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World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

__NOEDITSECTION__ left left, including the Pyramids of Giza (Egypt).]] Egypt).]] Egypt).]] Egypt).]] Egypt (India).]] India).]] India of Miyajima, Hiroshima (Japan).]] Japan).]] Japan).]] Japan (Argentina).]] A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain range, lake, desert, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated for the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. The programme aims to catalogue, name, and preserve sites of outstanding importance, either cultural or natural, to the common heritage of humankind. Listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund under certain conditions. The programme was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage that was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. 180 countries, called "States Parties", have since then ratified the convention. As of 2005, a total of 812 sites have been included in the list (628 cultural, 160 natural and 24 mixed properties in 137 States Parties). Note that UNESCO references each World Heritage Site with a unique identifying number. However, often a new inscription has included previous sites now listed as part of a larger description. As a result, the numbering system currently ends above 1100, but there are fewer than that on the actual list. Currently, Italy is the country that held the highest number of World Heritages Sites with 40 in total. Each World Heritage Site is the property of the country on whose territory the site is located, but it is considered in the interest of the international community to preserve each site for future generations of humankind. The protection and conservation of these sites is a concern of all the 180 World Heritage countries.

History

Pre-Convention

In 1959, the government of Egypt decided to build the Aswan High Dam, an event that would flood a valley containing treasures of ancient civilization such as the Abu Simbel temples. UNESCO then launched a worldwide safeguarding campaign, despite appeals from the governments of Egypt and Sudan. The Abu Simbel and Philae temples were taken apart, moved to a higher location, and put back together piece-by-piece. The cost of the project was approximately US $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 different countries. It was widely regarded as a total success, and led to other safeguarding campaigns (saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Moenjodaro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia). UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, a draft convention to protect the common cultural heritage of humankind.

Convention and Background

The United States initiated the idea of combining cultural conservation with nature conservation. A White House conference in 1965 called for a World Heritage Trust to preserve "the world's superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future of the entire world citizenry." The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, and they were presented in 1972 to the United Nations conference on Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden. A single text was ultimately agreed on by all parties involved, and the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972.

Nominating Process

A country must first take an inventory of all its significant cultural and natural properties. This is called the Tentative List, and is important because a country may not nominate properties that have not already been included on the Tentative List. Next, it can select a property off this list to make into a Nomination File. The World Heritage Centre offers advice and help in preparing this file, which needs to be as comprehensive as possible. At this point, the file is independently evaluated by two organizations: the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union. These bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. The Committee meets once per year to determine whether or not to inscribe each nominated property on the World Heritage List, and sometimes defers the decision to request more information from the States Parties. There are ten selection criteria that a site must meet to be included on the list.

Selection Criteria

Until the end of 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so that there is only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of "outstanding universal value" and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Cultural Criteria
- I. "to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius";
- II. "to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design";
- III. "to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared";
- IV. "to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history";
- V. "to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change";
- VI. "to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria)"; Natural Criteria
- VII. "to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance";
- VIII. "to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features";
- IX. "to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals";
- X. "to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation."

List of World Heritage Sites


- List of World Heritage Sites in Africa
- List of World Heritage Sites in Asia and Australasia
- List of World Heritage Sites in Europe
- List of World Heritage Sites in the Americas
- List of World Heritage Sites in danger

See also


- List of conservation topics
- World Network of Biosphere Reserves

External links


- [http://whc.unesco.org UNESCO World Heritage Sites] — Official website
- [http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31 List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites] — Official website
- [http://www.worldheritagesite.org World Heritage Site] — World Heritage Details website
- [http://www.world-heritage-tour.org WHTour] — The World Heritage List in panographies and virtual tours
- [http://www.vrheritage.org VRheritage.org] — Documentation of World Heritage Sites
- [http://worldheritage-forum.net/en/ Worldheritage-Forum] — Weblog and Information on World Heritage Issues
- [http://www.thesalmons.org/lynn/world.heritage.html UNESCO World Heritage List] — Complete list with links and map of all sites
- [http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=38862 whc.kmz] — The World Heritage List in Google Earth ([http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=195484 en français])
- [http://law-ref.org/HERITAGE/index.html Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage at Law-Ref.org] — Fully indexed and crosslinked with other documents
- [http://www.ovpm.org/ Organization of World Heritage Cities] — Dealing with urban sites only Category:Archaeological sites ko:세계유산 zh-min-nan:UNESCO Sè-kài Ûi-sán ja:世界遺産

Giza pyramid complex

The Giza Necropolis (coordinates 29 58' 33.31" N 31 07' 49.56" E) stands on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. This complex of ancient monuments is located some eight km inland into the desert from the old town of Giza on the Nile, some 20 km southwest of Cairo city centre.

The site

This Ancient Egyptian necropolis consists of the Pyramid of Khufu (also known as the Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Cheops), the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Kephren), and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinus), along with a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as "queens" pyramids, and the Great Sphinx. Associated with these royal monuments are the tombs of high officials and much later burials and monuments (from the New Kingdom onwards) associated with the reverence to those buried in the necropolis. New Kingdom pyramid, Khafra pyramid, Great (Khufu) pyramid.]] Of the three, only Khafre's pyramid retains part of its original polished limestone casing, towards its apex. Interestingly this pyramid appears larger than the adjacent Khufu pyramid by virtue of its more elevated location, and the steeper angle of inclination of its construction — it is, in fact, smaller in both height and volume. The most active phase of construction here was in the 25th century BC. The ancient remains of the Giza necropolis have attracted visitors and tourists since classical antiquity, when these Old Kingdom monuments were already over 2,000 years old. It was popularised in Hellenistic times when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Today it is the only one of the ancient Wonders still in existence. While, due largely to nineteenth-century images, the pyramids of Giza are generally thought of by foreigners as lying in a remote, desert location, they are located in what is now part of the most populated city in Africa. [http://www.delange.org/Giza_Pyramids_Sphinx/GC.jpg] Consequently, urban development reaches right up to the perimeter of the antiquities site, to the extent that in the 1990s a Pizza Hut and KFC restaurant opened across the road. [http://www.theagitator.com/archives/60-16-andec-01.jpg]

