document_title: Debt-to-GDP ratio

question_text: total us debt as a percentage of gdp

question_tokens: total us debt as a percentage of gdp

text: Debt-to-GDP ratio

text: Global trends[edit]

text: In 2016, United States public debt-to-GDP ratio was at 104.8%.[2] The level of public debt in Japan 2013 was 243.2% of GDP, in China 22.4% and in India 66.7%, according to the IMF,[3] while the public debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of the 2nd quarter of 2016 was at 70.1% of GDP in Germany, 89.1% in the United Kingdom, 98.2% in France and 135.5% in Italy, according to Eurostat.[4]

text: Two thirds of US public debt is owned by US citizens, banks, corporations, and the Federal Reserve Bank;[5] approximately one third of US public debt is held by foreign countries - particularly China and Japan. Conversely, less than 5% of Japanese public debt is held by foreign countries.

text: Particularly in macroeconomics, various debt-to-GDP ratios can be calculated. The most commonly used ratio is the Government debt divided by the gross domestic product (GDP), which reflects the government's finances, while another common ratio is the total debt to GDP, which reflects the finances of the nation as a whole.

text: Units[edit]

text: The debt-to-GDP ratio is generally expressed as a percentage, but properly has units of years, as below.

text: By dimensional analysis these quantities are the ratio of a stock (with dimensions of currency) by a flow (with dimensions of currency/time), so[note 1] they have dimensions of time. With currency units of US dollars (or any other currency) and time units of years (GDP per annum), this yields the ratio as having units of years, which can be interpreted as "the number of years to pay off debt, if all of GDP is devoted to debt repayment". Thus, 90% refers to a debt which would take 90% of a year's GDP to pay off.

text: This interpretation must be tempered by the understanding that GDP cannot be entirely devoted to debt repayment — some must be spent on survival, at the minimum, and in general only 5–10% will be devoted to debt repayment, even during episodes such as the Great Depression, which have been interpreted as debt-deflation — and thus actual "years to repay" is debt-to-GDP divided by "fraction of GDP devoted to repayment", which will generally be 10 times as long or more than simple debt-to-GDP.

text: Changes[edit]

text: The change in debt-to-GDP is approximately "net increase in debt as percentage of GDP"; for government debt, this is deficit or (surplus) as percentage of GDP.

text: This is only approximate as GDP changes from year to year, but generally year-on-year GDP changes are small (say, 3%), and thus this is approximately correct.

text: However, in the presence of significant inflation, or particularly hyperinflation, GDP may increase rapidly in nominal terms; if debt is nominal, then its ratio to GDP will decrease rapidly. A period of deflation would have the opposite effect.

text: A government's debt-to-GDP ratio can be analysed by looking at how it changes or, in other words, how the debt is evolving over time:

text:
The left hand side of the equation demonstrates the dynamics of the government's debt.

B

t

Y

t

{\textstyle {\frac {B_{t}}{Y_{t}}}}

 is the debt-to-GDP at the end of the period t, and

B

t
−
1

Y

t
−
1

{\textstyle {\frac {B_{t-1}}{Y_{t-1}}}}

 is the debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of the previous period (t-1). Hence, the left side of the equation shows the change in the debt-to-GDP ratio. The right hand side of the equation shows the causes of the government's debt.

(
r
−
g
)
(

B

t
−
1

Y

t
−
1

)

{\textstyle (r-g)({\frac {B_{t-1}}{Y_{t-1}}})}

 is the interest payments on the stock of debt as a ratio of GDP so far, and

G

t

−

T

t

Y

t

{\textstyle {\frac {G_{t}-T_{t}}{Y_{t}}}}

 shows the primary deficit-to-GDP ratio.

text: If the government has the ability to print money, and therefore monetize the outstanding debt, the budget constraint becomes:

text:
The term

M

t

Y

t

−

M

t
−
1

Y

t
−
1

{\textstyle {\frac {M_{t}}{Y_{t}}}-{\frac {M_{t-1}}{Y_{t-1}}}}

 is the change in money balances (i.e. money growth). By printing money the government is able to increase nominal money balances to pay off the debt (consequently acting in the debt way that debt financing does, in order to balance the government's expenditures). However, the effect that an increase in nominal money balances has on seignorage is ambiguous, as while it increases the amount of money within the economy, the real value of each unit of money decreases due to inflationary effects. This inflationary effect from money printing is called an inflation tax.

text: Applications[edit]

text: Debt-to-GDP measures the financial leverage of an economy.

text: One of the Euro convergence criteria was that government debt-to-GDP be below 60%.

text: The World Bank and the IMF hold that “a country can be said to achieve external debt sustainability if it can meet its current and future external debt service obligations in full, without recourse to debt rescheduling or the accumulation of arrears and without compromising growth.” According to these two institutions, external debt sustainability can be obtained by a country “by bringing the net present value (NPV) of external public debt down to about 150 percent of a country’s exports or 250 percent of a country’s revenues.” [1] High external debt is believed to have harmful effects on an economy.[6]

text: In 2013 Herndon, Ash, and Pollin reviewed an influential, widely cited research paper entitled, "Growth in a time of debt",[7] by two Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff. Herndon, Ash and Pollin argued that "coding errors, selective exclusion of available data, and unconventional weighting of summary statistics lead to serious errors that inaccurately represent the relationship between public debt and GDP growth among 20 advanced economies in the post-war period."[8][9] Their research had significant basic computation errors that, when corrected, undermined the central claim of the book that too much debt causes recession.[10][11] Rogoff and Reinhardt claimed that their fundamental conclusions were accurate, despite the errors.[12][13] Recently, the Growth in a Time of Debt controversy was argued to instantiate the ‘emerging contrary result’ phenomenon.[14] The following arguments support this thesis: (1) the viewpoint according to which weighted averaging scheme is superior to the unweighted one is not justified by the cliometric methodology, (2) excluding post-war statistics was grounded in the lack of believable estimates and (3) the infamous spreadsheet error influenced the summary statistics in a minor way. Therefore, none of the two contrary results obtained by Reinhart and Rogoff and Herndon, Ash and Pollin is superior and the question whether there is a threshold in the relation between public debt and economic growth stays open.

text: There is a difference between external debt denominated in domestic currency, and external debt denominated in foreign currency. A nation can service external debt denominated in domestic currency by tax revenues, but to service foreign currency debt it has to convert tax revenues in foreign exchange market to foreign currency, which puts downward pressure on the value of its currency. So all of the money used to service foreign currency debt has to come from a country's balance of payments transfers.[dubious – discuss]


document_title: Age of candidacy

question_text: what is the minimum age for president of united states

root

text: Age of candidacy

text: Controversies[edit]

text: The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (December 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: Many youth rights groups view current age of candidacy requirements as unjustified age discrimination.[2] Occasionally people who are younger than the minimum age will run for an office in protest of the requirement or because they don't know that the requirement exists. On extremely rare occasions, young people have been elected to offices they do not qualify for and have been deemed ineligible to assume the office.

tag: p

text: In 1934, Rush Holt of West Virginia was elected to the Senate of the United States at the age of 29. Since the U.S. Constitution requires senators to be at least 30, Holt was forced to wait until his 30th birthday, six months after the start of the session, before being sworn in.[3]

text: In 1954, Richard Fulton won election to the Tennessee Senate. Shortly after being sworn in, Fulton was ousted from office because he was only 27 years old at the time. The Tennessee State Constitution required that senators be at least 30.[4] Rather than hold a new election, the previous incumbent, Clifford Allen, was allowed to resume his office for another term. Fulton went on to win the next State Senate election in 1956 and was later elected to the US House of Representatives where he served for 10 years.

text: In South Carolina, two Senators aged 24 were elected, but were too young according to the State Constitution: Mike Laughlin in 1969 and Bryan Dorn (later a US Congressman) in 1941. They were seated anyway.[5]

text: On several occasions, the Socialist Workers Party (USA) has nominated candidates too young to qualify for the offices they were running for. In 1972, Linda Jenness ran as the SWP presidential candidate, although she was only 31 at the time. Since the U.S. Constitution requires that the President and Vice President be at least 35 years old, Jenness was not able to receive ballot access in several states in which she otherwise qualified.[6] Despite this handicap, Jenness still received 83,380 votes.[7] In 2004, the SWP nominated Arrin Hawkins as the party's vice-presidential candidate, although she was only 28 at the time. Hawkins was also unable to receive ballot access in several states due to her age.[8]

text: Reform efforts[edit]

text: In the United States, many groups have attempted to lower age of candidacy requirements in various states. In 1994, South Dakota voters rejected a ballot measure that would have lowered the age requirements to serve as a State Senator or State Representative from 30 to 18. In 1998, however, they approved a similar ballot measure that reduced the age requirements for those offices from 25 to 21. In 2002, Oregon voters rejected a ballot measure that would have reduced the age requirement to serve as a State Representative from 21 to 18.

text: During the early 2000s, the British Youth Council and other groups successfully campaigned to lower age of candidacy requirements in the United Kingdom.[9] The age of candidacy was reduced from 21 to 18 in England, Wales and Scotland on 1 January 2007,[10] when section 17 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 entered into force.[11]

text: In various countries[edit]

text: Australia[edit]

text: In Australia a person must be aged 18 or over to stand for election to public office at federal, state or local government level.

text: The youngest ever member of the House of Representatives was 20-year-old Wyatt Roy elected in the 2010 federal election after the Electoral Act 1918 was amended (in 1973) to reduce the age of candidacy for that office from 21 to 18.[citation needed]

text: Austria[edit]

text: In Austria, a person must be 18 years of age or older to stand in elections to the European Parliament or National Council.[12]  The Diets of regional Länder are able to set a minimum age lower than 18 for candidacy in elections to the Diet itself as well as to municipal councils in the Land.[13]  In presidential elections the candidacy age is 35.

text: Belgium[edit]

text: Any Belgian who has reached the age of 21 years can stand for election for the Chamber of Representatives, can become a member of the Senate, or can be elected in one of the regional parliaments.[citation needed] This is regulated in the Constitution and in the Special Law on the Reform of the Institutions.

