title: History of pawnbroking

text:
# History of pawnbroking

Pawnbroking, lending money on portable security, began in ancient history. The practice was widespread in many parts of the world, from ancient Greece to medieval China and medieval Europe.

## Mosaic law

Mosaic law precluded pawnbroking as it forbade the acceptance of interest from a poor borrower, and Jews were forbidden to lend money at interest to each other, although they could charge interest to non-Jews. Until the Reformation, Christians were also forbidden to lend to each other for interest.

## China

The earliest Chinese pawnbrokers, in the 5th century, were established, owned, and operated by Buddhist monasteries; only later were they more widely seen. They were known by a number of names. *Changshengku* (长生库, long-life treasuries) originally referred to Buddhist monasteries in general. Other terms included *jifupu* (seen in Tang texts), *didangku* (Song period), and *jiedianku* (Yuan period). During the Southern Song dynasty, wealthy lay people sometimes formed partnerships with Buddhist monasteries and opened pawnshops (avoiding property taxes from which monasteries were exempt). A 1202 document records ten people forming a *ju* (局), which would support the establishment of a pawnshop in a monastery. In the late Qing and Republican China era (1840-1949), Chinese pawnbrokers employed flexible strategies to extend their business to a wide range of social members. Various measures such as relationship building, strategic philanthropy, and social value advancement were adopted to improve pawnbroking industry's and pawnbrokers' social image.

## Ancient Greece and Rome

Pawning was common in Ancient Greece and Rome; most contemporary law on the subject is derived from Roman sources. Many pawnbrokers were professional or semi-professional and operated from private shops. Under Roman law, certain items (such as wearing apparel, furniture, and instruments of tillage) could not be pledged. The emperor Augustus converted the proceeds from property confiscated from criminals into a fund from which the state lent money without interest to those who pledged valuables equal to double the amount borrowed.

## Medieval Europe

Jewish and Christian pawnbrokers and money-lenders, the latter often referred to as Cahorsins and Lombards, were common in medieval Europe, where they were often tolerated by authorities, despite opposition from the Catholic Church.

Pawnbroking spread to England with the Norman conquest. Many pawnbrokers in England were Jewish, and despite services rendered (often to the Crown), they were often unpopular, prompting greater restrictions and eventually the Expulsion of Jews from England in 1290. The expulsion of Jewish pawnbrokers enabled Lombard merchants to settle in England. Edward III pawned his jewels to the Lombards to raise money for his war with France in 1338, and Henry V did the same in 1415.

In medieval Italy, the pledge system arose which became almost universal in Europe. The system was benevolent, with early "mounts of piety" established in the 15th century, lending money to the poor without interest if the money was covered by the value of the pledges.

Similar systems began at Freising in Bavaria in 1198 and at Salins in Franche-Comté in 1350 (which charged 7.5% interest) and in London in 1361, where Michael Northburgh, Bishop of London, bequeathed 1000 silver marks for the establishment of a free pawnshop. These early efforts, like the later Italian ones, failed. The Vatican, therefore, allowed the *Sacri monti di pietà* to charge sufficient interest to cover their expenses. A controversy arose about the legality of charging interest, which was settled by Pope Leo X. At the tenth sitting of the First Council of the Lateran, Leo declared that the pawnshop was a lawful and valuable institution and threatened dissenters with excommunication. The Council of Trent confirmed his decision, and Charles Borromeo later suggested the establishment of state or municipal pawnshops. These gradually replaced the private licensed pawnbrokers throughout much of Europe.

Long before this, however, *monti di pietà* commonly charged interest for loans in Italy. They were established by 1464, when the earliest recorded *monti* (at Orvieto) was confirmed by Pius II. Three years later, another was opened in Perugia by the Franciscans Barnabus Interamnensis and Fortunatus de Copolis. They amassed the necessary capital by preaching, and the Perugian pawnshop earned a substantial profit at the end of its first year. After Barnabus' death in 1474, they were supported by Bernandino di Feltre (another Franciscan). *Monti di pietà* were opened in Assisi, Mantua, Parma, Lucca, Piacenza, Padua, Vicenza, Pavia and a number of smaller towns.

The Dominicans unsuccessfully denounced pawnshops. Viterbo opened one in 1469, and Sixtus IV confirmed another in his native town in Savona a decade later.

In Florence, the municipality and the Jews opposed Bernandino. Savonarola, a Dominican, established the first Florentine pawnshop after local theologians declared that charging interest was not a sin. Despite papal acceptance, the first pawnshop in Rome was only opened (by a Franciscan) in 1539.

## Early Present Period

### Europe

From Italy, pawnshops gradually spread across Europe. Augsburg adopted the system in 1591, Nuremberg copied the Augsburg regulations in 1618, and by 1622 pawnshops were open in Amsterdam, Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent. Madrid followed suit in 1705, when a priest opened a charitable pawnshop with five pence from his poor box.

The institution was very slow in obtaining a footing in France. It was adopted at Avignon in 1577, and at Arras in 1624. The doctors of the once powerful Sorbonne could not reconcile themselves to the lawfulness of interest, and when a pawnshop was opened in Paris in 1626, it had to be closed within a year. Then it was that Jean Boucher published his *Défense des monts de piété* in favor of pawnbroking. Marseilles obtained one in 1695, but it was not until 1777 that the first mont de pit was founded in Paris by royal patent. Statistics for the first few years of its existence show that in the twelve years between 1777 and the Revolution, the average value of the pledges was 42 francs 50 centimes, which is double the present average. The interest charged was 10% per annum, and large profits were made upon the 16 million livres that were lent every year.

Borrowing money, secured by deposited goods, was first regulated in the Low Countries in 1600. Albert VII and his wife Isabella, governors of the Spanish Netherlands under Philip III, lowered the interest rate from 32+34 to 21+34 percent. They introduced the *monte de piedad* in 1618, and in a dozen years the institution was established in nearly all large Belgian towns. Interest was fixed at 15 percent before it was reduced and restored to almost the original rate. Some towns also had charitable funds for interest-free loans. Shortly after the *monte de piedad* was introduced in the Spanish provinces, prince-bishop of Liège Ferdinand of Bavaria followed the archdukes' example. The original rate was 15 percent, when the Lombard money-lenders had been charging 43 percent. The prince-bishop's *montes de piedad* were so successful that their interest rate did not exceed five percent until 1788, when it was increased by one-half percent.

### Britain and Ireland

The Lombards were unpopular, and Henry VII harassed them. An "Act against Brokers" was passed in 1603, and remained in force until 1872. It was aimed at counterfeit brokers, of whom there were many in London. This type of broker was considered a receiver of stolen goods; the act provided that no sale (or pawn) of stolen jewels, plate or other goods to a pawnbroker in

Under Charles I, another act asserted that a pawnbroker was not a respectable (or trustworthy) person; however, it was planned to set Charles up in the business. The Civil War was approaching; supplies were badly needed, and a Royalist proposed the establishment of a state pawnshop. According to the proposal, "The intolerable injuries done to the poore subjects by brokers and usurers that take 30, 40, 50, 60, and more in the hundredth, may be remedied and redressed, the poor thereby greatly relieved and eased, and His Majestie much benefited". The king would receive two-thirds of the profits, and the working capital (£100,000) would be provided by the city of London. Reform of what Shakespeare called "broking pawn" was in the air at the time, and in the early days of the Commonwealth of England a *mont de pieté* was proposed in *Observations manifesting the Conveniency and Commodity of Mount Pieteyes, or Public Bancks for Relief of the Poor or Others in Distress, upon Pawns* (a 1651 pamphlet). According to *A Short History of the Bank of England*, published in 1695, the directors of the early Bank of England intended to help the poor by establishing pawnshops at an interest rate of one penny per pound per month (five percent per year).

Suspicion of pawnbrokers continued during the 18th century, when an act of Parliament ended the custom of publicans lending money on pledges so their customers could drink. Their reputation was also harmed by the Charitable Corporation, which demonstrated that pawnbroking encouraged dishonesty by giving thieves an opportunity to sell stolen goods and allowed a person planning bankruptcy to purchase goods on credit and dispose of them for cash (defrauding their creditors). The Pawnbroker's Licence Law of 1785 licensed pawnbrokers for £10 in London and £5 in the country; the interest rate was set at 12 percent per month, and the length of loans was confined to one year.

## Late 19th century

### Britain and Ireland

#### 18001872

Modern pawnbroking legislation began with the Pawnbrokers Act of 1800. Lord Eldon, who admitted that he had used pawnshops in his youth, was influential in its passage. The pawnbrokers were grateful, and for many years after Lord Eldon's death they toasted him at their dinners. The act increased the interest rate to 1+23 percent per month (20 percent per year, unless unpaid interest increased the debt). Loans could be granted for a year, but pledges might be redeemed up to 15 months; the first week of the second month would not count for interest.

During its 72-year history, the act was amended three times:

* In 1815, licence fees were raised to £15 in London and £7 10s in the countryside.
* In 1840, an act of Parliament abolished rewards to informers for reporting illegal rates of interest.
* In 1860, pawnbrokers were allowed to charge a halfpenny for a pawn ticket when a loan was under five shillings.

The chief provisions of the act were unpopular, and the Pawnbrokers' National Association and the Pawnbrokers' Defence Association worked to obtain its liberalization. It was argued that the usury laws had been abolished for the entire community except for pawnbrokers who loaned less than £10, who were prevented from lending money on bulky articles requiring large storage space. In 1870 the House of Commons appointed a select committee on pawnbrokers, which heard testimony that during the previous year 207,780,000 pledges were lodged (30–40 million in London). The average value of pledges was about four shillings, and the number of articles pawned dishonestly was reportedly one in 14,000. Later, official statistics indicate that of forfeited pledges sold in London, less than 20 per million were claimed by the police.

#### Pawnbrokers Act of 1872

The result of the select committee's work was the Pawnbrokers Act of 1872, which repealed, altered and consolidated all previous legislation and continues to regulates the relationship between the public and pawnbrokers. Based on an Irish law passed by Parliament, it removed restrictions and reduced the licence fee in London from £15 to the £7 10s paid in the provinces. According to the act (which does not affect loans above £10),

* A pledge is redeemable within one year, with a seven-day grace period.
* Pledges pawned for 10s or less and not redeemed in time become the property of the pawnbroker.
* Pledges above 10s are redeemable until sale, which must be by public auction.
* In addition to one halfpenny for the pawn ticket (sometimes not charged for very small pawns), the pawnbroker is entitled to charge interest one halfpenny per month on every 2s (or part of 2s) lent if the loan is under £2 and on every 2s 6d if the loan is above £2.
* Special contracts may be made for loans over £2, at a rate of interest agreed on between lender and borrower.
* The following are summary offences:
    + Unlawful pawning of goods not the property of the pawner.
    + Taking an article from a person under age twelve or intoxicated.
    + Taking linen, apparel or unfinished goods or materials.
* A new pawnbroker must produce a magistrate's certificate to be licensed.
* A licence cannot be refused if the applicant presents sufficient evidence of good character.
* The word "pawnbroker" must be inscribed in large letters over the shop door.

