the+state+opening+of+parliament

SUBJECT AREA: Land transport, Railways and locomotives

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Vignoles, who was of Huguenot descent, was orphaned in infancy and brought up in the family of his grandfather, Dr Charles Hutton FRS, Professor of Mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. After service in the Army he travelled to America, arriving in South Carolina in 1817. He was appointed Assistant to the state's Civil Engineer and surveyed much of South Carolina and subsequently Florida. After his return to England in 1823 he established himself as a civil engineer in London, and obtained work from the brothers George and John Rennie.

In 1825 the promoters of the Liverpool \& Manchester Railway (L \& MR) lost their application for an Act of Parliament, discharged their engineer George Stephenson and appointed the Rennie brothers in his place. They in turn employed Vignoles to resurvey the railway, taking a route that would minimize objections. With Vignoles's route, the company obtained its Act in 1826 and appointed Vignoles to supervise the start of construction. After Stephenson was reappointed Chief Engineer, however, he and Vignoles proved incompatible, with the result that Vignoles left the L \& MR early in 1827.

Nevertheless, Vignoles did not sever all connection with the L \& MR. He supported John Braithwaite and John Ericsson in the construction of the locomotive Novelty and was present when it competed in the Rainhill Trials in 1829. He attended the opening of the L \& MR in 1830 and was appointed Engineer to two railways which connected with it, the St Helens \& Runcorn Gap and the Wigan Branch (later extended to Preston as the North Union); he supervised the construction of these.

After the death of the Engineer to the Dublin \& Kingstown Railway, Vignoles supervised construction: the railway, the first in Ireland, was opened in 1834. He was subsequently employed in surveying and constructing many railways in the British Isles and on the European continent; these included the Eastern Counties, the Midland Counties, the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyme \& Manchester (which proved for him a financial disaster from which he took many years to recover), and the Waterford \& Limerick. He probably discussed rail of flat-bottom section with R.L. Stevens during the winter of 1830–1 and brought it into use in the UK for the first time in 1836 on the London \& Croydon Railway: subsequently rail of this section became known as "Vignoles rail". He considered that a broader gauge than 4 ft 8½ in. (1.44 m) was desirable for railways, although most of those he built were to this gauge so that they might connect with others. He supported the atmospheric system of propulsion during the 1840s and was instrumental in its early installation on the Dublin \& Kingstown Railway's Dalkey extension. Between 1847 and 1853 he designed and built the noted multi-span suspension bridge at Kiev, Russia, over the River Dnieper, which is more than half a mile (800 m) wide at that point.

Between 1857 and 1863 he surveyed and then supervised the construction of the 155- mile (250 km) Tudela \& Bilbao Railway, which crosses the Cantabrian Pyrenees at an altitude of 2,163 ft (659 m) above sea level. Vignoles outlived his most famous contemporaries to become the grand old man of his profession.

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See also: Samuda, Joseph d'Aguilar

  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.

n. [þing], mod. form alþing, by dropping the inflective i; the gen., however, still remains unchanged, alþingis. The parliament or general assembly of the Icel. Commonwealth, invested with the supreme legislative and judicial power, consisting of the legislative lögrétta (q. v.), and the courts, v. dómr, fimtardómr, fjórðungsdómar; v. also goði, goðorð, lügsögumaðr, lögsaga, lögberg, and many other words referring to the constitution and functions of the alþingi. It was founded by Ulfljot about A. D. 930, Ib. ch. 3; and reformed by Thord Gellir A. D. 964, who instituted the courts and carried out the political divisions of Icel. into goðorð, fjórðungar, and þing, ch. 5. In the years 1272 and 1281 the alþing, to some extent, changed its old forms, in order to comply with the new state of things. In the year 1800 it was abolished altogether. A kind of parliament, under the old name alþingi, was again established in the year 1843, and sat at Reykjavík. Before the year 930 a general assembly was held in Kjalarnes, whence it was removed under the name of alþingi to the river Öxará, near to the mountain Ármannsfell. The much-debated passage in Hænsaþ. S. ch. 14—en þingit var þá undir Ármannsfelli—therefore simply means that the events referred to happened after the removal of the Kjalarnesping. The parliament at first met on the Thursday beginning the tenth week of the summer, which fell between the 11th and the 17th of June; by a law of the year 999 its opening was deferred to the next following Thursday, between the 18th and 24th of June, old style; after the union with Norway, or after A. D. 1272 or 1281, the time of meeting was further deferred to June 29. July 2 (Vis. B. V. M.) is hence called Þing-Maríumessa. The parliament lasted for a fortnight; the last day of the session, called vápnatak, because the weapons having been laid aside during the session were again taken (cp. Engl. wapentake), thus fell on the first or second Wednesday in July. As to the rules of the alþingi, vide esp. the first chapter of the Þ. Þ. Grág. (Kb.) i. p. 38 sqq. The most eventful years in the history of the alþingi are, A. D. 930 (foundation), 964 (reform), 1000 (introduction of Christianity), 1004 (institution of the Fifth Court), 1024 (repudiation of the attempt of the king of Norway to annex Iceland), 1096 (introduction of tithes), 1117 (first codification of laws), 1262–1264 (submission to the king of Norway), 1272 and 1281 (new codes introduced). In the year 1338 there was no alþing held because of civil disturbances, eytt alþingi ok þóttu þat údærni, Ann. s. a., Grág. (Þ. Þ.) Íslend. bók, Kristni S., Njála, Sturl., Árna b. S., Ó. H. (1853), ch. 114; of modern writers, vide esp. Maurer, Entsteh. des Ísl. Staates; Dasent, Introd. to Burnt Njal; some of the Introductions by Jón Sigurðsson in D. I., esp. that to the Gamli Sáttmáli of the year 1262.

