Examine individual changes

'{{Infobox person | name = Thomas | image = WilliamThomas.jpg | caption = Thomas and his dog Sophie. | birth_name = William Thomas Hallenback Jr. | birth_date = {{birth date|1947|3|20}} | birth_place = [[Tarrytown, New York]], [[United States|U.S.]] | death_date = {{death date and age|2009|1|23|1947|3|20}} | death_cause = [[Pulmonary disease]] | occupation = Anti-nuclear activist | spouse = Ellen Benjamin (1984–2009, his death) }} '''William Thomas Hallenback Jr.''' (known as '''William Thomas''', or simply '''Thomas''', March 20, 1947 – January 23, 2009) was an American [[Nuclear disarmament|anti-nuclear]] activist and [[simple living]] adherent who undertook a 27-year peace [[vigil]] in front of the [[White House]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/07/AR2009020701843.html|title=From Lafayette Square Lookout, He Made His War Protest Permanent|publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]''|date=February 8, 2009|author=[[Colman McCarthy]]}}</ref> Thomas was born in [[Tarrytown, New York]]. He was a truck driver, jewelry maker and carpenter.<ref name=grove>{{cite news|url=http://www.prop1.org/history/1984/841214a1.htm|title=Birth of a street person|publisher=''The Washington Post''|date=December 14, 1984|author=[[Lloyd Grove]]}}</ref> Having been inspired by the [[Sermon on the Mount]], he became a pilgrim and traveled the world in the interests of [[world peace]].<ref name=Jazeera>{{cite video| people=Tim Wilkerson (Director)|title=[http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeraworld/2012/04/201241014447274464.html The Oracles of Pennsylvania Avenue]|medium=Documentary|publisher=Al Jazeera Documentary Channel|location= |date=2012}}</ref> He spent eight months in an [[Egypt]]ian prison in 1978 for trying to swim across the [[Suez Canal]] on his way to [[Israel]].<ref name=Jazeera /> In [[London]], Great Britain, in response to [[Foreign policy of the United States|US government foreign policy]] he tried to renounce his [[Citizenship in the United States|American citizenship]] by destroying his [[United States passport|passport]].<ref name=Jazeera /> British authorities [[Deportation|deported]] him back to the United States in 1980.<ref name=grove /> He traveled to [[Washington, D.C.]] in 1981, spending several months with [[Mitch Snyder]]'s Community for Creative Non-Violence before launching the [[White House Peace Vigil]] in [[Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.|Lafayette Square]] on June 3, 1981.<ref name=grove /> He was later joined by [[Concepcion Picciotto]] in August 1981 and [[Ellen Thomas|Ellen Benjamin]] in April 1984.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prop1.org/thomas.htm|title=Thomas, Peace Park Vigiler and Antinuclear Activist|work=Prop1.org}}</ref> In his first three years of protesting Thomas was arrested 16 times by the [[United States Park Police|Park Police]] on charges ranging from illegal camping to disorderly conduct.<ref name=grove /> On May 6, 1984, Thomas married Ellen Benjamin in a [[Quaker wedding]].<ref name=grove /> They protested together with numerous other activists over the years, including those from the [[Catholic Worker Movement]] and [[Plowshares Movement]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prop1.org/friends.htm|title=Significant Peace Park Vigilers from the Past|work=Prop1.org}}</ref> In January 2009, Thomas died aged 61 of [[pulmonary disease]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/for-30-year-peace-activist-a-new-battle/2011/11/04/gIQARvvMtM_story.html|title=For 30-year peace activist, a new battle|publisher=''The Washington Post''|date=November 6, 2011|author=John Kelly}}</ref> Thomas and the [[White House Peace Vigil]] inspired [[Eleanor Holmes Norton]] to introduce the "Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act." The Act would require the United States to disable and dismantle its nuclear weapons once all other nations possessing nuclear weapons do likewise, and redirect the funds saved into [[renewable energy]] and social projects.<ref name=eleanor2009>{{cite web|url=http://norton.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1091:norton-files-nuclear-disarmament-bill-to-implement-dc-ballot-initiative-31909&catid=2|title=Norton Files Nuclear Disarmament Bill to Implement D.C. Ballot Initiative|date=March 19, 2009}}</ref> Norton has repeatedly introduced versions of the bill since 1994. In 2011, the bill was revised and renamed the "Nuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic and Energy Conversion Act."<ref name=eleanor2011>{{cite web|url=http://norton.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2064:norton-reintroduces-nuclear-disarmament-bill-in-wake-of-japanas-nuclear-catastrophe&catid=2|title=Norton Reintroduces Nuclear Disarmament Bill in Wake of Japan's Nuclear Catastrophe|date=April 1, 2011}}</ref> ''The Oracles of Pennsylvania Avenue'', a documentary directed by Tim Wilkerson and commissioned by the [[Al Jazeera Documentary Channel]], recounts the lives of anti-nuclear activists William and Ellen Thomas, Concepcion Picciotto and [[Norman Mayer]].<ref name=Jazeera /> [[File:PeacePark.jpg|thumb|right|The [[White House Peace Vigil]], the longest running peace [[vigil]] in US history, started by Thomas in 1981.]] ==See also== * [[Brian Haw]] * [[Christian anarchism]] * [[Christian pacifism]] * [[Ed Grothus]] * [[List of peace activists]] magical_unicorns.com.au/puppies_are_ausome THE PUPPIES WILL LIVE ON!!!!!!! == References == {{Reflist|2}} ==External links== {{Commons category|White House Peace Vigil}} * [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4R2tRPggRA Thomas explaining his protest], YouTube video, September 16, 2007 * [http://prop1.org Peace Park Website] * [http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeraworld/2012/04/201241014447274464.html The Oracles of Pennsylvania Avenue] {{U.S. anti-nuclear}} {{Simple living}} {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> | NAME = Thomas, William | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = American activist | DATE OF BIRTH = March 20, 1947 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = January 23, 2009 | PLACE OF DEATH = }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, William}} [[Category:American anti-war activists]] [[Category:American anti–nuclear weapons activists]] [[Category:American tax resisters]] [[Category:People from Tarrytown, New York]] [[Category:1947 births]] [[Category:2009 deaths]] [[Category:Christian radicals]] [[Category:Nonviolence advocates]] {{US-activist-stub}}'