title: Equator

text: The latitude of the Earth's equator is, by definition, 0° (zero degrees) of arc. The equator is one of the five notable circles of latitude on Earth; the other four are the two polar circles (the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle) and the two tropical circles (the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn). The equator is the only line of latitude which is also a great circle—meaning, one whose plane passes through the center of the globe. The plane of Earth's equator, when projected outwards to the celestial sphere, defines the celestial equator.


title: Equator

text: In the cycle of Earth's seasons, the equatorial plane runs through the Sun twice a year: on the equinoxes in March and September. To a person on Earth, the Sun appears to travel along the equator (or along the celestial equator) at these times.


title: Equator

text: Locations on the equator experience the shortest sunrises and sunsets because the Sun's daily path is nearly perpendicular to the horizon for most of the year. The length of daylight (sunrise to sunset) is almost constant throughout the year; it is about 14 minutes longer than nighttime due to atmospheric refraction and the fact that sunrise begins (or sunset ends) as the upper limb, not the center, of the Sun's disk contacts the horizon.


title: Equator

text: Earth bulges slightly at the equator; its average diameter is , but the diameter at the equator is about greater than at the poles.


title: Equator

text: Sites near the equator, such as the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, are good locations for spaceports as they have the fastest rotational speed of any latitude, /sec. The added velocity reduces the fuel needed to launch spacecraft eastward (in the direction of Earth's rotation) to orbit, while simultaneously avoiding costly maneuvers to flatten inclination during missions such as the Apollo moon landings.


title: Equator

text: The precise location of the equator is not truly fixed; the true equatorial plane is perpendicular to the Earth's rotation axis, which drifts about during a year.


title: Equator

text: Geological samples show that the equator significantly changed positions between 48 and 12 million years ago, as sediment deposited by ocean thermal currents at the equator shifted. The deposits by thermal currents are determined by the axis of the Earth, which determines solar coverage of the Earth's surface. Changes in the Earth's axis can also be observed in the geographic layout of volcanic island chains, which are created by shifting hot spots under the Earth's crust as the axis and crust move. This is consistent with the Indian tectonic plate colliding with the Eurasian tectonic plate, which is causing the Himalayan uplift.


title: Equator

text: The International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) use an equatorial radius of (codified as the IAU 2009 value). This equatorial radius is also in the 2003 and 2010 IERS Conventions. It is also the equatorial radius used for the IERS 2003 ellipsoid. If it were really circular, the length of the equator would then be exactly 2π times the radius, namely . The GRS 80 (Geodetic Reference System 1980) as approved and adopted by the IUGG at its Canberra, Australia meeting of 1979 has an equatorial radius of . The WGS 84 (World Geodetic System 1984) which is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and satellite navigation including GPS, also has an equatorial radius of . For both GRS 80 and WGS 84, this results in a length for the equator of .


title: Equator

text: The geographical mile is defined as one arc-minute of the equator, so it has different values depending on which radius is assumed. For example, by WSG-84, the distance is , while by IAU-2000, it is . This is a difference of less than over the total distance (approximately ).


title: Equator

text: The earth is commonly modeled as a sphere flattened 0.336% along its axis. This makes the equator 0.16% longer than a meridian (a great circle passing through the two poles). The IUGG standard meridian is, to the nearest millimetre, , one arc-minute of which is , explaining the SI standardization of the nautical mile as , more than less than the geographical mile.


title: Equator

text: The sea-level surface of the Earth (the geoid) is irregular, so the actual length of the equator is not so easy to determine. "Aviation Week and Space Technology" on 9 October 1961 reported that measurements using the Transit IV-A satellite had shown the equatorial diameter from longitude 11° West to 169° East to be greater than its diameter ninety degrees away.


title: Equator

text: The equator passes through the land of 11 countries. Indonesia is the country straddling the greatest length of the equatorial line across both land and sea. Starting at the prime meridian and heading eastwards, the equator passes through:


title: Equator

text: The equator also passes through the territorial seas of three countries: Maldives (south of Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll), Kiribati (south of Buariki Island), and the United States (south of Baker Island).


title: Equator

text: Despite its name, no part of Equatorial Guinea lies on the Equator. However, its island of Annobón is south of the equator, and the rest of the country lies to the north. France, Norway (Bouvet Island), and the United Kingdom are the other three Northern Hemisphere-based countries which have territories in the Southern Hemisphere.


title: Equator

text: Seasons result from the tilt of Earth's axis away from a line perpendicular to the plane of its revolution around the Sun. Throughout the year, the Northern and Southern hemispheres are alternately turned either toward or away from the Sun, depending on Earth's position in its orbit. The hemisphere turned toward the Sun receives more sunlight and is in summer, while the other hemisphere receives less sun and is in winter (see solstice).


title: Equator

text: At the equinoxes, Earth's axis is perpendicular to the Sun rather than tilted toward or away, meaning that day and night are both about 12 hours long across the whole of Earth.


title: Equator

text: Near the equator, this means the variation in the strength of solar radiation is different relative to the time of year than it is at higher latitudes: maximum solar radiation is received during the equinoxes, when a place at the equator is under the subsolar point at high noon, and the intermediate seasons of spring and autumn occur at higher latitudes; and the minimum occurs during "both" solstices, when either pole is tilted towards or away from the sun, resulting in either summer or winter in both hemispheres. This also results in a corresponding movement of the equator away from the subsolar point, which is then situated over or near the relevant tropic circle. Nevertheless, temperatures are high year-round due to the Earth's axial tilt of 23.5° not being enough to create a low minimum midday declination to sufficiently weaken the Sun's rays even during the solstices. High year-round temperatures extend to about 25° north or south of the equator, although the moderate seasonal temperature difference is defined by the opposing solstices (as it is at higher latitudes) near the poleward limits of this range.


title: Equator

text: Near the equator, there is little temperature change throughout the year, though there may be dramatic differences in rainfall and humidity. The terms summer, autumn, winter and spring do not generally apply. Lowlands around the equator generally have a tropical rainforest climate, also known as an equatorial climate, though cold ocean currents cause some regions to have tropical monsoon climates with a dry season in the middle of the year, and the Somali Current generated by the Asian monsoon due to continental heating via the high Tibetan Plateau causes Greater Somalia to have an arid climate despite its equatorial location.


title: Equator

text: Average annual temperatures in equatorial lowlands are around during the afternoon and around sunrise. Rainfall is very high away from cold ocean current upwelling zones, from per year. There are about 200 rainy days per year and average annual sunshine hours are around 2,000. Despite high year-round sea level temperatures, some higher altitudes such as the Andes and Mount Kilimanjaro have glaciers. The highest point on the equator is at the elevation of , at , found on the southern slopes of Volcán Cayambe [summit ] in Ecuador. This is slightly above the snow line and is the only place on the equator where snow lies on the ground. At the equator, the snow line is around "lower" than on Mount Everest and as much as lower than the highest snow line in the world, near the Tropic of Capricorn on Llullaillaco.


title: Equator

text: There is a widespread maritime tradition of holding ceremonies to mark a sailor's first crossing of the equator. In the past, these ceremonies have been notorious for their brutality, especially in naval practice. Milder line-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are also held for passengers' entertainment on some civilian ocean liners and cruise ships.


title: Asia Kate Dillon

text: Asia Kate Dillon (born November 15, 1984) is an American actor, best known for their roles as Brandy Epps in "Orange Is the New Black" and Taylor Mason in "Billions". Dillon identifies as non-binary and uses singular they pronouns. Their role on "Billions" is the first non-binary main character on North American television, and earned them a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. They also played the Adjudicator in the action film "" (2019).


title: Asia Kate Dillon

text: Dillon graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. They enrolled in and completed the Meisner training program at The Actor's Workshop of Ithaca during their junior year of high school at age 16. They were the youngest student ever admitted to the class.


title: Asia Kate Dillon

text: In 2007, Dillon took the titular role of Rachel Corrie in the play "My Name Is Rachel Corrie". Afterward, they took part in a workshop of plays with Academy Award- and Tony Award-winning playwrights. This was followed by a featured lead role as Lucifer in "The Mysteries", and a role in "The Tempest" at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC.


title: Asia Kate Dillon

text: Dillon played white supremacist Brandy Epps, a penitentiary inmate, in eight episodes of "Orange Is the New Black" in 2016, making them one of the first openly non-binary actors cast in a major television show. They also played a recurring role in season 2 of Showtime's Wall Street drama "Billions" in 2017. The role they played is a non-binary character, Taylor Mason, a hedge fund intern, who is reported to be the first non-binary character on mainstream North American television. Showtime confirmed in April 2017 that Mason would be a main cast member starting in season 3. When submitting their name for an Emmy Award for acting, Dillon was allowed to submit for whichever gendered category they wished, and chose "actor" over "actress" because it is a gender neutral word. Their effort to clarify the matter for all non-binary people prompted the MTV Movie & TV Awards to combine their gender-segregated categories. They presented the award for Best Actor at the MTV Movie & TV Awards on May 7, 2017. In November 2018, it was announced Dillon would appear in "The Outside Story".


title: Asia Kate Dillon

text: Dillon is the founder and producing director of MIRROR/FIRE Productions, which created "US", a performance piece exploring racism and the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States.


title: Asia Kate Dillon

text: In June 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, an event widely considered a watershed moment in the modern LGBTQ rights movement, "Queerty" named them one of the "Pride50" "trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people".


title: Asia Kate Dillon

text: On March 28, 2020, Dillon released their first EP, "Handsomehands", with profits being donated to Marsha P. Johnson Institute.


