Gerrard Street (London)
Gerrard Street()is a street in the West End of London, in the Chinatown area. The street was built between 1677 and 1685 and originally named Gerrard Street after the military leader Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield who owned the land and used it as a training area. It was developed by the physician Nicholas Barbon. By the mid-18th century, it was known more for its coffee houses and taverns than as a place of residence. Residents John Dryden (1631–1700) lived for a while at 43 Gerrard Street, which is commemorated by a blue plaque. This building was later occupied by Rudolph Appel in 1851. Here he ran an anastatic lithography printing business until he relinquished the business in favour of Samuel Cowell of Ipswich in 1858. Another plaque, on number 9, marks the meeting of Samuel Johnson and Joshua Reynolds at the Turk's Head Tavern to found The Club, a dining club, in 1764. In fiction, Charles Dickens sets the home of Mr Jaggers, the lawyer in '' Great Ex ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Australasia. The development of most Chinatowns typically resulted from mass migration to an area without any or with very few Chinese residents. Binondo in Manila, established in 1594, is recognized as the world's oldest Chinatown. Notable early examples outside Asia include San Francisco's Chinatown in the United States and Melbourne's Chinatown in Australia, which were founded in the mid-19th century during the California and Victoria gold rushes, respectively. A more modern example, in Montville, Connecticut, was caused by the displacement of Chinese workers in the Manhattan Chinatown following the September 11th attacks in 2001. Definition Oxford Dictionaries defines "Chinatown" as "...a district of any non-Asian town, especially a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Society Of Arts
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used more frequently than the full legal name (The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce). The RSA's mission expressed in the founding charter was to "embolden enterprise, enlarge science, refine art, improve our manufacturers and extend our commerce", but also of the need to alleviate poverty and secure full employment. On its website, the RSA characterises itself as "an enlightenment organisation committed to finding innovative practical solutions to today's social challenges". Notable past fellows (before 1914, members) include Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Hawking, Karl Marx, Adam Smith, Marie Curie, Nelson Mandela, David Attenborough, Judi Dench, William Hogarth, John Diefenbaker, and T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Hasted
John Barrett Hasted (17 February 1921 – 4 May 2002) was a British physicist and folk musician.David Gregory. (2002). ''In Memoriam: John Hasted, 1921-2002''. Canadian Folk Music/Bulletin de musique folklorique canadienne, Vol 36, No. 2. pp. 3-8. Biography Hasted was born in Woodbridge, Suffolk. He attended Winchester College and won a choral scholarship to New College, Oxford, where he read chemistry and later focused on atomic physics. From 1968 until his retirement he was head of experimental physics at Birkbeck College, London. He was the author of ''Physics Of Atomic Collisions'' (1964), ''Aqueous Dielectrics'' (1973), ''The Metal Benders'' (1981), and his autobiography, ''Alternative Memoirs'' (1992). He was also active as a folk singer, folk club organiser, and leading light of the Second British Folk Revival.Ken Hunt"John Hasted" ''The Guardian''. September 9, 2002. Parapsychology Hasted was a believer in psychokinesis. He endorsed the spoon bending feats of Uri Gel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Old Compton Street
Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London. History The street was named after Henry Compton who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686. The area in general and this street, in particular, became the home of Huguenots, French Protestant refugees who were given asylum in England by Charles II in 1681. The street was known simply as Compton Street until being renamed to Old Compton Street in 1896. By the end of the eighteenth century and until that renaming, the east end of the street between Greek Street and Charing Cross Road (at the time, Crown Street) was known as Little Compton Street. A street sign for Little Compton Street remains on the wall of a utility tunnel that runs beneath Charing Cross Road, and is visible through a street grate on a traffic island. By the end of the 18th century, fewer than ten of the houses were without shop fronts. An 1818 trade directory s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The 2i's Coffee Bar
The 2i's Coffee Bar was a coffeehouse at 59 Old Compton Street in Soho, London, that was open from 1956 to 1970. It played a formative role in the emergence of Britain's skiffle and rock and roll music culture in the late 1950s, and several major stars including Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard were first discovered performing there. History Founding and ownership The name of the 2i's derived from earlier owners, brothers Freddie and Sammy Irani, who ran the venue until 1955. Musicstorytellers: People With 2i’s Retrieved 24 October 2013 It was then taken over by , an Australian [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kate Meyrick
