User:WBardwin/sandbox

Sites and Notes
Categories can easily be deactivated by dropping a bracket or by adding a colon in front of the word "category". Templates are best 'killed' by dropping a curly bracket. Thanks, -Willmcw 09:53, May 3, 2005 (UTC)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:WBardwin"

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Insert tasks in LDS Project Box: See my user page for an example (second task list down).

Wiki sites/templates:
 * deletebecause|Reason. (enclose in )
 * Topical index
 * Vandalism in progress
 * Category:People stubs
 * WikiProject Stub sorting/Stub types
 * RC patrol
 * Reference desk
 * Refactoring talk pages: the rewriting or organising of a Talk page fo archiving purposes, or for increased clarity
 * Remove personal attacks
 * One is only justified in altering another person's comments when they're making personal attacks, or in order to make the formatting clearer (the latter especially shouldn't involve the removal of any content). Mel Etitis


 * Possible bypass for AOL blocking -- security issue.
 * User Edit Counter - #2 editcountitis can be fatal!
 * And I mean really fatal
 * Essjay's edit counter
 * List of Wikipedians by number of edits/latest -- now in top 1000, April 2007.
 * List of articles about Mormonism
 * Category:LDS stubs
 * Quorum of the Twelve
 * WikiTree.Org - freely-edited family tree of all human beings.
 * Nihilartikel

External sites:
 * Baen Free Library
 * PBS Secrets of the Dead
 * Grampa Bill's General Authority Pages note change in URL Dec 05.
 * Chrono List of Mormon Pioneer Companies with sources
 * Saints without Halos, bio sketches by Arrington and Bitton.
 * Short Women's bios
 * 
 * bycommonconsent
 * couple of highly creative users, Geogre and Filiocht

Articles for Someday!!

 * Utah State Historical Society

History of Nauvoo
Work on a solid intro 4/08

The area of the modern community of Nauvoo, Illinois was originally occupied by seasonal encampments of the Sac and Fox Tribes. In 1825, Hancock County was created and, eleven years after Illinois became a state, was formally organized in 1829. In 1834, investors platted the town of Commerce City on a bend of the Mississippi River in Hancock County, some fifty-three miles north of Quincy. By 1839, the town had failed to attract settlers and only a few frame houses had been built. The hopes of commercial success, based on the townsite being a portage past seasonal rapids, were dashed by the fact that the site was mostly a malarial swamp.

The struggling community was expanded and given the name of Nauvoo by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints led by their founder Joseph Smith, Jr.. The community, organized on religious principles and led by LDS leaders, grew to an estimated population of ............. from 1829 to 184..... when conflicts with local religious and political leaders led to the death of Joseph Smith, Jr. and the eventual expulsion of the Latter Day Saints.

In early 1839, Latter Day Saints were forced to flee recent settlements in Missouri as a result of the 1838 Mormon War and a legal proclamation known as the Extermination Order issued by Governor Lilburn W. Boggs. They regrouped in Quincy, Illinois, whose non-Mormon citizens were shocked by the harsh treatment given them in Missouri and opened their homes to the refugees. In the spring of 1839 the Latter Day Saint church and the refugees began purchasing existing buildings and land in the area to establish a new headquarters. Smith and other leaders escaped Missouri's custody, and joined the church members in Nauvoo in April, 1839.

In 1841, construction began on a new temple, significantly more magnificent than the one left behind in Kirtland. The Nauvoo city charter authorized independent municipal courts, the foundation of a university and the establishment of a militia unit known as the "Nauvoo Legion." These and other institutions gave the Latter Day Saints a considerable degree of autonomy.

Nauvoo saw the final flowering of Joseph Smith's vision for the movement, including some of Mormonism's more controversial practices. It was here that Smith introduced Baptism for the dead, Rebaptism, the Nauvoo-era Endowment, and the ordinance of the Second Anointing. In addition, he created a new inner council of the church — containing both men and women — called the Anointed Quorum. Although Smith himself had been secretly practicing what he later called plural marriage for some time, in Nauvoo he began to teach other leaders the doctrine.

Lorenzo Dow Young
Name: Lorenzo Dow Young Born: 19 OCT 1807     at: Smyrna, Chnngo, Ny  Married: 6 JUN 1826       at: ,,Ny Died: 21 NOV 1895     at: Salt Lake City, Sl, Ut  Spouses: Persis Goodall  Harriet Page Wheeler  Ida Hannah Hewitt  Eleanor Jones  Johanna Larsen  Joanna Larsen Augustss

Harold/Hal Schindler, Journalist and Historian, Dies;

Legendary Tribune writer chronicled the American West; Schindler, Dedicated Historian, Journalist, Dies Terry Orme Published: 12/29/1998    Category: Utah     Page: C1

Harold Schindler, a journalist who spent a career separating fact from fiction in the story of the American West, died Monday. He was 69.

Readers of The Salt Lake Tribune were the primary beneficiaries of Schindler's skills as a writer and historian. During the last part of his 50-year Tribune career, he chronicled Utah's history leading to statehood. He wrote an ambitious series on the 150th anniversary of the Mormon pioneers' arrival in the Great Salt Lake Valley. Using pioneer journals, he took readers on a day-by-day trek to Zion.

"Harold achieved a pinnacle in this business most can only dream of," said James E. Shelledy, Schindler's last editor at The Tribune, and the one who assigned him to write about Utah history. "He is a newspaper legend. I can hear him grousing to the contrary, but it is a fact." Schindler joked that during his five decades at The Tribune, he held almost every job.

He started his career as a copyboy in 1945 at age 15. He rose through the ranks as a police reporter and on other beats--including a brief stint as the author of The Tribune's "Nothing Serious" column--then on to 27 years as television columnist.

His TV columns were legend for their strong opinions and acerbic tone. He admitted he did not care for TV, yet only missed one deadline.

John W. Gallivan, publisher emeritus of The Salt Lake Tribune, praised Schindler's opinionated columns: "Heads up, St. Peter, be prepared for debate."

Schindler landed more than his share of scoops. He broke the story of the LDS Church's plans for a new office building that would dwarf downtown Salt Lake City. Church President David O. McKay showed Schindler the drawings.

As a reporter, he witnessed five executions.

"He was a meticulous writer," said former Tribune editor Will Fehr. "An editor never really had to edit him."

Schindler was a great writer and an exacting editor. While in charge of the Sunday Arts section and magazine, he mentored many young writers, showing them the importance of cadence and rhythm.

While Schindler was passionate about the newspaper, he was even more so about Western history.

His biography of Orrin Porter Rockwell is considered the definitive work on the controversial Mormon stalwart. First published in 1966, its numerous printings have made it the best-selling University of Utah Press book ever.

"He knew as much about Utah history as anyone I ever knew," recalled Brigham D. Madsen, U. professor emeritus of history. "He had a tremendous memory for facts, and was very articulate in expressing them."

Historian Will Bagley worked with Schindler on an updated edition of West From Fort Bridger, an account of Western trails predating the Mormon exodus. The original was the work of Schindler's hero, the late historian Dale Morgan.

"Not just to me, but to many young historians, he was a mentor, an inspiration and a friend," Bagley said.

Schindler also made an indelible impression in on-camera appearances in Ric Burns' public television documentary "The Donner Party." Burns used Schindler's expertise again in "The American Experience: The Way West."

At the time of his death, Schindler was writing another book, on the Utah War. He was stricken with a heart attack at home as he prepared to go to the Utah Historical Society for more research.

Schindler was born Dec. 6, 1929, in Chicago to German immigrant parents. While an infant, his family moved to New York, a place Schindler did not care for, and later would refer to as "Noo Yawk" in his columns. The family moved to Salt Lake City in 1940.

He is survived by his wife, Benita (Bonnie), daughter Carolyn Silver and husband Kirk, sons Steve and Jeffrey, and a brother, James F. Schindler. Funeral services are pending.

Industrial Development in "Zion": (written in fruitless communication re: Archibald Gardner) I have long thought that this article has notability problems (see Category:Wikipedia articles with topics of unclear importance, Ownership of articles and Notability). As a counter example, one of my pioneer ancestors was a peer of Archibald. He was born in Massachusetts in 1810, and joined the new church there in 1832. He moved with the Saints to Kirtland, and followed them to the Rocky Mountains. During his lifetime, he built and operated many flour mills.
 * Kirtland 1834.
 * Far West in 1837. Some of the proceeds from this mill financed the British mission.
 * near Nauvoo, Illinois circa 1842.
 * Winter Quarters in 1846, at the request of the Twelve so that the pioneers could grind grain for the trek west.
 * Weber Valley in 1848.
 * Willard, Box Elder Valley in 1851.
 * Southern Utah in 1864 as part of the "mission" settlement of the Muddy River.
 * Ten Mile pass, Idaho in 1876, again as part of a called mission.

