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Townsend Harris
Townsend Harris (October 4, 1804 – February 25, 1878) was an American merchant and politician who served as the first United States Consul General to Japan. He negotiated the "Harris Treaty" between the US and Japan and is credited as the diplomat who first opened Shogunate Japan to foreign trade and culture in the Edo period. He was portrayed by John Wayne in the 1958 historical adventure drama film ''The Barbarian and the Geisha.'' In New York Harris was born in the village of Sandy Hill (now Hudson Falls), in Washington County in upstate New York. He moved early to New York City, where he became a successful merchant and importer from China. In 1846 Harris joined the New York City Board of Education, serving as its president until 1848. He was an avid and critical reader and also taught himself French, Italian and Spanish. He founded the Free Academy of the City of New York, which later became the City College of New York, to provide education to the city's workin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Bogle (painter)
James Bogle (born 1959) is an Australian director and writer of films and TV."Interview with James Bogle", ''Signis'', 7 October 1998 accessed 17 November 2012 Select Credits *'''' (1988) *'''' (1992) *'' In the Winter Dark'' (1998) *'' |
Pinklao
Pinklao ( th, ปิ่นเกล้า) (September 4, 1808 – January 7, 1866) was the viceroy of Siam. He was the younger brother of Mongkut, King Rama IV, who crowned him as a monarch with equal honor to himself. Early life Prince Chutamani was born on September 4, 1808, as a son of Prince Isarasundhorn and Princess Bunrod at the Phra Racha Wang Derm or Thonburi Palace. Prince Chutamani also had an elder brother—Prince Mongkut—who was seven years older. In 1809, Prince Isarasundhorn was crowned as Rama II and his mother became Queen Sri Suriyendra. They all moved to the Grand Palace. The government of Rama II, however, was dominated by ''Kromma Meun'' Jessadabodindra, his son with Sri Sulalai. In 1824, Mongkut became a monk according to Thai traditions. However, Rama II fell ill and died in the same year. The nobility, led by ''Chao Phraya'' Abhay Pudhorn, the Prime Minister, and Prayurawongse, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, supported Jessadabodindra for the throne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matthew Perry (naval Officer)
Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. Perry was interested in the education of naval officers and assisted in the development of an apprentice system that helped establish the curriculum at the United States Naval Academy. With the advent of the steam engine, he became a leading advocate of modernizing the U.S. Navy and came to be considered "The Father of the Steam Navy" in the United States. Lineage Matthew Perry was a member of the Perry family, a son of Sarah Wallace ( née Alexander) (1768–1830) and Navy Captain Christopher Raymond Perry (1761–1818). He was born April 10, 1794, South Kingstown, Rhode Island. His siblings included Oliver Hazard Perry, Raymond Henry Jones Perry, Sarah Wallace Perry, A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northeast, Nagano Prefecture to the north, and Aichi Prefecture to the west. Shizuoka is the capital and Hamamatsu is the largest city in Shizuoka Prefecture, with other major cities including Fuji, Numazu, and Iwata. Shizuoka Prefecture is located on Japan's Pacific Ocean coast and features Suruga Bay formed by the Izu Peninsula, and Lake Hamana which is considered to be one of Japan's largest lakes. Mount Fuji, the tallest volcano in Japan and cultural icon of the country, is partially located in Shizuoka Prefecture on the border with Yamanashi Prefecture. Shizuoka Prefecture has a significant motoring heritage as the founding location of Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha, and is home to the Fuji International Speedway. History Shizuoka Prefe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shimoda, Shizuoka
270px, Shimoda City Hall is a city and port located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 21,402 in 10,787 households, and a population density of 200 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . In the 1850s, Japan was in political crisis over its increasing inability to maintain its national seclusion policy and the issue of what relations, if any, it should have with foreign powers. For a few years, Shimoda was central to this debate. Geography Shimoda is located at the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula about 100 kilometres southwest of Tokyo. Shimoda's location, with the Amagi Mountains to the north, and the warm Kuroshio Current to the south give the city a humid, sub-tropical climate. Surrounding Municipalities *Shizuoka Prefecture **Minamiizu ** Kawazu ** Matsuzaki Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Shimoda has been in slow decline over the past 40 years. Climate The city has a climate characterized by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gyokusen-ji Temple
