title: Book of Kells

text: In 2000, the volume containing the Gospel of Mark was sent to Canberra, Australia, for an exhibition of illuminated manuscripts. This was only the fourth time the Book of Kells had been sent abroad for exhibition. The volume suffered what has been called "minor pigment damage" while en route to Canberra. It is thought that the vibrations from the aeroplane's engines during the long flight may have caused the damage.


title: Book of Kells

text: The Book of Kells contains the four Gospels of the Christian scriptures written in black, red, purple, and yellow ink in an insular majuscule script, preceded by prefaces, summaries, and concordances of Gospel passages. Today, it consists of 340 vellum leaves, or folios, totalling 680 pages. Almost all folios are numbered at recto, bottom left. One folio number, 36, was mistakenly double-counted. As a result, the pagination of the entire book is reckoned thus: folio 1r — 36v, 36*r — 36*v (the double-counted folio), and 37r — 339v. The majority of the folios are part of larger sheets, called bifolios, which are folded in half to form two folios. The bifolios are nested inside of each other and sewn together to form gatherings called quires. On occasion, a folio is not part of a bifolio but is instead a single sheet inserted within a quire. The extant folios are gathered into 38 quires. There are between four and twelve folios (two to six bifolios) per quire; the folios are commonly, but not invariably, bound in groups of ten. Some folios are single sheets, as is frequently the case with the important decorated pages. The folios had lines drawn for the text, sometimes on both sides, after the bifolios were folded. Prick marks and guidelines can still be seen on some pages. The vellum is of high quality, although the folios have an uneven thickness, with some being close to leather while others are so thin as to be almost translucent. As many as twelve individuals may have collaborated on the book's production, of whom four scribes and three painters have been distinguished.


title: Book of Kells

text: The book's current dimensions are 330 by 250 mm. Originally, the folios were of no standard size, but they were cropped to the current size during a 19th-century rebinding. The text area is approximately 250 by 170 mm. Each text page has 16 to 18 lines of text. The manuscript is in remarkably good condition considering its age, though many pages have suffered some damage to the delicate artwork due to rubbing. The book must have been the product of a major scriptorium over several years, yet was apparently never finished, the projected decoration of some pages appearing only in outline. It is believed that the original manuscript consisted of about 370 folios, based on gaps in the text and the absence of key illustrations. The bulk of the missing material (or, about 30 folios) was perhaps lost when the book was stolen in the early 11th century. In 1621 the prominent Anglican clergyman James Ussher counted just 344 folios; presently another four or five are missing from the body of the text, after folios 177, 239, and 330. The missing bifolium 335-36 was found and restored in 1741.


title: Book of Kells

text: The extant book contains preliminary matter, the complete text of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and the Gospel of John through John 17:13. The remaining preliminary matter consists of two fragmentary lists of Hebrew names contained in the Gospels, "Breves causae" (Gospel summaries), "Argumenta" (short biographies of the Evangelists), and Eusebian canon tables. It is probable that, like the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Books of Durrow and Armagh, part of the lost preliminary material included the letter of Jerome to Pope Damasus I beginning "Novum opus", in which Jerome explains the purpose of his translation. It is also possible, though less likely, that the lost material included the letter of Eusebius to Carpianus, in which he explains the use of the canon tables. Of all the insular Gospels, only the Lindisfarne manuscript contains this letter.


title: Book of Kells

text: There are two fragments of the lists of Hebrew names; one on the recto of the first surviving folio and one on folio 26, which is currently inserted at the end of the prefatory matter for John. The first list fragment contains the end of the list for the Gospel of Matthew. The missing names from Matthew would require an additional two folios. The second list fragment, on folio 26, contains about a fourth of the list for Luke. The list for Luke would require an additional three folios. The structure of the quire in which folio 26 occurs is such that it is unlikely that there are three folios missing between folios 26 and 27, so that it is almost certain that folio 26 is not now in its original location. There is no trace of the lists for Mark and John.


