that 2-9 million people lived in the territory now occupied by the U.S. before European contact, and the subsequent introduction of foreign diseases such as small pox that greatly diminished the native populations. Some advanced societies were the Anasazi of the southwest, who inhabited Chaco Canyon, and the Woodland Indians, who built Cahokia, located near present-day St Louis, a city with a population of 40,000 at its peak in AD 1200. Vikings first visited North America around 1000, but did not settle permanently. Following the discovery voyages of Christopher Columbus around 1492, other Europeans began to explore and settle there. During the 1500s and 1600s, the Spanish settled parts of the present-day Southwest and Florida, founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565 and Santa Fe (in what is now New Mexico) in 1607. The first successful English settlement was at Jamestown, Virginia, also in 1607. Within the next two decades, several Dutch settlements, including New Amsterdam (the predecessor to New York City), were established in what are now the states of New York and New Jersey. In 1637, Sweden established a colony at Fort Christina (in what is now Delaware), but lost the settlement to the Dutch in 1655. This was followed by extensive British settlement of the east coast. The British colonists remained relatively undisturbed by their home country until after the French and Indian War, when France ceded Canada and the Great Lakes region to Britain. Britain then imposed taxes on the 13 colonies, widely regarded by the colonists as unfair because they were denied representation in the British Parliament. Tensions between Britain and the colonists increased, and the thirteen colonies eventually rebelled against British rule. British Parliament, George Washington (1789-1797).]] In 1776, the 13 colonies split from Great Britain and formed the United States, the world's first constitutional and democratic federal republic, after their Declaration of Independence of that year, and the Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783). The original political structure was a confederation in 1777, ratified in 1781 as the Articles of Confederation. After long debate, this was supplanted by the Constitution in 1789, forming a more centralized federal government. Prior to all these was the Albany Congress in 1754, in which a union was first seriously proposed. From early colonial times, there was a shortage of labor, which encouraged unfree labor, particularly indentured servitude and slavery. In the mid-19th century, a major division occurred in the United States over the issue of states' rights and the expansion of slavery. The northern states had become opposed to slavery, while the southern states saw it as necessary for the continued success of southern agriculture and wanted it expanded to the territories. Several federal laws were passed in an attempt to settle the dispute, including the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. The dispute reached a crisis in 1861, when seven southern states seceded1 from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, leading to the Civil War. Soon after the war began, four more southern states seceded. During the war, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, mandating the freedom of all slaves in states in rebellion, though full emancipation did not take place until after the end of the war in 1865, the dissolution of the Confederacy, and the Thirteenth Amendment took effect. The Civil War effectively ended the question of a state's right to secede, and is widely accepted as a major turning point after which the federal government became more powerful than state governments. Thirteenth Amendment). The title of the painting, from a 1726 poem by Bishop Berkeley, was a phrase often quoted in the era of Manifest Destiny, expressing a widely held belief that civilization had steadily moved westward throughout history. [http://americanart.si.edu/t2go/1lw/1931.6.1.html (more)] ]] During the 19th century, many new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the continent. Manifest Destiny was a philosophy that encouraged westward expansion in the United States. As the population of the Eastern states grew and as a steady increase of immigrants entered the country, settlers moved steadily westward across North America. In the process, the U.S. displaced most American Indian nations. This displacement of American Indians continues to be a matter of contention in the U.S. with many tribes attempting to assert their original claims to various lands. In some areas American Indian populations were reduced by foreign diseases contracted through contact with European settlers, and US settlers acquired those emptied lands. In other instances American Indians were removed from their traditional lands by force. Though some would say the U.S. was not a colonial power until the Spanish-American War when it acquired Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, the dominion exercised over land in North America the United States claimed is essentially colonial. The Philippines became independent in 1946. During this period, the nation also became an industrial power. This continued into the 20th century, which has been termed "the American Century" because of the nation's overriding influence on the world. The US became a center for innovation and technological development; major technologies that America either developed or was greatly involved in improving include the telephone, television, computer, the Internet, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, aviation, and aeronautics. In addition to the Civil War, another major traumatic experience for the nation was the Great Depression (1929 to 1939). The nation has also taken part in several major foreign wars, including World War I and World War II (in both of which the US later joined the Allies). During the Cold War, the US was a major player in the Korean War and Vietnam War, and, along with the Soviet Union, was considered one of the world's two "superpowers". With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US emerged as the world's leading economic and military power. Beginning in the 1990s, the United States became very involved in police actions and peacekeeping, including actions in Kosovo, Haiti, Somalia and Liberia, and the first Persian Gulf War driving Iraq out of Kuwait. After attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the United States and other allied nations found themselves involved in what has come to be called the "War on Terrorism," which has primarily encompassed military actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Government