is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is noteworthy in that it served as the first American consulate in Japan. The temple and its grounds were designated as a National Historic Site of Japan in 1951. History The exact date of the foundation of Gyokusen-ji is uncertain, but temple records indicate that it was originally a Shingon sect hermitage converted to the Sōtō Zen sect in the Tenshō period (1573–1592). The current ''Hondō'' was built in 1848, but soon after its completion it was commandeered by the Tokugawa shogunate for use as a residence for foreign visitors to Shimoda during negotiations to end Japan's national isolation policy. It hosted officers from American Commodore Matthew Perry’s flotilla of Black Ships, and Japanese authorities allowed the bodies of dead American sailors to be buried in its graveyard. Visit by Admiral Putyatin Gyokusen-ji was selected by officials of the Tokugawa shogunate to host Imp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity. He alienated anti-slavery groups by signing the Kansas–Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act. Conflict between North and South continued after Pierce's presidency, and, after Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, Southern states seceded, resulting in the American Civil War. Pierce was born in New Hampshire. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1833 until his election to the Senate, where he served from 1837 until his resignation in 1842. His private law practice was a success, and he was appointed New Hampshire's U.S. Attorney in 1845. He took part in the Mexican–American War as a brigadier general in the Army. Democrats saw him as a compromise candidate uniting Northern and Southern interests, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Townsend Harris Monument In Zenpukuji
Townsend (pronounced tounʹ-zənd) or Townshend may refer to: Places United States *Camp Townsend, National Guard training base in Peekskill, New York *Townsend, Delaware *Townsend, Georgia *Townsend, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Townsend (CDP), Massachusetts, the main village in the town **Townsend Harbor, Massachusetts, another village in the town *Townsend, Montana *Townsend Township, Huron County, Ohio *Townsend Township, Sandusky County, Ohio *Townsend, Tennessee * Townsend, Wisconsin, a town *Townsend (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community *Townshend, Vermont, a New England town ** Townshend (CDP), Vermont, the main village in the town *Port Townsend, Washington **Port Townsend Bay **Port Townsend Film Festival Canada * Townsend Township, Ontario * Townsend, Ontario * Townsend Lake, Saskatchewan United Kingdom *Townsend, Buckinghamshire *Townshend, Cornwall *Townsend, Bournemouth, Dorset * Townsend, Poulshot, Wiltshire *Townsend, Kingswinford, an area a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is Template:Borders of Thailand, bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the extremity of Myanmar. Thailand also shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the southeast, and Indonesia and India to the southwest. Bangkok is the nation's capital and largest city. Tai peoples migrated from southwestern China to mainland Southeast Asia from the 11th century. Greater India, Indianised kingdoms such as the Mon kingdoms, Mon, Khmer Empire and Monarchies of Malaysia, Malay states ruled the region, competing with Thai states such as the Kingdoms of Ngoenyang, Sukhothai Kingdom, Sukhothai, Lan Na and Ayuttha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consul (representative)
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 con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Mattoon
Stephen Mattoon (May 5, 1816 – 1889) was an American Presbyterian missionary who worked in Siam from 1847 to 1864. His works include the translation of the New Testament into the Thai language. Career Mattoon served as translator for Townsend Harris in spring 1856. Harris stopped in Siam to update the treaty between the US and Siam. Harris then proceeded to Japan for his appointment as envoy to Japan. Mattoon was then appointed as the first consul from the United States in Siam. After returning to the U.S., Mattoon was appointed in 1870 as the first President of Johnson C. Smith University, which was known as the Biddle Memorial Institute in 1870 and then as Biddle University during his tenure as president, to 1884. Mattoon's grandson Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian minister who achieved fame as a socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America. Early years ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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