text: Belize[edit]

text: According to the Constitution of Belize, a person must be at least 18 years old to be elected as a member of the House of Representatives and must be at least 30 to be Speaker of the House. A person must be at least 18 years old to be appointed to the Senate and must be at least 30 to be President or Vice-President of the Senate. As only members of the House of Representatives are eligible to be appointed Prime Minister, the Prime Minister must be at least 18 years old. A person must also be at least 18 years old to be elected to a village council.[14]

text: Brazil[edit]

text: The Brazilian Constitution (Article 14, Section 3 (VI)) defines 35 years as the minimum age for someone to be elected President, Vice-President or Senator; 30 years for state Governor or Vice-Governor; 21 for Federal or State Deputy, Mayor or Vice-Mayor; and 18 for city Councilman.[15]

text: Canada[edit]

text: In Canada (other than Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, the Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan) a person must be aged 19 or over (18 in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, the Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan) to stand for election to public office. However, to be appointed to the Senate, one must be at least 30 years of age, must possess land worth at least $4,000 in the province for which he or she is appointed, and must own real and personal property worth at least $4,000, above his or her debts and liabilities.[citation needed]

text: Chile[edit]

text: In Chile the minimum age required to be elected President of the Republic is 35 years on the day of the election. Before the 2005 reforms the requirement was 40 years, and from 1925 to 1981 it was 30 years. For senators it is 35 years (between 1981 and 2005 it was 40 years) and for deputies it is 21 years (between 1925 and 1970 it was 35 years).[16]

text: China[edit]

text: In China the minimum age to be elected as president or vice-president is 45.[17]

text: Cyprus[edit]

text: In Cyprus the minimum age to be elected president is 35 years.

text: Czech Republic[edit]

text: In the Czech Republic, a person must be at least 18 years old to be elected in local elections. A person must be at least 21 years old to be elected to the lower house of the Czech Parliament or to the European Parliament and 40 years old to be a member of the upper house (Senate) of the Parliament[18] or the President of the Czech Republic.

text: Denmark[edit]

text: In Denmark, any adult 18 years of age or older can become a candidate and be elected in any public election.

text: Estonia[edit]

text: In Estonia, any citizen 18 years of age or older can be elected in local elections, and 21 years or older in parliamentary elections. The minimum age for the President of Estonia is 40.[19]

text: France[edit]

text: In France, any citizen 18 years of age or older can be elected to the lower house of Parliament, and 24 years or older for the Senate. The minimum age for the President of France is 18.

text: Germany[edit]

text: In Germany, any citizen 18 years of age or older can be elected in national, regional or local elections. The only exception is the Landtag election in Hesse where a minimum age of 21 is required.[20] The minimum age for the President is 40.

text: Hong Kong[edit]

text: In Hong Kong a person must be at least 21 to be candidate in a district council or Legislative Council election. A person must be at least 40 to be candidate in the Chief Executive election, and also at least 40 to be candidate in the election for the President of the Legislative Council from among the members of the Legislative Council.

text: India[edit]

text: In India a person must be at least:

text:
35 to be the President or Vice President, Governor and Lieutenant-Governor of the States as specified in the Constitution of India
30 to be a member of Rajya Sabha (the upper house of Parliament of India) and a Vidhan Parishad (the upper house of a State Legislature, in those states where the legislature is bicameral.)
25 to be the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, Union Minister, Chief Minister, Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Minister in the State Governments. Additionally, to be a member of Lok Sabha (the lower house of Parliament of India) and a Vidhan Sabha (the lower house a State Legislature in the States of India.)
21 to be the Mayor, Chairman, Head and a Member (Members are variously called Corporators/Councillors/Ward Members according to the type of their respective local bodies) of a Nagar Nigam (Municipal Corporation), Nagar Palika (Municipal Council), Nagar Panchayat (Town Committee), Gram Sabha (Village Council) and Gram Panchayat (Village Committee) respectively.

tag: ul

text: Indonesia[edit]

text: In Indonesia a person must be at least:

text:
35 to be President or Vice President as specified in the Constitution of Indonesia
30 to be Governor or Lieutenant Governor, as specified in the 2004 Regional Government Act
25 to be Regent, Vice Regent, Mayor, or Deputy Mayor, as specified in the 2004 Regional Government Act
21 to be Senator or Representative in both national and local parliament, as specified in the 2008 Election Act

text: Israel[edit]

text: In Israel one must be at least 21 to become a member of the Knesset (Basic Law: The Knesset section 6(a)) or a municipality. When the Prime Minister was directly elected, one must have been a member of the Knesset who is at least 30 to be a candidate for Prime Minister. Every Israeli Citizen (including minors) can be appointed as a Government Minister, or elected as President of Israel, but the latter role is mostly ceremonial and elected by the Parliament.

text: Italy[edit]

text: In Italy, a person must be at least 50 to be President of the Republic, 40 to be a Senator, and 25 to be a Deputy, as specified in the 1947 Constitution of Italy. 18 years of age is sufficient, however, to be elected member of the Council of Regions, Provinces, and Municipalities (Communes).

text: Iran[edit]

text: In Iran a person must be at least 21 years old to run for president.[21]

text: Iraq[edit]

text: The Iraqi constitution states that a person must be at least 40 years old to run for president[22] and 35 years old to be Prime Minister.[23] The Iraqi Election Law No. 45 of 2013 states that a person must be 30 years old to run for the House of Representatives.[24] There are proposals by various MP's to amend the Law and reduce the age from 30 to 25.

text: Ireland[edit]

text: The 1937 Constitution of Ireland requires the President to be at least 35 and members of the Oireachtas (legislature) to be 21.[25][26] Members of the European Parliament for Ireland must also be 21.[26][27] Members of local authorities must be 18, reduced from 21 in 1973.[26][28] The 1922–37 Constitution of the Irish Free State required TDs (members of the Dáil, lower house) to be 21,[29] whereas Senators had to be 35 (reduced to 30 in 1928).[30] The Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Age of Eligibility for Election to the Office of President) Bill 2015 proposes to lower the presidential age limit to 21.[31] However, this proposal was rejected by 73% of the voters.

text: Japan[edit]

text: In Japan a person must be at least:[32]

text:
25 to be the Member of parliament of the House of Representatives with Japanese nationality, to be the Member of metropolitan, prefecture, city, town, or village with valid vote rights, or to be the Mayor
30 to be the Governor, or to be the Member of parliament of the House of Councillors with Japanese nationality. See also House of Peers (Japan).

text: South Korea[edit]

text: In South Korea, a person must be at least 40 years old to be President. A person must be at least 25 years old to be the member of the National Assembly or to be Mayor or Governor.[33]

text: Malaysia[edit]

text: In Malaysia, any citizen 21 years of age or older can become a candidate and be elected to the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Undangan Negeri. Minimum age for the Senator is 30 by constitution.

text: Mexico[edit]

text: In Mexico, a person must be at least 35 to be President, 25 to be a Senator, or 21 to be a Congressional Deputy, as specified in the 1917 Constitution of Mexico.

text: Netherlands[edit]

text: In the Netherlands, any adult 18 years of age or older can become a candidate and be elected in any public election.

text: New Zealand[edit]

text: In New Zealand the minimum age to be Prime Minister of New Zealand is 18 years old. Citizens and permanent residents who are  enrolled as an elector are eligible to be a candidate for election as a Member of Parliament.[citation needed]

text: Nigeria[edit]

text:
In Nigeria, a person must be at least 35 years of age to be elected President or Vice President, 30 to be a
Senator or State Governor, and 25 to be a Representative in parliament.

text: Norway[edit]

text: In Norway, any adult can become a candidate and be elected in any public election, from the calendar year that he or she turns 18 years.

text: Pakistan[edit]

text: In Pakistan, a person must be at least 45 years old to be President. A person must be at least 25 years old to be a member of the provincial assembly or national assembly.[citation needed]

text: Philippines[edit]

text:
Ages of candidacy in the Philippines

Type of candidate
Minimum age

President and Vice President
40

Senator
35

Regional governor
35

Member of the House of Representatives
25

Provincial-level elected official
23

City-level elected official
21

Municipal-level elected official
21

Member of the regional legislative assembly
21

Barangay-level elected official
18

Member of youth councils
18-24

text: Poland[edit]

text:
Ages of candidacy in Poland

Type of candidate
Minimum age

President
35

Senator
30

Mayor/Wójt
25

Poseł
21

Member of the European Parliament
21

Councillor
18

text: Portugal[edit]

text:
Ages of candidacy in Portugal

Type of candidate

Minimum age

References

President

35

[34]

Parliament

18

[35]

text: Singapore[edit]

text: In Singapore a person must be at least 45 years old to run for president.[36]

text: South Africa[edit]

text: Section 47, Clause 1 of the 1996 Constitution of South Africa states that "Every citizen who is qualified to vote for the National Assembly is eligible to be a member of the Assembly", defaulting to Section 46 which "provides for a minimum voting age of 18 years" in National Assembly elections; Sections 106 and 105 provide the same for provincial legislatures.

text: Sweden[edit]

text: In Sweden, any citizen who resides, or who has resided in the realm can be elected to parliament, country council or municipal council.

text: Switzerland[edit]

text: In Switzerland, any citizen aged 18 or over can become a candidate and be elected in any federal election.

text: Thailand[edit]

text: In Thailand the minimum age to be elected to the National Assembly is 35 years.

text: Turkey[edit]

text: The 1876 constitution set the age for parliamentary elections as 30. This remained unchanged until 13 October 2006, when it was lowered to 25 through a constitutional amendment. In 2017, it was further lowered to 18, the same as the voting age.[37]

text: The Prime Minister of Turkey has to be a member of the parliament, hence it has the same requirements as parliamentary eligibility. The age of candidacy for the President is 18. Due to new laws being voted in as said Prime Minister is related to parliament and in order to be in parliament you have to be 18 and the government of Turkey said that 18 will be the age for when you can run for prime minister.

