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Robert Baird McClure
Robert Baird "Bob" McClure OOnt FRCS (Edin.) FICS (November 23, 1900 – November 10, 1991) was a Canadian physician, medical missionary to China, Taiwan, Gaza, India, and Borneo, and was also the 23rd Moderator of the United Church of Canada, the first unordained lay person to hold that position. During a very active life, McClure became friends with Soong Mei-ling and Chiang Kai-shek, crossed paths with Norman Bethune, was one of the first men to drive a vehicle along the Burma Road, parachuted into jungle valleys to save downed pilots, was threatened with imprisonment by Canadian prime minister William Lyon MacKenzie King, and was almost summarily executed as a spy by Japanese soldiers. He was finally forced to retire as a missionary doctor at age 67, but then spent his first two years of "retirement" as head of the United Church of Canada, and another nine years as a short-term missionary doctor around the world. During the 1960s and 1970s, the forthright and plain-spok ...
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Companion Of The Order Of Canada
The Order of Canada () is a Canadian national order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the centennial of Canadian Confederation, the three-tiered order was established in 1967 as a fellowship recognizing the outstanding merit or distinguished service of Canadians who make a major difference to Canada through lifelong contributions in every field of endeavour, as well as efforts by non-Canadians who have made the world better by their actions. Membership is accorded to those who exemplify the order's Latin motto, , meaning "they desire a better country", a phrase taken from Hebrews 11:16. The three tiers of the order are Companion, Officer and Member. Specific people may be given extraordinary membership and deserving non-Canadians may receive honorary appointment into each grade. , the reigning Canadian monarch, is the order's sovereign. The governor general administer ...
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Burma Road
The Burma Road () was a road linking Burma (now known as Myanmar) with southwest China. Its terminals were Lashio, Burma, in the south and Kunming, China, the capital of Yunnan province in the north. It was built in 1937–1938 while Burma was a British colony to convey supplies to China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Preventing the flow of supplies on the road helped motivate the occupation of Burma by the Empire of Japan in 1942 during World War II. Use of the road was restored to the Allies in 1945 after the completion of the Ledo Road. Some parts of the old road are still visible today. History The road is long and runs through rough mountain country. The sections from Kunming to the Burmese border were built by 200,000 Burmese and Chinese laborers during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and completed by 1938 in order to circumvent the Japanese blockade of China. The construction project was coordinated by Chih-Ping Chen. During World War II, the Al ...
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Shinano Maru (1900)
was a merchantman operated by the Nippon Yusen K.K Shipping Company (NYK). She was built by W. Henderson Co in Glasgow, for the express purpose of serving NYK's Japan to Seattle route. NYK originally intended that she be built at the Mitsubishi Nagasaki shipyards in Japan; however, Mitsubishi had experienced problems in the completion of '' Hitachi Maru'', which had led to considerable delays. NYK chose not to wait, and ''Shinano Maru'' was ordered to Scotland. She was completed in April 1900. During the Russo-Japanese War ''Shinano Maru'' was converted into an armed merchantman. She has the distinction of discovering the Russian Fleet near Tsushima Strait on the eve of the Battle of Tsushima. After the war ''Shinano Maru'' reverted to civilian use, being scrapped in 1951. Early civilian service ''Shinano Maru'', with a length of , was designed to carry 238 passenger (26 first class, 20 second class, 193 third class), and her accommodations were regarded as modern and comfo ...
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Seymour Expedition
The Seymour Expedition () was an attempt by a multinational military force led by Admiral Edward Seymour to march to Beijing and relieve the Siege of the Legations from attacks by Qing China government troops and the Boxers in 1900. The Chinese and Boxer fighters defeated the Seymour armies and forced them to return to Tianjin (Tientsin). It was followed later in the summer by the successful Gaselee Expedition. Historical background Boxer bands advanced on Beijing in May and June 1900. The Qing court was ambivalent about the Boxers, fearing that they might become anti-Qing. The Boxers became a serious threat to Western and Japanese citizens, murdering missionaries and Chinese Christians living northern China. The diplomatic legations in Beijing requested that guards be sent to protect them. As such, more than 400 marines and naval troops from eight countries arrived in Beijing on 31 May. However, as the Boxers began posing a more significant threat, it became apparent tha ...
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Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as China's List of cities in China by population, second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is located in North China, Northern China, and is governed as a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality under the direct administration of the Government of the People's Republic of China, State Council with List of administrative divisions of Beijing, 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts.Figures based on 2006 statistics published in 2007 National Statistical Yearbook of China and available online at archive. Retrieved 21 April 2009. Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province and neighbors Tianjin to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jing-Jin-Ji, Jing-Jin-Ji cluster. Beijing is a global city and ...
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John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
Admiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, (5 December 1859 – 20 November 1935) was a Royal Navy officer. He fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Boxer Rebellion and commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 during the First World War. His handling of the fleet at that battle was controversial. Jellicoe made no serious mistakes and the German High Seas Fleet retreated to port, at a time when defeat would have been catastrophic for Britain, but the public was disappointed that the Royal Navy had not won a more dramatic victory given that they outnumbered the enemy. Jellicoe later served as First Sea Lord, overseeing the expansion of the Naval Staff at the Admiralty and the introduction of convoys, but was relieved at the end of 1917. He also served as the governor-general of New Zealand in the early 1920s. Early life Jellicoe was born on 5 December 1859 in Southampton, Hampshire. Jellicoe was the son of John Henry Jellicoe, a capta ...
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HMS Centurion
Eight ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Centurion'', after the centurions of ancient Rome. A ninth ship was planned but never built. Ships * was a 34-gun ship launched in 1650 and wrecked in 1689. * was a 48-gun fourth-rate launched in 1691 and broken up in 1728. * was a 60-gun fourth-rate launched in 1732 and broken up 1769 after George Anson's voyage around the world * was a 50-gun fourth-rate launched in 1774. She was reduced to harbour service in 1809, sank at her moorings in 1824, and was raised and broken up in 1825. * HMS ''Centurion'' was a 74-gun third-rate launched in 1812 as . She was renamed HMS ''Centurion'' in 1826 and was broken up in 1828. * was an 80-gun third-rate launched in 1844. She was converted to screw propulsion in 1855, and sold in 1870. * was a ''Centurion''-class battleship launched in 1892 and sold in 1910. * was a ''King George V''-class battleship launched in 1911. She was converted to a target ship in ...
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Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowing through it. The population of the city proper is the List of largest cities, second largest in the world after Chongqing, with around 24.87 million inhabitants in 2023, while the urban area is the List of cities in China by population, most populous in China, with 29.87 million residents. As of 2022, the Greater Shanghai metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GDP (nominal), nominal) of nearly 13 trillion Renminbi, RMB ($1.9 trillion). Shanghai is one of the world's major centers for finance, #Economy, business and economics, research, science and technology, manufacturing, transportation, List of tourist attractions in Shanghai, tourism, and Culture of Shanghai, culture. The Port of Sh ...
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Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists, known as the "Boxers" in English due to many of its members having practised Chinese martial arts, which at the time were referred to as "Chinese boxing". It was defeated by the Eight-Nation Alliance of foreign powers. Following the First Sino-Japanese War, villagers in North China feared the expansion of foreign Spheres of influence#China, spheres of influence and resented the extension of privileges to Christian missionaries, who used them to shield their followers. In 1898, North China experienced several natural disasters, including the Yellow River flooding and droughts, which Boxers blamed on foreign and Christian influence. Beginning in 1899, the movement spread across Shandong and the North China Plain, destroying foreign pro ...
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Wuhan, China
Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine national central cities and the second most livable city in China. Wuhan historically served as a busy city port for commerce and trading with some crucial influences on Chinese history. The name "Wuhan" came from the city's historical origin from the conglomeration of Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, which are collectively known as the "Three Towns of Wuhan" ( zh, s=武汉三镇, labels=no). Wuhan lies in the eastern Jianghan Plain, at the confluence of the Yangtze river and its largest tributary, the Han River, and is known as "Nine Provinces' Thoroughfare" ( zh, labels=no, t= ). Wuhan was the site of the 1911 Wuchang Uprising against the Qing dynasty which ended 2,000 years of dynastic rule. Wuhan was briefly a capital of China twice, in 1927 under a left wing Kuomintang (KMT) go ...
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Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Presbyterian'' is applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that were formed during the English Civil War, 1642 to 1651. Presbyterian theology typically emphasises the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ. Scotland ensured Presbyterian church government in the 1707 Acts of Union, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. In fact, most Presbyterians in England have a Scottish connection. The Presbyterian denomination was also taken to North America, Australia, and New Zealand, mostly by Scots and Scots-Irish immigrants. Scotland's Presbyterian denominations hold to the Reformed theology of John Calvin and his ...
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Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio and the Ohio River to its west, Lake Erie and New York (state), New York to its north, the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east, and the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest via Lake Erie. Pennsylvania's most populous city is Philadelphia. Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn, the son of William Penn (Royal Navy officer), the state's namesake. Before that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of New Sweden, a Swedish Empire, Swedish colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the B ...
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