Iraq of the United States.]]

Republic and suffrage

The United States is an example of a constitutional republic, with a government composed of and operating through a set of limited powers imposed by its design and enumerated in the United States Constitution. Specifically, the nation operates as a presidential democracy. There are three levels of government: federal, state, and local. Officials of each of these levels are either elected by eligible voters via secret ballot or appointed by other elected officials. Americans enjoy almost universal suffrage from the age of 18 regardless of race, sex, or wealth. There are some limits, however: felons are disenfranchised and in some states former felons are likewise. Furthermore, the national representation of territories and the federal district of Washington, DC in Congress is limited: residents of the District of Columbia are subject to federal laws and federal taxes but their only Congressional representative is a non-voting delegate.

Federal government

The federal government is the national government, comprising the Legislative Branch (led by Congress), the Executive Branch (led by the President), and the Judicial Branch (led by the Supreme Court). These three branches were designed to apply checks and balances on each other. The Constitution limits the powers of the federal government to defense, foreign affairs, the issuing and management of currency, the management of trade and relations between the states, and the protection of human rights. In addition to these explicitly stated powers, the federal government—with the assistance of the Supreme Court—has gradually extended these powers into such areas as welfare and education, on the basis of the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution.

The Congress

necessary and proper The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 435 members, each of whom represents a congressional district and serves for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population; in contrast, each state has two Senators, regardless of population. There are a total of 100 senators, who serve six-year terms. The powers of Congress are limited to those enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the states and the people. The Constitution also includes the necessary-and-proper clause, which grants Congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers."

The President

necessary-and-proper clause At the top level of the executive branch is the President of the United States. The President and Vice-President are elected as 'running mates' for four-year terms by the Electoral College, for which each state, as well as the District of Columbia, is allocated a number of seats based on its representation (or ostensible representation, in the case of D. C.) in both houses of Congress (see U.S. Electoral College). The relationship between the President and the Congress reflects that between the English monarchy and parliament at the time of the framing of the United States Constitution. Congress can legislate to constrain the President's executive power, even with respect to his or her command of the armed forces; however, this power is used only very rarely—a notable example was the constraint placed on President Richard Nixon's strategy of bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam War. The President cannot directly propose legislation, and must rely on supporters in Congress to promote his or her legislative agenda. The President's signature is required to turn congressional bills into law; in this respect, the President has the power—only occasionally used—to veto congressional legislation. Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses. The ultimate power of Congress over the President is that of impeachment or removal of the elected President through a House vote, a Senate trial, and a Senate vote. The threat of using this power has had major political ramifications in the cases of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton. The President makes around 2,000 executive appointments, including members of the Cabinet and ambassadors, which must be approved by the Senate; the President can also issue executive orders and pardons, and has other Constitutional duties, among them the requirement to give a State of the Union address to Congress once a year. Although the President's constitutional role may appear to be constrained, in practice, the office carries enormous prestige that typically eclipses the power of Congress: the Presidency has justifiably been referred to as 'the most powerful office in the world'. The Vice President is first in the line of succession, and is the President of the Senate ex officio, with the ability to cast a tie-breaking vote. The members of the President's Cabinet are responsible for administering the various departments of state, including the Department of Defense, the Justice Department, and the State Department. These departments and department heads have considerable regulatory and political power, and it is they who are responsible for executing federal laws and regulations. George W. Bush is the 43rd President, currently serving his second term.