COMPDS: alþingisdómr, alþingisför, alþingishelgun, alþingislof, alþingismál, alþingisnefna, alþingisreið, alþingissátt, alþingissáttarhald, alþingissekt, alþingissektarhald.

SUBJECT AREA: Land transport, Railways and locomotives

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George Stephenson was the son of the fireman of the pumping engine at Wylam colliery, and horses drew wagons of coal along the wooden rails of the Wylam wagonway past the house in which he was born and spent his earliest childhood. While still a child he worked as a cowherd, but soon moved to working at coal pits. At 17 years of age he showed sufficient mechanical talent to be placed in charge of a new pumping engine, and had already achieved a job more responsible than that of his father. Despite his position he was still illiterate, although he subsequently learned to read and write. He was largely self-educated.

In 1801 he was appointed Brakesman of the winding engine at Black Callerton pit, with responsibility for lowering the miners safely to their work. Then, about two years later, he became Brakesman of a new winding engine erected by Robert Hawthorn at Willington Quay on the Tyne. Returning collier brigs discharged ballast into wagons and the engine drew the wagons up an inclined plane to the top of "Ballast Hill" for their contents to be tipped; this was one of the earliest applications of steam power to transport, other than experimentally.

In 1804 Stephenson moved to West Moor pit, Killingworth, again as Brakesman. In 1811 he demonstrated his mechanical skill by successfully modifying a new and unsatisfactory atmospheric engine, a task that had defeated the efforts of others, to enable it to pump a drowned pit clear of water. The following year he was appointed Enginewright at Killingworth, in charge of the machinery in all the collieries of the "Grand Allies", the prominent coal-owning families of Wortley, Liddell and Bowes, with authorization also to work for others. He built many stationary engines and he closely examined locomotives of John Blenkinsop's type on the Kenton \& Coxlodge wagonway, as well as those of William Hedley at Wylam.

It was in 1813 that Sir Thomas Liddell requested George Stephenson to build a steam locomotive for the Killingworth wagonway: Blucher made its first trial run on 25 July 1814 and was based on Blenkinsop's locomotives, although it lacked their rack-and-pinion drive. George Stephenson is credited with building the first locomotive both to run on edge rails and be driven by adhesion, an arrangement that has been the conventional one ever since. Yet Blucher was far from perfect and over the next few years, while other engineers ignored the steam locomotive, Stephenson built a succession of them, each an improvement on the last.

During this period many lives were lost in coalmines from explosions of gas ignited by miners' lamps. By observation and experiment (sometimes at great personal risk) Stephenson invented a satisfactory safety lamp, working independently of the noted scientist Sir Humphry Davy who also invented such a lamp around the same time.

In 1817 George Stephenson designed his first locomotive for an outside customer, the Kilmarnock \& Troon Railway, and in 1819 he laid out the Hetton Colliery Railway in County Durham, for which his brother Robert was Resident Engineer. This was the first railway to be worked entirely without animal traction: it used inclined planes with stationary engines, self-acting inclined planes powered by gravity, and locomotives.

On 19 April 1821 Stephenson was introduced to Edward Pease, one of the main promoters of the Stockton \& Darlington Railway (S \& DR), which by coincidence received its Act of Parliament the same day. George Stephenson carried out a further survey, to improve the proposed line, and in this he was assisted by his 18-year-old son, Robert Stephenson, whom he had ensured received the theoretical education which he himself lacked. It is doubtful whether either could have succeeded without the other; together they were to make the steam railway practicable.

