general+support+for+engineers

to eliminate.

El líquido eliminó las manchas The liquid eliminated the stains.

El mafioso eliminó al testigo The mobster eliminated the witness.

* * *

► verbo transitivo

1 (gen) to eliminate, exclude

■ han eliminado el equipo del campeonato they've eliminated the team from the championship

2 (esperanzas, miedos, etc) to get rid of, cast aside

3 familiar (matar) to kill, eliminate

* * *

1) to eliminate

2) remove

3) kill

* * *

1. VT

1) (=hacer desaparecer) [+ mancha, obstáculo] to remove, get rid of; [+ residuos] to dispose of; [+ pobreza] to eliminate, eradicate; [+ posibilidad] to rule out

2) [+ concursante, deportista] to knock out, eliminate

3) euf (=matar) to eliminate, do away with *

4) [+ incógnita] to eliminate

5) (Fisiol) to eliminate

eliminarse

* * *

verbo transitivo

1)

a) < obstáculo> to remove; < párrafo> to delete, remove

b) < candidato> to eliminate; (Dep) to eliminate, knock out

c) (euf) ( matar) to eliminate (euph), to get rid of (euph)

d) < residuos> to dispose of

2) <toxinas/grasas> to eliminate

3) (Mat) < incógnita> to eliminate

* * *

= abort, cut off, delete, detach, disband, discard, dispose of, do away with, eliminate, eradicate, erase, erode, kill, obviate, purge, remove, rid, suppress, take out, withdraw, screen out, retire, squeeze out, decrement, dispel, weed out, axe [ax, -USA], abolish, pare out, chop off, excise, obliterate, scrap, take off, expunge, cut out, put to + rest, sweep away, root out, nix, drive out, deselect, strip away, roll back, efface, cashier, clear out, weed, sunset, stomp + Nombre + out, zap, take + Nombre + out.

Ex. It is important to know what police or fire responses are triggered by alarms and how that reaction can be aborted and the alarm silenced.

Ex. The only way to solve these problems is either to revise your catalog in its totality or to cut it off.

Ex. Expressive notation is generally easier to truncate, that is, delete final characters to create the notation for a more general subject.

Ex. The words from the deleted abstract in the abstract word file will be detached when DOBIS/LIBIS is not busy with other work.

Ex. With the completion of the draft in 1983, the Working Group on an International Authority System was officially disbanded.

Ex. The dates should be checked regularly and updated so that old dates are discarded and new ones entered.

Ex. List and describe the steps involved in withdrawing and disposing of books which are no longer required.

Ex. DOBIS/LIBIS does away with the multiplicity of files and catalogs.

Ex. Obviously, computers and the use of notation in computerised systems may place additional constraints upon the nature of the notation, or may eliminate the need to consider some of the characteristics below.

Ex. In this instance links would be insufficient to eradicate the false drop.

Ex. Pressing the delete key erases a characters without leaving a blank space.

Ex. These arrangements should also erode price differentials between Europe and the US, and permit each country to support its own online services.

Ex. He was looking for the book 'Flowers and Bullets and Freedom to kill' = Estaba buscando el libro "Flores, balas y libertad para matar".

Ex. The intercalation of (41-4) after 329 obviates this function.

Ex. The system requests the number of the borrower and then purges that borrower's name and number from its files.

Ex. Folders allow a set of papers to be kept together when a set on a given topic is removed from the file.

Ex. This function can be used to rid access-point files of unused entries.

Ex. It is possible to suppress references and to omit steps in a hierarchy.

Ex. A scheme should allow reduction, to take out subjects and their subdivisions which are no longer used.

Ex. Thus, all cards corresponding to documents covering 'Curricula' are withdrawn from the pack.

Ex. Most journals rely for a substantial part of their income on advertisements; how would advertisers view the prospect of being selectively screened out by readers?.

Ex. This article stresses the importance for libraries of making current informationav ailable on AIDS, and of retiring out-of-date information on the subject.

Ex. Subjects not in the core of major employment areas are likely to be squeezed out of the standard curriculum.

Ex. Document terms absent from the original query were decremented.

Ex. But years and experience do not always dispel the sense of unease.

Ex. Information services administrators expect library schools to uphold admission standards and weed out unsuitable candidates.

Ex. 'He's been trying to cover up his tracks; those engineers who got axed were his scapegoats'.

Ex. Who knows? If we can abolish the card catalogue and replace it with some form more acceptable to library users, they may even begin to use library catalogues!.