Provisions in the act safeguard the interests of borrowers whose unredeemed pledges are sold. Sales (by auction) take place only on the first Monday of January, April, July and October, and on the following days if needed.

Pawnbroking spread in popularity in Britain as a result of the Industrial Revolution, and the National Pawnbrokers Association was founded in 1892 to represent the industry. Annual interest on loans of 2s. had been increased by successive acts of Parliament from six percent in 1784 to 25 percent in 1800 and 27 percent in 1860. An English *mont de piété* was once proposed by the Salvation Army and in 1894 the London County Council considered a municipal effort, but neither came to fruition.

#### Scotland and Ireland

During the early 19th century, there was only one pawnbroker in Ireland; in 1833 there were 52, rising to 312 by 1865. Glasgow and Edinburgh probably contained nearly as many. In Ireland, the interest rates for loans are nearly identical to those charged in England, but a penny (instead of a halfpenny) is charged for the ticket. Articles pledged for less than IR£1 must be redeemed within six months, but nine months are allowed for amounts between 30s and £2. For sums over £2 the period is a year, as in England. In Ireland, a fraction of a month is calculated as a full month for interest; in England, fortnights are recognized after the first month. In 1838, there was an effort to establish *monts de piété* in Ireland; in 1841, the eight charitable pawnshops had a negative balance of £5,340. By 1847 only three were left, which also eventually collapsed.

#### United States

Pawnbrokers are strictly regulated. Each pawnbroker must have a criminal background check. Those pawning items must present a photo ID and are often asked for a thumbprint. Criminals know to avoid pawnshops since the items purchased or pawned are reported to the police each day. Many crimes are solved when pawnshop owners turn in a list of the items pawned or purchased when the match up with a stolen item on a police database. Each state has its own regulations, with those of New York and Massachusetts fairly representative.

Pawnbrokers are usually licensed by the mayor or by the mayor and aldermen; in Boston, however, they are licensed by the police commissioner. In New York, permits are renewable annually and a pawnbroker must file a surety bond with the state. Business is conducted on much the same lines as in England. Loans are made for four months, with an additional 30-day grace period. Exceeding the interest rate is a misdemeanor. Unredeemed pledges may be sold at any time after the loan expires. New York has one pawnshop for every 12,000 residents. In Massachusetts, unredeemed pledges may be sold four months after the date of deposit. The licensing authority fixes the interest rate, which may vary for different amounts. In Boston, every pawnbroker must submit a daily list of pledges taken (including the time and amount lent) to the police. Pawnshop chains include Cash America International and First Cash Financial Services, both headquartered in Texas.

### Europe

The fact that on the continent of Europe monts de piété are almost invariably either a state or a municipal monopoly necessarily places them upon an entirely different footing from the British and American pawnshop. Compared with the English system, the customary European system is elaborate and cumbersome; slow in its operation, and based upon the supposition that the borrower carries in his pockets papers testifying to his identity. On the other hand, European custom limits the interest on large loans, where in the English system the rate of interest on a "special contract" of £2 or more may be high, and often is. The pawning system of loans is, to be fair to both systems, always expensive, either in actual interest or in collateral disadvantages; this remains true whether the lender is a for-profit pawnbroker or a government *mont de pit*.

#### The Netherlands and Belgium

The *montes de piedad* were undermined by the French Revolution but were re-established under French dominion, and for many years the laws governing them were altered by the French, Dutch and Belgian governments. Pawnbroking is regulated by an 1848 law, supplemented by an 1891 constitution for the Mont-de-Piété of the city of Brussels dating from.

The working capital of these official pawnshops is furnished by charitable institutions or the municipalities, but the Brussels one possesses a certain capital of its own in addition. In het Nederlands, the rate of interest charged in various parts of the country varies from 4 to 16%. In Belgium the rate is around 6,5%. The management is very similar to that of the French *Monts-de-Piété (crédit municipaux)*, but the arrangements are much more favorable to the borrower. The initial term of a loan contract is unually 6 or 12 months. In the Netherlands, private pawnbrokers flourish side by side with the municipal Banken van Leening, nor are there any limitations upon the interest that may be charged. The rules of the official institutions are very similar to those of the monts de pit in the Latin countries, and unredeemed pledges are sold publicly 15 months after being pawned. A large proportion of the advances are made upon gold and diamonds; workmen's tools are not taken in pledge, and the amount lent varies from 8d. upwards. On condition of finding such sum of money as may be required for working capital over and above loans from public institutions, and the caution money deposited by the city officials, the municipality receives the profits.

#### Germany

Pawnbroking in Germany is conducted at once by the state, by the municipalities, and by private enterprise; but of all these institutions the state loan office in Berlin is the most interesting. It dates from 1834, and the working capital was found, and still continues to be in part provided, by the Prussian State Bank. The profits are invested, and the interest devoted to charitable purposes. The maximum and minimum rates of interest are fixed, but the rate varies, and often stands at about 12%. Two-thirds of the estimated value is the usual extent of a loan; four-fifths is advanced on silver, and five-sixths on fine gold. State and municipal bonds may be pledged up to a maximum of L150, the advance being 80% of the value, and a fixed interest of 6% is charged upon these securities. The values are fixed by professional valuers, who are liable to make good any loss that may result from over-estimation. The bulk of the loans are under five, and the state office is used less by the poor than by the middle classes. Loans run for six months, but a further six months' grace is allowed for redemption before the article pledged can be sold by auction. The net annual profit usually amounts to little more than 1% upon the capital employed.

#### Austria-Hungary

Pawnbroking laws of Austria-Hungary were similar to those of England. Free trade exists, and the private trader, who does most of the business, must obtain a government concession and deposit caution-money from 80 to 800, according to the size of the town. He must, however, compete with the monts de pit or Versatzaemter, which are sometimes municipal and sometimes state institutions. The chief of these is the imperial pawn office of Vienna, which was founded with charitable objects by the emperor Joseph I in 1707, with half of the annual surplus paid to the Vienna poor fund. Here, as in Berlin, the profits are relatively small. Interest is charged at the uniform rate of 10%, which is calculated in two-week periods, however speedily redemption may follow upon pawning. For small loans varying from two to three kronen, 5% only is charged. The Hungarian state and municipal institutions appear, on the whole, to compete somewhat more successfully with the private firms than is the case in Vienna.

#### Italy

In Italy, the country of origin of the mont de piété, the institution still flourishes. It is, as a rule, managed by a committee or commission, and the regulations follow Italy fairly closely the lines of the one in Rome, which never lends less than fod. or more than 40. Four-fifths of the value is lent upon gold, silver and jewels, and two-thirds upon other articles. The interest, which is reckoned monthly, varies with the amount of the loan from 5 to 7%, but no interest is chargeable upon loans up to 5 lire. A loan runs for six months and may be renewed for similar periods up to a maximum of five years. If the renewal does not take place within two weeks of the expiration of the ticket, the pledge is sold, any surplus there may be being paid to the pawner. When more than 10 lire are lent there is a charge of 1% for the ticket. Agencies of the mont de pit are scattered about Rome, and carry on their business under the same rules as the central office, with the disadvantage to the borrower that he has to pay an agent's fee. The amount to be advanced by a municipal pawnshop is fixed by an official called the commissaire-priseur, who is compelled to load the scales against the borrower, since, should the pledge remain unredeemed and be sold for less than was lent upon it, he has to make good the difference. This official is paid at the rate of 3/4% upon loans and renewals, and 3% on the amount obtained by the sales of forfeited pledges. The borrower has to pay an agents fee of 2%, which is deducted from the loan. Private pawnshops also exist in Italy, under police authority; but they charge very high interest.

#### France

The National Assembly destroyed the monopoly of the Paris monti de pietà, but it struggled on until 1795, when the competition of the money-lenders compelled it to close its doors. So great, however, were the extortions of the usurers that the people began to clamour for its reopening, and in July 1797 it recommenced business with a fund of ~20,000 found by five private capitalists. At first, it charged interest at the rate of 36% per annum, which was gradually reduced, the gradations being 30, 24, 18, 15, and finally 12% in 1804. In 1806 it fell to 9%, and in 1887 to 7%. In 1806 Napoleon I re-established its monopoly, while Napoleon III, as prince-president, regulated it by new laws that are still in force. In Paris the pledge-shop is, in effect, a department of the administration; in the French provinces it is a municipal monopoly; and this remark holds good, with modifications, for most parts of the continent of Europe.

The Paris mont de piété undertakes to lend four-fifths of the intrinsic value of articles made from the precious metals, and two-thirds of that of other articles. The maximum and minimum that may be advanced are also fixed. The latter varies in different parts of the country from one to three francs, and the former from a very small sum to 10,000 francs that is the rule in Paris. Loans are granted for 12 months with right of renewal, and unredeemed pledges may then be sold by auction, but the proceeds may be claimed by the borrower at any time within three years. Pledges may be redeemed by instalments.

In Paris the rate charged is 7%, and even then the business is conducted at a loss except in regard to long and valuable pledges. Some of the French provincial rates are as high as 12%, but in almost every case they are less than they were prior to the legislation of 1851 and 1852. The French establishments can only be created by decree of the president of the Republic, with the consent of the local conseil communal. In Paris, the prefect of the Seine presides over the business; in the provinces, the mayor is the president. The administrative council is drawn one-third each from the conseil communal, the governors of charitable societies, and the townspeople. A large proportion of the capital required for conducting the institutions has to be raised by loan, while some part of the property they possess is the product of gifts and legacies. The profits of the Paris mont de pit are paid over to the Assistance Publique, the comprehensive term used by France to indicate the body of charitable foundations. Originally this was the rule throughout France, but now many of them are entirely independent of the charitable institutions. Counting the head office, the branches and the auxiliary shops, the Paris establishment has its doors open in some 50 or 60 districts; but the volume of its annual business is infinitely smaller than that transacted by the London pawnbrokers. The amount to be advanced by a municipal pawnshop is fixed by an official called the *commissaire-priseur*, who is compelled to load the scales against the borrower, since, should the pledge remain unredeemed and be sold for less than was lent upon it, he has to make good the difference. This official is paid at the rate of 3/4% upon loans and renewals, and 3% on the amount obtained by the sales of forfeited pledges. This is obviously the weakest part of the French system.