title: Asia Kate Dillon

text: Dillon was born in Ithaca, New York. They identify as non-binary and were assigned female at birth. Dillon explained that around 2015, they began removing gendered pronouns from their biography, and auditioning for the part of Mason helped them understand their gender identity. Dillon is pansexual, stating they are attracted to multiple genders. In September 2021, Dillon told "The Hollywood Reporter"s "Hollywood Remixed" podcast that they use the word "non-binary" because their "gender identity falls outside the boxes of man or woman." They stated that gender is a spectrum, without a binary that was "created by colonists and imposed on the indigenous peoples," and that "sex is not a binary either."


title: Fiat money

text: Fiat money (from , "let it be done") is a type of currency that is not backed by any commodity such as gold or silver. It is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tender. Throughout history, fiat money was sometimes issued by local banks and other institutions. In modern times, fiat money is generally authorized by government regulation.


title: Fiat money

text: Fiat money generally does not have intrinsic value and does not have use value. It has value only because the individuals who use it as a unit of account or, in the case of currency, a medium of exchange agree on its value. They trust that it will be accepted by merchants and other people.


title: Fiat money

text: Fiat money is an alternative to commodity money, which is a currency that has intrinsic value because it contains, for example, a precious metal such as gold or silver which is embedded in the coin. Fiat also differs from representative money, which is money that has intrinsic value because it is backed by and can be converted into a precious metal or another commodity. Fiat money can look similar to representative money (such as paper bills), but the former has no backing, while the latter represents a claim on a commodity (which can be redeemed to a greater or lesser extent).


title: Fiat money

text: Government-issued fiat money banknotes were used first during the 11th century in China. Fiat money started to predominate during the 20th century. Since President Richard Nixon's decision to suspend US dollar convertibility to gold in 1971, a system of national fiat currencies has been used globally.


title: Fiat money

text: The term "fiat" derives from the Latin word , meaning "let it be done" used in the sense of an order, decree or resolution.


title: Fiat money

text: In monetary economics, fiat money is an intrinsically valueless object or record that is accepted widely as a means of payment. Accordingly, the value of fiat money is greater than the value of its metal content.


title: Fiat money

text: One justification for fiat money comes from a micro-founded model. In most economic models, agents are intrinsically happier when they have more money. In a model by Lagos and Wright, fiat money doesn't have an intrinsic worth but agents get more of the goods they want when they trade assuming fiat money is valuable. Fiat money's value is created internally by the community and, at equilibrium, makes otherwise infeasible trades possible.


title: Fiat money

text: Another mathematical model that explains the value of fiat money comes from game theory. In a game where agents produce and trade objects, there can be multiple Nash equilibria where agents settle on stable behavior. In a model by Kiyotaki and Wright, an object with no intrinsic worth can have value during trade in one (or more) of the Nash Equilibria.


title: Fiat money

text: China has a long history with paper money, beginning in the 7th century CE. During the 11th century, the government established a monopoly on its issuance, and about the end of the 12th century, convertibility was suspended. The use of such money became widespread during the subsequent Yuan and Ming dynasties.


title: Fiat money

text: The Song Dynasty in China was the first to issue paper money, "jiaozi", about the 10th century CE. Although the notes were valued at a certain exchange rate for gold, silver, or silk, conversion was never allowed in practice. The notes were initially to be redeemed after three years' service, to be replaced by new notes for a 3% service charge, but, as more of them were printed without notes being retired, inflation became evident. The government made several attempts to maintain the value of the paper money by demanding taxes partly in currency and making other laws, but the damage had been done, and the notes became disfavored.


title: Fiat money

text: The succeeding Yuan Dynasty was the first dynasty of China to use paper currency as the predominant circulating medium. The founder of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan, issued paper money known as Jiaochao during his reign. The original notes during the Yuan Dynasty were restricted in area and duration as in the Song Dynasty.


title: Fiat money

text: During the 13th century, Marco Polo described the fiat money of the Yuan Dynasty in his book "The Travels of Marco Polo".


title: Fiat money

text: Washington Irving records an emergency use of paper money by the Spanish for a siege during the Conquest of Granada (1482–1492). In 1661, Johan Palmstruch issued the first regular paper money in the West, by royal charter from the Kingdom of Sweden, through a new institution, the Bank of Stockholm. While this private paper currency was largely a failure, the Swedish parliament eventually assumed control of the issue of paper money in the country. By 1745, its paper money was inconvertible to specie, but acceptance was mandated by the government. This fiat currency depreciated so rapidly that by 1776 it was returned to a silver standard. Fiat money also has other beginnings in 17th-century Europe, having been introduced by the Bank of Amsterdam in 1683.


title: Fiat money

text: In 17th century New France, now part of Canada, the universally accepted medium of exchange was the beaver pelt. As the colony expanded, coins from France came to be used widely, but there was usually a shortage of French coins. In 1685, the colonial authorities in New France found themselves seriously short of money. A military expedition against the Iroquois had gone badly and tax revenues were down, reducing government money reserves. Typically, when short of funds, the government would simply delay paying merchants for purchases, but it was not safe to delay payment to soldiers due to the risk of mutiny.


title: Fiat money

text: Jacques de Meulles, the Intendant of Finance, conceived an ingenious ad hoc solution – the temporary issuance of paper money to pay the soldiers, in the form of playing cards. He confiscated all the playing cards in the colony, had them cut into pieces, wrote denominations on the pieces, signed them, and issued them to the soldiers as pay in lieu of gold and silver. Because of the chronic shortages of money of all types in the colonies, these cards were accepted readily by merchants and the public and circulated freely at face value. It was intended to be purely a temporary expedient, and it was not until years later that its role as a medium of exchange was recognized. The first issue of playing card money occurred during June 1685 and was redeemed three months later. However, the shortages of coinage reoccurred and more issues of card money were made during subsequent years. Because of their wide acceptance as money and the general shortage of money in the colony, many of the playing cards were not redeemed but continued to circulate, acting as a useful substitute for scarce gold and silver coins from France. Eventually, the Governor of New France acknowledged their useful role as a circulating medium of exchange.


title: Fiat money

text: As the finances of the French government deteriorated because of European wars, it reduced its financial assistance to its colonies, so the colonial authorities in Canada relied more and more on card money. By 1757, the government had discontinued all payments in coin and payments were made in paper instead. In an application of Gresham’s Law – bad money drives out good – people hoarded gold and silver, and used paper money instead. The costs of the Seven Years' War resulted in rapid inflation in New France. After the British conquest in 1760, the paper money became almost worthless, but business did not end because gold and silver that had been hoarded came back into circulation. By the Treaty of Paris (1763), the French government agreed to convert the outstanding card money into debentures, but with the French government essentially bankrupt, these bonds were defaulted and by 1771 they were worthless.


title: Fiat money

text: The Royal Canadian Mint still issues Playing Card Money in commemoration of its history, but now in 92.5% silver form with gold plate on the edge. It therefore has an intrinsic value which considerably exceeds its fiat value. The Bank of Canada and Canadian economists often use this early form of paper currency to illustrate the true nature of money for Canadians.


title: Fiat money

text: An early form of fiat currency in the American Colonies was "bills of credit." Provincial governments produced notes which were fiat currency, with the promise to allow holders to pay taxes with those notes. The notes were issued to pay current obligations and could be used for taxes levied at a later time.


title: Fiat money

text: Since the notes were denominated in the local unit of account, they were circulated from person to person in non-tax transactions. These types of notes were issued particularly in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Massachusetts. Such money was sold at a discount of silver, which the government would then spend, and would expire at a fixed date later.


title: Fiat money

text: Bills of credit have generated some controversy from their inception. Those who have wanted to emphasize the dangers of inflation have emphasized the colonies where the bills of credit depreciated most dramatically: New England and the Carolinas. Those who have wanted to defend the use of bills of credit in the colonies have emphasized the middle colonies, where inflation was practically nonexistent.


title: Fiat money

text: Colonial powers consciously introduced fiat currencies backed by taxes (e.g., hut taxes or poll taxes) to mobilise economic resources in their new possessions, at least as a transitional arrangement. The purpose of such taxes was later served by property taxes. The repeated cycle of deflationary hard money, followed by inflationary paper money continued through much of the 18th and 19th centuries. Often nations would have dual currencies, with paper trading at some discount to money which represented specie.


title: Fiat money

text: Examples include the “Continental” bills issued by the U.S. Congress before the United States Constitution; paper versus gold ducats in Napoleonic era Vienna, where paper often traded at 100:1 against gold; the South Sea Bubble, which produced bank notes not representing sufficient reserves; and the Mississippi Company scheme of John Law.


title: Fiat money

text: During the American Civil War, the Federal Government issued United States Notes, a form of paper fiat currency known popularly as 'greenbacks'. Their issue was limited by Congress at slightly more than $340 million. During the 1870s, withdrawal of the notes from circulation was opposed by the United States Greenback Party. It was termed 'fiat money' in an 1878 party convention.


title: Fiat money

text: After World War I, governments and banks generally still promised to convert notes and coins into their nominal commodity (redemption by specie, typically gold) on demand. However, the costs of the war and the required repairs and economic growth based on government borrowing afterward made governments suspend redemption by specie. Some governments were careful of avoiding sovereign default but not wary of the consequences of paying debts by consigning newly printed cash not associated with a metal standard to their creditors, which resulted in hyperinflation – for example the hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic.


title: Fiat money

text: From 1944 to 1971, the Bretton Woods agreement fixed the value of 35 United States dollars to one troy ounce of gold. Other currencies were calibrated with the U.S. dollar at fixed rates. The U.S. promised to redeem dollars with gold transferred to other national banks. Trade imbalances were corrected by gold reserve exchanges or by loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).


title: Fiat money

text: The Bretton Woods system was ended by what became known as the Nixon shock. This was a series of economic changes by United States President Richard Nixon in 1971, including unilaterally canceling the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold. Since then, a system of national fiat monies has been used globally, with variable exchange rates between the major currencies.


