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By the start of the war S&W was nearly bankrupt. The company was now run by Carl R. Hellstrom. Under his management the company concentrated its efforts on handguns and the company began to expand. In 1965 the Wesson family sold the company to the Bangor Punta corporation. The company began producing firearms accessories as well as firearms. In 1884, S&W was sold to Lear Siegler who, in 1986, was acquired by Forstmann Little & Company. Forstmann & Little was mainly interested in Siegler's aerospace and automotive lines. So they sold Smith & Wesson to Tomkins plc, a British holding company. Under Tomkins, S&W developed a number of semiautomatic pistols. This included several using the new .40 S&W cartridge. During this time handgun sales declined. Because of anti-gun lawsuits, operating costs began to rise. |
Clinton agreement. |
On March 17, 2000, Smith & Wesson made an agreement with US President Bill Clinton. It agreed to make changes in the design and distribution of its firearms. This was in return for "preferred buying program" to offset the loss of revenue as a result of anticipated boycott. All authorized S&W dealers and distributors had to follow a “code of conduct” to eliminate the sale of firearms to prohibited persons. Dealers had to agree to not allow children under 18 access to gun shops or sections of stores that contained firearms. |
After an organized campaign by the NRA and NSSF, thousands of retailers and tens of thousands of firearms consumers boycotted Smith & Wesson. |
Acquisition by Saf-T-Hammer. |
On 11 May 2001, Saf-T-Hammer Corporation acquired Smith & Wesson from Tomkins plc for $15 million USD. This was a fraction of the $112 million originally paid by Tomkins. The Smith & Wesson purchase was chiefly brokered by Saf-T-Hammer President Bob Scott. He had left Smith & Wesson in 1999 because of a disagreement with Tomkins’ policies. After the purchase, Scott became the president of Smith & Wesson. He guided the 157-year-old company back to its former standing in the market. |
On 15 February 2002, the name was changed to Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation. |
Recent history. |
In December 2014, Smith & Wesson Holding announced it was paying $130.5 million for Battenfeld Technologies. This is a Columbia, Missouri-based designer and distributor of hunting and shooting accessories. This was part of a plan to merge all its existing Smith & Wesson, M&P and Thompson Center Arms accessories into a single division. |
In August 2016 the company bought Crimson Trace, a laser-sight manufacturer, for $95 million. They bought Taylor Brands, a tool and knife maker, for $85 million. In November 2016 the company bought UST Brands, a survival equipment maker, for $32.3 million. On November 7, 2016, Smith & Wesson announced that it would be changing the name of its holding company to American Outdoor Brands Corporation. |
Ni Yulan |
Ni Yulan is a Chinese business lawyer. In 2016, she received the International Women of Courage Award. |
Activities. |
Ni fought for property rights for people who lost their homes because of building for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She went to prison many times. In prison she was beaten and lost the use of her legs. She applied for a passport to travel to the U.S. to receive the award, but the Chinese government refused. |
Tirso (river) |
The Tirso () is the most important river of Sardinia for its length and the size of its drainage basin. It starts on the mountains of the centre of the island and ends in the Mediterranean Sea. |
Name. |
The river was known in Sardinia as "riu de Aristanis" ("river of Oristano") or, simply, "riu Mannu" (the "big river"). The name Tirso began to be used in modern times following Ptolemy that named it in ancient times as "Thyrsos" (, "mouth of the Tirso river"). |
Geography. |
The Tirso river has a length of , and a drainage basin with an area of approximately . |
Its discharge (volume of water which passes through a section of the river per unit of time) depends of the season; its average discharge is but is very low during summer. |
Course. |
The Tirso river starts in the Buddusò plateau, on the slopes of "Punta Pianedda", at an elevation of about , to the north of the "comune" of Bitti. From here, the river flows to the southwest. |
Finally, after , it flows into the Gulf of Oristano in the Sea of Sardinia (Mediterranean Sea). The river enters the sea at about to the north of the city of Oristano. |
The river forms the "Omodeo lake", an artificial lake that is long and wide; it is one of largest artificial lake in Italy. |
It flows through 81 comuni. |
Main tributaries. |
Most tributaries of the Tirso are small streams; the main tributaries are: |
Both rivers are left tributaries of the Tirso. |
Theo Brokmann Jr. |
Theodorus Johannes Franciscus "Theo" Brokmann Jr. (born 3 July 1922) is a Dutch former footballer. He played as a striker. He played for Ajax from 1939 to 1951. |
Brokmann was born in Amsterdam, North Holland. He was the son of and named after Theo Brokmann (1893–1956). |
Michael Tönnies |