text: United Kingdom[edit]

text: In the United Kingdom, a person must be aged 18 or over in Northern Ireland, England, and Wales, and 16 or over in Scotland to stand in elections to all parliaments, assemblies, and councils at the European, UK, devolved, or local level. This age requirement also applies in elections to any individual elective public office; the main example is that of an elected mayor, whether of London or a local authority. There are no higher age requirements for particular positions in public office. Candidates are required to be aged 18 on both the day of nomination and the day of the poll. This was reduced from 21 by the Electoral Administration Act 2006.

text: United States[edit]

text: In the United States, a person must be aged 35 or over to be President or Vice President, 30 or over to be a Senator, and 25 or over to be a Representative, as specified in the U.S. Constitution. Most states in the U.S. also have age requirements for the offices of Governor, State Senator, and State Representative.[38] Some states have a minimum age requirement to hold any elected office (usually 21 or 18).

text: Venezuela[edit]

text: In Venezuela, a person must be at least 30 to be President or Vice President,[39] 21 to be a deputy for the National Assembly [40] and 25 to be the Governor of a state.[41]

text: Comparison chart[edit]

text:
Country

President

Vice President

Prime Minister

Upper house

Lower house

References

Armenia

40

-

25

-

25

[42][43]

Australia

-

-

18

18

18

Austria

35

-

18

[44]

Belgium

-

-

21

21

Belize

-

-

18

18

18

[45]

Brazil

35

35

35

21

[46]

Canada

-

-

30

Chile

35

35

21

[47]

China

45

45

Cyprus

35

Czech Republic

40

40

21

[48]

Denmark

-

-

18

-

18

Estonia

40

-

21

[49]

France

18

24

18

Germany

40

18

18

[50]

Hong Kong

21

India

35

35

25

30

25

Indonesia

35

35

21

21

Israel

30

-

21

Italy

50

40

25

Iran

21

[51]

Iraq

40

35

-

30

[52][53][54]

Ireland

35

30

21

[55][26][26][56][26][57][58]

Japan

30

25

[59]

South Korea

40

25

[60]

Malaysia

30

21

Mexico

35

25

21

Netherlands

-

-

18

18

18

New Zealand

-

-

18

Nigeria

35

35

30

25

Norway

-

-

18

-

18

Pakistan

40

25

25

Philippines

40

40

35

25

Poland

35

-

30

21

Portugal

35

-

18

[61][62]

Singapore

45

South Africa

18

Switzerland

18

Thailand

35

Turkey

40

30

30

[63]

United Kingdom

-

-

18

United States

35

35

-

30

25

[64]

Venezuela

30

30

-

21


document_title: History of Washington, D.C.

question_text: when was the capital moved to washington dc

question_tokens: when was the capital moved to washington dc

text: History of Washington, D.C.

text: Early settlement[edit]

text: Archaeological evidence indicates Native Americans settled in the area at least 4,000 years ago, around the Anacostia River.[2] Early European exploration of the region took place early in the 17th century, including explorations by Captain John Smith in 1608.[3] At the time, the Patawomeck (loosely affiliated with the Powhatan) and the Doeg lived on the Virginia side, as well as on Theodore Roosevelt Island, while the Piscataway (also known as Conoy) tribe of Algonquians resided on the Maryland side.[4] Native inhabitants within the present-day District of Columbia included the Nacotchtank, at Anacostia, who were affiliated with the Conoy.[5] Another village was located between Little Falls and Georgetown,[4] and English fur trader Henry Fleet documented a Nacotchtank village called Tohoga on the site of present-day Georgetown.[6]

text: The first colonial landowners in the present-day District of Columbia were George Thompson and Thomas Gerrard, who were granted the Blue Plains tract in 1662, along with Saint Elizabeth, and other tracts in Anacostia, Capitol Hill, and other areas down to the Potomac River in the following years. Thompson sold his Capitol Hill properties in 1670, including Duddington Manor, to Thomas Notley; The Duddington property was handed down over the generations to Daniel Carroll, of Duddington.[7] As European settlers arrived, they clashed with the Native Americans over grazing rights. In 1697, Maryland authorities built a fort within what is now the District of Columbia. In that same year, the Conoy relocated to the west, near what is now The Plains, Virginia, and in 1699 they moved again, to Conoy Island near Point of Rocks, Maryland.[8][9]

text: Georgetown was established in 1751 when the Maryland legislature purchased sixty acres of land for the town from George Gordon and George Beall at the price of £280,[10] while Alexandria, Virginia was founded in 1749. Situated on the fall line, Georgetown was the farthest point upstream to which oceangoing boats could navigate the Potomac River. The strong flow of the Potomac kept a navigable channel clear year-round; and, the daily tidal lift of the Chesapeake Bay, raised the Potomac's elevation in its lower reach; such that fully laden ocean-going ships could navigate easily, all the way to the Bay. Gordon had constructed a tobacco inspection house along the Potomac in approximately 1745. Warehouses, wharves, and other buildings were added, and the settlement rapidly grew. The Old Stone House, located in Georgetown, was built in 1765 and is the oldest standing building in the District. It did not take long before Georgetown grew into a thriving port, facilitating trade and shipments of tobacco and other goods from colonial Maryland.[11] With the economic and population growth of Georgetown came also the founding of Georgetown University in 1789, at its founding drawing students from as far away as the West Indies.[12]

text: Founding[edit]

text: Establishment[edit]

text: The United States capital was originally located in Philadelphia, beginning with the First and Second Continental Congress, followed by the Congress of the Confederation upon gaining independence. In June 1783, a mob of angry soldiers converged upon Independence Hall to demand payment for their service during the American Revolutionary War. Congress requested that John Dickinson, the governor of Pennsylvania, call up the militia to defend Congress from attacks by the protesters. In what became known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, Dickinson sympathized with the protesters and refused to remove them from Philadelphia. As a result, Congress was forced to flee to Princeton, New Jersey on June 21, 1783.[13]

text: Dickinson's failure to protect the institutions of the national government was discussed at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787[citation needed]. The delegates therefore agreed in Article One, Section 8, of the United States Constitution to give the Congress the power:

text: To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of Particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards and other needful Buildings;[14]

text: James Madison, writing in Federalist No. 43, also argued that the national capital needed to be distinct from the states, in order to provide for its own maintenance and safety.[15] The Constitution, however, does not select a specific site for the location of the new District. Proposals from the legislatures of Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia all offered territory for the location of the national capital. Northern states preferred a capital located in one of the nation's prominent cities, unsurprisingly, almost all of which were in the north. Conversely, Southern states preferred that the capital be located closer to their agricultural and slave-holding interests.[16] The selection of the area around the Potomac River, which was the boundary between Maryland and Virginia, both slave states, was agreed upon between James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton had a proposal for the new federal government to take over debts accrued by the states during the Revolutionary War. However, by 1790, Southern states had largely repaid their overseas debts. Hamilton's proposal would require Southern states to assume a share of Northern debt. Jefferson and Madison agreed to this proposal and in return secured a Southern location for the federal capital.[17]

text: On December 23, 1788, the Maryland General Assembly passed an act, allowing it to cede land for the federal district. The Virginia General Assembly followed suit on December 3, 1789.[18] The signing of the federal Residence Act on July 16, 1790, mandated that the site for the permanent seat of government, "not exceeding ten miles square" (100 square miles), be located on the "river Potomack, at some place between the mouths of the Eastern-Branch and Connogochegue".[19][20] The "Eastern-Branch" is known today as the Anacostia River. The Connogocheque (Conococheague Creek) empties into the Potomac River upstream near Williamsport and Hagerstown, Maryland. The Residence Act limited to the Maryland side of the Potomac River the location of land that commissioners appointed by the President could acquire for federal use.[19]

text: The Residence Act authorized the President to select the actual location of the site.[19] However, President George Washington wished to include the town of Alexandria, Virginia within the federal district. To accomplish this, the boundaries of the federal district would need to encompass an area on the Potomac that was downstream of the mouth of the Eastern Branch.

text: The U.S. Congress amended the Residence Act in 1791 to permit Alexandria's inclusion in the federal district. However, some members of Congress had recognized that Washington and his family owned property in and near Alexandria, which was just seven miles (11 km) upstream from Mount Vernon, Washington's home and plantation. The amendment therefore contained a provision that prohibited the "erection of the public buildings otherwise than on the Maryland side of the river Potomac".[21][22]

text: The final site was just below the fall line on the Potomac, the furthest inland point navigable by boats (see: Atlantic Seaboard fall line). It included the ports of Georgetown and Alexandria. The process of establishing the federal district, however, faced other challenges in the form of strong objections from landowners such as David Burns who owned a large, 650-acre (260 ha) tract of land in the heart of the district.[21] On March 30, 1791, Burns and eighteen other key landowners relented and signed an agreement with Washington, where they would be compensated for any land taken for public use, half of remaining land would be distributed among the proprietors, and the other half to the public.[21]

text: Pursuant to the Residence Act, President Washington appointed three commissioners (Thomas Johnson, Daniel Carroll, and David Stuart) in 1791 to supervise the planning, design and acquisition of property in the federal district and capital city.[18] In September 1791, the three commissioners agreed to name the federal district as "The Territory of Columbia," and the federal city as the "City of Washington."[23][24]

text: On March 30, 1791, Washington issued a presidential proclamation that established "Jones's point, the upper cape of Hunting Creek in Virginia" as the starting point for the federal district's boundary survey. The proclamation also described the method by which the survey should determine the district's boundaries.[25] Working under the general supervision of the three commissioners and at the direction of President Washington, Major Andrew Ellicott, assisted by his brothers Benjamin and Joseph Ellicott, Isaac Roberdeau, Isaac Briggs, George Fenwick, and an African American astronomer, Benjamin Banneker, then proceeded to survey the borders of the Territory of Columbia with Virginia and Maryland during 1791 and 1792.[26]