At George Stephenson's instance, much of the S \& DR was laid with wrought-iron rails recently developed by John Birkinshaw at Bedlington Ironworks, Morpeth. These were longer than cast-iron rails and were not brittle: they made a track well suited for locomotives. In June 1823 George and Robert Stephenson, with other partners, founded a firm in Newcastle upon Tyne to build locomotives and rolling stock and to do general engineering work: after its Managing Partner, the firm was called Robert Stephenson \& Co.

In 1824 the promoters of the Liverpool \& Manchester Railway (L \& MR) invited George Stephenson to resurvey their proposed line in order to reduce opposition to it. William James, a wealthy land agent who had become a visionary protagonist of a national railway network and had seen Stephenson's locomotives at Killingworth, had promoted the L \& MR with some merchants of Liverpool and had carried out the first survey; however, he overreached himself in business and, shortly after the invitation to Stephenson, became bankrupt. In his own survey, however, George Stephenson lacked the assistance of his son Robert, who had left for South America, and he delegated much of the detailed work to incompetent assistants. During a devastating Parliamentary examination in the spring of 1825, much of his survey was shown to be seriously inaccurate and the L \& MR's application for an Act of Parliament was refused. The railway's promoters discharged Stephenson and had their line surveyed yet again, by C.B. Vignoles.

The Stockton \& Darlington Railway was, however, triumphantly opened in the presence of vast crowds in September 1825, with Stephenson himself driving the locomotive Locomotion, which had been built at Robert Stephenson \& Co.'s Newcastle works. Once the railway was at work, horse-drawn and gravity-powered traffic shared the line with locomotives: in 1828 Stephenson invented the horse dandy, a wagon at the back of a train in which a horse could travel over the gravity-operated stretches, instead of trotting behind.

Meanwhile, in May 1826, the Liverpool \& Manchester Railway had successfully obtained its Act of Parliament. Stephenson was appointed Engineer in June, and since he and Vignoles proved incompatible the latter left early in 1827. The railway was built by Stephenson and his staff, using direct labour. A considerable controversy arose c. 1828 over the motive power to be used: the traffic anticipated was too great for horses, but the performance of the reciprocal system of cable haulage developed by Benjamin Thompson appeared in many respects superior to that of contemporary locomotives. The company instituted a prize competition for a better locomotive and the Rainhill Trials were held in October 1829.

Robert Stephenson had been working on improved locomotive designs since his return from America in 1827, but it was the L \& MR's Treasurer, Henry Booth, who suggested the multi-tubular boiler to George Stephenson. This was incorporated into a locomotive built by Robert Stephenson for the trials: Rocket was entered by the three men in partnership. The other principal entrants were Novelty, entered by John Braithwaite and John Ericsson, and Sans Pareil, entered by Timothy Hackworth, but only Rocket, driven by George Stephenson, met all the organizers' demands; indeed, it far surpassed them and demonstrated the practicability of the long-distance steam railway. With the opening of the Liverpool \& Manchester Railway in 1830, the age of railways began.

Stephenson was active in many aspects. He advised on the construction of the Belgian State Railway, of which the Brussels-Malines section, opened in 1835, was the first all-steam railway on the European continent. In England, proposals to link the L \& MR with the Midlands had culminated in an Act of Parliament for the Grand Junction Railway in 1833: this was to run from Warrington, which was already linked to the L \& MR, to Birmingham. George Stephenson had been in charge of the surveys, and for the railway's construction he and J.U. Rastrick were initially Principal Engineers, with Stephenson's former pupil Joseph Locke under them; by 1835 both Stephenson and Rastrick had withdrawn and Locke was Engineer-in-Chief. Stephenson remained much in demand elsewhere: he was particularly associated with the construction of the North Midland Railway (Derby to Leeds) and related lines. He was active in many other places and carried out, for instance, preliminary surveys for the Chester \& Holyhead and Newcastle \& Berwick Railways, which were important links in the lines of communication between London and, respectively, Dublin and Edinburgh.

He eventually retired to Tapton House, Chesterfield, overlooking the North Midland. A man who was self-made (with great success) against colossal odds, he was ever reluctant, regrettably, to give others their due credit, although in retirement, immensely wealthy and full of honour, he was still able to mingle with people of all ranks.

[br]

(-s, -ar), m.