title: Fiat money

text: During the 1960s, production of silver coins for circulation ceased when the face value of the coin was less than the cost of the precious metal it contained (whereas it had been greater historically). In the United States, the Coinage Act of 1965 eliminated silver from circulating dimes and quarter dollars, and most other countries did the same with their coins. The Canadian penny, which was mostly copper until 1996, was removed from circulation altogether during the autumn of 2012 due to the cost of production relative to face value.


title: Fiat money

text: In 2007, the Royal Canadian Mint produced a million dollar gold bullion coin and sold five of them. In 2015, the gold in the coins was worth more than 3.5 times the face value.


title: Fiat money

text: A central bank introduces new money into an economy by purchasing financial assets or lending money to financial institutions. Commercial banks then redeploy or repurpose this base money by credit creation through fractional reserve banking, which expands the total supply of "broad money" (cash plus demand deposits).


title: Fiat money

text: In modern economies, relatively little of the supply of broad money is physical currency. For example, in December 2010 in the U.S., of the $8,853.4 billion of broad money supply (M2), only $915.7 billion (about 10%) consisted of physical coins and paper money. The manufacturing of new physical money is usually the responsibility of the national bank, or sometimes, the government's treasury.


title: Fiat money

text: The Bank for International Settlements published a detailed review of payment system developments in the Group of Ten (G10) countries in 1985, in the first of a series that has become known as "red books". Currently the red books cover the participating countries on Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI). A red book summary of the value of banknotes and coins in circulation is shown in the table below where the local currency is converted to US dollars using the end of the year rates. The value of this physical currency as a percentage of GDP ranges from a maximum of 19.4% in Japan to a minimum of 1.7% in Sweden with the overall average for all countries in the table being 8.9% (7.9% for the US).


title: Fiat money

text: The most notable currency not included in this table is the Chinese yuan, for which the statistics are listed as "not available".


title: Fiat money

text: The adoption of fiat currency by many countries, from the 18th century onwards, made much larger variations in the supply of money possible. Since then, huge increases in the supply of paper money have occurred in a number of countries, producing hyperinflations – episodes of extreme inflation rates much greater than those observed during earlier periods of commodity money. The hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic of Germany is a notable example.


title: Fiat money

text: Economists generally believe that high rates of inflation and hyperinflation are caused by an excessive growth of the money supply. Presently, most economists favor a small and steady rate of inflation. Small (as opposed to zero or negative) inflation reduces the severity of economic recessions by enabling the labor market to adjust more quickly to a recession, and reduces the risk that a liquidity trap (a reluctance to lend money due to low rates of interest) prevents monetary policy from stabilizing the economy. However, money supply growth does not always cause nominal increases of price. Money supply growth may instead result in stable prices at a time in which they would otherwise be decreasing. Some economists maintain that with the conditions of a liquidity trap, large monetary injections are like "pushing on a string".


title: Fiat money

text: The task of keeping the rate of inflation small and stable is usually given to monetary authorities. Generally, these monetary authorities are the national banks that control monetary policy by the setting of interest rates, by open market operations, and by the setting of banking reserve requirements.


title: Fiat money

text: A fiat-money currency greatly loses its value should the issuing government or central bank either lose the ability to, or refuse to, continue to guarantee its value. The usual consequence is hyperinflation. Some examples of this are the Zimbabwean dollar, China's money during 1945 and the Weimar Republic's mark during 1923. A more recent example is the currency instability in Venezuela that began in 2016 during the country's ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis.


title: Fiat money

text: But this need not necessarily occur, especially if a currency continues to be the most easily available; for example, the pre-1990 Iraqi dinar continued to retain value in the Kurdistan Regional Government even after its legal tender status was ended by the Iraqi government which issued the notes.


title: Take That

text: Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer and primary songwriter, with Owen and Williams initially providing backing vocals and Donald and Orange serving primarily as dancers.


title: Take That

text: The group have had 28 top-40 singles and 17 top-5 singles on the UK Singles Chart, 12 of which have reached number one, including "Back for Good", "Never Forget", "Patience" and "Greatest Day". They have also had eight number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart. Internationally, the band have had 56 number one singles and 39 number-one albums. They have received eight Brit Awards—winning for Best British Group and Best British Live Act. In 2012 they received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), Take That has been certified for 14 million albums and 11.4 million singles in the UK.


title: Take That

text: Williams left the band in 1995 while the four remaining members completed their world tour and released a final single before splitting up in 1996. After filming a 2005 "" about the group and releasing a new greatest hits album, a four-piece Take That without Williams officially announced a 2006 reunion tour around the UK, entitled The Ultimate Tour. On 9 May 2006, it was announced that the group were set to record new material together once again; their fourth studio album, "Beautiful World", was released in 2006 and was followed up with "The Circus", in 2008. The group achieved new success as a four-piece, scoring a string of chart hits across the UK and Europe while selling over 45 million records worldwide. Williams rejoined Take That in 2010 for the band's sixth studio album, "Progress". Released on 15 November of that year, it was the first album of new material to feature Take That's original line-up since their 1995 album, "Nobody Else". It became the fastest-selling album of the 21st century and the second fastest-selling album in British history.


title: Take That

text: In 2014, the band recorded a seventh studio album, this time as a trio without Williams and Orange. The album, titled "III", was released in November 2014 and became the band's seventh number one. It was preceded by the single "These Days", which became the band's 12th number one single in the UK.


title: Take That

text: In 2011, Take That set the new record for the fastest-selling tour of all time in the UK with Progress Live, beating the previous record set by their in 2009. At the 2011 Brit Awards they won Best British Group. In 2012, "Forbes" named them the fifth highest-earning music stars in the world. The group performed at the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony, playing "Rule the World" while the Olympic Flame was extinguished. In the same year, the Official Charts Company revealed the biggest-selling singles artists in British music chart history with Take That currently placed at 15th overall, making them the most successful boy band in UK chart history. Four of their albums are listed in the best-selling albums of the millennium, with three of them among the 60 best-selling albums in UK chart history.


title: Take That

text: In 1989, Manchester-based Nigel Martin-Smith sought to create a British male vocal singing group modelled on New Kids on the Block. Martin-Smith's vision, however, was a teen-orientated group that would appeal to more than one demographic segment of the music industry. Martin-Smith was then introduced to young singer-songwriter Gary Barlow, who had been performing in clubs since the age of 15. Impressed with Barlow's catalogue of self-written material, Martin-Smith decided to build his new-look boy band around Barlow's musical abilities. A campaign to audition young men with abilities in dancing and singing followed and took place in Manchester and other surrounding cities in 1990. At 22, Howard Donald was one of the oldest to audition, but was chosen after he got time off work as a vehicle painter to continue the process. A budding DJ, he and Barlow had a shared interest in electronic acts such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) and Gary Numan. Prior to auditioning, Jason Orange had appeared as a breakdancer on the popular television programme "The Hit Man and Her". Martin-Smith also selected 18-year-old bank employee Mark Owen and finally 16-year-old Robbie Williams to round out the group, which initially went by the name Kick It.


title: Take That

text: Take That's first TV appearance was on "The Hit Man and Her" in 1990, where they performed Barlow's self-written, unreleased song, "My Kind of Girl". They later appeared a second time to perform "Waiting Around", which would become the B-side for the first single, "Do What U Like". "Promises" and "Once You've Tasted Love" were also released as singles but were minor hits in the UK. Take That initially worked the same territory as their American counterparts, singing new jack R&B, urban soul, and mainstream pop. However, they worked their way toward Hi-NRG dance music, while also pursuing an adult contemporary ballad direction. As they aimed to break into the mainstream music industry, they worked a number of small clubs, schools, and events across the country building up a fanbase as they travelled to gigs constantly for months.


title: Take That

text: Take That's breakthrough single was a cover of the 1975 Tavares hit "It Only Takes a Minute", which peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart in June 1992. This success was followed by "I Found Heaven", then by the first Barlow ballad "A Million Love Songs", which also reached number seven in October. Their cover of the Barry Manilow hit "Could It Be Magic" gave them their first big success, peaking at number three in the UK in the first chart of 1993. Their first album, "Take That & Party", was released in 1992, and included all the hit singles to date.


title: Take That

text: 1993 saw the release of "Everything Changes", based on Barlow's original material. It peaked at number one in the UK and spawned six singles, with four being consecutive UK number one singles – their first number one "Pray", "Relight My Fire", "Babe" and the title track "Everything Changes". The lead single "Why Can't I Wake Up with You" had narrowly missed the top spot in the UK peaking at number two and the sixth and final single "Love Ain't Here Anymore" taken from the album reached number three on the UK charts. "Everything Changes" saw the band gain international success with the album being nominated for the 1994 Mercury Prize, but it failed to crack the U.S. market, where a U.S.-exclusive remix of "Love Ain't Here Anymore" gained little success.


title: Take That

text: By 1994, Take That had become radio and television stars across Europe and Asia, but it was not until 1995 that they did their first World Tour. It was during the years 1993–95 that the band fronted scores of magazine covers ranging from "Smash Hits" to "GQ", becoming mass merchandised on all sorts of paraphernalia ranging from picture books, to posters, stickers, their own dolls, jewellery, caps, T-shirts, toothbrushes and even had their own annuals released. The band had also developed a large female teenage fanbase at the time. During this time, they performed at numerous music awards shows and chart shows such as the BRIT Awards and "Top of the Pops", also winning the Best Live Act award in 1995 at the MTV Europe Music Awards, having been renowned for their breakdance routines, high energy and creative tour productions.


