Irakli Tsereteli

Irakli Tsereteli.
Irakli Tsereteli (1881–1959) was a Georgian politician and Menshevik during the Russian Revolution. He was born and raised in Georgia when it was part of the Russian Empire. A member of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, Tsereteli was elected to the Duma in 1907, but was soon charged with conspiracy to overthrow the Tsarist government and exiled to Siberia. After the 1917 February Revolution, he took a position in the Russian Provisional Government as Minister of Post and Telegraph, and briefly as Minister of the Interior. After the Bolsheviks seized power during the October Revolution, Tsereteli returned to Georgia. At the Paris Peace Conference he lobbied for international recognition and assistance for the newly independent Democratic Republic of Georgia; these efforts largely failed before the Bolshevik-led Red Army invaded in 1921. He spent the rest of his life in exile, working with socialist organisations and writing on socialism, and died in New York.

Echo parakeet

Echo parakeet.
The echo parakeet (Psittacula eques) is a species of parrot endemic to the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius and formerly Réunion. It is the only living native parrot of these islands; all others have become extinct due to human activity, including the subspecies P. e. eques, the Réunion parakeet. The echo parakeet is 34–42 cm (13–17 in) long and weighs 167–193 g (5.9–6.8 oz), with a wing-span of 49–54 cm (19–21 in). It is generally green; the male has one black and one pink collar, and the female has one green and one black. It is largely restricted to the canopy of the Black River Gorges National Park in the south west of Mauritius, feeding mainly on the fruits and leaves of native plants. Due to destruction and alteration of its native habitat, its numbers declined throughout the 20th century, reaching as few as 8–12 in the 1980s, when it was referred to as "the world's rarest parrot". An intensive effort of captive breeding has saved the bird from extinction.

Knight Lore

Knight Lore.
Knight Lore is a 1984 action-adventure game that popularised isometric graphics in video games. It was developed and published for the ZX Spectrum by Ultimate Play the Game and written by Chris and Tim Stamper (pictured). Each monochrome castle room consists of blocks to climb, obstacles to avoid, and puzzles to solve. The game's novel image masking technique, Filmation, let images appear to pass atop and behind each other without distortion. By delaying the release until 1984, Ultimate was able to release several titles quickly before other developers could copy the style. Critics considered its technical solutions and isometric 3D style a harbinger of future game design. They praised the game's controls and atmosphere of mystery, but noted its difficult gameplay and criticised its sound and occasional graphical slowdown. It was named game of the year by the Golden Joystick Awards and Popular Computing Weekly readers. Though it was not the first isometric 3D video game, Knight Lore popularised the format; its influence also persisted in computer role-playing games. The game was later included in Rare's 2015 Xbox One retrospective compilation, Rare Replay.

Astronomica (Manilius)

Astronomica (Manilius).
The Astronomica is a Latin didactic poem about celestial phenomena, written in hexameters and divided into five books. It was written c. AD 10–20 by a Roman poet whose name was likely Marcus Manilius. The earliest work on astrology that is extensive, comprehensible, and mostly intact, the poem focuses heavily on the zodiac. It espouses a Stoic, deterministic understanding of a universe overseen by a god and governed by reason. It was rediscovered in the 15th century by the Italian humanist and scholar Poggio Bracciolini, who had a copy made from which the modern text derives. The Astronomica was read, commented upon, and edited by scholars, but then was neglected for centuries. This started to change during the early 20th century when the classicist A. E. Housman published a critically acclaimed edition of the poem. Housman's work was followed by the Latinist G. P. Goold's lauded English translation in 1977.

North-Eastern Area Command

North-Eastern Area Command.
North-Eastern Area Command was one of several geographically based commands raised by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. It was formed in January 1942 and controlled units in central and northern Queensland, and Papua New Guinea. Headquartered at Townsville, Queensland, North-Eastern Area Command's responsibilities included air defence, aerial reconnaissance and protection of the sea lanes within its boundaries. Its flying units, equipped with fighters, reconnaissance bombers, dive bombers and transports, took part in the battles of Rabaul, Port Moresby and Milne Bay in 1942, and the landings at Hollandia and Aitape in 1944. The area command continued to operate after the war, but its assets and staffing were much reduced. Its responsibilities were subsumed in February 1954 by the RAAF's new functional commands: Home (operational), Training, and Maintenance Commands. The area headquarters was disbanded in December 1956 and re-formed as Headquarters RAAF Townsville.

Gallimimus

Gallimimus.
Gallimimus was a theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Mongolia about 70 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous. The genus is part of the ostrich dinosaur group of feather-bearing, fast runners. Its head was small and light with large eyes and a bulbous structure at the base of the skull. The snout was longer, broader and more rounded than in similar species. Its horny beak was toothless with a delicate lower jaw. The neck and legs were long, and the weak forelimbs had short three-fingered hands. Several of its fossils were discovered in the Gobi Desert in the 1960s. Gallimimus means "chicken mimic", from the shape of its neck vertebrae. It may have had good vision and intelligence comparable to ratite birds, living in groups as an omnivore, a filter-feeder or a herbivore. Gallimimus was featured in the film Jurassic Park in a scene that included innovative special effects and shaped the popular view of these dinosaurs as bird-like animals.

Adam Eckfeldt

Adam Eckfeldt.
Adam Eckfeldt (June 15, 1769 – February 6, 1852) was the second chief coiner of the United States Mint. His father owned a large smithy and involved himself in early attempts at American coinage. Eckfeldt built early presses for the Mint, engraved some of its early dies, and was responsible for some designs of early American copper pieces, as well as the 1792 half disme, which some authorities consider the first United States coin. He was appointed assistant coiner of the Mint in 1796, and became chief coiner after his predecessor's death in 1814. During Eckfeldt's tenure, the Philadelphia Mint moved to new premises and expanded its operations. Setting aside unusual coins that were brought in as bullion, he started the Mint's coin cabinet, which evolved into the National Numismatic Collection. Despite his 1839 retirement, Eckfeldt continued performing the duties of chief coiner until his death, though his successor, Franklin Peale, bore the title.