Leo Villa
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Leo Villa
Leopoldo Alfonso Villa (30 November 1899 – 18 January 1979) was the long-serving mechanic of Sir Malcolm Campbell and Donald Campbell. He was born in London, of Italian and Scottish parents. Villa, Life with the Speed King Birth and early career Villa was born in London to an Italian father and a Scottish mother. A gifted artist, Villa drew many pictures of an automotive nature, and through his uncle he found employment as a riding mechanic with the Italian racing driver Giulio Foresti who held the British franchise for the Itala automobile. Between 1915 and 1922 Villa and Foresti were lucky to escape serious injury after a number of serious incidents when motor racing, but Villa's luck ran out and he was seriously burnt when a generator exploded during preparations for the French Grand Prix at Strasbourg in which Foresti was to drive a French Ballot. After a period of convalescence in England, Villa found himself on the shelf since Foresti had taken on another mechanic i ...
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London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ...
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Blue Bird K4
''Blue Bird K4'' was a powerboat commissioned in 1939 by Sir Malcolm Campbell, to rival the Americans' efforts in the fight for the world water speed record. The name "K4" was derived from its Lloyd's unlimited rating#K4, Lloyd's unlimited rating, and was carried in a prominent circular badge on the forward hull. As this was Campbell's second boat, it was also known as ''Blue Bird II''. He used the name for a series of land speed record cars, his record boats and also Bluebird of Chelsea, his motor yacht. K4 was built by Vosper & Company as a replacement for ''Blue Bird K3'', which had set three other water speed records for Malcolm Campbell before the K4 was built. It also used the same Rolls-Royce R engine. Design K4 was a three-point Hydroplane (boat), hydroplane. Conventional Planing (sailing), planing powerboats, such as ''Miss England'' or ''Blue Bird K3'', have a single keel, with an indent or "step (Ship construction), step" projecting from the bottom of the hull. At s ...
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British Automotive Engineers
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *''Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) See also * Terminology of the British Isles * Alternative names for the British * English (other) * Britannic (other) * British Isles * Brit (other) * Briton (d ...
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Water Speed Records
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a solvent). It is vital for all known forms of life, despite not providing food, energy or organic micronutrients. Its chemical formula, H2O, indicates that each of its molecules contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, connected by covalent bonds. The hydrogen atoms are attached to the oxygen atom at an angle of 104.45°. "Water" is also the name of the liquid state of H2O at standard temperature and pressure. A number of natural states of water exist. It forms precipitation in the form of rain and aerosols in the form of fog. Clouds consist of suspended droplets of water and ice, its solid state. When finely divided, crystalline ice may precipitate in the form of snow. The gaseous state of water is steam or water vapor. Water covers ab ...
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Land Speed Record People
Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islands. Earth's land surface is almost entirely covered by regolith, a layer of rock, soil, and minerals that forms the outer part of the crust. Land plays important roles in Earth's climate system and is involved in the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, and water cycle. One-third of land is covered in trees, 15% is used for crops, and 10% is covered in permanent snow and glaciers. Land terrain varies greatly and consists of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, glaciers, and other landforms. In physical geology, the land is divided into two major categories: mountain ranges and relatively flat interiors called cratons. Both are formed over millions of years through plate tectonics. A major part of Earth's water cycle, streams shape the landscape ...
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1979 Deaths
Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ''Chiquitita'' to commemorate the event. ** The United States and the People's Republic of China establish full Sino-American relations, diplomatic relations. ** Following a deal agreed during 1978, France, French carmaker Peugeot completes a takeover of American manufacturer Chrysler's Chrysler Europe, European operations, which are based in United Kingdom, Britain's former Rootes Group factories, as well as the former Simca factories in France. * January 7 – Cambodian–Vietnamese War: The People's Army of Vietnam and Vietnamese-backed Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation, Cambodian insurgents announce the fall of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the collapse of the Pol Pot regime. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge retreat west to an area ...
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1899 Births
Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a customs office in Puerto Alonso, leading to the Brazilian settlers there to declare the Republic of Acre in a revolt against Bolivian authorities. **The first part of the Jakarta Kota–Anyer Kidul railway on the island of Java is opened between Batavia Zuid ( Jakarta Kota) and Tangerang. * January 3 – Hungarian Prime Minister Dezső Bánffy fights an inconclusive duel with his bitter enemy in parliament, Horánszky Nándor. * January 4 – **U.S. President William McKinley's declaration of December 21, 1898, proclaiming a policy of benevolent assimilation of the Philippines as a United States territory, is announced in Manila by the U.S. commander, General Elwell Otis, and angers independence activists who had fought against ...