text: The survey team enclosed within a square an area containing the full 100 square miles (260 km2) that the Residence Act had authorized. Each side of the square was 10 miles (16 km) long. The axes between the corners of the square ran north–south and east–west.[27] The center of the square is within the grounds of the Organization of American States headquarters west of the Ellipse.[28]

text: The survey team placed sandstone boundary markers at or near every mile point along the sides of the square (see: Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia). Many of these markers still remain. The south cornerstone is at Jones Point.[29] The west cornerstone is at the west corner of Arlington County, Virginia.[30] The north cornerstone is south of East-West Highway near Silver Spring, Maryland, west of 16th Street.[31] The east cornerstone is east of the intersection of Southern Avenue and Eastern Avenue.[32]

text: On January 1, 1793, Andrew Ellicott submitted to the commissioners a report that stated that the boundary survey had been completed and that all of the boundary marker stones had been set in place. Ellicott's report described the marker stones and contained a map that showed the boundaries and topographical features of the Territory of Columbia, The map identified the locations within the Territory of the planned City of Washington and its major streets, as well as the location of each boundary marker stone.[27][33]

text: Plan of the City of Washington[edit]

text: In early 1791, President Washington appointed Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant to devise a plan for the new city in an area of land at the center of the federal territory that lay between the northeast shore of the Potomac River and the northwest shore of the Potomac's Eastern Branch.[34][36] L'Enfant then designed in his "Plan of the city intended for the permanent seat of the government of the United States..." the city's first layout, a grid centered on the United States Capitol, which would stand at the top of a hill (Jenkins Hill) on a longitude designated as 0,0°. The grid filled an area bounded by the Potomac River, the Eastern Branch (now named the Anacostia River), the base of an escarpment at the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line along which a street (initially Boundary Street, now Florida Avenue) would later travel, and Rock Creek.[34][36][37][38][39]

text: North-south and east-west streets formed the grid. Wider diagonal "grand avenues" later named after the states of the union crossed the grid. Where these "grand avenues" crossed each other, L'Enfant placed open spaces in circles and plazas that were later named after notable Americans.

text: L'Enfant's broadest "grand avenue" was a 400-foot-wide (122 m) garden-lined esplanade, which he expected to travel for about 1 mile (1.6 km) along an east–west axis in the center of an area that the National Mall now occupies.[34][36] A narrower avenue (Pennsylvania Avenue) connected the "Congress house" (the Capitol) with the "President's house" (the White House).[34][36] In time, Pennsylvania Avenue developed into the capital city's present "grand avenue".

text: L'Enfant's plan included a system of canals, one of which would travel near the western side of the Capitol at the base of Jenkins Hill.[34][36] To be filled in part by the waters of Tiber Creek, the canal system would traverse the center of the city and would enter both the Potomac River and the Eastern Branch.

text: On June 22, L'Enfant presented his first plan for the federal city to President.[40][41][42] On August 19, he appended a new map to a letter that he sent to the President.[41][43]

text: President Washington retained one of L'Enfant's plans, showed it to Congress, and later gave it to the three Commissioners.[44] The U.S. Library of Congress now holds both the plan that Washington apparently gave to the Commissioners and an undated anonymous survey map that the Library considers L'Enfant to have drawn before August 19, 1791.[44][45] The survey map may be one that L'Enfant appended to his August 19 letter to the President.[46]

text: L'Enfant subsequently entered into a number of conflicts with the three commissioners and others involved in the enterprise. During a contentious period in February 1792, Andrew Ellicott, who had been conducting the original boundary survey of the future District of Columbia (see: Boundary Stones (District of Columbia)) and the survey of the federal city under the direction of the Commissioners, informed the Commissioners that L'Enfant had not been able to have the city plan engraved and had refused to provide him with the original plan (of which L'Enfant had prepared several versions).[47][48][49][50]

text: Ellicott, with the aid of his brother, Benjamin Ellicott, then revised the plan, despite L'Enfant's protests.[47][48][49][51] Some of Ellicott's revisions, such as the straightening of the longer avenues, created minor changes to the city's layout, including the removal of Square No. 15 from L'Enfant's original plan.

text: Ellicott stated in his letters that, although he was refused the original plan, he was familiar with L'Enfant's system and had many notes of the surveys that he had made himself. It is therefore possible that Ellicott recreated the plan.[52]

text: Shortly thereafter, Washington dismissed L'Enfant. Ellicott gave the first version of his own plan to James Thakara and John Vallance of Philadelphia, who engraved, printed and published it. This version, printed in March 1792, was the first Washington city plan that received wide circulation.[53]

text: After L'Enfant departed, Ellicott continued the city survey in accordance with his revised plan, several larger and more detailed versions of which were also engraved, published and distributed. As a result, Ellicott's revisions became the basis for the capital city's future development.[47][48][54][55][56][57]

text: In 1800, the seat of government was finally moved to the new city, and on February 27, 1801, the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801 placed the District under the jurisdiction of Congress. The act also organized the unincorporated territory within the District into two counties: the County of Washington on the northeast bank of the Potomac, and the County of Alexandria on the southwest bank. On May 3, 1802, the City of Washington was granted a municipal government consisting of a mayor appointed by the President of the United States.

text: 19th century[edit]

text: Economic development[edit]

text: The District of Columbia relied on Congress for support for capital improvements and economic development initiatives.[58] However, Congress lacked loyalty to the city's residents and was reluctant to provide support.[58] Congress did provide funding for the Washington City Canal in 1809, after earlier private financing efforts were unsuccessful. Construction began in 1810 and the canal opened in late 1815, connecting the Anacostia River with Tiber Creek.[59]

text: Construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O) began in Georgetown in 1828. Construction westward through Maryland proceeded slowly. The first section, from Georgetown to Seneca, Maryland, opened in 1831.[60] In 1833 an extension was built from Georgetown eastward, connecting to the City Canal. The C&O reached Cumberland, Maryland in 1850, although by that time it was obsolete as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) had arrived in Cumberland in 1842.[61]:1 The canal had financial problems, and plans for further construction to reach the Ohio River were abandoned.[62]:7

text: War of 1812[edit]

text: During the War of 1812, British forces conducted an expedition between August 19 and 29, 1814, that took and burned the capital city. On August 24, the British routed an American militia, which had gathered at Bladensburg, Maryland to protect the capital (see Battle of Bladensburg). The militia then abandoned Washington without a fight. President James Madison and the remainder of the U.S. government fled the capital shortly before the British arrived.

text: The British then entered and burned the capital during the most notably destructive raid of the war. British troops set fire to the capital's most important public buildings, including the Presidential Mansion (the White House), the United States Capitol, the Arsenal, the Navy Yard, the Treasury Building, and the War Office, as well as the north end of the Long Bridge, which crossed the Potomac River into Virginia. The British, however, spared the Patent Office and the Marine Barracks. Dolley Madison, the first lady, or perhaps members of the house staff, rescued the Lansdowne Portrait, a full-length painting of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart as the British approached the Mansion.[63]

text: Railroads arrive in Washington[edit]

text: The B&O opened a rail line from Baltimore to Washington in 1835.[64]:157 Passenger traffic on the Washington Branch had increased by the 1850s, as the company opened a large station in 1851 on New Jersey Avenue NW, just north of the Capitol.[65]:92 Further railroad development continued after the Civil War, with a new B&O line (the Metropolitan Branch) connecting Washington to the west, and the introduction of competition from the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in the 1870s. In 1907, Union Station opened as the city's central terminal.[65]:227

text: Retrocession[edit]

text: Almost immediately after the "Federal City" was laid out north of the Potomac, some residents south of the Potomac in Alexandria County, D.C., began petitioning to be returned to Virginia's jurisdiction. Over time, a larger movement grew to separate Alexandria from the District for several reasons:

text:
Alexandria's economy had stagnated as competition with the port of Georgetown, D.C., had begun to favor the north side of the Potomac, where most members of Congress and local federal officials resided.
The Residence Act prohibited federal offices from locating in Virginia.
Alexandria was a center for slave trading. There was increasing talk of abolition of slavery in the national capital. Alexandria's economy would suffer if slavery were outlawed in the District of Columbia.
There was an active abolition movement in Virginia, and the pro-slavery forces held a slim majority in the Virginia General Assembly. (Eighteen years later, in the Civil War, the most anti-slavery counties would secede from Virginia to form West Virginia.) If Alexandria and Alexandria County were retroceded to Virginia, they would provide two new pro-slavery representatives.
The Alexandria Canal, which connected the C&O Canal to Alexandria, needed repairs, which the federal government was reluctant to fund.
Alexandria's residents had lost representation and the right to vote at any level of government.

text: After a referendum, Alexandria County's citizens petitioned Congress and Virginia to return the area to Virginia. By an act of Congress on July 9, 1846, and with the approval of the Virginia General Assembly, the area south of the Potomac (39 square miles; 101 km²) was returned, or "retroceded," to Virginia effective in 1847.[66]

text: The retroceded land was then known as Alexandria County, Virginia, and now includes a portion of the independent city of Alexandria and all of Arlington County, the successor to Alexandria County. A large portion of the retroceded land near the river was an estate of George Washington Parke Custis, who had supported the retrocession and helped develop the charter in the Virginia General Assembly for the County of Alexandria, Virginia. The estate (Arlington Plantation) would be passed on to his daughter (the wife of Robert E. Lee), and would eventually become Arlington National Cemetery.

text: Civil War era[edit]

text: A portion of the Washington Aqueduct opened in 1859, providing drinking water to city residents and reducing their dependence on well water. The aqueduct, which was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers, opened for full operation in 1864, using the Potomac River as its source.[67]

text: Washington remained a small city of a few thousand residents, virtually deserted during the summertime, until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. President Abraham Lincoln created the Army of the Potomac to defend the federal capital, and thousands of soldiers came to the area. The significant expansion of the federal government to administer the war—and its legacies, such as veterans' pensions—led to notable growth in the city's population – from 75,000 in 1860 to 132,000 in 1870.

