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John Duck
Sir John Duck, 1st Baronet (c. 1632 – 26 August 1691), was mayor of Durham. Life Duck was apprenticed early in life to a butcher at Durham, though from an entry in the guild registers, it appears that in 1657 some opposition was raised to his following the trade. The foundation of his subsequent fortunes is said to have been laid by the following incident. 'As he was straying in melancholy idleness by the waterside, a raven appeared hovering in the air, and from chance or fright dropped from his bill a gold Jacobus at the foot of the happy butcher boy.' This adventure was depicted on a panel in the house which he afterwards built for himself in Durham, where he became exceedingly prosperous, and in 1680 served the office of mayor. Taking an active part in politics during the last years of the Stuarts, Duck attracted the attention of the government, and in 1686 his useful loyalty was rewarded when he was created a baronet, of Haswell-on-the-Hill in the County of Durham, named aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durham, England
Durham ( , locally ), is a cathedral city and civil parish on the River Wear, County Durham, England. It is an administrative centre of the County Durham District, which is a successor to the historic County Palatine of Durham (which is different to both the ceremonial county and district of County Durham). The settlement was founded over the final resting place of St Cuthbert. Durham Cathedral was a centre of pilgrimage in medieval England while the Durham Castle has been the home of Durham University since 1832. Both built in 11th-century, the buildings were designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. HM Prison Durham is also located close to the city centre and was built in 1816. Name The name "Durham" comes from the Brythonic element , signifying a hill fort and related to -ton, and the Old Norse , which translates to island.Surtees, R. (1816) ''History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham'' (Classical County Histories) The Lord Bishop of Durh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duck Baronets
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form taxon; they do not represent a monophyletic group (the group of all descendants of a single common ancestral species), since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules and coots. Etymology The word ''duck'' comes from Old English 'diver', a derivative of the verb 'to duck, bend down low as if to get under something, or dive', because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending; compare with Dutch and German 'to dive'. This word replaced Old English / 'duck', possibly to avoid confusion wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1691 Deaths
Events January–March * January 6 – King William III of England, who rules Scotland and Ireland as well as being the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, departs from Margate to tend to the affairs of the Netherlands. * January 14 – A fleet of ships carrying 827 Spanish Navy sailors and marines arrives at Manzanillo Bay on the island of Hispaniola in what is now the Dominican Republic and joins 700 Spanish cavalry, then proceeds westward to invade the French side of the island in what is now Haiti. * January 15 – King Louis XIV of France issues an order specifically prohibiting play of games of chance, specifically naming basset and similar games, on penalty of 1,000 livres for the first offence. * January 23 – Spanish colonial administrator Domingo Terán de los Ríos, most recently the governor of Sonora y Sinaloa on the east side of the Gulf of California, is assigned by the Viceroy of New Spain to administer a new province that governs lands on both sides of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
17th-century English People
The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement, the latter part of the Spanish Golden Age, the Dutch Golden Age, the French ''Grand Siècle'' dominated by Louis XIV, the Scientific Revolution, the world's first public company and megacorporation known as the Dutch East India Company, and according to some historians, the General Crisis. From the mid-17th century, European politics were increasingly dominated by the Kingdom of France of Louis XIV, where royal power was solidified domestically in the civil war of the Fronde. The semi-feudal territorial French nobility was weakened and subjugated to the power of an absolute monarchy through the reinvention of the Palace of Versailles from a hunting lodge to a gilded prison, in which a greatly expanded royal court could be more easily k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mayors Of Durham, England
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as the means by which a mayor is elected or otherwise mandated. Depending on the system chosen, a mayor may be the chief executive officer of the municipal government, may simply chair a multi-member governing body with little or no independent power, or may play a solely ceremonial role. A mayor's duties and responsibilities may be to appoint and oversee municipal managers and employees, provide basic governmental services to constituents, and execute the laws and ordinances passed by a municipal governing body (or mandated by a state, territorial or national governing body). Options for selection of a mayor include direct election by the public, or selection by an elected governing council or board. The term ''mayor'' shares a linguistic or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