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Stereo Realist
The Stereo Realist is a stereo camera that was manufactured by the David White Company from 1947 to 1971. It was the most popular 35 mm stereo camera ever manufactured ''Amazing 3-D'', pages 32 and 51. and started the era of popular stereo photography of the mid 20th century. History Seton Rochwite was a camera hobbyist who began designing and building his own stereo cameras in 1929. In 1938, he began working on a version suitable for commercial manufacture. The first prototype was ready in 1940. He brought it to the David White Company of Milwaukee who, interested in the design, hired him in 1943. The company began advertising the "Stereo Realist" in photography magazines in 1945, although it was not produced until late 1947. ''Amazing 3-D''. The David White Company had great success marketing the Stereo Realist system to the public. In addition to the stereo cameras there were special slide viewers, projectors, film cutters, slide mounting aids, cases, and other access ...
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Freedom Of The City
The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected citizens freedom from serfdom, the tradition still lives on in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand—although today the title of "freeman" confers no special privileges. The Freedom of the City can also be granted by municipal authorities to military units which have earned the city's trust; in this context, it is sometimes called the Freedom of Entry. This allows them the freedom to parade through the city, and is an affirmation of the bond between the regiment and the citizenry. The honour was sometimes accompanied by a "freedom box", a small gold box inscribed to record the occasion; these are not usual today. In some countries, such as the United States, esteemed ...
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Hydroplane (boat)
A hydroplane (or hydro, or ''thunderboat'') is a fast motorboat, where the hull shape is such that at speed, the weight of the boat is supported by planing forces, rather than simple buoyancy. A key aspect of hydroplanes is that they use the water they are on for lift rather than buoyancy, as well as for propulsion and steering: when travelling at high speed water is forced downwards by the bottom of the boat's hull. The water therefore exerts an equal and opposite force upwards, lifting the vast majority of the hull out of the water. This process, happening at the surface of the water, is known as ' foiling'. Hydroplane design Early designs of the 1920s were often built by amateurs, who employed the lightest materials available to them at the time, which were often glued timber boarding or plywood on the floor, plywood topsides, and varnished canvas decks. Most were about long and stepped hulls were employed with a step to induce air under the hull, to enable the boat ...
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Ullswater
Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, being about long and wide, with a maximum depth a little over . It was scooped out by a glacier in the Last Ice Age. Geography It is a typical Lake District "ribbon lake", formed after the last ice age by a glacier scooping out the valley floor, which then filled with meltwater. Ullswater was formed by three glaciers. Surrounding hills give it the shape of an extenuated "Z" with three segments or reaches winding through them. For much of its length, Ullswater formed the border between the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland. Etymology The origin of the name Ullswater is uncertain. Whaley suggests "Ulf's lake", from Old Norse personal name Ulfr plus Middle English water, influenced in usage by the Old Norse ''vatn'' (water or lake). ''Ulfr'' is also the Old Norse noun meaning wolf, and Hutchinson thought that the name might refer to the lake as a resort of wolves, or to its elbow-shaped bend (citi ...
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Jules Goux
Jules Goux (6 April 1885 - 6 March 1965) was a French racing driver and Grand Prix motor racing champion. He was also notable for being the first Frenchman, and the first European driver, to win the Indianapolis 500. Biography Influenced by the Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing, Jules Goux began racing cars in his early twenties. Success came in 1909 on a circuit set up on roads around Sitges, near Barcelona, Spain, when he won the Catalan Cup, a victory he repeated the following year. Because of his racing success, along with Georges Boillot, he was invited by Peugeot Automobile to race for their factory team. As part of a four-man design team led by Paul Zuccarelli and Ernest Henry, Goux helped develop a racecar powered by a radically new Straight-4 engine using a twin overhead cam. Jules Goux won the 1912 Sarthe Cup at Le Mans driving a Peugeot, and in 1913 he travelled with the team to the United States to compete in the Indianapolis 500 race. Goux won the race, becomin ...
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