Snacking is a way to keep your
appetite under control in
between meals. When you go
without food for long periods
of time your metabolism slows
down, your body craves
carbohydrates to use for a much
needed energy boost. When it
comes time to finally eat it's
hard to consciously choose
healthy foods and a proper
portion size. Although snacking
can seem like your worst
nightmare it's more about
controlling what types of foods
you snack on and how much
you choose to consume. It is
these two principals that make
snacking a dieter's best friend.
When trying to lose weight,
most people cut out snacking to
reduce their calories, however
this can actually lead to over
consumption later on. Rather,
you should eat smaller meals
throughout the day to help
control appetite, ward off
cravings, and regulate your
blood sugar.
Choosing the right snacks can be
difficult, especially when trying
to lose weight. You want to eat
something to satisfy your
craving that is low in calories
and healthy. Your snack doesn't
necessarily have to be low fat as
long as you keep your portion
sizes and food choices under
control. By pairing two different
food types together you will
feel fuller for longer, just
remember to reduce the amount
of each food that you eat. So
the next time you're feeling
hungry or its time for a snack
choose foods from this list to
keep you full and satisfied.
1. Fruit- Fruit is excellent for a
snack. Whether you eat apiece
by itself or pair it with cheese,
yogurt or a dipping sauce, it has
wonderful nutritional value and
is low in calories. Most fruits are
naturally sweet, which curb
cravings for sugar snacks.
Additionally they are a great
source of fiber, have high water
content and some contain
antioxidants, anticancer, and
heart disease fighting
properties. For the quantity of
melons and berries that you're
able to eat for a snack they are
surprisingly low in calories.
Melons include watermelon,
cantaloupe, honeydew, and
casaba. Berries include
raspberries, blackberries,
blueberries, strawberries and
cranberries. Dried fruit can also
be consumed because it
maintains the fiber, vitamins,
and minerals, however they
tend to be higher in calories and
can sometimes contain added
sugar. Always remember your
portion size when you eat dried
fruits. The best fruits to eat for
a snack include melons, berries,
apples, pears, peaches, plums,
oranges, grapefruits, tangerines,
and red grapes.
2. Vegetables- Vegetables are a
great source of nutrients, which
makes them a perfect snack
food. Vegetables are full of
vitamins, minerals, and fiber and
are very low in calories.
Vegetables can be eaten alone or
paired with other foods such as
celery and peanut butter,
cucumbers and hummus, carrots
and low fat rand dressing, etc.
Because most vegetables require
some type of preparation such
as cleaning, peeling or cutting,
its best to prepare your
vegetables ahead of time and
store them in plastic baggies or
Tupperware containers.
3. Nuts- Nuts are a great snack
food that can be eaten on the
go and stored easily. Nuts are a
valuable source of fiber,
antioxidants, protein, vitamins
and healthy unsaturated fats.
However, they run high in
calories and fat so maintaining
an appropriate serving size per
sitting is necessary. Pistachios,
almonds and walnuts are
preferred for snacking
purposes.
4. Legume- Legumes are a
"whole food" that provides the
body with essential nutrients
such as fiber, protein, minerals,
amino acids, omega 3 fatty
acids, and antioxidants. Legumes
are complex carbohydrates,
which keep you feeling fuller
for longer. Although legumes
don't seem like a good snack
food, most often they are made
into a puree, dip, or added to a
salad. The best legumes for
snacks are beans, chickpeas,
hummus, and tahini (pureed
sesame seeds).
5. Dairy- Dairy is a great source
of calcium, which builds strong
bones, protein and vitamins. Its
best to use low fat or fat free
dairy products for snacking to
avoid consuming high amounts
of saturated fats. Yogurt,
cottage cheese, ricotta, hard
cheeses, milk, cream cheese, and
sour cream are good sources of
dairy foods for snacking. For
yogurt beware of the added
sugars which hike up the
calories. Greek yogurt is thick
and has a naturally sour taste,
but is also higher in protein than
normal yogurt. When measuring
out serving size be careful with
cheeses because even the low
fat or fat free kinds tend to run
high in saturated fats. You can
consume 1/2 cup of soft cheese
in one sitting and a couple of
cubes of hard cheese such as
mozzarella or Monterey jack.
6. Whole grains- Most snack
foods consist of refined grains
such as cookies, crackers and
snack cakes. Refined grains are
high in sugar and fat without
any healthy benefits. Whole
grains on the other hand have
fiber, vitamins and minerals,
which provide the body with
nutrients and energy. When
looking for a snack turn to
whole grain food products to fill
you up and keep you going.
Some whole grain food products
include whole grain crackers,
tortilla chips, pita wedges,
English muffins, rice cakes,
cereals and popcorn. Light or
low fat popcorn is great for
snacking and is naturally high in
fiber. Avoid butter, which adds
fat and calories. Another option
is 100% whole wheat or
multigrain, however you want
to watch out for added sugar
and high saturated or trans fats.
Whole grain snack foods are
great combined with cheeses,
dips, spreads, or fruits.
Remember portion size when
combining two food groups.
7. Nutrition Bars- Nutrition bars
are a great snack to take on the
go. They are easy, maintenance
free and portable and most
often contain a good amount of
protein, vitamins, minerals and
fiber. They come in all kinds
granola, cereal, fiber, protein,
and tons of flavors for
everyone's different tastes. The
fiber and protein will keep you
full and satisfy your craving
until your next meal. Always
check the ingredient list for a
high number of calories, sugar,
fat and any added chemicals.
Minggu, 18 September 2011
Wind TurbinePackages Vs SolarTechnology Solutions
By Roger G Brown
If you take the time to analyze
wind turbine kits you should
also look into the concept of
solar power as an adjunct to
your plans. The basics of power
harvesting are about the same
and the systems are very similar.
The best way to get going with
renewable might be to employ a
device like a hybrid that uses
both technologies.
There are many things that are
alike between the 2 concepts:
Ultimately, all renewable energy
comes from the sun. The sun
obviously supplies the radiation
that heats the collector panels
but it also causes most of the
wind. The way it does that is by
heating the ground and the heat
radiating from the ground heats
and expands the surrounding
air. That dissipation of heat
from the ground is what causes
the vast majority of our wind.
Both need a power inverter to
finally convert the mechanical or
heat energy into AC or
alternating current that can be
used in an energy consuming
system. The power inverter is
needed with both a solar panel
and wind turbine kits (but not
when you are only charging a
battery). Not everything is a
similarity though. In a several
ways these systems are also not
alike:
First of all solar has no moving
parts and is a very passive form
of energy production. The units
themselves are very low-profile
and aren't really an issue for
neighbors like windmills can
be.Solar also isn't constrained by
physical stress limits like a wind
turbine is. Windmills cannot
operate in super high wind
conditions. They will "furl" to
keep from destroying
themselves in a storm for
example. Both of these
renewable power creation
systems have their pros and
cons and there is no reason to
categorically rule either one out
unless you happened to be
constrained by local ordinance,
as is often the case with
windmills.
If we are going to wean
ourselves from fossil fuels and
get ourselves off the electricity
grid, we are going to have to
start getting serious about both
of these technologies. The
hybrid versions of these
products will continue to
capture market share and prices
will keep coming down
accordingly.
As prices drop, it won't matter
so much about whether you
happen to live in an area of the
country that has a certain
number of good days for sun or
enough wind speed for a
windmill - as it does now.
Summarizing - it is wise to be
careful in your analysis of all
available home energy systems
that use renewable sources.
Wind turbine kits and solar
collectors are not in any way
incompatible.
If you take the time to analyze
wind turbine kits you should
also look into the concept of
solar power as an adjunct to
your plans. The basics of power
harvesting are about the same
and the systems are very similar.
The best way to get going with
renewable might be to employ a
device like a hybrid that uses
both technologies.
There are many things that are
alike between the 2 concepts:
Ultimately, all renewable energy
comes from the sun. The sun
obviously supplies the radiation
that heats the collector panels
but it also causes most of the
wind. The way it does that is by
heating the ground and the heat
radiating from the ground heats
and expands the surrounding
air. That dissipation of heat
from the ground is what causes
the vast majority of our wind.
Both need a power inverter to
finally convert the mechanical or
heat energy into AC or
alternating current that can be
used in an energy consuming
system. The power inverter is
needed with both a solar panel
and wind turbine kits (but not
when you are only charging a
battery). Not everything is a
similarity though. In a several
ways these systems are also not
alike:
First of all solar has no moving
parts and is a very passive form
of energy production. The units
themselves are very low-profile
and aren't really an issue for
neighbors like windmills can
be.Solar also isn't constrained by
physical stress limits like a wind
turbine is. Windmills cannot
operate in super high wind
conditions. They will "furl" to
keep from destroying
themselves in a storm for
example. Both of these
renewable power creation
systems have their pros and
cons and there is no reason to
categorically rule either one out
unless you happened to be
constrained by local ordinance,
as is often the case with
windmills.
If we are going to wean
ourselves from fossil fuels and
get ourselves off the electricity
grid, we are going to have to
start getting serious about both
of these technologies. The
hybrid versions of these
products will continue to
capture market share and prices
will keep coming down
accordingly.
As prices drop, it won't matter
so much about whether you
happen to live in an area of the
country that has a certain
number of good days for sun or
enough wind speed for a
windmill - as it does now.
Summarizing - it is wise to be
careful in your analysis of all
available home energy systems
that use renewable sources.
Wind turbine kits and solar
collectors are not in any way
incompatible.
Harry Potter and the Philoshoper's Stone
Harry Potter books
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone
Author J. K. Rowling
Illustrators
Thomas Taylor
(UK)
Mary GrandPré
(US)
Genre Fantasy
Publishers
Bloomsbury (UK)
Arthur A. Levine/
Scholastic (US)
Raincoast
(Canada)
Released 30 June 1997 (UK)
1 September 1998
(US)
Book no. One
Sales unknown
Chapters 17
Pages 223 (UK)
309 (US)
ISBN 0747532699
Followed by Harry Potter and
the Chamber of
Secrets
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone is the first
novel in the Harry Potter series
written by J. K. Rowling and
featuring Harry Potter, a young
wizard. It describes how Harry
discovers he is a wizard, makes
close friends and a few enemies
at the Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry, and
with the help of his friends
thwarts an attempted comeback
by the evil wizard Lord
Voldemort, who killed Harry's
parents when Harry was one
year old.
