Van C. Gessel
American academic
Van Craig Gessel (born August 1, 1950, Compton, California) is a former Dean of the BYU College of Humanities at Brigham Young University. He also served as chair of the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at BYU. He has become renowned for his work as the primary translator for Japanese novelist Endo Shusaku. He is also a co-editor of several Japanese translations including "The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature" (Volume 1 published in 2005, Volume 2 in 2007).
Biography.
Gessel is a graduate of the University of Utah from which he received a bachelor's degree and Columbia University from which he received a PhD in Japanese literature in 1979. He has taught as a faculty member at Columbia University, Notre Dame, UC Berkeley, and Brigham Young University. He has served as a bishop, stake president, and the president of the Portland, Oregon Mission (2005-2008) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gessel and his wife Elizabeth have three children. In 2016, Gessel received a rare commendation from the Foreign Minister of Japan for "outstanding contributions to mutual understanding and goodwill between Japan and other nations". On April 29, 2018, Gessel was honored by the Emperor of Japan with the Order of the Rising Sun for his outstanding work in Japanese literature, promoting mutual understanding between the United States and Japan. Gessel was awarded the Lindsley and Masao Miyoshi Translation Prize in 2020-2021 for lifetime achievement as a translator of modern Japanese fiction.
As the primary translator for novelist Endo Shusaku Gessel has translated nine novels/story collections from Japanese to English and consulted on the adaptation film by Martin Scorsese, "Silence".
References.
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Compton, California
City in California, United States
Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporate. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 95,740. It is known as the "Hub City" due to its alleged geographic centrality in Los Angeles County, though it is actually near the southern end of the county. Neighborhoods in Compton include Sunny Cove, Leland, downtown Compton, and Richland Farms.
History.
The Tongva inhabited the Los Angeles Basin.
The Spanish Empire had expanded into this area when the Viceroy of New Spain commissioned Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo to explore the Pacific Ocean in 1542–1543. In 1767, the area became part of the Province of the Californias (), and the area was explored by the Portolá expedition in 1769–1770. In 1784, the Spanish Crown deeded Rancho San Pedro, a tract of over , to soldier Juan José Domínguez. Domínguez's descendants partitioned the land amongst family members, sold parcels to newly arriving settlers, and relinquished some when validating their legal claim with the Mexican government at in 1828, and with the United States government through a patent validating in 1858. The Domínguez family name is still applied throughout the area, including the Dominguez Rancho Adobe historical landmark, in the unincorporated community of Rancho Dominguez, located between the cities of Compton, Long Beach and Carson. The tree that marked the original northern boundary of the rancho still stands at the corner of Poppy and Short streets.
In 1867, Griffith Dickenson Compton led a group of 30 pioneers to the area. These families had traveled by wagon train south from Stockton, California, in search of ways to earn a living other than the rapid exhaustion of gold fields. Originally named Gibsonville, after one of the tract owners, it was later called Comptonville. However, to avoid confusion with the Camptonville located in Yuba County, the name was shortened to Compton. Compton's earliest settlers were faced with terrible hardships as they farmed the land in bleak weather to get by with just the barest subsistence. The weather continued to be harsh, rainy and cold, and fuel was difficult to find. To gather firewood it was necessary to travel to mountains close to Pasadena. The round trip took almost a week. Many in the Compton party wanted to relocate to a friendlier climate and settle down, but as there were two general stores within traveling distance—one in the pueblo of Los Angeles, the other in Wilmington—they eventually decided to stay put.
By 1887, the settlers realized it was time to make improvements to the local government. A series of town meetings were held to discuss incorporation of their little town. Griffith D. Compton donated his land to incorporate and create the city of Compton in 1889, but he did stipulate that a certain acreage be zoned solely for agriculture and named Richland Farms. In January 1888, a petition supporting the incorporation of Compton was forwarded to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who in turn forwarded the petition to the State Legislature. On May 11, 1888, the city of Compton was incorporated with a population of 5000 people. The first City Council meeting was held on May 14, 1888.
In 1890, a series of votes were held by the residents of Compton, with the aim of shedding significant portions of the city. By the end of the year, Compton was down to only eighty acres of land, with five remaining voters residing within that territory. Due to the limited number of people able to fill positions within the city government, Compton effectively ceased to exist as a functioning city. By 1906, lawyers Emmett Wilson and E.T. Sherer filed suits to nullify the 1890 elections, which in turn restored Compton to a size of 600 acres. Compton was reborn, with elections held to fill open positions.
The ample residential lots of Richland Farms gave residents enough space to raise a family, and food to feed them, along with building a barn, and caring for livestock. The farms attracted the black families who had begun migrating from the rural South in the 1950s, and there they found their 'home away from home'. Compton could not support large-scale agricultural business, but it did give the residents the opportunity to work the land for their families.
The 1920s saw the opening of the Compton Airport. Compton Junior College was founded and city officials moved to a new City Hall on Alameda Street. On March 10, 1933, a destructive earthquake caused many casualties: schools were destroyed and there was major damage to the central business district. While it would eventually be home to a large black population, in 1930 there was only one black resident.
From the 1920s through the early 1940s, the Compton area was home to a sizable Japanese American population, a large proportion of whom were farmers. Shortly after President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, Compton residents of Japanese descent were forcibly removed from their homes and interned for the duration of World War II. Most were initially detained at the Santa Anita Assembly Center; they were later transferred to and incarcerated at Manzanar and other internment centers, called "Relocation Centers."
In the 1950s, middle-class black families began moving into the area, mostly on the west side. Compton grew quickly throughout the decade. This is partially due to its proximity to Watts, where there was an established black population. The eastern side of the city was predominantly white until the 1970s. Despite being located in the middle of a major metropolitan area, thanks to the legacy of Griffith D. Compton, there still remains one small pocket of agriculture from its earliest years.
During the 1950s and 1960s, after the Supreme Court declared all racially exclusive housing covenants (title deeds) unconstitutional in the case "Shelley v. Kraemer", the first black families moved to the area. Compton's growing black population was still largely ignored and neglected by the city's elected officials. Centennial High School was finally built to accommodate a burgeoning student population. A black man first ran for City Council in 1958, and the first black councilman was elected in 1961.