title: Take That

text: In 1995, Take That released their third studio album "Nobody Else", again based on Barlow's own material which reached number 1 in the UK and across Europe, capturing new audiences along the way, with Take That also able to make inroads in the adult audience in Britain through Barlow's melodic, sensitive ballads. For nearly five years, Take That's popularity was unsurpassed in Britain. The release of the first single from the album, "Sure", achieved yet another number one in the UK charts. It was not until their second release from that album, however, that they would experience what would become their biggest hit single, "Back for Good", which reached number one in many countries including the UK, Germany, Australia, and Norway. It was also their only US hit, where it reached number seven.


title: Take That

text: The song was initially unveiled for the first time via live performance while at the 1995 BRIT Awards, and based on the reception of that performance, the record pre-sold more records than expected and forced the record label to bring the release date forward by an unprecedented six weeks. The album was also noted for its cover, which was a parody of the famed cover of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" cover sleeve.


title: Take That

text: Robbie Williams's drug abuse had escalated to a near drug overdose the night before the group was scheduled to perform at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 1994.


title: Take That

text: In June 1995, Williams was photographed by the press partying with Oasis at the Glastonbury Festival. The following month, the band offered him an ultimatum; he was to adhere to the band's responsibilities or leave before their scheduled world tour. Williams chose the latter. Williams claimed he was bored with Barlow's leadership and jealous of Barlow. Despite the loss of Williams, Take That continued to promote "Nobody Else" as a four-piece, scoring a further hit single with "Never Forget" with Donald on lead vocals. They subsequently went to America and completed the Nobody Else Tour in October 1995. Following the tour, the band began to plan for their next album; however, when they spent Christmas together, they mutually agreed it was time to part ways.


title: Take That

text: On 13 February 1996, Take That formally announced that they were disbanding. This was followed by the "Greatest Hits" compilation in 1996, which contained a new recording, a cover of the Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love". The single went on to become what was to be the band's final UK number one until their 2006 comeback a decade later. Take That gave what was thought to be their final performance in April 1996 at Amsterdam. Following the band's announcement, millions of their fans were distraught around the world and in the UK alone, teenage girls threatened suicide and were seen lining streets in tears, to the point that telephone hotlines were set up by the government to deal with counselling them. After the band broke up, highly respected music figures such as Elton John noted that Take That were different from other boy bands before and after them, in that they wrote their own material through Gary Barlow. Barlow is one of only a small number of people who have won an Ivor Novello award during their time in a boy band, with George Michael whilst in Wham! and Tony Mortimer whilst in East 17 being two others who have achieved this feat. Take That had also left a legacy of being immaculate performers with a very high work ethic, causing them to be voted in as the greatest boy band of all time.


title: Take That

text: On 14 November 2005, "Never Forget – The Ultimate Collection", a new compilation of their hit singles including a new previously unreleased song, also achieved great success and peaked at number 2 on UK charts, selling over 2.4 million copies in the UK alone. The new song "Today I've Lost You" (recorded in September 2005) was originally written by Barlow as the follow up to "Back for Good" but was never recorded. On 16 November 2005, the group got back together for the ITV documentary "", in which they aired their views over their fame, success, the split and what the post-Williams line-up had done since. On 25 November 2005, there was an official press conference by the band announcing that the post-Robbie Williams line-up was going to tour in 2006. The tour, entitled "The Ultimate Tour", ran from April to June 2006. The tour featured a guest appearance by British soul singer Beverley Knight, who replaced Lulu's vocals on the song "Relight My Fire"; although Lulu did appear during the stadium shows on "Relight My Fire" and "Never Forget". The American female ensemble Pussycat Dolls supported the group at their Dublin concert, and the Sugababes supported the group on the final five dates of the stadium leg. In a seven-year study analysing over one billion online searches via Google conducted by AccuraCast, a leading digital search agency, their comeback was ranked at number one in the UK.


title: Take That

text: On 9 May 2006, Take That returned to the recorded music scene after more than ten years of absence, signing with Polydor Records. The band's comeback album, "Beautiful World", entered the UK Albums Chart at no. 1 and, as of June 2009, had sold over 2.8 million copies in the UK. It is the 35th best selling album in UK music history.


title: Take That

text: On "Beautiful World", all four members of the band had the opportunity to sing lead vocals and contribute in the songwriting. Unlike the band's earlier works, where the majority of their material was written by Barlow who received sole credit, all four band members are credited as co-writers, along with John Shanks. The comeback single, "Patience", was released on 20 November 2006, with a special event launching it on 5 November.


title: Take That

text: On 26 November "Patience" hit number 1 in the UK in its second week of chart entry, making it the group's ninth No. 1, and staying there for 4 weeks. Take That also accompanied eventual winner Leona Lewis on a live version of "A Million Love Songs" during the final of "The X Factor" on 16 December 2006.


title: Take That

text: The week after "Beautiful World" was released, it was announced that Take That had become the first artists ever to top the UK official single and album charts along with the download single, download album and DVD charts in the same week, as well as topping the radio charts.


title: Take That

text: The video for the number 1 hit single "Shine", the follow-up to "Patience", premiered on 25 January 2007 on Channel 4, ahead of its release on 26 February 2007. The band's success continued on 14 February 2007 when Take That performed live at the BRIT Awards ceremony at Earl's Court. Their single "Patience" won the Best British Single category. The third single chosen from "Beautiful World" was "I'd Wait For Life", released on 18 June 2007 in the UK. The single reached 17 in the UK Singles Chart. This may have been due to lack of promotion, as the band decided to take a pre-tour break rather than do any promotion for the single. The single "Rule the World", included on the deluxe version of "Beautiful World", was recorded for the soundtrack of the film "Stardust" (2007). It reached number two in the UK and went on to become the group's second best selling single, shifting over 1.2 million units in the UK. "Beautiful World" was the fourth biggest-selling album of 2007. It was announced at the start of 2007 that Take That signed a record deal with American label Interscope, and would also release their album in Canada. Starting on 11 October 2007, Take That began their "Beautiful World Tour 2007" in Belfast. The tour included 49 shows throughout Europe and the UK and ended in Manchester on 23 December 2007. The band received four nominations at the 2008 BRIT Awards. Nominated for Best British Group, Best British Single ("Shine"), Best British Album ("Beautiful World") and Best Live Act, they took home the Best Live Act and the Best British Single awards. According to a 2007 MSN UK internet poll, Take That were voted as the "comeback kings" of the year.


title: Take That

text: "Greatest Day", the first single from the album "The Circus", made its radio premiere on 13 October 2008 and it was released on 24 November. It debuted at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart on 30 November 2008. An album launch party for "The Circus" was held in Paris on 2 December. On its first day of release "The Circus" sold 133,000 copies, and after four days on sale it sold 306,000 copies (going platinum) making "The Circus" the fastest selling album of the year. The album reached number 1 on the UK Albums Chart on 7 December 2008 with total first-week sales of 432,490, the third highest opening sales week in UK history.


title: Take That

text: On 28 October 2008, on the Radio 1 Chris Moyles show, it was announced that Take That would be touring again in June/July 2009, covering the UK and Ireland. Tickets for the "" tour went on sale on 31 October. The promoters, SJM, have said that the band's tour is "the fastest selling in UK history".


title: Take That

text: On 22 May 2008, Barlow and Donald attended the 2008 Ivor Novello Awards where Take That won the award for Most Performed Work with their single "Shine". Take That won the Sony Ericsson Tour of the Year award at the Vodafone music awards on 18 September 2008. They were unable to attend as they were in LA finishing off "The Circus". They did send a video link message, which was shown at the awards. On 22 November 2008, Take That appeared on week 7 of the talent show "The X Factor" where the finalists performed some of their greatest hits and Owen and Barlow made a guest appearance to personally coach the contestants. The band also performed on Children in Need 2008, singing their new single, "Greatest Day", before donating £250,000 to the charity from their Marks and Spencer fee. The band were also voted the Greatest Boy Band of All Time, reflecting their ongoing marketability and success in the pop arena, even after two decades.


title: Take That

text: At the 2009 Brit Awards they were nominated for Best British Group and they performed "Greatest Day" at the ceremony. "Up All Night", the second single from "The Circus", was released on 2 March 2009, and peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, despite heavy airplay. In Germany and Australia, "The Garden" was released as the second single instead. On 7 May 2009, Take That's official website confirmed that the third single from "The Circus" would be "Said It All" which was released on 15 June 2009, peaking at number 9 on the UK Singles chart. The video premiered on GMTV on 8 May 2009. It features all four band members dressed up as vintage circus clowns, which tied in with their forthcoming "Take That Present: The Circus Live" tour. Take That started their "Circus Live" tour at the Stadium of Light on 5 June 2009 in Sunderland and ended at the Wembley Stadium in London on 5 July 2009, which over 80,000 people attended. This tour quickly became the fastest-selling of all time, breaking all records by selling all of their 650,000 tickets in less than four and a half hours.


title: Take That

text: In November 2009 Take That released the official DVD of their "Circus" tour, which became the fastest-selling music DVD of all time in the UK on its first day of release and stayed in the top 10 of the videos chart for over a year. This overtook the previous record sales holder, which was Take That's "Beautiful World Live" tour and stayed at the number 1 spot for 8 weeks. The following week Take That released their first live album, "The Greatest Day – Take That Present: The Circus Live", which sold 98,000 copies on its first day of release and was certified Platinum in July 2013. "Hold up a Light" was released as the fifth and final single from "The Circus" to radio stations and as a digital download to promote the release of the live album. The live album also featured a stripped down session recorded live at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London. It featured the members singing the setlist from the preceding tour, albeit in a studio setting.


title: Take That

text: On 7 June 2010, the news broke of a single called "Shame", which had been written by Barlow and Williams and would feature the vocals of both artists. This was the first time the pair had worked together since 1995 and would appear on the second greatest hits collection of Williams. "Heart and I", another track from the same album, was also co-written by Williams and Barlow. The single "Shame" peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart while also achieving success throughout Europe, charting in over 19 countries.


title: Take That

text: After working with the band on new material in Los Angeles, on 15 July 2010 Robbie Williams announced he was returning to Take That. After months of working together, assembling new songs for a new album and even debating a band-name change to "The English", a joint statement between Williams and the group read, "The rumours are true ... Take That: the original lineup, have written and recorded a new album for release later this year." The statement went on to say, "Following months of speculation Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen, and Robbie Williams confirmed they have been recording a new studio album as a five-piece, which they will release in November." The lead single from Take That's album "Progress" was announced as "The Flood" and was released 7 November as a digital download, and on 8 November as a physical copy, with the album released a week later on 15 November. The single peaked at number 2 in the UK Singles Charts and to date has sold over 500,000 copies in the UK alone. The single also achieved success across Europe, charting inside the top 10 in ten countries while also charting in another nine countries whilst also being nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for best work.


title: Take That

text: On 26 October the band announced that they would be embarking on a huge UK stadium tour entitled Progress Live, starting in Sunderland on 27 May, and finishing with a record-breaking 8 nights at London's Wembley Stadium in July 2011. It was also announced that Williams would perform hit singles from his solo career during the tour. The band then played at some of the biggest venues across Europe for the second leg of the tour. The phenomenal demand for tickets across the country led to the web sites of all the major UK ticket suppliers either crashing or considerably slowing for hours on end. The demand and sheer volume of fans also created problems for the UK telephone network. Take That's Progress Live also broke all records for ticket sales selling over 1.1 million tickets in one day, smashing the previous box office record set by Take That's Circus tour in 2008.


title: Take That

text: On the first day of release "Progress" became the fastest selling album of the century, with 235,000 copies sold in just one day. The album reached number 1 in the UK, selling around 520,000 copies in its first week, becoming the second fastest-selling album in history. After the release of "Progress" it was announced that Take That have become Amazon UK's top-selling music artist of all time.


title: Take That

text: The album retained the number one spot for six consecutive weeks in the UK since its release, selling 2.8 million copies in the UK alone and becoming the best selling album of 2010


title: Take That

text: "Progress" also achieved success across Europe where it debuted at number one in Ireland, Greece, Germany and Denmark. and the European Top 100 Albums chart. It also debuted inside the top 10 of the charts in Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.


title: Take That

text: "Kidz" was announced as the second single from "Progress", it was released 21 February 2011 and charted well across Europe. The band performed the song live at the 2011 Brit Awards hosted at The O2 Arena, where they won a Brit for Best British Group and were nominated for Best British Album. Their performance of "Kidz", praised by critics, involved a highly choreographed routine featuring dancers dressed in police-styled riot gear bearing the Take That symbol on the uniform and shields. On 19 May 2011, Take That announced a new EP entitled "Progressed", which contained eight tracks written by the band since they had reunited as a five-piece. It was packaged alongside the album "Progress" and returned the band to number 1 in the UK Album Chart the week after it was released on 13 June 2011.


title: Take That

text: Take That announced that the Progress Live tour would be released worldwide as their second live album to date and would also be released on home media formats across the UK and Europe on 21 November 2011. The DVD debuted at number 1 on the UK Music Video top 40 in its first week on release and sold over 200,000 copies in two weeks of release in the UK alone. Take That's efforts were recognised further when they were awarded Virgin Media's Best Live Act of 2012.


title: Take That

text: On 4 October, it was reported that Take That were to take a break after the completion of the "Progress" tour, with Barlow continuing his role as a judge on "The X Factor" and Williams recording new solo material. Take That were presented with an Ivor Novello Award for their Outstanding Contribution to British Music in May 2012.


title: Take That

text: In August 2012, Take That performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, despite Barlow announcing that his daughter had been stillborn the previous week. The performance earned him praise for appearing live so soon after the tragedy. Williams was due to perform with the band but dropped out due to his wife giving birth at around the same time and thus the group performed as a four-piece. In November 2012, Take That reunited as a five-piece for the last time to perform "Never Forget" at the Music Industry Trust Awards. In 2013, Donald became a judge on the German version of the television dancing show "".


title: Take That

text: In May 2013, Owen announced that Take That was to begin recording their seventh studio album in 2014, and on 14 January 2014, Donald and Barlow both tweeted that Take That had entered the studio to begin recording the album, although it was not initially clear if Williams was present at these recording sessions. On 28 April 2014, Williams announced on Twitter he was to become a father for a second time, and consequently suggested he would be unable to join Take That on their album and tour. Although welcome to return to the band at any time, Williams chose not to return for group's seventh and eighth studio albums and their accompanying tours, focusing instead on his solo commitments. He continued to write music with his colleagues and has performed with the group on several occasions since 2011's Progress tour and plans on returning at some point in the future.


title: Take That

text: On 24 September 2014, it was announced that Jason Orange had left the band. He said: 'At a band meeting last week I confirmed to Mark, Gary and Howard that I do not wish to commit to recording and promoting a new album. 'At the end of The Progress Tour I began to question whether it might be the right time for me to not continue on with Take That,' he continued. 'There have been no fallings out, only a decision on my part that I no longer wish to do this,' he added. Barlow, Donald, and Owen issued a joint statement about Orange's decision which said: "This is a sad day for us. Jason leaving is a huge loss both professionally and even more so personally ... Jason's energy and belief in what this band could achieve has made it what it is today, and we'll forever be grateful for his enthusiasm, dedication and inspiration over the years." A day after the announcement, Robbie Williams took to Twitter to show support of Orange's decision. ""Mr Orange. Until we ride again. Much love, Bro."", Williams tweeted.


title: Take That

text: On 10 October 2014, Take That unveiled their first song as a three-piece and lead single from their upcoming album. Titled "These Days", it was released on 23 November 2014 and went to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, knocking Band Aid 30 off the top spot and becoming their 12th number one single. The album itself, called "III", was released on 28 November 2014 and became the band's seventh No. 1 album. It was then followed by a sell-out arena tour entitled Take That Live. On 14 October 2015, the band announced their new single "Hey Boy", released on 16 October, which is the first single from the 2015 re-release of "III". The 2015 edition of the album was released on 20 November.


title: Take That

text: In December 2015, British media buzzed about the group embarking on a stint in Las Vegas, starting 2017. Reports indicated the group impressed U.S. promoters and would headline their own residency show. Many venues circulated, including The AXIS at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, The Foundry at SLS Las Vegas and the Linq Theater at The LINQ Hotel & Casino. Local newspaper, the "Las Vegas Sun" writes that everything is still unconfirmed, despite Barlow confirming the rumour on Twitter.


title: Take That

text: On 2 February 2016, in an interview with "The Sun", Barlow revealed that Take That would release their eighth studio album later in the year. On 4 May 2016, English drum and bass duo Sigma announced their newest single would feature Take That. "Cry" received its first radio play on 20 May 2016 and was released on that date. On 21 October 2016, the band posted a teaser on their social media pages and website depicting the logo of the band flickering with the hashtag "#WONDERLAND". The following day, it was announced that their new album, titled "Wonderland", was scheduled to be released on 24 March 2017. It was then followed by a UK and Ireland arena tour entitled Wonderland Live, that commenced on 5 May 2017 at the Genting Arena in Birmingham. On 17 February 2017, the lead single of "Wonderland" was released. Titled "Giants", it debuted at 13 in the UK charts, which became the band's 24th UK top 20 single.


title: Take That

text: On 8 April 2017, ITV aired a specially commissioned hour-length television special titled "An Evening with Take That", where the band performed some songs from the album, along with some old classics including "Never Forget", "Back for Good" and "Rule the World". The band also took part in a Q&A session with the audience members. On 27 April, it was announced on Twitter that "New Day" would be released as the next single from the album "Wonderland". The band were seen recording the music video in a field in Luton the days leading up the opening night of the Wonderland Live tour. Due to the Manchester Arena bombing just days before they were due to perform at the venue, their Manchester and Liverpool dates were rescheduled or relocated. The band returned a month later to perform at the One Love Manchester benefit concert.


title: Take That

text: On 16 September 2017, Barlow, Owen and Donald were set to perform a special one-off show in Jersey after a fan bid more than £1.2 million to win a performance from the band. This then turned in to a ticketed charity event where the money from tickets sold would go towards benefiting Children in Need. The auction was held on BBC Radio 2. On 11 November 2017, Take That began their foreign tour in Perth, Australia, the first time they have performed in the country in over twenty years. They also played in New Zealand, United Arab Emirates and Israel for the first time. Unlike the other tours, a DVD for Wonderland Live was not released. Instead, it was broadcast on Sky 1 on 23 December and in cinemas.


title: Take That

text: On 16 July 2018, while performing at first ever Hits Radio Live at the Manchester Arena, Barlow, Donald and Owen confirmed that they would be touring in 2019. The tour was a Greatest Hits tour and celebrated the 30th anniversary of the band. There was also a "Greatest Hits" album, "Odyssey", which was released on 23 November 2018. The Greatest Hits album features existing songs from their back catalogue that have been re-imagined and 3 brand new songs. It also includes collaborations with Boyz II Men, Lulu, Sigma and Barry Gibb. "Odyssey" reached number one in the UK album chart and was certified as a platinum selling record. The following year, Odyssey Live, the recording of their tour, reached number 5, becoming the band's 13th top 5 album, with the DVD becoming the biggest live music sale of 2019.


title: Take That

text: In May 2020, Barlow, Donald, and Owen reunited with Williams for a virtual performance from their respective homes, hosted by price comparison website comparethemarket.com, to raise money for the music charity Nordoff Robbins and Crew Nation.


title: Take That

text: In June 2022, Barlow confirmed that the band had begun working on their ninth studio album due for a late 2023 release. The album was also confirmed by Owen earlier in May.


title: Take That

text: In October 2022, it was announced that Take That would perform at BST Hyde Park on 1 July 2023, supported by The Script and the Sugababes.