1) opinion, judgement (dómr um dauðan hvern);

2) judicial decision, decree, judgement, sentence; stríðr dómr, a severe judgement; réttlátr í dómum, impartial as judge; segja upp dóm, to pronounce (pass) sentence;

3) court (of judicature), the body of judges; ganga í dóm, to go into court, take one’s seat in court; setja dóm, to set the court, to let the judges take their seats; sitja í dómi, to sit in judgement or in court; nefna dóm, to nominate (appoint) the judges; sœkja mál í dóm, to prosecute a lawsuit in court; hleypa upp dómi, to break up the court by force; bera fé í dóm, to bribe the court; ryðja dóm, to challenge the court; mál ferr í dóm, a case goes into court;

4) state, condition; heiðinn dómr, heathenism; kristinn dómr, the Christian faith;

5) heilagr dómr, helgir dómar, relic, relics;

6) in compds., -dom, -head, -hood (guðdómr, Godhead, manndómr, manhood, konungdómr, kingdom, &c.).

* * *

m. [Goth. dôms, which occurs once, but not in Ulf., who only uses the word in compds, and renders κρίσις and κριτής by siaua; A. S. dôm; Engl. doom and the termin. -dom; O. H. G. tom; known in Germ. only from the termin. - tum (-thum)].

I. a court of judgment, the body of judges, or the ‘court’ itself; the Icel. law of the Commonwealth distinguishes between several bodies of judges; in parliament there were Fjórðungs-dómar, ‘Quarter Courts,’ one for each of the political quarters of the country, Breiðfirðinga-d. or Vestfirðinga-d. for the West, Rangæinga-d. for the South, Eyfirðinga-d. or Norðlendinga-d. for the North, and Austfirðinga-d. for the East; these courts were instituted by Thord Gellir A. D. 964: at a later date a fifth High Court, called Fimtar-domr, the Fifth Court, was erected about A. D. 1004; vide Nj. ch. 98, Íb. ch. 8, Grág., esp. Þ. Þ. in the first chapters, and many passages in the Sagas, esp. Nj., Sturl.; and of mod. authors, Konrad Maurer in his essay, Die Entstehung des Icel. Staates, Ed. 1852, Dasent’s Introd. to Burnt Njal;—the treatise of Maurer is an indispensable guide in matters of the Fimtar-dómr. There are other courts on record, e. g. dyra-dómr, a court at the door of the defendant, vide Eb. ch. 18 and N. G. L.; nú skal dóm setja fyrir durum verjanda, en eigi á bak húsi; hann (viz. the plaintiff) skal setja dóm sinn eigi nær húsi en svá, at verjandi (the defender) megi setja sinn dóm milli dura ok dóms hans ok aka hlassi viðar milli dóms ok dura (vide dæma), N. G. L. i. 22: technical law-phrases as to the courts, setja dóm, to set the court, let the judges take their seats; dómar fara út, the courts ‘fare out,’ i. e. open; færa út dóm, dóma-útfærsla, i. e. the opening of the courts, Grág. i. 27,—the judges went out in a body in procession and took their seats; ryðja dóm, to challenge the court, Nj.; ganga at dómi, to go into court; nefna dóm, to name the judges (dóm-nefna); sitja í dómi, to sit in court; mál ferr í dóm, a case goes into court; hleypa upp dómi, to break up the court by force; bera fé í dóm, to bribe the court; dóms-afglapan, vide afglapan;—for all these phrases, vide Grág., Þ. Þ. in the first chapters, Nj., esp. ch. 140 sqq., Eg. ch. 57, N. G. L. i, Gþl. This sense is now almost obsolete, but it remains in the Manx demster and Scot. doomster.

II. doom, judgment, sentence, and this may be the original sense; dóms-atkvæði, dóms-orð, and dóms-uppsaga mean doom, sentence, as pronounced by the presiding judge, Nj., H. E. ii. 115, Sks. 159, Band. 6, Grág. i. 3, 83; dóma-dagr, doomsday, the day of judgment; Norna-dómr, the doom of the Norns, their weird, fate, Ýt. 23, Fm. 11; skapa-dómr, id.

β. judgment, opinion.

III. denoting state, condition, age, in words such as heiðin-dómr, Kristin-dómr, the heathen, Christian age, faith; konung-dómr, a kingdom; biskups-dómr, a bishopric, etc.; hefja ór heiðnum dómi, to lift out of heathendom, baptize, Sighvat.

2. helgir dómar, relics, Bs., H. E., Grág. ii. 165, Fms. i. 230, v. 143, Gpl. 70:—but helgidómr, Old Engl. halidom, Germ. heiligthum: leyndr d., mystery, μυστήριον of the N. T.; leynda dóma himnaríkis, Matth. xiii. 11; þenna leyndan dóm, Rom. xi. 25; sjáið, að eg segi yðr leyndan dóm, 1 Cor. xv. 51.

3. in many compds = Engl. -dom, -hood, -head; Guð-dómr, Godhead; mann-dómr, manhood,