Somewhere between 40 and 50 French towns possess municipal pawnshops, a few of which, like those of Grenoble and Montpellier, having been endowed, charge no interest. Elsewhere the rate varies from nil in some towns, for very small pledges, to 10%. The constant tendency throughout France has been to reduce the rate. The great establishment in Paris obtains part of its working capital reserves and surplus forming the balance by borrowing money at a rate varying from 2 to 3% according to the loan term (duration). By law, the Paris mont de pit makes advances upon securities at 6%, plus a duty of 5 centimes upon every hundred francs. The maximum that can be lent in this way is 20. Up to 80% is lent on the face value of government stock and on its own bonds, and 75% upon other securities; only 60% may be advanced on railway shares. These advances are made for six months. Persons wishing to borrow a larger sum than 16 francs from the Paris mont de pit have to produce their papers of identity. In every case, a numbered metal check is given to the customer, and a duplicate is attached to the article itself. The appraising clerks decide upon the sum that can be lent, and the amount is called out with the number. If the borrower is dissatisfied he can take away his property, but if he accepts the offer he has to give particulars of his name, address, and occupation. Experts calculate that every transaction that involves less than 22 francs results in a loss to the Paris mont de pit—only those that exceed 85 francs are profitable. The average loan is under 30 francs.

#### Spain

Monts de piété in Spain were closely connected with savings banks. The system grew until in 1840 the *mont de pit* began to receive the sums deposited in the savings bank, which had just been established, for which it paid 5% interest. In 1869 the two institutions were united. This official pawnshop charged 6% upon advances for periods varying from four to twelve months, according to the nature of the article pledged, and a further months grace was allowed before the pledges were sold by auction. Private pawnbrokers were also common, especially in Madrid, often with much higher rates of interest but which made larger advances than their official rivals, and which did business during more convenient hours.

#### Portugal

In Portugal the monte pio is an amalgamation of bank, benefit society and pawnshop. Its business consists chiefly in lending money upon marketable securities, but it also makes advances upon plate, jewelry, and precious stones, and it employs officially licensed valuers. The rate of interest varies with the bank rate, which it slightly exceeds, and the amount advanced upon each article is about three-fourths of its certified value. There is in Portugal a second class of loan establishment answering exactly to the English pawnshop. The pawnbroker is compelled to deposit a sum, in acceptable securities, equal to the capital he proposes to embark, and the register of his transactions must be submitted quarterly to the chief of the police for examination. As regards small transactions, there appears to be no legal limit to the rate of interest. The sale of unredeemed pledges is governed by the law affecting the monte pio geral.

#### Russia

In imperial Russia the state maintained two pawnbroking establishments, one at St Petersburg and the other at Moscow, but only articles of gold and silver, precious stones and ingots of the precious metals are accepted by them. Advances are made upon such securities at 6% per annum, and the amounts of the loans are officially limited. Loans run for twelve months, with a months grace before unredeemed pledges are put up to auction. The bulk of this class of business in Russia was, however, conducted by private companies, which advance money upon all descriptions of movable property except stocks and shares. The interest charged was not allowed to exceed 1% per month, but there is an additional charge of 4% per month for insurance and safekeeping. The loan runs for a year, with two months grace for redemption before sale. There were also pawnshops conducted by individuals, who find it very difficult to compete with the companies. These shops can only be opened by a police permit, which runs for five years, and security, varying from 100 to 700, has to be deposited; 2% per month is the limit of interest fixed, and two months grace is allowed for redemption after the period for which an article is pledged.

#### Denmark

Pawnbroking in Denmark dates from 1753, when the Royal Naval Hospital was granted the monopoly of advancing money on pledges and of charging higher interest than the law permitted. The duration of a loan is three months, renewals being allowed. The old law was extended in 1867, and now all pawnbrokers have to be licensed by the municipalities and to pay a small annual licence fee. The rate of interest varies from 6 to 12% according to the amount of the loan, which must not be less than 7d., and unredeemed pledges must be sold by auction.

#### Sweden

Sweden has no statutes specifically aimed at pawnbroking, with the exception of a proclamation by the governor of Stockholm that prohibits lending money on articles suspected being stolen. By the end of the 19th century individuals still carried on the business on a small scale, but the bulk of it was conducted by companies. For many years Stockholm had a municipal establishment that charged 10% for loans paid out of the city funds. The cost of administration was so great that the establishment suffered an annual loss, and so it was abolished in 1880 when a private company called the *Pant Aktie Bank* ('pawn bond bank') formed, with rivals soon following. The money was lent for three months, and at the end of five months the pledge, if unredeemed, was sold by auction under very carefully prescribed conditions.

In Norway a police licence was required for lending money on pawn where the amount advanced did not exceed 4, 10s. Beyond that sum no licence was necessary, but the interest charged could not exceed such a rate as the king may decide.

#### Switzerland

Switzerland tightly controlled pawnbroking, with licences authorised by the cantonal government and police able to inspect pawnbrokers' books. Pawnbrokers could only charge interest of 1% per month for six months, with further rules dictating the sale at auction of unredeemed pledges. Very few pawnbrokers existed in Switzerland, where it was more common for people to sell items to second-hand dealers in the hope of subsequently buying them back.

## Post-1945

Pawnbroking declined after the Second World War due to an increase in social welfare provision by governments and consumer credit by banks. Many pawnbrokers attempted to modernise their image and diversify their businesses.

Since the 1980s the decline of pawnbroking has stabilised, and even increased in some areas, with many people using pawnbrokers as an alternative to bank or payday loans.

## Symbol

The pawnbroker's symbol shows three balls suspended from a bar and has been widely used since the mid-18th century. The origins of the symbol are unclear, but it is often attributed to the Medici family of Florence, Italy. The family insignia featured rounded objects, which may have represented gold coins or rocks. According to one legend, a Medici employed by Charles the Great slew a giant using three bags of rocks. Since the Medici family were so successful in the financial, banking, and money-lending industries, other families also adopted the symbol. Throughout the Middle Ages, coats of arms bore three balls, orbs, plates, discs, coins and more as symbols of monetary success.

Another theory attributes the symbol to the Lombards. Pawn shop banking originated under the name of Lombard banking, and many European towns called the pawn shop the "Lombard". The three golden balls were originally the symbol medieval Lombard merchants hung up in front of their houses.

A third theory links the symbol to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of pawnbrokers. According to legend, he gave a bag of gold to three poor girls to save them from destitution, and these three bags of gold became the three orbs of the symbol.

It has been conjectured that the golden balls were originally three flat yellow effigies of byzants, or gold coins, laid heraldically upon a sable field, but that they were presently converted into balls the better to attract attention.

In the late 20th century some pawnbrokers responded to a decline in the industry by removing the traditional symbol.

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8. Doherty, Philip (1994). "The Last Pawnshops of Dublin City". *Dublin Historical Record*. **47** (1): 87–94. ISSN 0012-6861. JSTOR 30101060. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
9. De Roover, Raymond (1946). "The Three Golden Balls of the Pawnbrokers". *Bulletin of the Business Historical Society*. **20** (4): 117–124. doi:10.2307/3110507. JSTOR 3110507.
10. Johnson, Ben (2017). "The Pawnbroker". *Historic UK*. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
11. Raymond, Raymond James (1978). "Pawnbrokers and Pawnbroking in Dublin: 1830-1870". *Dublin Historical Record*. **32** (1): 15–26. JSTOR 30104102.
12. Steensma, David P. (2003). ""Pawn Ball Megakaryocytes": From the Marvellous Medici and Dear Old Saint Nick to the Unsanctified Marrow of Myelodysplasia". *Hematology*. **8** (1): 11–18. doi:10.1080/1024533031000081397. PMID 12623422. S2CID 7295543.
13. "Pawnshop emerges from the shadows". *The Scotsman*. 31 August 2003. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
14. "About the NPA". *The National Pawnbrokers Association*. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
15. Spielvogel, Carl (14 April 1957). "Pawnbrokers Report Trade Dip; Prosperity Is Shrinking Business". *New York Times*.
16. "Pawnbroker's sign gets 'new look'". *The Guardian*. 25 June 1964.
* This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Vermeersch, Arthur (1912). "Usury". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). *Catholic Encyclopedia*. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company.


title: W. D. Richter

abstract: Walter Duch Richter is an American screenwriter, film director and film producer. He is best known for adapting Invasion of the Body Snatchers, directing The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension and co-writing Big Trouble in Little China.

text:
# W. D. Richter

**Walter Duch Richter** (born December 7, 1945) is an American screenwriter, film director and film producer. He is best known for adapting *Invasion of the Body Snatchers*, directing *The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension* and co-writing *Big Trouble in Little China*.

## Biography

Richter graduated from Dartmouth College and attended USC Film School. He began script writing for Hollywood in the 1970s. He wrote the comedy *Slither* (1973), followed by two similarly styled comedies, *Peeper* (1975) and *Nickelodeon* (1976). He branched into other genres starting with the 1970s remake of *Invasion of the Body Snatchers*.

He wrote scripts throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 1980s, Richter formed his own production company (with producer Neil Canton), Canton/Richter, and directed *The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension*. The film did poorly at the box office, and the company ended.

In 1981, he wrote a screenplay based on Eric Van Lustbader's novel *The Ninja* for Irvin Kershner to direct with Richard Zanuck and David Brown and 20th Century Fox to produce, which ultimately never got made. Richter continued to write screenplays however, and has since written *Home for the Holidays* and *Stealth*.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1973 | *Slither* | No | Yes | Yes |  |
| 1975 | *Peeper* | No | Yes | No |  |
| 1976 | *Nickelodeon* | No | Yes | No |  |
| 1978 | *Invasion of the Body Snatchers* | No | Yes | No |  |
| 1979 | *Dracula* | No | Yes | No |  |
| 1980 | *Brubaker* | No | Yes | No | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay |
| 1981 | *All Night Long* | No | Yes | No |  |
| 1982 | *Hard Feelings* | No | Yes | No |  |
| 1984 | *The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
Across the 8th Dimension* | Yes | No | Yes |  |
| 1986 | *Big Trouble in Little China* | No | Yes | No |  |
| 1991 | *Late for Dinner* | Yes | No | Yes |  |
| 1993 | *Needful Things* | No | Yes | No |  |
| 1995 | *Home for the Holidays* | No | Yes | No |  |
| 2005 | *Stealth* | No | Yes | No |  |
|

## InfoBox

| W. D. Richter | |
| --- | --- |
| Born | Walter Duch Richter
(1945-12-07) December 7, 1945
New Britain, Connecticut, United States |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, producer, screenwriter |


title: Hodge Hill

abstract: Hodge Hill is an area 4 miles east of Birmingham City Centre, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The MP of Hodge Hill is currently Liam Byrne. The constituency includes the smaller constituency ward and the wards of Bordesley Green, Shard End and Washwood Heath.

text:
# Hodge Hill

**Hodge Hill** is an area 4 miles east of Birmingham City Centre, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The MP of Hodge Hill is currently Liam Byrne.

