Donner Party

Donner Party.
The Donner Party was a group of American pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they were snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountain range from November 1846 to February 1847. Some of the emigrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, eating the bodies of those who had succumbed to starvation and sickness. The journey west usually took between four and six months, but the Donner Party had been slowed by following a new route called the Hastings Cutoff across Utah's Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake Desert. They lost many cattle and wagons in the rugged terrain, and divisions formed within the group. Their food supplies ran low after they became trapped by an early, heavy snowfall high in the mountains. In mid-December some of the group set out on foot and were able to obtain help. Of the 87 members of the party, 48 survived to reach California. Historians have described the episode as one of the most spectacular tragedies in California history.

Cortinarius violaceus

Cortinarius violaceus.
Cortinarius violaceus, the violet webcap, is a fungus found predominantly in conifer forests in North America and deciduous forests in Europe. The fruit bodies are dark purple mushrooms with caps up to 15 cm (6 in) across, sporting gills underneath. The stalk measures 6 to 12 centimetres (2 1⁄3 to 4 2⁄3 in) by 1 to 2 centimetres (3⁄8 to 3⁄4 in), sometimes with a thicker base. The dark flesh has a smell reminiscent of cedar wood. Though they are edible, the mushrooms' appearance is more distinctive than their taste. The species forms symbiotic (mycorrhizal) relationships with the roots of various plants. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, and has undergone several name changes. Other populations once identified as C. violaceus or close to that species have now been described as new and separate species, such as C. palatinus, C. neotropicus, C. altissimus, C. kioloensis and C. hallowellensis.

Title TK

Title TK.
Title TK is the third studio album by American alternative rock band the Breeders, released in May 2002 on 4AD. The album, whose name means "title to come", generated three singles: "Off You", "Huffer", and "Son of Three"; it reached the top 100 in France, Germany, the UK, and Australia. After multiple changes in personnel and aborted recording attempts in the mid-to-late 1990s, singer and songwriter Kim Deal (pictured) began sessions with engineer Steve Albini in 1999. Musicians Mando Lopez, Richard Presley, and Jose Medeles, as well as former member Kelley Deal—Kim’s sister—joined the band, who continued recording with Albini in 2001 in Chicago. Two other songs were recorded with engineers Andrew Alekel and Mark Arnold in Los Angeles. The album has received generally positive reviews from critics, who have noted its inclusion of unexpected sounds, minimal instrumentation, and unconventional, sometimes dark lyrics.

Homer Davenport

Homer Davenport.
Homer Davenport (1867–1912) was a political cartoonist and writer from the United States. He is known for drawings that satirized figures of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, especially Ohio Senator Mark Hanna. Although Davenport had no formal art training, he became one of the highest paid political cartoonists in the world. He was also one of the first major American breeders of Arabian horses and one of the founders of the Arabian Horse Club of America. In 1893 he studied and drew the Arabian horses exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition. In 1904 he drew a favorable cartoon of President Theodore Roosevelt that boosted Roosevelt's election campaign. The president in turn helped Davenport in 1906 when the cartoonist required diplomatic permission to travel abroad in his quest to purchase pure desert-bred Arabian horses. The 27 horses Davenport purchased and brought to America had a lasting impact on Arabian horse breeding.

2010 United States Senate Democratic primary election in Pennsylvania

2010 United States Senate Democratic primary election in Pennsylvania.
In the United States Senate Democratic primary election in Pennsylvania on May 18, 2010, Congressman Joe Sestak (pictured) defeated incumbent Arlen Specter, who had been in the Senate for five terms as a Republican. Just before the primary campaign, Specter switched to the Democratic Party in anticipation of a difficult primary challenge by Pat Toomey. Sestak was ultimately defeated by Toomey in the general election. Political observers and journalists described the race between Specter and Sestak as one of the bitterest and most watched of all the 2010 primary elections. Specter led Sestak by more than 20 percentage points for most of the race, but this lead narrowed in the final month of the campaign, when Sestak concentrated his funds and efforts on television commercials questioning Specter's Democratic credentials. Political observers said that Sestak's commercials and a national swing in momentum against incumbents harmed Specter's chances.

Ludwigsburg Palace

Ludwigsburg Palace.
Ludwigsburg Palace is a 452-room palace complex of 18 buildings in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the largest palatial estate in the country and has been called the "Versailles of Swabia". Eberhard Louis, Duke of Württemberg, began construction of the palace in 1704. The son of his successor, Charles Eugene, completed it and refurbished parts in the Rococo style, especially its theatre. Charles Eugene abandoned the palace in 1775, and it began a decline until the future Duke, and then King, Frederick moved in in 1795. As King, Frederick, and his Queen, Charlotte, renovated the entirety of the palace in the Neoclassical style. The palace was opened to the public in 1918. It underwent periods of restoration, including for its tricentenary in 2004. It has hosted the Ludwigsburg Festival annually since 1947. The palace is surrounded by gardens named Blooming Baroque (Blühendes Barock), laid out in 1954 as they might have appeared in 1800.

Edward II of England

Edward II of England.
Edward II (1284–1327) was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. He married Isabella, the daughter of the powerful King Philip IV of France, in 1308. Edward had a close and controversial relationship with Piers Gaveston, who had joined his household in 1300. Gaveston's arrogance and power as Edward's favourite provoked discontent among both the barons and the French royal family, and Edward was forced to exile him. On Gaveston's return, the barons pressured the king into agreeing to wide-ranging reforms, called the Ordinances of 1311. A group of barons seized and executed Gaveston in 1312, beginning several years of armed confrontation. English forces were pushed back in Scotland, where Edward was decisively defeated by Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. After the exiled Roger Mortimer invaded England with a small army in 1326, Edward's regime collapsed and he relinquished his crown in favour of his 14-year-old son, Edward III.