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John Gray (diplomat)
Sir John Walton David Gray (1 October 1936 – 1 September 2003) was a senior British diplomat. In 1987, as the British ambassador to Beirut, Gray unsuccessfully attempted to dissuade Terry Waite from re-entering Beirut without proper protection, with the result that Waite was kidnapped and held for nearly five years. Early life John Gray was born in Burry Port in Carmarthenshire and educated at Blundell's School. After National Service in Cyprus and Egypt he attended Christ's College, Cambridge and later did postgraduate research in Arab nationalism at the Middle East Centre in Oxford and the American University in Cairo. He joined the diplomatic service in 1962 and retained his link with the Middle East throughout his career. Diplomatic career *1964 – Bahrain *1967 – Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London *1970 – Geneva *1974 – Sofia *1977 (approx) Jedda *1982 - Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London (Head of Maritime, Aviation and Environment Department) *1985 – B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terry Waite
Terence Hardy Waite (born 31 May 1939) is an English humanitarian and author. Waite was the Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs for the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages, including the journalist John McCarthy. He was himself kidnapped and held captive from 1987 to 1991. After his release he wrote ''Taken on Trust'', a book about his experiences, and became involved in humanitarian causes and charitable work. Early life and career The son of a village policeman in Styal, Cheshire, Waite was educated at Stockton Heath County Secondary School where he became head boy. Although his parents were only nominally religious, he showed a commitment to Christianity from an early age and later became a Quaker and an Anglican. Waite joined the Grenadier Guards at Caterham Barracks, but an allergy to a dye in the uniform obliged him to depart after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, gastronomy, and science. For its leading role in the arts and sciences, as well as its very early system of street lighting, in the 19th century it became known as "the City of Light". Like London, prior to the Second World War, it was also sometimes called the capital of the world. The City of Paris is the centre of the Île-de-France region, or Paris Region, with an estimated population of 12,262,544 in 2019, or about 19% of the population of France, making the region France's primate city. The Paris Region had a GDP of €739 billion ($743 billion) in 2019, which is the highest in Europe. According to the Economist Intelli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2003 Deaths
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societies. Evolution of the Arabic digit The use of three lines to denote the number 3 occurred in many writing systems, including some (like Roman and Chinese numerals) that are still in use. That was also the original representation of 3 in the Brahmic (Indian) numerical notation, its earliest forms aligned vertically. However, during the Gupta Empire the sign was modified by the addition of a curve on each line. The Nāgarī script rotated the lines clockwise, so they appeared horizontally, and ended each line with a short downward stroke on the right. In cursive script, the three strokes were eventually connected to form a glyph resembling a with an additional stroke at the bottom: ३. The Indian digits spread to the Caliphate in the 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1936 Births
Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII. * January 28 – Britain's King George V state funeral takes place in London and Windsor. He is buried at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle * February 4 – Radium E (bismuth-210) becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically. * February 6 – The 1936 Winter Olympics, IV Olympic Winter Games open in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. * February 10–February 19, 19 – Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Amba Aradam – Italian forces gain a decisive tactical victory, effectively neutralizing the army of the Ethiopian Empire. * February 16 – 1936 Spanish general election: The left-wing Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front coalition takes a majority. * February 26 – February 26 Inci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International (TI) is a US-headquartered nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of promoting communication, public speaking, and leadership. History The organization grew out of a single club founded by Ralph C. Smedley on October 22, 1924, at the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, United States. It originated as a set of classes with the aim of improving the communication skills of the young men under his charge. Toastmasters International was incorporated under Californian law on December 19, 1932. The first international chapter was established in Vancouver, Canada, in 1932. The organization began admitting women in 1973. Throughout its history, Toastmasters has served over four million people, and today the organization serves over 364,000 members in 145 countries, through its 16,200 member clubs. Toastmasters membership increased rapidly around the turn of the century, nearing 16,000 clubs worldwide by 2016. Toastmaster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Glamorgan
, image_name = University of Glamorgan arms.png , image_size = 220px , caption = University of Glamorgan coat of arms , motto = Success Through Endeavour , established = , closed = , administrative_staff = , chancellor = John Morris , vice_chancellor = Julie Lydon , city = Trefforest , country = Wales, UK , campus = , students = 21,496 , undergrad = 18,240 , postgrad = 3,256 , other = , type = Public , website = http://www.glam.ac.uk/ , logo = , former_names = Glamorgan Technical College (1949–1958), Glamorgan College of Technology (1958–1970), Glamorgan Polytechnic (1970–1975), Glamorgan College of Education, Polytechnic of Wales (1975–1992) The University of Glamorgan ( cy, Prifysgol Morgannwg) was a university based in South Wales prior to the merger with University of Wales, Newport, that formed the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university was based in Pontypridd, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, with campuses in Trefforest, Glyntaff, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temple Of Peace, Cardiff