title: Take That

text: In April 2006, EMI licensed the band's songs to be used in the musical "Never Forget", a musical based on songs of the band from the 1990s. Take That posted and then later removed a statement on their website distancing themselves from it.


title: Take That

text: Take That wrote and recorded the theme song "Rule the World" for the film "Stardust" directed by Matthew Vaughn, which was released in cinemas across the globe in October 2007. In 2007, their song "Back for Good" was used as part of the soundtrack for popular Korean drama "The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince".


title: Take That

text: Take That presented their own TV show "Take That Come to Town", a variety show in which they performed some of their biggest hits. The show also featured comedy sketches with one of Peter Kay's alter egos Geraldine McQueen. It aired on 7 December 2008 on ITV1. Sony launched their first Take That video game, "SingStar Take That" in 2009 for the PlayStation 3.


title: Take That

text: In November 2010, ITV aired "Take That: Look Back, Don't Stare", a black-and-white documentary which focused on the band working together for the first time in 15 years. Through a series of interviews, the band look back at their achievements while also looking forward to what the future holds for them. On 18 November 2010, Williams and Barlow appeared together live on television for the first time on the "Popstars" program in Germany singing their hit "Shame".


title: Take That

text: In 2011, Take That's song "Love Love" was used in the credits of the 2011 film "" and later, "When We Were Young" was chosen as the main theme for "The Three Musketeers" movie. In 2015, the song "Get Ready for It" from their album "III", was chosen as the theme song for the film "".


title: Take That

text: In 2017, Take That launched "The Band", a musical written by Tim Firth featuring the five winners of "Let It Shine" and some of Take That's biggest hits. Take That, including Robbie Williams, were billed as executive producers.


title: Take That

text: The group's music is regularly featured in the Channel 4 show "Derry Girls", notably in the third episode of the second series, when the lead characters sneak off to attend the 1993 Take That concert in Belfast; the episode features the music video for "Pray" and ends on footage of the band performing "Everything Changes".


title: Take That

text: Early in their career, Take That were known for party anthems such as "Do What U Like" and more mature ballads such as "A Million Love Songs" and "Back for Good". Since reuniting in 2006, they have become more experimental: their post-2006 albums "Beautiful World" and "The Circus" have featured "stadium-filling pop-rock" while "Progress" largely leaned towards electropop. Having been dubbed the "comeback kings" by the media for their highly successful reunion, the group has won widespread praise for their seamless transformation from teen idols to "man band" without overly relying on nostalgia, instead showcasing a more mature image and sound and reinventing themselves while maintaining their artistic integrity. Jude Rogers of "The Guardian" commented on Take That's post-reunion success, in light of a string of reunions by the group's disbanded counterparts from the 1990s: "Only Take That are penetrating pop's wider consciousness by becoming a man-band rather than a boy-band, singing mature, proper pop songs that cross the generations."


title: Take That

text: Take That have garnered critical acclaim and popularity as consummate live performers and for their musical output. Their domestic concert tours have been described as "some of the most flamboyant, imaginative and extravagant pop tours around". Aside from covers, all of their material is composed by the members themselves; Barlow was initially the principal songwriter who received sole credit but the other members have since taken a more active role in the composition and production process, including playing instruments for the backing track.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director. Before playing the role of Dr. Owen Hunt in "Grey's Anatomy", for which he is widely known, McKidd appeared as Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's "Trainspotting" (1996), Count Vronsky in the BBC miniseries "Anna Karenina" (2000), Lucius Vorenus in the historical drama series "Rome" (2005–2007) and Dan Vasser in the NBC series "Journeyman" (2007). He provided the voice of John "Soap" MacTavish in the video games "" and "". He also played Poseidon in the film "", and Father Deegan in the "Father Ted" Christmas special.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: McKidd was born on 9 August 1973, in Elgin, Moray, the son of Kathleen, a secretary, and Neil McKidd, a plumber. He grew up in a council estate in Elgin. At 17, McKidd worked at the Macallan distillery in Speyside. He later went to work with the Lumsden family of coppersmiths. He attended Seafield Primary School and Elgin Academy. and was a member of the local amateur dramatic group, Moray Youth Theatre. Planning to study engineering, he initially attended the University of Edinburgh, then decided to audition at Edinburgh's Queen Margaret University where he was accepted to study Drama. He joined Edinburgh University's student theatre company, Bedlam Theatre, where he was a member of the improvisational comedy troupe The Improverts.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: After playing Tommy Mackenzie in "Trainspotting", McKidd was cast as Father Deegan in the 1996 Christmas episode of "Father Ted". Subsequent roles include Malky Johnson in "Small Faces". In 2004, he played James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, in the BBC mini-series "Gunpowder, Treason & Plot".


title: Kevin McKidd

text: In 1999, he was part of an ensemble cast in Mike Leigh's "Topsy Turvy", depicting the development of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado". The actors researched their historical characters and used this knowledge during extensive rehearsals to help develop dialogue for scenes blocked out by Leigh. McKidd, like the rest of the cast, did his own singing in the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas portrayed in the film.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: In 2001, he played Elliot in the British film "Understanding Jane", directed by Caleb Lindsay. He appeared in Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven", and in the 2002 film adaptation of "Nicholas Nickleby". In Neil Marshall's horror film "Dog Soldiers", he appeared as Pte Lawrence Cooper. In the 2005 BBC drama, "The Virgin Queen", he played Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: In 1998, McKidd was in the four part BBC2 series "Looking After Jo Jo", playing the role of Basil. He was also one of the main stars of the joint HBO/BBC series "Rome", where his portrayal of the soldier-politician Lucius Vorenus received critical acclaim.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: McKidd starred in the premiere of Caryl Churchill's newest play, "Far Away". He played Todd, the romantic partner of Joan, and her co-worker as hat maker.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: Additional work includes his role in the "Silence of the Lambs" prequel "Hannibal Rising" (2007). In late 2007, McKidd began his role as the lead character in the American fantasy television series "Journeyman" on NBC. Despite starting out with a strong audience, the show lost about half of its viewership throughout its run and suffered from the fractious situation in the United States due to the writer's strike at the time. Thirteen episodes were produced.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: His role in "Rome" led to McKidd's casting in the medical drama series "Grey's Anatomy" as Dr. Owen Hunt. He made his directorial debut in the series's seventh season, directing the episode "Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)". He won the award for "Best Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline" at the 14th Prism Awards for his work in "Grey's Anatomy". He played the role of Poseidon, god of the seas, and the father of Percy Jackson in "".


title: Kevin McKidd

text: McKidd has done voice work and voiced the character of Jezz Torrent, flame haired lead singer of the fictional Scottish hard rock band Love Fist in the video game "". He is credited with playing a voice-over for the character John "Soap" MacTavish in "" and "". In 2012, he voiced the characters of Lord MacGuffin and his son Young MacGuffin in the Disney/Pixar film "Brave". Having grown up in Elgin, McKidd used a variation of the Doric dialect for Young MacGuffin, and one of the running gags of his lines is that not even Lord MacGuffin is entirely sure what Young MacGuffin is saying.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: McKidd instigated "The Speyside Sessions", a Scottish folk music album recorded in 2011/12 on Hogmanay in his home town of Elgin. Many of the contributors to the album are old school friends of McKidd's. The album was released on 15 June 2012 in aid of Save the Children.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: McKidd married Jane Parker in 1999. They have two children, a daughter and a son. In August 2015, McKidd and his family became U.S. citizens. The couple said in July 2016 that they were separating and have been divorced since December 2017.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: McKidd married Arielle Goldrath in a Jewish ceremony on 13 January 2018. On 13 May 2018, they welcomed a son Aiden. McKidd announced that their daughter Nava was born 27 July 2019.


title: Kevin McKidd

text: In April 2013, McKidd was Grand Marshal of the 15th annual Tartan Day Parade in New York City. At the time, he voiced his support for Scottish independence and expressed regret that he would be unable to vote in the then upcoming Scottish independence referendum the following year because he no longer lives in Scotland. Of Scottish independence, McKidd stated, "A lot of people think we're all gonna fall flat on our face if we do this. We're too feisty a people to let things turn bad if we went and tried it. Why not? Why not try at least?"


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch Industries, Inc. ( ) is an American privately held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiaries are involved in the manufacturing, refining, and distribution of petroleum, chemicals, energy, fiber, intermediates and polymers, minerals, fertilizer, pulp and paper, chemical technology equipment, cloud computing, finance, commodity market trading, and investments. Koch owns Flint Hills Resources, Georgia-Pacific, Guardian Industries, Infor, Invista, KBX, Koch Ag & Energy Solutions, Koch Engineered Solutions, Koch Investments Group, Koch Minerals & Trading, and Molex. The firm employs 122,000 people in 60 countries, with about half of its business in the United States.


title: Koch Industries

text: The company was founded by its namesake, Fred C. Koch, in 1940 after he developed an innovative crude oil refining process. Fred C. Koch died in 1967 and his majority interest in the company was split amongst his four sons. In June 1983, after a bitter legal and boardroom battle over the amount of dividends paid by the company, the stakes of Frederick R. Koch and William "Bill" Koch were bought out for $1.1 billion and Charles Koch and David Koch became majority owners in the company. Charles owns 42% of the company; trusts for the benefit of Elaine Tettemer Marshall (the daughter in-law of J. Howard Marshall) and Elaine's children, Preston Marshall and E. Pierce Marshall Jr., own 16% of the company. David Koch died on August 23, 2019 and his heirs own the remaining 42% balance of the corporation.


title: Koch Industries

text: Charles Koch has stated that the company would go public "over my dead body" and that the company has used its freedom from the pressures of public markets to make long-term investments and concentrate on growth.


