Definition of Abandonment (Legal Term)

Abandonment is a legal term that has two chief meanings. In the field of property law, abandonment occurs when a person intentionally gives up all rights to something he or she owns. For example, if a person purposely throws away a ring, it has been abandoned. The first person to take possession of the ring becomes the new owner. But if a person loses a ring, even through carelessness, it has not been abandoned.

In family law, abandonment refers to the desertion of a husband, wife, or child without intention to support the person. Most states of the United States make it a crime for a parent to abandon a child. A father or mother who abandons a youngster may lose the right to raise the child. In the past, only men were legally responsible for the support of their families. Today, most states make men and women equally responsible for the support of their wife or husband and children.

Abandonment, also called desertion, has traditionally been grounds for divorce in the United States (see Desertion). But in the last half of the 1900's, all U.S. states legalized no-fault divorce, which requires only that one of the partners testify that the marriage has failed. As a result of no-fault divorce, few U.S. residents seek divorce on the ground of abandonment.

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The Life Story of Jose Abad Santos

Jose Abad Santos (1886-1942) was a Filipino lawyer who served as chief justice and secretary of state of the Philippines. Abad Santos was a close adviser to President Manuel L. Quezon, acting as administrator of the government after President Quezon left the country during World War II(1939-1945). Abad Santos was captured and executed by Japanese soldiers shortly after Quezon's departure.

Abad Santos trained as a lawyer on a government scholarship in the United States, at Northwestern University in Illinois and at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Upon his return to the Philippines, he was appointed to the Philippine bar as a court interpreter in 1911 and became assistant attorney at the Bureau of Justice in 1918. He served as an adviser to the first independence mission to the United States in 1919.

In 1922, Abad Santos was appointed undersecretary of justice, a position he held for three months until his promotion to secretary of justice in April 1922. In this position, he worked to improve the rights of prisoners. In 1932, Abad Santos was appointed associate justice of the Philippines. He left this position in 1938 to serve his third term as secretary of justice. In December 1941 he was appointed chief justice of the Philippines.

In 1941, President Quezon and several members of the government, including Abad Santos, fled from Manila, the capital, to the nearby island of Corregidor. In the government in exile, Abad Santos remained chief justice and secretary of justice, and was also appointed the acting secretary of finance, agriculture, and commerce.

President Quezon left for the United States in March 1942, but Abad Santos remained in the Philippines, taking over responsibility for the administration of the government. Abad Santos was captured by Japanese soldiers on April 11, 1942. He refused to cooperate with the Japanese and was executed on May 2, 1942.

Jose Abad Santos was born on Feb. 19, 1886, in San Fernando, Pampanga, in the Philippines. He served as president of the Philippine Bar Association. His charity work included work with the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA).

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The Life Story of Sani Abacha

Sani Abacha (1943-1998) was a Nigerian Army general, seized the presidency of Nigeria in a military coup in 1993 and ruled the country as head of a military dictatorship until 1998.

Abacha was commissioned as an officer in the Nigerian Army in 1963. In 1966, Abacha was one of a group of northern officers who brought down the military government of General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and supported the leadership of General Yakubu Gowon. Abacha fought for the Nigerian government in the war against the breakaway region of Biafra (1967-1970). In 1975, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Five years later, he became a brigadier and took command of Nigeria's 9th Mechanized Brigade.

In 1983, in a military take-over led by General Mohammed Buhari, Abacha became commander of the 2nd Mechanized Division and a member of Nigeria's Supreme Military Council. He went on to become a major general in 1984.

In 1985, Abacha helped overthrow Buhari and supported the dictatorship of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. Under Babangida, Abacha became chief of staff of the Army and then defense minister and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. He became a lieutenant general in 1987.

In 1993, the Army allowed elections for a new civilian government. Chief Moshood Abiola won the election for president. However, Babangida's regime refused to accept the election result and, in the riots that followed, Babangida lost power. Abacha dismissed the interim civilian government, led by Chief Ernest Shonekan, and took control of Nigeria in November 1993. Although he promised an early return to civilian government, the promise was never kept. In 1994, Abacha banned political activities and imprisoned his political opponents, including Chief Abiola. He also imprisoned human rights activists and striking workers. In 1995, the Abacha regime executed or imprisoned a large number of military officers said to have been involved in a coup attempt. In November 1995, Abacha provoked international condemnation when he executed the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other politically active members of the Ogoni people. The action resulted in the suspension of Nigeria's membership of the Commonwealth of Nations and the stopping of international aid to the country.