The constituency includes the smaller constituency ward and the wards of Bordesley Green, Shard End and Washwood Heath.

## Politics

Hodge Hill is in the larger Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North constituency.

The Hodge Hill ward is currently represented by three councillors on Birmingham City Council. The ward has a Ward Support Officer.

## Geography

The boundaries of the Hodge Hill Ward are defined by the M6 motorway to the north and A4040 outer circle to the west.

Hodge Hill Common and the Cole Valley, which are covered by the Kingfisher Country Park, are major areas of open space within the ward.

## Population

The 2001 Population Census recorded 24,825 people living within the ward with a population density of 4,566 people per km2 compared with 3,649 people per km2 for Birmingham. Ethnic minorities represent 13.9% (3,442) of the ward's population as opposed to 29.6% for Birmingham in general.

## Transport

The B4114 Coleshill Road is the main road that separates the area. Stechford station on the Coventry to Birmingham New Street line, as well as occasional services to Walsall via Aston, serves the area.

Coleshill Road was the A47 before 1997, when the Heartlands Spine Road was completed.

## Facilities

The local library is Glebe Farm Library, which was the first library to be built in Birmingham after World War II. It was constructed out of pre-fabricated concrete sections and took one year to build. On 22 April 1952 it was opened to the public by Alderman Ralph Yates, then Lord Mayor of Birmingham. The Glebe Farm Local History Society gather at the library once every month.

Shopping facilities are mainly provided at the Fox & Goose; however, many travel to nearby Stechford to shop.

Primary schools in the area include Colebourne Primary School and Hodge Hill Primary School, while the main secondary schools serving the area are Hodge Hill College and Hodge Hill Girls' School. Special schools in Hodge Hill include Beaufort School and Braidwood School for The Deaf.

## People

People from Hodge Hill include:

## InfoBox

| Hodge Hill | |
| --- | --- |
| Hodge HillLocation within the West Midlands | |
| Population | 28,026 (2011.Ward) |
| Density | 48.2 per ha |
| OS grid reference | SP130890 |
| Metropolitan borough |  |
| Shire county |  |
| Metropolitan county |  |
| Region |  |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BIRMINGHAM |
| Postcode district | B34 & B36 |
| Dialling code | 0121 |
|  | |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
|  | |
| UK Parliament |  |
|


title: James Rochfort Maguire

abstract: James Rochfort Maguire was a British imperialist and Irish Nationalist politician and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party he represented North Donegal (1890–92) and as a Parnellite Member he represented West Clare (1892–95). He was a friend and associate of Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902), and was one of the three men who signed the original concession on which was based the British South Africa Company, of which he was president in 1923–25.

text:
# James Rochfort Maguire

**James Rochfort Maguire** CBE (4 October 1855 – 18 April 1925) was a British imperialist and Irish Nationalist politician and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party he represented North Donegal (1890–92) and as a Parnellite Member he represented West Clare (1892–95). He was a friend and associate of Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902), and was one of the three men who signed the original concession on which was based the British South Africa Company, of which he was president in 1923–25.

## Family life and education

He was the second son of John Mullock Maguire, rector of Kilkeedy, co. Limerick, and his wife Anne Jane née Humphreys. He was educated at Cheltenham College and Merton College, Oxford, where he obtained first classes in mathematics and jurisprudence. He was elected a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford in 1878 and was called to the bar in 1883, although he never practised the law.

In Q2 1895, in St. George's, Hanover Square, London, he married the Hon. Julia Beatrice Peel, eldest daughter of Viscount Peel, a former Speaker of the House of Commons. In 1913 she laid the Foundation Stone for Bulawayo Railway Station.

## Career

While at Oxford, Maguire became friendly with Cecil Rhodes. In 1888, Rhodes sent him with Charles Rudd and Francis Thompson to negotiate a concession of land and mineral rights in Matabeleland from Chief Lobengula at Bulawayo. This was signed on 30 October. The British South Africa Company was chartered the following October and Maguire was associated with it for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, in 1888, Rhodes had reached an agreement with Parnell, whom he admired. Rhodes supported Home Rule for Ireland, but saw it as only part of an Imperial federal scheme for the whole British Empire in which all the self-governing territories would send members to the Imperial Parliament. He therefore objected to the terms of Gladstone's unsuccessful Home Rule Bill of 1886, which would have ended Irish representation at Westminster. He gave Parnell £10,000 for the Irish Party's funds in exchange for an undertaking that the Party would promote the continuation of Irish members at Westminster (in the event both later Home Rule Bills, in 1893 and 1912, did provide for this).

Maguire, who shared Rhodes' admiration for Parnell, became the main link between Rhodes and Parnell, and a seat was found for him at an uncontested by-election at North Donegal in June 1890. Less than six months later, however, the Irish Party split over Parnell's leadership. Maguire continued his support for Parnell, and, after Parnell's death in October 1891, for the embattled Parnellites. This meant that he was faced with a real fight at the general election of 1892. Then, he contested West Clare, defeating the Anti-Parnellite candidate convincingly by over 1,000 votes. However, at the following general election in 1895, after the destruction of the second Home Rule Bill by the House of Lords in 1894, Maguire lost the seat to a fresh Anti-Parnellite candidate, by 403 votes.

His later career was almost entirely concerned with South and central Africa. He went through the Siege of Kimberley in the Boer War with Rhodes, accompanied by his wife. After Rhodes' death in 1902, Maguire carried on his work as a businessman, in the British South Africa Company, as a director of the Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, and particularly in the development of the Rhodesian railway system of which he was chairman for many years.

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1918 New Year Honours for his efforts during the First World War.

According to *The Times*, among dozens of friends and associates from his imperial career who attended his funeral on 24 April 1925, there was only one representative of the Irish nationalist movement, namely his former Parnellite colleague John O'Connor.

## Publications

* *The pioneers of empire: Being a vindication of the principle and a short sketch of the history of chartered companies, with especial reference to the British South Africa Company*, London, Methuen, 1896
* *Cecil Rhodes: A biography and appreciation* (Macmillan's colonial library), 1897
* The case of Ireland: "The Times" proposal. My suggestions, 1919
* "Rhodesia," *Journal of the African Society* (continued as *African Affairs*), Vol.22 No.86, January 1923, pp. 81–95

## Sources


title: Nectandra cordata

abstract: Nectandra cordata is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to Peru.

text:
# Nectandra cordata

***Nectandra cordata*** is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is endemic to Peru.

## InfoBox

| *Nectandra cordata* | |
| --- | --- |
| Conservation status | |
|
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| *Clade*: | Tracheophytes |
| *Clade*: | Angiosperms |
| *Clade*: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | *Nectandra* |
| Species: | ***N. cordata*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Nectandra cordata***
Rohwer | |
|


title: Richard Kahlenberg

abstract: Richard D. Kahlenberg is an American writer who has written about a variety of education, labor and housing issues. Kahlenberg is Director of the American Identity Project and Director of Housing at the Progressive Policy Institute, and a professorial lecturer at George Washington University's Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration.

text:
# Richard Kahlenberg

**Richard D. Kahlenberg** (born June 8, 1963) is an American writer who has written about a variety of education, labor and housing issues.

Kahlenberg is Director of the American Identity Project and Director of Housing at the Progressive Policy Institute, and a professorial lecturer at George Washington University's Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration.

## Early life and education

Kahlenberg graduated *magna cum laude* from Harvard College in 1985 and *cum laude* from Harvard Law School in 1989. Between college and law school, he spent a year in Kenya at the University of Nairobi School of Journalism, as a Rotary Scholar.

## Career

The author or editor of 18 books, he has been called “the intellectual father of the economic integration movement” in K–12 schooling and “arguably the nation’s chief proponent of class-based affirmative action in higher education admissions.” He is also an authority on housing segregation, teachers’ unions, charter schools, community colleges, and labor organizing.

*The New York Times* called Kahlenberg “the most prominent self-described progressive with doubts about the current version of affirmative action.” In a magazine profile, *The New Republic* called him an “affirmative action prophet” for toiling away for decades in support of class-based affirmative action, an idea that was “a heresy” among liberals but is likely to become a key path forward for promoting racial diversity. Kahlenberg's 1996 book *The Remedy: Class, Race and Affirmative Action* was named one of the best books of the year by *The Washington Post*. William Julius Wilson's review in *The New York Times* called it “by far the most comprehensive and thoughtful account thus far for...affirmative action based on class.”

Kahlenberg won the William A. Kaplin Award for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy Scholarship for his research on ways selective colleges can open the doors to more economically disadvantaged students. William G. Bowen and Michael S. McPherson wrote that he “deserves more credit than anyone else for arguing vigorously and relentlessly for stronger efforts to address disparities by socioeconomic status.” He served as an expert witness to the plaintiffs in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina.

Kahlenberg has been a nonresident scholar at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy, a Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation, a Fellow at the Center for National Policy, a visiting associate professor of constitutional law at George Washington University, and a legislative assistant to Senator Charles S. Robb (D-VA). He is serves on the advisory board of the Pell Institute and the Albert Shanker Institute.

Kahlenberg's articles have been published in *The New York Times,* *The Washington Post,* *The Wall Street Journal, The Economist* and *The New Republic* and he has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, C-SPAN, MSNBC, and NPR.

## Works

* *Excluded: How Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, and Class Bias Build the Walls We Don't See* (PublicAffairs Press, 2023);
* *A Smarter Charter: Finding What Works for Charter Schools and Public Education* (with Halley Potter) (Teachers College Press, 2014);
* *Why Labor Organizing Should Be a Civil Right: Rebuilding a Middle-Class Democracy by Enhancing Worker Voice* (with Moshe Marvit) (Century Foundation Press, 2012);
* *Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race and Democracy* (Columbia University Press, 2007);
* *All Together Now: Creating Middle Class Schools through Public School Choice* (Brookings Institution Press, 2001);
* *The Remedy: Class, Race, and Affirmative Action* (Basic Books, 1996); and
* *Broken Contract: A Memoir of Harvard Law School* (Hill & Wang/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992.)