The book was published on
30 June 1997 by Bloomsbury in
London, while in 1998 Scholastic
Corporation published an edition
for the United States market
under the title Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer's Stone. The novel
won most of the UK book awards
that were judged by children, and
other awards in the USA. The
book reached the top of the New
York Times list of best-selling
fiction in August 1999, and
stayed near the top of that list
for much of 1999 and 2000. It
has been translated into several
other languages and has been
made into a feature-length film
of the same name.
Most reviews were very
favourable, commenting on
Rowling's imagination, humour,
simple, direct style and clever plot
construction, although a few
complained that the final
chapters looked rushed. The
writing has been compared to
that of Jane Austen, one of
Rowling's favourite authors, of
Roald Dahl, whose works
dominated children's stories
before the appearance of Harry
Potter, and of the Ancient Greek
story-teller Homer. While some
commentators thought the book
looked backwards to Victorian
and Edwardian boarding school
stories, others thought it placed
the genre firmly in the modern
world by featuring contemporary
ethical and social issues.
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone, along with
the rest of the Harry Potter
series, has been attacked by
several religious groups and
banned in some countries
because of accusations that the
novels promote witchcraft.
However, some Christian
commentators have written that
the book exemplifies important
Christian viewpoints, including
the power of self-sacrifice and
the ways in which people's
decisions shape their
personalities. Educators regard
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone and its
sequels as an important aid in
improving literacy because of the
books' popularity. The series has
also been used as a source of
object lessons in educational
techniques, sociological analysis
and marketing.
Synopsis
Plot
Before the start of the novel,
Voldemort, the most powerful
Dark wizard in history, killed
Harry's parents but mysteriously
vanished after trying to kill Harry.
While the wizarding world was
celebrating Voldemort's downfall,
Professor Dumbledore, Professor
McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid
placed the one year-old orphan in
the care of his Muggle (non-
wizard) uncle, aunt, and cousin:
Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley
Dursley .
For ten years, they and their son
Dudley neglected and bullied
Harry. Shortly before Harry's
eleventh birthday, a series of
letters addressed to Harry arrive,
but Vernon destroys them before
Harry can read them. To get away
from the letters, Vernon takes the
family to a lonely island. As they
are settling in, Hagrid bursts
through the door to tell Harry
what the Dursleys have kept him
from finding out: Harry is a
wizard and has been accepted at
Hogwarts.
Hagrid takes Harry to Diagon
Alley, a magically-concealed
shopping precinct in London,
where Harry is bewildered to
discover how famous he is
among wizards as "the boy who
lived." He also finds that he is
quite wealthy, since a bequest
from his parents has remained on
deposit at Gringotts Wizarding
Bank. Guided by Hagrid, he buys
the books and equipment he
needs for Hogwarts. At the wand
shop, he finds that the only wand
that works well for him is the
twin of Voldemort's. Both wands
contain feathers from the same
phoenix.[1]
A month later Harry leaves the
Dursleys' home to catch the
Hogwarts Express from King's
Cross railway station. There he
meets the Weasley family, who
show him how to pass through
the magical wall to Platform 9¾,
where the train is waiting. While
on the train Harry makes friends
with Ron Weasley, who tells him
that someone tried to rob a vault
at Gringotts. Another new pupil,
Draco Malfoy, accompanied by his
sidekicks Vincent Crabbe and
Gregory Goyle, offers to advise
Harry, but Harry dislikes Draco's
arrogance and prejudice.
Before the term's first dinner in
the school's Great Hall, the new
pupils are allocated to houses by
the magical Sorting Hat. When it is
Harry's turn to be sorted, the Hat
wonders whether he should be in
Slytherin, but when Harry objects,
the Hat sends him to join the
Weasleys in Gryffindor. While
Harry is eating, Professor Snape
catches his eye and Harry feels a
sudden stab of pain in the scar
Voldemort left on his forehead.
After a horrible first Potions
lesson with Snape, Harry and Ron
visit Hagrid, who lives in a rustic
house on the edge of the
Forbidden Forest. There they
learn that the attempted robbery
at Gringotts happened the day
Harry withdrew money. Harry
remembers that Hagrid had
removed a small package from
the vault that was broken into
and searched.
During the new pupils' first
broom-flying lesson, Neville
Longbottom breaks his wrist, and
Draco takes advantage to throw
the forgetful Neville's fragile
Remembrall high in the air. Harry
gives chase on his broomstick,
catching the Remembrall inches
from the ground. Professor
McGonagall dashes out and
appoints him as the new Seeker
for the Gryffindor Quidditch
team.[2]
When Draco tricks Ron and Harry,
accompanied by Neville and the
bossy Hermione Granger, into a
midnight excursion, they
accidentally enter a forbidden
corridor and find a huge three-
headed dog. The group hastily
retreats, and Hermione notices
that the dog is standing over a
trap-door. Harry concludes that
the monster is guarding the
package Hagrid retrieved from
Gringotts.
After Ron criticises Hermione's
ostentatious proficiency in
Charms, she hides in tears in the
girls' toilet. Professor Quirrell
reports that a troll has entered
the dungeons. While everyone
else returns to their dormitories,
Harry and Ron rush to warn
Hermione. The troll corners
Hermione in the toilet but when
Harry sticks his wand up one of
its nostrils, Ron uses the
levitation spell to knock out the
troll with its own club.
Afterwards, several professors
arrive and Hermione takes the
blame for the battle and becomes
a firm friend of the two boys.
The evening before Harry's first
Quidditch match, he sees Snape
receiving medical attention from
Filch for a bite on his leg by the
three-headed dog. During the
game, Harry's broomstick goes
out of control, endangering his
life, and Hermione notices that
Snape is staring at Harry and
muttering. She dashes over to the
Professors' stand, knocking over
Professor Quirrell in her haste,
and sets fire to Snape's robe.
Harry regains control of his
broomstick and catches the
Golden Snitch, winning the game
for Gryffindor. Hagrid refuses to
believe that Snape was
responsible for Harry's danger,
but lets slip that he bought the
three-headed dog, and that the
monster is guarding a secret that
belongs to Professor Dumbledore
and someone called Nicolas Flamel.
Harry and the Weasleys stay at
Hogwarts for Christmas, and one
of Harry's presents, from an
anonymous donor, is an
Invisibility Cloak owned by his
father. Harry uses the Cloak to
search the library's Restricted
Section for information about the
mysterious Flamel, has to evade
Snape and Filch after an
enchanted book shrieks an alarm,
and slips into a room containing
the Mirror of Erised, which shows
his parents and several of their
ancestors. Harry becomes
addicted to the Mirror's visions
and is rescued by Professor
Dumbledore, who explains that it
shows what the viewer most
desperately longs for.
When the rest of the pupils
return for the next term, Draco
plays a prank on Neville, and
Harry consoles Neville with a
sweet. The collectible card
wrapped with the sweet
identifies Flamel as an alchemist.
Hermione soon finds that he is a
665-year-old man who possesses
the only known Philosopher's
stone, from which can be
extracted an elixir of life. A few
days later Harry notices Snape
sneaking towards the outskirts
of the Forbidden Forest. There he
half-hears a furtive conversation
about the Philosopher's Stone, in
which Snape asks Professor
Quirrell if he has found a way
past the three-headed dog and
menacingly tells Quirrell to decide
whose side he is on. Harry
concludes that Snape is trying to
steal the Stone and Quirrell has
prepared a series of defences for
it, which was an almost fatal
mistake.
The three friends discover that
Hagrid is raising a baby dragon,
which is against wizard law, and
arrange to smuggle it out of the
country around midnight. Draco
arrives, hoping to raise the alarm
and get them into trouble, and
goes to tell Professor McGonagall.
Although Ron is bitten by the
dragon and is sent to the
infirmary, Harry and Hermione
spirit the dragon safely away.
However, they are caught, and
Harry loses the Invisibility Cloak.
As part of their punishment,
Harry, Hermione, Draco, and
Neville (who, trying to stop Harry
and Hermione after hearing what
Draco had been saying, had been
caught by McGonagall as well) are
compelled to help Hagrid to
rescue a badly-injured unicorn in
the Forbidden Forest. They split
into two parties, and Harry and
Draco find the unicorn dead,
surrounded by its blood. A
hooded figure crawls to the
corpse and drinks the blood,
while Draco screams and flees.
The hooded figure moves
towards Harry, who is knocked
out by an agonising pain
spreading from his scar. When
Harry regains consciousness, the
hooded figure has gone and a
centaur, Firenze, offers to give
him a ride back to the school. The
centaur tells Harry that drinking a
unicorn's blood will save the life
of a mortally injured person, but
leaves them only barely alive.
Firenze suggests Voldemort drank
the unicorn's blood to gain
enough strength to make the
elixir of life from the
Philosopher's Stone, and regain
full health by drinking that. On his
return, Harry finds that someone
has slipped the Invisibility Cloak
under his sheets.
A few weeks later, while relaxing
after the end-of-session
examinations, Harry suddenly
wonders how something as
illegal as a dragon's egg came into
Hagrid's possession. The
gamekeeper says he was given it
by a hooded stranger who
bought him several drinks and
asked him how to get past the
three-headed dog, which Hagrid
admits is easy – music sends it to
sleep. Realising that one of the
Philosopher's Stone's defences is
no longer secure, Harry goes to
inform Professor Dumbledore,
only to find that the headmaster
has just left for an important
meeting. Harry concludes that
Snape faked the message that
called Dumbledore away and will
try to steal the Stone that night.
Covered by the Invisibility Cloak,
Harry and his two friends go to
the three-headed dog's chamber,
where Harry sends the beast to
sleep by playing a flute given to
him by Hagrid for Christmas.
After lifting the trap-door, they
encounter a series of obstacles,
each of which requires special
skills possessed by one of the
three, and one of which requires
Ron to sacrifice himself in a game
of wizard's chess. In the final
room Harry, now alone, finds
Quirrell rather than Snape. Quirrell
admits that he let in the troll that
tried to kill Hermione on
Halloween, and that he tried to kill
Harry during the first Quidditch
match but was knocked over by
Hermione. Snape had been trying
to protect Harry and suspected
Quirrell. Quirrell serves Voldemort
and, after failing to steal the
Philosopher's Stone from
Gringotts, allowed his master to
possess him in order to improve
their chances of success.
However the only other object in
the room is the Mirror of Erised,
and Quirrell can see no sign of the
Stone. At Voldemort's bidding,
Quirrell forces Harry to stand in
front of the Mirror. Harry feels
the Stone drop into his pocket
and tries to stall. Quirrell removes
his turban, revealing the face of
Voldemort on the back of his
head. Voldemort/Quirrell tries to
grab the Stone from Harry, but
simply touching Harry causes
Quirrell's flesh to burn. After
further struggles Harry passes
out.