Components of the Necropolis

KFC
- Pyramid of Khufu ("Great Pyramid")
- Pyramid of Khafre
- Pyramid of Menkaure
- Great Sphinx
- Solar Barque

See also

Egyptian Pyramids

Further reading


- Lehner, Dr. Mark, "The Complete Pyramids," Thames & Hudson (1997). (ISBN 0-50-005084-8)
- Manley, Bill (Ed.), "The Seventy Great Mysteries of Ancient Egypt". Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0500051232
- "Mysteries of Egypt" National Geographic Society, 1999. ISBN 0792297520
- Rhys-Davies, John, "Riddles of the monument builders : Who built the Sphinx" Time-Life Video, 1995.
- Bauval, Robert, and Adrian Gilbert, "The Orion Mystery : Unlocking the Secrets of the Pyramids". 1994. ISBN 0517884542
- Morris, Margaret, "The Egyptian Pyramid Mystery Is Solved". ISBN 0972043403
- Childress, David Hatcher, "Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients". Adventures Unlimited Pre, 2000. ISBN 0932813739
- Stephen_Goodfellow, "[http://goodfelloweb.com/giza The Vanishing Point]" 1979-2005

External link


- [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.976132,31.128795&spn=0.010965,0.015836&t=k&hl=en Giza Plateau] on GoogleMaps.
- [http://www.googleearthhacks.com/dlcat13p2/Individual-3D-Structures.htm 3D model of the pyramids] for use in [http://earth.google.com Google Earth] Category:Archaeological sites in Egypt Category:Pyramids

India

The Republic of India is a country in South Asia which comprises of the majority of the Indian subcontinent. India has a coastline which stretches over seven thousand kilometres, and shares its borders with Pakistan to the west, the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, and Bangladesh and Myanmar on the east. On the Indian Ocean, it is adjacent to the island nations of the Maldives on the southwest, Sri Lanka on the south, and Indonesia on the southeast. India also claims a border with Afghanistan to the northwest. India is the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. It is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one billion, and is the seventh largest country by geographical area. It is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, and a centre of important historic trade routes. Four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism have originated from India. Formerly a major part of the British Empire as the British Raj before gaining independence in 1947, during the past twenty years the country has grown significantly, especially in its economic and military spheres, regionally as well as globally. The name India , is derived from the Old Persian version of Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the river Indus; see Origin of India's name. The Constitution of India and general usage also recognises Bharat ( ), which is derived from the Sanskrit name of an ancient Hindu king, whose story is to be found in the Mahabharata, as an official name of equal status. A third name, Hindustan ( ) , or Land of the Hindus in Persian, has been used since the twelfth century, though its contemporary use is unevenly applied due to domestic disputes over its representiveness as a national signifier.

History

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago and developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, which peaked between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It was followed by the Vedic Civilisation. From around 550 BC onwards, many independent kingdoms came into being. In the north, the Maurya dynasty, which included Ashoka, contributed greatly to India's cultural landscape. From 180 BC, a series of invasions from Central Asia followed, with the successive establishment in the northern Indian Subcontinent of the Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian kingdoms, and finally the Kushan Empire. From the 3rd century AD onwards the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient India's "Golden Age". Gupta dynasty built by emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC]] In the south, several dynasties including the Chalukyas, Cheras, Cholas, Kadambas, Pallavas and Pandyas prevailed during different periods. Science, art, literature, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, religion and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings. Following the Islamic invasions in the beginning of the second millennium, much of north and central India came to be ruled by the Delhi Sultanate, and later, much of the entire subcontinent by the Mughal dynasty. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms remained or rose to power, especially in the relatively sheltered south. Vijayanagara Empire was notable among such kingdoms. During the middle of the second millennium, several European countries, including the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British, who were initially interested in trade with India, took advantage of fractured kingdoms fighting each other to establish colonies in the country. After a failed insurrection in 1857 against the British East India Company, popularly known in India as the First War of Indian Independence and most commonly known in the West as the Indian Mutiny, most of India came under the direct administrative control of the crown of the British Empire. British Empire, Orissa built in the 13th century, is one of the most famous monuments of stone sculpture in the world.]] sculpture in the 10th century AD.]] In the early part of the 20th century, a prolonged and largely non-violent struggle for independence, the Indian independence movement, followed, to be eventually led by Mahatma Gandhi, regarded officially as the Father Of The Nation. The culmination of this path-breaking struggle was reached on 1947-08-15 when India gained full independence from British rule, later becoming a republic on 1950-01-26. As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, India has had its share of sectarian violence and insurgencies in different parts of the country. Nonetheless, it has held itself together as a secular, liberal democracy barring a brief period from 1975 to 1977 during which the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a "state of emergency" with the suspension of civil rights. India has unresolved border disputes with China, which escalated into a brief war in 1962, and Pakistan which resulted in wars in 1947, 1965, and 1971, and a border altercation in the northern state of Kashmir in 1999. India was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations. In 1974, India conducted an underground nuclear test, making it an unofficial member of the "nuclear club", which was followed up with a series of five more tests in 1998. Significant economic reforms beginning in 1991 have transformed India into one of the fastest growing economies in the world and added to its global clout.

Government

The Constitution of India states India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India is a federal republic, with a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system. It has a three branch system of governance consisting of the legislature, executive and judiciary. The President, who is the head of state, has a largely ceremonial role. His roles include interpreting the constitution, signing laws into action, and issuing pardons. He is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President and Vice-President are elected indirectly by an electoral college for five-year terms. The Prime Minister is the head of government and most executive powers are vested in this office. He (or she) is elected by legislators of the political party, or coalition, commanding a parliamentary majority, and serves a five-year term incumbent upon enjoying this majority. The constitution does not provide for a post of Deputy Prime Minister, but this option has been exercised from time to time. The legislature of India is the bicameral Parliament which consists of the upper house known as the Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, the lower house known as the Lok Sabha, or House of the People, and the President. The 245-member Rajya Sabha is chosen indirectly through an electoral college and has a staggered six year term. The 545-member Lok Sabha is directly elected for a five year term, and is the determinative constituent of political power and government formation. All Indian citizens above the age of eighteen are eligible to vote. The executive arm consists of the President, Vice-President and the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet) headed by the Prime Minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of either house of parliament. In India's parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature. India's independent judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court has both original jurisdiction over disputes between states and the Centre, and appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts of India. There are eighteen appellate High Courts, having jurisdiction over a large state or a group of states. Each of these states has a tiered system of lower courts. A conflict between the legislature and the judiciary is referred to the President.

