|
James H. Billington
James Hadley Billington (June 1, 1929 – November 20, 2018) was an American academic and author who taught history at Harvard and Princeton before serving for 42 years as CEO of four federal cultural institutions. He served as the 13th Librarian of Congress after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, and his appointment was approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate. He retired as Librarian on September 30, 2015. Life Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Billington was educated in Philadelphia-area public schools. He was class valedictorian at both Lower Merion High School and Princeton University, where he graduated with highest honors and an A.B. in history in 1950 after completing a senior thesis titled " Nicholas Berdyaev." Three years later, he earned his doctorate in Russian history from Balliol College of the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and student of the philosopher Isaiah Berlin. Following service with the U.S. Army and the Office of Nati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Librarian Of Congress
The librarian of Congress is the head of the Library of Congress, appointed by the president of the United States with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, for a term of ten years. The librarian of Congress also appoints and oversees the Register of Copyrights of the U.S. Copyright Office and has broad responsibilities around copyright, extending to electronic resources and fair use provisions outlined in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The librarian determines whether particular works are subject to DMCA prohibitions regarding technological access protection. In addition, the librarian appoints the U.S. poet laureate and awards the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. History On April 24, 1800, the 6th United States Congress passed and President John Adams signed an appropriations bill that created the Library of Congress. This statute provided "for the removal rom Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.and accommodation of the Government of the United States ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balliol College
Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and around 80 fellows, the college's main buildings are located on Broad Street with additional buildings to the east in Jowett Walk and Holywell Manor. As one of the larger colleges of Oxford University, Balliol typically has around 400 of both undergraduates and graduates. The college pioneered the PPE degree in the 1920s. Balliol has notable alumni from a wide range of disciplines. These include 13 Nobel Prize winners and four British prime ministers. History and governance Foundation and origins Balliol College was founded in about 1263 by John I de Balliol under the guidance of Walter of Kirkham, the Bishop of Durham. According to legend, the founder had abducted the bishop as part of a land dispute and as a penance he was publicly b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Stephen Langton, to make peace between the unpopular king and a group of rebel barons who demanded that the King confirm the Charter of Liberties, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift and impartial justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. Neither side stood by their commitments, and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III, leading to the First Barons' War. After John's death, the regency government of his young son, Henry III, reissued the document in 1216, stripped of some of its more radical content, in an unsuccessful bid to build political support for their cause. At the end of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bibliothèque Nationale De France
The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including books and manuscripts but also precious objects and artworks, are on display at the BnF Museum (formerly known as the ) on the Richelieu site. The National Library of France is a public establishment under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture. Its mission is to constitute collections, especially the copies of works published in France that must, by law, be deposited there, conserve them, and make them available to the public. It produces a reference catalogue, cooperates with other national and international establishments, as well as participates in research programs. History The National Library of France traces its origin to the royal library founded at the Louvre Palace by Charles V in 1368. Charles had received a collection o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waldseemüller Map
The Waldseemüller map or ''Universalis Cosmographia'' ("Universal Cosmography") is a printed wall map of the world by the German cartography, cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, originally published in April 1507. It is known as the first map to use the name "Americas, America". The name ''America'' is placed on South America on the main map. As explained in ''Cosmographiae Introductio'', the name was bestowed in honor of the Italian Amerigo Vespucci. The map also first showed the Pacific Ocean, separating the Americas from Asia. The map is drafted on a modification of Claudius Ptolemy, Ptolemy's second projection, expanded to accommodate the Americas and the high latitudes.Snyder, John P. (1993). ''Flattening the Earth: 2000 Years of Map Projections'', p. 33. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. A single copy of the map survives, presently housed at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Waldseemüller also created gore (segment), globe gores, printed maps designe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Château De La Grange-Bléneau
A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowadays, a ''château'' may be any stately residence built in a French style; the term is additionally often used for a winegrower's estate, especially in the Bordeaux wine regions, Bordeaux region of France. Definition The word château is a French word that has entered the English language, where its meaning is more specific than it is in French. The French word ''château'' denotes buildings as diverse as a medieval fortress, a Renaissance palace and a fine 19th-century country house. Care should therefore be taken when translating the French word ''château'' into English, noting the nature of the building in question. Most French châteaux are "palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Press Club (United States)