The Courts

George W. Bush The highest court is the Supreme Court, which consists of nine justices. The court deals with federal and constitutional matters, and can declare legislation made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. Below the Supreme Court are the courts of appeals, and below them in turn are the district courts, which are the general trial courts for federal law. Separate from, but not entirely independent of, this federal court system are the individual court systems of each state, each dealing with its own laws and having its own judicial rules and procedures. A case may be appealed from a state court to a federal court only if there is a federal question; the supreme court of each state is the final authority on the interpretation of that state's laws and constitution.

State and local governments

supreme court of each state. Note that Alaska and Hawaii are shown at different scales, and that the Aleutian Islands and the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are omitted from this map.]] The state governments have the greatest influence over people's daily lives. Each state has its own written constitution and has different laws. There are sometimes great differences in law and procedure between the different states, concerning issues such as property, crime, health, and education. The highest elected official of each state is the Governor. Each state also has an elected legislature (bicameral in every state except Nebraska), whose members represent the different parts of the state. Of note is the New Hampshire legislature, which is the third-largest legislative body in the English-speaking world, and has one representative for every 3,000 people. Each state maintains its own judiciary, with the lowest level typically being county courts, and culminating in each state supreme court, though sometimes named differently. In some states, supreme and lower court justices are elected by the people; in others, they are appointed, as they are in the federal system. The institutions that are responsible for local government are typically town, city, or county boards, making laws that affect their particular area. These laws concern issues such as traffic, the sale of alcohol, and keeping animals. The highest elected official of a town or city is usually the mayor. In New England, towns operate directly democratically, and in some states, such as Rhode Island and Connecticut, counties have little or no power, existing only as geographic distinctions. In other areas, county governments have more power, such as to collect taxes and maintain law enforcement agencies.

Political divisions

With the Declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies proclaimed themselves to be nation states modeled after the European states of the time. Although considered as sovereigns initially, under the Articles of Confederation of 1781 they entered into a "Perpetual Union" and created a fully sovereign federal state, delegating certain powers to the national Congress, including the right to engage in diplomatic relations and to levy war, while each retaining their individual sovereignty, freedom and independence. But the national government proved too ineffective, so the administrative structure of the government was vastly reorganized with the United States Constitution of 1789. Under this new union, the continued status of the individual states as sovereign nation states fell into dispute in 1861, as several states attempted to secede from the union; in response, then-President Abraham Lincoln claimed that such secession was illegal, and the result was the American Civil War. Since the Union victory in 1865, the independent status of the individual states has not been broached again by any state, and the status of each state within the union has been deemed by mainstream officials and academics to be settled as being subordinate to the union as a whole. In subsequent years, the number of states grew steadily due to western expansion, the purchase of lands by the national government from other nation states, and the subdivision of existing states, resulting in the current total of 50. The states are generally divided into smaller administrative regions, including counties, cities and townships. The United States–Canadian border is the longest undefended political boundary in the world. The U.S. is divided into three distinct sections:
- the "continental United States," also known as "the Lower 48" and more accurately termed the conterminous, coterminous or contiguous United States
- Alaska, which is physically connected only to Canada
- the archipelago of Hawaii, in the central Pacific Ocean. The United States also holds several other territories, districts, and possessions, notably the federal district of the District of Columbia, which is the nation's capital, and several overseas insular areas, the most significant of which are American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Palmyra Atoll is the United States' only incorporated territory; it is unorganized and uninhabited. The United States Navy has held a base at a portion of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 1898. The United States government possesses a lease to this land, which only mutual agreement or United States abandonment of the area can terminate. The present Cuban government of Fidel Castro disputes this arrangement, claiming Cuba was not truly sovereign at the time of the signing. The United States argues this point moot because Cuba apparently ratified the lease post-revolution, and with full sovereignty, when it cashed one rent check in accordance with the disputed treaty.

