Friendly, Fred W., 1915-98, American broadcaster and author, b. New York City as Ferdinand Friendly Wachenheimer. He began his career at age 22 at a radio station in Providence where he wrote, produced, and narrated "Footprints in the Sands of Time," a series of five-minute biographies. After army service in World War II, he went to New York City, where he and Edward R. Murrow produced "I Can Hear It Now," a radio series, and "See It Now," its television sequel, which included Murrow's famous documentary on Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Friendly was executive producer of "CBS Reports"(1959-64), and president of CBS News (1964-66). After resigning from CBS in a dispute over ratings, he became Edward R. Murrow professor of journalism at Columbia Univ. and was adviser (until 1980) to the Ford Foundation. He also produced a series of highly acclaimed public television programs that brought together distinguished scholars, public officials, and journalists to examine the U.S. Constitution and other public issues. His books include Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control (1967); The Good Guys, the Bad Guys, and the First Amendment (1977); Minnesota Rag (1981); and, with M. J. Elliott, The Constitution (1984).

Friendly Islands: see Tonga.

Mutual aid organization formed voluntarily by individuals to protect members against debts incurred through illness, death, or old age. Friendly societies arose in 17th- and 18th-century Europe and England and became most numerous in the 19th century. They trace their roots to the burial societies of Greek and Roman artisans and the guilds of medieval Europe. In attempting to define the magnitude of the risk against which they guarded and to determine how much members should contribute to meet that risk, friendly societies used what is now the basic principle of insurance.

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officially Kingdom of Tonga

Island country, South Pacific Ocean. Area: 290 sq mi (750 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 98,600. Capital: Nuku'alofa. The people are of Polynesian ancestry. Languages: Tongan, English (both official). Religions: Christianity (mostly Protestant; also Roman Catholic, other Christians); also Bahāhamzahī. Currency: pa'anga. Tonga comprises an archipelago of some 170 islands that extends north-south in two parallel chains for roughly 500 mi (800 km). The eastern islands are low and formed of coral limestone; those in the west are mountainous and of volcanic origin, and four of the western islands are active volcanoes. The country has a developing free-market economy based mainly on agriculture. Chief products include fish, coconuts, sweet potatoes, and bananas. Tourism also is important. Tonga is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative house; the head of state and government is the king, assisted by the privy council. Tonga was inhabited at least 3,000 years ago by people of the Lapita culture. The Tongans developed a stratified social system headed by a paramount ruler whose dominion by the 13th century extended as far as the Hawaiian Islands. The Dutch visited in the 17th century, but effective European contact dates from 1773, when Capt. James Cook arrived and named the archipelago the Friendly Islands. The modern kingdom was established during the reign (1845–93) of King George Tupou I. It became a British protectorate in 1900. This was dissolved in 1970 when Tonga, the only ancient kingdom surviving from the pre-European period in Polynesia, achieved complete independence within the Commonwealth. Tonga was at the centre of a financial scandal in the early 21st century when money in a government trust fund was lost while under the management of an American investor. This added to the country's ongoing financial problems.

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