Ex. Because the assumption in this method is that none of the preceding years' operations are worth continuing unless they can be shown to be necessary, zero-based budgeting (ZZB) can be useful for paring out the deadwood of obsolete or uselessly extravagant programs.

Ex. Others chop off old records to remain within the limits of 680 MB.

Ex. Once a new digitized system has been introduced irrelevancies and redundant features can more easily be seen and excised.

Ex. Typing errors cannot be obliterated with a normal erasing fluid as this would print and appear as a blotch on the copies.

Ex. There have even been rumours of plans to scrap most of the industrial side of its work and disperse key elements, such as the work on regional and industrial aid, to the provinces.

Ex. Meek took her glasses off and twiddled them as her supervisor related the following incident.

Ex. This article examines the controversial issue about whether to expunge books about satanism from the library shelves.

Ex. In order to support a core acquistions programme of essential materials for its users, a library will more readily cut out material on the fringe of its needs if such material can be obtained by a good document supply system.

Ex. Careful investigation by the library board of the possibilities inherent in system membership usually puts to rest preconceived fears.

Ex. Librarians should ensure that the principles they stand for are not swept away on a tide of technological jingoism.

Ex. Libraries should root out unproductive and obsolete activities.

Ex. This play was nixed by school officials on the grounds that the subject of sweatshops was not appropriate for that age group.

Ex. The development of user-friendly interfaces to data bases may drive out the unspecialised information broker in the long run.

Ex. There is a need to provide public access to the Internet and to develop guidelines for selecting and deselecting appropriate resources.

Ex. Like its predecessor, it wants to strip away the sentimentality surrounding male-female relationships and reveal the ugly, unvarnished truth.

Ex. Some Russia specialists say President Putin is rolling back liberal economic and political reforms ushered in by his predecessor.

Ex. The beauty, the aliveness, the creativity, the passion that made her lovable and gave her life meaning has been effaced.

Ex. His case was referred to the next session, and in the following May he was cashiered.

Ex. Pockets of resistance still remain in Fallujah, but the vast majority of insurgents have been cleared out.

Ex. It seems to me that the electronic catalog provides the ability to build a file that can, in fact, be easily weeded.

Ex. It's instructive to remember just how passionately the media hyped the dangers of ' sunsetting' the ban.

Ex. Like I said, no wonder racism won't die, it takes BOTH sides to stomp it out, not just one!.

Ex. This electric fly swatter will zap any fly or mosquito with 1500 volts.

Ex. My lasting image of Omar is of him crouched in the rubble waiting for U.S. troops to get close enough so he could take one of them out.

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* ayudar a eliminar obstáculos = clear + the path, clear + the way.

* eliminar al intermediario = cut out + the middleman.

* eliminar ambigüedades = disambiguate.

* eliminar barreras = flatten + barriers, tackle + barriers, erase + boundaries.

* eliminar de un golpe = eliminate + at a stroke.

* eliminar de un texto = redact out, redact.

* eliminar diferencias = flatten out + differences.

* eliminar el hielo = de-ice [deice].

* eliminar el sarro = descale.

* eliminar gases = pass + gas, break + wind, pass + wind.

* eliminar la necesidad de = remove + the need for.

* eliminar las barreras = break down + barriers.

* eliminar las diferencias = iron out + differences.

* eliminar los duplicados = deduplicate.

* eliminar + Nombre = clear of + Nombre.

* eliminar obstáculos = clear + the path, clear + the way.

* eliminar por etapas = phase out.

* eliminar progresivamente = phase out.

* eliminar puestos de trabajo = shed + jobs, axe + jobs, cut + jobs.

* eliminar puliendo = buff out.

* eliminar una barrera = topple + barrier.

* eliminar una ecuación de búsqueda = clear + search.

* eliminar un error = remove + error.

* eliminar un obstáculo = remove + barrier, sweep away + obstacle.

* eliminar un problema = sweep away + problem, work out + kink.

* * *

verbo transitivo

1)

a) < obstáculo> to remove; < párrafo> to delete, remove

b) < candidato> to eliminate; (Dep) to eliminate, knock out

c) (euf) ( matar) to eliminate (euph), to get rid of (euph)

d) < residuos> to dispose of

2) <toxinas/grasas> to eliminate

3) (Mat) < incógnita> to eliminate

* * *

* * *

eliminar [A1 ]

1 ‹obstáculo› to remove; ‹párrafo› to delete, remove

para eliminar las cucarachas to get rid of o exterminate o kill cockroaches

2 ‹equipo/candidato› to eliminate

fueron eliminados del torneo they were knocked out of o eliminated from the tournament

3 ( euf) (matar) to eliminate ( euph), to get rid of ( euph)