During Abacha's regime, corruption was rampant and Nigeria's economy suffered. Abacha enforced his will through terror campaigns and shootings. In 1996, he reacted to criticism from President Nelson Mandela of South Africa by forbidding the Nigerian national soccer team's defense of their African championship title in Mandela's country. Abacha also ignored pleas from Pope John Paul II for the release of a group of named political prisoners. After Abacha died, reportedly of a heart attack, on June 8, 1998, he was succeeded by another military leader, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

Sani Abacha was born on Sept. 20, 1943, in Kano, northern Nigeria. He was a member of the Kanuri ethnic group, who live in northeastern Nigeria. He went to school in Kano and then joined the Nigerian Army. He received his military training at the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna and the Mons Defence Officers' Cadet Training College, Aldershot, in England.

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Interesting Facts about Abacá

Abacá is a plant grown in Borneo, the Philippines, and Sumatra for its fiber. The plant grows about 20 feet (6 meters) high and has large oblong leaves. The leaves grow from the trunk of the plant, and the bases of the leaves form a sheath (covering) around the trunk. These sheaths contain the valuable fiber. The coarse fibers range from 5 to 11 1/2 feet (1.5 to 3.5 meters) in length.

They are composed primarily of the plant materials cellulose, lignin, and pectin. After the fiber has been separated, it is sold under the name manila. The fiber gets its name from the major city of the Philippines.

Growers harvest abacá fields every three to eight months. They cut down the mature plants, but allow the roots to remain in the ground. New plants grow from the old roots. The leaf sheaths are detached in strips. The pulp is scraped off, leaving only the fiber strands, which are twisted into rope. Abacá fiber is strong and has great natural resistance to water, sun, and wind. In addition, abacá is also used for paper products.

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AARP, World's Largest Private Nonprofit Membership Organization

AARP is one of the largest private nonprofit membership organizations in the world. Its name is a shortened form of its original title, the American Association of Retired Persons. AARP has more than 40 million members, who must be 50 years old or older. Thousands of volunteers also assist AARP in educational and community service programs.

AARP's main purpose is to address the needs of older people in the United States. It does this by providing them with education and services and by representing their interests before government agencies and other public bodies. AARP also works to improve the lives of older people by promoting their independence and dignity and by encouraging them to pursue personal goals. AARP offers members a number of benefits, including group health insurance, legal services, and a mail-order pharmacy. The organization's magazine, AARP The Magazine, is the largest circulation magazine in the United States.

Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired educator, founded the American Association of Retired Persons in 1958. The organization changed its name to AARP in 1998. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C. The AARP website at http://www.aarp.org provides additional information.

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Hank Aaron, Best Hitter in the History of Baseball

Hank Aaron is one of the best hitters in the history of baseball. For more than 30 years, Aaron held the major league career record for regular-season home runs, with 755. He hit his 715th home run, which broke Babe Ruth's record of 714 homers, on April 8, 1974. Aaron’s record stood until Aug. 7, 2007, when it was broken by Barry Bonds.

Aaron played for the Milwaukee (later Atlanta) Braves of the National League from 1954 through 1974. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers of the American League following the 1974 season and retired as a player after the 1976 season. Aaron played right field most of his career but also played left field, center field, and first base. He was a designated hitter his final two seasons.

Aaron led the National League in home runs in 1957, 1963, 1966, and 1967. He won the league batting championship twice. He also holds the major league career record for runs batted in—2,297. Aaron led the National League in runs batted in four times. He received the 1976 Spingarn Medal, and he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. Henry Louis Aaron was born on Feb. 5, 1934, in Mobile, Alabama.

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Alvar Aalto, Finnish Architect, Town Planner, and Furniture Designer

Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) was a Finnish architect, town planner, and furniture designer. He gained fame for buildings that imaginatively combine modern design principles with traditional materials, especially wood. Aalto often used flowing, wavy forms that marked a strong departure from the strict geometric lines favored by other modern architects.

Aalto designed his first two major works in the late 1920's. They were a tuberculosis sanitarium in Paimio, Finland, near Turku, and a municipal library in Viipuri, Finland (now Vyborg, in Russia). He designed birchwood tables and chairs for these projects that made him famous as a furniture designer. His other buildings include a number of civic, university, and apartment buildings. The Hall of Residence (1947-1949), at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with its curved facade, is one of his most distinguished buildings in North America. The Aalto Theater, an opera house he designed in Essen, Germany, opened in 1988, after his death.

Aalto's projects as a town planner include a town center in Seinajoki, Finland, that was completed in 1966. The center features a series of small wedge-shaped buildings, largely made of wood. Aalto was born on Feb. 3, 1898, in Kuortane, near Vaasa. He died on May 11, 1976.