Kate Meyrick (7 August 1875 – 19 January 1933) known as the 'Night Club Queen' was an Irish night-club owner in 1920s London. During her 13 year career she made, and spent, a fortune and served five prison sentences. She was the inspiration for the character Ma Mayfield in Evelyn Waugh's novel, '' Brideshead Revisited''. Early life and marriage Kate Evelyn Nason was born on 7 August 1875 at 24 Cambridge Terrace, Kingstown to John William Washington Nason, a doctor, and Sarah Frances, née Bateman. Her father died from meningitis in 1876 and her mother married the clergyman Reverend Edwin Sandys Jackson in June 1880. The family moved to England and lived at the rectory in Great Sankey, Lancashire. When Kate was seven years old, her mother died and she and her older sister, Ethel, returned to Kingstown where they were raised by their grandmother, Isabella Bateman, and two great aunts at Fairyland, York Road. She was educated by governesses then attended Alexandra College fro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs generally restrict access to people in terms of age, attire, personal belongings, and inappropriate behaviors. Nightclubs typically have dress codes to prohibit people wearing informal, indecent, offensive, or gang-related attire from entering. Unlike other entertainment venues, nightclubs are more likely to use bouncers to screen prospective patrons for entry. The busiest nights for a nightclub are Friday and Saturday nights. Most nightclubs cater to a particular music genre or sound for branding effects. Some nightclubs may offer food and beverages (including alcoholic beverages). History Early history In the United States, New York increasingly became the national capital for tourism and entertainment. Grand hotels were built for upsc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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43 Club
The 43 Club or "The 43" was a nightclub at 43 Gerrard Street in Soho, London that became notorious during the Jazz Age for outrageous parties frequented by the decadent rich and famous. Local myth provides many tales of provocative, licentious and sometimes criminal goings on. Kate Meyrick The proprietor, Kate Meyrick, was eventually gaoled five times before the club finally closed. She and her clubs were targeted by the Home Secretary, William Joynson-Hicks, who instructed the head of London’s Metropolitan Police, William Horwood that ‘it is a place of the most intense mischief and immorality ithdoped women and drunken men. I want you to put this matter in the hands of your most experienced men and whatever the cost will be, find out the truth about this Club and if it is as bad as I am informed prosecute it with the utmost rigour of the law’. Legacy Occasionally modern nightclub ventures in London and elsewhere call themselves "Club 43" and other variations of th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roaring Twenties
The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the United States and Europe, particularly in major cities such as Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York City, Paris, and Sydney. In France, the decade was known as the '' années folles'' ("crazy years"), emphasizing the era's social, artistic and cultural dynamism. Jazz blossomed, the flapper redefined the modern look for British and American women, and Art Deco peaked. In the wake of the military mobilization of World War I and the Spanish flu, President Warren G. Harding " brought back normalcy" to the United States. The social and cultural features known as the Roaring Twenties began in leading metropolitan centres and spread widely in the aftermath of World War I. The spirit of the Roaring Twent ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peeping Tom (1960 Film)
''Peeping Tom'' is a 1960 British psychological horror-thriller film directed by Michael Powell, written by Leo Marks, and starring Carl Boehm, Anna Massey, and Moira Shearer. The film revolves around a serial killer who murders women while using a portable film camera to record their dying expressions of terror. Its title derives from the expression "peeping Tom", which describes a voyeur. The film's controversial subject matter and its extremely harsh reception by critics had a severely negative impact on Powell's career as a director in the United Kingdom. However, it attracted a cult following, and in later years, it has been re-evaluated and is now widely considered a masterpiece, and a progenitor of the contemporary slasher film. The British Film Institute named it the 78th greatest British film of all time, and in 2017 a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for ''Time Out'' magazine saw it ranked the 27th best British film ever. The music scor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Powell
Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a series of classic British films, notably '' The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'' (1943), ''A Canterbury Tale'' (1944), '' I Know Where I'm Going!'' (1945), '' A Matter of Life and Death'' (1946, also called ''Stairway to Heaven''), '' Black Narcissus'' (1947), '' The Red Shoes'' (1948), and '' The Tales of Hoffmann'' (1951). His later controversial 1960 film ''Peeping Tom'', while today considered a classic, and a contender as the first "slasher", was so vilified on first release that his career was seriously damaged. Many filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and George A. Romero have cited Powell as an influence. In 1981, he received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award along with his partner Pressburger, the highest honou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |