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Fort Tanjong Katong
Fort Tanjong Katong, which stood from 1879 to 1901, was one of the oldest military forts built by the former British colonial government of Singapore. The fort gave its name to today's Fort Road, and it used to stand on the grounds of the present Katong Park. Fort Tanjong Katong, the only one of its kind on the eastern side of the island, was part of a series of defensive batteries and fortifications along the southern coast of Singapore, that defended the eastern approaches to the Singapore Harbour and Singapore Town against seaborne attacks. Due to its poor structural design and remoteness, the fort was subsequently abandoned and buried until its rediscovery in 2001. Found with traces of a moat and near intact perimeter wall, the fort was considered by local archaeological experts as one of Singapore's most important archaeological finds of a "true 19-century fort" to date. As a result, an archaeology group has been lobbying for the site to be gazetted as a National Monume ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stamford Raffles
Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is best known mainly for his founding of modern Singapore and the Straits Settlements also called Malaysia and Brunei. Raffles was heavily involved in the capture of the Indonesian island of Java from the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars. The running of day-to-day operations on Singapore was mostly done by William Farquhar, but Raffles was the one who got all the credit. He also wrote ''The History of Java'' (1817). Early life Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles was born on on board the ship ''Ann'', off the coast of Port Morant, Jamaica, to Captain Benjamin Raffles (1739, London – 23 November 1811, Deptford) and Anne Raffles (née Lyde) (1755 – 8 February 1824, London). Benjamin served as a ship master for various ships engaged in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Singapore Government
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise of certain functions as a check on the Cabinet and the Parliament, their role is largely ceremonial. It is the Cabinet, composed of the prime minister and other ministers appointed on their advice by the president, that have the general direction and control of the government. The Cabinet is formed by the political party that gains a simple majority in each general election. A statutory board is an autonomous agency of the Government that is established by an Act of Parliament and overseen by a government ministry. Unlike ministries and government departments that are subdivisions of ministries, statutory boards are not staffed by civil servants and have greater independence and flexibility in their operations. There are five Community De ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Sim
Jack Sim (, born 1957) is the founder of the Restroom Association of Singapore, the World Toilet Organization, the World Toilet Day initiative and Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) Hub. Formerly from the construction industry, he decided to devote the rest of his life to social work after attaining financial independence at the age of 40. In 2001, for "creating good will and bringing the subject into the open" and "mobilizing national support in providing on-the-ground expertise" he received the Schwab Foundation award for Social Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2007, Jack was elected a Fellow of Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, and also became one of the key members to convene the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance which is composed of key players in the sanitation space. Jack was named one of the Heroes of the Environment for 2008 by ''Time'' magazine. He also founded the BOP HUB and a series of social businesses and startups. He is now constructing a 65,000 sq ft World Trade Center ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Parks Board
The National Parks Board (NParks) is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. History In November 1989, Minister of National Development, S. Dhanabalan, presented the National Parks Bill in Parliament to form a body to manage the three parks, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Fort Canning Park and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, in Singapore. In March 1990, Minister of State for National Development, Lee Boon Yang introduced the National Parks Bill in Parliament to form the National Parks Board as a statutory board. On 6 June 1990, the National Parks Board was formed to manage the three parks. On 1 July 1996, the Parks and Recreation Department was merged with the National Parks Board. Since 1 April 2019, all non-food plant and animal-related functions originally under the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore were transferred to NParks under Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) as part of a reorganisation. See also * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BL 8 Inch Mk VII Gun