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Facts about Aachen, the Westernmost City in Germany

Aachen is the westernmost city in Germany. It sits near the junction of the borders of Belgium and the Netherlands. The city is also known by its French name, Aix-la-Chapelle, after the Palatine Chapel in Aachen Cathedral.

Roman soldiers established a settlement on the site of Aachen shortly after the birth of Christ. The city grew up around the Roman baths and eventually became the capital of the Frankish empire of Charlemagne. The magnificent Aachen Cathedral was begun by Charlemagne during the 700's and contains his tomb. More than 30 German kings were crowned there. The Gothic Rathaus, or city hall, dates from 1330 and houses a number of art treasures. Each year, thousands of people visit the city's resort, Bad Aachen, where hot mineral springs are believed to cure some ailments. Aachen's factories produce machinery, metal products, and textiles. The city is famous for its printen (spicy ginger bread) and has a number of museums, theaters, and universities.

A devastating fire in 1656 caused much of the city to be rebuilt. The Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818 helped preserve the peace following the Napoleonic Wars. During World War II (1939-1945), Aachen was the first German city taken by the Allies. Much of the city was destroyed in the fighting, but the Rathaus and Cathedral survived. Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was born in Aachen.

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What is A.E.F. (American Expeditionary Forces)?

A.E.F. is the abbreviation for the American Expeditionary Forces sent to Europe during World War I (1914-1918). The A.E.F. was the first United States army ever sent to Europe. General John J. Pershing trained and led the A.E.F. from a small group of regulars in 1917 to a force of 2 million men by the end of the war.

American troops reached the Western Front in France in October 1917 and quickly suffered their first killed and wounded. The first major action involving the A.E.F. occurred on April 20, 1918, near Saint-Mihiel in Lorraine. By mid-summer, American troops were committed in larger and larger numbers, stopping a German attack at Château-Thierry and launching their own attacks at Belleau Wood and Cantigny. By July 4, the A.E.F. was 1 million strong, and 250,000 more were arriving every month. On September 12, the A.E.F. led a victorious offensive at Saint-Mihiel. Exactly two weeks later, they launched the massive Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the U.S. Army's largest battle up to that time. The A.E.F. continued to fight until the war's end on November 11.

The soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen, and others of the A.E.F.—collectively known as the “Doughboys”—reached Europe in time to rally the Allies and provide sufficient strength and advantage to assure victory. They succeeded at a price, however, suffering 53,402 killed in action and another 63,114 dead of other causes—nearly half from influenza. Another 204,002 were wounded in action.

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Facts about A cappella

A cappella is a term describing choral singing without instrumental accompaniment. A cappella, or alla cappella, is an Italian phrase meaning "in the chapel style." Some music historians believe that a cappella originally described the unaccompanied choral singing that took place in the Sistine Chapel, in the Vatican in Rome, during the 1500's. The singers were performing music by composers such as Giovanni Palestrina (see Palestrina, Giovanni).

However, composers such as Josquin Desprez had been writing music for unaccompanied voices in the late 1400's. For hundreds of years, the term referred only to unaccompanied sacred music, such as motets (a vocal composition intended for use in a church service). However, since the 1800's, a cappella has been used to describe all types of unaccompanied choral or group singing of both religious and nonreligious works.

Typical a cappella forms include church motets and psalms, and some folk song arrangements, English madrigals and glees, and romantic part songs of the 1800's and 1900's. Part songs are written for two or more performers. Each singer has a different part, or two or more performers sing each part. Most such songs written before 1600 have parts for four to six singers and are sung a cappella.

The spirituals developed by African slaves on plantations in the southern United States during the 1700's and 1800's added a new dimension to the a cappella style. In many such spirituals, voices were made to imitate instruments. These a cappella arrangements have their origins in African music, where the voice may even be used to imitate a drum. Such authentic African a cappella performances can be heard today in the work of groups such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, from South Africa.

During the 1900's, barbershop music emerged as a particularly American form of a cappella singing. Barbershop quartet singing is a style of harmony using four voices that form a complete four-part chord on almost every note (see Barbershop quartet singing). Jazz, blues, and gospel singing all used a cappella arrangements alongside accompanied singing, using a form of musical part-writing called close harmony. In close harmony, the total span of musical pitches from the highest to the lowest voices in a piece is normally confined to about two octaves. Close harmony arrangements are thus often written for men's voices, women's voices, or for a mixture of baritone, tenor, and alto voices.

A tradition of a capella singing dates back several centuries in the United Kingdom. During the late 1900's and early 2000's, a capella singing also became popular at United States colleges and universities.

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