### Edited Volumes

* *Restoring the American Dream: Providing Community Colleges with the Resources They Need* – The Report of the Working Group on Community College Financial Resources (Executive Director) (2019)
* *The Future of Affirmative Action: New Paths to Higher Education Diversity after Fisher v. University of Texas* (2014)
* *Bridging the Higher Education Divide: Strengthening Community Colleges and Restoring the American Dream, Chaired by Anthony Marx and Eduardo Padron* (Executive Director) (2013);
* *The Future of School Integration: Socioeconomic Diversity as an Education Reform Strategy* (2012);
* *Affirmative Action for the Rich: Legacy Preferences in College Admissions* (2010);
* *Rewarding Strivers: Helping Low-Income Students Succeed in College* (2010);
* *Improving on No Child Left Behind: Getting Education Reform Back on Track* (2008);
* *America's Untapped Resource: Low-Income Students in Higher Education* (2004);
* *Public School Choice vs. Private School Vouchers* (2003);
* *Divided We Fail: Coming Together Through Public School Choice. The Report of The Century Foundation Task Force on the Common School,* Chaired by Lowell Weicker (Executive Director) (2002);
* *A Notion at Risk: Preserving Public Education as an Engine for Social Mobility* (2000).

## InfoBox

| Richard Kahlenberg | |
| --- | --- |
| Born | Richard D. Kahlenberg
(1963-06-08) June 8, 1963
United States |
| Education | Harvard University (BA, JD) |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, academic |


title: Thoreauea

abstract: Thoreauea is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apocynaceae. It is native to southern Mexico. The genus name of Thoreauea is in honour of Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), an American naturalist, essayist, poet and philosopher. It was first described and published in Lundellia Vol.5 on page 47 in 2002.

text:
# Thoreauea

***Thoreauea*** is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Apocynaceae.

It is native to southern Mexico.

The genus name of *Thoreauea* is in honour of Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), an American naturalist, essayist, poet and philosopher. It was first described and published in Lundellia Vol.5 on page 47 in 2002.

## Known species

According to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew:

## InfoBox

| *Thoreauea* | |
| --- | --- |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| *Clade*: | Tracheophytes |
| *Clade*: | Angiosperms |
| *Clade*: | Eudicots |
| *Clade*: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Apocynaceae |
| Genus: | *Thoreauea*<br>J.K.Williams |
|


title: General game playing

abstract: General game playing (GGP) is the design of artificial intelligence programs to be able to play more than one game successfully. For many games like chess, computers are programmed to play these games using a specially designed algorithm, which cannot be transferred to another context. For instance, a chess-playing computer program cannot play checkers. General game playing is considered as a necessary milestone on the way to artificial general intelligence. General video game playing (GVGP) is the concept of GGP adjusted to the purpose of playing video games. For video games, game rules have to be either learnt over multiple iterations by artificial players like TD-Gammon, or are predefined manually in a domain-specific language and sent in advance to artificial players like in traditional GGP. Starting in 2013, significant progress was made following the deep reinforcement learning approach, including the development of programs that can learn to play Atari 2600 games as well as a program that can learn to play Nintendo Entertainment System games. The first commercial usage of general game playing technology was Zillions of Games in 1998. General game playing was also proposed for trading agents in supply chain management there under price negotiation in online auctions from 2003 on.

text:
# General game playing

**General game playing** (**GGP**) is the design of artificial intelligence programs to be able to play more than one game successfully. For many games like chess, computers are programmed to play these games using a specially designed algorithm, which cannot be transferred to another context. For instance, a chess-playing computer program cannot play checkers. General game playing is considered as a necessary milestone on the way to artificial general intelligence.

**General video game playing** (**GVGP**) is the concept of GGP adjusted to the purpose of playing video games. For video games, game rules have to be either learnt over multiple iterations by artificial players like TD-Gammon, or are predefined manually in a domain-specific language and sent in advance to artificial players like in traditional GGP. Starting in 2013, significant progress was made following the deep reinforcement learning approach, including the development of programs that can learn to play Atari 2600 games as well as a program that can learn to play Nintendo Entertainment System games.

The first commercial usage of general game playing technology was Zillions of Games in 1998. General game playing was also proposed for trading agents in supply chain management there under price negotiation in online auctions from 2003 on.

## History

In 1992, Barney Pell defined the concept of Meta-Game Playing, and developed the "MetaGame" system. This was the first program to automatically generate game rules of chess-like games, and one of the earliest programs to use automated game generation. Pell then developed the system *Metagamer*. This system was able to play a number of chess-like games, given game rules definition in a special language called Game Description Language (GDL), without any human interaction once the games were generated.

In 1998, the commercial system Zillions of Games was developed by Jeff Mallett and Mark Lefler. The system used a LISP-like language to define the game rules. Zillions of Games derived the evaluation function automatically from the game rules based on piece mobility, board structure and game goals. It also employed usual algorithms as found in computer chess systems: alpha–beta pruning with move ordering, transposition tables, etc. The package was extended in 2007 by the addition of the Axiom plug-in, an alternate metagame engine that incorporates a complete Forth-based programming language.

In 1998, z-Tree was developed by Urs Fischbacher. z-Tree is the first and the most cited software tool for experimental economics. z-Tree allows the definition of game rules in z-Tree-language for game-theoretic experiments with human subjects. It also allows definition of computer players, which participate in a play with human subjects.

In 2005, the Stanford Project *General Game Playing* was established.

In 2012, the development of PyVGDL started.

## GGP implementations

### Stanford project

*General Game Playing* is a project of the Stanford Logic Group of Stanford University, California, which aims to create a platform for general game playing. It is the most well-known effort at standardizing GGP AI, and generally seen as the standard for GGP systems. The games are defined by sets of rules represented in the Game Description Language. In order to play the games, players interact with a game hosting server that monitors moves for legality and keeps players informed of state changes.

Since 2005, there have been annual General Game Playing competitions at the AAAI Conference. The competition judges competitor AI's abilities to play a variety of different games, by recording their performance on each individual game. In the first stage of the competition, entrants are judged on their ability to perform legal moves, gain the upper hand, and complete games faster. In the following runoff round, the AIs face off against each other in increasingly complex games. The AI that wins the most games at this stage wins the competition, and until 2013 its creator used to win a $10,000 prize. So far, the following programs were victorious:

| Year | Name | Developer | Institution | Ref |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2005 | Cluneplayer | Jim Clune | UCLA |
| 2006 | Fluxplayer | Stephan Schiffel and Michael Thielscher | Dresden University of Technology |  |
| 2007 | Cadiaplayer | Yngvi Björnsson and Hilmar Finnsson | Reykjavik University |  |
| 2008 | Cadiaplayer | Yngvi Björnsson, Hilmar Finnsson and Gylfi Þór Guðmundsson | Reykjavik University |  |
| 2009 | Ary | Jean Méhat | Paris 8 University |  |
| 2010 | Ary | Jean Méhat | Paris 8 University |  |
| 2011 | TurboTurtle | Sam Schreiber |  |  |
| 2012 | Cadiaplayer | Hilmar Finnsson and Yngvi Björnsson | Reykjavik University |  |
| 2013 | TurboTurtle | Sam Schreiber |  |  |
| 2014 | Sancho | Steve Draper and Andrew Rose |  |  |
| 2015 | Galvanise | Richard Emslie |  |  |
| 2016 | WoodStock | Eric Piette | Artois University |  |

### Other approaches

There are other general game playing systems, which use their own languages for defining the game rules. Other general game playing software include:

| System | Year | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FRAMASI | 2009 | Developed for general game playing and economic experiments during a PhD thesis. |
| AiAi | 2015-2017 | Developed by Stephen Tavener (previous Zillions developer). |
| PolyGamo Player | 2017 | Released by David M. Bennett in September 2017 based on the Unity game engine. |
| Regular Boardgames | 2019 | Developed by Jakub Kowalski, Marek Szykuła, and their team at University of Wrocław. |
| Ludii | 2020 | Released by Cameron Browne and his team at Maastricht University as part of the ERC-funded Digital Ludeme Project. |

## GVGP implementations

### Reinforcement learning

GVGP could potentially be used to create real video game AI automatically, as well as "to test game environments, including those created automatically using procedural content generation and to find potential loopholes in the gameplay that a human player could exploit". GVGP has also been used to generate game rules, and estimate a game's quality based on Relative Algorithm Performance Profiles (RAPP), which compare the skill differentiation that a game allows between good AI and bad AI.

### Video Game Description Language

The **General Video Game AI Competition** (GVGAI) has been running since 2014. In this competition, two-dimensional video games similar to (and sometimes based on) 1980s-era arcade and console games are used instead of the board games used in the GGP competition. It has offered a way for researchers and practitioners to test and compare their best general video game playing algorithms. The competition has an associated software framework including a large number of games written in the **Video Game Description Language (VGDL)**, which should not be confused with GDL and is a coding language using simple semantics and commands that can easily be parsed. One example for VGDL is PyVGDL developed in 2013. The games used in GVGP are, for now, often 2-dimensional arcade games, as they are the simplest and easiest to quantify. To simplify the process of creating an AI that can interpret video games, games for this purpose are written in VGDL manually. VGDL can be used to describe a game specifically for procedural generation of levels, using Answer Set Programming (ASP) and an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA). GVGP can then be used to test the validity of procedural levels, as well as the difficulty or quality of levels based on how an agent performed.

## Algorithms

Since GGP AI must be designed to play multiple games, its design cannot rely on algorithms created specifically for certain games. Instead, the AI must be designed using algorithms whose methods can be applied to a wide range of games. The AI must also be an ongoing process, that can adapt to its current state rather than the output of previous states. For this reason, open loop techniques are often most effective.

A popular method for developing GGP AI is the Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS) algorithm. Often used together with the UCT method (*Upper Confidence Bound applied to Trees*), variations of MCTS have been proposed to better play certain games, as well as to make it compatible with video game playing. Another variation of tree-search algorithms used is the Directed Breadth-first Search (DBS), in which a child node to the current state is created for each available action, and visits each child ordered by highest average reward, until either the game ends or runs out of time. In each tree-search method, the AI simulates potential actions and ranks each based on the average highest reward of each path, in terms of points earned.

### Assumptions

In order to interact with games, algorithms must operate under the assumption that games all share common characteristics. In the book *Half-Real: Video Games Between Real Worlds and Fictional Worlds*, Jesper Juul gives the following definition of games: Games are based on rules, they have variable outcomes, different outcomes give different values, player effort influences outcomes, the player is attached to the outcomes, and the game has negotiable consequences. Using these assumptions, game playing AI can be created by quantifying the player input, the game outcomes, and how the various rules apply, and using algorithms to compute the most favorable path.


title: Grand Brewing

abstract: Grand Brewing Luxembourg, is a Luxembourgish brewery founded by Mark Hatherly in 2014.

text:
# Grand Brewing

**Grand Brewing Luxembourg**, is a Luxembourgish brewery founded by Mark Hatherly in 2014.

## History

Grand Brewing was founded in 2014 by Mark Heatherly. In 2015, the company launched its first commercial release : the *Red Bridge Amber Ale* (named after the Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge). Since then it has also released Luxembourgs first ever India Pale Ale, named *Satellite I.P.A.* (named after Luxembourg's famous SES Astra company). The release of a Pilsner and Porter beer are planned sometime in the near future.