He served an ecclesiastical mission in Britain in 1856 and returned home during the Utah War. Later in life, in Utah, he served as a Bishop for many years and (somewhat reluctantly) became a polygamist and ultimately raised three families. Only modestly educated, he was a great reader and established several schools. He served as US postmaster in Willard and rode the mail route between Southern Utah to Nevada, often dealing with Indians, and was severely injured on one occasion. From all accounts, he was charming but "unhandsome", frugal, honest, had a wry sense of humor and was an overall good guy.

We have this information from family records and from a few incidental references in journals by more prominent Church members. He is also found in church and missionary records in the church headquarters. A book about him was produced during the family history push by the DUP in the 1940's and I own a copy. However, the book is not generally available to the public and would not be an acceptable source by Wikipedia standards. Despite the fact that his descendants are proud of him and remember him fondly, all this information does not make my ancestor notable by Wikipedia standards and I would not consider producing an article on him. If the Mormonwiki had a project on Mormon pioneers (not a bad idea?), I could place an article there.

So -- I believe that if Archibald Gardner is to have a Wikipedia article, it must focus on what makes the man notable, unique and/or outstanding. All information retained in the article should be based on sources that other people can review and reference. Alternatively, perhaps an article on Industrial Development in "Zion" could be written, with Archibald as a primary example of mill building and development. This would allow us to focus some attention on many other Mormon pioneers that were not in the Church heirarchy but provided expertise and skill to the development of the Mountain West. WBardwin 20:27, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

Archaeology reference: work on "Dismal River", plains states, written by Dolores and James Gunnerson, reference Apache and Navajo migrations.

Mormon Missionary Company Notes: In 1857 - 58, Young called home missionaries from Handcart Missions, American Missions and European Missions in anticipation of armed conflict. In 1858, many of these men met in Iowa and, buying guns as ordered, formed a military company to travel across the plains. By the time they had arrived near the Rocky Mountains, June 1858, much of the conflict was over. Worthy of mention -- in Utah War[[ in [[Mormon Pioneer.   ---

Find source and confirm: "President Kimball's denunciation of Mormons for "(1) contempt for the environment, (2) the quest for affluence, and (3) the trust in deadly weapons."

Discussion of care/stewardship of animals and earth: April and Sept 1978 (Ensign May & Nov 78).
 * Joseph F. Smith wrote: I do not believe any man should kill animals or birds unless he needs them for food, and then he should not kill innocent little birds that are not intended for food for man. I think it is wicked for men to thirst in their souls to kill almost everything which possesses animal life. It is wrong, and I have been surprised at prominent men whom I have seen whose very souls seemed to be athirst for the shedding of animal blood.” (Gospel Doctrine, pp. 265-66.)

History of Utah: May's book (see reference) is a relatively brief survey written by a University of Utah professor in conjuction with a video documentary. His outline is topical, but sticks to a moderate sequence:

Nauvoo High Council, 20th October, 1839. The members of the High Council elected at the October conference, met and organized at W. D. Huntington's. From J.Smith's journal. Mormon Pioneer, tie to WD Huntington, Hovenweep National Monument article.
 * Man and Desert
 * An Opening to Europe
 * White Settlement
 * A New Land
 * Troubled Zion
 * The Americanization of Utah
 * The New Pioneers
 * Progressive Reform
 * War, Depression, and War
 * Utah Today and Tomorrow

"Liaison jobs are jobs that "link" two or more specialties. For example, "systems analyst" jobs work with customers and management to understand and document their automation needs and then transfer such information to computer programmers, who turn the collected information into working software. Thus the liaison worker coordinates customer and management needs into terms the technicians can relate to. Liaison workers usually need to understand both professions or "sides" to some degree. One could call them a "go-between"."

Incorporate the following material into Winter Quarters article/ from:  Council Bluffs is a city located in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,268. It is often considered a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska, which is just across the Missouri River, and was founded by real estate speculators from Council Bluffs. What is now Council Bluffs was first settled by Billy Caldwell's Pottawatomi during the 1830s. During the mid-1840s the town became known as Kanesville, the main outfitting point for the Mormon emigration to Utah. After the Mormons left in 1852, the town was renamed Council Bluffs. Now home to three casinos &mdash; Ameristar Casino Hotel, Bluffs Run Casino, and Harrah's Council Bluffs Casino & Hotel &mdash; many Omahans travel to Council Bluffs for gambling, which is more loosely regulated in Iowa than in Nebraska. During the middle 19th century, the city was, along with Omaha, one of the major "jumping off" points for the Emigrant Trail. By 1852, over half of the emigrants on the Oregon Trail passed through Council Bluffs. By 1930, the city was the country's fifth largest rail center.

Thomas E. Ricks joined the LDS Church in Illinois, but was raised in Kentucky. He played a prominent role in a number of early colonizing efforts served as sheriff in Logan, Utah (web site on murder accusation and trial), and settled the Upper Snake River Valley in southeastern Idaho, helping found the city of Rexburg. He served as bishop and stake president of the Bannock Stake, founding the Bannock Stake Academy which the Church renamed as Ricks College following Brother Rick's death.

The factor primarily responsible for the colonization of the entire Snake river valley was the construction of the Utah Northern railroad in 1879. Thomas E. Ricks of Logan, Utah, was one of the contractors who built the roadbed. In this manner he became acquainted with the country. In 1883, President John Taylor instructed William B. Preston, president of Cache valley stake, and Thomas E. Ricks to go into the Snake river valley and select a suitable place for;


 * "The location of a central point for religious, educational

and commercial enterprises, and to prepare the way for the rapid colonization of the country."

These men chose the present site of Rexburg on January 11, 1883, as the central place for the proposed development. Thomas E. Ricks was chosen as bishop of the Bannock ward of the Cache Valley stake. This ward embraced all of the territory north and west of the mouth of the Portneuf canyon.

A company of settlers left Logan and Wellsville on January 25, 1883. Among them were four sons of Thomas E. Ricks, namely, Thomas E., jr., Brigham, Heber and Willard.

Cambellites/Church of Christ/Restorationists/Rigdon & Morley commune
ref. 

Denominations in the Latter Day Saint Movement
create a working tree -- format ideas Excerpt from Denominations

Denominations often form slowly over time for many reasons; due to historical accidents of geography, culture, and influence between different groups, members of a given religion slowly begin to diverge in their views. Over time members of a religion may find that they have developed significantly different views on theology, philosophy, religious pluralism, ethics and religious practices and rituals. As such, in any of myriad ways, different denominations eventually form. In other cases, denominations form very rapidly, either as a result from a split or schism in an existing denomination, or as people from many different denominations share an experience of spiritual revival or spiritual awakening, and choose to form a new denomination based on that new experience or understanding.

Another example is the Lutheran Church. When Martin Luther protested practice of the Catholics, he and his followers were persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church as heretics and ended up forming alternative communities of practice that expressed Luther's understanding of proper church practice that became known as "Lutheran" or "Protestant." Over time, the various churches considering themselves Lutheran identified with one another and through various definitions of "Lutheran" practices (Heidelberg Catechism, five solas, priesthood of all believers) the conglomerations of churches formed concrete denominations based on a common or school of thought related to these practices. Even today there are major ideological differences between different denominations of Lutherans, even though there may be significant overlap beterrn their beliefs and almost no physical hostility.

-

See Template:Trojan race for family tree programming example.

Church of Christ (organized in 1829, legal entity 6 April 1830) |-Beipiaosaurus |  |-Therizinosauroidea ("true" therizinosaurs) |-Alxasauridae | |-Alxasaurus |     |-?Neimongosauridae (unofficial clade) | |-Neimongosaurus |     |-Therizinosauridae (ischium in direct contact with pubis) |-?"Nanshiungosaurus" |-Nothronychus |-Segnosaurus |-?Therizinosaurus |           |-UNNAMED CLADE (ischium fused to pubis) | |-Enigmosaurus | |-?Erlikosaurus* (added by speculation only) |           |-Nanshiungosaurus (spoonshaped ischium & fused cervical vertebrae)

Outline concept for Mormonism and Christianity
Add lack of original sin?

