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Old National Library Building
The Old National Library Building was a demolished historical library building at Stamford Road in the Museum Planning Area of Singapore. Originally completed in 1960, the library building was a national icon for many Singaporeans. Despite a huge groundswell of public dissent, the library was closed on 31 March 2004, and was demolished in July that year to make way for the construction of the Fort Canning Tunnel to ease road traffic to the city. The controversy surrounding the building's demise has been credited for sparking greater awareness of local cultural roots and an unprecedented wave in favour of heritage conservation among Singaporeans. History The Old National Library traces its roots to Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore, who in 1823 started a small private collection of books housed in the Raffles Institution. This was known as ''Raffles Library'', and access to the collection was limited to the British and privileged class. Dr. Robert Morrison ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Ethnic Groups
Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) count 87 distinct "''peoples of Europe''", of which 33 form the majority population in at least one sovereign state, while the remaining 54 constitute ethnic minorities. The total number of national minority populations in Europe is estimated at 105 million people, or 14% of 770 million Europeans.Christoph Pan, Beate Sibylle Pfeil (2002), Minderheitenrechte in Europa. Handbuch der europäischen Volksgruppen', Braumüller, (Google Books, snippet view). Als2006 reprint by Springer(Amazon, no preview) . The Russians are the most populous among Europeans, with a population of roughly 120 million. There are no universally accepted and precise definitions of the terms "ethnic group" and "nationality". In the context of European ethnography in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamil Language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Puducherry. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in the four other South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is also spoken by the Tamil diaspora found in many countries, including Malaysia, Myanmar, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and Mauritius. Tamil is also natively spoken by Sri Lankan Moors. One of 22 scheduled languages in the Constitution of India, Tamil was the first to be classified as a classical language of India. Tamil is one of the longest-surviving classical languages of India.. "Tamil is one of the two longest-surviving classical languages in India" (p. 7). A. K. Ramanujan described it as "the on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malay Language
Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines and Thailand. Altogether, it is spoken by 290 million people (around 260 million in Indonesia alone in its own literary standard named "Indonesian language, Indonesian") across Maritime Southeast Asia. As the or ("national language") of several states, Standard Malay has various official names. In Malaysia, it is designated as either ("Malaysian Malay") or also ("Malay language"). In Singapore and Brunei, it is called ("Malay language"). In Indonesia, an autonomous normative variety called ("Indonesian language") is designated the ("unifying language" or lingua franca). However, in areas of Central to Southern Sumatra, where vernacular varieties of Malay are indigenous, Indonesians refe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hedwig Anuar
Hedwig Anuar was the a director of the National Library in 1960. As a librarian and an administrator, she was responsible for many of the foundations of the modern library system in Singapore. Until her retirement in 1990, the National Library made considerable developments, growing from one library to nine and a change in membership from 43,000 to 333,000. As an administrator, she began several important library projects for children and youth in Malaysia and worked extensively with the media to promote these and other services. Hedwig also contributed to The Hedwig Anuar Children’s Book Award (HABA) is presented biennially by the Singapore Book Council to an outstanding children’s book written by a Singapore citizen or Permanent Resident. Hedwig is also a founding member of the Association of Women for Action and Research The Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) is a not-for-profit organisation that advocates for gender equality and provides critical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yusof Bin Ishak
Yusof bin Ishak (12 August 191023 November 1970) was a Singaporean politician and journalist who served as the first president of Singapore from 1965 until his death in 1970. Prior to becoming head of state, Yusof was a well-known journalist who co-founded ''Utusan Melayu'', a daily newspaper that was in circulation until 9 October 2019. He started journalism after graduating from Raffles Institution in 1929, and joined ''Warta Malaya'', a well-known Malay newspaper company, in 1932. He left the company in 1938 and co-founded ''Utusan Melayu''. Yusof held many appointments within the Singapore Government. He served on the Film Appeal Committee between 1948 and 1950, and was a member of both the Nature Reserves Committee and Malayanisation Commission for a year. In July 1959, he was appointed Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC). He was sworn in on 3 December that year as Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore after the People's Action Party (PAP) won the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
President Of Singapore
