The history of swimming goes way back to that of prehistoric times. Books written from 2000 to 1500 BC including the Bible have references to swimming. It was mostly used in these times as a means of cleansing. Any form of competitive swimming wasn?t formed until the 1800?s in Europe. It was included in the first Olympics in 1896 in Athens, Greece.

It was noted that Ancient Egypt had cave drawings of humans swimming in the nearby sea. They often depicted a form of the breaststroke as the first type of swimming or something they used to call the front crawl. Ancient Egyptian, Grecian and Roman palaces were often equipped with swimming pools or baths. Often reserved for the elite that used them as relaxation pools and cleaning tubs.

It is noted by historians that swimming was also often used in battle. The Greeks were often regarded as solid swimmers and at the Battle of Salamis after a number of both Greek and Persian boats were destroyed it was said that all of the Persians drowned due to their inability to swim while the Greek prevailed.

The history of swimming is much easier to understand than other sports. Without any equipment to speak of an individual can take to the waters. Obviously those countries that had the most access to water were the first to adapt to swimming. History did not have the spreading of the sport as many other sports had encountered because it was basically already available. You either adopted swimming as a means of life or you just chose not to swim.

The evolution of swimming history expanded during the middle ages. A number of individuals took it upon themselves to write books about swimming. They were often focused on the ability to not drown rather than a perfect backstroke as you would imagine. Life saving concepts and techniques began to form throughout the next few hundred years and around the 18th and 19th century the sport began to evolve into more of a competition than just life safety. Swimming Associations and Clubs popped up all over the world. Some of the first in swimming history were in China, Sweden and Germany.

Schools began to believe that swimming was a natural part of any life education. Therefore, they began to teach swimming in schools not just as a life safety course but as an extracurricular activity. Schools and Universities began to adopt these practices and set up clubs and swim teams. Competitions began to arise around the mid 1800?s. England was the first to modernize the sport and incorporate an indoor swimming pool with a swim team. They began to formulate new swimming styles including the sidestroke. Shortly after this, variations of the freestyle began to form and credit can?t really be given to one person as so many were responsible for developing this technique.

The Olympic Games of 1896 in Athens was the first real platform for the sport. There only men competed in a number of events. Throughout the 1900?s the sport evolved and saw a number of stars arise. Johnny Weissmuller, the original Tarzan completed his ten year career by never losing a race and winning five Olympic medals.

Science and technology began to play a part in the sport throughout the 1900?s as well. When scientist and coaches began studying swimmers and there underwater techniques to improve times. The swimsuits began to change as well as any form of resistance was under scrutiny from all competitors. Goggles, swim caps and different variations of training have all evolved as well. The US has seen its share of great Olympians going back to Mark Spitz who won seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympics.

The sport has evolved to a very competitive and fun sport for anyone. That has always been the great appeal that anyone can swim and we have been for the past 3000 years?So goes the history of swimming.