I noted your inquiry on the differences between the theology and practice of Latter-day Saints and Pentecostals. Wikipedia has many articles on religious traditions, and the LDS community has been particularly active here. Many of these articles, including Mormonism and Christianity, may be of use to you. However, I believe a brief summary might give you some topics to discuss with your new friend.

Under the assumption that both of you are well versed and take an active role in your own religions, here are some things you might have in common.
 * A belief in the reality and divinity of Jesus of Nazareth.
 * A belief in the power of His sacrifice, his role as the Savior of mankind, and the possibility of eternal salvation.
 * A belief in the ethics, morals and principles which Jesus taught and which are recorded in the Holy Bible. These would include, but not be limited to, service to others, forgiveness, loyalty, honesty, and sexual chastity.
 * A belief in the power and influence of the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost.
 * A belief and commitment to a religious community and to associations based on religious beliefs.
 * A strong belief in the value of family, including marriage and the raising of children.

There are a number of religious issues which you, and others less familiar with the LDS faith, may find quite different from your own perspective. These are doctrinally based.
 * Latter-day Saints believe that the Trinity or Godhead is composed of three distinct individuals - God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. While these beings are "one" in purpose, they act as individuals.  This is in great contrast to the view of the Trinity held by Catholics and by Protestants, who generally follow the original Catholic definition of the Trinity.
 * Latter-day Saints believe that their faith, doctrine, and church organization are divinely inspired and have been restored based on the original model established by Jesus Christ. Latter-day Saints do not consider themselves as a part of Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant traditions.
 * Latter-day Saints believe that communication with God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost is ongoing. Prophets, including LDS founder Joseph Smith, Jr., are chosen by God and bear his message.  All individuals are encouraged to pray to God the Father in Christ's name and to seek a witness of religious and personal truths through the Holy Ghost.
 * They also believe that the priesthood, the power to act in the name of God, was restored. With this restoration came power to perform sacraments and ordinances which will have eternal value for their participants.  These include baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Marriages and personal covenants performed in LDS Temples are believed to be eternal.  Believing in the restoration of this priesthood power, Latter-day Saints do not recognize the sacraments and rituals of other Christian churches as valid.
 * Latter-day Saints believe that continuing revelation also allows for additional scripture. In addition to the Bible, they consider the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price as scripture.  They also read, study and discuss teachings of leaders of the LDS faith, past and present.

Given these differences, you might find your friend's activities, customs and attitudes different in many ways. For example:
 * A religiously involved Mormon does not drink alcohol, use tobacco, tea and coffee or use illicit drugs. He may also chose to limit his exposure to fiction, movies and television programs which contain violence and a purient view of sexuality.
 * You may find that your friend has less free time than you might expect. In LDS congregations, active members are "called" by the lay leadership to perform useful tasks for the organization and church members.  Fulfulling these tasks takes considerable amounts of time, both on the Sunday sabbath and during the week.  LDS members are also encouraged to provide charitable service in their community.  He may also be involved in an LDS singles organization and participate in religious study groups and social activities with that group.
 * Your friend may have close ties to his extended family and participate in many family activities. Depending on his age and circumstances, he may still live at home.  Although no family is perfect, Latter-day Saints view their family as an eternal unit and generally strive for good relationships.
 * Your friend may seem frugal with his money. Latter-day Saints promote the payment of tithes and offerings.  Your friend probably sets aside 10 percent of his income as a tithe and may also donate money to aid the poor in his community and support missionary and other church activities.
 * Your friend, depending upon his age and other factors, may have served an evangelical "mission" on behalf of the LDS church, which involved preaching gospel principles in some area of the world for up to two years. He may also be involved in teaching gospel principles in his local congregation or community.  Given his religious commitment, he may be interested in sharing his religious views with you as well, and may encourage you to attend LDS meetings and read and study LDS scripture.

I hope you enjoy getting to know each other. Best wishes.

Latter Day Saint Missions
There might be more than one article here. Notes from discussion pages:


 * 1839 marks the beginning of the ongoing "LDS Missionary Effort" -- and there are great mission related events in LDS history, such as the three early missions to England, early apostles' visits in Europe and the Holy Land, the early Indian missions, and the missions to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) and Tonga that have had such lasting implications for the church's population. There is also the issue of "gathering to Zion" and the counterbalance of the modern direction to "build the Church in your region." The differences between the early missionaries (in prepardness, financial support, and organization) and what is done today in all the LDS offshoots could be discussed as well.


 * I've been doing some personal research on the three successive missions to England that brought so many English saints to Nauvoo and to the west.

External sites

 * England site
 * BYU index
 * Mormon Pioneer site
 * Missions of the 12
 * Meridian magazine

LDS Membership statistics to play with:
Under Joseph Smith Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1829   6               6               - 1830    280             274             4566.67% 1831    680             400             142.86% 1832    2,661           1,981           291.32% 1833    3,140           479             18.00% 1834    4,372           1,232           39.24% 1835    8,835           4,463           102.08% 1836    13,293          4,458           50.46% 1837    16,282          2,989           22.49% 1838    17,881          1,599           9.82% 1839    16,460          -1,421          -7.95% 1840    16,865          405             2.46% 1841    19,856          2,991           17.73% 1842    23,564          3,708           18.67% 1843    25,980          2,416           10.25% 1844    26,146          166             0.64%

Under Brigham Young Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1845   30,332          4,186           16.01% 1846    33,993          3,661           12.07% 1847    34,694          701             2.06% 1848    40,477          5,783           16.67% 1849    48,160          7,683           18.98% 1850    51,839          3,679           7.64% 1851    52,165          326             0.63% 1852    52,640          475             0.91% 1853    64,154          11,514          21.87% 1854    68,429          4,275           6.66% 1855    63,974          -4,455          -6.51% 1856    63,881          -93             -0.15% 1857    55,236          -8,645          -13.53% 1858    55,755          519             0.94% 1859    57,038          1,283           2.30% 1860    61,082          4,044           7.09% 1861    66,211          5,129           8.40% 1862    68,780          2,569           3.88% 1863    71,770          2,990           4.35% 1864    74,348          2,578           3.59% 1865    76,771          2,423           3.26% 1866    77,884          1,113           1.45% 1867    81,124          3,240           4.16% 1868    84,622          3,498           4.31% 1869    88,432          3,810           4.50% 1870    90,130          1,698           1.92% 1871    95,596          5,466           6.06% 1872    98,152          2,556           2.67% 1873    101,538         3,386           3.45% 1874    103,916         2,378           2.34% 1875    107,167         3,251           3.13% 1876    111,111         3,944           3.68%

Under John Taylor Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1877   115,065         3,954           3.56% 1878    125,046         9,981           8.67% 1879    128,386         3,340           2.67% 1880    133,628         5,242           4.08% 1881    140,733         7,105           5.32% 1882    145,604         4,871           3.46% 1883    151,593         5,989           4.11% 1884    158,242         6,649           4.39% 1885    164,130         5,888           3.72% 1886    166,653         2,523           1.54% 1887    173,029         6,376           3.83%

Under Wilford Woodruff Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg. 1888   180,294         7,265           4.20% 1889    183,144         2,850           1.58% 1890    188,263         5,119           2.80% 1891    195,445         7,182           3.81% 1892    200,961         5,516           2.82% 1893    214,534         13,573          6.75% 1894    222,369         7,835           3.65% 1895    231,116         8,747           3.93% 1896    241,427         10,311          4.46% 1897    255,736         14,309          5.93% 1898    267,251         11,515          4.50%

Under Lorenzo Snow Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1899   271,681         4,430           1.66% 1900    283,765         12,084          4.45% 1901    292,931         9,166           3.23%

Under Joseph F. Smith Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1902   299,105         6,174           2.11% 1903    304,901         5,796           1.94% 1904    324,289         19,388          6.36% 1905    332,048         7,759           2.39% 1906    345,014         12,966          3.90% 1907    357,913         12,899          3.74% 1908    371,472         13,559          3.79% 1909    377,279         5,807           1.56% 1910    398,478         21,199          5.62% 1911    407,291         8,813           2.21% 1912    417,555         10,264          2.52% 1913    431,607         14,052          3.37%