B ‹toxinas/grasas› to eliminate

C ( Mat) ‹incógnita› to eliminate

* * *

a) ‹ obstáculo› to remove;

b) ‹ candidato› to eliminate;

c) (euf) ( matar) to eliminate (euph), to get rid of (euph)

d) ‹ residuos› to dispose of

e) ‹toxinas/grasas› to eliminate

* * *

eliminar vt

1. [en juego, deporte, concurso] to eliminate (de from);

lo eliminaron en la segunda ronda he was eliminated o knocked out in the second round

2. [acabar con] [contaminación] to eliminate;

eliminó algunos trozos de su discurso he cut out some parts of his speech

3. Mat [incógnita] to eliminate

4. Euf [matar] to eliminate, to get rid of

* * *

1 eliminate

2 desperdicios dispose of

3 INFOR delete

* * *

eliminar vt

1) : to eliminate, to remove

2) : to do in, to kill

* * *

eliminar vb

1. (en general) to eliminate

2. (manchas) to remove

  15,000-3,000 BCE Paleolithic cultures in western Portugal.

  400-200 BCE Greek and Carthaginian trade settlements on coast.

  202 BCE Roman armies invade ancient Lusitania.

  137 BCE Intensive Romanization of Lusitania begins.

  410 CE Germanic tribes — Suevi and Visigoths—begin conquest of Roman Lusitania and Galicia.

  714—16 Muslims begin conquest of Visigothic Lusitania.

  1034 Christian Reconquest frontier reaches Mondego River.

  1064 Christians conquer Coimbra.

  1139 Burgundian Count Afonso Henriques proclaims himself king of Portugal; birth of Portugal. Battle of Ourique: Afonso Henriques defeats Muslims.

  1147 With English Crusaders' help, Portuguese seize Lisbon from Muslims.

  1179 Papacy formally recognizes Portugal's independence (Pope Alexander III).

  1226 Campaign to reclaim Alentejo from Muslims begins.

  1249 Last Muslim city (Silves) falls to Portuguese Army.

  1381 Beginning of third war between Castile and Portugal.

  1383 Master of Aviz, João, proclaimed regent by Lisbon populace.

  1385 April: Master of Aviz, João I, proclaimed king of Portugal by Cortes of Coimbra. 14 August: Battle of Aljubarrota, Castilians defeated by royal forces, with assistance of English army.

  1394 Birth of "Prince Henry the Navigator," son of King João I.

  1415 Beginning of overseas expansion as Portugal captures Moroccan city of Ceuta.

  1419 Discovery of Madeira Islands.

  1425-28 Prince D. Pedro, older brother of Prince Henry, travels in Europe.

  1427 Discovery (or rediscovery?) of Azores Islands.

  1434 Prince Henry the Navigator's ships pass beyond Cape Bojador, West Africa.

  1437 Disaster at Tangier, Morocco, as Portuguese fail to capture city.

  1441 First African slaves from western Africa reach Portugal.

  1460 Death of Prince Henry. Portuguese reach what is now Senegal, West Africa.

  1470s Portuguese explore West African coast and reach what is now Ghana and Nigeria and begin colonizing islands of São Tomé and Príncipe.

  1479 Treaty of Alcáçovas between kings of Portugal and Spain.

  1482 Portuguese establish post at São Jorge da Mina, Gold Coast (now Ghana).

  1482-83 Portuguese navigator Diogo Cão reaches mouth of Congo River and Angola.

  1488 Navigator Bartolomeu Dias rounds Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, and finds route to Indian Ocean.

  1492-93 Columbus's first voyage to West Indies.

  1493 Columbus visits Azores and Portugal on return from first voyage; tells of discovery of New World. Treaty of Tordesillas signed between kings of Portugal and Spain: delimits spheres of conquest with line 370 leagues west of Cape Verde Islands (claimed by Portugal); Portugal's sphere to east of line includes, in effect, Brazil.

   King Manuel I and Royal Council decide to continue seeking all-water route around Africa to Asia.

   King Manuel I expels unconverted Jews from Portugal.

  1497-99 Epic voyage of Vasco da Gama from Portugal around Africa to west India, successful completion of sea route to Asia project; da Gama returns to Portugal with samples of Asian spices.

  1500 Bound for India, Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral "discovers" coast of Brazil and claims it for Portugal.

  1506 Anti-Jewish riots in Lisbon.

   Battle of Diu, India; Portugal's command of Indian Ocean assured for some time with Francisco de Almeida's naval victory over Egyptian and Gujerati fleets.