The Welsh National Temple of Peace and Health, known as the Temple of Peace and Health or commonly the Temple of Peace, is a non-religious civic building in Cathays Park, Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It was designed by the architect Sir Percy Thomas. Since its foundation the building has always served a dual function as headquarters for health and international affairs organisations. Facilities The centre's conference and seminar facilities include the 200 capacity marble Main Hall, the 50 capacity wood-panelled Council Chamber and the smaller 20 capacity meeting room. The venue has parking nearby and is within walking distance of the northern city centre. It can also be reached by rail transport from Cathays railway station. History The Temple of Peace and Health was the brainchild of David Davies, 1st Baron Davies, and was conceived to serve two purposes. The first was to provide a home for the King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial Association, a voluntary organisat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welsh Centre For International Affairs
The Welsh Centre for International Affairs (WCIA) is a Welsh international affairs and strategy think tank, established in 1973 to promote the exchange of ideas on international issues, build international partnerships connecting Welsh people and organisations with the world, and encourage global action in communities and organisations across Wales. It is based in the Temple of Peace in Cardiff. It has been a charity trust since inception in 1973 and became a registered charity with the Charity Commission in 2014. It had an endowment of £1.2m in 2017–18. History The organisation's headquarters, the Temple of Peace in Cathays Park, was built in November 1938 by Minnie James of Dowlais, a bereaved mother of World War I victims, David Davies MP (later known as Lord Davies of Llandinam), and the King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial Association. The land was also gifted by the Montgomeryshire MP. In its early years it housed the King Edward VII Association, the United Nation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Institute Of Welsh Affairs
The Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) () is an independent charity and membership-based think-tank based Cardiff, Wales, which specialises in public policy and debate around the economy, education, environment and health sectors in Wales. History The establishment of the IWA came amid, according to Schofield (2014), the launch and subsequent failure of the 1979 Welsh devolution referendum, and the resulting “tug-of-war between a desire for a measure of independence for Wales and concerns about the country's ability to function under such a system.” In 1986, controller of BBC Wales Geraint Talfan Davies and Cardiff lawyer Keith James (of Hugh James LLP) set out a paper which established their case for "a body that can provide a regular intellectual challenge to current practice in all those spheres of Welsh life and administration that impact on our industrial and economic performance." An initial £50,000 grant was provided by the Welsh Development Agency Chief Executive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crawshays Welsh Rugby Football Club
Crawshays Welsh RFC is a Welsh invitational rugby union team. In 1922 Captain Geoffrey Crawshay was invited by the Engineer Commander of Devonport Services, SF Coopper, to bring a team of Welsh rugby union players to play Devonport Services R.F.C. They are mainly a touring team who play fast, entertaining rugby. They are usually, a mix of seasoned internationals, and promising youngsters, with the occasional local player available at short notice. Many Wales rugby players have played for them, including JPR Williams, Phil Bennett and Jonathan Davies. From 1923 Crawshays Welsh Touring XV started to include Camborne RFC Camborne RFC was established in 1878, and are one of the most famous rugby union clubs in Cornwall. They currently play in South West Premier following promotion from Tribute South West 1 West in 2015–16; a level five league in the English ru ... on their fixture list and this was to become a regular annual fixture for many years. In 1926-27 Camborne RFC ach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honorary Consul
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people of the two countries. A consul is distinguished from an ambassador, the latter being a representative from one head of state to another, but both have a form of immunity. There can be only one ambassador from one country to another, representing the first country's head of state to that of the second, and their duties revolve around diplomatic relations between the two countries; however, there may be several consuls, one in each of several major cities, providing assistance with bureaucratic issues to both the citizens of the consul's own country traveling or living abroad and to the citizens of the country in which the consul resides who wish to travel to or trade with the consul's country. A less common usage is an administrative consu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Botanic Garden Of Wales
The National Botanic Garden of Wales ( cy, Gardd Fotaneg Genedlaethol Cymru) is a botanical garden located in Llanarthney in the River Tywi valley, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The garden is both a visitor attraction and a centre for botanical research and conservation, and features the world's largest single-span glasshouse, measuring long by wide. The National Botanic Garden of Wales seeks "''to develop a viable world-class national botanic garden dedicated to the research and conservation of biodiversity, lifelong learning and the enjoyment of the visitor.''" The garden is a registered charity reliant upon funding from visitors, friends, grants and gifts. Significant start-up costs were shared with the UK Millennium Fund. History of the site The Middleton family built a mansion here in the early 17th century. In 1789 Sir William Paxton bought the estate for £40,000 to create a water park. He used his great wealth to employ some of the finest creative minds of his day, incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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