Under Heber J. Grant Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1914   454,718         23,111          5.35% 1915    466,238         11,520          2.53% 1916    477,321         11,083          2.38% 1917    488,038         10,717          2.25% 1918    495,962         7,924           1.62% 1919    507,961         11,999          2.42% 1920    525,987         18,026          3.55% 1921    548,803         22,816          4.34% 1922    566,358         17,555          3.20% 1923    575,896         9,538           1.68% 1924    597,861         21,965          3.81% 1925    613,572         15,711          2.63% 1926    623,909         10,337          1.68% 1927    644,745         20,836          3.34% 1928    655,686         10,941          1.70% 1929    663,652         7,966           1.21% 1930    670,017         6,365           0.96% 1931    688,435         18,418          2.75% 1932    703,949         15,514          2.25% 1933    717,619         13,670          1.94% 1934    730,738         13,119          1.83% 1935    746,384         15,646          2.14% 1936    760,690         14,306          1.92% 1937    767,752         7,062           0.93% 1938    784,764         17,012          2.22% 1939    803,528         18,764          2.39% 1940    862,664         59,136          7.36% 1941    892,080         29,416          3.41% 1942    917,715         25,635          2.87% 1943    937,050         19,335          2.11% 1944    954,004         16,954          1.81% 1945    979,454         25,450          2.67%

Under George Albert Smith Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1946   996,505         17,051          1.74% 1947    1,016,170       19,665          1.97% 1948    1,041,970       25,800          2.54% 1949    1,078,671       36,701          3.52% 1950    1,111,314       32,643          3.03% 1951    1,147,157       35,843          3.23%

Under David O. McKay Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1952   1,189,053       41,896          3.65% 1953    1,246,362       57,309          4.82% 1954    1,302,240       55,878          4.48% 1955    1,357,274       55,034          4.23% 1956    1,416,731       59,457          4.38% 1957    1,488,314       71,583          5.05% 1958    1,555,799       67,485          4.53% 1959    1,616,088       60,289          3.88% 1960    1,693,180       77,092          4.77% 1961    1,823,661       130,481         7.71% 1962    1,965,786       142,125         7.79% 1963    2,117,451       151,665         7.72% 1964    2,234,916       117,465         5.55% 1965    2,395,932       161,016         7.20% 1966    2,480,899       84,967          3.55% 1967    2,614,340       133,441         5.38% 1968    2,684,073       69,733          2.67% 1969    2,807,456       123,383         4.60% 1970    2,930,810       123,354         4.39%

Under Joseph Fielding Smith Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1971   3,090,953       160,143         5.46% 1972    3,218,908       127,955         4.14%

Under Harold B. Lee Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1973   3,306,658       87,750          2.73%

Under Spencer W. Kimball Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1974   3,409,987       103,329         3.12% 1975    3,572,202       162,215         4.76% 1976    3,742,749       170,547         4.77% 1977    3,969,220       226,471         6.05% 1978    4,166,854       197,634         4.98% 1979    4,404,121       237,267         5.69% 1980    4,639,822       235,701         5.35% 1981    4,920,449       280,627         6.05% 1982    5,162,619       242,170         4.92% 1983    5,351,724       189,105         3.66% 1984    5,641,054       289,330         5.41% 1985    5,919,483       278,429         4.94%

Under Ezra Taft Benson Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1986   6,166,974       247,491         4.18% 1987    6,394,314       227,340         3.69% 1988    6,721,210       326,896         5.11% 1989    7,308,444       587,234         8.74% 1990    7,761,179       452,735         6.19% 1991    8,089,848       328,669         4.23% 1992    8,404,087       314,239         3.88% 1993    8,689,168       285,081         3.39% 1994    9,024,368       335,200         3.86%

Under Howard W. Hunter Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1995   9,338,859       314,491         3.48%

Under Gordon B. Hinckley Year   Membership      Number change   Percentage growth Avg: 1996   9,692,441       353,582         3.79% 1997    10,071,783      379,342         3.91% 1998    10,354,241      282,458         2.80% 1999    10,752,986      398,745         3.85% 2000    11,068,861      315,875         2.94% 2001    11,394,522      325,661         2.94% 2002    11,721,548      327,026         2.87% 2003    11,985,254      263,706         2.25% 2004    12,275,822      290,568         2.42% 2005    12,560,869      285,047         2.32%

History of the United States Subcategories
Category:United States history by region
 * "History of New England."
 * "History of the Coastal Piedmont" or "History of the Mid Atlantic Region."
 * "History of the Coastal South."
 * "History of the Upland South."
 * "History of the Ohio Valley."
 * "History of the Great Lakes Region."
 * "History of the Western Plains."
 * "History of the Rocky Mountain Area."
 * "History of the Great Basin."
 * "History of the American Southwest."
 * "History of the American Northwest."
 * "History of California."
 * "History of Hawaii."
 * "History of Alaska."

The ten standard Federal Regions were established in April, 1974:
 * Region I: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
 * Region II: New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
 * Region III: Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
 * Region IV: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
 * Region V: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin
 * Region VI: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma
 * Region VII: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
 * Region VIII: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
 * Region IX: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands)
 * Region X: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington


 * I think the addition of History by Region categories would be useful, and easier to implement than you may think: after creating the categories, create Category:United States history by region and assign all of your new categories to it. Then edit each of the 51 state history categories and add the appropriate regional cat to it.  That will automatically subsume all articles with existing state history cats into your regional scheme.  Then one will be able to assign one of the regional cats whenever a single state cat would be too narrow.  Don't be surprised, though, if folks want to assign multiple individual state cats anyway.


 * Come to think of it, that last thought gives me pause-- take Joseph Brant for example. He probably belongs in Category:New York history as well as Category:Pennsylvania history (among many others), and assigning him only to, say, Category:History of the Mid-Atlantic states would lose something.  Perhaps in general the regional cats should not be assigned directly to articles, but only inherited indirectly by assignment to state history cats?  I dunno.  I guess I would suggest that you start by playing with the concept some: create one regional category, assign some states to it, see how it feels to work with.  You could always back away from it if it gets messy.  You could also try a post at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject History, though I've been frustrated at a lack of responsive from that page.  In fact, it can be hard to get much of a discussion going on category problems in general, in my experience (unless, of course, you manage to gore someone's pet ox).


 * Good luck, and let me know how it turns out. Mwanner July 4, 2005 16:40 (UTC)

Mogollon / Anasazi
Article: The Mogollon (pronounced mo-goi-YONE or mug-ee-yone) were an ancestoral Native American culture that lived in the American Southwest from approximately AD 700 until sometime between AD 1300 and AD 1400. They may have been the first Southwest group to adopt a settled way of life which included the intensive cultivation of corn and the production of pottery. These cultural innovations spread throughout the Southwest, influencing peoples living in surrounding areas at approximately the same time period. The Mogollon, and neighboring cultures are known as the Hohokam and the Anasazi, emerged slowly from a people who had resided in the American Southwest since at least 9000 BC. Cultural distinctions appeared slowly in the region, emerging when populations grew great enough to establish villages and even larger communities. Trade networks moving valuable goods, which have been attributed to the Mogollon, also helped establish more distinctive cultural traits.

The Mogollon were an agricultural people who lived primarily in small high plateau villages settled in wooded, well watered highlands. These highlands curve down from the upper tributaries of the Little Colorado River, through the southern Arizona-New Mexico border country, to below Casas Grandes in Chihuahua, Mexico. This homeland lies to south of the plateaus in which Anasazi culture later flourished and east of the the Hohokam's desert river valleys. The Mogollon people supplemented farming with hunting and gathering activities. Although the communities shared basic cultural traits, there is little evidence the Mogollon had a centralized organization or that their society was cohesive in any way. This may be due to the diverse geography of the territory.

The Mimbres people, a subset of the larger culture, were centered in the Mimbres Valley in southwestern New Mexico and are particularly famous for their painted pottery. The pottery produced by this culture, often finely crafted bowl forms, is distinct in style and is decorated by figurative drawing of animals, people and cultural icons. Many of these images suggest familiarity and relationships with cultures in northern and central Mexico.

The people of Casas Grandes.....

The Mogollon culture was .................. It was eventually replaced by that of the unrelated Athapaskan speaking Apache people, who moved in from the north. However, many Southwestern native people claim descent from the people of the Mogollon and their neighboring related cultures.