text: Slavery was abolished throughout the District on April 16, 1862 – eight months before Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation—with the passage of the Compensated Emancipation Act.[68] The city became a popular place for freed slaves to congregate.

text: Throughout the war, the city was defended by a ring of military forts that mostly deterred the Confederate army from attacking. One notable exception was the Battle of Fort Stevens in July 1864 in which Union soldiers repelled troops under the command of Confederate General Jubal A. Early. This battle was only the second time that a U.S. President came under enemy fire during wartime when Lincoln visited the fort to observe the fighting.[69] (The first had been James Madison during the War of 1812.) Meanwhile, over 20,000 sick and injured Union soldiers were treated in an array of permanent and temporary hospitals in the capital.

text: On April 14, 1865, just days after the end of the war, Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth during the play Our American Cousin. The next morning, at 7:22 am, President Lincoln died in the house across the street, the first American president to be assassinated. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton said, "Now he belongs to the ages."

text: Post-Civil War era[edit]

text: By 1870, the District's population had grown 75% from the previous census to nearly 132,000 residents.[70] Despite the city's growth, Washington still had dirt roads and lacked basic sanitation. The situation was so bad that some members of Congress suggested moving the capital further west, but President Ulysses S. Grant refused to consider such a proposal.[71]

text: In response to the poor conditions in the capital, Congress passed the Organic Act of 1871, which revoked the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, and created a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia.[72] The act provided for a governor appointed by the President, a legislative assembly with an upper-house composed of eleven appointed council members and a 22-member house of delegates elected by residents of the District, as well as an appointed Board of Public Works charged with modernizing the city.[73]

text: President Grant appointed Alexander Robey Shepherd, an influential member of the Board of Public Works, to the post of governor in 1873. Shepherd authorized large-scale municipal projects, which greatly modernized Washington. However, the governor spent three times the money that had been budgeted for capital improvements and ultimately bankrupted the city.[74] In 1874, Congress abolished the District's territorial government and replaced it with a three-member Board of Commissioners appointed by the President, of which one was a representative from the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The three Commissioners would then elect one of themselves to be president of the commission.[75]

text: An additional act of Congress in 1878 made the three-member Board of Commissioners the permanent government of the District of Columbia. The act also had the effect of eliminating any remaining local institutions such as the boards on schools, health, and police.[76] The Commissioners would maintain this form of direct rule for nearly a century.[77]

text: The first motorized streetcars in the District began service in 1888 and spurred growth in areas beyond the City of Washington's original boundaries.[78] In 1888, Congress required that all new developments within the District conform to the layout of the City of Washington.[79] The City of Washington's northern border of Boundary Street was renamed Florida Avenue in 1890, reflecting growth of suburban areas in the County of Washington.[78] The city's streets were extended throughout the District starting in 1893.[79] An additional law passed in 1895 mandated that Washington formally absorb Georgetown, which until then had maintained a nominal separate identity, and renamed its streets.[80] With a consolidated government and the transformation of suburban areas within the District into urban neighborhoods, the entire city eventually took on the name Washington, D.C.[78]

text: In the early 1880s, the Washington City Canal was covered over. Originally an expansion of Tiber Creek, the canal connected the Capitol with the Potomac, running along the north side of the Mall where Constitution Avenue is today. However, as the nation transitioned over to railroads for its transport, the canal had become nothing more than a stagnant sewer, and so it was removed.[59]

text: Some reminders of the canal still exist. South of the Capitol, a road named Canal Street connects Independence Avenue, SW, and E Street, SE (although the northernmost section of the street was renamed Washington Avenue to commemorate the state of Washington).[81] A lock keeper's house built in 1835 at the eastern terminal of the C&O Canal (where the C&O emptied into Tiber Creek and the Potomac River) remains at the southwest corner of Constitution Avenue, NW, (formerly B Street, NW) and 17th Street, NW.[82] The western end of the City Canal emptied into the Potomac and connected with the C&O Canal near the lock keeper's house.[83][84]

text: One of the most important Washington architects of this period was the German immigrant Adolf Cluss.[85] From the 1860s to the 1890s, he constructed over 80 public and private buildings throughout the city, including the National Museum, the Agriculture Department, Sumner and Franklin schools.

text: The Washington Monument, a tribute to George Washington and the world's tallest stone structure, was completed in 1884.[86]

text: 20th century[edit]

text: In 1901, the Senate Park Improvement Commission of the District of Columbia (the "McMillan Commission"), which Congress had formed the previous year, formulated the McMillan Plan, an architectural plan for the redevelopment of the National Mall.[87] The commission was inspired by L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the city, which had not been fully realized. The members of the commission also sought to emulate the grandeur of European capitals such as Paris, London, and Rome. They were also strongly influenced by the City Beautiful movement, a Progressive ideology that intended to build civic virtue in the poor through important, monumental architecture. Several of the Commission members, including Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. had in fact participated in the 1893 World Columbian Exposition, which was widely popular and helped to spread interest in the City Beautiful movement.

text: The McMillan Plan in many respects was an early form of urban renewal that removed many of the slums that surrounded the Capitol, replacing them with new public monuments and government buildings. The Plan proposed a redesign of the National Mall and the construction of the future Burnham-designed Union Station. World War I interrupted the execution of the Plan, but construction of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922 largely completed it.

text: Although the McMillan Plan resulted in the demolition of some slums in the Federal Triangle area, substandard housing was a much larger problem in the city during the early 1900s, with large portions of the population living in so-called "alley dwellings."[88] Progressive efforts eventually led to the creation of the Alley Dwelling Authority in 1934. The agency, led by John Ihlder, was an early example of a public housing agency, and was responsible for demolishing slum housing and building new units that were affordable, modern, and sanitary.

text: During his first administration (which started in 1913), President Woodrow Wilson introduced segregation into several federal departments, for the first time since 1863. He supported some cabinet appointees in their request for segregation of employees and creation of separate lunchrooms and restrooms. He was highly criticized for this, especially as he had attracted numerous votes from blacks. The policy held for decades.[89]

text: One advantage of federal rule over the District of Columbia was that the public school teachers were considered federal workers. Although the schools were segregated, black and white teachers were paid on an equal scale. The system attracted highly qualified teachers, especially for the M Street School (later called Dunbar High School), the academic high school for African Americans.[90]

text: In July 1919, whites, including uniformed sailors and soldiers, attacked blacks in Washington during Red Summer, when violence broke out in cities across the country. The catalyst in Washington was the rumored arrest of a black man for rape; in four days of mob violence, white men randomly beat black people on the street, and pulled others off streetcars for attacks. When police refused to intervene, the black population fought back. Troops tried to restore order as the city closed saloons and theaters, but a summer rainstorm had a more dampening effect. A total of 15 people were killed: 10 whites, including two police officers; and five blacks. Fifty people were seriously wounded and another 100 less severely wounded.[91] The NAACP protested to President Wilson.[92]

text: In 1922, Washington was hit by its deadliest natural disaster when the Knickerbocker Storm dumped 18 inches (46 cm) of snow, causing the roof to collapse at the Knickerbocker Theater, a silent movie house. Ninety-eight people were killed, including a U.S. Congressman; 133 were injured.

text: On July 28, 1932, President Herbert Hoover ordered the United States Army to forcibly evict the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans who gathered in Washington, D.C., to secure promised veterans' benefits early. U.S. troops dispersed the last of the "Bonus Army" the next day.

text: During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the city's population grew rapidly with the creation of additional Federal agencies under the New Deal programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, during which most of the Federal Triangle buildings were constructed. World War II brought further population increases and a significant housing shortage, as existing residents were urged to rent rooms to the influx of Federal staffers who arrived from throughout the country. During the war, as many as 200,000 railroad passengers passed through Union Station in a single day.[93] The Pentagon was built in nearby Arlington to efficiently consolidate Federal defense offices under one roof. One of the largest office buildings in the world, it was built rapidly during the early years of the war, partially opening in 1942, and complete in 1943.[94]

text: Civil rights[edit]

text: President Harry Truman ended de jure racial discrimination in the Armed Forces and federal workplaces in 1948. Parks and recreation facilities in Washington remained segregated until 1954. Public schools were desegregated soon after.[95]

text: When the city's Board of Education began building the John Phillip Sousa Junior High, a group of parents from the Anacostia neighborhood petitioned to have the school admit black and white students. When it was constructed, the board declared that only whites could enroll. The parents sued in a case decided in the landmark Supreme Court ruling Bolling v. Sharpe. Partly due to the District's unique status under the Constitution, the court decided unanimously that all of D.C.'s public schools had to be integrated. In the wake of this and the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, the Eisenhower administration decided to make D.C. schools the first to integrate, as an example to the rest of the nation.

text: In 1957, Washington became the first major city in the nation with a majority African-American population.[96] Like many cities, it had received thousands of black people from the South in the Great Migration, starting during World War I and accelerating in the 1940s and 1950s. With the buildup of government and defense industries during World War II, many new residents found jobs. In the postwar years, whites who were better established economically began to move to newer housing in adjoining states in the suburbanization movement that occurred around most major cities. They were aided by the extensive highway construction undertaken by federal and state governments.

text: On August 28, 1963, Washington took center stage in the Civil Rights Movement, with the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famed "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial. Following the assassination of King on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Washington was devastated by the riots that broke out in the U Street neighborhood and spread to other black areas, including Columbia Heights. The civil unrest drove many whites and middle-class blacks to move out of the city core. There had already been a steady movement of some residents to suburban locations in the search for newer housing and to avoid school integration. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, many businesses left the downtown and inner city areas, drawn to suburban malls and following residential development. Marks of riots scarred some neighborhoods into the late 1990s.

text: Home rule[edit]

text: The District elects a delegate to the House of Representatives, who has the usual rights of membership, such as seniority and committee membership, except there is no formal vote. The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on March 29, 1961, gives the people a voice in the electoral college of the size of the smallest state (three votes).

text: In 1973, Congress passed the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, ceding some of its power over the city to a new, directly elected city council and mayor. Walter Washington became the first elected mayor of Washington, D.C.