   Afonso de Albuquerque conquers Goa, India; beginning of Portuguese hegemony in south Asia.

   Portuguese conquest of Malacca; commerce in Spice Islands.

  1519 Magellan begins circumnavigation voyage.

  1536 Inquisition begins in Portugal.

  1543 Portuguese merchants reach Japan.

  1557 Portuguese merchants granted Chinese territory of Macau for trading factory.

  1572 Luís de Camões publishes epic poem, Os Lusíadas.

  1578 Battle of Alcácer-Quivir; Moroccan forces defeat army of King Sebastião of Portugal; King Sebastião dies in battle. Portuguese succession crisis.

  1580 King Phillip II of Spain claims and conquers Portugal; Spanish rule of Portugal, 1580-1640.

  1607-24 Dutch conquer sections of Asia and Brazil formerly held by Portugal.

  1640 1 December: Portuguese revolution in Lisbon overthrows Spanish rule, restores independence. Beginning of Portugal's Braganza royal dynasty.

  1654 Following Dutch invasions and conquest of parts of Brazil and Angola, Dutch expelled by force.

  1661 Anglo-Portuguese Alliance treaty signed: England pledges to defend Portugal "as if it were England itself." Queen Catherine of Bra-ganza marries England's Charles II.

  1668 February: In Portuguese-Spanish peace treaty, Spain recognizes independence of Portugal, thus ending 28-year War of Restoration.

  1703 Methuen Treaties signed, key commercial trade agreement and defense treaty between England and Portugal.

  1750 Pombal becomes chief minister of King José I.

  1755 1 November: Massive Lisbon earthquake, tidal wave, and fire.

  1759 Expulsion of Jesuits from Portugal and colonies.

  1761 Slavery abolished in continental Portugal.

  1769 Abandonment of Mazagão, Morocco, last Portuguese outpost.

  1777 Pombal dismissed as chief minister by Queen Maria I, after death of José I.

  1791 Portugal and United States establish full diplomatic relations.

  1807 November: First Napoleonic invasion; French forces under Junot conquer Portugal. Royal family flees to colony of Brazil and remains there until 1821.

  1809 Second French invasion of Portugal under General Soult.

  1811 Third French invasion of Portugal under General Masséna.

  1813 Following British general Wellington's military victories, French forces evacuate Portugal.

  1817 Liberal, constitutional movements against absolutist monarchist rule break out in Brazil (Pernambuco) and Portugal (Lisbon, under General Gomes Freire); crushed by government. British marshal of Portugal's army, Beresford, rules Portugal.

   Liberal insurrection in army officer corps breaks out in Cadiz, Spain, and influences similar movement in Portugal's armed forces first in Oporto.

   King João VI returns from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and early draft of constitution; era of constitutional monarchy begins.

  1822 7 September: João VI's son Pedro proclaims independence of

   Brazil from Portugal and is named emperor. 23 September: Constitution of 1822 ratified.

   Portugal recognizes sovereign independence of Brazil.

   King João VI dies; power struggle for throne ensues between his sons, brothers Pedro and Miguel; Pedro, emperor of Brazil, abdicates Portuguese throne in favor of his daughter, D. Maria II, too young to assume crown. By agreement, Miguel, uncle of D. Maria, is to accept constitution and rule in her stead.

  1828 Miguel takes throne and abolishes constitution. Sections of Portugal rebel against Miguelite rule.

  1831 Emperor Pedro abdicates throne of Brazil and returns to Portugal to expel King Miguel from Portuguese throne.

  1832-34 Civil war between absolutist King Miguel and constitutionalist Pedro, who abandons throne of Brazil to restore his young daughter Maria to throne of Portugal; Miguel's armed forces defeated by those of Pedro. Miguel leaves for exile and constitution (1826 Charter) is restored.

  1834-53 Constitutional monarchy consolidated under rule of Queen Maria II, who dies in 1853.

  1851-71 Regeneration period of economic development and political stability; public works projects sponsored by Minister Fontes Pereira de Melo.

  1871-90 Rotativism period of alternating party governments; achieves political stability and less military intervention in politics and government. Expansion of colonial territory in tropical Africa.

   January: Following territorial dispute in central Africa, Britain delivers "Ultimatum" to Portugal demanding withdrawal of Portugal's forces from what is now Malawi and Zimbabwe. Portugal's government, humiliated in accepting demand under threat of a diplomatic break, falls. Beginning of governmental and political instability; monarchist decline and republicanism's rise.

   Anglo-Portuguese treaties signed relating to delimitation of frontiers in colonial Africa.

  1899 Treaty of Windsor; renewal of Anglo-Portuguese defense and friendship alliance.

  1903 Triumphal visit of King Edward VII to Portugal.

  1906 Politician João Franco supported by King Carlos I in dictatorship to restore order and reform.

  1908 1 February: Murder in Lisbon of King Carlos I and his heir apparent, Prince Dom Luís, by Portuguese anarchists. Eighteen-year-old King Manuel II assumes throne.

  1910 3-5 October: Following republican-led military insurrection in armed forces, monarchy falls and first Portuguese republic is proclaimed. Beginning of unstable, economically troubled, parliamentary republic form of government.

   May: Violent insurrection in Lisbon overturns government of General Pimenta de Castro; nearly a thousand casualties from several days of armed combat in capital.

   March: Following Portugal's honoring ally Britain's request to confiscate German shipping in Portuguese harbors, Germany declares war on Portugal; Portugal enters World War I on Allied side.

   Portugal organizes and dispatches Portuguese Expeditionary Corps to fight on the Western Front. 9 April: Portuguese forces mauled by German offensive in Battle of Lys. Food rationing and riots in Lisbon. Portuguese military operations in Mozambique against German expedition's invasion from German East Africa. 5 December: Authoritarian, presidentialist government under Major Sidónio Pais takes power in Lisbon, following a successful military coup.

  1918 11 November: Armistice brings cessation of hostilities on Western Front in World War I. Portuguese expeditionary forces stationed in Angola, Mozambique, and Flanders begin return trip to Portugal. 14 December: President Sidónio Pais assassinated. Chaotic period of ephemeral civil war ensues.

  1919-21 Excessively unstable political period, including January

  1919 abortive effort of Portuguese monarchists to restore Braganza dynasty to power. Republican forces prevail, but level of public violence, economic distress, and deprivation remains high.

  1921 October: Political violence attains peak with murder of former prime minister and other prominent political figures in Lisbon. Sectors of armed forces and Guarda Nacional Republicana are mutinous. Year of financial and corruption scandals, including Portuguese bank note (fraud) case; military court acquits guilty military insurrectionists, and one military judge declares "the country is sick."

   28 May: Republic overthrown by military coup or pronunciamento and conspiracy among officer corps. Parliament's doors locked and parliament closed for nearly nine years to January 1935. End of parliamentary republic, Western Europe's most unstable political system in this century, beginning of the Portuguese dictatorship, after 1930 known as the Estado Novo. Officer corps assumes reins of government, initiates military censorship of the press, and suppresses opposition.

   February: Military dictatorship under General Óscar Carmona crushes failed republican armed insurrection in Oporto and Lisbon.

   April: Military dictatorship names Professor Antônio de Oliveira Salazar minister of finance, with dictatorial powers over budget, to stabilize finances and rebuild economy. Insurrectionism among military elements continues into 1931.

  1930 Dr. Salazar named minister for colonies and announces balanced budgets. Salazar consolidates support by various means, including creation of official regime "movement," the National Union. Salazar engineers Colonial Act to ensure Lisbon's control of bankrupt African colonies by means of new fiscal controls and centralization of authority. July: Military dictatorship names Salazar prime minister for first time, and cabinet composition undergoes civilianization; academic colleagues and protégés plan conservative reform and rejuvenation of society, polity, and economy. Regime comes to be called the Estado Novo (New State). New State's constitution ratified by new parliament, the National Assembly; Portugal described in document as "unitary, corporative Republic" and governance influenced by Salazar's stern personality and doctrines such as integralism, Catholicism, and fiscal conservatism.

  1936 Violent instability and ensuing civil war in neighboring Spain, soon internationalized by fascist and communist intervention, shake Estado Novo regime. Pseudofascist period of regime features creation of imitation Fascist institutions to defend regime from leftist threats; Portugal institutes "Portuguese Youth" and "Portuguese Legion."

  1939 3 September: Prime Minister Salazar declares Portugal's neutrality in World War II. October: Anglo-Portuguese agreement grants naval and air base facilities to Britain and later to United States for Battle of the Atlantic and Normandy invasion support. Third Reich protests breach of Portugal's neutrality.

   6 June: On day of Allies' Normandy invasion, Portugal suspends mining and export of wolfram ore to both sides in war.

   8 May: Popular celebrations of Allied victory and Fascist defeat in Lisbon and Oporto coincide with Victory in Europe Day. Following managed elections for Estado Novo's National Assembly in November, regime police, renamed PIDE, with increased powers, represses opposition.