Anasazi - origin of name. "Anasazi" was used in academic publications at least as early as the turn of the twentieth century, by ethnologists including J. Walter Fewkes. It has been used academically since that time in history, anthropology and archaeology classes and texts. The term has become culturally controversial within the last twenty years or so, to my knowledge. During the same time period, ironically, it has become more widely used in media and print. Consequently, I would expect the term is much better known to the general public than anything else anyone has proposed. If you want to write a history on the use of the term, that could make an interesting section here or even a separate article. I probably have some of the early ethnologist's, who used the term, on my shelves should we need references for the early date. As I said, I expect it came into use when the local Navajo were asked something like "were these your ancestors?" by early anthropologists. Your perspective may indicate that the usage of the term has changed, over time, into something more negative than it was originally. Again an interesting point.

Additional notes:
 * a quick review of my book shelves finds a reference to the term "Anasazi" in conjunction with the discoverer of Mesa Verde (circa 1888), and many other ruins in the San Juan area, Richard Wetherill. He referred to the ancient people as "Cliff Dwellers" but is reported to have been told by a Ute chief that these were houses of the "Ancient Ones" (no indication of the language the Ute used to make the reference).  An online reference said that Wetherill himself was nicknamed "Anasazi" later in life.  I would have to come up with firmer data before I put it in the article -- but it does focus the date.
 * Also, in about 1859 - 1861, a geologist and photographer began examining ruins in the San Juan basin. I have no information yet about any name he may have attached to the ancient pueblo peoples, but a slightly later photographer named Jackson used a Ute term "Hovenweep" for the area now in the national monument.
 * Other materials say that Navajo names were given to cliff dwellings and free standing ruins. So the existing tribes in the area were used as a source of information for naming sites and ruins, and probably the ancient people as well.
 * Pecos Classification is a division of all of known Ancient Pueblo Peoples culture into chronological phases. The original classification originated in 1927, at an archæological conference held in Pecos, New Mexico. In the classification, Anasazi seems to have been a common term for people of the later pueblo periods.  This system is still widely used by archaeologists.

- From Chaco Canyon Article -- Boil Down to dating structure and aline with Pecos Classification:  Archaeologists identify the first people in the broader San Juan Basin as hunter-gatherers designated as the Archaic. By approximately 900 BC, these people lived at sites such as Atlatl Cave and Shabik'eshchee Village. The Archaic people left very little evidence of their presence in Chaco Canyon itself. However, by approximately 100 BC, their descendants, designated as Basketmakers, were living permanently within the canyon. A small population of Basketmakers remained in the Chaco Canyon area, going through several cultural stages, until about AD 700, when small, one-storied, masonry pueblos began to be built. These structures have been identified as characteristic of the Early Pueblo People. By AD 900, Pueblo population was growing and the communities expanded into larger, but more closely compacted pueblos. There is strong evidence of a canyon wide turquoise processing and trading industry dating from the tenth century. At this time, the first section of the spectacular Pueblo Bonito complex was built, beginning with one curved row of rooms near the north wall.

However, the meticulously designed buildings characteristic of the larger Canyon complex did not emerge until about 1030. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture. Researchers have concluded that the complex may have had a relatively small residential population, with larger groups assembling only temporarily for annual events and ceremonies. Smaller sites, apparently more residential in character, are scattered around the Great Houses in Chaco Canyon.

The extended Ancient Pueblo community also began to experience a population and building boom about this time. By 1115, at least seventy outlying pueblos with characteristic Chacoan architecture had been built within the 25,000 square mile (65,000 km&sup2;) area of the San Juan Basin. Researchers debate the function of these outlying settlements, some large enough to be considered Great Houses in their own right. Some suggest they may have been more than agricultural communities, perhaps acting as trading posts or as ceremonial sites. Many outliers are connected to the central canyon and to one another by the enigmatic Chacoan "roads." Extending up to 60 miles (100 km), in generally straight lines, these roads appear to have been extensively surveyed and engineered. Common "road" characteristics include a depressed bed between twenty-five to forty feet wide with edges defined by rock edging or curbing. When necessary, the roads continued on their course over obstacles, using steep stone stairways and rock ramps. Although the "roads'" overall function may never be known, scientists speculate that they were used to transport building materials or for ceremonial processions.

The cohesive system that characterized Chaco Canyon began to break down about 1140, perhaps in response to a severe region wide drought. Outlying communities began to disappear and, by the end of the century, the buildings in the central canyon had been abandoned. Archaeological and cultural evidence leads scientists to believe people from this region migrated both south and east to the valleys and drainages of the Little Colorado River and the Rio Grande.

Nomadic Southern Athabaskan speaking peoples, given the name Navajo by the Spanish, succeeded the Pueblo people in this region by approximately 1620 to 1650. Ute tribal groups also frequented this region, primarily during hunting and raiding activities. The modern Navajo Nation lies north of Chaco Canyon, and many Navajo (more appropriately known as the Diné) live in surrounding areas.

Joseph Smith, Jr.
From recent edit (document and look for children?): Joseph Smith had at least thirty-three well-documented marriages during his lifetime. These wives were Emma Hale, Fanny Alger, Lucinda Pendleton, Louisa Beaman, Zina Diantha Huntington, Presendia Lathrop Huntington, Agnes Moulton Coolbrith, Sylvia Porter Sessions, Mary Elizabeth Rollins, Patty Bartlett, Marinda Nancy Johnson, Elizabeth Davis, Sarah Maryetta Kingsley, Delcena Johnson, Eliza Roxcy Snow, Sarah Ann Whitney, Martha McBride, Ruth Vose, Flora Ann Woodworth, Emily Dow Partridge, Eliza Maria Partridge, Almera Woodward Johnson, Lucy Walker, Sarah Lawrence, Maria Lawrence, Helen Mar Kimball, Hannah Ells, Elvira Annie Cowles, Rhoda Richards, Desdemona Fullmer, Olive Grey Frost, Melissa Lott, Nancy Maria Winchester, Fanny Young.


 * The reference you want is Todd Compton, The Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith, Signature Books, Salt Lake City, 1997. There are no well-documented children (other than those by Emma Hale), though Josephine Rosetta Lyon, daughter of Sylvia Porter Sessions Lyon swore an affadavit: “Just prior to my mothers death in 1882 she called me to her bedside and told me that her days on earth were about numbered and before she passed away from mortality she desired to tell me something which she had kept as an entire secret from me and from all others but which she now desired to communicate to me. She then told me that I was the daughter of Prophet Joseph Smith she having been sealed to the Prophet at the time that her husband Mr. Lyon was out of fellowship with the Church.” - Nunh-huh 10:10, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Pipil - Wiki Translation
Upon the arrival of the Spanish in El Salvador in the 16th century, the predominant indiginous ethnic group were the Pipil.

The word 'pipil' means "Noble" or "Lord" in Nahua, and may refer to a branch of the fantastic Toltec civilisation, which was responsible for much of the splendour of ancient Mexico. The most spectacular Toltec ruins are Teotihuacan, very close to Mexico City, and Tula in the state of Hidalgo. Tradition, mythology and archaeology strongly suggest these people arrived in El Salvador around the year A.D. 1000 as a result of the collapse of the Tala. The Tala, apparently a Toltec subgroup or family line, gained power or influence in the Toltec civilisation at the fall of Teotihuacan. This group was ultimately defeated in a bloody civil war over succession to the throne of Tula, the Toltec's capitol city. The faction that lost the war was led by the celebrated hero Topilzin, son of Mixcoatl. His followers thought he was a reincarnation of the god Quetzalcoatl. The defeated group had little choice but to leave Mexico and emigrate to Central America. According to tradition, Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl later founded a sanctuary to the god Nuictlan in the region of 'Guija Lake'. Later, he arrived at the now ruined Mayan site of Copan in Honduras, and subsequently went to Nicaragua where he established the people known as 'Nicarao'.

Most of the migrant Pipil settled in what is now El Salvador. The Pipil found a population of mostly Mayan culture or ethnicity, and a country that had many natural gifts. Members of the original population who opposed the occupation of their lands were generally annihilated by the new Nahuat settlers. However, other groups coexisted peacefully. The Pipil introduced the cults of Tlaloc, the god of rain, and Xipe-Totec, who expected human sacrifice. The Pipil's only significant Guatemalan settlement was Escuintla. The communities of Cuzcatlan and Tecpan Izalco in El Salvador were founded in approximately A.D. 1050. The ruins of Cihiuatan, those in Aguilares, and those close to the Guazapa volcano are considered among the most notable remains of Pipil civilization. By the time the Spanish arrived, the Pipil controlled almost all of western El Salvador, and a large portion of the central area up to the banks of the river Lempa. There were four important branches of the Pipil:


 * The Cuzcatlecos, who were a leading community in El Salvador, had their capital in Cuzcatlán (now the town of 'Old Cuzcatlán' in greater San Salvador).
 * The Izalcos, who were very wealthy due of their great cocoa production.
 * The Nonualcos, of the central region, who were renowned for their love of war.
 * The Mazuahas, who were dedicated to raising the White Tailed Deer (now nearly extinct).