He awakes in the school hospital,
where Professor Dumbledore tells
him that he survived because his
mother sacrificed her life to
protect him, and Voldemort could
not understand the power of
such love. Voldemort left Quirrell
to die, and is likely to return by
some other means. Dumbledore
had foreseen that the Mirror
would show Voldemort/Quirrell
only themselves making the elixir
of life, as they wanted to use the
Philosopher's Stone; Harry was
able to see the Stone in the Mirror
because he wanted to find it but
not to use it. The Stone has now
been destroyed.
Harry returns to the Dursleys for
the summer holiday, but does not
tell them that under-age wizards
are forbidden to use magic
outside Hogwarts.
Main characters
Harry Potter is an orphan whom
Rowling imagined as a "scrawny,
black-haired, bespectacled boy
who didn't know he was a
wizard."[3] She developed the
series' story and characters to
explain how Harry came to be in
this situation and how his life
unfolded from there.[4] Apart
from the first chapter, the events
of this book take place just
before and in the year following
Harry's eleventh birthday.
Voldemort's attack left a
lightning bolt-shaped scar on
Harry's forehead,[4] which
produces stabbing pains when
Voldemort or a close associate of
the dark wizard feels any strong
emotion. Harry has prodigious
natural talent for Quidditch and
the ability to persuade friends by
passionate speeches.
Petunia Dursley, the sister of
Harry's mother Lily, is a thin
woman with a long neck that she
uses for spying on the
neighbours. She regards her
magical sister as a freak and tries
to pretend that she never
existed. Her husband Vernon is a
heavily-built man whose irascible
bluster covers a narrow mind and
a fear of anything unusual. Their
son Dudley is an overweight,
spoiled bully.
Despite being the school's jokers,
identical twins Fred and George
Weasley get good marks in
examinations and are excellent
Quidditch players. Their younger
brother Ron is Harry's age and
Rowling describes him as the
ultimate best friend, "always
there when you need him."[5]
Ron lacks confidence in his
prospects of matching his three
oldest brothers' achievements or
the popularity of Fred and
George, but his skill and bravery
in a magical chess game where
lives are at stake help Harry past
one of the obstacles on the path
to the Philosopher's Stone.
Hermione Granger, the daughter
of an all-Muggle family, is a bossy
girl who has apparently
memorised most of the
textbooks before the start of
term. Rowling described
Hermione as a "very logical,
upright and good" character[6]
with "a lot of insecurity and a
great fear of failure beneath her
swottiness".[6] Despite her
nagging efforts to keep Harry
and Ron out of trouble, she
becomes a close friend of the
two boys after they save her
from a troll, and her magical and
analytical skills play a vital part in
finding the Philosopher's Stone.
Draco Malfoy is a slim, pale boy
who speaks in a bored drawl. He
is arrogant about his skill in
Quidditch, and despises anyone
who is not a pure blood wizard –
and wizards who do not share
his views. His parents had
supported Voldemort, but
changed sides after the dark
wizard's disappearance. Draco
avoids direct confrontations, and
tries to get Harry and his friends
into trouble.
Neville Longbottom is a plump,
diffident boy, so forgetful that
his grandmother gives him a
Remembrall. Neville's magical
abilities are weak and appeared
just in time to save his life when
he was eight. Despite his timidity,
Neville will fight anyone after
some encouragement or if he
thinks it is right and important.
Professor Dumbledore, a tall, thin
man who wears half-moon
spectacles and has silver hair and
a beard that tucks into his belt, is
the headmaster of Hogwarts, and
thought to be the only wizard
Voldemort fears. Dumbledore,
while renowned for his
achievements in magic, finds it
difficult to resist sweets and has
a whimsical sense of humour.
Although he shrugs off praise, he
is aware of his own brilliance.
Rowling described him as the
"epitome of goodness".[7]
Professor McGonagall, a tall,
severe-looking woman with black
hair tied in a tight bun, teaches
Transfiguration, and sometimes
transforms herself into a cat. She
is in charge of Gryffindor House
and, unlike Professor Snape,
shows no favouritism towards
pupils in her House, but seizes
any opportunity to help
Gryffindor by fair means.
According to the author, "under
that gruff exterior" is "a bit of an
old softy".[8]
Twitching, stammering Professor
Quirrell teaches Defence Against
the Dark Arts. Reputedly he was a
brilliant scholar, but his nerve
was shattered by an encounter
with vampires. Quirrell wears a
turban to conceal the fact that he
is voluntarily possessed by
Voldemort, whose face appears
on the back of Quirrel's head.
Professor Snape, who has a
hooked nose, sallow complexion
and greasy black hair, teaches
Potions, but is eager to teach
Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Snape praises pupils in Slytherin,
his own House, but seizes every
opportunity to humiliate others,
especially Harry. Several incidents,
beginning with the shooting pain
in Harry's scar near the end of
the first dinner, lead Harry and
his friends to think Snape is a
follower of Voldemort.
Hagrid, a half-giant nearly 12 feet
(3.7 m) tall, with tangled black
hair and beard, was expelled
from Hogwarts and his wand
was broken, but Professor
Dumbledore let him stay on as the
school's gamekeeper, a job which
enables him to lavish affection
and pet names on even the most
dangerous of magical creatures.
Hagrid is fiercely loyal to
Dumbledore and quickly becomes
a close friend of Harry, Ron and
later Hermione, but his
carelessness makes him
unreliable.
The school's caretaker, Filch,
knows the school's secret
passages better than anyone else
except possibly the Weasley
twins. His cat, Mrs. Norris, aids his
hunts for misbehaving pupils.
Other members of Hogwarts
staff include: the dumpy
Herbology teacher Professor
Sprout; Professor Flitwick, the
tiny and excitable Charms
teacher, who is discreetly friendly
towards Harry; the soporific
History of Magic teacher,
Professor Binns, a ghost who
does not seem to have noticed
his own death; and Madam
Hooch, the Quidditch coach, who
is strict but a considerate,
methodical teacher. The
poltergeist Peeves wanders
around the buildings causing
trouble for whomever he can.
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone
Author J. K. Rowling
Illustrators
Thomas Taylor
(UK)
Mary GrandPré
(US)
Genre Fantasy
Publishers
Bloomsbury (UK)
Arthur A. Levine/
Scholastic (US)
Raincoast
(Canada)
Released 30 June 1997 (UK)
1 September 1998
(US)
Book no. One
Sales unknown
Chapters 17
Pages 223 (UK)
309 (US)
ISBN 0747532699
Followed by Harry Potter and
the Chamber of
Secrets
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone is the first
novel in the Harry Potter series
written by J. K. Rowling and
featuring Harry Potter, a young
wizard. It describes how Harry
discovers he is a wizard, makes
close friends and a few enemies
at the Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry, and
with the help of his friends
thwarts an attempted comeback
by the evil wizard Lord
Voldemort, who killed Harry's
parents when Harry was one
year old.
The book was published on
30 June 1997 by Bloomsbury in
London, while in 1998 Scholastic
Corporation published an edition
for the United States market
under the title Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer's Stone. The novel
won most of the UK book awards
that were judged by children, and
other awards in the USA. The
book reached the top of the New
York Times list of best-selling
fiction in August 1999, and
stayed near the top of that list
for much of 1999 and 2000. It
has been translated into several
other languages and has been
made into a feature-length film
of the same name.
Most reviews were very
favourable, commenting on
Rowling's imagination, humour,
simple, direct style and clever plot
construction, although a few
complained that the final
chapters looked rushed. The
writing has been compared to
that of Jane Austen, one of
Rowling's favourite authors, of
Roald Dahl, whose works
dominated children's stories
before the appearance of Harry
Potter, and of the Ancient Greek
story-teller Homer. While some
commentators thought the book
looked backwards to Victorian
and Edwardian boarding school
stories, others thought it placed
the genre firmly in the modern
world by featuring contemporary
ethical and social issues.
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone, along with
the rest of the Harry Potter
series, has been attacked by
several religious groups and
banned in some countries
because of accusations that the
novels promote witchcraft.
However, some Christian
commentators have written that
the book exemplifies important
Christian viewpoints, including
the power of self-sacrifice and
the ways in which people's
decisions shape their
personalities. Educators regard
Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone and its
sequels as an important aid in
improving literacy because of the
books' popularity. The series has
also been used as a source of
object lessons in educational
techniques, sociological analysis
and marketing.
Synopsis
Plot
Before the start of the novel,
Voldemort, the most powerful
Dark wizard in history, killed
Harry's parents but mysteriously
vanished after trying to kill Harry.
While the wizarding world was
celebrating Voldemort's downfall,
Professor Dumbledore, Professor
McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid
placed the one year-old orphan in
the care of his Muggle (non-
wizard) uncle, aunt, and cousin:
Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley
Dursley .
For ten years, they and their son
Dudley neglected and bullied
Harry. Shortly before Harry's
eleventh birthday, a series of
letters addressed to Harry arrive,
but Vernon destroys them before
Harry can read them. To get away
from the letters, Vernon takes the
family to a lonely island. As they
are settling in, Hagrid bursts
through the door to tell Harry
what the Dursleys have kept him
from finding out: Harry is a
wizard and has been accepted at
Hogwarts.
Hagrid takes Harry to Diagon
Alley, a magically-concealed
shopping precinct in London,
where Harry is bewildered to
discover how famous he is
among wizards as "the boy who
lived." He also finds that he is
quite wealthy, since a bequest
from his parents has remained on
deposit at Gringotts Wizarding
Bank. Guided by Hagrid, he buys
the books and equipment he
needs for Hogwarts. At the wand
shop, he finds that the only wand
that works well for him is the
twin of Voldemort's. Both wands
contain feathers from the same
phoenix.[1]
A month later Harry leaves the
Dursleys' home to catch the
Hogwarts Express from King's
Cross railway station. There he
meets the Weasley family, who
show him how to pass through
the magical wall to Platform 9¾,
where the train is waiting. While
on the train Harry makes friends
with Ron Weasley, who tells him
that someone tried to rob a vault
at Gringotts. Another new pupil,
Draco Malfoy, accompanied by his
sidekicks Vincent Crabbe and
Gregory Goyle, offers to advise
Harry, but Harry dislikes Draco's
arrogance and prejudice.
