Ross (Ros in Scottish Gaelic) is a region of Scotland and a former mormaerdom, earldom, sheriffdom and county. The name Ross allegedly derives from a Gaelic word meaning a headland - perhaps a reference to the Black Isle. The Norse word for Orkney - Hrossay meaning horse island - is another possible origin. The area once belonged to the Norse earldom of Orkney. Ross is a historical comital region, perhaps predating the Mormaerdom of Ross.

Excavations of a rock shelter and shell midden at Sand, Applecross on the coast of Western Ross have shown that the coast was occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.

It may be doubted whether the Romans ever effected even a temporary settlement in the area of the modern county. In Roman times, and for long afterwards, the land was occupied by Gaelic Picts, who, in the 6th and 7th centuries, were converted to Christianity by followers of Saint Columba. Throughout the next three centuries the natives were continually harassed by Norse raiders, of whose presence tokens have survived in several place-names (Dingwall, Tain, and others). At this time the country formed part of the great province of Moray (Latin: Moravia), which then extended as far west as the Dornoch Firth and the Oykel, and practically comprised the whole of Ross and Cromarty.

Hammond may refer to:

Vinny Golia (b. The Bronx, New York City, New York, March 1, 1946) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwind instruments. He performs in the genres of contemporary music, jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation.

Golia lives in Los Angeles, California and teaches at the California Institute of the Arts. He has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Japan. In 1982 he founded the 37-piece Vinny Golia Large Ensemble to perform his compositions.

Golia has performed and/or recorded with many notable musicians, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

Golia also founded the jazz record label Nine Winds in 1977.^{[citation needed]}

Golia performs on a wide array of instruments, including variants of the flute, English horn, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon and tarogato.

Jamaaladeen Tacuma (born Rudy McDaniel, June 11, 1956) is an American free jazz bassist born in Hempstead, New York, perhaps best known for his albums as bandleader on the Gramavision label and for his work with Ornette Coleman during the 1970s and 1980s (particularly in Coleman's Prime Time band). Jamaaladeen's 1988 album Jukebox was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1989, but did not win.

Tacuma was raised in Philadelphia and showed interest in music at a young age, performing with the organist Charles Earland in his teens. Through Earland Tacuma came to know the record producer Reggie Lucas, who introduced Jamaaladeen to Ornette Coleman in 1975 at age 19. As the electric bassist for Coleman's funky Prime Time group, Tacuma rose to prominence quickly; another notable band member included the guitarist Bern Nix. While with Prime Time, Tacuma relied mostly on traditional technique, picking with his fingers. Later works showcase a more rhythmic, thumb-slapping funk approach.

The first three Prime Time recordings (Dancing in Your Head, Body Meta, and Of Human Feelings, all recorded in the late 1970s) feature Tacuma's work on a Rickenbacker bass, a model popular among progressive rock musicians but rarely used on jazz recordings. He switched to a Steinberger bass in the 1980s, an instrument that helped him create his readily identifiable sound.

Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting the car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting series 1–4 of Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1. Since 2009, Hammond has co-hosted Total Wipeout with Amanda Byram on BBC One which has since been cancelled.

Hammond is currently presenting Planet Earth Live alongside Julia Bradbury.

Hammond was born in Solihull and is the grandson of workers in the Birmingham automobile industry. In the mid-1980s Hammond moved with his family (mother Eileen, father Alan, and younger brothers Andrew, writer of the 'Crypt' Series, and Nicholas) to the North Yorkshire cathedral city of Ripon where his father ran a probate business in the market square. Originally a pupil of Solihull School, a fee-paying boys' independent school, he moved to Ripon Grammar School, and from 1987 to 1989 attended Harrogate College of Art and Technology. After his graduation he worked for several radio stations, including Radio Cleveland, Radio York, Radio Cumbria, Radio Leeds, Radio Newcastle and Radio Lancashire, before auditioning for Top Gear.