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Thomas F. Mulledy

Thomas F. Mulledy.
Thomas F. Mulledy (1794–1860) was a Catholic priest from Virginia and a prominent leader of the American Jesuits. He twice served as President of Georgetown College in Washington, D.C., where he undertook a significant building campaign. After his first presidency, he was appointed provincial superior of the Jesuit Maryland province in 1837. The following year, Mulledy executed the sale of 272 slaves owned by the Maryland Jesuits in order to relieve the province's mounting debts. After an outcry from his fellow Jesuits over the immorality of the sale, church authorities in Rome exiled him to Nice for several years, for insubordination and promoting scandal. Following his return to the United States in 1843, he became the first President of the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, where he oversaw the construction of the college's first building. In his later years, he engaged in preaching and pastoral work, and assisted Holy Cross during investigations by the Know Nothing Party.

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Tahiti rail

Tahiti rail.
The Tahiti rail (Gallirallus pacificus) is an extinct bird species from Tahiti. The rail was first recorded during James Cook's second voyage in 1772–1775, during which it was painted by Georg Forster and described by his father Johann. It may have also existed on nearby Mehetia. It appears to have been closely related to the buff-banded rail, and has been confused with that bird's Tongan subspecies. The Tahiti rail was 9 in (23 cm) long, with white on its underparts, throat, and "eyebrows". Its upper parts were black with white dots and bands, the hind neck was rust-coloured, the breast was grey, and it had a black band across its throat. The bill and iris were red, and the legs were pink. It was supposedly flightless, and nested on the ground. It frequented open areas, marshes, and coconut plantations, eating mainly insects and some coconut meat. Its extinction, after 1844 on Tahiti, and perhaps in the 1930s on Mehetia, was probably due to predation by humans and introduced cats and rats.

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Chevauchée

Chevauchée.
Lancaster's chevauchée of 1346 was a large-scale mounted raid directed by Henry, Earl of Lancaster, in south western France during the Hundred Years' War. The main English army had defeated the larger French army at the Battle of Crécy in August, and French defences in the south west were left weak and disorganised. Lancaster took advantage by leading a raid between 12 September and 31 October 1346 while sending other forces into Quercy and the Bazadais. All three offensives were successful, with Lancaster's chevauchée, of approximately 2,000 English and Gascon soldiers, meeting no effective resistance from the French, penetrating 160 miles (260 kilometres) north and storming the rich city of Poitiers. His force then razed and looted large areas of Saintonge, Aunis and Poitou, capturing numerous towns, castles and smaller fortified places as they went. The offensives completely disrupted the French defences and shifted the focus of the fighting.

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