Politics

Chief Justice of India For most of its independent history, India's national government has been controlled by the Indian National Congress Party. Following its position as the largest political organisation in pre-independence India, Congress, usually led by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, dominated national politics for over forty years. In 1977, a united opposition, under the banner of the Janata Party, won the election and formed a non-Congress government for a short period after the unpopular 'emergency rule' imposed by Indira Gandhi in the previous Congress regime. In 1996, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political party with a right wing nationalist ideology, became the largest single party, and established for the first time a serious opposition to the largely centre-left Congress. But power was held by two successive coalition governments, who stayed on with the support of the Congress. In 1998, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) along with smaller parties and became the first non-Congress government to sustain the full five year term after it returned to power in 1999. The decade prior to 1999 was marked by short-lasting governments, with seven separate governments formed within that period. One however, a Congress government formed in 1991, lasted the full five years and initiated significant economic reforms. In the 2004 Indian elections the Congress party returned to power after winning the largest number of seats, by a narrow margin. Congress formed a government in alliance with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and with several mostly-regional parties called the United Progressive Alliance. The NDA, led by the BJP, currently forms the main opposition. All governments formed since 1996 have required party coalitions, with no single majority party, due to the steady rise of regional parties at the national level.

States and union territories

India is divided into twenty-eight states (which are further subdivided into districts), six Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. States have their own elected government, whereas Union Territories are governed by an administrator appointed by the union government, though some have elected governments. India has had two scientific bases in Antarctica – the Dakshin Gangotri and Maitri, but has made no territorial claims so far.

Geography

Maitri in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the far east making up most of India's eastern borders]] India's entire north and northeast states are made up of the Himalayan Range. The rest of northern, central and eastern India consists of the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. Towards western India, bordering southeast Pakistan, lies the Thar Desert. The southern Indian peninsula is almost entirely composed of the Deccan plateau. The plateau is flanked by two hilly coastal ranges, the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. India is home to several major rivers such as the Ganga (Ganges), the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the Godavari, and the Krishna. The rivers are responsible for the fertile plains in northern India which are conducive to farming. The Indian climate varies from a tropical climate in the south to a more temperate climate in the north. Parts of India which lie in the Himalaya have a tundra climate. India gets most of its rains through the monsoons.

Economy

monsoon India has an economy ranked as the tenth largest in the world in terms of currency conversion and fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It recorded one of the fastest annual growth rates of 6.9% for the year ending March 2005. India's per-capita income by purchasing power parity is US$ 3,262, ranked 125th by the World Bank. India's foreign exchange reserves amount to over US$ 143 billion. Mumbai serves as the nation's financial capital and is also home to both the headquarters of the Reserve Bank of India and the pre-eminent Bombay Stock Exchange. While a quarter of Indians still live below the poverty line, a large middle class has now emerged along with the rapid growth of the IT industry. The Indian economy has shed much of its historical dependence on agriculture, which now contributes to less than 25 % of GDP. Other important industries are mining, petroleum, diamond polishing, films, textiles, information technology services, and handicrafts. Most of India's industrial regions are centred around major cities. In recent years, India has emerged as one of the largest players in software and business process outsourcing services, with revenues of US$ 17.2 billion in 2004 to 2005. Many small-scale industries provide steady employment to workers in small towns and villages. business process outsourcing While India receives only around three million foreign visitors a year, tourism is still an important but under-developed source of national income. Tourism contributes 5.3 % of India's GDP. The actual employment generation, both direct and indirect, is estimated to be 42 million, or about 10 % of India's work force. In monetary terms, it contributes about US$4 billion in foreign exchange. India's major trading partners are the United States, Japan, China and the United Arab Emirates. India's main exports items include agricultural products, textile goods, gems and jewellry, software services and technology, engineering goods, chemicals and leather products while its main import commodities are crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, chemicals. For the year 2004, India's total exports stood at US$ 69.18 billion while the imports were worth at US $89.33 billion.

Demographics

India is the second most populous country in the world, with only China having a larger population. By 2030, India is expected to surpass China with the world's largest population, estimated at 1.6 billion. Language, religion, and caste are major determinants of social and political organisation within the highly diverse Indian population today. Its biggest metropolitan agglomerations are Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and Chennai (formerly Madras). Chennai]] India's literacy rate is 64.8 % with 53.7 % of females and 75.3 % of males being literate. The sex ratio is 933 females for every 1000 males. Work Participation Rate (WPR) (the percentage of workers to total population) stands at 39.1 % with male WPR at 51.7 % and female WPR at 25.6 % inote|eu{inote|demostats{inote|religion{ref|languages{inote|tongues{see2|Christianity in India|Jews in India{seealso3|List of Indian languages by total speakers|List of cities in India|Religion in India{main|Culture of India{seealso4|List of World Heritage sites in India|Indian architecture|Indian family name|Cuisine of India{main|Sports in India{main|Holidays in India{Official Holidays of India{Topics related to India{portal{sisterlinks|India{wikitravel{wikicities|india|India{explain-inote{Web reference | title=India facts and figures | work=Embassy of India| URL= http://www.indianembassy.org/dydemo/indiaprofile/profile.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Forex reserves up by $1bn | work=Economic Times| URL= http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1093864.cms | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= India Economy | work=Travel Document Systems |URL= http://www.traveldocs.com/in/economy.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Services | work=India in Business| URL= http://www.indiainbusiness.nic.in/india-profile/ser-infotech.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Destination India: An Unpolished Diamond | work=Times of India | URL= http://timesfoundation.indiatimes.com/articleshow/819309.cms | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= US, UAE, UK, China, Japan among India's top trade partners | work=Indian Express| URL= http://www.indianexpress.com/news/business/20050102-0.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= CIA Factbook : India | work=CIA Factbook | URL= http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/in.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Provisional Population Totals 2001 Census| work=Census of India| URL=http://www.censusindia.net/results/resultsmain.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Debating India & India's literacy rate | work=Debating India | URL= http://india.eu.org/1963.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= India – Country profiles | work=indexmundi.com | URL= http://www.indexmundi.com/India/ India | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Census of India 2001, Data on Religion | work=Census of India | URL= http://www.censusindia.net/results/religion_main.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Languages of India | work=India image | URL= http://indiaimage.nic.in/languages.htm| date=August 14 | year=2005{Book reference | Author=K.M. Matthew | Title=Manorama Yearbook 2003 | Publisher= Malaya Manorama | Year=2003 | ID=ISBN 8190046187{mnb|afgh|1{mnb|LoC|2{South Asia{Asia{Commonwealth of Nations{SAARC{Life in India{Link FA|sv{Link FA|sv