Before 2016, Grand Brewing was known as *Capital City Brewing*, but since there was already a company holding the rights to this name, they changed to the now known Grand Brewing Luxembourg.

## InfoBox

Grand Brewing Luxembourg
| *Grand Brewing logo* | |
| --- | --- |
| Location | Luxembourg City, Luxembourg |
| Opened | 2014 |
| Key people | Mark Hatherly |
| Owned by | Grand Brewing |
| Website | grandbrewing.lu |
| Active beers | |
| Name Type  *Red Bridge* Amber Ale  *Satellite I.P.A.* Luxembourgs first ever India pale ale | |


title: Hocine Zaourar

abstract: Hocine Zaourar, also known by the mononym Hocine, is an Algerian photojournalist. His photograph of a woman grieving after the Bentalha massacre in Algeria, dubbed the "Madonna of Bentalha", won both the World Press Photo of the Year and the Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for war correspondents in 1998.

text:
# Hocine Zaourar

**Hocine Zaourar** (born 18 December 1952), also known by the mononym **Hocine,** is an Algerian photojournalist. His photograph of a woman grieving after the Bentalha massacre in Algeria, dubbed the "Madonna of Bentalha", won both the World Press Photo of the Year and the Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for war correspondents in 1998.

## Life and work

Hocine took up photography in 1970. He joined Reuters as a photojournalist in 1989 and worked for Agence France-Presse from January 1993. Initially he worked in various countries, in particular Somalia, Rwanda and Zaire, but later worked entirely in Algeria.

Hocine's photograph titled "Woman Grieves after Massacre in Bentalha" was made on 23 September 1997 outside Zmirli Hospital, 15 km from Algiers. Dead and wounded people had been taken to the hospital after the Bentalha massacre by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria the previous night, during the Algerian Civil War. The photograph was published on the front pages of many newspapers, and was later dubbed the "Madonna of Bentalha" or "Bentalha Madonna". It caused controversy in Algeria and "has been credited with focusing attention on political violence" in the country.

## Awards

## Further reading


title: W. D. Schock Corp

abstract: The W. D. Schock Corporation is an American boat builder originally based in Newport Beach, California, later in Corona, California and currently located in Santa Ana, California. The company was founded by William "Bill" D. Schock in 1958 and specializes in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.

text:
# W. D. Schock Corp

The **W. D. Schock Corporation** (usually styled **W. D. Schock Corp**) is an American boat builder originally based in Newport Beach, California, later in Corona, California and currently located in Santa Ana, California. The company was founded by William "Bill" D. Schock in 1958 and specializes in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.

## History

Bill Schock built his first boat at age 13, a Skimmer sailing dinghy constructed in the family garage in Hollywood, California. After his time as a crew chief in the military in the Second World War, he returned home to live in a small beach house in Newport Beach and started a boat repair business there. Among his early customers was an amusement park, who had a rental fleet of boats.

Schock's first boat built and sold was an International 14 that he intended to sail himself and constructed using a cold-molded wood method. Another sailor saw the boat while it was under construction and bought it from Schock. This led to the formation of the company, initially called *W. D. Schock Boat Building and Repair*.

In 1955 Schock bought out Barney Lehman's company, PlastiGlass and its designs.

The first design mass-produced was the Lehman 10 dinghy. The Lehman 14 was updated to become the Lido 14 and proved a commercial success, propelling the company to become one of the biggest boat builders on the US Pacific Ocean coast.

In the 1960s Seymour Paul was the company's in-house designer and he drew boats such as the 1960 Catalina Catamaran and the 1969 Santana 21.

In the late 1970s the company hired a number of designers to create a series of sailboats in the Santana series. Early designs by Gary Mull include the Santana 22 in 1966. Yacht designer W. Shad Turner later designed the company's early racing keel-boat line that including the Santana 25-1, Santana 25-2 in 1973, the commercially successful Santana 20 in 1976 and the Santana 28 in 1978. The Santana 228 followed in 1978, the Santana 23 D the same year, with the Santana 35 in 1979, Santana 23 K in 1980 and the Schock 35 in 1984.

Eventually Bill Schock passed the company to his son Tom Schock and Tom's wife Jane. Son Steven Schock was also involved in the design of some of the sailboats, drawing and designing the Harbor 20.

In 2011, after 53 years in business, the company was sold to Alexander Vucelic von Raduboj, who became the new president, while Tom Schock remained on the company's board of directors. In 2014, the company was sold to John O'Donnell, who had formerly been the general manager.

In 2018 the company was producing four designs, the Harbor 20, Harbor 25, Harbor 30 and the US Sabot. By 2020 the company was only building the Harbor 20.

## Boats

Summary of boats built by W. D. Schock Corp:

## InfoBox

W. D. Schock Corporation
|
|  |
| Company type | Privately held company |
| Industry | Boat building |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Founder | William "Bill" D. Schock |
| Headquarters | Santa Ana, California, United States |
| Key people | President: John O'Donnell |
| Products | Sailboats |
| Website | www.wdschockcorp.com |


title: Holhymenia

abstract: Holhymenia is a genus in the "true bug" family Coreidae, order Hemiptera. The genus was erected by Amédée Louis Michel Lepeletier and Jean Guillaume Audinet-Serville in 1825. The name is frequently misspelled as "Holymenia", due to an unjustified emendation by Hermann Burmeister ten years after the name was originally published. Many species of Holhymenia feed on the fruits of Passiflora spp, and several are considered pests of commercial passion fruit production.

text:
# Holhymenia

***Holhymenia*** is a genus in the "true bug" family Coreidae, order Hemiptera. The genus was erected by Amédée Louis Michel Lepeletier and Jean Guillaume Audinet-Serville in 1825. The name is frequently misspelled as "*Holymenia*", due to an unjustified emendation by Hermann Burmeister ten years after the name was originally published.

Many species of *Holhymenia* feed on the fruits of *Passiflora* spp, and several are considered pests of commercial passion fruit production.

## InfoBox

| *Holhymenia* | |
| --- | --- |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Family: | Coreidae |
| Genus: | ***Holhymenia***<br>Lepeletier & Serville, 1825 |
|
| Synonyms | |
| * *Holligmenia* Thon, 1829 * *Holymenia* Burmeister, 1835 | |


title: James Rodd

abstract: James Rodd was the leader of the New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island from November 2007 when he was selected as interim leader at the party's annual general meeting following the resignation of Dean Constable. Rodd was ratified as leader at a leadership convention held on April 4, 2009. Rodd, an organic farmer, was a candidate for the district of Borden-Kinkora in the 2003 provincial election and in York-Oyster Bed in the 2007 provincial election and the 2011 provincial election. Rodd is also past president of the Island NDP. He announced his intention to resign as leader of the party on February 8, 2012. and was succeeded as party leader by Mike Redmond in October of that year, upon his resignation. In 2017, Rodd, along with former PEI politicians including Cynthia Dunsford and Alan Buchanan, both former Liberal MLAs, officially joined the province's Green Party due that party's member Hannah Bell by-election win in Charlottetown-Parkdale, which was the first time in PEI politics that third party had won in by-election, and their shared interest with that party's position of promoting voting reform in the province in the form of proportional representation.

text:
# James Rodd

**James Rodd** (January 29, 1956) was the leader of the New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island from November 2007 when he was selected as interim leader at the party's annual general meeting following the resignation of Dean Constable. Rodd was ratified as leader at a leadership convention held on April 4, 2009.

Rodd, an organic farmer, was a candidate for the district of Borden-Kinkora in the 2003 provincial election and in York-Oyster Bed in the 2007 provincial election and the 2011 provincial election. Rodd is also past president of the Island NDP. He announced his intention to resign as leader of the party on February 8, 2012. and was succeeded as party leader by Mike Redmond in October of that year, upon his resignation.

In 2017, Rodd, along with former PEI politicians including Cynthia Dunsford and Alan Buchanan, both former Liberal MLAs, officially joined the province's Green Party due that party's member Hannah Bell by-election win in Charlottetown-Parkdale, which was the first time in PEI politics that third party had won in by-election, and their shared interest with that party's position of promoting voting reform in the province in the form of proportional representation.

## InfoBox

| James Rodd | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Leader of the New Democratic Party of Prince Edward Island | |
| **In office**
November 2007  October 13, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Dean Constable |
| Succeeded by | Mike Redmond |
|  | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1954-01-29) January 29, 1954 |
| Political party | Green (2017–present) |
| Other political
affiliations | New Democratic Party (until 2017) |
| Profession | Farmer |
|  | |


title: Nectandra dasystyla

abstract: Nectandra dasystyla is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae. It is found in moist lowland forests of Bolivia, Peru, and possibly Ecuador.

text:
# Nectandra dasystyla

***Nectandra dasystyla*** is a species of plant in the family Lauraceae.

It is found in moist lowland forests of Bolivia, Peru, and possibly Ecuador.

## InfoBox

| *Nectandra dasystyla* | |
| --- | --- |
| Conservation status | |
|
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| *Clade*: | Tracheophytes |
| *Clade*: | Angiosperms |
| *Clade*: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Laurales |
| Family: | Lauraceae |
| Genus: | *Nectandra* |
| Species: | ***N. dasystyla*** |
| Binomial name | |
| ***Nectandra dasystyla***
Rohwer | |
|


title: Richard Kabonero

abstract:
Richard Tumusiime Kabonero, commonly known as Richard Kabonero, is a Ugandan civil servant and diplomat.
He is the head of department of Regional Economic Cooperation, at the Uganda Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since June 2022. Before that, he served as Uganda's High Commissioner to Tanzania.

text:
# Richard Kabonero

**Richard Tumusiime Kabonero**, commonly known as **Richard Kabonero**, is a Ugandan civil servant and diplomat. He is the head of department of *Regional Economic Cooperation*, at the Uganda Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since June 2022. Before that, he served as Uganda's High Commissioner to Tanzania.

## Background and education

He was born in Ntungamo District, to Constance Kabonero, a midwife, and the late Kosia Kabonero, a veterinarian, circa 1963. His father died before Richard was born.