title: Koch Industries

text: In 1925, Fred C. Koch joined MIT classmate Lewis E. Winkler at an engineering firm in Wichita, Kansas, which was renamed the Winkler-Koch Engineering Company. In 1927, they developed a more efficient thermal cracking process for turning crude oil into gasoline. This process, which the company sold to many independent refineries in the United States, threatened the competitive advantage of established oil companies, which sued for patent infringement. Temporarily forced out of business in the United States, they turned to other markets, including the Soviet Union, where Winkler-Koch built 15 cracking units between 1929 and 1932. During this time, Koch came to despise communism and Joseph Stalin's regime. In his 1960 book, "A Business Man Looks at Communism", Koch wrote that he found the USSR to be "a land of hunger, misery, and terror". According to Charles Koch, "Virtually every engineer he worked with [there] was purged."


title: Koch Industries

text: Winkler-Koch built refineries in Germany in the early 1930s. In a joint venture with William Rhodes Davis, Koch assisted in the design and construction of the third-largest oil refinery in Germany at the time. It was also one of the few refineries capable of refining fuel for airplanes, and was a strategic bombing target for Allied forces. The project was stalled for some time as Davis sought approval, before it was approved personally by Adolf Hitler.


title: Koch Industries

text: In 1940, Koch joined new partners to create the Wood River Oil and Refining Company. In 1946, the firm acquired the Rock Island refinery and crude oil gathering system near Duncan, Oklahoma. Wood River was later renamed the Rock Island Oil & Refining Company. Charles Koch joined Rock Island in 1961, having started his career at the management consulting firm Arthur D. Little. He became president in 1966 and chairman at age 32, upon his father's death the following year.


title: Koch Industries

text: Wood River Oil and Refining Company was renamed Koch Industries in 1968 in honor of Fred Koch, the year after his death. At that time, it was primarily an engineering firm with a 35% interest in Great Northern Oil Company, which owned the Pine Bend Refinery in Minnesota, a crude oil-gathering system in Oklahoma, and some cattle ranches.


title: Koch Industries

text: In 1968, Charles approached Union Oil of California about buying its 40% interest in Great Northern Oil Company but the discussions quickly stalled after Union asked for a large premium. In 1969, Koch merged his interest with the 15% interest owned by J. Howard Marshall, then owning a combined 50% of the company, preventing Union from assembling a controlling interest. They then acquired Union's interest. The Pine Bend Refinery produced chemicals, fibers, polymers, asphalt and other commodities such as petroleum coke and sulfur.


title: Koch Industries

text: In 1970, Charles was joined at the family firm by his brother David Koch. Having started as a technical services manager, David became president of Koch Engineering in 1979.


title: Koch Industries

text: In June 1983, after a bitter legal and boardroom battle over the amount of dividends paid by the company, in a settlement, the stakes of William "Bill" Koch and Frederick R. Koch, who wanted the company to pay more dividends rather than reinvest in the business, were bought out for $620 million and $400 million, respectively, and Charles Koch and David Koch became majority owners in the company. In June 1985, William and Frederick unsuccessfully sued their brothers claiming that they were underpaid for their stakes.


title: Koch Industries

text: In September 2001, the company acquired KoSa. This company is considered the largest producer of polyester in the world.


title: Koch Industries

text: In 2008, the company discovered that the French affiliate Koch-Glitsch had violated bribery laws allegedly securing contracts in Algeria, Egypt, India, Morocco, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia after an investigation by Ethics Compliance officer, Egorova-Farines. After Koch Industries' investigative team looked into her findings, the four employees involved were terminated. According to journalist Jennifer Rubin, Koch Industries' general counsel stated that Egorova-Farines failed to promptly share the findings, choosing instead to give the information to a manager at Koch-Glitsch who was later fired for bribery. According to Koch Industries' general counsel, "Egorova-Farines was not fired but instead ran into performance problems, left the company to go on leave and never returned." Egorova-Farines sued Koch-Glitsch for wrongful termination in France, lost, and "was ordered to pay costs for bringing a frivolous case".


title: Koch Industries

text: In 2010, the company was among the first group of nearly 2,000 employers that applied for and were granted federal reimbursements from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under the new Early Retiree Reinsurance Program established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, for providing health insurance to retirees too young to be eligible for Medicare.


title: Koch Industries

text: In September 2014, along with the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs, the company acquired Flint Group, a printing ink producer, for $3 billion.


title: Koch Industries

text: In June 2014, the United Negro College Fund announced a $25 million grant from Koch Industries and the Charles Koch Foundation to go towards merit-based scholarships and general support of historically black colleges and universities.


title: Koch Industries

text: In December 2014, the company acquired Oplink Communications, an optical networking device maker, for $445 million.


title: Koch Industries

text: In 2015, the company joined the "Ban the Box" movement by removing questions about prior criminal convictions from its job application, making it easier for ex-offenders to find work.


title: Koch Industries

text: In November 2015, the company "signed a Statement of Support with Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) that pledges Koch will provide supervisors with the tools to hire and support employees serving in the National Guard of the United States".


title: Koch Industries

text: In 2017, the company was featured in the Forbes' list of America's Best Employers By State. It was dropped from the list in 2021.


title: Koch Industries

text: In November 2017, Koch Disruptive Technologies was established, the corporation's venture arm, led by Chase Koch, son of Charles Koch.


title: Koch Industries

text: In December 2021, Rupert Murdoch and his wife, Jerry Hall, acquired a ranch in Beaverhead County, Montana from Matador Cattle Company, a subsidiary of the company, for $200 million. Matador was formed in 1951 by Fred Koch. It won the 2010 Lone Star Land Steward Award. The company also owns ranches in Kansas and Texas that are being marketed for sale.


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch invested $2 billion in Infor, which focuses on cloud computing, in November 2016, another $1.5 billion in January 2019, and acquired the remainder of the company in April 2020 in a $13 billion transaction.


title: Koch Industries

text: Arteva Europe is an "internal bank" which is headquartered in Luxembourg and manages the European cash flows of Koch Industries.


title: Koch Industries

text: Flint Hills Resources LP, originally called Koch Petroleum Group, is a refining and chemicals company based in Wichita, Kansas. It sells gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol, polymers, intermediate chemicals, base oils and asphalt. It operates oil refineries in six states and chemical plants in Illinois, Texas and Michigan. The firm also manufactures asphalt used for paving and roofing applications at 13 asphalt terminals in six states including Alaska (2 terminals), Wisconsin (2), Iowa (3), Minnesota (4), Nebraska (1), and North Dakota (1). The firm manages the purchasing of domestic crude oil from Texas and Colorado offices, has five ethanol plants across Iowa and one in Nebraska, has a refinery terminal in Alaska, and operates refineries in Alaska, Texas, and Minnesota.


title: Koch Industries

text: The Pine Bend Refinery in Minnesota can process of crude oil per day, most of which comes from Alberta, Canada. It handles one quarter of all Canadian oil sands crude entering the U.S. It also operates 4 fuel terminals in Wisconsin, 6 in Texas, and one each in Iowa and Minnesota.


title: Koch Industries

text: On July 16, 2014, Flint Hills Resources acquired PetroLogistics, a Houston-based manufacturer of chemical and polymer grade propylene.


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch Pipeline Company LP, a division of Flint Hills, owns and operates of pipeline used to transport petroleum, natural gas liquids, and chemicals. Its pipelines are located in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alberta, Canada. The firm has offices in Wichita, Kansas, St. Paul, Minnesota, Corpus Christi, Texas and Port Arthur, Texas.


title: Koch Industries

text: In 1946, Wood River Oil Co. (a precursor company to Koch Industries) purchased Rock Island Oil and Refining Co. As a part of the transaction, it acquired a crude-oil pipeline in Oklahoma. As a result of construction and investments, Wood River acquired other pipelines in the US and Canada.


title: Koch Industries

text: Georgia-Pacific is a paper and pulp company that manufactures a wide variety of household products under the brand names Brawny, Angel Soft, Mardi Gras, Quilted Northern, Dixie, Sparkle, and Vanity Fair. The Atlanta-based company has operations in 27 states.


title: Koch Industries

text: Guardian Industries is an industrial manufacturer of glass, automotive, and building products based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company manufactures float glass, and fabricated glass products for commercial, residential and automotive applications. The company employs more than 18,000 people and has present activities in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.


title: Koch Industries

text: Acquired from DuPont, Invista is a polymer and fibers company that makes "Stainmaster" carpet products, amongst many.


title: Koch Industries

text: When the $4.4 billion deal was announced in 2003, Koch planned to make Invista a part of KoSa, its polyester business, which Koch became owner of as of November 14, 2001, after buying the 50 percent stake owned by IMASAB S.A. of Mexico.


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch Ag & Energy Solutions, LLC and its subsidiaries, including Koch Fertilizer, LLC, Koch Agronomic Services, LLC, Koch Energy Services, LLC and Koch Methanol, LLC, globally provide products including fertilizer and other plant nutrients for agricultural turf and ornamental plant markets, as well as other enhanced efficiency products and technology for the energy and chemical markets.


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch Fertilizer, LLC, is one of the world's largest makers of nitrogen fertilizers. Koch Fertilizer owns or has interests in fertilizer plants in the United States, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and Italy, among others. Koch Fertilizer was formed in 1988 when the Koch companies purchased the Gulf Central Pipeline and ammonia terminals connected to the pipeline. The next year, the Koch Nitrogen Company was formed in order to market ammonia. The next few years saw purchases of various ammonia facilities in Louisiana, Canada, and elsewhere, and ammonia sales agreements with firms in Australia, the UK, and other countries. The year 2010 saw the founding of Koch Methanol, LLC, and Koch Agronomic Services, LLC. In October 2010, a plant in which Koch had a 35% stake was nationalized by the Venezuelan government. In 2011, the firm acquired the British fertilizer firm J&H Bunn Limited. Koch Fertilizer has change its name to Koch Ag and Energy Solutions (KAES)


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch Chemical Technology Group, Ltd. and its subsidiaries design, manufacture, install and service process and pollution control equipment, water purification and desalination equipment, and provide engineering services for various industrial applications and municipalities around the world.