Before the term's first dinner in
the school's Great Hall, the new
pupils are allocated to houses by
the magical Sorting Hat. When it is
Harry's turn to be sorted, the Hat
wonders whether he should be in
Slytherin, but when Harry objects,
the Hat sends him to join the
Weasleys in Gryffindor. While
Harry is eating, Professor Snape
catches his eye and Harry feels a
sudden stab of pain in the scar
Voldemort left on his forehead.
After a horrible first Potions
lesson with Snape, Harry and Ron
visit Hagrid, who lives in a rustic
house on the edge of the
Forbidden Forest. There they
learn that the attempted robbery
at Gringotts happened the day
Harry withdrew money. Harry
remembers that Hagrid had
removed a small package from
the vault that was broken into
and searched.
During the new pupils' first
broom-flying lesson, Neville
Longbottom breaks his wrist, and
Draco takes advantage to throw
the forgetful Neville's fragile
Remembrall high in the air. Harry
gives chase on his broomstick,
catching the Remembrall inches
from the ground. Professor
McGonagall dashes out and
appoints him as the new Seeker
for the Gryffindor Quidditch
team.[2]
When Draco tricks Ron and Harry,
accompanied by Neville and the
bossy Hermione Granger, into a
midnight excursion, they
accidentally enter a forbidden
corridor and find a huge three-
headed dog. The group hastily
retreats, and Hermione notices
that the dog is standing over a
trap-door. Harry concludes that
the monster is guarding the
package Hagrid retrieved from
Gringotts.
After Ron criticises Hermione's
ostentatious proficiency in
Charms, she hides in tears in the
girls' toilet. Professor Quirrell
reports that a troll has entered
the dungeons. While everyone
else returns to their dormitories,
Harry and Ron rush to warn
Hermione. The troll corners
Hermione in the toilet but when
Harry sticks his wand up one of
its nostrils, Ron uses the
levitation spell to knock out the
troll with its own club.
Afterwards, several professors
arrive and Hermione takes the
blame for the battle and becomes
a firm friend of the two boys.
The evening before Harry's first
Quidditch match, he sees Snape
receiving medical attention from
Filch for a bite on his leg by the
three-headed dog. During the
game, Harry's broomstick goes
out of control, endangering his
life, and Hermione notices that
Snape is staring at Harry and
muttering. She dashes over to the
Professors' stand, knocking over
Professor Quirrell in her haste,
and sets fire to Snape's robe.
Harry regains control of his
broomstick and catches the
Golden Snitch, winning the game
for Gryffindor. Hagrid refuses to
believe that Snape was
responsible for Harry's danger,
but lets slip that he bought the
three-headed dog, and that the
monster is guarding a secret that
belongs to Professor Dumbledore
and someone called Nicolas Flamel.
Harry and the Weasleys stay at
Hogwarts for Christmas, and one
of Harry's presents, from an
anonymous donor, is an
Invisibility Cloak owned by his
father. Harry uses the Cloak to
search the library's Restricted
Section for information about the
mysterious Flamel, has to evade
Snape and Filch after an
enchanted book shrieks an alarm,
and slips into a room containing
the Mirror of Erised, which shows
his parents and several of their
ancestors. Harry becomes
addicted to the Mirror's visions
and is rescued by Professor
Dumbledore, who explains that it
shows what the viewer most
desperately longs for.
When the rest of the pupils
return for the next term, Draco
plays a prank on Neville, and
Harry consoles Neville with a
sweet. The collectible card
wrapped with the sweet
identifies Flamel as an alchemist.
Hermione soon finds that he is a
665-year-old man who possesses
the only known Philosopher's
stone, from which can be
extracted an elixir of life. A few
days later Harry notices Snape
sneaking towards the outskirts
of the Forbidden Forest. There he
half-hears a furtive conversation
about the Philosopher's Stone, in
which Snape asks Professor
Quirrell if he has found a way
past the three-headed dog and
menacingly tells Quirrell to decide
whose side he is on. Harry
concludes that Snape is trying to
steal the Stone and Quirrell has
prepared a series of defences for
it, which was an almost fatal
mistake.
The three friends discover that
Hagrid is raising a baby dragon,
which is against wizard law, and
arrange to smuggle it out of the
country around midnight. Draco
arrives, hoping to raise the alarm
and get them into trouble, and
goes to tell Professor McGonagall.
Although Ron is bitten by the
dragon and is sent to the
infirmary, Harry and Hermione
spirit the dragon safely away.
However, they are caught, and
Harry loses the Invisibility Cloak.
As part of their punishment,
Harry, Hermione, Draco, and
Neville (who, trying to stop Harry
and Hermione after hearing what
Draco had been saying, had been
caught by McGonagall as well) are
compelled to help Hagrid to
rescue a badly-injured unicorn in
the Forbidden Forest. They split
into two parties, and Harry and
Draco find the unicorn dead,
surrounded by its blood. A
hooded figure crawls to the
corpse and drinks the blood,
while Draco screams and flees.
The hooded figure moves
towards Harry, who is knocked
out by an agonising pain
spreading from his scar. When
Harry regains consciousness, the
hooded figure has gone and a
centaur, Firenze, offers to give
him a ride back to the school. The
centaur tells Harry that drinking a
unicorn's blood will save the life
of a mortally injured person, but
leaves them only barely alive.
Firenze suggests Voldemort drank
the unicorn's blood to gain
enough strength to make the
elixir of life from the
Philosopher's Stone, and regain
full health by drinking that. On his
return, Harry finds that someone
has slipped the Invisibility Cloak
under his sheets.
A few weeks later, while relaxing
after the end-of-session
examinations, Harry suddenly
wonders how something as
illegal as a dragon's egg came into
Hagrid's possession. The
gamekeeper says he was given it
by a hooded stranger who
bought him several drinks and
asked him how to get past the
three-headed dog, which Hagrid
admits is easy – music sends it to
sleep. Realising that one of the
Philosopher's Stone's defences is
no longer secure, Harry goes to
inform Professor Dumbledore,
only to find that the headmaster
has just left for an important
meeting. Harry concludes that
Snape faked the message that
called Dumbledore away and will
try to steal the Stone that night.
Covered by the Invisibility Cloak,
Harry and his two friends go to
the three-headed dog's chamber,
where Harry sends the beast to
sleep by playing a flute given to
him by Hagrid for Christmas.
After lifting the trap-door, they
encounter a series of obstacles,
each of which requires special
skills possessed by one of the
three, and one of which requires
Ron to sacrifice himself in a game
of wizard's chess. In the final
room Harry, now alone, finds
Quirrell rather than Snape. Quirrell
admits that he let in the troll that
tried to kill Hermione on
Halloween, and that he tried to kill
Harry during the first Quidditch
match but was knocked over by
Hermione. Snape had been trying
to protect Harry and suspected
Quirrell. Quirrell serves Voldemort
and, after failing to steal the
Philosopher's Stone from
Gringotts, allowed his master to
possess him in order to improve
their chances of success.
However the only other object in
the room is the Mirror of Erised,
and Quirrell can see no sign of the
Stone. At Voldemort's bidding,
Quirrell forces Harry to stand in
front of the Mirror. Harry feels
the Stone drop into his pocket
and tries to stall. Quirrell removes
his turban, revealing the face of
Voldemort on the back of his
head. Voldemort/Quirrell tries to
grab the Stone from Harry, but
simply touching Harry causes
Quirrell's flesh to burn. After
further struggles Harry passes
out.
He awakes in the school hospital,
where Professor Dumbledore tells
him that he survived because his
mother sacrificed her life to
protect him, and Voldemort could
not understand the power of
such love. Voldemort left Quirrell
to die, and is likely to return by
some other means. Dumbledore
had foreseen that the Mirror
would show Voldemort/Quirrell
only themselves making the elixir
of life, as they wanted to use the
Philosopher's Stone; Harry was
able to see the Stone in the Mirror
because he wanted to find it but
not to use it. The Stone has now
been destroyed.
Harry returns to the Dursleys for
the summer holiday, but does not
tell them that under-age wizards
are forbidden to use magic
outside Hogwarts.
Main characters
Harry Potter is an orphan whom
Rowling imagined as a "scrawny,
black-haired, bespectacled boy
who didn't know he was a
wizard."[3] She developed the
series' story and characters to
explain how Harry came to be in
this situation and how his life
unfolded from there.[4] Apart
from the first chapter, the events
of this book take place just
before and in the year following
Harry's eleventh birthday.
Voldemort's attack left a
lightning bolt-shaped scar on
Harry's forehead,[4] which
produces stabbing pains when
Voldemort or a close associate of
the dark wizard feels any strong
emotion. Harry has prodigious
natural talent for Quidditch and
the ability to persuade friends by
passionate speeches.
Petunia Dursley, the sister of
Harry's mother Lily, is a thin
woman with a long neck that she
uses for spying on the
neighbours. She regards her
magical sister as a freak and tries
to pretend that she never
existed. Her husband Vernon is a
heavily-built man whose irascible
bluster covers a narrow mind and
a fear of anything unusual. Their
son Dudley is an overweight,
spoiled bully.
Despite being the school's jokers,
identical twins Fred and George
Weasley get good marks in
examinations and are excellent
Quidditch players. Their younger
brother Ron is Harry's age and
Rowling describes him as the
ultimate best friend, "always
there when you need him."[5]
Ron lacks confidence in his
prospects of matching his three
oldest brothers' achievements or
the popularity of Fred and
George, but his skill and bravery
in a magical chess game where
lives are at stake help Harry past
one of the obstacles on the path
to the Philosopher's Stone.
Hermione Granger, the daughter
of an all-Muggle family, is a bossy
girl who has apparently
memorised most of the
textbooks before the start of
term. Rowling described
Hermione as a "very logical,
upright and good" character[6]
with "a lot of insecurity and a
great fear of failure beneath her
swottiness".[6] Despite her
nagging efforts to keep Harry
and Ron out of trouble, she
becomes a close friend of the
two boys after they save her
from a troll, and her magical and
analytical skills play a vital part in
finding the Philosopher's Stone.
Draco Malfoy is a slim, pale boy
who speaks in a bored drawl. He
is arrogant about his skill in
Quidditch, and despises anyone
who is not a pure blood wizard –
and wizards who do not share
his views. His parents had
supported Voldemort, but
changed sides after the dark
wizard's disappearance. Draco
avoids direct confrontations, and
tries to get Harry and his friends
into trouble.