Today, there still exist 'pure' Pipil in El Salvador, and it is the single ethnic group that speaks its ancient language. Given the significant mestization in El Salvador, a huge percentage of Salvadorans carry Pipil blood in their veins."


 * This information ties us closer to the Toltec Empire and Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, son of Mixcoatl, the most famous Toltec ruler. Maybe research in that area will give us more of the story, although the history of the Toltec seems to be based more on legend than data.

Korean Pottery
User:RedWolf says the category title should be something like Ceramics of Korea anyway to meet Wiki specs.

Example: Looks like they broke up a very long article into discreet subsections. Could work well for our pottery tree issue and even just for the pottery article itself.


 * Cannabis is a plant also known as Cannabis sativa, hemp, or marijuana.
 * Cannabis sativa discusses the plant as a herb in botany.
 * Cannabis (drug) discusses the pharmacology of the plant products and their use as psychoactive drugs.
 * Medical marijuana discusses the use of the plant as a medicinal drug.
 * Hemp focuses on cultivation and use as a source of oil, food, fibers, and industrial materials.
 * Health issues and the effects of cannabis
 * Legal issues of cannabis has a focus on the law and enforcement aspects of growing, transporting, selling and using.''

Fibonacci numbers in nature
Fibonacci sequences have been noted to appear in biological settings, such as the branching patterns of leaves in grasses and flowers, branching in bushes and trees, the arrangement of tines on a pine cone, seeds on a raspberry and the like. Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz has advanced the idea that these can be in part understood as the expression of certain algebraic constraints on free groups, specifically as certain Lindenmeyer grammars. Generally one sees Fibonacci numbers arise in the study of the fractal Fuchsian groups and Kleinian groups, and systems that possess such symmetries. For example, the solutions to reaction-diffusion differential equations (such as that seen in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction) can show such a patterning; in biology, genes often express themselves through gene regulatory networks, that is, in terms of several enzymes controlling a reaction, which can be modelled with reaction-diffusion equations. Such systems rarely give the Fibonacci sequence exactly or directly; rather, the relationship occurs deeper in the theory. Similar patterns also occur in non-biological systems, such as in sphere packing models.

Nothronychus "Sloth-like Claw"
THERIZINOSAURIA (a.k.a. SEGNOSAURIA) |-Beipiaosaurus |  |-Therizinosauroidea ("true" therizinosaurs) |-Alxasauridae | |-Alxasaurus |     |-?Neimongosauridae (unofficial clade) | |-Neimongosaurus |     |-Therizinosauridae (ischium in direct contact with pubis) |-?"Nanshiungosaurus" |-Nothronychus |-Segnosaurus |-?Therizinosaurus |           |-UNNAMED CLADE (ischium fused to pubis) | |-Enigmosaurus | |-?Erlikosaurus* (added by speculation only) |           |-Nanshiungosaurus (spoonshaped ischium & fused cervical vertebrae) *=no pelvis known for this species

(Sloth-like claw) Nothronychus was larger than Erlikosaurus or Segnosaurus but in some ways more primitive than his Asian relatives. Nothronychus is closer to these than Beipiaosaurus and Alxasaurus. Nothronychus had a long thin neck long arms, dexterous hands, four-inch curved claws on its fingers, a large abdomen, a small head with a mouth full of leaf-shaped teeth designed for shredding vegetation, a relatively short tail and stout back legs. [Holotype is MSM P-2117]

Agamemnon
Agamémnon (Greek: &#913;&#947;&#945;&#956;&#941;&#956;&#957;&#969;&#957;) ("very resolute"), a member of the House of Atreus, is a legendary king and hero of Ancient Greece. One of the most distinguished of the Greek heroes, he was the son of King Atreus of Mycenae (or Argos) and Queen Aerope, and brother of Menelaus. Another account makes him the son of Pleisthenes (the son or father of Atreus), who is said to have been Aerope's first husband.

Atreus was murdered by Aegisthus, who took possession of the throne of Mycenae and ruled jointly with his father Thyestes. During this period Agamemnon and Menelaus took refuge with Tyndareus, king of Sparta, whose daughters Clytemnestra and Helen they respectively married. By Clytemnestra, Agamemnon had three daughters, Iphigeneia, Electra, Chrysothemis, and a son, Orestes.

Menelaus succeeded Tyndareus, and Agamemnon, with his brother's assistance, drove out Aegisthus and Thyestes, and recovered his father's kingdom. He extended his dominion by conquest and became the most powerful prince in Greece.

Agamemnon took part in the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks. Before Agamemnon's fleet left for Troy, however, the winds suddenly stopped and the ships would not move from Aulis, a port in Boeotia; Agamemnon had offended the goddess Artemis by slaying a hind sacred to her and boasting himself a better hunter. The army was visited by a plague, and the fleet was prevented from sailing by the total absence of wind. Calchas announced that the wrath of the goddess could only be propitiated by the sacrifice of Iphigeneia (daughter of Agamemnon). Agamemnon agreed and sacrificed her. Alternatively, Artemis accepted a deer in her place and took Iphigeneia away to Crimea where she prepared others for sacrifice to Artemis. Still others sources claim he was prepared to but Artemis whisked her to Taurus in Crimea. Hesiod said she became the goddess Hecate.

During the Trojan War, Agamemnon killed Antiphus. Agamemnon's teamster, Halaesus, later fought with Aeneas in Italy.

Little is heard of Agamemnon until his quarrel with Achilles. Agamemnon took the maiden Briseis as his own and Achilles was angry--their anger forms one of the major plot points of the Iliad. After the capture of Troy, Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, fell to his lot in the distribution of the prizes of war.

On his return, after a stormy voyage, he landed in Argolis or was blown off course and landed in Aegisthus' country. Aegisthus, who in the interval had seduced Clytemnestra, invited him to a banquet at which he was treacherously slain, Cassandra also being put to death by Clytemnestra. According to the account given by Pindar and the tragedians, Agamemnon was slain by his wife alone in a bath, a piece of cloth or a net having first been thrown over him to prevent resistance. Her wrath at the sacrifice of Iphigenia, and her jealousy of Cassandra, are said to have been the motives of her crime. The murder of Agamemnon was avenged by his son Orestes.

Although not the equal of Achilles in bravery, Agamemnon is a dignified representative of kingly authority. As commander-in-chief, he summons the princes to the council and leads the army in battle. He takes the field himself, and performs many heroic deeds until he is wounded and forced to withdraw to his tent. His chief fault is his overweening haughtiness, due to an over-exalted opinion of his position, which leads him to insult Chryses and Achilles, thereby bringing great disaster upon the Greeks.

But his family had been marked out for misfortune from the outset. His kingly office had come to him from Pelops through the blood-stained hands of Atreus and Thyestes, and had brought with it a certain fatality which explained the hostile destiny which pursued him.

The fortunes of Agamemnon have formed the subject of numerous tragedies, ancient and modern, the most famous being the Oresteia of Aeschylus (Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy (Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides). In the legends of Peloponnesus, Agamemnon was regarded as the highest type of a powerful monarch, and in Sparta he was worshipped under the title of Zeus Agamemnon.  His tomb was pointed out among the ruins of Mycenae and at Amyclae.

In works of art there is considerable resemblance between the representations of Zeus, king of the gods, and Agamemnon, king of men. He is generally characterized by the sceptre and diadem, the usual attributes of kings.

Agamemnon was the son of Atreus and the brother of Menelaus. He was the king of either Mycenae (in Homer) or of Argos (in some later accounts), and was the leader of the Greek forces during the Trojan War. He married Clytemnestra and had several children by her, including Orestes, Electra, and Iphigenia.

When the Greeks sailed for Troy, their fleet was trapped by unfavorable winds at Aulis. The seer Calchas revealed that their misfortune was due to Agamemnon, who had boasted that he equalled Artemis in hunting; the winds would only change if Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia was sacrificed. Agamemnon reluctantly agreed to the sacrifice, but Artemis herself whisked Iphigenia away from the altar and substituted a deer in her place.