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch-Glitsch is an entity of Koch Industries. Koch-Glitsch engineers mass transfer and mist elimination equipment for refineries and chemical plants around the world. As world leaders in process systems, Koch-Glitsch has two joint ventures under its umbrella: The Eta Process Plant and Koch Modular Process Systems.


title: Koch Industries

text: Eta is the leading supplier of deaeration plants around the world, with over 400 plants worldwide. The majority of seawater deaeration plants supplied by Eta use vacuum stripping.


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch Modular Process Systems specializes in modular mass transfer systems. Typical applications for these systems include chemical purification, solvent recovery, and liquid-liquid extraction. Koch Modular Process Systems also runs a state-of-the-art pilot plant.


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch Minerals, LLC through its subsidiaries, is one of the world's largest managers of dry-bulk commodities, and is also involved in oil and gas exploration and production, the production of oil field products, investments in steel and other markets.


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch Supply & Trading companies around the world trade crude oil, refined petroleum products, gas liquids, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, power, renewables, emissions, and metals.


title: Koch Industries

text: Molex produces pin-and-socket Molex connectors, specialized connectors and sensors for equipment used in data transmission, telecommunication, industrial technology, solar power, automotive electronics, commercial vehicles, aerospace and defense, health technology, and solid-state lighting.


title: Koch Industries

text: Bloomberg reports that from 1999 to 2003, Koch Industries was assessed "more than $400 million in fines, penalties and judgements". Daniel Indiviglio, in a reaction piece appearing in "The Atlantic", argues that the Bloomberg article is biased and misleading, asserting that the Bloomberg team "only found eight instances of alleged misconduct by a giant multinational over the span of 63 years".


title: Koch Industries

text: In October, 1994, a pipeline broke and discharged over 90,000 gallons of crude oil into Gum Hollow Creek, in Refugio County, Texas. Heavy rains carried the oil to the Nueces River and on into Nueces and Corpus Christi Bays. The discharge oiled terrestrial and aquatic vegetation, birds, sediments, soils, and other biota. The Consent Decree was held up for some time, due to a DOJ criminal case with Koch Pipeline regarding non- and under-reporting of discharges. The criminal case was settled in March 2000 and the assessment completed.


title: Koch Industries

text: In 1996, an 8-inch-diameter steel LPG pipeline operated by Koch Pipeline Company ruptured near Lively, Texas, a community about 50 miles southeast of Dallas, and began leaking butane gas. The vapor cloud ignited when two teenaged residents drove their pickup truck across a creek near the pipeline while on their way to a neighbor's house to call 9-1-1 and report the smell of gas. The two were killed in the explosion, and approximately 25 families were later evacuated from the neighborhood without injury. An investigation conducted by the NTSB found that the pipe section which failed had not been shown to have excessive corrosion in a 1995 inspection. Regulations at the time did not provide criteria for "adequate cathodic protection". In 1999, a Texas jury found that negligence had led to the rupture of the Koch pipeline and awarded the victims' families $296 million.


title: Koch Industries

text: In March 1999, Koch Petroleum Group acknowledged that it had negligently discharged hundreds of thousands of gallons of aviation fuel into wetlands from its refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota, and that it had illegally dumped a million gallons of high-ammonia wastewater onto the ground and into the Mississippi River. Koch Petroleum paid a $6 million fine and $2 million in remediation costs, and was ordered to serve three years of probation.


title: Koch Industries

text: In 2000, as a result of 312 oil spills attributed to Koch and its subsidiaries across six states, Koch paid what was at the time the largest civil fine ever imposed on a company under any federal environmental law for the illegal discharge of crude oil and petroleum products. Koch disputed the EPA figures, saying the EPA did not file claims in over half of the 312 alleged cases, and further, that "Many of these alleged spills are not even listed in the EPA's own oil spill data base." In a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and the state of Texas which included "leaks that occurred as the result of third party actions, like digging," the company agreed to pay a "$30 million civil penalty, improve its leak-prevention programs and spend $5 million on environmental projects".


title: Koch Industries

text: In September 2000, a federal grand jury returned a 97-count indictment against Koch Industries and four individual employees for environmental crimes relating to alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and the measurement and control of benzene emissions from the West Plant in Corpus Christi, Texas. A superseding indictment followed in January 2001. In April 2001, Koch pleaded guilty to one count, related to wastewater reporting it had self-reported to the government in 1995, according to the company. Koch Industries was fined $20 million, of which $10 million was a criminal fine and $10 million to be used for special projects to improve the environment in Corpus Christi.


title: Koch Industries

text: In December 2000, the Justice Department and EPA signed a Consent Decree with Koch Petroleum Group to spend an estimated $80 million to install up-to-date pollution-control equipment at two refineries in Corpus Christi, Tex. and one near St. Paul, Minn., reducing emissions from stacks, leaking valves, wastewater vents, and flares. Koch also will pay a $4.5 million penalty to settle Clean Air Act violations and other environmental claims at its Minnesota refinery. The State of Minnesota has joined in the settlement with the United States.


title: Koch Industries

text: In June 2003, the US Commerce Department fined Flint Hills Resources a $200,000 civil penalty. The fine settled charges that the company exported crude petroleum from the US to Canada without proper US government authorization. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security said from July 1997 to March 1999, Koch Petroleum (later called Flint Hills Resources) committed 40 violations of Export Administration Regulations.


title: Koch Industries

text: In 2005, Koch's Flint Hills Resources refinery was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Awards program for reducing air emissions by 50 percent, even while expanding operations. The EPA has worked with Flint Hills Resources to develop "strategies for curtailing so-called 'upset' emissions, in what agency and company sources say could lead to guidance to minimize such emissions from petroleum refineries and other industrial facilities". The EPA described the process as a "model for other companies".


title: Koch Industries

text: In 2004, Koch Industries bought a refinery in North Pole, Alaska that tapped the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and produced heating and jet fuels and other products. In 2006, Flint Hills Resources was fined nearly $16,000 by the EPA for 10 separate violations of the Clean Air Act at that facility, and was required to spend another $60,000 on safety equipment needed to help prevent future violations. In January 2020, after a trial that had begun in October 2019, a Fairbanks, Alaska Superior Court judge "pro tem" ordered Williams Alaska Petroleum, previous owner of the refinery, to pay $29.4 million for costs and damages related to contaminating drinking water wells supplying hundreds of residents with sulfolane, the problem first discovered in 2009. The judge separately ordered Williams to pay future response costs and partially reimburse Flint Hills Resources LLC for the more than $130 million it had spent to provide clean water to affected residents. The judge allocated 75% of the spill liability to Williams and 25% to Flint Hills in the trial that determined the allocation of responsibility. The Alaska Attorney General's office commented, "We're pleased that the court affirmed the basic principle that under Alaska law the polluter pays." Williams, Flint Hills and the state had been in litigation regarding the sulfolane plume for nearly a decade.


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch Industries won the 2015 Conservation Education Award from the Wildlife Habitat Council and "has partnered with the company on conservation efforts for the past 15 years". Between 2009 and 2015, Koch companies earned 1,085 awards for safety, environmental excellence, community stewardship, innovation, and customer service from various government agencies, businesses, environmental organizations, trade associations, and charitable organizations around the world.


title: Koch Industries

text: The Georgia-Pacific Paper Mill in Crossett, Arkansas was the subject of the environmental documentary film Company Town (film), released in 2016. The film alleges that improper waste disposal by the mill has caused a cluster of cancer incidents in the area around the mill.


title: Koch Industries

text: According to OpenSecrets, many of Koch Industries' contributions have gone toward achieving legislation on taxes, energy and nuclear power, defense appropriations and financial regulatory reform. Koch Industries has been criticized by the environmentalist group Greenpeace for the role they allege the company plays in affecting climate change policy in the United States.


title: Koch Industries

text: Prior to 2008, a Canadian subsidiary of Koch Industries contributed to the Fraser Institute, a conservative Canadian public policy think tank, according to the Institute's founder.


title: Koch Industries

text: The company has opposed the regulation of financial derivatives, limits on greenhouse gases, and sponsors free market foundations and causes.


title: Koch Industries

text: Koch Industries has come out against Low Carbon Fuel Standards. According to Koch Industries, "LCFS would cripple refiners that rely on heavy crude feedstocks to provide the transportation fuels that keep America moving."


title: Koch Industries

text: The Koch Industries website includes an opinion piece from "The Wall Street Journal" by Charles Koch, titled "Why Koch Industries is Speaking Out." The article states: "Because of our activism, we've been vilified by various groups. Despite this criticism, we're determined to keep contributing and standing up for those politicians, like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who are taking these challenges [deficit spending by governments] seriously."


title: Koch Industries

text: In a 2014 opinion piece in "The Wall Street Journal," Charles Koch wrote about his beliefs on a free society saying, "A truly free society is based on a vision of respect for people and what they value. In a truly free society, any business that disrespects its customers will fail and deserves to do so. The same should be true of any government that disrespects its citizens. The central belief and fatal conceit of the current administration are that you are incapable of running your own life, but those in power are capable of running it for you. This is the essence of big government and collectivism."


title: Koch Industries

text: In February 2016, Charles Koch wrote an opinion piece for "The Washington Post," titled "This is the one issue where Bernie Sanders is right" in which he argued that "Democrats and Republicans have too often favored policies and regulations that pick winners and losers. This helps perpetuate a cycle of control, dependency, cronyism, and poverty in the United States."