Neville Longbottom is a plump,
diffident boy, so forgetful that
his grandmother gives him a
Remembrall. Neville's magical
abilities are weak and appeared
just in time to save his life when
he was eight. Despite his timidity,
Neville will fight anyone after
some encouragement or if he
thinks it is right and important.
Professor Dumbledore, a tall, thin
man who wears half-moon
spectacles and has silver hair and
a beard that tucks into his belt, is
the headmaster of Hogwarts, and
thought to be the only wizard
Voldemort fears. Dumbledore,
while renowned for his
achievements in magic, finds it
difficult to resist sweets and has
a whimsical sense of humour.
Although he shrugs off praise, he
is aware of his own brilliance.
Rowling described him as the
"epitome of goodness".[7]
Professor McGonagall, a tall,
severe-looking woman with black
hair tied in a tight bun, teaches
Transfiguration, and sometimes
transforms herself into a cat. She
is in charge of Gryffindor House
and, unlike Professor Snape,
shows no favouritism towards
pupils in her House, but seizes
any opportunity to help
Gryffindor by fair means.
According to the author, "under
that gruff exterior" is "a bit of an
old softy".[8]
Twitching, stammering Professor
Quirrell teaches Defence Against
the Dark Arts. Reputedly he was a
brilliant scholar, but his nerve
was shattered by an encounter
with vampires. Quirrell wears a
turban to conceal the fact that he
is voluntarily possessed by
Voldemort, whose face appears
on the back of Quirrel's head.
Professor Snape, who has a
hooked nose, sallow complexion
and greasy black hair, teaches
Potions, but is eager to teach
Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Snape praises pupils in Slytherin,
his own House, but seizes every
opportunity to humiliate others,
especially Harry. Several incidents,
beginning with the shooting pain
in Harry's scar near the end of
the first dinner, lead Harry and
his friends to think Snape is a
follower of Voldemort.
Hagrid, a half-giant nearly 12 feet
(3.7 m) tall, with tangled black
hair and beard, was expelled
from Hogwarts and his wand
was broken, but Professor
Dumbledore let him stay on as the
school's gamekeeper, a job which
enables him to lavish affection
and pet names on even the most
dangerous of magical creatures.
Hagrid is fiercely loyal to
Dumbledore and quickly becomes
a close friend of Harry, Ron and
later Hermione, but his
carelessness makes him
unreliable.
The school's caretaker, Filch,
knows the school's secret
passages better than anyone else
except possibly the Weasley
twins. His cat, Mrs. Norris, aids his
hunts for misbehaving pupils.
Other members of Hogwarts
staff include: the dumpy
Herbology teacher Professor
Sprout; Professor Flitwick, the
tiny and excitable Charms
teacher, who is discreetly friendly
towards Harry; the soporific
History of Magic teacher,
Professor Binns, a ghost who
does not seem to have noticed
his own death; and Madam
Hooch, the Quidditch coach, who
is strict but a considerate,
methodical teacher. The
poltergeist Peeves wanders
around the buildings causing
trouble for whomever he can.
Graham Texas
City —
Graham downtown square as seen
from Twin Mountains
Location of Graham, Texas
Coordinates:
33°6′3″N 98°34′45″W
Country United States
State Texas
County Young
Area
- Total 5.5 sq mi (14.2 km2)
- Land 5.5 sq mi (14.2 km2)
- Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 1,047 ft (319 m)
Population (2010 United States
Census)
- Total 8,903
- Density 1,584.9/
sq mi (611.9/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 76450
Area code(s) 940
FIPS code 48-30392[1]
GNIS feature ID 1336783[2]
Graham is a city in north central
Texas. It is the county seat of
Young County, and as of the
2010 Census had a population of
8,903.
History
The site was first settled in 1871
by brothers Gustavus A. and
Edwin S. Graham, primary
shareholders in the Texas
Emigration and Land Company of
Louisville, Kentucky. The brothers
moved to Texas after the Civil
War, and after buying 125,000
acres (510 km2) in then-vast
Young County, helped to
revitalize the area, the population
of which had become badly
depleted during the war. The
Grahams purchased a local
saltworks in 1872, and after new
families started to arrive, began
promoting the sale of homesites.
A post office opened in 1873,
and after Young County
reorganized the following year,
Graham became the county seat.
The town's newspaper, known as
the Leader and still in existence
today, was first printed in 1876,
the same year that the first
temporary courthouse was built.
Other businesses from these
early years included a gristmill,
sawmill, cotton gin, a brick kiln,
two hotels, and several stores.[3]
On February 15, 1877 the city
was the site of the organizational
meeting of the group that
became the Texas and
Southwestern Cattle Raisers
Association , created to police
ranching and put a stop to cattle
rustling.[4] Founding officers
included pioneer ranchers James
C. Loving (son of Oliver Loving),
Col. C.L. (Kit) Carter, and C.C.
Slaughter. A three-story limestone
courthouse was built in 1884,
and it was destroyed by fire in
the early 1930s. The 1884
structure's east door still stands
on the courthouse square. From
1879-1896, Graham was the seat
of a Federal District Court
overseen by Dr. J.E. Ryus; his
jurisdiction extended over all of
Texas north and west to New
Mexico.[3][4] By 1900, Graham
had incorporated as a town, and
railroad service began in 1903
when the Chicago, Rock Island
and Texas line arrived from Fort
Worth. The town's population
grew slowly until 1917, when oil
was discovered nearby; the
population tripled from 878 in
1900 to 2,544 in 1920. By 1966,
Graham had seventeen churches,
seven schools, a hospital, a radio
station, two libraries, three parks,
and two newspapers. The
population peaked at 9,170 in
1980 and has since gradually
declined; it was 8,716 at the
2000 census and 8,518 by the
July 2007 estimate.[3][5]
According to a mural on the
courthouse depicting the arrival
of the Graham brothers, the town
square is physically the largest of
any in the country.[6][7]
Graham is also one of only a
handful of towns in Texas still to
have an operational drive-in
theater.[8]
Geography
Graham is located at 33°6′3″N
98°34′45″W (33.100778,
-98.579254).[9]
According to the United States
Census Bureau, the city has a total
area of 5.5 square miles
(14.2 km²), all of it land.
The Twin Mountains are the
dominant physical landmark of
the city.
Graham is located near the
western edge of the Palo Pinto
Mountains.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000,
there were 8,716 people, 3,391
households, and 2,366 families
residing in the city. The
population density was 1,584.8
people per square mile (611.9/
km²). There were 3,904 housing
units at an average density of
709.9 per square mile (274.1/
km²). The racial makeup of the
city was 88.39% White, 1.24%
African American, 0.55% Native
American, 0.30% Asian, 0.08%
Pacific Islander, 7.78% from other
races, and 1.66% from two or
more races. Hispanic or Latino of
any race were 13.41% of the
population.
There were 3,391 households out
of which 32.6% had children
under the age of 18 living with
them, 55.9% were married
couples living together, 10.3%
had a female householder with
no husband present, and 30.2%
were non-families. 27.3% of all
households were made up of
individuals and 15.5% had
someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The
average household size was 2.48
and the average family size was
3.01.
In the city the population was
spread out with 26.0% under the
age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24,
25.2% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from
45 to 64, and 19.8% who were
65 years of age or older. The
median age was 39 years. For
every 100 females there were
88.4 males. For every 100 females
age 18 and over, there were 83.3
males.
The median income for a
household in the city was
$31,081, and the median income
for a family was $38,118. Males
had a median income of $30,221
versus $19,574 for females. The
per capita income for the city
was $16,587. About 13.0% of
families and 17.4% of the
population were below the
poverty line, including 23.0% of
those under age 18 and 13.5% of
those age 65 or over.
Education
Public schools in the City of
Graham are managed by the
Graham Independent School
District .
Notable people
Rex Brown, former bassist for
the heavy metal band Pantera
Bob Estes, golfer. Four-time
winner on the PGA Tour
Bob Lilly, NFL Hall of Fame
Football player
William D. McFarlane, U.S.
Congressman from 1933–1939
Robert McFarlane, National
Security Adviser to President
Ronald Reagan
Dean Smith, 1952 Olympic Gold
Medalist
"Big Ed" Wilkes (1931–1998),
radio broadcaster, taught
school at Graham in the early
1950s
Graham downtown square as seen
from Twin Mountains
Location of Graham, Texas
Coordinates:
33°6′3″N 98°34′45″W
Country United States
State Texas
County Young
Area
- Total 5.5 sq mi (14.2 km2)
- Land 5.5 sq mi (14.2 km2)
- Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 1,047 ft (319 m)
Population (2010 United States
Census)
- Total 8,903
- Density 1,584.9/
sq mi (611.9/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 76450
Area code(s) 940
FIPS code 48-30392[1]
GNIS feature ID 1336783[2]
Graham is a city in north central
Texas. It is the county seat of
Young County, and as of the
2010 Census had a population of
8,903.
History
The site was first settled in 1871
by brothers Gustavus A. and
Edwin S. Graham, primary
shareholders in the Texas
Emigration and Land Company of
Louisville, Kentucky. The brothers
moved to Texas after the Civil
War, and after buying 125,000
acres (510 km2) in then-vast
Young County, helped to
revitalize the area, the population
of which had become badly
depleted during the war. The
Grahams purchased a local
saltworks in 1872, and after new
families started to arrive, began
promoting the sale of homesites.
A post office opened in 1873,
and after Young County
reorganized the following year,
Graham became the county seat.
The town's newspaper, known as
the Leader and still in existence
today, was first printed in 1876,
the same year that the first
temporary courthouse was built.
Other businesses from these
early years included a gristmill,
sawmill, cotton gin, a brick kiln,
two hotels, and several stores.[3]
On February 15, 1877 the city
was the site of the organizational
meeting of the group that
became the Texas and
Southwestern Cattle Raisers
Association , created to police
ranching and put a stop to cattle
rustling.[4] Founding officers
included pioneer ranchers James
C. Loving (son of Oliver Loving),
Col. C.L. (Kit) Carter, and C.C.