text: The first 4.6 miles (7.4 km) of the Washington Metro subway system opened on March 27, 1976, following years of acrimonious battles with Congress over funding and highway construction, including a rejected proposal to build a north-central freeway. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority had been created in 1973 through a merger of several local bus companies. Several new Metro stations such as Friendship Heights, Van Ness, Gallery Place, Columbia Heights, U Street, and Navy Yard – Ballpark eventually became catalysts for commercial development. The Kennedy Center opened, as well as several new museums and historic monuments on and around the National Mall.

text: In 1978, Congress sent the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment to the states for ratification. This amendment would have granted the District representation in the House, Senate, and Electoral College as if it were a state. The proposed amendment had a seven-year limit for ratification, and only sixteen states ratified it in this period.

text: The city's local government, particularly during the mayoralty of Marion Barry, was criticized for mismanagement and waste.[97] Barry defeated incumbent mayor Walter Washington in the 1978 Democratic Party primary. Barry was then elected mayor, serving three successive four-year terms. During his administration in 1989, The Washington Monthly magazine claimed that the District had "the worst city government in America".[98] After being imprisoned for six months on misdemeanor drug charges in 1990, Barry did not run for reelection.[99] In 1991, Sharon Pratt Kelly became the first black woman to lead a major U.S. city.[100]

text: Barry was elected again in 1994 and by the next year the city had become nearly insolvent.[99] In 1995, Congress created the District of Columbia Financial Control Board to oversee all municipal spending and rehabilitate the city government.[101] Mayor Anthony Williams won election in 1998. His administration oversaw a period of greater prosperity, urban renewal, and budget surpluses.[102] The District regained control over its finances in 2001 and the oversight board's operations were suspended in September of that year.[103]

text: Williams did not seek reelection in 2006. Council member Adrian Fenty defeated Council Chairwoman Linda Cropp in that year's Democratic primary race to succeed Williams as mayor and started his term in 2007. Shortly upon taking office, Fenty won approval from the city council to directly manage and overhaul the city's under-performing public school system.[104] However, Fenty lost a Democratic Party primary to former Council Chair Vincent Gray in August 2010. Mayor Gray won the general election and assumed office in January 2011 with a pledge to bring economic opportunities to more of the city's residents and under-served areas.[105]

text: 21st century[edit]

text: On September 16, 2013, the Washington Navy Yard shooting occurred when lone gunman Aaron Alexis fatally shot twelve people and injured three others in a mass shooting at the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) inside the Washington Navy Yard in the Southeast quadrant of the city.[106][107][108] The attack, which took place in the Navy Yard's Building 197, began around 8:20 a.m. EDT and ended when Alexis was killed by police around 9:20 a.m. EDT. It was the second-deadliest mass murder on a U.S. military base, behind only the Fort Hood shooting in November 2009.

text: Terrorism and security[edit]

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text: The Washington area was a main target of the September 11, 2001 attacks. American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked by five Islamic terrorists and flew into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, killing 125 people inside the building, as well as 64 on board the airliner, including the five terrorists. United Airlines Flight 93, which was also hijacked and which went down in an open field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, supposedly intended to target either the White House or the U.S. Capitol.

text: Since September 11, 2001, a number of high-profile incidents and security scares have occurred in Washington. In October 2001, anthrax attacks, involving anthrax-contaminated mail sent to numerous members of Congress, infected 31 staff members, and killed two U.S. Postal Service employees who handled the contaminated mail at the Brentwood sorting facility. An FBI and DOJ investigation determined the likely culprit of the anthrax attacks to be Bruce Edwards Ivins, a scientist, but he committed suicide in July 2008 before formal charges were filed.[109]

text: During three weeks of October 2002, fear spread among residents of the Washington area, during the Beltway Sniper attacks. Ten apparently random victims were killed, with three others wounded, before John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were arrested on October 24, 2002.

text: In 2003 and 2004, a serial arsonist set over 40 fires, mainly in the District and the close-in Maryland suburbs, with one fire killing an elderly woman. A local man was arrested in the serial arson case in April 2005 and pleaded guilty.

text: The toxin ricin was found in the mailroom of the White House in November 2003 and in the mailroom of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in February 2004.

text: After the September 11 attacks, security was increased in Washington. Screening devices for biological agents, metal detectors, and vehicle barriers became more commonplace at office buildings as well as government buildings. After the 2004 Madrid train bombings, local authorities decided to test explosives detectors on the vulnerable Washington Metro subway system.

text: When U.S. forces in Pakistan raided a house suspected of being a terrorist hideout, they found information several years old about planned attacks on Washington, D.C., New York City, and Newark, New Jersey. It was directed to intelligence officials. On August 1, 2004, the Secretary of Homeland Security put the city on Orange (High) Alert. A few days later, security checkpoints appeared in and around the Capitol Hill and Foggy Bottom neighborhoods, and fences were erected on monuments once freely accessible, such as the Capitol. Tours of the White House were limited to those arranged by members of Congress. Screening devices for biological agents, metal detectors, and vehicle barriers became more common at office buildings as well as government buildings and in transportation facilities. This ultra-tight security was referred to as "Fortress Washington"; many people objected to "walling off Washington" based on information several years old. The vehicle inspections set up around the U.S. Capitol were removed in November 2004.

text: Statehood movement[edit]

text: On November 8, 2016, Washington voters were asked to advise the Council to approve or reject a proposal, which included advising the council to petition Congress to admit the District as the 51st State and to approve a constitution and boundaries for the new state. The voters of the District of Columbia voted overwhelmingly to advise the Council to approve the proposal, with 86% of voters voting to advise approving the proposal.[110] Challenges, including Republican opposition in Congress and constitutional issues, continue to cause problems for the movement.

text: Changing demographics[edit]

text: New migration patterns have appeared. Washington has a steadily declining black population, due to many African Americans' leaving the city for suburbs. At the same time, the city's Caucasian and Hispanic populations have steadily increased.[111] Since 2000 there has been a 7.3% decrease in the African-American population, and a 17.8% increase in the European-American population.[112] In addition, many African Americans are going to the South in a New Great Migration, because of family ties, increased opportunities and lower cost of living.[113] They still are a majority in the city, comprising 51 percent of the population.


document_title: It Ain't Half Hot Mum

question_text: who played gloria in it ain't half hot mum

question_tokens: who played gloria in it ai n 't half hot mum

text: It Ain't Half Hot Mum

text: Plot[edit]

text: Set during the Second World War (in the period just after the German surrender when the Allies were trying to finish the war by defeating Japan in Asia), the show focuses on a group of British soldiers stationed at the Royal Artillery Depot in Deolali, India, where soldiers were kept before being sent to fight at the front lines. The main characters are performers in the base's Concert Party, which involved putting on comic acts and musical performances (similar to those seen in a music hall) for the other soldiers prior to their departure for the front lines. The soldiers in the Concert Party all love this particular job, as it keeps them out of combat duty, but some do harbour dreams of becoming world-famous actors when they leave the army.

text: The main characters include Gunner "Lofty" Sugden, a short, fat soldier who wears a pith helmet and possesses an incredible singing voice; Gunner "Parky" Parkin, a young recruit who, though eager, is slightly bumbling and has very little aptitude for the theatre; Gunner "La-de-dah"/"Paderewski" Graham, a bald-headed and intelligent Oxford graduate who plays the piano; Gunner "Atlas" Mackintosh, a short-tempered Scotsman who specialises in feats of strength; Gunner "Nobby" Clark, a not-very-bright soldier who does bird calls and whistling acts; and Gunner "Nosher" Evans, a soldier who does a paper-tearing act and tends to eat a lot, spraying food whenever he speaks. Rounding out the enlisted crew are Bombardier "Solly" Solomons, a soldier from London, who is a former theatrical agent, a Jew; and Gunner "Gloria" Beaumont, an effeminate, cowardly soldier who specialises in performing female roles in drag (as there are no women assigned to the Concert Party). Beaumont is later promoted to Bombardier after Solly is demobbed and sent back to Britain.

text: The soldiers are under the orders of Battery Sergeant Major "Shut Up" Williams, a belligerent Welshman who has spent almost all of his life as a professional soldier. In turn, Williams reports to the two officers in charge of the Concert Party: Captain Ashwood and Lieutenant-Colonel Reynolds. Both Ashwood and Reynolds are characterised as coming from upper-class backgrounds. Ashwood, the younger officer, is rather stupid and slightly excitable, while Reynolds is older and more worldly-wise and sensible. While often bemoaning the rough conditions of Army life, both Ashwood and Reynolds realise that keeping their Concert Party administrative duties (and thus remaining behind friendly lines) is infinitely preferable to combat duty at the front line.

text: A small contingent of Indian workers are also usually found alongside the Britons: Bearer Rangi Ram, who acts as their butler and porter, displaying an outwardly obsequious nature that hides a very savvy intelligence; he is a good friend of the concert party and helps them out when they are in trouble; Muhammad, the idealistic chai wallah who, in the traditional role, carries an urn of hot tea and a box of pastries for everyone to purchase, and Rumzam, the lazy punkah wallah whose job it is to fan the officers, who is often kicked and told off by everyone.

text: While both the enlisted men and the officers are extremely reluctant to give up their relatively cushy assignment behind the lines, Sergeant Major Williams hates being assigned to the Concert Party. Williams resents not only the lack of an active combat role, but also having to be in charge of men who perform what he considers to be effeminate duties (often deriding them as "poofs"), instead of being able to command men he considers to be "real soldiers". As a result, Williams is routinely found shouting orders at the men (both soldiers and native workers) in the manner of a drill sergeant, delighting in putting the enlisted men through endless drills, parades and PT sessions. His ultimate goal, and the focus of many of his schemes, is to have the Concert Party disbanded, and the men sent off to join other troops fighting at the front. However, the soldiers usually find a way to get out of these schemes (often with the unwitting help of the two officers), and so are able to continue performing their Concert Party duties. However, the Concert Party eventually finds themselves transferred to the village of Tin Min, Burma, which is located very near the front line.