In 1969, Douglas Dollarhide became the mayor, the first black man elected mayor of any metropolitan city in California. Two African Americans and one Mexican-American were also elected to the local school board. Four years later, in 1973, Doris A. Davis defeated Dollarhide's bid for re-election to become the first female black mayor of a metropolitan American city. By the early 1970s, the city had one of the largest concentrations of African Americans in the country, at over sixty five percent. In 2013, Aja Brown, age 31, became the city's youngest mayor to date; she was re-elected in 2017.
For many years, Compton was a much sought-after suburb for the black middle class of Los Angeles. This past affluence is reflected in the area's appearance: Compton's streets are lined with relatively spacious and attractive single family houses. However, several factors have contributed to Compton's gradual decline. One of the most significant factors was a steady erosion of its tax base, something that was already sparse due to limited commercial properties. In later years, there were middle-class whites who fled to the newly incorporated cities of Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Paramount and Norwalk in the late 1950s. These nearby cities remained largely white early on, despite integration. This white middle class flight accelerated following the 1965 Watts Riots and the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
By the late 1960s, middle-class and upper-middle-class African Americans found other areas to be more attractive to them. Some were unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County such as Ladera Heights, View Park and Windsor Hills, and others were cities such as Inglewood and Carson. Carson was particularly significant, because it had successfully thwarted attempts at annexation by neighboring Compton. The city opted instead for incorporation in 1968; notably, its black population was actually more affluent than its white population. As a newer city, it also offered more favorable tax rates and lower crime.
Geography and climate.
According to the United States Census Bureau's 2020 data, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (1.03%) is water.
Compton is bordered by the unincorporated Willowbrook on the north and northwest, the unincorporated West Compton on the west, the city of Carson on the southwest, the unincorporated Rancho Dominguez on the south, the city of Long Beach on the southeast, the city of Paramount and the unincorporated East Compton on the east, and by the city of Lynwood on the northeast.
East Compton.
East Compton, also known as East Rancho Dominguez, is a mostly industrial unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP). The population was 15,135 according to the 2010 Census. East Rancho Dominguez is an accepted city name according to the USPS, and shares the 90221 ZIP Code with Compton. Its sphere of influence is the city of Compton, which has tried to annex East Rancho Dominguez, but business and property owners in the area have opposed the annexation.
Demographics.
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Compton first appeared as a city in the 1870 U.S. Census.
2020 census.
The U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program (PEP), updated annually, reported that the City of Compton has a population of 91,988 as of its 2022 estimate. The following household information is based on 5-year census estimates between 2018 and 2022:
No Compton households reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multilingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household. 83.1% of the residents of Compton are U.S. citizens.
2010.
The 2010 United States census reported that Compton had a population of 96,455. The population density was . The racial makeup of Compton was 31,688 (32.9%) Black; 24,942 (25.9%) White, (0.8% Non-Hispanic White); 655 (0.7%) Native American; 292 (0.3%) Asian; 718 (0.7%) Pacific Islander; 34,914 (36.2%) from other races; and 3,246 (3.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 62,669 persons (65.0%).
The Census reported that 95,700 people (99.2% of the population) lived in households, 643 (0.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 112 (0.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 23,062 households, out of which 13,376 (58.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 10,536 (45.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 6,373 (27.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,354 (10.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,725 (7.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 158 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,979 households (12.9%) were made up of individuals, and 1,224 (5.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 4.15. There were 19,263 families (83.5% of all households); the average family size was 4.41.
The age distribution of the population was as follows: 31,945 people (33.1%) under the age of 18, 11,901 people (12.3%) aged 18 to 24, 26,573 people (27.5%) aged 25 to 44, 18,838 people (19.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 7,198 people (7.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.
There were 24,523 housing units at an average density of , of which 12,726 (55.2%) were owner-occupied, and 10,336 (44.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.9%. 53,525 people (55.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 42,175 people (43.7%) lived in rental housing units.
During 2009–2013, Compton has a median household income of $42,953, with 26.3% of the population living below the federal poverty line.
Crime.
Following the Watts riots in 1965, crime in Compton rose sharply. Although the city was largely exempt from the destruction of the 1965 riot, it prompted middle-class residents to flee over the next few years. By 1969, it had the highest crime rate in the state of California.
In "Black, Brown, and White: Stories Straight Outta Compton", Lynne Isbell and two friends from other ethnic backgrounds have written about their lives growing up in Compton during the 1960s and early 1970s. They tell how Compton changed from a mostly white town to a mostly black one and became known as "the Murder Capital of the United States".
Compton's violent reputation reached the national spotlight in the late 1980s with the rise of local gangsta rap groups Compton's Most Wanted and N.W.A, the latter of whom released the album "Straight Outta Compton" in 1989. The city became notorious for gang violence, primarily caused by the Bloods and Crips. After years of decline in crime, Compton's murder rate skyrocketed in 2004 with racial conflicts between Blacks and Latinos.
2005 was the city's deadliest year on record when the city murder rate reached 72 killings with a total population of 90,000 residents. The spike was the highest since 1991, when the city had more than 100,000 residents. The rise in homicides frightened residents who had long lived with high levels of gang violence but had seen a downturn in violent crime in recent years.
In 2013, the homicide rate was 36.8 per 100,000 residents, a decrease from the mid-2000s peak. Guns are used in the vast majority of homicides in Compton. Between 2000 and 2016, 91.5% were killed with guns compared to the national average of 67.7%. In 2015, there was a record low of 15 homicides while the homicide rate in the rest of the US increased. In recent years, homicides have increased while remaining well below the 1980s and 90s, with 32 in 2021.
The neighborhood lost residents with the worsening safety problems and, after the 1992 riots in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, many African Americans left the city.
Although "U.S. News & World Report" did not list Compton in the 2011 "11 Most Dangerous Cities" for overall crime rates in the United States, the "CQ Press", using data from the FBI's annual report of crime statistics "Crime in the United States 2010," which ranked Compton as having the eighth highest crime rate in the country.
Compton experienced a drop in homicide in the late 1990s and 2000s. Crime has stabilized overall since the 2010s. The decrease in homicides has been attributed to various factors, including changing demographics, faster response times by police (reducing shots fired) and better medical care (increasing survival rates). Aja Brown, mayor elected in 2013, helped to settle turf wars between the gangs, which has further reduced the homicide rate.