Argentina

Argentina is a country in South America, situated between the Andes in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast, and Chile in the west and south. It also claims the British overseas territories of the Falkland Islands (known in Spanish the Islas Malvinas ) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Under the name of Argentine Antarctica, it claims around 1,000,000 km² of Antarctica, overlapping other claims by Chile and the United Kingdom. By area, it is the second largest country of South America after Brazil and the 8th largest country in the world. The country is formally named República Argentina (Argentine Republic), while for purposes of legislation the form Nación Argentina (Argentine Nation) is used.

Origin and history of the name

The name Argentina derives from the Latin argentum (silver) and the first Spanish conquerors to the River Plate. Indigenous people gave silver gifts to the survivors of the shipwrecked expedition, who were led by Juan Díaz de Solís. The legend of Sierra del Plata — a mountain rich in silver — reached Spain around 1524. The Spaniards named the river of Solís, Río de la Plata (River of the Silver). The name Argentina was first used in Ruy Diaz de Guzman's 1612 book Historia del descubrimiento, población, y conquista del Río de la Plata (History of the discovery, population, and conquest of the River Plate), naming the territory Tierra Argentina (land of silver).

History

The area of present Argentina was relatively sparsely populated until it was colonised by Europeans. The Diaguita lived in northwestern Argentina on the edge of the expanding Inca Empire; the Guaraní lived farther east. Europeans arrived in 1502. Spain established a permanent colony on the site of Buenos Aires in 1580, and the Viceroyalty of the River Plate in 1776. Independence from Spain was declared on 9 July 1816. Centralist and federationist groups were in conflict, until national unity was established and the constitution promulgated in 1853. Foreign investment and immigration from Europe aided the introduction of modern agricultural techniques and integration of Argentina into the world economy in the late 19th century. In the 1880s the "Conquest of the Desert" subdued or exterminated the remaining native tribes of Patagonia. From 1880 to 1930 Argentina became one of the ten wealthiest nations. Conservative forces dominated Argentine politics until 1916, when their traditional rivals, the Radicals, won control of the government. The military forced Hipólito Yrigoyen from power in 1930 leading to another decade of Conservative rule. 1930, and the Antarctica, that overlaps both Chilean and British claims, though all three are signatory to the Antarctic Treaty]] Political change led to the presidency of Juan Perón in 1946, who aimed at empowering the working class and greatly expanded the number of unionised workers. The Revolución Libertadora of 1955 deposed him. In the 1950s and 1960s, military and civilian administrations traded power. When military governments failed to revive the economy and suppress escalating terrorism in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the way was open for Perón's return to the presidency in 1973, with his third wife, María Estela Isabel Martínez de Perón, as Vice President. During this period, extremists on the left and right carried out terrorist acts with a frequency that threatened public order. Perón died in 1974. His wife succeeded him in office, but a military coup removed her from office in 1976, and the armed forces formally exercised power through a junta in charge of the self-appointed National Reorganisation Process, until 1983. The armed forces repressed opposition using harsh illegal measures (the "Dirty War"); thousands of dissidents were "disappeared". Economic problems, charges of corruption, public revulsion in the face of human rights abuses and, finally, the country's 1982 defeat in the Falklands War discredited the Argentine military regime. Democracy was restored in 1983. Raúl Alfonsín's Radical government took steps intending to account for the "disappeared", establishing civilian control of the armed forces and consolidating democratic institutions. Failure to resolve endemic economic problems and an inability to maintain public confidence caused his early departure. President Carlos Menem imposed peso-dollar fixed exchange rate in 1991 to stop hyperinflation, and adopted far-reaching market-based policies, dismantling protectionist barriers and business regulations, and implementing a privatisation program. These reforms contributed to significant increases in investment and growth with stable prices through most of the 1990s. The Menem and de la Rúa administrations faced diminished competitiveness of exports, massive imports which damaged national industry and reduced employment, chronic fiscal and trade deficits, and the contagion of several economic crises. The Asian financial crisis in 1998 precipitated an outflow of capital that mushroomed into a recession, which led to a total freezing of the bank accounts (the corralito), and culminated in a financial panic in November 2001. Next month, amidst bloody riots, President de la Rúa resigned. Several new presidents followed in quick succession. Argentina defaulted on its international debt obligations. The peso's almost 12-year-old link with the dollar was abandoned, resulting in massive currency depreciation and inflation, in turn triggering a spike in unemployment and poverty. In 2003, Néstor Kirchner became the president, and started implementing new policies based on re-industrialisation, import substitution, increased exports, consistent fiscal surplus, and high exchange rate.

Politics

Néstor Kirchner The Argentine constitution of 1853, as revised in 1994, mandates a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches at the national and provincial level. The president and vice president are directly elected to 4-year terms. Both are limited to two consecutive terms; they are allowed to stand for a third term or more after an interval of at least one term. The president appoints cabinet ministers, and the constitution grants him considerable power as both head of state and head of government, including authority to enact laws by presidential decree under conditions of "urgency and necessity" and the line-item veto. Argentina's parliament is the bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Nación, consisting of a Senate (Senado) of 72 seats and a Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) of 257 members. Since 2001, senators have been directly elected, with each province, including the Federal Capital, represented by three senators. Senators serve 6-year terms. One-third of the Senate stands for reelection every 2 years via a partial majority system in each district. Members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected to 4-year term via a system of proportional representation. Voters elect half the members of the lower house every 2 years. See also Argentinian Legal System

Administrative Divisions

Argentinian Legal System Argentina is divided into 23 provinces (provincias; singular: provincia), and 1 autonomous city (commonly known as capital federal), marked with an asterisk:
- The current official name for the federal district is "Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires". Buenos Aires has been the capital of Argentina since its unification, but there have been projects to move the administrative centre elsewhere. During the presidency of Raúl Alfonsín a law was passed ordering the move of the federal capital to Viedma, a city in the Patagonic province of Río Negro. Studies were underway when hyperinflation, in 1989, killed off the project. Though the law was never formally repealed, it has become a mere historical relic, and the project has been forgotten.