  1947 Abortive military coup in central Portugal easily crushed by regime. Independence of India and initiation of Indian protests against Portuguese colonial rule in Goa and other enclaves.

  1949 Portugal becomes founding member of NATO.

  1951 Portugal alters constitution and renames overseas colonies "Overseas Provinces." Portugal and United States sign military base agreements for use of air and naval facilities in Azores Islands and military aid to Lisbon. President Carmona dies in office, succeeded by General Craveiro Lopes (1951-58). July: Indians occupy enclave of Portuguese India (dependency of Damão) by means of passive resistance movement. August: Indian passive resistance movement in Portuguese India repelled by Portuguese forces with loss of life. December: With U.S. backing, Portugal admitted as member of United Nations (along with Spain). Air force general Humberto Delgado, in opposition, challenges Estado Novo's hand-picked successor to Craveiro Lopes, Admiral Américo Tomás. Delgado rallies coalition of democratic, liberal, and communist opposition but loses rigged election and later flees to exile in Brazil. Portugal joins European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

   January and February: Estado Novo rocked by armed African insurrection in northern Angola, crushed by armed forces. Hijacking of Portuguese ocean liner by ally of Delgado, Captain Henrique Galvão. April: Salazar defeats attempted military coup and reshuffles cabinet with group of younger figures who seek to reform colonial rule and strengthen the regime's image abroad. 18 December: Indian army rapidly defeats Portugal's defense force in Goa, Damão, and Diu and incorporates Portugal's Indian possessions into Indian Union. January: Abortive military coup in Beja, Portugal.

  1965 February: General Delgado and his Brazilian secretary murdered and secretly buried near Spanish frontier by political police, PIDE.

  1968 August and September: Prime Minister Salazar, aged 79, suffers crippling stoke. President Tomás names former cabinet officer Marcello Caetano as Salazar's successor. Caetano institutes modest reforms in Portugal and overseas.

  1971 Caetano government ratifies amended constitution that allows slight devolution and autonomy to overseas provinces in Africa and Asia. Right-wing loyalists oppose reforms in Portugal. 25 April: Military coup engineered by Armed Forces Movement overthrows Estado Novo and establishes provisional government emphasizing democratization, development, and decolonization. Limited resistance by loyalists. President Tomás and Premier Caetano flown to exile first in Madeira and then in Brazil. General Spínola appointed president. September: Revolution moves to left, as President Spínola, thwarted in his program, resigns.

   March: Military coup by conservative forces fails, and leftist response includes nationalization of major portion of economy. Polarization between forces and parties of left and right. 25 November: Military coup by moderate military elements thwarts leftist forces. Constituent Assembly prepares constitution. Revolution moves from left to center and then right.

   March: Constitution ratified by Assembly of the Republic. 25 April: Second general legislative election gives largest share of seats to Socialist Party (PS). Former oppositionist lawyer, Mário Soares, elected deputy and named prime minister.

  1977-85 Political pendulum of democratic Portugal moves from center-left to center-right, as Social Democratic Party (PSD) increases hold on assembly and take office under Prime Minister Cavaco Silva. July

  1985 elections give edge to PSD who advocate strong free-enterprise measures and revision of leftist-generated 1976 Constitution, amended modestly in 1982.

  1986 January: Portugal joins European Economic Community (EEC).

  1987 July: General, legislative elections for assembly give more than 50 percent to PSD led by Prime Minister Cavaco Silva. For first time, since 1974, Portugal has a working majority government.

  1989 June: Following revisions of 1976 Constitution, reprivatization of economy begins, under PS government.

   January: Presidential elections, Mário Soares reelected for second term. July: General, legislative elections for assembly result in new PSD victory and majority government.

   January-July: Portugal holds presidency of the Council of the European Economic Community (EEC). December: Tariff barriers fall as fully integrated Common Market established in the EEC.

   November: Treaty of Maastricht comes into force. The EEC officially becomes the European Union (EU). Portugal is signatory with 11 other member-nations.

   October: General, legislative elections for assembly result in PS victory and naming of Prime Minister Guterres. PS replace PSD as leading political party. November: Excavations for Lisbon bank uncover ancient Phoenician, Roman, and Christian ruins.

   January: General, presidential elections; socialist Jorge Sampaio defeats PSD's Cavaco Silva and assumes presidency from Dr. Mário Soares. July: Community of Portuguese Languages Countries (CPLP) cofounded by Portugal and Brazil.

   May-September: Expo '98 held in Lisbon. Opening of Vasco da Gama Bridge across Tagus River, Europe's longest (17 kilometers/ 11 miles). June: National referendum on abortion law change defeated after low voter turnout. November: National referendum on regionaliza-tion and devolution of power defeated after another low voter turnout.