Mexican and Central American immigrants have increasingly replaced African Americans who moved to safer cities.
"Gifts for Guns".
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department began the annual "Gifts for Guns" program within that same year where the citizens of Compton were given the option to turn in firearms and receive a $50–$100 check for various goods in an effort to combat gun violence. People have turned in about 7,000 guns over the last few years, KABC-TV reported. The program's success has prompted the LASD to expand the program countywide.
Homelessness.
In 2022, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count counted 644 homeless individuals in Compton.
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Mapping L.A..
Mexican was the most common ancestry according to the 2000 census. Mexico and El Salvador were the most common foreign places of birth in 2000.
Economy.
In 1994, Compton was designated as an "Entrepreneurial Hot Spot" by Cognetics, Inc., an independent economic research firm. Compton made the national list for best places to start and grow a business, and ranked #2 in Los Angeles County out of a field of 88 cities. The city's Planning and Economic Development department provides a business assistance program consisting of a comprehensive mix of resources to small business owners and entrepreneurs. The grocery chains Ralphs and Food 4 Less, subsidiaries of Kroger, are headquartered in Compton. Gelson's Market, a subsidiary of Arden Group, Inc., a holding company, is also based there.
Compton is surrounded by multiple freeways that provide access to destinations throughout the region. The Long Beach and Los Angeles Ports are less than 20 minutes from downtown Compton, providing access to international destinations for customers and suppliers. The Alameda Corridor, a passageway for 25% of all U.S. waterborne international trade, runs directly through Compton from north to south.
The City of Compton's Parks and Recreation Department operates and maintains a total of 16 playgrounds for a combined of active park space. Facilities include six community centers, seven neighborhood parks, two walking parks, two competition-size swimming pools, three regulation size gymnasiums, a skate park, Jackie Robinson Baseball Stadium, Nine-Hole Par 3 Golf Course, and the two-story Douglas F. Dollarhide Community Center.
Arts and culture.
Some episodes of the sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" took place in Compton because Will Smith's friend, DJ Jazzy Jeff, lived there. Many rap artists' careers started in Compton, including N.W.A (Eazy-E, MC Ren, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella), Coolio, DJ Quik, 2nd II None, Hi-C, Tweedy Bird Loc, The Game, Kendrick Lamar, YG, Vince Staples, Roddy Ricch, and Compton's Most Wanted. In their lyrics, they rap about the streets and their lives in Compton and the areas nearby. Steve Lacy and Blues musician Keb' Mo' are also from Compton.
Compton has been referred to on numerous occasions in gang affiliation, gangsta rap and g-funk songs, especially in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, and so has attained an association not only with gang violence and crime, but with hip hop music as well. The city is known as the home of many famous rappers. The Compton Swap Meet is featured prominently in the remix version of the 1995 #1 song California Love.

Championed by the Compton Entertainment Chamber of Commerce, the city of Compton honored Musical Entertainer rapper Eazy-E, with a symbolic street in his stage name. On November 22, 2023, the 100 block of Auto Drive South, which runs off Alameda Street and into the Gateway Towne Center shopping plaza was renamed to Eazy Street. It is also a reference to a song of the same name.

Eazy-E grew into the music industry as part the N.W.A group that spawned hip hop icons, such as Easy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Mc Ren, DJ Yella and many others. In 1989, N.W.A released the colossal hit song Straight Outta Compton, which is the incontestable communicable global catchphrase for the City of Compton. [Eric Lynn Wright, was born September 7, 1964, in Compton, and passed away March 26, 1995.]
Many NBA players attended high school in the city as well. Arron Afflalo attended Centennial High School; DeMar DeRozan attended Compton High School; and Tayshaun Prince, Tyson Chandler, Brandon Jennings, Cedric Ceballos and the late Dennis Johnson attended Dominguez High. Actor/comedian Paul Rodriguez Sr. also attended Dominguez High.
Although an inner suburb of Los Angeles, Compton has seen an increase of middle-class residents in the last few years, due to its affordable housing. With the influx of immigrants and the demographic shift in ethnic population, it was after the 2000 U.S. Census that Latinos were recognized as the majority.
Compton has evolved into a younger population; the median age of people living in Compton was 25 at the time of the census survey in 2010; the United States average at the time was 35.3.
Compton is home to the Compton Cricket Club, the only all American-born exhibition cricket team. Its founder, Ted Hayes, said, "The aim of playing cricket is to teach people how to respect themselves and respect authority so they stop killing each other." Tam's Burgers has been seen as a symbol of the city.
Historical landmarks.
Angeles Abbey Memorial Park contains examples of Byzantine, Moorish and Spanish architectural styles. The cemetery was built in 1923 and survived the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.
Compton Airport opened on May 10, 1924. Located on Alondra Boulevard, the airport offers flight training, has accommodations for more than 200 planes, and is home to several aviation clubs.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial sits in a plaza surrounded by the Civic Center, Compton Court House, Compton City Hall, and Compton Public Library.
The Eagle Tree is a natural boundary marker of Rancho San Pedro dating to 1858. It contains a historic marker and plaque placed by the Daughters of the Golden West in 1947.
The 'Heritage House' was built in 1869 and is a California Historical Landmark, and a Los Angeles County Historic Landmark. The oldest house in Compton, it was restored as a tribute to early settlers. It is an important landmark of Compton's rich history. At the corner of Myrrh and Willowbrook near the Civic Center Plaza, the Heritage House is a rustic-looking home that will eventually have a museum detailing early life in Compton. For now it shows the stark difference between the simple life of the 19th century and the fast-paced urban environment of the 21st. The oldest tree in Compton was the Eagle Tree, which marked the boundary of Rancho San Pedro. It fell in 2022.
Woodlawn Memorial Park contains the graves of 17 American Civil War veterans.
Government.
Municipal government.