Urbanization

hyperinflation About 2.7 million people live in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, and roughly 11.5 million in Greater Buenos Aires (2001), making it one of the largest urban conglomerates in the world. Together with their respective metropolitan areas, the second and third largest cities in Argentina, Córdoba and Rosario, each comprise about 1.3 million inhabitants. Most European immigrants to Argentina (coming in great waves especially around the First and the Second World Wars) settled in the cities, which offered jobs, education, and other opportunities that enabled newcomers to enter the middle class. Since the 1930s many rural workers have moved to the big cities. The 1990s saw many rural towns become ghost towns when train services were abandoned and local products manufactured on a small scale were replaced by massive amounts of imported cheap goods, in part because of the monetary policy which kept the U. S. dollar exchange rate fixed and low. Many slums (villas miseria) sprouted in the outskirts of the largest cities, inhabited by empoverished low-class urban dwellers and migrants from smaller towns in the interior of the country. Argentina's urban areas have a European look, reflecting the influence of their European settlers. Many towns and cities are built like Spanish cities around a main square called a plaza. A cathedral and important government buildings often face the plaza. The general layout of the cities is called a damero, that is, a checkerboard, since it is based on a pattern of square blocks, though modern developments sometimes depart from it (for example, the city of La Plata, built at the end of the 19th century, is organised as a checkerboard plus diagonal avenues at fixed intervals). In descending order by number of inhabitants, the major cities in Argentina are Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, La Plata, Tucumán, Mar del Plata, Salta, Santa Fe, and Bahía Blanca. For a more comprehensive list, see List of cities in Argentina.

Geography

List of cities in Argentina Argentina can roughly be divided into three parts: the fertile plains of the Pampas in the central part of the country, the centre of Argentina's agricultural wealth; the flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in the southern half down to Tierra del Fuego; and the rugged Andes mountain range along the western border with Chile, with the highest point being the Cerro Aconcagua at 6,960 m. Major rivers include the Paraguay, Bermejo, Colorado, Uruguay and the largest river, the Paraná. The latter two flow together before meeting the Atlantic Ocean, forming the estuary of the River Plate. The Argentine climate is predominantly temperate with extremes ranging from subtropical in the north to arid/sub-Antarctic in far south.

Enclaves and exclaves

There is one Argentine exclave: the island of Martín García (co-ordinates ). It is situated near the confluence of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, a mere kilometre inside Uruguayan waters, about 3.5 km from the Uruguayan coastline, near the small city of Martín Chico (itself about halfway between Nueva Palmira and Colonia). An agreement reached by Argentina and Uruguay in 1973 reaffirmed Argentine jurisdiction over the island, ending a century-old dispute between the two countries. According to the terms of the agreement, Martín García is to be devoted exclusively to a natural preserve. Its area is about 2 km², and the population about 200 people.

Economy

Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. The country historically had a large middle class, compared to other Latin American countries, but this segment of the population was decimated by a succession of economic crises. Today, while a significant segment of the population is still financially well-off, they stay in sharp contrast with millions who live in poverty or on the brink of it. Since the late 1970s the country piled up public debt and was plagued by bouts of high inflation. In 1991, the government pegged the peso to the U. S. dollar and limited the growth in the monetary base. The government then embarked on a path of trade liberalisation, deregulation, and privatisation. Inflation dropped and GDP grew, but external economic shocks and failures of the system diluted its benefits, causing it to crumble in slow motion, from 1995 and up to the collapse in 2001. By 2002 Argentina had defaulted on its debt, its GDP had shrunk, unemployment was over 18%, the peso had devalued 75% after being floated, and inflation was hitting again. However, careful spending control and heavy taxes on now soaring exports gave the state the tools to regain resources and conduct monetary policy. In 2003, import substitution policies and soaring exports, coupled with a lower inflation and expansive economic measures, triggered a surge in the GDP, which was repeated in 2004, creating jobs and encouraging internal consumption. Capital flight decreased, and foreign investment slowly returned. The influx of foreign currency from exports created such a huge trade surplus that the Central Bank was forced to buy dollars from the market, which it continues to do at the time, to be accumulated as reserves. The situation in 2005 is much improved, but there are still large numbers of unemployed people that beg for some money or food, especially in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Some of them are homeless, and there is at least one small non-profit humanitarian organisation which distributes free food to some of them most days of the week.

Demographics

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Unlike most of its neighbouring countries, Argentina's population descends overwhelmingly from Europeans. The basic demographic stock (85% of the population) is made up of descendants of the Spanish colonists, augmented by descendants of later Italian and Spanish settlers. Around 56% of Argentinians, however, possess at least some indigenous Amerindian ancestry (as discovered by genetic research). Those who claimed their ancestry as Spanish — or Spanish and another ancestry, such as Spanish-Italian — were most likely to have some remnant Amerindian ancestry; a legacy of the almost complete absorption of colonial Argentina's mestizo majority by the post-colonial mass migratory influx of Europeans. The indigenous Amerindian — poorly estimated between 500,000 and 2 million — and identifiably mestizo populations are concentrated in the provinces of the north, northwest and south. As of 2001, 2.8% of Argentine households host a person that identifies as belonging to an indigenous group. Waves of immigrants from European countries arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Patagonian Chubut Valley has a significant Welsh-descended population and retains many aspects of Welsh culture. Other important immigrant groups came from Germany (German colonies were settled in the provinces of Entre Ríos, Misiones, Formosa, Córdoba and the Patagonian region, as well as in Buenos Aires itself), France (mostly settled in Buenos Aires city and province), Scandinavia (especially Sweden) the United Kingdom and Ireland (Buenos Aires and the Patagonia) and Eastern European nations, such as Poland, Russia, Ukraine and the Balkans region (especially Croatia and Serbia) and others. The Jewish community in Argentina is comprised predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews of Northern and Eastern European origin, and [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/jewpop.html numbers about 395,379], which is the largest in Latin America and fifth largest in the world. Syrian, Lebanese, and other Middle Eastern immigrants number about 500,000, mainly in urban areas. Small numbers of people from East Asia have settled Argentina, mainly in Buenos Aires. The first Asian-Argentines were of Japanese descent, but Koreans, Vietnamese, India and Chinese soon followed. There was a substantial immigration from other Latin American countries during the 1990s from Bolivia, Paraguay and Chile number about 2,000,000 and 4,000,000.