Michael Tönnies (19 December 1959 – 26 January 2017) was a German footballer. He was born in Essen. He played as a striker. He played from 1978 to 1994. |
Tönnies was best known for playing for MSV Duisburg, playing in 179 league games and scoring over a hundred goals. He also played for Schalke 04, SpVgg Bayreuth, 1. FC Bocholt, Rot-Weiss Essen and Wuppertaler SV. He held a Bundesliga record, scoring the fastest hat-trick (three goals). He held the record from 1991 until 2015, when Robert Lewandowski beat the record. |
Tönnies died on 26 January 2017 at the age of 57. |
Piet Ouderland |
Piet Ouderland (17 March 1933 – 3 September 2017) was a Dutch footballer and basketball player. He was born in Amsterdam, North Holland. |
As a footballer, Ouderland played as a striker. He played Ajax, AZ Alkmaar and the Netherlands national team. For Ajax, he made 261 total appearances with the club between 1955 and 1964. This made him a member of Club van 100. He also made seven appearances with the national team in 1962 and 1963. As a basketball player, he also played for the national team. He was the first Dutchman to play for the national sides of football and basketball. |
Henry-Louis de La Grange |
Henry-Louis de La Grange (26 May 1924 – 27 January 2017) was a French musicologist. He was known for being known as a biographer of Gustav Mahler. He was born in Paris. La Grange began working as a music critic in 1952, writing articles for the "New York Herald Tribune" and "The New York Times", and the magazines "Opera News", "Saturday Review", "Musical America", and "Opus". |
La Grange died in Paris on 27 January 2017 from complications of pneumonia, aged 92. |
Christopher Bland |
Sir Francis Christopher Buchan Bland (29 May 1938 – 28 January 2017) was a British businessman and politician. He was born in Yokohama, Japan. |
He was deputy chairman of the Independent Television Authority (1972), which was renamed the Independent Broadcasting Authority in the same year, and chairman of London Weekend Television (1984) and of the Board of Governors of the BBC (1996 to 2001), when he took up a position as chairman of British Telecommunications plc. He left his position with BT in September 2007. |
Before leaving BT, he became chairman of the Royal Shakespeare Company, in 2004. |
Bland died on 28 January 2017 in Clanville, Hampshire from complications of prostate cancer, aged 78. |
Number One Observatory Circle |
The Number One Observatory Circle is the official residence of the Vice President of the United States and the Second Family. It is located on the northeast grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. and it has been the residence of every vice president since 1974. |
Waltenhofen |
Waltenhofen is a municipality in the district of Oberallgäu in Bavaria in Germany. On 1 January 1972, the previously independent municipality of Memhölz was incorporated into Waltenhofen. On January 1 1976, Niedersonthofen was added, and on April 1, 1976 Martin im Allgäu was also added. The mayor has been Eckhard Harscher since 2006. |
Weitnau |
Weitnau is a municipality in the rural district Oberallgäu in Bavaria/Germany. Weitnau is in the foothills of the Allgäu Alps. |
Alexander Streicher became the mayor in 2008. |
Weitnau became twinned with Magné in France in 1986. |
Kaniyan Pungundranar |
Kaniyan Pungundranar is an influential Tamil poet and philosopher who lived during the Sangam Age. He was said to be born in the village of Mahibalanpatti in Tirupattur taluk of Sivagangai district, Tamil Nadu. |
Kaniyan Pungundranar composed two poems in Tamil in Purananuru and Natrinai. His poem in Purananuru is a famous poem, it starts with the lines of Yaadhum Oore Yavarum Kelir speaks about unity. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former president of India spoke about these lines in the United Nations Organisation. At present, these lines are depicted in the UNO. |
Andreas Sparman |
Andreas Sparman or Andreas Palmcron (1609 – November 30, 1658) was a Swedish doctor. He was the personal physician to Queen Christina and King Charles X Gustav of Sweden. He is most known for his book, "Sundhetzens Speghel", which is considered to be the best medical book of the century, and is sometimes considered to be the first Swedish cookbook. |
Life. |
Andreas Sparman was born Andreas Schomerus in Sparrsätra parish, Uppsala County, Sweden. He died in |
Stockholm. When he wrote his dissertation in 1629, he used the name "Schomerus", but later changed his name to Sparrman, for his birthplace. He was knighted in 1647 with the name Palmcron. |
Sparman's father was Nikolaus Olai. His mother was Susanna Andersdotter. His first wife was Helena Isaksdotter. His second wife was Susanna Lilliecrona. He had a daughter, Brita Susanna Palmkron, with his second wife. |
Sparman studied medicine in the city of Leiden, in the Netherlands. After he returned to Sweden he became the city doctor for Stockholm. Later, he was the personal doctor to Queen Christina and Charles X Gustav of Sweden. |
Books. |
In connection with the plague epidemic in 1638, Sparman wrote an educational book about the plague. It was a summary of how to prevent and treat the disease. It was published again during plague epidemics in 1652 and 1710. |