After Lionel Cade, an accountant, assumed the mayor's office in 1977, one of the first orders of business was to conduct an audit of the city's finances. It was discovered that the city was $2 million in debt. The administration was able to eliminate the huge deficit in one year by making cuts in every department. It also aggressively sought federal funding to help pay for essential services, which was at least partially effective. However, with the passage of the property tax cutting initiative Proposition 13 by California voters, Compton was one of the cities hardest hit, since it had already eliminated most of the excess from its budget.
Corruption.
Civic corruption has also been a widespread problem in Compton.
In 2000, the Compton Police Department was disbanded amidst controversy and charges of corruption. The police department claims it was disbanded after investigations of gang activity led to then-Compton Mayor Omar Bradley. Once this became public, the mayor charged it was the police who were themselves corrupt, and he disbanded the police department. Omar Bradley has since faced serious corruption charges.
Eric J. Perrodin, the city's former mayor, was investigated in 2007 by the California State Bar for threatening to violate a local newspaper's First Amendment rights after the paper printed an investigative report relative to a contract granted to one of Perrodin's associates. Following the report, Perrodin threatened to yank the city's advertising contract with the paper. A Times review of city records shows Perrodin was absent from city board and commission meetings nearly two-thirds of the time between July 2009 and July 2010.
Current recall efforts are a direct response from residents of the accusations of corruption of the city's mayor and council. Some of the accusations involve the issuing of city contracts to personal donors and friends. One particular accusation involved the trash and recycling contract of the city to Pacific Coast Waste and Recycling LLC in 2007.
Notices of intent to circulate recall petitions against four Compton city officials are expected to be filed in August 2010, by a group of citizens who claim corruption in Compton is being ignored by the same authorities who were shocked by the recent salary controversy in the city of Bell.
Compton had discharged its city manager, in 2010, the second time in three years. "The Los Angeles Times" says the City Council voted in a closed meeting, September 9, 2010, to fire Charles Evans. "The Times" says council members refused to discuss the reasons for their decision. Evans took office in 2007, after the dismissal of previous City Manager Barbara Kilroy. City Controller Willie Norfleet will take over until a permanent manager can be named.
In July 2021, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters called for a Department of Justice inquiry into whether a deputy gang called the Executioners was operating out of the Compton station of the LASD.
State and federal representation.
In the state legislature, Compton is in the Senate District, represented by Democrat Laura Richardson, and in the Assembly District, represented by Democrat Mike Gipson.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, Compton is in California's congressional district, represented by Democrat Maxine Waters.
Education.
The city is served by Compton Unified School District. All of Compton is in CUSD, except for a small sliver of land in the Paramount Unified School District. The CUSD district is a participant of the FOCUS program conducted by the University of California, Irvine. The goals of the program are to improve mathematics and science achievement by uniting the efforts of mathematics, science, education and research library faculty and staff with educators of the school district.
The CUSD provides public education for grades K–12. The district operates 24 elementary schools, eight middle schools, three high schools, and one adult school, which also serves as an alternative school. The district maintains five alternative learning schools.
The four high schools of the CUSD are Centennial High School, Compton Early College High School, Dominguez High School, and Compton High School.
The city is also served by Compton College, which offers community college courses for those planning to enter a four-year degree program, as well as those seeking further education in specific trade fields.
The Compton Library offers adult, children's and Spanish language materials; reference services; a Literacy Center and a Homework Center; public computers with Internet access and word processing capabilities; public typewriters; and a bilingual story time every Saturday at 12:00 noon.
Occidental's Center for Food and Justice and its Compton Farm-to-School project were featured in a segment of "Life and Times", a half-hour news program on PBS member television station KCET in Los Angeles.
Barack Obama Charter School is a kindergarten through sixth grade public charter school.
Infrastructure.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services operates the South Health Center in Watts, Los Angeles, serving Compton.
The United States Postal Service operates the Compton Post Office at 701 South Santa Fe Avenue, the Hub City Post Office at 101 South Willowbrook Avenue, and the Fashion Square Post Office at 2100 North Long Beach Boulevard.
Law enforcement.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department operates the Compton Station in Compton. When the LASD replaced the Compton Police Department in 2000, they increased patrol service hours from 127,410 to 141,692. Compton Station is centrally located in the Los Angeles area. The station is easily accessible from the Century Freeway (I-105) to the north, the Gardena Freeway (SR-91) to the south, the Harbor Freeway (I-110) to the west, and the Long Beach Freeway (I-710) to the east. Diane Walker, a 30-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, was promoted to the rank of captain by Sheriff Lee Baca, and is now commander of Compton Station. There is also a LASD substation located in the Gateway Town Center.
Transportation.
Four freeways are within or near the city's boundaries and provide access to destinations throughout the region. Interstate 710 runs through the eastern boundary, State Route 91 runs through the southern boundary. Interstate 105 runs slightly along the north of the city, and Interstate 110 along to the west.
The Metro A Line (formerly the Blue Line) light rail runs north–south through Compton. Compton station is in the heart of the city, adjacent to the Renaissance Shopping Center. Artesia station serves the southern part of the city. The A Line connects Compton to downtown Los Angeles and downtown Long Beach.
There is also a Compton Renaissance Transit System that serves the area.
Compton/Woodley Airport is a small general aviation airport located in the city. The airport lies within busy airspace, as it is situated within a few miles of both Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach Airport.
Greyhound Lines operates the Compton station.
Collectively, these multifaceted transportation links lend justification to the city's familiar nickname of "the Hub City."
From 1902 to 1961, Compton was served by the Pacific Electric Long Beach Line.
Sister cities.
On January 19, 2010, the Compton City Council passed a resolution creating a sister cities program, to be managed as a chapter of the Compton Chamber of Commerce. The city has established partnerships:
References.
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Gessel
Gessel is a surname of South German origin. Notable people with the surname include:
References.
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 Surname listThis page lists people with the surname .

Van Kessel
Van Kessel is a Dutch toponymic surname meaning "from/of Kessel". There are two towns Kessel in Belgium, two in The Netherlands, and one just across the border in Germany. It could also refer to the medieval County of Kessel with Kessel (Limburg) as its capital, or the extended Ambacht of Kessel that existed until 1675. Notable people with the surname include:
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 Surname listThis page lists people with the surname van Kessel.
References.