Culture

See also the articles on the cuisine, the music, and the football of Argentina. For a prevalent custom among Argentines, see mate. For the traditional Buenos Aires dance, see tango. Also see the list of people from Argentina.

Language

The only official language is Spanish, although some immigrants and indigenous communities have retained their original languages in specific points of the country. Argentina is the largest Spanish-speaking community that employs voseo (the use of the pronoun vos instead of tú, associated with some alternate verb conjugations). The most prevalent dialect is Rioplatense, with most speakers located in the basin of the River Plate.

Religion

River Plate Most of Argentina's population is at least nominally Roman Catholic (78%, though regular church attendance is much lower). Roman Catholicism is supported by the Argentine state, as stated in the Constitution. Evangelical churches gained a place in Argentina especially since the 1980s. The country also has the largest Jewish population in Latin America, about 300,000 strong, and is home to one of the largest Islamic mosques in Latin America. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) number over 330,300, the seventh largest concentration in the world[http://www.lds.org.ar/noticias2005/noti_ene2005/info_noti_ene2005_05.htm]. Traditional Protestant communities are also present.

See also

For important topics not covered in this article, see:
- Communications and transportation;
- Tourism and national parks;
- Education;
- Military and foreign relations. For lists and other useful reference data, see:
- Public holidays
- Electoral system
- Provincial governors

References

External links

Government
- [http://www.info.gov.ar Gobierno Electrónico] - Official governmental gateway
- [http://www.presidencia.gov.ar Presidencia] - Official presidential site (in Spanish)
- [http://www.senado.gov.ar Honorable Senado de la Nación] - Official senatorial site (in Spanish)
- [http://www.diputados.gov.ar Honorable Cámara de Diputados de la Nación] - Official lower house site (in Spanish) Directories
- [http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/hispanic/argentina/argentina.html Library of Congress Portals on the World - Argentina]
- [http://dmoz.org/Regional/South_America/Argentina Open Directory Project -Argentina] directory category
- [http://ar.todalanet.net Todalanet.net Argentina] - Search engine of Argentinean only web pages. News
- [http://www.telam.com.ar Official news agency]
- [http://www.tageblatt.com.ar Argentinisches Tageblatt] (in German)
- Buenos Aires Herald[http://www.buenosairesherald.com] (in English)
- Clarín[http://www.clarin.com], Argentina's most popular newspaper, published in Buenos Aires, distributed nationwide
- [http://www.diariodecuyo.com.ar Diario de Cuyo], from San Juan
- La Capital[http://www.lacapital.com.ar], from Rosario, Santa Fe Province
- [http://www.diariouno.net.ar Diario UNO], from Mendoza
- [http://www.eldiariodeparana.com.ar El Diario], from Paraná, Entre Ríos Province
- [http://www.infobae.com InfoBae], newspaper from Buenos Aires
- [http://www.lavozdelinterior.com.ar La Voz Del Interior], from Córdoba city
- [http://www.lagaceta.com.ar La Gaceta], from Tucumán
- La Nación[http://www.lanacion.com] ("The Nation"), from Buenos Aires, distributed nationwide
- [http://www.larazon.com.ar La Razón], Buenos Aires free evening newspaper (belongs to the Clarín group)
- [http://www.lanueva.com.ar La Nueva Provincia] ("The New Province"), from Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires
- Página/12[http://www.pagina12.com.ar], from Buenos Aires (Clarín Group), distributed nationwide
- [http://www.lacapitalnet.com.ar La Capital], from Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires
- [http://www.lavozdelpueblo.com.ar La Voz del Pueblo], local newspaper from Tres Arroyos city Images
- [http://cometoargentina.tripod.com/ Mundo Argentina] - Has pictures
- [http://www.vester.com.ar/argentina/ Pictures of Argentina] - Pictures of Argentina. Provinces, regions, landscapes and people.
- [http://www.geographicguide.com/south-america.htm South America Pictures]
- [http://www.geographicguide.com/south-america-map.htm South America Map]
- [http://www.globe-images.com/south-america.htm South America Satellite Images]
- [http://www.fotos-de-argentina.com.ar/ Argentina Photos] Argentina Photos - Photographs of Argentina. Travel
- [http://www.turismo.gov.ar/ Secretaria de Turismo de la Nacion] Official site of the Tourism Department of the Argentine Government
- [http://www.argentinatravelnet.com/ Argentina Travel Net] Directory of travel websites in Argentina
- [http://www.roadjunky.com/argentina/guide_argentina.shtml Guide to Argentina] - Travel tips and a deep look at Argentine culture. (in English)
- [http://www.argentinacafe.com/ Argentina Cafe Travel Guide] - Travel highlights, costs, guidebook reviews, cheap flight tips, background articles, etc.
- [http://www.thowra.com/argentina.html Travelling in Argentina] - Find out about some of the main places to go. (in English)
- [http://www.VisitGayBA.com VisitGayBA.com] - A Gay Guide to Buenos Aires, Argentina. (in English) Other
- [http://www.josemariarosa.galeon.com/ Argentine History] - Prestigious Argentine historian José María Rosa (1906-1991).
- [http://www.argentina-information.com/ Argentina Information] - Facts and information on different aspects of life in Argentina.
- [http://www.coha.org Council on Hemispheric Affairs] Latin American information and analysis
- [http://expat-argentina.blogspot.com/ Expat Argentina] - Blog about expat life and issues in Argentina Argentina ko:아르헨티나 ms:Argentina ja:アルゼンチン simple:Argentina th:ประเทศอาร์เจนตินา fiu-vro:Argentina

16 November

November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 45 days remaining.