   October: General, legislative elections: PS victory over PSD lacks clear majority in parliament. Following East Timor referendum, which votes for independence and withdrawal of Indonesia, outburst of popular outrage in streets, media, and communications of Portugal approves armed intervention and administration of United Nations (and withdrawal of Indonesia) in East Timor. Portugal and Indonesia restore diplomatic relations. December: A Special Territory since 1975, Colony of Macau transferred to sovereignty of People's Republic of China.

   January-June: Portugal holds presidency of the Council of the EU; end of Discoveries Historical Commemoration Cycle (1988-2000).

   United Nations forces continue to occupy and administer former colony of East Timor, with Portugal's approval.

   January: General, presidential elections; PS president Sampaio reelected for second term. City of Oporto, "European City of Culture" for the year, hosts arts festival. December: Municipal elections: PSD defeats PS; socialist prime minister Guterres resigns; President Sampaio calls March parliamentary elections.

   1 January: Portugal enters single European Currency system. Euro currency adopted and ceases use of former national currency, the escudo. March: Parliamentary elections; PSD defeats PS and José Durão Barroso becomes prime minister. Military modernization law passed. Portugal holds chairmanship of Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

   May: Municipal law passed permitting municipalities to reorganize in new ways.

   June: Prime Minister Durão Barroso, invited to succeed Romano Prodi as president of EU Commission, resigns. Pedro Santana Lopes becomes prime minister. European Parliament elections held. Conscription for national service in army and navy ended. Mass grave uncovered at Academy of Sciences Museum, Lisbon, revealing remains of several thousand victims of Lisbon earthquake, 1755.

   February: Parliamentary elections; PS defeats PSD, socialists win first absolute majority in parliament since 1975. José Sócrates becomes prime minister.

   January: Presidential elections; PSD candidate Aníbal Cavaco Silva elected and assumes presidency from Jorge Sampaio. Portugal's national soccer team ranked 7th out of 205 countries by international soccer association. European Union's Bologna Process in educational reform initiated in Portugal.

   July-December: Portugal holds presidency of the Council of the European Union. For reasons of economy, Portugal announces closure of many consulates, especially in France and the eastern US. Government begins official inspections of private institutions of higher education, following scandals.

  2008 January: Prime Minister Sócrates announces location of new Lisbon area airport as Alcochete, on south bank of Tagus River, site of air force shooting range. February: Portuguese Army begins to receive new modern battle tanks (Leopard 2 A6). March: Mass protest of 85,000 public school (primary and secondary levels) teachers in Lisbon schools dispute recent educational policies of minister of education and prime minister.

SUBJECT AREA: Electricity, Land transport, Railways and locomotives

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Davidson, son of an Aberdeen merchant, attended Marischal College, Aberdeen, between 1819 and 1822: his studies included mathematics, mechanics and chemistry. He subsequently joined his father's grocery business, which from time to time received enquiries for yeast: to meet these, Davidson began to manufacture yeast for sale and from that start built up a successful chemical manufacturing business with the emphasis on yeast and dyes. About 1837 he started to experiment first with electric batteries and then with motors. He invented a form of electromagnetic engine in which soft iron bars arranged on the periphery of a wooden cylinder, parallel to its axis, around which the cylinder could rotate, were attracted by fixed electromagnets. These were energized in turn by current controlled by a simple commutaring device. Electric current was produced by his batteries. His activities were brought to the attention of Michael Faraday and to the scientific world in general by a letter from Professor Forbes of King's College, Aberdeen. Davidson declined to patent his inventions, believing that all should be able freely to draw advantage from them, and in order to afford an opportunity for all interested parties to inspect them an exhibition was held at 36 Union Street, Aberdeen, in October 1840 to demonstrate his "apparatus actuated by electro-magnetic power". It included: a model locomotive carriage, large enough to carry two people, that ran on a railway; a turning lathe with tools for visitors to use; and a small printing machine. In the spring of 1842 he put on a similar exhibition in Edinburgh, this time including a sawmill. Davidson sought support from railway companies for further experiments and the construction of an electromagnetic locomotive; the Edinburgh exhibition successfully attracted the attention of the proprietors of the Edinburgh 585\& Glasgow Railway (E \& GR), whose line had been opened in February 1842. Davidson built a full-size locomotive incorporating his principle, apparently at the expense of the railway company. The locomotive weighed 7 tons: each of its two axles carried a cylinder upon which were fastened three iron bars, and four electromagnets were arranged in pairs on each side of the cylinders. The motors he used were reluctance motors, the power source being zinc-iron batteries. It was named Galvani and was demonstrated on the E \& GR that autumn, when it achieved a speed of 4 mph (6.4 km/h) while hauling a load of 6 tons over a distance of 1 1/2 miles (2.4 km); it was the first electric locomotive. Nevertheless, further support from the railway company was not forthcoming, although to some railway workers the locomotive seems to have appeared promising enough: they destroyed it in Luddite reaction. Davidson staged a further exhibition in London in 1843 without result and then, the cost of battery chemicals being high, ceased further experiments of this type. He survived long enough to see the electric railway become truly practicable in the 1880s.