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Goessel, Kansas
City in Marion County, Kansas
Goessel is a city in Marion County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 556. The city was named after Captain (1852–1895) who went down with his ship, the Elbe, in the English Channel after it was rammed. It is located about 11 miles north of North Newton on the west side of K-15 highway.
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History.
Early history.
For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to the 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.
19th century.
In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France. In 1803, most of the land for present-day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000-square-mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.
The Kansas Territory was organized in 1854, and Kansas became the 34th U.S. state in 1861. In 1855, Marion County was established within the Kansas Territory and included present-day Goessel.
The year 1874 saw the first wave of an immigration of Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites to south-central Kansas. The move was an attempt to preserve religious heritage and freedom after exclusion from military service was rescinded. In 1873 twelve Mennonite delegates from the Russian Empire toured Manitoba and Kansas, with the four conservative Mennonite delegates selecting the East Reserve in Manitoba and the eight liberal delegates selecting immigration to Kansas. In the next decade, one-third of Mennonites in Russia moved to North America. In 1874 a large number of Mennonites from the Molotschna Colony emigrated en masse to the United States aboard the ships Teutonia and Cimbria. This group split into two groups. The Alexanderwohl group sailed on the Cimbria and settled around present-day Goessel, and the Hoffnungsau group sailed on the Teutonia and settled around present-day Buhler and Inman.
The Alexanderwohl group split into eight communal villages. The village of Gnadenfeld (translation: Grace Field) was located where Goessel now stands. The village lasted for several years as a communal village, and then families moved onto their own larger parcels of land nearby. Several years passed before a trading center developed. The first public structure erected in Goessel was the Mennonite Brethren church in 1890, and one of the first businesses was a creamery station established that same year. In 1891 a small mercantile store was opened and Dr. Peter Richert moved into a building that was used as his doctor's office; later it became a post office. Dr. Richert read the story of Captain Kurt von Goessel, who went down with his steamship "Elbe" in the English Channel, and decided to submit the name Goessel to the U.S. Postal Department; the name was accepted on April 13, 1895.
20th century.
In 1910, Goessel was platted and had a population of 100 people. In 1952, Goessel was incorporated and had a population of 260. In 2010, the United States Census reported 248 households and a population of 539.
On March 13, 1990, Goessel was damaged by an "extreme F5" tornado during a tornado outbreak. The severity of the damage left behind by this tornado led some meteorologists to believe that the Goessel tornado was among the strongest ever documented at that time.
Goessel is home to the Mennonite Heritage Museum, a complex of eight buildings that preserve artifacts from early Mennonite households, farms, schools, and churches and the Bethesda Mennonite Hospital.
Geography.
Goessel is located in the Great Plains of the state of Kansas. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The county line is one mile west of Goessel.
Climate.
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters with very cold periods.
Demographics.
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2020 census.
The 2020 United States census counted 556 people, 200 households, and 135 families in Goessel. The population density was 1,467.0 per square mile (566.4/km2). There were 222 housing units at an average density of 585.8 per square mile (226.2/km2). The racial makeup was 93.71% (521) white or European American (93.17% non-Hispanic white), 0.18% (1) black or African-American, 0.0% (0) Native American or Alaska Native, 0.0% (0) Asian, 0.18% (1) Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 1.08% (6) from other races, and 4.86% (27) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 1.8% (10) of the population.
Of the 200 households, 32.5% had children under the age of 18; 58.5% were married couples living together; 23.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 31.5% of households consisted of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 3.1. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 19.2% of the population.
27.2% of the population was under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 26.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 109.8 males.
The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $53,750 (with a margin of error of +/- $17,685) and the median family income was $75,417 (+/- $16,757). Males had a median income of $51,204 (+/- $1,721) versus $21,985 (+/- $8,569) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $39,722 (+/- $11,894). Approximately, 3.0% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under the age of 18 and 1.7% of those ages 65 or over.
2010 census.
As of the census of 2010, there were 539 people, 206 households, and 140 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 231 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.0% White, 0.2% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.9% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.0% of the population.
There were 206 households, of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.0% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.91.
The median age in the city was 48.6 years. 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.9% were from 25 to 44; 23.4% were from 45 to 64; and 30.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.8% male and 54.2% female.
Government.
The Goessel government consists of a mayor and five council members. The council meets the 3rd Monday of each month at 8PM.
Education.
Public.
The community is served by Goessel USD 411 public school district.
Sports.
The Goessel High School mascot is a Bluebird.
It offers football, volleyball, cross country, basketball, golf and track and field. Goessel Jr/Sr. High School is a member of the Wheat State League and the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA).
Past Championships:
Library.
Each USD 411 school has a library for student access.
The city is served by the Goessel Public Library at 101 South Cedar Street. The library is a member of the https://lib.nckls.org/ North Central Kansas Libraries System], which provides an inter-library book loan service for its members. The library's mission is to meet the needs of the town with programming, materials, computers and free 24 hour internet access.
Media.
Radio.
Goessel is served by numerous radio stations of the Wichita-Hutchinson listening market area, and satellite radio. See "Media in Wichita, Kansas".
Television.
Goessel is served by over-the-air ATSC digital TV of the Wichita-Hutchinson viewing market area, cable TV, and satellite TV. See "Media in Wichita, Kansas".
Infrastructure.
Transportation.
K-15 highway runs along the east side of the city.
References.
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Gassel
Gassel is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the former municipality of Grave. Since 2022 it has been part of the new municipality of Land van Cuijk.
History.
Gassel was mentioned first in 1485 as Gassel, and means "guesthouse". Gassel probably dates from the Early Middle Ages and developed on a sandy hill.
The St John, the Baptist Church was built in 1875 in Gothic Revival style. It was modified in 1888. The castle Tongelaar is located south of Gassel and was first mentioned in 1292 as belonging to the Lords of Cuijk. The south-western tower dates from the 15th century. Around 1771, the other buildings were constructed.
Gassel was home to 200 people in 1840. Gassel was a separate municipality since the year 1811 until 1942, when it was merged with Beers.
In 1994, the municipality of Beers was divided between Cuijk and Grave, and Gassel became incorporated into Grave. In 2022, it was merged into Land van Cuijk.
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Gelselaar
Gelselaar is a village in the municipality of Berkelland in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The village is known for its geese. In 2013, it became a protected village site.