In 1642, Sparman wrote the most complete book ever published about preventive health care, "Sundhetzen's Speghel, uthi hwilken man beskodhar Sundhetzens Natur..." or "Mirror of Health, from which one may learn the nature of health, the principle causes of all diseases which chiefly undermine health, together with the remedies which deliver us from them". |
It is considered the best "läkebok" or medical book of the century. Part of the book is written in the form of the alexandrine French poetry meter. It was probably based on some foreign works. Sparman's book warned about the medical dangers of alcohol. |
Because of the severe "rödsots" or dysentery epidemics, in 1652 Sparman wrote about how to prevent dysentery. |
Sparman also translated the hymns of the Psalms. He got permission to publish them, but they were never published. |
Elkin Ramírez |
Elkin Fernando Ramírez Zapata (26 October 1962 – 29 January 2017) was a Colombian singer-songwriter. He was best known as the lead singer of the rock band Kraken. He was also a member to bands such as Kripzy (1981–1982) and Ferrotrack (1983–1984). He joined Kraken in 1985. He was born in Medellín, Antioquia. |
Ramírez died from brain cancer on 29 January 2017 in Medellín. He was 54. |
Walt Streuli |
Walter Herbert "Walt" Streuli (September 26, 1935 – January 19, 2017) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher. He appeared in six Major League Baseball games over parts of three seasons with the 1954–1956 Detroit Tigers. |
Streuli was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He studied at Rhodes College. Streuli died in Greensboro, North Carolina on January 19, 2017, aged 81. |
R-dropping |
R-dropping also called non-rhoticity or post vocalic r-lessness happens to English-speakers when the "r" sound is not pronounced after a vowel. Then the words "car" and "card" both sound like "cah" and "cahd". That happens for most speakers in England and some speakers in the United States, especially in the Boston and New York City areas and pockets of the American South especially the Greater New Orleans area, Virginia's Tidewater region and among speakers of ethnolects such as African American Vernacular English and Cajun English. British and Northeastern r-droppers usually pronounce "r" when the next word begins with a vowel as in "car is". For them, "spa" and "spar" sound alike, Southern, African American and South African r-droppers don't add additional Rs. |
The pronunciation of the R is kept in the Scottish, Irish and most of the U.S. and Canada versions of spoken English. The R-droppers include most of England, Wales, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. |
The issue of how the R is used is called rhoticity by linguists. |
Jamshid Giunashvili |
Jamshid Giunashvili (; 1 May 1931 – 21 January 2017). He was a Georgian linguist, Iranologist, researcher, author, and diplomat. He having served as the first ambassador of Georgia to Iran for a period of ten years from 1994 through 2004. |
Biography. |
Giunashvili was born in Tehran, Iran. He graduated from Tbilisi State University with a doctors degree in Iranian studies. Giunashvili died on 21 January 2017 in Tbilisi, Georgia, aged 86. |
Brunhilde Pomsel |
Brunhilde Pomsel (11 January 1911 – 27 January 2017) was a German broadcaster and secretary. She was born in Berlin. She was known as a personal secretary to politician Joseph Goebbels. She began work in the news department of the Third Reich's radio station in 1933. After World War II ended, she was not released from jail until 1950. She retired in 1971 at the age of 60. |
Pomsel turned 100 in 2011. She died on 27 January 2017 in Munich at the age of 106. |
Anne-Marie Colchen |
Anne-Marie Colchen-Maillet (8 December 1925 – 26 January 2017) was a French former track and field athlete and women's basketball player. She was born in Le Havre, France. |
Career. |
She became France's first high jump champion at the 1946 European Athletics Championships and held the French record for the event for ten years. She represented France in high jump at the 1948 Summer Olympics. |
In basketball she was the highest scorer at the 1953 FIBA World Championship for Women, helping France to third place. She was a member of the French national team for the European Women's Basketball Championship in 1950, 1952, 1954 and 1956. |
After retiring from active competition she went into coaching. Colchen was inducted into the Gloire du sport (the French national sports hall of fame) in 2002. |
Death. |
Colchen died on 26 January 2017 in Paris, France, aged 91. |
Sachet d'épices |
A sachet d'épices is a small cheesecloth sack containing herbs and spices. It is used to add flavor to stocks, soups and sauces. It means "small bag of spices" in French. |
It is often simply called a "sachet". It is used like a "bouquet garni", but a sachet's ingredients are inside a cheesecloth while a "bouquet garni" is not. This means that spices such as whole peppercorns and dried herbs, which cannot be used in a "bouquet garni", can go in a sachet. |
Laurie Salas |