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SUBJECT AREA: Domestic appliances and interiors

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Frank Hornby left school at the age of 16 and worked as a clerk, at first for his father, a provision merchant, and later for D.H.Elliott, an importer of meat and livestock, for whom he became Managing Clerk. As a youth he was interested in engineering and in his own small workshop he became a skilled amateur mechanic. He made toys for his children and c.1900 he devised a constructional toy kit consisting of perforated metal strips which could be connected by bolts and nuts. He filed a patent application in January 1901 and, having failed to interest established toy manufacturers, he set up a small business in partnership with his employer, D.H. Elliott, who provided financial support. The kits were sold at first under the name of Mechanics Made Easy, but by 1907 the name Meccano had been registered as a trade mark. The business expanded rapidly and in 1908 Elliott withdrew from the partnership and Hornby continued on his own account, the company being incorporated as Meccano Ltd. Although parts for Meccano were produced at first by various manufacturers, Hornby soon acquired premises to produce all the components under his own control, and between 1910 and 1913 he established his own factory on a 5-acre (2-hectare) site at Binn's Road, Liverpool. The Meccano Magazine, a monthly publication with articles of general engineering interest, developed from a newsletter giving advice on the use of Meccano, and from the first issue in 1916 until 1924 was edited by Frank Hornby. In 1920 he introduced the clockwork Hornby trains, followed by the electric version five years later. These were gauge "0" (1 1/4 in./32 mm); the smaller gauge "00", or Hornby Dublo, was a later development. Another product of Meccano Ltd was the series of model vehicles known as Dinky toys, introduced in 1934.

Frank Hornby served as a Member of Parliament for the Everton Division of Liverpool from 1931 to 1935.

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SUBJECT AREA: Agricultural and food technology

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The son of the millwright James Meikle, who is credited with the introduction of the winnowing machine into Britain, Andrew Meikle followed in his father's footsteps. His inventive inclinations were first turned to developing his father's idea, and together with his own son George he built and patented a double-fan winnowing machine.

However, in the history of agricultural development Andrew Meikle is most famous for his invention of the threshing machine, patented in 1784. He had been presented with a model of a threshing mill designed by a Mr Ilderton of Northumberland, but after failing to make a full-scale machine work, he developed the concept further. He eventually built the first working threshing machine for a farmer called Stein at Kilbagio. The patent revolutionized farming practice because it displaced the back-breaking and soul-destroying labour of flailing the grain from the straw. The invention was of great value in Scotland and in northern England when the land was becoming underpopulated as a result of heavy industrialization, but it was bitterly opposed in the south of England until well into the nineteenth century. Although the introduction of the threshing machine led to the "Captain Swing" riots of the 1830s, in opposition to it, it shortly became universal.

Meikle's provisional patent in 1785 was a natural progression of earlier attempts by other millwrights to produce such a machine. The published patent is based on power provided by a horse engine, but these threshing machines were often driven by water-wheels or even by windmills. The corn stalks were introduced into the machine where they were fed between cast-iron rollers moving quite fast against each other to beat the grain out of the ears. The power source, whether animal, water or wind, had to cause the rollers to rotate at high speed to knock the grain out of the ears. While Meikle's machine was at first designed as a fixed barn machine powered by a water-wheel or by a horse wheel, later threshing machines became mobile and were part of the rig of an agricultural contractor.

In 1788 Meikle was awarded a patent for the invention of shuttered sails for windmills. This patent is part of the general description of the threshing machine, and whilst it was a practical application, it was superseded by the work of Thomas Cubitt.

At the turn of the century Meikle became a manufacturer of threshing machines, building appliances that combined the threshing and winnowing principles as well as the reciprocating "straw walkers" found in subsequent threshing machines and in conventional combine harvesters to the present day. However, he made little financial gain from his invention, and a public subscription organized by the President of the Board of Agriculture, Sir John Sinclair, raised £1,500 to support him towards the end of his life.

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