The president of Singapore is the head of state of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore. The role of the president is to safeguard the Reserves of the Government of Singapore, reserves and the integrity of the Singapore Civil Service, public service. The presidency is largely ceremonial, with the Cabinet of Singapore, Cabinet led by the Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister having the general direction and control of the Government of Singapore, government. The incumbent president is Halimah Yacob, who took office on 14 September 2017. She is also the first female president in the country's history. History The office of the ''President of the Republic of Singapore'' was created on 9 August 1965 when Singapore achieved independence from Malaysia. It replaced the office of Yang di-Pertuan Negara which was created when Singapore attained Self-governance of Singapore, self-governance from the United Kingdom in 1959. The last Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Yusof Ishak, became the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Foundation
Lee Foundation is Singapore's largest private charitable foundation. It was founded in 1952 by philanthropist and businessman Lee Kong Chian, and has since supported various educational causes, healthcare and medical endowments as well as disaster relief efforts. It is run by a board composed of Lee's descendants and non-family members. The foundation is also shareholder of OCBC Bank and Singapore Press Holdings. Overview The Lee Foundation was established in March 1952 with a funding of $3.5 million from business magnate Lee Kong Chian. Lee had been donating to schools like Kuo Chuan Girls' School, Nan Chiau Girls' High School, Chinese High School, Methodist Girls' School, St Margaret's School, Singapore Chinese Girls' School, Anglo Chinese School (ACS), the University of Malaya and Nanyang University. He had also donated to community institutions such as the Hokkien Huay Kuan Building, the Chinese Swimming Club and the National Library. Several institutions took on the nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bras Basah
Bras Basah (, ta, பிராஸ்) is a district located in the Museum Planning Area of the Central Area of Singapore. Bras Basah ( Modern Spelling: Beras Basah) means "wet rice" in Malay – ''beras'' means harvested rice with husk removed, and ''basah'' means wet. The precinct houses several landmarks including Fairmont Singapore, Raffles Hotel, the Singapore Art Museum, the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd and the Singapore Management University. A Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station, Bras Basah MRT station Bras Basah MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle line (CCL) located in the Museum planning area, Singapore. It is underneath Bras Basah Road, bordering Waterloo Street and Queen Street. Located next to ..., is on the Circle line. References Places in Singapore {{Singapore-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Canning Hill
Fort Canning Hill, formerly Government Hill, Singapore Hill and Bukit Larangan (''Forbidden Hill'' in Malay), is a small hill, about high, in the southeast portion of the island city-state of Singapore, within the Central Area that forms Singapore's central business district. It is named after Viscount Charles John Canning, the first Viceroy of India. Although small in physical size, it has a long history intertwined with that of the city-state due to its location as the highest elevation within walking distance to the city's civic district, within the Downtown Core. It is also a popular location for exhibitions, concerts and outdoor recreation. The Malays called the hill ''Bukit Larangan'' or Forbidden Hill since olden times. This is due to the belief that it is the place where the kings of ancient Singapore were laid to rest, and it was believed to be haunted. It is also believed that a palace once stood on the hill. A settlement on the hill in the 14th century was ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh language in Argentina); encouraging cultural, scientific, technological and educational co-operation with the United Kingdom. The organisation has been called a soft power extension of UK foreign policy, as well as a tool for propaganda. The British Council is governed by a Royal Charter. It is also a public corporation and an executive nondepartmental public body (NDPB), sponsored by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Its headquarters are in Stratford, London. Its Chairman is Stevie Spring and its Chief Executive is Scott McDonald. History *1934: British Foreign Office officials created the "British Committee for Relations with Other Countries" to support English education abroad, promote British culture and fight the rise o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Kong Chian
Lee Kong Chian (; 18 October 1893 – 2 June 1967), also known by his alias Lee Geok Kun (), was a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist based in Malaya and Singapore between the 1930s and the 1960s. He was the founder of the Lee Foundation and one of the richest men in Southeast Asia in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also a son-in-law of Tan Kah Kee, another well-known Chinese businessman and philanthropist based in Southeast Asia. Early life and career Lee was born in Furong Village in Nan'an, Fujian, towards the end of the Qing dynasty. His father was Lee Kuo Chuan (). Lee received his early education in private schools in his hometown. In 1903, at the age of 10, he came to Singapore, then a British colony, to join his father. He studied at the defunct Anglo-Tamil School, and Chung Cheng High School. Lee returned to the Qing dynasty in 1909 to complete his education under a scholarship, but had to end it in 1911 when the Xinhai Revolution broke out. In China, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