The National Press Club is a Professional association, professional organization and social community in Washington, D.C. for journalists and communications professionals. It hosts public and private gatherings with invited speakers from public life. The club also offers event space to outside groups to host business meetings, news conferences, industry gatherings, and social events. It was founded in 1908. The club has been visited by most Presidents of the United States, U.S. presidents; since Warren Harding, many have also been members and spoken from the club's podium. Others who have appeared at the club include monarchs, prime ministers, premiers, members of United States Congress, Congress, Cabinet of the United States, Cabinet officials, ambassadors, scholars, entertainers, business leaders, and athletes. The club's emblem is the owl, in deference to wisdom, awareness and nights spent working. History Founding On March 12, 1908, 32 newspapermen met at the Washington Cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Library Of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law of the United States, copyright law through the United States Copyright Office, and it houses the Congressional Research Service. Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the oldest Cultural policy of the United States, federal cultural institution in the United States. It is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill, adjacent to the United States Capitol, along with the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, and additional storage facilities at Fort Meade, Fort George G. Meade and Cabin Branch in Hyattsville, Maryland. The library's functions are overseen by the librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the architect of the Capitol. The LOC is one of the List of largest libraries, largest libra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilson Quarterly
''The Wilson Quarterly'' is a magazine published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The magazine was founded in 1976 by Peter Braestrup and James H. Billington. It is noted for its nonpartisan, non-ideological approach to current issues, with articles written from various perspectives. Since summer 2012 it has been published online. History The first issue appeared in Autumn 1976 and established two of the magazine's signature features. Article "clusters" explore different facets of a subject, often with contrasting points of view. Early subjects ranged from the exploration of space to the new revisionist history of the New Deal, with writers including Walt W. Rostow, Rem Koolhaas, George F. Kennan, John Updike, Carlos Fuentes, and Mario Vargas Llosa. The magazine also includes individual essays. The ''Wilson Quarterly''s other signature feature is its "In Essence" section, which distills more than two dozen notable articles sele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kennan Institute For Advanced Russian Studies
The Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was founded in 1974 to carry out studies of the Soviet Union ( Sovietology), and subsequently of post-Soviet Russia and other post-Soviet states. The institute is widely regarded as the foremost institute for advanced Russia studies in the United States. The institute is named after George Kennan, an American explorer of Russia and the twice removed older cousin of Ambassador George F. Kennan. George F. Kennan is best known as the author of The Long Telegram and the X Article, and by extension the author of America's containment policy toward the Soviet Union. Ambassador Kennan, together with Wilson Center Director James Billington and historian S. Frederick Starr, initiated the establishment of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center. In addition to its office in Washington, the Kennan Institute operates an office in Kyiv, Ukraine. Kennan's Kyiv office provides on-the-ground assistance to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woodrow Wilson International Center For Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ... dedicated to research and policy discussions on global issues. Established by an act of Congress in 1968, it serves as both a United States Presidential Memorial, presidential memorial to Woodrow Wilson and a part of the Smithsonian Institution. The Wilson Center describes itself as nonpartisan and provides a forum for scholars and policymakers to address critical international and domestic challenges. The Wilson Center has been recognized as a leading global think tank. In 2020, the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program ranked it as the 10th most influential think tank worldwide. It conducts research on inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Office Of National Estimates
The National Intelligence Council (NIC), established in 1979 and reporting to the Director of National Intelligence, bridges the United States Intelligence Community (IC) with policy makers in the United States. The NIC produces the "Global Trends" report every four years beginning in 1997, for the incoming President of the United States. Their work is based on intelligence from a wide variety of sources that includes experts in academia and the private sector. NIC documents and reports which are used by policymakers, include the National Intelligence Estimate and the Global Trends reports delivered every four years. The NIC's goal is to provide policymakers with the best available information, that is unvarnished, unbiased and without regard to whether the analytic judgments conform to current U.S. policy. One of the NIC's most important analytical projects is a Global Trends report produced for the incoming US president, which is usually delivered to the incoming president bet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