Slaughter. A three-story limestone
courthouse was built in 1884,
and it was destroyed by fire in
the early 1930s. The 1884
structure's east door still stands
on the courthouse square. From
1879-1896, Graham was the seat
of a Federal District Court
overseen by Dr. J.E. Ryus; his
jurisdiction extended over all of
Texas north and west to New
Mexico.[3][4] By 1900, Graham
had incorporated as a town, and
railroad service began in 1903
when the Chicago, Rock Island
and Texas line arrived from Fort
Worth. The town's population
grew slowly until 1917, when oil
was discovered nearby; the
population tripled from 878 in
1900 to 2,544 in 1920. By 1966,
Graham had seventeen churches,
seven schools, a hospital, a radio
station, two libraries, three parks,
and two newspapers. The
population peaked at 9,170 in
1980 and has since gradually
declined; it was 8,716 at the
2000 census and 8,518 by the
July 2007 estimate.[3][5]
According to a mural on the
courthouse depicting the arrival
of the Graham brothers, the town
square is physically the largest of
any in the country.[6][7]
Graham is also one of only a
handful of towns in Texas still to
have an operational drive-in
theater.[8]
Geography
Graham is located at 33°6′3″N
98°34′45″W (33.100778,
-98.579254).[9]
According to the United States
Census Bureau, the city has a total
area of 5.5 square miles
(14.2 km²), all of it land.
The Twin Mountains are the
dominant physical landmark of
the city.
Graham is located near the
western edge of the Palo Pinto
Mountains.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000,
there were 8,716 people, 3,391
households, and 2,366 families
residing in the city. The
population density was 1,584.8
people per square mile (611.9/
km²). There were 3,904 housing
units at an average density of
709.9 per square mile (274.1/
km²). The racial makeup of the
city was 88.39% White, 1.24%
African American, 0.55% Native
American, 0.30% Asian, 0.08%
Pacific Islander, 7.78% from other
races, and 1.66% from two or
more races. Hispanic or Latino of
any race were 13.41% of the
population.
There were 3,391 households out
of which 32.6% had children
under the age of 18 living with
them, 55.9% were married
couples living together, 10.3%
had a female householder with
no husband present, and 30.2%
were non-families. 27.3% of all
households were made up of
individuals and 15.5% had
someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The
average household size was 2.48
and the average family size was
3.01.
In the city the population was
spread out with 26.0% under the
age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24,
25.2% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from
45 to 64, and 19.8% who were
65 years of age or older. The
median age was 39 years. For
every 100 females there were
88.4 males. For every 100 females
age 18 and over, there were 83.3
males.
The median income for a
household in the city was
$31,081, and the median income
for a family was $38,118. Males
had a median income of $30,221
versus $19,574 for females. The
per capita income for the city
was $16,587. About 13.0% of
families and 17.4% of the
population were below the
poverty line, including 23.0% of
those under age 18 and 13.5% of
those age 65 or over.
Education
Public schools in the City of
Graham are managed by the
Graham Independent School
District .
Notable people
Rex Brown, former bassist for
the heavy metal band Pantera
Bob Estes, golfer. Four-time
winner on the PGA Tour
Bob Lilly, NFL Hall of Fame
Football player
William D. McFarlane, U.S.
Congressman from 1933–1939
Robert McFarlane, National
Security Adviser to President
Ronald Reagan
Dean Smith, 1952 Olympic Gold
Medalist
"Big Ed" Wilkes (1931–1998),
radio broadcaster, taught
school at Graham in the early
1950s
Fix Computer Problemsthrough RemoteTechnical Support
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technology is a real blessing
which has given direction and
support to the modern world. It
has so much intermingled with
the profession and personal
lives of people that it’s difficult
to imagine a day without it. It
has touched every corner of life
and people from all walks of
lives are using this. One should
be highly grateful to the
enterprising efforts of scientists
and developers who are
consistently involved in the
business for a better tomorrow.
However, problems and
obstacles have never remained
an exception. But certainly these
are challenges which provoke
towards development and
invention.
In early days computer support
was catered through direct on-
site visit of technicians or by
repair shops. Gradually, this
method was substituted by
remote technical support. In
fact, this is a dynamic concept
and is of great help. The Internet
feasibility and the advent of
quality remote software have
given wings to the concept. This
online support has crossed all
barriers and hurdles and one can
expect the support anywhere
anytime. Whether one has a
need of PC repair at home or
office, in day or night, facing
small or big problems he can get
instant help through the
Internet or phone.
Computer Support is used in a
broad sense and it encompasses
support for every computer
related issues which one might
face in his life. Operating
system, application software,
router, printer and other
program or devices are widely
used with computer. A problem
with any of these is inevitable.
Again, there are brands and
their respective models or
software versions as well, so
the term computer support gets
segregated again accordingly.
Microsoft Windows NT, Apple
Mac, Linux, UNIX are the
commonly known operating
systems. Likewise, application
software and security software
are too available from various
brands. This software are
regularly updated or revised by
the developers to induce better
technologies and features.
Though, brands are offering
Remote Technical Support but
they restrict to their own
products. As one can’t limit
himself to one particular brand
of software or hardware so this
specific tech support would not
be enough to deal with
computer problems in long run,
hence, there is a constant surge
for independent technical
support provider, who can
provide all-round support.
Companies indulge in the
business offer support for all
brands, and one just needs to
call the Tech Support Phone
Number and permit technicians
to have the remote access of his
machine. Responsible technician
diagnoses the system in front
of owner’s eyes and
troubleshoots it to fix the
related issues. Hence, this has
also mitigated the chance of
data theft. They can also help
the consumer to clad the system
with the desired software and
set-up and configure important
peripherals with it. In case of
system crash one doesn’t need
to worry too much, by making a
right contact at right time he
can restore his system and get
back his valuable assets. Besides,
they can provide driver support,
antivirus support, e-mail support
and more.
Moreover, these tech support
services are catered by subject
matter experts, at competitive
prices, and with warranty
periods so the consumer is
always in safer side, and he can
keep his fingers crossed and
enjoy next-generation
computing.
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Barack Hussein Obama, Sr.
Barack Hussein Obama, Sr.
Born 18 June 1936
Kanyadhiang
Village, Rachuonyo
District, Kenya
Colony[1]
Died 24 November
1982 (aged 46)
Nairobi, Kenya[2]
Resting
place Nyang’oma Kogelo,
Siaya, Kenya[3]
Nationality Kenyan
Ethnicity Luo
Alma mater University of
Hawaii
Harvard University
Occupation Economist
Known for Father of U.S.
President Barack
Obama
Religion Atheist (formerly
Islam)[4]
Partner Kezia Obama
Stanley Ann
Dunham
Ruth Nidesand
Jael Otieno[5][6][7]
Children
Abongo Obama
(b.1958)
Auma Obama
(b.1960)
Barack Obama
(b.1961)
Mark Ndesandjo
(b.1965)[8]
David Ndesandjo
(1968–1987)
Abo Obama
(b.1968)
Bernard Obama
(b.1970)
George Obama
(b.1982)
Parents Hussein Onyango
Obama and Akumu
Habiba[3]
Barack Hussein Obama, Sr.
(/ˈbærək huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/[9]
[10]; 18 June 1936[11][12] − 24
November 1982) was a Kenyan
senior governmental economist
and the father of U.S. President
Barack Obama. He is a central
subject in his son's memoir,
Dreams from My Father.
Early life
Photograph of Barack
Obama, Sr. with his
mother, Akumu
Obama Sr. was born in
Rachuonyo District[1] on the
shores of Lake Victoria just
outside Kendu Bay, Kenya Colony,
at the time a colony of the British
Empire. He was raised in the
village of Nyang’oma Kogelo,
Siaya District, Nyanza Province.
[13] His family are members of
the Luo ethnic group. His father
was Hussein Onyango Obama (c.
1895-1979) and his mother was
Habiba Akumu Nyanjango of
Karabondi, Kenya, Onyango's
second wife. However, Obama Sr.
was raised by his stepmother,
Sarah Ogwel of Kogelo, after
Akumu left her family and
separated from her husband in
1945.[3][14]
Before working as a cook for
missionaries in Nairobi, Obama
Sr.'s father Onyango had traveled
widely, enlisting in the British
colonial forces and visiting
Europe, India, and Zanzibar,
where he converted from Roman
Catholicism to Islam and took the
name Hussein. Hussein Onyango
was jailed by the British for six
months in 1949 due to his
involvement in the Kenyan
independence movement.
According to Sarah Onyango
Obama, Onyango was subjected
to brutal torture which caused
permanent physical disabilities.
[15] Obama Sr. was born into this
Muslim and Christian family,[16]
but he became an atheist as a
young man, before meeting Ann
Dunham.[4]
Education and fatherhood
Kenya
While still living near Kendu Bay,
Obama Sr. attended Gendia
Primary School and transferred to
Ng’iya Intermediate School once
his family moved to Siaya District.
[1] From 1950 to 1953, he
studied at Maseno National
School, an exclusive Christian
boarding school in Maseno that is
run by the Anglican Church of
Kenya.[17] The head teacher, B.L.
Bowers, described Obama Sr. in
his records as "very keen, steady,
trustworthy and friendly.
Concentrates, reliable and out-
going."[18] In 1954, after
attending the Maseno National
School, Obama Sr. was married for
the first time at the age of
eighteen, to Kezia Aoko[19] in a
tribal ceremony. They had two
children, Malik (a.k.a. Roy) and
Auma, during the early years of
their marriage. Later, while
Obama Sr. was married to his
third wife, Kezia had Abo and
Bernard, thought to be with
Obama Sr.,[20] but in Dreams
from My Father, it is stated that
the Obama family questions
whether Abo and Bernard are his
biological sons.[21]
In 1959, Obama Sr. received a
scholarship in economics through
a program organized by
nationalist leader Tom Mboya. The
program offered Western
educational opportunities to
outstanding Kenyan students.
[22][23][24] Initial financial
supporters of the program
included Harry Belafonte, Sidney
Poitier, Jackie Robinson, and
Elizabeth Mooney Kirk, a literacy
advocate who provided most of
the financial support for Obama
Sr.'s early years in the United
States, according to the Tom
Mboya archives at Stanford
University. Funds provided the
following year by John F.
Kennedy's family paid off old
debts of the project and
subsidized student stipends,
thereby indirectly benefiting
Obama Sr. and other members of
the 1959 group of scholarship
holders. During the 2008
presidential campaign, his son
misspoke, saying that the
Kennedys organized the initial
1959 student airlift, an error
subsequently acknowledged by a
campaign spokesman.[22] When
Obama Sr. left for America, he left
behind his baby son, Roy, and his
young wife, Kezia, who was
pregnant with their daughter,
Auma.[25]
University of Hawaii
In September 1959, Obama Sr.
enrolled at the University of
Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu as
the university's first African
foreign student.[26] He initially
lived across the street from the
university at the Charles H.