History.
It was first mentioned in 1326 as Geldersler, and either means forest of Gelle (person) or forest of Gelre (Gelderland), because it is located near the border with Overijssel. Gelselaar developed into an "esdorp" with a communal pasture in the 19th century.
The village is known for its geese, and was mockingly called "Ganzendorp" (geese village) which is nowadays used as an honorary name. Around 1440, a chapel was built in the village. In 1517, the chapel was replaced by a church. The current church dates from 1841. In 1840, it was home to 625 people.
Between 1910 and 1925, there was a train stop in Geldersler on the Neede–Hellendoorn railway line. In 2013, Gelselaar became a protected village site, because it is in near original condition.
Events and sights.
The farm Erve Brooks Niehof was built in 1538. It has been turned into a museum and pancake house, and provides an overview of the whaling and texitle industry of the region as well as archaeological finds.
There is an annual geese market during which there is a competition for best goose herder. During the geese market, the geese and herders roam the streets of the village.
Once a year the "gaanzeloop" (goose walk), a running competition, is organised. The short competition is through the village, and the long competition is through the countryside.
References.
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Villa Gesell Partido
Villa Gesell Partido is a partido on the Atlantic coast of Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.
The provincial subdivision has a population of about 24,282 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Villa Gesell, which is around from Buenos Aires.
Economy.
The economy of Villa Gesell is dominated by the summer tourist season, which sees thousands of holidaymakers make their way to the Atlantic coast of Buenos Aires Province. The main tourist season lasts from December until February, after the end of the main holiday season most of the hotels, bars and restaurants close up, but some of the local establishments and hostels remain open all year round.
History.
In 1931 Don Carlos Idaho Gesell purchased of sand dunes, and over the years he planted many thousands of trees and built a home for his family. Between the 1940s and the 1970s the population of Villa Gesell swelled as hippies and free thinkers fleeing the crowded metropolis of Buenos Aires made their way to the picturesque coastal village.
In the early years of Villa Gesell, Don Carlos Gesell introduced the "Plan galopante" (galloping plan) which meant if a householder would purchase a property inside Villa Gesell, and if they built a home within a specified period of time, a percentage of the purchase price would be discounted, in time bringing in thousands of people from around the world, especially Germany and Italy and other European nations, seeking a quiet and peaceful place to live.
Around 1970, Villa Gesell gained its status as a city, and as the settlement of Villa Gesell grew in popularity, commercial interests took over, spoiling Gesell's idea of a tranquil village surrounded by nature.
As the sand dunes were bulldozed to make space for seafront bars and restaurants, the settlement of Mar Azul was established in order to reestablish Gesell's ideal of urban development in tune with nature.
Since 2004, work has been undertaken to remove many of the concrete slab seafront bars and restaurants, in order to return the coastline of Villa Gesell to the state Gesell had intended.
Villa Gesell is host to "Le Touquet", one of the largest motocross races in the world. These races are held at nearby cities from time to time.
It has been said that "there is no better place to raise a family, than Villa Gesell".

Peter van Kessel
Peter van Kessel or Peeter van Kessel (Antwerp, c. 1635 – Ratzeburg, early October 1668) was a Flemish still life painter who worked in a number of sub-genres but is principally known for his flower pieces, game pieces, garland paintings and vanitas paintings. He trained in Antwerp but mainly worked abroad, and in particular in Northern Europe.
Life.
Little is known about the life and training of Peter van Kessel. He was likely born in Antwerp between 1630 and 1640. He is not mentioned in the records of the Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp, which may indicate that he trained and later worked in the workshop of a family member who was a master of the guild. It is not clear whether he was related to the van Kessel family of still life painters, which was related to the Brueghel family of artists. The earliest known work by the artist dates from 1658.
In 1658 the artist was likely active in Germany as he should likely be identified with the artist referred to as Peter Kessel who was recorded in Würzburg and Bamberg at that time. He is later recorded in Gdańsk. On his way to work at the court in Copenhagen, he stayed for a while in Lübeck in 1668. Here he worked initially in the workshop of the local painter Burchard Wulff. Later the dean of the local painter's guild Hans Götjens allowed him to work on his own. Götjens also let van Kessel stay in his home. This gave rise to a conflict between dean Gotjens and the local painter's guild which filed a complaint accusing the dean of allowing a foreign master to practise the painter's trade without being properly registered with the local guild. The guild members also felt insulted because Götjens had stated that none of them could paint as well as van Kessel.
From the documents relating to the complaint it appears that van Kessel was at the time just stopping over for about a month in Lübeck while he was on his way to Copenhagen to which he had been allegedly called by the Danish king. Van Kessel was separately also accused of having made derogatory remarks about the members of the Council of Lübeck in retribution of which he was threatened with arrest. A wigmaker paid van Kessels bail for him and in return van Kessel painted some works for the wigmaker.
Later van Kessel travelled to Copenhagen where he worked at the Danish court. He died in Ratzeburg in early October 1668.
Work.
General.
Van Kessel was a specialist still life painter. He practised many of the sub-genres of still life such as flower pieces, fruit still lifes, vanitas still lifes, garland paintings, hunting pieces and game pieces. His earliest dated work dates from 1658.
Flower paintings.
An important portion of van Kessel's output is constituted by floral still lifes. An example is the (at Hampel Munich sale of 30 March 2017 lot 263<) which shows flowers in a glass vase set in a stone gray niche. The flowers do not reach outside of the niche. The glass vase stands at the very edge of the niche. A stag beetle is about to climb the wall recess and unto to the ledge on which the vase stands. The painter has arranged the flower container in the vase in such a way that all flowers, including roses, tulips, carnations, marigolds and other garden flowers are equally lit up in front of the dark niche wall. Probably as a vanitas reminder (discussed below), the stems or petals of the hollyhock on the right and the nasturtium on the left are shown already drooping slightly. This type of painting is very reminiscent of the still life in a niche paintings of earlier Flemish artists such as Osias Beert.
Garland paintings.