During the seige of Troy, Agamemnon offended the greatest of the Greek warriors, Achilles, when he took the girl Briseis from him. Achilles' anger with Agamemnon furnished the mainspring of the plot in the Iliad. After the sack of Troy, Agamemnon acquired Cassandra, the daughter of King Priam, as his concubine, and took her home with him to Greece.

Agamemnon had an unhappy homecoming. He was either blown off course and landed in the country of Aegisthos, or he came home to his own land to find Aegisthus waiting for him. In either case, Aegisthus had become the lover of Clytemnestra, and the two together murdered Agamemnon and Cassandra shortly after their arrival. Aegisthus and Clytemnestra then ruled Agamemnon's kingdom, but were eventually killed by Agamemnon's son, Orestes (or by Orestes and Electra in some accounts). The homecoming of Agamemnon and its aftermath were favorite subjects for Greek tragedy.

King of Mycenae and leader of the Greek armies in the Trojan War. He was the son of Atreus, on whose house a curse had been laid.

Clytemnestra was his wife, and together they had two sons, Orestes and Chrysothemis, and two daughters, Iphigenia and Electra. Agamemnon sacrificed Iphigenia to Artemis, so that the Greeks would succeed in the war against Troy. He left Clytemnestra with a singer, and as long as the singer was present, she resisted Aegisthus. Aegisthus then took the singer to a deserted island, and Clytemnestra was seduced.

During the ten year siege of Troy, the Greeks had looted many cities. At one of them, Chryse, Agamemnon had taken the priest of Apollo Chryses daughter Chryseis. When the priest came to him in order to buy back his daughter Agamemnon refused. Chryses then invoked Apollo to punish the king, and the god descended from the skies, shooting arrows of plague among the Greeks.

Achilles learned the cause of all this, and forced Agamemnon to return the girl, directing the kings wrath upon himself. Agamemnon then took the captive maiden Briseis from Achilles, which caused the hero to almost leave the war, and later he was to take the infamous Cassandra back with him to Mycenae.

Once home he was murdered in his bath or at dinner by Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, and was avenged by Orestes seven years later. The story of Agamemnon and Orestes revenge was the inspiration for William Shakespeare when he wrote Hamlet.

Agamemnon, the general-in-chief of the Greeks, the brother of Menelaus, who had been drawn into the quarrel to avenge another's wrongs, was not so fortunate in the issue as his brother. During his absence his wife Clytemnestra had been false to him, and when his return was expected, she, with her paramour, AEgisthus, laid a plan for his destruction, and at the banquet given to celebrate his return, murdered him.

The conspirators intended also to slay his son Orestes, a lad not yet old enough to be an object of apprehension, but from whom, if he should be suffered to grow up, there might be danger. Electra, the sister of Orestes, saved her brother's life by sending him secretly away to his uncle Strophius, king of Phocis. In the palace of Strophius, Orestes grew up with the king's son, Pylades, and formed with him that ardent friendship which has become proverbial. Electra frequently reminded her brother hy messengers of the duty of avenging his father's death, and when grown up he consulted the oracle of Delphi, which confirmed him in his design. He therefore repaired in disguise to Argos, pretending to he a messenger from Strophius, who had come to announce the death of Orestes, and brought the ashes of the deceased in a funeral urn. After visiting his father's tomb and sacrificing upon it, according to the rites of the ancients, he made himself known to his sister Electra, and soon after slew both AEgisthus and Clytemnestra.

This revolting act, the slaughter of a mother by her son, though alleviated by the guilt of the victim and the express command of the gods, did not fail to awaken in the breasts of the ancients the same abhorrence that it does in ours. The Eumenides, avenging deities, seized upon Orestes, and drove him frantic from land to land. Pylades accompanied him in his wanderings, and watched over him. At length in answer to a second appeal to the oracle, he was directed to go to Tauris in Scythia, and to bring thence a statue of Diana which was believed to have fallen from heaven. Accordingly Orestes and Pylades went to Tauris, where the barbarous people were accustomed to sacrifice to the goddess all strangers who fell into their hands. The two friends were seized and carried bound to the temple to be made victims. But the priestess of Diana was no other than Iphigenia, the sister of Orestes, who, our readers will remember, was snatched away by Diana, at the moment when she was about to be sacrificed. Ascertaining from the prisoners who they were, Iphigenia disclosed herself to them, and the three made their escape with the statue of the goddess, and returned to Mycenae.

But Orestes was not yet relieved from the vengeance of the Erinnyes. At length he took refuge with Minerva at Athens. The goddess afforded him protection, and appointed the court of Areopagus to decide his fate. The Erinnyes brought forward their accusation, and Orestes made the command of the Delphic oracle his excuse. When the court voted and the voices were equally divided, Orestes was acquitted by the command of Minerva.

Byron, in Childe Harold, Canto IV, alludes to the story of Orestes:

"O thou who never yet of human wrong Left the unbalanced scale, great Nemesis! Thou who didst call the Furies from the abyss, And round Orestes bade them howl and hiss, For that unnatural retribution, just, Had it but been from hands less near, in this, Thy former realm, I call thee from the dust!"

One of the most pathetic scenes in the ancient drama is that in which Sophocles represents the meeting of Orestes and Electra, on his return from Phocis. Orestes, mistaking Electra for one of the domestics, and desirous of keeping his arrival a secret till the hour of vengeance should arrive, produces the urn in which his ashes are supposed to rest. Electra, believing him to be really dead, takes the urn, and embracing it, pours forth her grief in language full of tenderness and despair.

Milton, in one of his sonnets, says:

"The repeated air Of sad Electra's poet had the power To save the Athenian walls from ruin bare."

This alludes to the story that when, on one occasion, the city of Athens was at the mercy of her Spartan foes, and it was proposed to destroy it, the thought was rejected upon the accidental quotation, by some one, of a chorus of Euripides.

April 07 edit
The term plague is usually defined as a pestilence, an epidemic disease causing a high rate of mortality. An epidemic -- disease outbreaks that strike a large number of people in an area at the same time, may also become a pandemic when it spreads over a wide geographical area or throughout many countries. Bubonic plague, typhus, smallpox, cholera, yellow fever, influenza, scarlet fever, malaria, diphtheria, and poliomyelitis are some infectious diseases that have resulted in epidemic or pandemic outbreaks.

Plagues of disease are a major factor in the development of human civilization, impacting and altering the course of wars, migrations, population growth, urbanization, and cultural development. The term carries such extreme connotations that it is often synonymous with a "calamity", projecting an image of a disastrous evil or affliction.

Plague in history: Plague retains an important place in human history. Humanity has always been vulnerable to and fearful of infectious disease, which has wrought misery, devastation, and havoc throughout the world since ancient times. Times of pestilence have interrupted human affairs and brought great suffering which, in historic times, has often been described and reported in detail. Outbreaks result in extreme loss of life and damage to institutions and economies.

In early cities, population became concentrated into crowded communities which often had limited access to fresh water and unregulated disposal of waste. In these communities, whatever the agent of infection, waves of disease ceated terror and panic. Accounts of armies that were depleted or defeated by bouts of infection stretch back to the ancient world, and epidemics have frequently ruined the plans and ambitions of military leaders.

Two well known examples of the impact of disease on history are the Black Death, which periodically visited various peoples throughout Europe between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the overwhelming pandemics of measles and smallpox, as well as other Eurasian diseases, which Europeans brought to peoples in the New World.

During the disease outbreaks of the Middle Ages, the single word "plague" was associated with a disease which reached epidemic and even pandemic proportions in Asia and Europe. The outbreaks disrupting several vital civilizations and are considered to have significantly altered the course of human affairs. The disease has most commonly been identified as bubonic plague, the virulent contagious febrile disease caused by the bacillus Yersinia pestis, which is sometimes spread by fleas from rodents to humans. However, recent investigations have revealed significant problems with this theory, including the fact that the modern incubation period of bubonic plague (4-5 days) is vastly different from the incubation period of the Black Death (37 days), the fatality rate is highly dissimilar (below 10% for modern bubonic plague, over 40% for the Black Death), and the fact that the Black Death occurred in places like Iceland, which had no rats until hundreds of years later. An recent alternate hypothesis suggests that the ongoing outbreaks were caused by a viral hemorrhagic disease, perhaps similar to Ebola.