Have you ever looked out into one of the many empty but picturesque fields that sprawl across the county that is Essex? Flying through the Constablian scenery on your way to an urgent business appointment, have you ever pondered the rich heritage that Essex oozes? This article examines the history of Essex jobs and specific sites of employment which are embedded in the culture of Essex.
Essex jobs have always been abundant and not just because of its close proximity to the capital. It has been a place of industry and agriculture, none more prevalent than the bay and say trade otherwise known as the wool industry. Bay and Say was the name given to a certain type of wool woven by Flemish settlers from the beginning of the fourteenth century.
The original settlers came over from Bruges to Harwich and then settled around Braintree, Halstead and Dedham. Edward III encouraged this practice increasing Essex jobs, as the Flemings brought with them their art of weaving which the monarch encouraged them to teach throughout the county. The chief influx of Flemmings came around 1570 in the middle of the reign of Elizabeth I.
The clothing towns were Colchester, Braintree, Coggeshall, Bocking, Halstead, and Dedham, employing some 60, 000 families were employed in Essex jobs as spinners, weavers and combers. This industry flourished until the latter part of the eighteenth century as it is thought that the nationalisation of gunpowder, shipbuilding and increasing colonial ambitions saw it loose precedence.
Gunpowder was produced in Essex as early as 1560 in Waltham Abbey and became a major industry. After the government acquired the works in 1787 production increased considerably. By 1900 it had created 1200 Essex jobs and produced a large amount of the national requirements for Gunpowder. Around this period there was a development which would change the face of Essex and the entire country forever.
This was of course the introduction of the railway system. This meant that agricultural goods such as milk and garden produce could transported more effectively to the lucrative markets of London. This did also create problems for certain specific Essex jobs such as the production of salt via sea water evaporation and the manufacturing of cheese and hops, as it opened East Anglia up for produce from other parts of the country.
Essex was famous throughout the world for the production of crepe and silk. Various monarchs obtained their garments and ceremonial robes from different towns in Essex including Braintree, Bocking, Halstead, and Earls Colne. 2000 Essex jobs were created by this industry and the crepe in Braintree was known throughout the world.
Places closer to London such as Walthamstow created Essex jobs in industry sectors such as copper-rolling and from 1807 to 1845 the British Copper Company had the main works there leading to the naming of one of the roads as Coppermill Lane. Shipbuilding on the Thames was another lucrative industry that gradually declined however Essex jobs were created in other areas such as steel works.
Essex jobs have always been diverse in nature from cottage industry to nationalised manufacturing and some areas of Essex have gained worldwide acclaim in the areas of expertise. With the current economic climate one has to ask the question if Essex jobs will be so abundant in the next century.

Bergen County, New Jersey, at around one million residents, is one of the top 20 highest income counties in the nation with the 18th highest (as of 2006) personal per capita income. With that kind of money floating around, Bergen County real estate is considered premium land.
Bergen County’s history goes back to the 17th century when it was included in the same district as Essex, Monmouth, and Middlesex counties. Each was considered an independent colony where individual land owners were able to retain their rights rather than giving up the land to the state.
Area wise, Bergen County was originally much larger, including the real estate where Hudson and Passaic counties now sit, but lost that land to the respective counties when they were formed in the early to mid 19th century.
Bergen County’s Role in the American Revolution
Fort Lee, located opposite of Fort Washington in Manhattan, was an important strategic point. After the capture of Fort Washington by the British, General Charles Cornwallis — considered by many historians to have been a master military strategist — was given independent command of British forces and used it to capture Fort Lee in November of 1776.
River Vale, New Jersey, a township of Bergen County, is site of the Baylor Massacre in which 15 members of the Continental Army’s 3rd Regiment of Light Dragoons, unarmed and sleeping, were killed by British forces.
The commander of the 3rd Continental Light Dragoons, Colonel George Baylor, received a bayonet injury to the lung and was taken prisoner. Despite the injury, he recovered to later rejoin the Continental Army in their fight.
Post-War Development
In the mid 19th century, the Erie Railroad began running services from Jersey City to points in Bergen County. In the early 20th century, Camp Merritt became a staging area for troops being deployed to Europe during World War I. George Washington Bridge, completed in 1931, connected Fort Lee to Manhattan and helped to spur post World War II development.
During the 1950’s, a missile station was built to help protect the New York Metropolitan area from strategic bombers, although the site was closed in 1971.
In 2004, Forbes magazine ranked Bergen County as the second most overpriced place in the nation. However, that ranking dropped the seventh by 2005. High property taxes — the fourth highest of any county in the nation behind two New York counties and Hunterdon County of New Jersey — help to maintain and ensure a wealthy citizenry, and a wealthy citizenry tends to have expensive tastes in homes.
High-end homes are one of the least affected areas of the downturn in the housing market, thereby making Bergen County real estate a great place to buy a home that will retain its value better than most.