text: The Sergeant Major is also depicted as being extremely proud of the British Empire (and being blind to the fact that it is in its last days), and disgusted by the idea of Home Rule that the British colonies will gain after the war, and by Asian nationalists who dream of India and Burma being independent from British control. As such, the Sergeant Major is often abusive to the Asian workers and people, and tries his best to treat them roughly, which often gets him into trouble. Rangi, the bearer, is also presented, in a hugely comedy way, as being extremely supportive of British imperialism, and considers himself British, despite his very Asian appearance, and frequently refers to his fellows Asians as "damn natives".

text: While Williams heaps scorn and derision upon all the enlisted men, he reserves particular contempt for Gloria (who he considers to be the most effeminate of the lot), Graham (who he mocks for having a "posh" accent and university education, although he sometimes needs and appreciates his intelligence), and Lofty (because of his height, weight and general lack of military bearing, despite admiring his voice). The sole, and notable, exception to Williams' usual callous treatment of the troops is Gunner Parkin, who Williams' believes is his illegitimate son as he had an affair with Parkin's mother, many years before. When the rest of the concert party discover what the Sgt Major believes, Parkin is welcomed into the party, as the Sgt Major would want to stop it being sent into battle as long as Parkin is a member. They change Parkin's blood group on his medical file to that of Williams so that the Sergeant Major will have 'proof' that Parkin is his son. As a result, Williams routinely compliments Parkin and praises him for even the most minor of successes and often goes to great lengths to defend Parkin to the officers whenever he bungles a task. Williams also routinely excuses Parkin from participating in any event that might be even the least bit dangerous, even when Parkin himself has eagerly volunteered to participate. At times, that means that Williams must intervene to foil a scheme that he himself came up with to disband the Concert Party when it becomes evident Parkin will get into the same trouble as the rest of the men. For his part, Parkin does not take advantage of his special relationship with Williams, preferring instead to be treated as just another member of the Concert Party. For their part, the Concert Party happily keeps Parkin around because they not only consider him to be a "nice bloke" but also know that Williams will be reluctant to send the Concert Party into danger if his (alleged) son is likely to have to go with them.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Some critics viewed the casting of the white actor Michael Bates as the Indian bearer Rangi Ram as an example of blackface,[1][2] "All Michael Bates [...] wore was a light tan", protested Jimmy Perry in a 2013 interview with the journalist Neil Clark, an admirer of the series.[3] In Clark's opinion, the series "delightfully lampooned the attitudes of the British in India", but is "wrongly attacked by the PC brigade for being racist and homophobic".[4] Such a perception, however, is believed to be at least partly responsible for the programme not being repeated on British television in later years,[2] along with, according to Darren Lee of the British Film Institute's Screenonline website, a belief it contains "national stereotyping and occasionally patronising humour". [5] According to Mark Duguid, writing for the same website, it suffers "from its narrow stereotypes of its handful of Indian supporting characters as alternately servile, foolish, lazy or devious".[6] Its flaws have not stopped it appearing in several "best of" lists.[5]

text: The show's producers had been aware the issues around the casting a white actor to play one of the Indian characters, but relented owing to the lack of suitable Indian actors at the time.[2] Jimmy Perry defended the casting as Bates "spoke fluent Urdu, and was a captain in the Gurkhas".[3]

text: Characters[edit]

text: Officers[edit]

text: Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Arthur Digby St John Reynolds (Donald Hewlett)

text: Lieutenant-Colonel Reynolds is the most senior member of the concert party and enjoys their shows immensely. He thinks army life in Asia is very hard, while all he does is sit around sipping pink gin and dining with the elite. He is having an affair with Daphne Waddilove-Evans, whose husband, Major Waddilove-Evans, has left for the Punjab. He is the stereotypical British Army Officer, very stiff upper lip and prim and proper. Captain Ashford's utter stupidity does occasionally infuriate him, but he is effectively good-natured and tries to avoid leaving the easy life he has at any cost. Reynolds is revealed to be a solicitor.

text: Captain Jonathan Tarquin 'Tippy' Ashwood (Michael Knowles)

text: Captain Ashwood is an even bigger fan of the concert party than Colonel Reynolds, especially when they dress up as girls. He is not very bright, and often unknowingly ruins other people's plans, especially the Sergeant Major's. His catchphrase is "It's a tricky one, sir", which he says in reply to Colonel Reynolds asking for his opinion when the concert party runs into a particular problem. He occasionally writes skits for the concert party, which they reluctantly accept, as they are, on the whole, absolutely awful. He has absolutely no military bearing in him, which makes it very easy for the Sergeant Major and the others to manipulate him into using his authority to achieve their own ends. He is known for his stupidity, high-pitched voice, and love of gardening. He is exceptionally devoted to his wife, Fiona.

text: Warrant Officer[edit]

text: Battery Sergeant Major Tudor Bryn 'Shut Up' Williams (Windsor Davies)

text: The Sergeant Major is the only real, professional soldier among the concert party and its officers. He is somewhat bigoted in his views, making every effort to bully the Indian camp staff and remind everyone of British supremacy in Asia. He has only one goal in life, namely, to get his soldiers posted up the jungle (and into action) as fast as he can. Williams has a cunning and fierce pirate-like look. He is disgusted by the fact that his soldiers prance about on the stage wearing dresses and make-up all the time, and frequently calls them a "bunch of poofs". He is sometimes portrayed as a stereotypical "devious" Welshman, using cunning schemes to turn events in his favour. He dislikes all members of the concert party equally, apart from Parkin, who he believes to be his son. He has a particular loathing for "Lah-De-Dah" Gunner Graham, owing to his university education, although Williams will praise Graham for it if it serves his purposes. Williams often mispronounces long words, turning "hysterical" into "hystorical, or "historectical", "misapprehension" into "mishappropriation", "education" into "heducation" and "ignorant" into "higorant". When he leaves the army, Williams plans on marrying a widow who owns a pub.

text: There is some inconsistency over Williams' full name. In the series 3 episode "Don't Take the Micky" we hear his thoughts and he uses the name Tudor Bryn Williams to refer to himself, but in the final episode he reads out the name on his newly-issued ration book as "B.H. Williams". It is possible that "Tudor" is a play on the actor's own name, but this is unconfirmed.

text: Concert party[edit]

text: Bombardier 'Solly' Solomons (George Layton)

text: 'Solly' is a showbiz man who always plays the male leads in the concert party's shows and is also the party's producer. He is a very intelligent individual and often has some sort of devious plot to avoid being posted or getting one over on the Sergeant Major. His father was a pawnbroker in Bond Street and he is a Jew. He left at the end of Series 2 when he was demobbed back to England.

text: Gunner/Bombardier 'Gloria' Beaumont (Melvyn Hayes)

text: 'Gloria' Beaumont is a very effeminate person who cannot handle the violence, heat and mosquitoes of army life in India too well. He considers himself an artiste, and doesn't believe he should be in the Army, often trying to emphasize his show-business angle and ignore the "soldier" parts of his job. He has a passion for show business and always dresses up as famous film stars during the concert party shows, especially as Ginger Rogers. He later succeeded Bombardier Solomon's rank when George Layton left the series. Despite Beaumont's effeminacy, he meets a nurse in the episode 'Ticket to Blightly' and they announce they are to be wed. However, no more is heard of this plot line.

text: Gunner 'Lofty' Harold Horace Herbert Willy Sugden (Don Estelle)

text: 'Lofty' is a soldier whose appearance can be summarized by means of quoting the Sergeant Major: "Is it a mushroom? No. Is it a soldier? No. It's Gunner Sugden." Lofty is the tiny, rotund lead singer of the concert party usually seen in an old-fashioned pith helmet, and has an amazing tenor voice which even the Sergeant Major cannot resist when he sings. Unfortunately, he is always picked out by the Sergeant Major as a "volunteer" when there is a particularly nasty or dangerous task to be carried out. He has been married three times; his two previous wives were called Agatha and Betty, and according to a latter, Sugden's third and present wife shares a house with Betty.

text: Gunner 'Parky' Nigel Parkins (Christopher Mitchell)

text: 'Parky' is the youngest member of the concert party and has tried everything to become part of them, including being a ventriloquist, comedian, and singer, although he is very clumsy and never does anything right. The Sergeant Major wrongly believes that Parkins is his son (Williams had a relationship with Parkins' mother Edith in Colchester), which is why he treats him much better than he treats the others, and keeps telling him he has "a fine pair of shoulders"; however, Parkins is not Williams' son but when the rest of the concert party discover what the Sgt Major believes Parkins is welcomed into the party, as the Sgt Major would want to stop it being sent into battle as long as Parkins is a member. They change Parkins' blood group on his medical file to that of Williams so that the Sergeant Major will have 'proof' that Parkins is his son. Consequently, Williams becomes very selective about Parkins' achievement – praising him when he does something right and ignoring when Parkins makes huge blunders. An example of such a situation comes when Parkins is appointed as Battery clerk – since he has no exploitable talent for the concert party – and, having misunderstood an order from the Sergeant-Major, proceeds to have the Officer's Mess demolished. (Sergeant-Major Williams had told him to "remove the mess by the Officer's lines", referring to a pile of old beds that were to be discarded, and he destroyed the officer's mess. Then Colonel Reynolds tells him to order 200 tent pegs and he orders 200 tents.) Parkins references the show's title in the first ever episode when he signs off a letter to his mother with the words "I've been in India now two days, and it ain't half hot, Mum." Parkins was born on 2 October 1924, making him 21 years old, a birth which he celebrates in at the end of Series 4 in the episode "Twenty-One".

text: 'La-De-Dah' Gunner 'Paderewski' Jonathan Graham (John Clegg)

text: Gunner Graham is the concert party's pianist. His appearance – bald and bespectacled – marks him out as a stereotypical boffin. He has a university degree in English literature and is very clever, speaking with a very upper class accent. This is why the Sergeant Major always mockingly repeats what he says, as well as mockingly addressing him as Mister La-De-Dah Gunner Graham. Graham often has difficult and ingenious plans to solve the concert party's problems, but these plans never seem to work and often result in his saying "oh well, bang goes that theory". The others (even the Sergeant Major and the Officers) often rely on his intelligence to get them out of awkward situations.