Atherton branch of the YMCA at
1810 University Avenue;[26]
public records from 1961 indicate
he later had a residence two miles
southeast of the university at
625 11th Avenue in the Kaimuki
neighborhood.[27] In September
1960, Obama Sr. met Stanley Ann
Dunham in a basic Russian
language course at the University
of Hawaii.[26] Dunham dropped
out of the University of Hawaii
after the fall 1960 semester after
becoming pregnant, while Obama
Sr. continued his education.[28]
Obama Sr. married Dunham in
Wailuku on the Hawaiian island of
Maui on 2 February 1961.[28][29]
He eventually told Dunham about
his previous marriage in Kenya,
but said he was divorced—which
she found out years later was a
lie.[26]
Obama Sr. and Dunham's son,
Barack II, was born in Honolulu on
4 August 1961 at the old
Kapiolani Maternity and
Gynecological Hospital—a
predecessor of the Kapi'olani
Medical Center for Women and
Children.[26] His birth was
announced in The Honolulu
Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-
Bulletin, with his parents' address
listed as 6085 Kalanianaole
Highway in the Kuliouou
neighborhood of Honolulu, seven
miles east of the university—the
rented home of Dunham's
parents, Stanley and Madelyn
Dunham.[27] Soon after his birth,
Dunham took her son to Seattle,
Washington, where she took
classes at the University of
Washington from September
1961 to June 1962.[30] Obama Sr.
continued his education at the
University of Hawaii and in
1961–1962 lived one mile east of
the university in the St. Louis
Heights neighborhood.[31][32] He
graduated from the University of
Hawaii after three years with a
B.A. in economics[33] and was
elected to Phi Beta Kappa[34] and
left Hawaii in June 1962.[2][26]
Harvard University
In September 1962, after a tour
of mainland U.S. universities,
Obama Sr. traveled to Cambridge,
Massachusetts, where he began a
graduate fellowship in economics
at Harvard University and rented
an apartment in a rooming house
near Central Square in Cambridge.
[24][35] Meanwhile, Dunham and
her son returned to Honolulu in
the latter half of 1962, and she
resumed her undergraduate
education in January 1963 with
the spring semester at the
University of Hawaii.[30] In
January 1964, Dunham filed for
divorce in Honolulu; the divorce
was not contested by Obama Sr.
[28][36] In 1965, Dunham married
Lolo Soetoro,[37] a Javanese[38]
surveyor whom she had met at
the East-West Center.[39] Obama,
Sr. was forced to leave his Ph.D.
program at Harvard University in
May 1964 (and received an A.M. in
economics from Harvard in 1965).
[2][24][29][40][41] In June 1964,
Obama Sr. met and began dating
a 27-year-old Jewish American
elementary school teacher named
Ruth Beatrice Baker, the daughter
of prosperous Lithuanian
immigrants to the United States.
[42][43][44]
Return to Kenya
Obama Sr. returned to his native
Kenya in August 1964.[45] Ruth
followed Obama Sr. back to
Kenya, where she married him on
December 24, 1964,[46] and had
two sons with him, Mark Okoth
Obama in 1965 and David Opiyo
Obama in 1968.[47] Ruth and
Obama Sr. separated in 1971,[48]
[49] and divorced in 1973.[2][24]
Ruth subsequently married a
Tanzanian named Ndesandjo and
took his surname, as did her sons
Mark and David. Mark said in 2009
that Obama Sr. had been abusive
to him, to his late brother, David,
and to his mother.[20][43][44]
Obama Sr. was hired by an oil
company and then served as an
economist in the Kenyan Ministry
of Transport and later became a
senior economist in the Kenyan
Ministry of Finance.[50] In 1959, a
monograph written by him had
been published by the Kenyan
Department of Education, entitled
Otieno jarieko. Kitabu mar ariyo.
2: Yore mabeyo mag puro
puothe. (English: Otieno, the wise
man. Book 2: Wise ways of
farming.)[51][52] That same year,
Obama Sr. published a paper
entitled "Problems Facing Our
Socialism" in the East Africa
Journal, harshly criticising the
blueprint for national planning,
" African Socialism and Its
Applicability to Planning in
Kenya", which had been
produced by Tom Mboya's
Ministry of Economic Planning
and Development. The article was
signed "Barak H. Obama."[53] In
December 1971, Obama Sr., who
was recuperating after an almost
year-long hospitalization
following an automobile accident,
[54] made a month-long trip to
Hawaii, during which he visited
with his ex-wife and son. The
visit was the last time 10-year-
old Barack II would see his father.
[55] On that trip Obama Sr. took
his son to his first jazz concert, a
performance by pianist Dave
Brubeck.[56]
As his son described it in his
memoir, conflict with President
Jomo Kenyatta destroyed Obama
Sr.'s career.[57] The decline began
after Tom Mboya's assassination
in 1969. Obama Sr. was fired
from his job by Kenyatta, was
blacklisted in Kenya, and began to
drink. He had a serious car
accident, spent almost a year in
the hospital, and by the time he
visited his son in Hawaii in late
1971, he already had a bad leg.
[58] Obama Sr.'s life fell into
drinking and poverty, from
which he never recovered. His
friend, journalist Philip Ochieng,
has described Obama Sr.'s
difficult personality and drinking
problems in the Kenya
newspaper the Daily Nation.[22]
Obama Sr. later lost both legs in
another automobile collision and
subsequently lost his job. He
fathered another son named
George. Six months after his son's
birth, Obama Sr. died in a third car
crash in Nairobi in 1982.[22] He
was interred in his native village
of Nyang’oma Kogelo, Siaya
District. His funeral was attended
by ministers Robert Ouko, Oloo
Aringo and other prominent
political figures.[1]
Born 18 June 1936
Kanyadhiang
Village, Rachuonyo
District, Kenya
Colony[1]
Died 24 November
1982 (aged 46)
Nairobi, Kenya[2]
Resting
place Nyang’oma Kogelo,
Siaya, Kenya[3]
Nationality Kenyan
Ethnicity Luo
Alma mater University of
Hawaii
Harvard University
Occupation Economist
Known for Father of U.S.
President Barack
Obama
Religion Atheist (formerly
Islam)[4]
Partner Kezia Obama
Stanley Ann
Dunham
Ruth Nidesand
Jael Otieno[5][6][7]
Children
Abongo Obama
(b.1958)
Auma Obama
(b.1960)
Barack Obama
(b.1961)
Mark Ndesandjo
(b.1965)[8]
David Ndesandjo
(1968–1987)
Abo Obama
(b.1968)
Bernard Obama
(b.1970)
George Obama
(b.1982)
Parents Hussein Onyango
Obama and Akumu
Habiba[3]
Barack Hussein Obama, Sr.
(/ˈbærək huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/[9]
[10]; 18 June 1936[11][12] − 24
November 1982) was a Kenyan
senior governmental economist
and the father of U.S. President
Barack Obama. He is a central
subject in his son's memoir,
Dreams from My Father.
Early life
Photograph of Barack
Obama, Sr. with his
mother, Akumu
Obama Sr. was born in
Rachuonyo District[1] on the
shores of Lake Victoria just
outside Kendu Bay, Kenya Colony,
at the time a colony of the British
Empire. He was raised in the
village of Nyang’oma Kogelo,
Siaya District, Nyanza Province.
[13] His family are members of
the Luo ethnic group. His father
was Hussein Onyango Obama (c.
1895-1979) and his mother was
Habiba Akumu Nyanjango of
Karabondi, Kenya, Onyango's
second wife. However, Obama Sr.
was raised by his stepmother,
Sarah Ogwel of Kogelo, after
Akumu left her family and
separated from her husband in
1945.[3][14]
Before working as a cook for
missionaries in Nairobi, Obama
Sr.'s father Onyango had traveled
widely, enlisting in the British
colonial forces and visiting
Europe, India, and Zanzibar,
where he converted from Roman
Catholicism to Islam and took the
name Hussein. Hussein Onyango
was jailed by the British for six
months in 1949 due to his
involvement in the Kenyan
independence movement.
According to Sarah Onyango
Obama, Onyango was subjected
to brutal torture which caused
permanent physical disabilities.
[15] Obama Sr. was born into this
Muslim and Christian family,[16]
but he became an atheist as a
young man, before meeting Ann
Dunham.[4]
Education and fatherhood
Kenya
While still living near Kendu Bay,
Obama Sr. attended Gendia
Primary School and transferred to
Ng’iya Intermediate School once
his family moved to Siaya District.
[1] From 1950 to 1953, he
studied at Maseno National
School, an exclusive Christian
boarding school in Maseno that is
run by the Anglican Church of
Kenya.[17] The head teacher, B.L.
Bowers, described Obama Sr. in
his records as "very keen, steady,
trustworthy and friendly.
Concentrates, reliable and out-
going."[18] In 1954, after
attending the Maseno National
School, Obama Sr. was married for
the first time at the age of
eighteen, to Kezia Aoko[19] in a
tribal ceremony. They had two
children, Malik (a.k.a. Roy) and
Auma, during the early years of
their marriage. Later, while
Obama Sr. was married to his
third wife, Kezia had Abo and
Bernard, thought to be with
Obama Sr.,[20] but in Dreams
from My Father, it is stated that
the Obama family questions
whether Abo and Bernard are his
biological sons.[21]
In 1959, Obama Sr. received a
scholarship in economics through
a program organized by
nationalist leader Tom Mboya. The
program offered Western
educational opportunities to
outstanding Kenyan students.
[22][23][24] Initial financial
supporters of the program
included Harry Belafonte, Sidney
Poitier, Jackie Robinson, and
Elizabeth Mooney Kirk, a literacy
advocate who provided most of
the financial support for Obama
Sr.'s early years in the United
States, according to the Tom
Mboya archives at Stanford
University. Funds provided the
following year by John F.
Kennedy's family paid off old
debts of the project and
subsidized student stipends,
thereby indirectly benefiting
Obama Sr. and other members of
the 1959 group of scholarship
holders. During the 2008
presidential campaign, his son
misspoke, saying that the
Kennedys organized the initial
1959 student airlift, an error
subsequently acknowledged by a
campaign spokesman.[22] When
Obama Sr. left for America, he left
behind his baby son, Roy, and his
young wife, Kezia, who was
pregnant with their daughter,
Auma.[25]
University of Hawaii
In September 1959, Obama Sr.
enrolled at the University of
Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu as
the university's first African
foreign student.[26] He initially
lived across the street from the
university at the Charles H.