First contact between Europeans and native people of the American continents brought overwhelming pandemics of measles, smallpox and other diseases. These diseases spread rapidly among native peoples, often ahead of actual contact with Europeans, and led to a drastic drop in population and the collapse of American cultures. Smallpox and other diseases invaded and crippled the Aztec and Inca civilizations in Central and South America in the sixteenth century. This disease, with loss of population and death of military and social leaders, contributed to the downfall of both American empires and the subjegation of American peoples to Europeans.

Ongoing danger: The danger posed by epidemic disease has not been eliminated by modern health and hygiene practices. The ever-enlarging human population, rapid international transportation, developing resistance to medication by known disease agents, insect resistance to insecticides and medical complacency have both generated new strains of old diseases and increased the possibility of epidemics caused by emerging new diseases.

Discussion and Assignment
I'm curious about Great Plague of London's redirect to Great Plague. Shouldn't it be the other way around? But now, especially with this new article, maybe "Great Plague" should just be a disambig. Thanks for your help. --Dmcdevit 05:05, 23 May 2005 (UTC)

The "Great Plague" redirect set up was around when I arrived. A disamig page should be just fine, since there are other "Great Plagues" as well. These are the ones that I know about. There are probably others.


 * Great Plague of Athens (430-427 BC)
 * causal agent: bubonic plague/smallpox/measles/typhus??
 * Great Plague of England (1348-1350)
 * causal agent: bubonic plague
 * Great Plague of Iceland (1402-1404)
 * causal agent: bubonic plague
 * Great Plague of Ireland (1348-1351)
 * causal agent: bubonic plague
 * Great Plague of London (1664-1665)
 * causal agent: bubonic plague
 * Great Plague of Milan (1629-1631)
 * aka Italian Plague of 1629-1631.
 * causal agent: bubonic plague
 * Great Plague of Scotland (1348-1350)
 * causal agent: bubonic plague
 * Great Plague of Vienna (1679-1680's)
 * causal agent: bubonic plague

WBardwin 19:32, 23 May 2005 (UTC)

Wow, good one. Here's some more I can think of offhand: the Plague of Justinian, 541, is known as the Great Plague (possibly just the Great Plague of Constantinople); The Black Death is often called the Great Plague (of Europe) as well; theres the Tolkien fictional Great Plague (Middle-earth); the yellow fever plague in Philadelphia in 1793 has been called the Great Plague; the bubonic plague outbreak in Marseilles in 1722; and I believe it is also a biblical reference, but I can't remember where from (Moses' plagues on Egypt?); one of Nostradamus' oft-touted predictions has to do with a cryptically pronounced "Great Plague"; and the term has also apocryphally been applied (in book titles and things) to the 1918 influenza epidemic, AIDS today, and the SARS outbreak (and probably others). --Dmcdevit 20:37, 23 May 2005 (UTC)
 * Okay, so I've created Plague (disambiguation), leaving [[Plague as a redirect that can now be employed to give some general information and guide readers to the ''Main articles..." of each outbreak, perhaps even including redlinks to some of the plagues listed above. WBardwin, you're the one to come up with some starter text. Just re-edit Plague and substitute! --Wetman 21:40, 23 May 2005 (UTC)

General definition and introduction:
Websters:
 * A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person.
 * An infectious disease or communicable disease is disease caused by a biological agent (e.g. virus, bacterium or parasite).
 * 1) a disasterous evil or affliction, calamity, or a destructive numerous influx (of locusts).
 * 2) a) an epidemic disease causing a high rare of mortality, pestilence. b) a virulent contagious febrile disease that is caused by a bacterium (Pasteurella pestis) and that occurs in several forms.
 * 3)a) a cause of irritation, nuisance. b)a sudden unwelcome outbreak (of burgleries).

George Kohn:

Humanity has always been vulnerable to and fearful of infectious disease, which has wrought misery, devastation, and havoc in lands throughout the world since ancient times. Bubonic plague, typhus, smallpox, cholera, yellow fever, influenza, scarlet fever, malaria, diphtheria, and poliomyelitis are som infectious diseases that have attacked whole communities or societies and caused dreadful epidemics -- outbreaks of disease that have struck a large number of people in an area at the same time. An epidemic may also be called a pandemic when it spreads over a wide geographical area of through many countries of the worlds.

The scourge of epidemic disease retains an important place in the history of humanity. Times of pestilence have gravely interrupted human affairs and brouhgt great suffereing, which has often been described and reported in detail. Various peoples all over Europe were peridically decimated by visitations of bubonic plague between the fourteenth and seventeenth century. Smallpos and toher diseases invaded and crippled the Aztec and Inca civiliazations in Latin America in the sixteenth century, killing a high proportion of those who fell sic,. Accounts of armies that were depleted or defeated by pestilential infection stretch back to the Middle Ages and the ancient world, and epidemics have frequently ruined the best-laid plans of military leaders, kings, and others.

And the danger posed by epidemic disease has not gone away; the ever-enlarging human population, rapid international trasportation, disease resistance to medicines, insect resistance to insecticides and medical complacency have all made new epidemics possible. New strains of old pestilences have also appeared.

Richard G. Klein
 * "Some of the new (and old) evidence is ambiguous, circumstantial, or even contradictory, but this is inevitable in historical science, which has more in common with a criminal trial than it does with a physics experiment."
 * p. 273. "The Dawn of Human Culture" John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 2002.  ISBN 0-471-25252-2.

Me - Spouting Off: Well, I hate to bring it up, but the causal agent of all non-modern plagues, historic and prehistoric, is always subject to question. Opinions on these things run in fashions -- like drapery fabrics. The popular one these days is anthrax -- here, there, and everywhere. These mysteries will never be "solved" absolutely, but keep in mind that the immunity of the population and the bio ID of the disease strain has a significant impact in each occurance. When a disease is new to a population (i.e. the America's) the impact can be horrific. But later on, ....... For what it's worth, I think the Antonine Plague (above) was measles, and the Plague of Cyprian a couple of generations later was smallpox. But that is just my opinion and historians vary. Sorry to run off at the mouth, but it is strange and unreasonable for modern people to expect absolute truth about historic occurances (even in Wiki).

Wiki: Plague by Wetman Plague is usually understood as a generic term for Bubonic plague, the  mortal disease caused by the bacillus Yersinia pestis, which is spread by fleas from rats to human beings. Plague has reached epidemic and even pandemic proportions during the history of Asia and Europe, disrupting civilizations and altering the course of human affairs when plague brought terror and panic in crowded cities, decimating populations like a visitation of the gods. In the New World, the first contact with Europeans brought pandemics of measles and smallpox, though not of plague, that led to the collapse of American cultures.

Wiki: Transmission of diseaseSome diseases, such as influenza, are contagious or infectious, and can be transmitted by any of a variety of mechanisms, including droplets from coughs and sneezes, by bites of insects or other vectors, from contaminated water or food, etc.

Wiki: Bubonic Plague Bubonic plague is an infectious disease that is believed to have caused several epidemics or pandemics throughout history. Bubonic plague is the most common form of plague which is characterized by swollen, tender inflamed lymph glands (called buboes); other forms are Septicemic plague which occurs when plague bacteria multiply in the blood and Pneumonic plague which occurs when the lungs are infected.

Wiki: Epidemic An epidemic is generally a widespread disease that affects many individuals in a population. An epidemic may be restricted to one locale or may even be global (pandemic). An outbreak of a disease is defined as being epidemic, however, not by how many members or what proportion of the population it infects but by how fast it is growing. When each infected individual is infecting more than one other individual, so that the number of infected individuals is growing exponentially, the disease is in an epidemic state. Thus even if the number of people affected is small, the phenomenon may still be called an epidemic, although for small epidemics the term "outbreak" is more often used.

Famous examples of epidemics include the bubonic plague epidemic of Mediaeval Europe known as the Black Death, the Great Influenza Pandemic concurring with the end of World War I, and the current AIDS epidemic.

See also:
 * Endemic
 * Epidemiology
 * Pandemic
 * Mathematical modelling in epidemiology
 * List of epidemics
 * This partial list has only two sections / sorted by different criteria. ....a more expansive list but what would be the best way to divide it up?
 * 1) by date? good for historians. (i.e. divided into ancient history, medieval history, early modern history and modern day??)
 * 2) by causal agent? good for medical readers.  (i.e. smallpox, typhus, bubonic plague, unidentified agent etc??)
 * 3) by geographic area -- (probably by continent??) good for epidemiologists and people interested in histories of individual countries.  (but would cause duplication for most of the pandemics, and some epidemics in border regions.)


 * Epizootic

Box for Plague Data
??use for southwestern pottery periods as well??