## Career

Kabonero started his career in 1988, working as a customs officer at Uganda Customs, the precursor to the Uganda Revenue Authority. Later, he was appointed as an Assistant Secretary, in the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 1990, he was appointed as 3rd Secretary at Uganda's High Commission to Kenya, based in Nairobi. Later he served in Uganda's Embassy to the United States based in Washington, DC and was promoted to First Secretary, responsible for Economic, Congressional and Press Affairs.

In 2006, he was appointed Uganda's High Commissioner to Rwanda, based in Kigali, serving in that capacity until 2017. While there, he is credited with the proper supervision of the construction of the Uganda Chancery, saving the government over USh400 million (approximately US$115,000) in annual rent expenses. During his tenure, bilateral trade between Rwanda and Uganda grew from US$50 million annually to US$200 every year. Also, in 2006, only 200 Rwandan students were enrolled in Ugandan schools, compared to over 1,500 in 2016. Richard Kabonero is personally credited with the improvement of relations between Uganda and Rwanda, which were frayed during the Second Congo War.

In January 2017, after 10 years in Kigali, he was transferred to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, as the substantive High Commissioner. He presented his credentials to John Magufuli, the president of Tanzania on 1 August 2017. He also paid a courtesy visit to Ali Mohamed Shein, the president of Zanzibar on 19 October 2017.

As Uganda's high commissioner to Tanzania, he was concurrently accredited to Mozambique. He presented his credentials to Filipe Nyusi, the head of state of the country on 17 May 2018.

## InfoBox

| Richard Tumusiime Kabonero | |
| --- | --- |
|  | |
| Born | 1963 (age 6061)
Ntungamo, Uganda |
| Nationality | Ugandan |
| Citizenship | Uganda |
| Occupation(s) | Civil Servant and diplomat |
| Years active | 1988 — present |
| Known for | Diplomacy |
| Title | His Excellency |
| Family | Constance Kabonero (mother)
Susan Muhwezi (sister)
Bob Kabonero (brother)
Jim Muhwezi (brother-in-law)
Esteeri Kabonero (daughter) |


title: Thornton River

abstract: The Thornton River is a 27.9-mile-long (44.9 km) river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It rises at Thornton Gap in Shenandoah National Park and flows east through Rappahannock County, running parallel to U.S. Route 211 until it reaches the town of Sperryville. Continuing east into Culpeper County, the Thornton River joins the Hazel River, a tributary of the Rappahannock River, and thus part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Fletcher's Mill was a historic mill on the river, at 38.64722°N 78.20641°W at Fletcher Mill, Virginia.

text:
# Thornton River

The **Thornton River** is a 27.9-mile-long (44.9 km) river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It rises at Thornton Gap in Shenandoah National Park and flows east through Rappahannock County, running parallel to U.S. Route 211 until it reaches the town of Sperryville. Continuing east into Culpeper County, the Thornton River joins the Hazel River, a tributary of the Rappahannock River, and thus part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

**Fletcher's Mill** was a historic mill on the river, at 38°38′50″N 78°12′23″W / 38.64722°N 78.20641°W / 38.64722; -78.20641 (Fletcher's Mill site) at Fletcher Mill, Virginia.

38°36′09″N 78°00′10″W / 38.6026°N 78.0028°W / 38.6026; -78.0028


abstract: Princess Gabriella, Countess of Carladès, is the daughter of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene. She is second in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, behind her twin brother, Hereditary Prince Jacques.

text:
# Princess Gabriella, Countess of Carladès

**Princess Gabriella, Countess of Carladès** (Gabriella Thérèse Marie Grimaldi; born 10 December 2014), is the daughter of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene. She is second in the line of succession to the Monegasque throne, behind her twin brother, Hereditary Prince Jacques.

## Birth and christening

On 30 May 2014, it was announced that Princess Charlene was pregnant. After much speculation it was confirmed, on 9 October 2014, that the couple was expecting twins by the end of the year. On 21 November 2014, the palace announced that each twin would have the right to a salvo of 21 cannon shots at birth. Forty-two cannon shots (21 for each child) were to be fired from the Fort Antoine and church bells were to be rung for fifteen minutes. In addition, the day would be declared a holiday.

On 10 December 2014, Princess Gabriella was born at Monaco's Princess Grace Hospital Centre, followed two minutes later by her brother, Hereditary Prince Jacques. She was granted the title Countess of Carladès by her father. On 7 January 2015, the children were presented to the Monegasque people.

Gabriella and Jacques were baptised at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate in Monaco-Ville on 10 May 2015. Her godparents are her maternal uncle Gareth Wittstock and Francois Pienaar's wife Nerine Pienaar. At this occasion, she was awarded the Grand Officer of the Order of Grimaldi.

## Education

Gabriella and her brother Jacques attended François d'Assise-Nicolas Barré School since 2021.

## Honours

## InfoBox

| Princess Gabriella | |
| --- | --- |
| *Countess of Carladès* | |
| Born | (2014-12-10) 10 December 2014<br>Princess Grace Hospital Centre, La Colle, Monaco |
| Names  Gabriella Thérèse Marie Grimaldi | |
| House | Grimaldi |
| Father | Albert II, Prince of Monaco |
| Mother | Charlene Wittstock |


title: FC Silon Táborsko

abstract: FC Silon Táborsko is a football club located in Tábor, Czech Republic. It plays in the Czech National Football League.

text:
# FC Silon Táborsko

**FC Silon Táborsko** is a football club located in Tábor, Czech Republic. It plays in the Czech National Football League (2nd tier).

## History

The club was formerly located at Soukenik stadium in nearby Sezimovo Ústí. Lower squads of the team, as well the youth teams still play their games there. In June 2011, FK Spartak MAS Sezimovo Ústí owner Jiří Smrž bought the rights to neighbouring team FK Tábor and at the end of 2011, the club announced that they would compete from 2012, including the remainder of the season in progress, as **FC MAS Táborsko**.

In 2022, the club got a new main sponsor and changed its name to **FC Silon Táborsko**.

### Historical names

* ?–2011: *FK Spartak MAS Sezimovo Ústí*
* 2012–2022: *FC MAS Táborsko*
* 2022–: *FC Silon Táborsko*

## Players

### Current squad

*As of 5 September 2024*.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. Pos. Nation Player  1 GK  CZE Daniel Kerl  5 DF  CZE Pavel Novák  6 DF  CZE Luboš Tusjak  7 FW  CZE Jakub Šašinka  8 MF  CZE Ondřej Bláha  9 FW  CZE Jan Mach  10 DF  CZE Petr Plachý  11 MF  NGA Soliu Afolabi  13 MF  CZE Tomáš Drchal  14 MF  CZE Jiří Šplíchal  15 MF  CZE Matouš Varačka  16 MF  CZE David Skopec  17 MF  CZE Jakub Nečas | No. Pos. Nation Player  18 GK  CZE Martin Pastornický  19 DF  CZE Petr Heppner  21 DF  CZE Jakub Schindler  22 MF  CZE Jiří Kateřiňák  23 MF  SRB Bojan Djordjić  24 DF  MLI Mamadou Koné  25 MF  CZE Jakub Kopáček  26 MF  ZAM Ngosa Sunzu  27 FW  CZE Ondřej Novotný  28 DF  CZE Martin Foltýn  29 FW  CZE Daniel Hais *(on loan from Hradec Králové)*  DF  CZE Jakub Barac |
| --- | --- |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| No. Pos. Nation Player |
| --- |

### Notable former players

## Honours

## InfoBox

FC Silon Táborsko
|  | |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Football Club Silon Táborsko a.s. |
| Founded | 2012 (2012) |
| Ground | Stadion v Kvapilově ulici |
| Chairman | Jiří Smrž |
| Manager | Radek Kronďák |
| League | Czech National Football League |
| 2023–24 | 3rd of 16 |
| Website | Club website |
|  | |
|  | |
|  | |


title: Mount Elizabeth Hospital

abstract: Mount Elizabeth Hospital, known colloquially as Mount E, is a 345-bed private hospital in Singapore operated by Parkway Health. Construction began in 1976 and the hospital officially opened on 8 December 1979. The hospital specialises in cardiology, oncology, and neuroscience, among other tertiary services. It is also recognised as a multi-organ transplant speciality hospital. Since 1995, it has been owned by Parkway Holdings Ltd. The hospital is accredited by Joint Commission International and is located in Singapore's Orchard Road, on Mount Elizabeth. It is the first private hospital in Singapore to perform open-heart surgery and to establish a nuclear medicine centre. The royal family of Brunei built a Royal Suite in the hospital for their own use. It was later made available for use by other patients.

text:
# Mount Elizabeth Hospital

**Mount Elizabeth Hospital**, known colloquially as **Mount E**, is a 345-bed private hospital in Singapore operated by Parkway Health. Construction began in 1976 and the hospital officially opened on 8 December 1979. The hospital specialises in cardiology, oncology, and neuroscience, among other tertiary services. It is also recognised as a multi-organ transplant speciality hospital. Since 1995, it has been owned by Parkway Holdings Ltd.

The hospital is accredited by Joint Commission International and is located in Singapore's Orchard Road, on Mount Elizabeth. It is the first private hospital in Singapore to perform open-heart surgery and to establish a nuclear medicine centre.

The royal family of Brunei built a Royal Suite in the hospital for their own use. It was later made available for use by other patients.

## Specialities

The adjacent Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre (MEMC) houses clinics with private medical specialists only. Doctors have to be specialists accredited by the Singapore Medical Council in order to practice at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre. They practice in 31 specialities in total, including anaesthesiology (e.g. Adrian Ng Anaesthesia Pte Ltd, Anaesthesia Unlimited, and Chiu & Ngo Anaesthetic Practice), cardiology (e.g. ACE Cardiology Clinic Pte Ltd, The Harley Street Heart & Vascular Centre, and Nair Cardiac & Medical Centre), cardiothoracic surgery (e.g. C H Lim Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery, M.C. Tong Cardiothoracic Surgery Centre, and Wong Poo Sing Heart and Lung Surgery Clinic Pte Ltd), dental specialties (e.g. Chew & Chew Dental Surgery, Mount Elizabeth Dental Surgery Pte Ltd, and OMS Surgeon Pte Ltd), endocrinology (e.g. Alex Fok Endocrine Practice, Peter Eng Endocrine Clinic, and Surgery A Pte Ltd), gastroenterology (e.g. AliveoMedical, GastroClinic, and Digestive Centre), general surgery (e.g. Aelius Surgical Centre, Alpine Surgical Practice, and Ark Surgical Practice), medical oncology (e.g. Icon Cancer Centre Orchard, Mow Blood & Cancer Clinic, and Parkway Cancer Centre), neurology (Capernaum Neurology Pte Ltd, Lee Kim En Neurology Pte Ltd, and Nei Neurology Clinic Pte Ltd), obstetrics and gynaecology (e.g. Cheng Clinic For Women Pte Ltd, Dr Claudia Chi Women's Clinic, and Gyn Endoscopy Pte Ltd), orthopaedic surgery (e.g. Arete Orthopedic Centre, Auspicium Orthopaedic Centre, and Bose Bone Joint & Spine Clinic), otorhinolaryngology (Lim Ing Ruen ENT Clinic, Advanced Sinus & Skull Base Centre – ENT, and Aspire Ear Nose Throat and Snoring Clinic), paediatric medicine (e.g. Belinda's Clinic for Children, Chiang Children's Allergy & Asthma Clinic, and The Child and Allergy Clinic), plastic surgery (e.g. Aesthetic & Reconstructive Centre, AZATACA Plastic Surgery, and Harry Fok Surgery), renal medicine (e.g. Kidney Health Asia, One Future Kidney Care, and The Kidney Clinic), respiratory medicine (e.g. CHESTMED PTE LTD, Cough & Chest Specialist Pte Ltd, and The Respiratory Practice), and urology (e.g. Advanced Urology Associates Pte Ltd, Png Urology Pte Ltd, and E C Tan Urology).