text: Gunner 'Atlas' Mackintosh (Stuart McGugan)

text: 'Atlas' Mackintosh does the strong man act in the show, which involves tearing telephone directories in half. He is rather short-tempered, especially when Beaumont calls him a "great, big, butch, hairy haggis". He is very masculine, and is a bit of a contradiction to what Beaumont thinks is right for the concert party. Nevertheless, Mackintosh always tries his best and copes with what is given to him.

text: Gunner 'Nobby' Clark (Kenneth MacDonald)

text: 'Nobby' Clark does a whistling act in the show, and can do excellent bird impersonation. He is not particularly clever, and often makes nonsense comments or observations about situations they find themselves in.

text: Gunner 'Nosher' Evans (Mike Kinsey)

text: 'Nosher' Evans does a paper tearing act. He is always eating something (and once stayed on punishment in the Canteen four hours after he was relieved as he was enjoying himself) resulting in him spraying the contents of his mouth all around him when he speaks.

text: Natives[edit]

text: Bearer Rangi Ram (Michael Bates)

text: Rangi Ram is the concert party's native bearer, and very proud to be of service to the army. A frequently recurring gag is his ironically referring to "we British". The Sergeant Major shouts at him more than at anyone else, but Rangi is also the one he confides in when he wants to talk about problems. Rangi often provides the audience with an "old Hindu proverb" at the end of the episode, such as "There is an old Hindu proverb which say that if you see two eyes looking at you in the dark, it is not always a Tiger. It might be two one-eyed Tigers!" He is a devious individual, who can often manipulate the situation for his own ends (usually money). Though he often speaks of himself as British, he will show divided loyalty when his Indian aspect is under threat – when asked to burn the Indian flag by the Sergeant Major, he refused. He disappears without mention after series 5 due to the death of Michael Bates and is never mentioned again.

text: Char Wallah Muhammad (Dino Shafeek)

text: Muhammed the char wallah walks around the camp all day, selling tea from his urn. We can also hear him sing the musical interruptions between the scenes, which are mostly popular American hits, accompanied by a sitar. At the end of the credits he starts to sing "Land of Hope and Glory" only to be interrupted by the Sergeant-major shouting "SHUTUPPP!!!". After Rangi leaves, he takes on the role as Bearer to the Concert Party as well as still being the Char Wallah.

text: Punkah Wallah Rumzan (Babar Bhatti)

text: Rumzan the punkah wallah always sits outside the officers' quarters, pulling a string that is attached to a large fan indoors. He comments on everything in Urdu, and always adds a few words in English at the end. Rangi often tells him to "sit up straight while you are punkah-ing" and not to "be such Clever Dickie". He is far more intelligent than the others give him credit, and much of what he observes early on is often borne out in the end, but no-one notices. He disappears after Series 7 without mention.

text: Others[edit]

text: Deolali, India[edit]

text: Mrs Daphne Waddilove-Evans (Margaret Courtenay/Frances Bennett)

text: Mrs Waddilove-Evans is the wife of a local colonel, who lives in a large house near the camp in Deolali. In the earlier episodes, she is the lover of Colonel Reynolds; the two have a strong relationship, to the point when she accompanies the patrol on a journey to a nearby town. However, the group's vehicle breaks down and Rangi recommends that they spend the night in a nearby fort. The Colonel and Mrs Waddilove-Evans agree to meet at midnight and they do so. As Colonel Reynolds is distracted, Mrs Waddilove-Evans is kidnapped by a group of Pathan tribesmen and the concert party, Rangi, Muhammed and Rumzan attempt to save her. They are surprised when they meet her on a horse further on, having gained her freedom. It is implied that she escaped by granting sexual favours to the smugglers.

text: Ling Soo (Yasuko Nagazumi)

text: Ling Soo is a local girl who works as a maid for Colonel and Mrs Waddilove-Evans. She and Sergeant Major Williams have a continuing relationship. Her father, the owner of the Deolali Chinese restaurant, arranges for Williams and Ling Soo to elope to the mountains and marry secretly. This horrifies Williams, as he would be classed as a deserter, which creates a dilemma for Williams; does he stay on at the camp, or does he marry Ling Soo? Eventually, he reluctantly chooses his profession and his relationship is not mentioned again.

text: Inspector Singh (Nick Zaran)

text: The Inspector is the head of police in Deolali, who warns Colonel Reynolds and Captain Ashwood on a few occasions when the locals are rioting, demanding that the British go home.

text: Tin Min, Burma[edit]

text: "Pretty Boy" Me Thant (Burt Kwouk)

text: Me Thant is a Burmese smuggler, who is bribed by GHQ at 20 pieces of gold a week to keep from assaulting and keeping away from the local British troops. Later on, he challenges Sergeant Major Williams to a test to see which of the two is more manly. Me Thant cheats to make sure he wins the test, but he and his gang is infiltrated by members of GHQ, resulting in him and his gang being tied against a small plank, "Burmese style".

text: Ah Syn (Andy Ho)

text: Ah Syn is the cook for the camp later in the series, a man of Chinese ethnicity who served food that Captain Ashwood describes as 'furniture stuffing'. Gunner Graham in particular moans that the food is inedible and disgusting. When Captain Ashwood asks if he knows about spotted dick and toad in the hole, he misses the point entirely and thinks that spotted dick is an illness.

text: Series and episodes[edit]

text: DVD releases[edit]

text: All 8 Series have been released on DVD region code 2 by 2|entertain. All eight series have also been released in region 4. A Complete Series Collection Box Set containing all 8 series of the show was released on 4 October 2010.

text: Master copies of the fourth and sixth episodes of series one ('A Star is Born' and 'It's a Wise Child') were lost after first broadcast and have not been recovered. VHS copies recorded at home by a viewer in Australia were found in 1988. They are not of broadcast quality, but are included as extras on the series 1 DVD.

text:
DVD Title
Code
No. of discs
Year
No. of episodes
Release date

Region 2
Region 4

Complete Series 1
CCTV 30213
1
1974
8
5 September 2005
2 March 2006

Complete Series 2
CCTV 30227
1
1975
8
10 October 2005
5 October 2006

Complete Series 3
CCTV 30269
1
1976
6
13 February 2006
7 March 2007

Complete Series 4
CCTV 30295
2
1976
8
1 May 2006
5 September 2007

Complete Series 5
CCTV 30328
1
1977
6
31 July 2006
5 March 2008

Complete Series 6
BBCDVD 2645
1
1978
7
9 June 2008
4 September 2008

Complete Series 7
BBCDVD 3008
1
1980
6
24 August 2009
3 September 2009

Complete Series 8
BBCDVD 3047
1
1981
7
5 October 2009
4 March 2010

Complete Series 1–4
CCTV 30532
5
1974–1976
30
30 October 2006
N/A

Complete Series 1–8
BBCDVD3329
9
1974–1981
56
4 October 2010
N/A

text: Songs[edit]

text: Because It Ain't Half Hot Mum was a sitcom about a concert party, many old music hall, musical and traditional songs were performed by the actors, including:

text:
"An Apple for the Teacher"
"A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody"
"By a Waterfall"
"Dames"
"Gilbert the Filbert"
"Happy Days Are Here Again"
"I'll Be Seeing You"
"In a Monastery Garden"
"Love for Sale"
"Mandalay"
"Moonlight Becomes You"
"Music Hall Song"
"On the Good Ship Lollipop"
"Puttin' On the Ritz"
"Rule Britannia"
"South of the Border"
"Stout-Hearted Men"
"The Teddy Bears' Picnic"
"The White Cliffs of Dover"
"Top Hat"
"The Whiffenpoof Song"

text: Don Estelle and Windsor Davies released two in-character performances as singles. The first, "Whispering Grass" reached number one in the British singles chart for three weeks from 7 June 1975. The second "Paper Doll" reached number forty one later that year.[7]. They also recorded a top 10 LP called "Sing Lofty"[8]


document_title: Après nous le déluge

question_text: what is the meaning of apres moi le deluge

text: Après nous le déluge

text: "Après nous, le déluge" ("After us, the flood") is a French expression, attributed to Madame de Pompadour, the lover of King Louis XV of France.[1] An alternative form, attributed to Louis himself, is "Après moi, le déluge" ("After me, the flood"). The saying came after the Battle of Rossbach in 1757, which was disastrous for the French.[2]

text: The expression has two possible meanings: 'After me, the deluge will come,' asserting that if the revolution ended his reign, the nation would be plunged into chaos; or 'After me, let the deluge come,' implying "I don't care what happens after I'm gone."[3][1]

text: The phrase "Après moi le déluge" was adopted as the motto of the Royal Air Force 617 Squadron which carried out the "Dambuster" raids on German dams in the Ruhr region on the night of 16–17 May 1943.


document_title: Golden Triangle of Art

question_text: what are the 3 museums in the golden triangle of art in madrid

text: Golden Triangle of Art

text: The Golden Triangle of Art is made up of three important art museums that are located close to one another on the Paseo del Prado, in the centre of Madrid, Spain.

text: The three art museums are:

text:
Prado Museum (Museo del Prado) — a National Museum featuring pre-20th-century art
Reina Sofía Museum (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía) —a National Museum featuring 20th century modern art
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum — a National Art Museum with a collection of historical through contemporary art, open to the public.

tag: ol

text: Gallery[edit]

text:
Prado Museum

Reina Sofía Museum

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

text: Coordinates: 40°24′32″N 3°41′40″W / 40.4087777778°N 3.6945°W / 40.4087777778; -3.6945

text:
This article about a museum in Spain or its islands is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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t
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text: Art museums and galleries in the Community of MadridPaseo del PradoCulture in MadridMuseums in MadridArt museums and galleries in SpainSpanish museum stubs

text: Coordinates on WikidataAll stub articles