Events


- 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published.
- 1384 - Jadwiga is crowned King of Poland, although she is a woman.
- 1532 - Francisco Pizarro and his men capture Inca Emperor Atahualpa.
- 1632 - The Battle of Lützen, where king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is killed.
- 1776 - American Revolutionary War: Hessian mercenaries capture Fort Washington from the Patriots.
- 1776 - American Revolution: The United Provinces (Low Countries) recognize the independence of the United States, the first country in the world to do so.
- 1821 - American Old West: Missouri trader William Becknell arrives in Santa Fe, New Mexico over a route that became known as the Santa Fe Trail.
- 1849 - A Russian court sentences Fyodor Dostoevsky to death for anti-government activities linked to a radical intellectual group; his execution is canceled at the last minute.
- 1857 - Second relief of Lucknow. The most Victoria Crosses won in a single day (24).
- 1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Campbell's Station near Knoxville, Tennessee. Confederate troops unsuccessfully attack Union forces.
- 1885 - Canadian rebel leader of the Métis and "Father of Manitoba", Louis Riel is executed for high treason.
- 1893 - Athletic Club Královské Vinohrady is founded. Later the team was renamed to Sparta Prague.
- 1896 - First transmission of electrical power between two cities was sent from Niagara Falls to industries in Buffalo, New York. (See War of Currents.)
- 1904 - John Ambrose Fleming invents the vacuum tube.
- 1906 - Opera star Enrico Caruso is charged with an indecent act after allegedly pinching a woman's bottom in the monkey house of New York's Central Park Zoo.
- 1907 - Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory become Oklahoma and are admitted as the 46th U.S. state.
- 1914 - The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States officially opens for business.
- 1920 - Qantas, the national airline of Australia is registered as an aerial carrier under the name of “Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited”. Only KLM (now part of Air France-KLM) is older.
- 1933 - The United States and the Soviet Union establish formal diplomatic relations.
- 1940 - World War II: In response to Germany leveling Coventry two days before, the Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg.
- 1940 - Holocaust: In Poland, Nazis close off the Warsaw Ghetto from the outside world.
- 1940 - New York City's Mad Bomber places his first bomb at a Manhattan office building used by Consolidated Edison.
- 1943 - World War II: American bombers strike a hydro-electric power facility and heavy water factory in German-controlled Vermork, Norway.
- 1945 - Cold War: The United States controversially imports 88 German scientists to help in the production of rocket technology.
- 1957 - Serial killer Edward Gein murders his last victim, Bernice Worden.
- 1959 - The Broadway musical, The Sound of Music, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel opens at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater.
- 1965 - Venera program: The Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe toward Venus, the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet.
- 1969 - The first episode of The Clangers is broadcast by the BBC.
- 1973 - Skylab program: NASA launches Skylab 4 with a crew of three astronauts from Cape Canaveral, Florida for an 84-day mission.
- 1973 - US President Richard Nixon signs the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act into law, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline.
- 1977 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind opens in theaters.
- 1979 - The first line of Bucharest Metro (Line M1) is opened from Timpuri Noi to Semanatoarea in Bucharest, Romania.
- 1980 - Louis Althusser murders his wife and immediately confesses.
- 1981 - Luke and Laura marry on General Hospital; it is the highest-rated hour in daytime television history.
- 1988 - The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR declares that the Estonia was "sovereign" but stopped short of declaring independence.
- 1988 - In the first open election in more than a decade, voters in Pakistan choose populist candidate Benazir Bhutto to be Prime Minister.
- 1989 - A death squad composed of El Salvadoran army troops kill six Jesuit priests and two others at Jose Simeon Canas University.
- 1990 - Rocky V is the 4th Rocky sequel to open in theaters, starring Sylvester Stallone.
- 1996 - Mother Teresa receives honorary US citizenship.
- 1997 - After nearly 18 years of incarceration, the People's Republic of China releases Wei Jingsheng, a pro-democracy dissident, from jail for medical reasons.
- 2000 - Bill Clinton becomes the first sitting US President to visit Vietnam.
- 2001 - The first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, is released, becoming the second highest grossing film around the world of all time.
- 2004 - X-43A scramjet becomes the fastest air-breathing jet flying at nearly Mach 10 at approx. 11,200 km/h or 3.11 km/s.
- 2005 - Australia qualify for the FIFA World Cup in June, 2006, for the first time in 32 years.

Births


- 42 BC - Tiberius, Roman emperor (d. 37)
- 1603 - Augustyn Kordecki, Polish prior (d. 1673)
- 1717 - Jean le Rond d'Alembert, French mathematician and encyclopædist (d. 1793)
- 1720 - Carlo Antonio Campioni, Italian composer (d. 1788)
- 1766 - Rodolphe Kreutzer, French violinist (d. 1831)
- 1836 - David Kalakaua of Hawaii, last king of Hawaii (d. 1891)
- 1862 - Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (d. 1944)
- 1873 - W. C. Handy, American composer (d. 1958)
- 1889 - George Kaufman, American playwright (d. 1961)
- 1892 - Guo Moruo, Chinese writer (d. 1978)
- 1894 - Richard Nikolaus Graf Coudenhove-Kalergi, Austrian politician (d. 1972)
- 1895 - Paul Hindemith, German composer (d. 1963)
- 1896 - Oswald Mosley, British fascist (d. 1980)
- 1896 - Lawrence Tibbett, American actor and singer (d. 1960)
- 1905 - Eddie Condon, American musician (d. 1973)
- 1907 - Burgess Meredith, American actor (d. 1997)
- 1916 - Daws Butler, voice actor (d. 1988)
- 1922 - Gene Amdahl, American computer scientist
- 1922 - José Saramago, Portuguese writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1924 - Mel Patton, American athlete
- 1928 - Clu Gulager, American actor
- 1930 - Chinua Achebe, Nigerian author
- 1938 - Robert Nozick, American philosopher (d. 2002)
- 1943 - Michael Cimino, American film director
- 1952 - Shigeru Miyamoto, Japanese video game designer
- 1954 - Bruce Edwards, golf caddy (d. 2004)
- 1958 - Marg Helgenberger, American actress
- 1961 - Frank Bruno, British boxer
- 1962 - Josh Silver, American keyboardist and record producer (Type O Negative)
- 1964 - Dwight Gooden, American athlete
- 1964 - Diana Krall, Canadian singer
- 1964 - Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Italian actress
- 1967 - Lisa Bonet, American actress
- 1967 - Craig Arnold, American poet
- 1970 - Martha Plimpton, American actress
- 1971 - Alexander Popov, Russian swimmer
- 1971 - Waqar Younis, Pakistani cricketer
- 1974 - Paul Scholes, English footballer
- 1977 - Oksana Baiul, Ukrainian figure skater
- 1977 - Maggie Gyllenhaal, American actress
- 1978 - Gary Naysmith, Scottish footballer
- 1980 - Kayte Christensen, American Basketball Player
- 1981 - Allison Crowe, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1984 - Kimberly J. Brown, American actress