The medical centre caters to patients of all ages from Singapore, Southeast Asia, and international patients from all countries visiting Singapore. Staff who understand multiple languages such as Indonesian, Russian, and Malay are available on-site to provide translations.

There are two locations of Mount Elizabeth Hospital. The first location, Mount Elizabeth Orchard, is situated at 3 Mount Elizabeth, Singapore 228510, while the second location, Mount Elizabeth Novena, is located at 38 Irrawaddy Road, Singapore 329563.

## Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital

This hospital is a 313-bed healthcare facility that opened on 2 July 2012. It is owned by Parkway Health.

Featuring more than 250 specialist physician suites and tertiary medical treatments, it offers private medical suites ranging in size from 452 square feet (42.0 m2) to 1,431 square feet (132.9 m2) in size. Prices ranged from between S$3,588 per square foot and S$3,828 per square foot. About 30% of the patients are medical tourists.

## InfoBox

| Mount Elizabeth Hospital | |
| --- | --- |
| Parkway Pantai | |
|  | |
|  | |
| Geography | |
| Location | 3 Mount Elizabeth, Singapore 228510 |
| Coordinates | 1°18′16.2″N 103°50′06.3″E / 1.304500°N 103.835083°E / 1.304500; 103.835083 |
| Organisation | |
| Funding | For-profit hospital |
| Type | General |
| Services | |
| Standards | Joint Commission International |
| Emergency department | Yes |
| Beds | 345 |
| Public transit access | Orchard |
| History | |
| Opened | 8 December 1979 (1979-12-08) |
| Links | |
| Website | mountelizabeth.com.sg |


title: Nightbox

abstract: Nightbox were a dance-punk band originally from Wicklow, Ireland. The five-piece consisted of Toronto-born brothers Jacob Alexander (Vocals) and Nicolas Amadeus (Drums), and Irishmen Andrew Keyes (Bass), James Tebbitt and James Shelly (Synthesizers). The band recorded their self-titled debut EP, produced by MSTRKRFT's Al-P and Death From Above 1979's Sebastien Grainger. Following the EP's success, they signed with Ryan Gentles of New York's Wiz Kid Management and began touring in earnest.

text:
# Nightbox

**Nightbox** were a dance-punk band originally from Wicklow, Ireland. The five-piece consisted of Toronto-born brothers Jacob Alexander (Vocals) and Nicolas Amadeus (Drums), and Irishmen Andrew Keyes (Bass), James Tebbitt (Lead Guitar) and James Shelly (Synthesizers).

The band recorded their self-titled debut EP (released February 2011), produced by MSTRKRFT's Al-P and Death From Above 1979's Sebastien Grainger. Following the EP's success, they signed with Ryan Gentles of New York's Wiz Kid Management (The Strokes) and began touring in earnest.

## History

Nightbox formed in Wicklow, Ireland after meeting at St. Gerard's School in Bray. The group's brothers, Jacob and Nick formed their first band with classmates James Shelly and James Tebbitt, "The Trotskies"; a project that culminated in their first record of original songs. Upon graduating from St. Gerard's, Nick and James Shelly went to study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). During that time, Jacob and James Tebbitt enlisted Andrew Keyes, changed the band's name to Nightbox and continued playing music through secondary school, going through various drummers and arrangements. In July 2009, the band made their debut appearance at Ireland's largest music festival (60,000+ attendees), Oxegen, Ireland. The festival's sponsor, Heineken Music Ireland, ranked Nightbox's performance in the Top-3 of the entire festival, out of hundreds of acts, claiming Nightbox to be their new favourite Irish band. In January 2010, after Nick and James Shelly graduated from UNC and Jacob, James Tebbitt and Andrew graduated from St. Gerard's, the band relocated to Toronto, Canada to record for a year.

The five-piece released their debut EP in February 2011, produced by Sebastien Grainger (Death From Above 1979) and Al–P (MSTRKRFT). Critical and commercial reaction to the band's eponymous debut was noteworthy on a world scale. The music video for single "Pyramid" earned heavy rotation on Canadian music television stations, debuting on MuchMusic's "The Wedge" program. The track was also released as part of French label Kitsuné's Maison No. 11 Compilation. "Pyramid" was chosen by NME as a Top-10 download, who acclaimed it "takes on a fresh sound of its own". UK's Dazed & Confused Magazine said "(Pyramid) takes a hedonistic approach with high energy results on a new breed of dance." The EP was re-released in Japan in September 2011 on Rallye Label, selling out 1,000 copies on its initial offering.

Prominent Irish blogger, Nialler9, stated "All signs point to Nightbox as the most likely successors to Two Door Cinema Club's worldwide ubiquity". In August 2011, Nightbox made their debut appearance in the UK, with a headlining tour which included plays at Reading & Leeds Festivals. They also earned a slot at Ireland's Electric Picnic Festival where BBC exclaimed, "The glitchy synths and the guitars sound delightful... and by jove do they know how to write a hook", rating the performance an impressive 8/10.

Nightbox have directly supported acts including Death From Above 1979 at their reunion, homecoming Toronto show in October 2011; Ellie Goulding; North-by-Northeast Music and Film Festival (NXNE) headliners Devo (July 2011); The Jesus and Mary Chain; Cults and Diamond Rings. From November 2011 – March 2012, Nightbox toured across Canada, Ireland and the UK supporting fellow Canadian artist Lights. Nightbox remixed Lights' single "Toes", released as an official bonus track on the iTunes Deluxe Edition of her second album 'Siberia'. In January 2013, Nightbox remixed Satellite Stories' "Helsinki Art Scene", released as part of the Finnish band's 'Singles Remixed EP'.

A debut album slated for Spring 2013 did not materialize. In February 2014, the group announced 'The Panic Sequence' EP would be released on 22 April 2014 on Rare Beef Records. Following the release of this EP, the group disbanded to pursue new projects.

## Appearances

• "Relocate You" featured on MTV's Season One Premier of The Inbetweeners (USA). The track has also appeared on MTV's The Pauly D Project and in Season 4 of USA Network's In Plain Sight. The "Relocate You" music video, produced and directed by Kheaven Lewandowski earned heavy rotation on Much Music and MuchMore Music directly following its release in January 2012.

• "Pyramid" featured on French record label Kitsune's 'Maison Compilation #11' & 'Gildas Kitsune: Club Night Mix'. The track also appeared on MTV's The Inbetweeners (USA), Season 1, Episode 2, and featured on the Official Urban Outfitters' "Music Mondays" playlist.

• "Bears" featured on the television series Degrassi Season 11, Episode 25.

## Releases

### EPs

| Year | Album | Track Listing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2011 | *Nightbox EP** Self-released | 1. "Pyramid"
2. "Fumes"
3. "Relocate You"
4. "Bears" |
| | *Nightbox EP (Japan Edition)** Released on Rallye Label (Japan) | 1. "Pyramid"
2. "Fumes"
3. "Relocate You"
4. "Bears
5. "Sister"
6. "Pyramid (Hidden Cat Remix)"
7. "Pyramid (Total Warr Remix)"
8. "Utopia (Live)" |
| 2014 | *The Panic Sequence EP** Released on Atria Music/Rare Beef | 1. "Burning"
2. "The Panic Sequence"
3. "In The Rural"
4. "Wonderworlds"
5. "Wash"
 |
| |

### Singles

| Year | Title | EP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2011 | *Pyramid* | * Nightbox EP * Nightbox EP (Japan Edition) |
| 2012 | *Relocate You* | * Nightbox EP * Nightbox EP (Japan Edition) |
|

### Remixes

| Year | Artist | Track | Album | EP |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2011 | Lights | *Toes* | Siberia (Deluxe Edition) – iTunes Pre-order |
| 2013 | Satellite Stories | *Helsinki Art Scene* |  | Singles Remixed EP |
|

## InfoBox

| Nightbox | |
| --- | --- |
| Origin | Wicklow, Ireland |
| Genres | Dance-punk, Indietronica, Electropop |
| Years active | 2009–2014 |
|  | |
| Members | Jacob Alexander
Nicolas Amadeus
James Tebbitt
Andrew Keyes
James Shelly |
|  | |
| Website | nightbox.ca |


title: Gutkeled (gens)

abstract: Gutkeled was the name of a gens in the Kingdom of Hungary, to which a number of Hungarian noble families belong.

text:
# Gutkeled (gens)

**Gutkeled** (spelling variants: Gut-Keled, Guthkeled, Guth-Keled) was the name of a *gens* (Latin for "clan"; *nemzetség* in Hungarian) in the Kingdom of Hungary, to which a number of Hungarian noble families belong.

## History

The primary source of their origins is the Gesta Hungarorum of Simon of Kéza, in which the author writes:

*Sed postea, tempore Petri regis Kelad et Gut intrant tres frateres ex gente Svevorum procreati. De castello Stof sunt nativi.* *″But afterwards, during the reign of king Peter, Kelad and Gut three brothers of Swabian descent immigrated. They were born at the castle of Stof.″*

The castle "Stof" is assumed to be a corruption of *Stauf*, meaning either castle Stauf in Staufen im Breisgau or the Hohenstaufen castle in Württemberg. The king mentioned is Péter Orseolo, placing the arrival of the Gutkeleds to Hungary sometime around the 1040s.

## Noble families

Some of the Hungarian noble families descending from the Gutkeleds are:

## Notable members

* One of the Guthkeled coat-of-arms, similar devices were later used by most of the families.