A portion of van Kessel's output falls into the category of 'garland paintings'. Garland paintings are a type of still life invented in early 17th century Antwerp by Jan Brueghel the Elder and subsequently practised by leading Flemish still life painters, and in particular Daniel Seghers. Paintings in this genre typically show a flower or, less frequently, fruit garland around a devotional image or portrait. In the later development of the genre, the devotional image is replaced by other subjects such as portraits, mythological subjects and allegorical scenes.
Garland paintings were usually collaborations between a still life and a figure painter. Van Kessel's collaborators on his garland paintings have not been identified. Van Kessel would have painted the fruit and flower garlands while his collaborators would then have painted the figure or figures inside the cartouche. The is an example of a garland painting attributed to van Kessel. The flowers in the painting resemble those of the in the Staatsgalerie Bamberg, dated 1658. Stylistically his garland paintings are close to those created by Jan van Kessel the Elder who may have been a family member.
Vanitas still lifes.
Van Kessel is also known for his "vanitas" still lifes, a genre of still lifes which offers a reflection on the meaninglessness of earthly life and the transient nature of all earthly goods and pursuits. The motif of Vanitas or transience of life is inspired by the Christian belief that the world is solely a temporary place of fleeting pleasures and sorrows from which mankind can only escape through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus.
While he painted some pure vanitas paintings, the vanitas theme is also present in his flower paintings. For instance, in the discussed above the wilting flowers express the vanitas theme of impermanence and death. A pure vanitas painting is his composition (dated 1668, Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht). This composition contains the typical symbols present in vanitas paintings: a skull with a laurel wreath (referencing the passing of glory), dice (referencing the vicissitudes of life), a wine glass, sheet music and a violin (refencing the fleetingness of physical and spiritual pleasures), wilting flowers and an hourglass (refencing decay and the passing of time). The in the Maribor Regional Museum in Maribor reprises many of the same symbols. In this work, objects that allude to military glory (military distinctions, a sword) are placed on the left while those referencing cultural achievements such as books and music are placed on the right. Physical and spiritual achievements are placed among the symbols of death and decay such as the extinguished candle, the skull and the wilting flowers to convey the idea that all achievements eventually fall into oblivion or extinction.
References.
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Villa Gesell
City in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
Villa Gesell is a seaside resort city in Villa Gesell Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It was founded in 1931, with the intention of turning a dune field into a timber plantation. The growth of the city allowed it to annex the nearby cities of Mar de las Pampas, Las Gaviotas and Mar Azul.
History.
The city is named after Carlos Idaho Gesell (1891–1979), the son of German economist Silvio Gesell. Carlos Gesell bought wood at Tigre for his business, and wanted to plant pines somewhere near Mar del Plata to reduce costs. Gesell was not planning to build a city at that point. Héctor Guerrero, owner of most lands in the region, told him of of sand dunes on sale for 28,000 pesos, and Gesell bought them in 1931 when he checked for the existence of groundwater in the area. The coastline was long. He immediately began to forest the area, and built a house for himself in 1932. This house is now a municipal museum.
The forestation work did not proceed as expected: the strong saline winds moved the sand and harmed the plants, exposing and drying their roots. Gesell hired German agronomist Carlos Bodesheim in 1934, who could not find a solution. He then implemented two new ideas. First, he planted a high number of beneficial weeds, capable of surviving in the dunes, in order to anchor the sand in place. He planted trees with tubed roots, so that the roots sought water deeper in the ground and the wind could not tear them. Losses were still high, but decreasing. In 1938 he learned about the Australian "Acacia longifolia", which was well adapted to the sand and the saline winds, and increased the ratio of nitrogen fixation. The Acacia was a success, and he arranged the plants so that the Acacias protected the pines from the wind.
Carlos Gesell lived permanently in the area from 1937 on. He began to run out of money in 1940, so he built a small timeshare named "La Golondrina" (). The first tourists were the Starks. Mr. Stark was manager of the local branch of the Siemens corporation. The Starks promoted the town back in Buenos Aires, and more tourist accommodations were built. The town was linked to Provincial Route 11 in 1943.
With new houses for tourists and the local population, the area was turned into a proper urban settlement, so Gesell began to look after the needed urban services, such as the supply of food, electric power, gasoline and a car workshop. He banned alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and any other things he deemed as a vice. He strongly opposed the establishment of a local casino, which was finally established at the nearby town of Pinamar. The city saw a large European immigration during World War II, who built the first hotels and themed restaurants. Most Italians worked as construction laborers, and most Spaniards administrated the shops and hotels. Urban development grew even more in the 1960s, as people who bought land and built houses within not more than six months were refunded half of the land's original price.
The settlement gradually expanded stretching along the coastline, and today continues its growth and has annexed three more resorts to the south, namely, Mar de las Pampas, Las Gaviotas and Mar Azul. Villa Gesell has been a popular tourist destination since the 1940s.
Villa Gesell became known for many years as a tourist destination for teenagers, but in 2008 the administrations was seeking to attract mature tourists instead. The annual "Gesell Rock" festival was replaced by family-oriented musical shows.
In 2020 Fernando Báez Sosa was murdered in Villa Gesell, which gained nationwide notoriety.
Climate.
Villa Gesell has an oceanic climate (Cfb in Koppen Climate Classification).
Tourism.
Being a coastal city, the main tourist attraction in Villa Gesell is the beach. The Villa Gesell beach is long, with a soft slope, and a variety of spas built alongside; the annexed cities of Mar de las Pampas, Las Gaviotas and Mar Azul extend the beachside to . The city has a staff of 150 lifeguards.
There is a lighthouse to the south, surrounded by a forest, which is the destination of adventure tours. It is the second-highest lighthouse on the coast of Buenos Aires province, second only to the one in Bahía Blanca. The area around the lighthouse operates as a nature reserve.
The city has a zoo, a golf course, a market of crafts and many discos.
Villa Gesell and Pinamar, both tourist cities, have a regional rivalry about the type of tourist trade they cater to. Pinamar aims for wealthy Argentine tourists, while Villa Gesell aims for the middle class.
Transportation.
The city is served by Aeropuerto de Villa Gesell.
Cityscape.