BL (or similar) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * BL Publishing, a division of the wargames manufacturing company, Games Workshop * ''Boston Legal'', a US legal comedy drama * Boys' love, Japanese term for female-oriented fiction featuring idealized romantic relationships between two males Businesses and organizations * Bell Labs, an audio-technology research and design enterprise * Boys' Latin School of Maryland, a US private school * Brisbane Lions, an Australian rules football team in the Australian Football League * British Library, the UK's national library * British Leyland, a former UK vehicle manufacturing company * Pacific Airlines (IATA code BL), a low-cost airline * Lytvyn Bloc, a Ukrainian political party Food and drink * Bitter lemon, a carbonated soft drink * Bud Light, an American lager beer In law * Bachelor of Laws (B.L.), an undergraduate degree in law * Barrister-at-Law, a degree and professional qualification in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Nigeria. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Singapore Volunteer Corps
The Singapore Volunteer Corps or the Singapore Special Constabulary, was a militia unit established in 1854 as the Singapore Volunteer Rifle Corps. The Corps underwent several reorganisations and was known by various names throughout its history. It was renamed the People's Defence Force, the predecessor of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1965. History The idea for a volunteer corps to supplement the local constabulary for tighter internal security was first raised in 1846. The first corps, the Singapore Volunteer Rifles Corps (SVRC), was formed after the outbreak of riots between Chinese secret societies from 5–17 May 1854. The conflict caused widespread unrest and loss of life on the island, and was severe enough for the police to require the support of the military, some marines, European residents acting as Special constables, sepoys and even convicts to restore order. More than 400 people were killed and 300 houses burned down. In view of the escalating violence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garrison
A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city, town, fort, castle, ship, or similar site. "Garrison town" is a common expression for any town that has a military base nearby. "Garrison towns" ( ar, أمصار, amsar) were used during the Arab Islamic conquests of Middle Eastern lands by Arab-Muslim armies to increase their dominance over indigenous populations. In order to occupy non-Arab, non-Islamic areas, nomadic Arab tribesmen were taken from the desert by the ruling Arab elite, conscripted into Islamic armies, and settled into garrison towns as well as given a share in the spoils of war. The primary utility of the Arab-Islamic garrisons was to control the indigenous non-Arab peoples of these conque ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ditch (fortification)
In military engineering, a ditch is an obstacle designed to slow down or break up an attacking force, while a trench is intended to provide cover to the defenders. In military fortifications the side of a ditch farthest from the enemy and closest to the next line of defence is known as the scarp while the side of a ditch closest to the enemy is known as the counterscarp. Uses In early fortifications, ditches were often used in combination with ramparts to slow down the enemy whilst defensive fire could be brought to bear from the relative protection afforded by the rampart and possibly the palisade. In medieval fortification, a ditch was often constructed in front of a defensive wall to hinder mining and escalade activities from an attacker. When filled with water, such a defensive ditch is called a moat. However, moats may also be dry. Later star forts designed by military engineers like Vauban, comprised elaborate networks of ditches and parapets, carefully calculated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RML 7 Inch Gun
The RML 7-inch guns were various designs of medium-sized rifled muzzle-loading guns used to arm small to medium-sized British warships in the late 19th century, and some were used ashore for coast defence. Design and history These guns were the first to incorporate the new "Woolwich" rifling system, a modification of the French system, of from 3 – 9 broad shallow grooves after Britain abandoned the Armstrong "shunt" rifling system in May 1865 : "...M.L. 7-inch guns in course of manufacture were rifled on this principle, upon which all of our heavy pieces since have been rifled. The 7-inch referred to, and introduced into the service in 1865, were the first of the so-called Woolwich guns, which then meant "''wrought iron M.L. guns built up on Sir W. Armstrong's principle, improved upon by hooking the coils over one another, and having solid ended steel barrels, rifled on the system shown above, for studded projectiles''". All versions were constructed of a steel A tube surrou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keppel Harbour
Keppel Harbour (; ms, Pelabuhan Keppel), also called the Keppel Channel and formerly New Harbour, is a stretch of water in Singapore between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani and Sentosa (formerly Pulau Blakang Mati). Its naturally sheltered and deep waters was to meet the requirements of British colonists attempting to establish a Far East maritime colony in that part of the world, thereby setting the stage for the eventual formation of Singapore as a successful independent state. Etymology and history The harbour was first noticed in August 1819 by William Farquhar, who reported his discovery of a "new harbour" inhabited by ''orang laut'' ("sea people") living in boats to Sir Stamford Raffles the following month. In the 1830s, the Straits Settlements, consisting of Singapore, Malacca and Penang, was a pirates' haven. By 1832, Singapore had become the busy centre of government for the three areas. It was also at this time that Captain Henry Keppel came to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