Atherton branch of the YMCA at
1810 University Avenue;[26]
public records from 1961 indicate
he later had a residence two miles
southeast of the university at
625 11th Avenue in the Kaimuki
neighborhood.[27] In September
1960, Obama Sr. met Stanley Ann
Dunham in a basic Russian
language course at the University
of Hawaii.[26] Dunham dropped
out of the University of Hawaii
after the fall 1960 semester after
becoming pregnant, while Obama
Sr. continued his education.[28]
Obama Sr. married Dunham in
Wailuku on the Hawaiian island of
Maui on 2 February 1961.[28][29]
He eventually told Dunham about
his previous marriage in Kenya,
but said he was divorced—which
she found out years later was a
lie.[26]
Obama Sr. and Dunham's son,
Barack II, was born in Honolulu on
4 August 1961 at the old
Kapiolani Maternity and
Gynecological Hospital—a
predecessor of the Kapi'olani
Medical Center for Women and
Children.[26] His birth was
announced in The Honolulu
Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-
Bulletin, with his parents' address
listed as 6085 Kalanianaole
Highway in the Kuliouou
neighborhood of Honolulu, seven
miles east of the university—the
rented home of Dunham's
parents, Stanley and Madelyn
Dunham.[27] Soon after his birth,
Dunham took her son to Seattle,
Washington, where she took
classes at the University of
Washington from September
1961 to June 1962.[30] Obama Sr.
continued his education at the
University of Hawaii and in
1961–1962 lived one mile east of
the university in the St. Louis
Heights neighborhood.[31][32] He
graduated from the University of
Hawaii after three years with a
B.A. in economics[33] and was
elected to Phi Beta Kappa[34] and
left Hawaii in June 1962.[2][26]
Harvard University
In September 1962, after a tour
of mainland U.S. universities,
Obama Sr. traveled to Cambridge,
Massachusetts, where he began a
graduate fellowship in economics
at Harvard University and rented
an apartment in a rooming house
near Central Square in Cambridge.
[24][35] Meanwhile, Dunham and
her son returned to Honolulu in
the latter half of 1962, and she
resumed her undergraduate
education in January 1963 with
the spring semester at the
University of Hawaii.[30] In
January 1964, Dunham filed for
divorce in Honolulu; the divorce
was not contested by Obama Sr.
[28][36] In 1965, Dunham married
Lolo Soetoro,[37] a Javanese[38]
surveyor whom she had met at
the East-West Center.[39] Obama,
Sr. was forced to leave his Ph.D.
program at Harvard University in
May 1964 (and received an A.M. in
economics from Harvard in 1965).
[2][24][29][40][41] In June 1964,
Obama Sr. met and began dating
a 27-year-old Jewish American
elementary school teacher named
Ruth Beatrice Baker, the daughter
of prosperous Lithuanian
immigrants to the United States.
[42][43][44]
Return to Kenya
Obama Sr. returned to his native
Kenya in August 1964.[45] Ruth
followed Obama Sr. back to
Kenya, where she married him on
December 24, 1964,[46] and had
two sons with him, Mark Okoth
Obama in 1965 and David Opiyo
Obama in 1968.[47] Ruth and
Obama Sr. separated in 1971,[48]
[49] and divorced in 1973.[2][24]
Ruth subsequently married a
Tanzanian named Ndesandjo and
took his surname, as did her sons
Mark and David. Mark said in 2009
that Obama Sr. had been abusive
to him, to his late brother, David,
and to his mother.[20][43][44]
Obama Sr. was hired by an oil
company and then served as an
economist in the Kenyan Ministry
of Transport and later became a
senior economist in the Kenyan
Ministry of Finance.[50] In 1959, a
monograph written by him had
been published by the Kenyan
Department of Education, entitled
Otieno jarieko. Kitabu mar ariyo.
2: Yore mabeyo mag puro
puothe. (English: Otieno, the wise
man. Book 2: Wise ways of
farming.)[51][52] That same year,
Obama Sr. published a paper
entitled "Problems Facing Our
Socialism" in the East Africa
Journal, harshly criticising the
blueprint for national planning,
" African Socialism and Its
Applicability to Planning in
Kenya", which had been
produced by Tom Mboya's
Ministry of Economic Planning
and Development. The article was
signed "Barak H. Obama."[53] In
December 1971, Obama Sr., who
was recuperating after an almost
year-long hospitalization
following an automobile accident,
[54] made a month-long trip to
Hawaii, during which he visited
with his ex-wife and son. The
visit was the last time 10-year-
old Barack II would see his father.
[55] On that trip Obama Sr. took
his son to his first jazz concert, a
performance by pianist Dave
Brubeck.[56]
As his son described it in his
memoir, conflict with President
Jomo Kenyatta destroyed Obama
Sr.'s career.[57] The decline began
after Tom Mboya's assassination
in 1969. Obama Sr. was fired
from his job by Kenyatta, was
blacklisted in Kenya, and began to
drink. He had a serious car
accident, spent almost a year in
the hospital, and by the time he
visited his son in Hawaii in late
1971, he already had a bad leg.
[58] Obama Sr.'s life fell into
drinking and poverty, from
which he never recovered. His
friend, journalist Philip Ochieng,
has described Obama Sr.'s
difficult personality and drinking
problems in the Kenya
newspaper the Daily Nation.[22]
Obama Sr. later lost both legs in
another automobile collision and
subsequently lost his job. He
fathered another son named
George. Six months after his son's
birth, Obama Sr. died in a third car
crash in Nairobi in 1982.[22] He
was interred in his native village
of Nyang’oma Kogelo, Siaya
District. His funeral was attended
by ministers Robert Ouko, Oloo
Aringo and other prominent
political figures.[1]
Alexander (Byzantineemperor)
For other emperors named
Alexander, see Emperor Alexander
(disambiguation).
Alexander III
Emperor of the Byzantine
Empire
Byzantine Mosaic portrait of
Emperor Alexander in the Hagia
Sophia. In his left hand he holds
a globus cruciger, and in his
right the akakia.
Reign
Co-emperor c.879
– 912
Emperor 912 –
913
Full name Alexander
Born September 19,
866
Died June 6, 913 (aged
46)
Predecessor Leo VI the Wise
Successor Constantine VII
Wife None
Dynasty Macedonian
dynasty
Father Basil I
Mother Eudokia Ingerina
Alexander (Greek: Αλέξανδρος,
Alexandros, c. 870–913),
sometimes numbered Alexander
III, ruled as Emperor of the
Byzantine Empire in 912–913. He
was the third son of Emperor
Basil I and Eudokia Ingerina.
Unlike his older brother Leo VI the
Wise, his paternity was not
disputed between Basil I and
Michael III because he was born
years after the death of Michael.
[1]
Alexander was crowned co-
emperor by his father in about
the year 879.[2] Upon his
brother's death on May 11, 912
Alexander succeeded as senior
emperor alongside Leo's young
son Constantine VII. He was the
first Byzantine emperor to use
the term
" autocrator" (αὐτοκράτωρ πιστὸς
εὑσεβὴς βασιλεὺς) on coinage to
celebrate the ending of his thirty-
three years as co-emperor.[3]
Alexander promptly dismissed
most of Leo's advisers and
appointees, including the admiral
Himerios, the patriarch
Euthymios, and the Empress Zoe
Karbonopsina, the mother of
Constantine VII whom he locked
up in a nunnery.[4] The
patriarchate was again conferred
on Nicholas Mystikos, who had
been removed from this position
because he had opposed Leo's
fourth marriage. During his short
reign, Alexander found himself
attacked by the forces of Al-
Muqtadir of the Abbasid Caliphate
in the East, and provoked a war
with Simeon I of Bulgaria by
refusing to send the traditional
tribute on his accession.
Alexander died of exhaustion
after a game of tzykanion on
June 6, 913, allegedly fulfilling his
brother's prophesy that he would
reign for 13 months.
The sources are uniformly hostile
towards Alexander, who is
depicted as lazy, lecherous, and
malignant, including the rumor
that he planned to castrate the
young Constantine VII in order to
exclude him from the succession.
At least that charge did not come
to pass, but Alexander left his
successor a hostile regent
(Nicholas Mystikos) and the
beginning of a long war against
Bulgaria.
Alexander, see Emperor Alexander
(disambiguation).
Alexander III
Emperor of the Byzantine
Empire
Byzantine Mosaic portrait of
Emperor Alexander in the Hagia
Sophia. In his left hand he holds
a globus cruciger, and in his
right the akakia.
Reign
Co-emperor c.879
– 912
Emperor 912 –
913
Full name Alexander
Born September 19,
866
Died June 6, 913 (aged
46)
Predecessor Leo VI the Wise
Successor Constantine VII
Wife None
Dynasty Macedonian
dynasty
Father Basil I
Mother Eudokia Ingerina
Alexander (Greek: Αλέξανδρος,
Alexandros, c. 870–913),
sometimes numbered Alexander
III, ruled as Emperor of the
Byzantine Empire in 912–913. He
was the third son of Emperor
Basil I and Eudokia Ingerina.
Unlike his older brother Leo VI the
Wise, his paternity was not
disputed between Basil I and
Michael III because he was born
years after the death of Michael.
[1]
Alexander was crowned co-
emperor by his father in about
the year 879.[2] Upon his
brother's death on May 11, 912
Alexander succeeded as senior
emperor alongside Leo's young
son Constantine VII. He was the
first Byzantine emperor to use
the term
" autocrator" (αὐτοκράτωρ πιστὸς
εὑσεβὴς βασιλεὺς) on coinage to
celebrate the ending of his thirty-
three years as co-emperor.[3]
Alexander promptly dismissed
most of Leo's advisers and
appointees, including the admiral
Himerios, the patriarch
Euthymios, and the Empress Zoe
Karbonopsina, the mother of
Constantine VII whom he locked
up in a nunnery.[4] The
patriarchate was again conferred
on Nicholas Mystikos, who had
been removed from this position
because he had opposed Leo's
fourth marriage. During his short
reign, Alexander found himself
attacked by the forces of Al-
Muqtadir of the Abbasid Caliphate
in the East, and provoked a war
with Simeon I of Bulgaria by
refusing to send the traditional
tribute on his accession.
Alexander died of exhaustion
after a game of tzykanion on
June 6, 913, allegedly fulfilling his
brother's prophesy that he would
reign for 13 months.
The sources are uniformly hostile
towards Alexander, who is
depicted as lazy, lecherous, and
malignant, including the rumor
that he planned to castrate the
young Constantine VII in order to
exclude him from the succession.
At least that charge did not come
to pass, but Alexander left his
successor a hostile regent
(Nicholas Mystikos) and the
beginning of a long war against
Bulgaria.
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