Deaths


- 1093 - Saint Margaret of Scotland, wife of King Malcolm Canmore
- 1240 - Edmund Rich, St. Edmund of Canterbury
- 1272 - King Henry III of England (b. 1207)
- 1328 - Prince Hisaaki, Japanese shogun (b. 1276)
- 1613 - Trajano Boccalini, Italian satirist (b. 1556)
- 1628 - Paolo Quagliati, Italian composer
- 1632 - King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (killed in battle) (b. 1594)
- 1695 - Pierre Nicole, French philosopher (b. 1625)
- 1724 - Jack Sheppard, English burglar (hanged) (b. 1702)
- 1745 - James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, Irish statesman and soldier (b. 1665)
- 1773 - John Hawkesworth, English writer
- 1779 - Pehr Kalm, Finnish explorer and naturalist (b. 1716)
- 1790 - Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, American Continental Congressman (b. 1723)
- 1797 - Frederick William II of Prussia (b. 1744)
- 1802 - André Michaux, French botanist (b. 1746)
- 1806 - Moses Cleaveland, founder of Cleveland, Ohio (b. 1754)
- 1836 - Christian Hendrik Persoon, Dutch mycologist (b. 1761)
- 1885 - Louis Riel, Canadian activist and politician (b. 1844)
- 1907 - Robert I, Duke of Parma, last ruling Duke of Parma (b. 1848)
- 1911 - Albert Alonzo Ames, Mayor of Minneapolis (b. 1842)
- 1922 - Max Abraham, German physicist (b. 1875)
- 1939 - Pierce Butler, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1866)
- 1960 - Clark Gable, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1961 - Sam Rayburn, U.S. Speaker of the House (b. 1882)
- 1973 - Alan Watts, English writer (b. 1915)
- 1982 - Arthur Askey, British comedian (b. 1900)
- 1994 - Doris Speed, British actress (b. 1899)
- 1994 - Dino Valente, American musician (Quicksilver Messenger Service) (b. 1943)
- 1999 - Daniel Nathans, American microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1928)
- 2000 - DJ Screw, American hiphop DJ (b. 1971)
- 2003 - Bettina Goislard, French relief worker (b. 1974)
- 2005 - Henry Taube, Canadian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
- 2005 - Robert Tisch, American football team owner (b. 1926)
- 2005 - Donald Watson, founder of the Vegan Society (b. 1910)

Holidays and observances


- R.C. Saints - Saint Margaret of Scotland ; Gertrude the Great
- Also see November 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- International Day for Tolerance
- Iceland - Dagur íslenskrar tungu (Icelandic Language Day)
- Thailand - Loy Krathong festival (2005)
- USA - admission of Oklahoma, 46th state, 1907

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/16 BBC: On This Day] ---- November 15 - November 17 - October 16 - December 16 -- listing of all days ko:11월 16일 ms:16 November ja:11月16日 simple:November 16 th:16 พฤศจิกายน

2005

2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. 2005 is the World Year of Physics, the Year of the Rooster in the Chinese calendar, and the International Year of the Eucharist in Catholicism. See also Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.

Events

January


- January 4 - Death of the Governor of Baghdad, Ali Al-Haidri, assassinated by gunmen.
- January 9 - The same storm which pounded the US earlier in the month hits England and Scandinavia, leaving 13 dead with widespread flooding and power cuts.
- January 9 - Mahmoud Abbas is elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian Authority president in the Palestinian election.
- January 12 - Deep Impact is launched from Kennedy Space Center by a Delta 2 rocket.
- January 13 - Terrorists enter into Israel from Gaza and open fire on civilians near border, killing 6 and wounding 5 others. Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claim joint responsibility for attack.
- January 14 - The Huygens probe lands on Titan, largest moon of Saturn.
- January 16 - Adriana Iliescu gives birth at 66, the oldest woman in the world to do so. Adriana Iliescu.]]
- January 18 - Terrorists murder 1 person and wound 8 people in Gush Katif, Israel. Hamas claims responsibility.
- January 20 - George W. Bush is inaugurated in Washington, D.C. for his second term as 43rd President of the United States.
- January 20 - Ireland completes metrication.
- January 21 - In Belize's capital city Belmopan, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.
- January 23 - Viktor Yushchenko is sworn in as the third President of Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine.
- January 25 - A stampede at Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi during a religious pilgrimage in India kills at least 215, mostly women and small children.
- January 30 - The first free Parliamentary elections in Iraq since 1958 take place.
- January 30 - A Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes in Iraq, killing 10 British servicemen. Iraqi insurgents release a video claiming to have shot the aircraft down using a missile.

February


- February 6 - The New England Patriots defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 to win their third Super Bowl in four years.
- February 8 - Danish parliamentary elections continue the center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his Liberal Party.
- February 9 - An ETA car bomb injures 31 people at a conference centre in Madrid.
- February 10 - North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.
- February 10 - Saudi Arabia holds its first ever elections for municipal authorities, in which only men are allowed to vote.
- February 12 - Fire devastates the Windsor Building, a 32 story office block, in Madrid.
- February 14 - A massive suicide bomb blast in central Beirut kills Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri and at least 15 other people. At least 135 other people were also hurt.
- February 14 - Around 59 people are killed and 200 injured in a fire at a mosque in Tehran, Iran. Iran emissions of