Villa Gesell is built along a main avenue which runs parallel to the coastline. The architecture has a mix of styles, with buildings of different sizes, shapes and colours. The urban development at the beaches was found to be harmful to the environment, as the beach became gradually smaller each year. The city sought to reverse this effect, and as the franchises of each spa began to expire, they were not renewed. Brick and concrete buildings were demolished and replaced with smaller wooden buildings. Automobile traffic was banned next to the beach, and each beach lease was allowed a maximum of 80 tents.
"X-Men" movie mistake.
In the 2011 film "", Magneto travels to Villa Gesell, Argentina (as written in the movie), but the landscape is completely altered, and instead shows what looks like Bariloche, in the Patagonia area of southern Argentina. Residents of Villa Gesell became upset over the confusion and misconception this caused, feeling that a blockbuster movie should instead show audiences around the world what Villa Gesell is really like.
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Galesville, Maryland
Galesville is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 685.
Galesville is located at 38°50'35" north, 76°32'37" west (38.8431707 -76.5435702), along the western shore of the West River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. By road it is approximately south of Annapolis, the state capital.
Demographics.
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History.
The area was an early center of Quaker settlement in America and, through the West River Friends meeting, it is considered the birthplace of organized Quakerism in Maryland. The town was once the terminus of a steamship line connecting to Annapolis and Baltimore. Once a thriving community of Chesapeake Bay watermen and their families, the town has developed an industry around pleasure boating.
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Gasselternijveen
Gasselternijveen is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Aa en Hunze, and lies about 20 km east of Assen.
History.
The village was first mentioned in 1739 as "Nieuw Gasselter Veen", and means "new peat colony of Gasselte.
A canal was built around 1663 by Johan Struyck to excavate the peat in the area. The colony wasn't very successfully until 1819 when the Gasselternijveenschemond was dug and connected the village to Stadskanaal. By 1844, the original canal had silted and could no longer be used.
Until the early 20th-century it was mainly a village of skippers and traders. Gasselternijveen was home to 488 people in 1840. The Dutch Reformed church was built between 1858 and 1859, and a tower was added in 1879.
Between 1905 and 1947, Gasselternijveen was connected to both the Zwolle to Stadskanaal railway and a branch line to Assen. The building was torn in 1966.

Van Galen
Van Galen is a Dutch toponymic surname. One town of origin is "Galen", now Gahlen, a village 25 km from the Dutch border in the district of Wesel in Germany. The Galen family finds its origin there as well. Other families, particularly the variants "Van Gaalen" and "Van Gaal", originated in the hamlet of Gaal near Schaijk, North Brabant. People with the surname include:
Variant spellings
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 Surname listThis page lists people with the surname .

Ira Gessel
American mathematician (born 1951)
Ira Martin Gessel (born 9 April 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American mathematician, known for his work in combinatorics. He is a long-time faculty member at Brandeis University and resides in Arlington, Massachusetts.
Education and career.
Gessel studied at Harvard University graduating "magna cum laude" in 1973. There, he became a Putnam Fellow in 1972, alongside Arthur Rubin and David Vogan.
He received his Ph.D. at MIT and was the first student of Richard P. Stanley. He was then a postdoctoral fellow at the IBM Watson Research Center and MIT. He then joined Brandeis University faculty in 1984. He was promoted to Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science in 1990, became a chair in 1996–98, and Professor Emeritus in 2015.
Gessel is a prolific contributor to enumerative and algebraic combinatorics. He is credited with the invention of quasisymmetric functions in 1984 and foundational work on the Lagrange inversion theorem. As of 2017, Gessel was an advisor of 27 Ph.D. students.
Gessel was elected a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society in the inaugural class of 2012. Since 2015, he is an Associate Editor of the "Digital Library of Mathematical Functions".
Gessel's lattice path conjecture.
Gessel has made significant contributions to an area in combinatorics known as lattice walks, which usually take place on the integer lattice and are sometimes confined to the upper right quadrant. An excursion is a lattice walk which starts at the origin and returns to the origin. A lattice excursion in the upper right quadrant with four possible steps, up, down, northeast, and southwest, is now known as a Gessel excursion.
By 2001 Gessel had noted empirically, and conjectured, that the number of Gessel excursions with 2n steps admit a simple hypergeometric closed form. This closed form counting function equation became known as Gessel's lattice path conjecture. A computer aided proof of Gessel's conjecture by Manuel Kauers, Christoph Koutschan, and Doron Zeilberger, was published in 2009.
The 2022 David P. Robbins Prize of the American Mathematical Society was awarded to Alin Bostan, Irina Kurkova, and Kilian Raschel, for their 2017 paper "A human proof of Gessel's lattice path conjecture."
Political activism.
In 1970, while a senior in high school, Ira Gessel and his brother Michael Gessel started a grassroots political organization to end pay toilets in America. The movement was largely successful and was disbanded in 1976.
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Gasselte
Gasselte is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. Located in the municipality of Aa en Hunze, it is situated about 16 km (9.9 mi) east of Assen. In 2021, it had a population of 1,770.
History.
The village was first mentioned in 1302 as "Jacobus de Gesholte". The etymology is unclear. Gasselte is an "esdorp" on the highest part of the Hondsrug which developed during the Early Middle Ages as a satellite of Borger. It used to consist of two settlement with their own "es" (communal pasture): Lutkenend (Little End) and Grotenend (Big End).
The Dutch Reformed church dates from the 13th century and has been painted white. It was restored in 1637 and again in 1647. The detached tower was demolished in 1787 and replaced by a little tower on the roof.
In 1830, a large part of the village was destroyed in a fire. Gasselte was home to 390 people in 1840. During the 19th century, the two original hamlets grew into one village. There used to be railway station on the Gasselternijveen to Assen railway line between 1905 and 1947. The building was demolished in 1969.
Between 1946 and 2013, sand was excavated at Gasselterveld resulting in a lake with a depth of up to . In 2017, a beach was constructed near the lake. Gasselte was a separate municipality until 1998, when it became a part of the newly established municipality of Aa en Hunze.
In 2021, Gasselte was used as the postcard for the United Kingdom during the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.

Giles, West Virginia
Giles is an unincorporated community in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, along Cabin Creek. It lies between the unincorporated communities locally known as Ohley and Dawes.
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Gasselternijveenschemond
Gasselternijveenschemond is a village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part