Foreign relations and military

sovereign] The immense military and economic dominance of the United States has made foreign relations an especially important topic in its politics, with considerable concern about the image of the United States throughout the world. Reactions towards the United States by other nationalities are often strong, ranging from uninhibited admiration and mimicking of all things American to anti-Americanism. US foreign policy has swung about several times over the course of its history between the poles of strict isolationism and imperialism and everywhere in between. Three of the nation's four military branches are administered by the Department of Defense: the Army, the Navy (including the Marine Corps), and the Air Force. The Coast Guard falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime, but is placed under the Department of the Navy in time of war. The combined United States armed forces consist of 1.4 million active duty personnel, along with several hundred thousand each in the Reserves and the National Guard. Military conscription ended in 1973. The United States Armed forces are considered to be the most powerful military (of any sort) on Earth and their force projection capabilities are unrivaled by any other nation. The 2005 defense budget amounted to $401.7 billion, which is an increase of 4% over 2004 and of 35% since 2001. Over 50% of that number is spent in research & development. (For comparison, in 2004 the European Union (considered as the second-largest military force) had a combined total of 1.6 million troops, and a defense budget of €160 billion, with less than 10% of that being spent on R&D.)

Largest cities

The United States has dozens of major cities, including 11 of the 55 global cities of all types — with three "alpha" global cities: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The figures expressed below are for populations within city limits. A different ranking is evident when considering U.S. metro area populations, although the top three would be unchanged. Note that some cities not listed (such as Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.) are still considered important on the basis of other factors and issues, including culture, economics, heritage, and politics. The twenty largest cities, based on the United States Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, are as follows:

Economy

The United States has the largest single-country economy in the world, with a per-capita gross domestic product of $40,100. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. gross domestic product The largest industry of the U.S. is now service, which employs roughly three quarters of the U.S. work force. The United States has many natural resources, including oil and gas, metals, and such minerals as gold, soda ash, and zinc. In agriculture, the U.S. is a top producer of, among other crops, corn, soy beans, and wheat; the United States is a net exporter of food. The U.S. manufacturing sector produces goods such as, cars, airplanes, steel, and electronics, among many others. Economic activity varies greatly from one part of the country to another, with many industries being largely dependent on a certain city or region; New York City is the center of the American financial, publishing, broadcasting, and advertising industries; Silicon Valley is the country’s primary location for high-technology companies, while Los Angeles is the most important center for film production. The Midwest is known for its reliance on manufacturing and heavy industry, with Detroit, Michigan, serving as the center of the American automotive industry; the Great Plains are known as the "breadbasket" of America for their tremendous agricultural output; the intermountain region serves as a mining hub and natural gas resource; the Pacific Northwest for fish and timber, while Texas is largely associated with the oil industry; the Southeast is a major hub for both medical research and the textiles industry. Several countries continue to link their currency to the dollar or even use it as a currency (such as Ecuador), although this practice has subsided since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. Many markets are also quoted in dollars, such as those of oil and gold. The dollar is also the predominant reserve currency in the world, and more than half of global reserves are in dollars. The largest trading partner of the United States is Canada (19%), followed by China (12%), Mexico (11%), and Japan (8%). More than 50% of total trade is with these four countries. In 2003, the United States was ranked as the third most visited tourist destination in the world; its 40,400,000 visitors ranked behind France's 75,000,000 and Spain's 52,500,000. Labor unions have existed since the 19th century, and grew large and powerful from the 1930s to the 1950s. See Labor history of the United States. Since 1970 they have shrunk in the private sector and now cover fewer than 8% of the workers. However union membership has grown rapidly in the public sector, especially among teachers, nurses, police, postal workers, and municipal clerks. There have been few strikes in recent years. The United States' imports exceed exports by 80%, leading to an annual trade deficit of $700,000,000,000, or 6% of gross domestic product. It is the largest debtor nation in the world, with total gross foreign debt of over $13,000,000,000,000 (2005 estimate); and it absorbs more than 50% of global savings annually. Since the 1980s, the U.S. has increased the use of neoliberal economic policies that reduce government intervention and reduce the size of the welfare state, backing away from the more interventionist Keynsian economic policies that had been in favor since the Great Depression. As a result, the United States provides fewer government-delivered social welfare services than most industrialized nations, choosing instead to keep its tax burden lower and relying more heavily on the free market and private charities. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than the national level ($5.15 per-hour), including the highest, Washington State at $7.35. Twenty-six states are the same as the federal level; two--Ohio and Kansas--are below; and six do not have state laws. America's wealth is relatively highly concentrated. The average C.E.O. earns 500 times the typical amount a worker grosses, this is up from 25 times in the late 1970s. In terms of wealth the top 1% of Americans own 40% of all assets and 50.1% of the country's income goes to the top twenty percent of households. Average wages for the majority of employees have been largely stagnating since the 1970s. America's poverty line defined as a family of four earning less than $19,157 is at 12.7% of the general population. Approximately one out of every five children in the United States grows up below the official poverty line. Among racial groups; African Americans have the lowest median income while Asians had the highest. Regionally, the southern states had the lowest median incomes while the West Coast and New England had the highest. The current Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan remarked that the U.S.’s growing income inequality since the 1970s is, "not the type of thing which a democratic society - a capitalist democratic society - can really accept without addressing."[http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0614/p01s03-usec.html?s=itm] However, Greenspan also noted, "...you can look at the system and say it's got a lot of problems to it, and sure it does. It always has. But you can't get around the fact that this is the most extraordinarily successful economy in history."

Transportation

Alan Greenspan ]] Because the United States is a relatively young nation, most of the development of U.S. cities has taken place since the invention of the automobile. To link its vast territory, the United States built a network of high-capacity, high-speed highways, of which the most important element is the Interstate Highway system, commissioned in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and modeled after the German Autobahn. The United States also has a transcontinental rail system, which is used for moving freight across the lower forty-eight states. Passenger rail service is provided by Amtrak, which serves forty-six of the lower forty-eight states. Many cities in the United States have extensive mass-transit systems. New York City operates one of the world's largest and most heavily used subway systems. The regional rail and bus networks that extend into Long Island, New Jersey, Upstate New York, and Connecticut are among the most heavily used in the world. Air travel is often preferred for destinations over 300 miles (500 kilometers) away. In terms of passengers, seventeen of the world's thirty busiest airports in 2004 were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; in terms of cargo, in the same year, twelve of the world's thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Memphis International Airport. There are several major seaports in the United States; the three busiest are the Port of Los Angeles, California; the Port of Long Beach, California; and the Port of New York and New Jersey. Others include Houston, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington; plus, outside the contiguous forty-eight states, Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Society

Demographics

Hawaii The mean center of the U.S. population continues to drift farther west and south. The fastest growing region is the western United States followed by the southern portion. According to Census 2000, the states that saw the greatest increases from 1990 were: Nevada (66.3%), Arizona (40%), Colorado (30.6%), Utah (29.6%), Idaho (28.5%), Georgia (26.4%), Florida (23.5%), Texas (22.8%), North Carolina (21.4%), and Washington (21.1%). [http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t2/tab03.pdf]

Ethnicity and race

:Main article: Racial demographics of the United States The United States is a very racially diverse country. According to the 2000 census, it has 31 ethnic groups with at least one million members each, and numerous others represented in smaller amounts. The majority of Americans descend from white European immigrants who arrived at the establishment of the first colonies (most after Reconstruction). This majority--69.1% in 2000--decreases each year, and is expected to become a plurality within a few decades. The most frequently stated European ancestries are German (15.2%), Irish (10.8%), English (8.7%), Italian (5.6%) and Scandinavian (3.7%). Many immigrants also hail from Slavic countries such as Poland and Russia. Other significant immigrant populations came from eastern and southern Europe and French Canada. Russia Hispanics from Mexico and South and Central America are the largest minority group in the country, comprising 12.5% of the population (2000 census). People of Mexican descent made up 7.3% of the population in the 2000 census, and this proportion is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. About 12.3% (2000 census) of the American people are African Americans (Blacks). African Americans are spread throughout the country, but their presence is largest in the South. Asian Americans--including Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders--are a third significant mino