title: Book of Kells

text: The first list fragment is followed by the canon tables of Eusebius of Caesarea. These tables, which predate the text of the Vulgate, were developed to cross-reference the Gospels. Eusebius divided the Gospel into chapters and then created tables that allowed readers to find where a given episode in the life of Christ was located in each of the Gospels. The canon tables were traditionally included in the prefatory material in most medieval copies of the Vulgate text of the Gospels. The tables in the Book of Kells are however unusable, first because the scribe condensed the tables in such a way as to make them confused. Second and more importantly, the corresponding chapter numbers were never inserted into the margins of the text, making it impossible to find the sections to which the canon tables refer. The reason for the omission remains unclear: the scribe may have planned to add the references upon the manuscript's completion, or he may have deliberately left them out so as not to spoil the appearance of pages.


title: Book of Kells

text: The "Breves causae" and "Argumenta" belong to a pre-Vulgate tradition of manuscripts. The "Breves causae" are summaries of the Old Latin translations of the Gospels and are divided into numbered chapters. These chapter numbers, like the numbers for the canon tables, are not used on the text pages of the Gospels. It is unlikely that these numbers would have been used, even if the manuscript had been completed, because the chapter numbers corresponded to old Latin translations and would have been difficult to harmonise with the Vulgate text. The "Argumenta" are collections of legends about the Evangelists. The "Breves causae" and "Argumenta" are arranged in a strange order: first, come the "Breves causae" and "Argumenta" for Matthew, followed by the "Breves" and "Argumenta" for Mark, then, quite oddly, come the "Argumenta" of both Luke and John, followed by their "Breves causae". This anomalous order mirrors that found in the Book of Durrow, although in the latter instance, the misplaced sections appear at the very end of the manuscript rather than as part of a continuous preliminary. In other insular manuscripts, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Book of Armagh, and the Echternach Gospels, each Gospel is treated as a separate work and has its preliminaries immediately preceding it. The slavish repetition in Kells of the order of the "Breves causae" and "Argumenta" found in Durrow led scholar T. K. Abbott to conclude that the scribes of Kells had either the Book of Durrow or a common model in hand.


title: Book of Kells

text: The Book of Kells contains the text of the four Gospels based on the Vulgate. It does not, however, contain a pure copy of the Vulgate. There are numerous differences from the Vulgate, where Old Latin translations are used in lieu of Jerome's text. Although such variants are common in all the insular Gospels, there does not seem to be a consistent pattern of variation amongst the various insular texts. Evidence suggests that when the scribes were writing the text they often depended on memory rather than on their exemplar.


title: Book of Kells

text: The manuscript is written primarily in insular majuscule with some occurrences of minuscule letters (usually "e" or "s"). The text is usually written in one long line across the page. Françoise Henry identified at least three scribes in the manuscript, whom she named Hand A, Hand B, and Hand C. Hand A is found on folios 1 through 19v, folios 276 through 289, and folios 307 through the end of the manuscript. Hand A, for the most part, writes eighteen or nineteen lines per page in the brown gall ink common throughout the West. Hand B is found on folios 19r through 26 and folios 124 through 128. Hand B has a somewhat greater tendency to use minuscule and uses red, purple and black ink and a variable number of lines per page. Hand C is found throughout the majority of the text. Hand C also has a greater tendency to use minuscule than Hand A. Hand C uses the same brownish gall ink used by hand A and wrote, almost always, seventeen lines per page. Additionally a fourth scribe named Hand D has been hypothesized, to whom folio 104r was attributed.


title: Book of Kells

text: There are several differences between the text and the accepted Gospels. In the genealogy of Jesus, which starts at Luke 3:23, Kells names an extra ancestor. At Matthew 10:34, a common English translation reads "I came not to send peace, but a sword". However, the manuscript reads "gaudium" ("joy") where it should read "gladium" ("sword"), thus translating as "I came not (only) to send peace, but joy." The lavishly decorated opening page of the Gospel according to John had been deciphered by George Bain as: "In principio erat verbum verum" (In the beginning was the True Word). Therefore, the incipit is a free translation into Latin of the Greek original λογος rather than a mere copy of the Roman version.


title: Book of Kells

text: Over the centuries multiple annotations have been written in the book, recording page information and historical events. During the 19th century, former Trinity Librarian J.H. Todd numbered the book's folios at recto, bottom left. On several of the blank pages among the preliminaries (folios 5v-7r and 27r) are found land charters pertaining to the Abbey of Kells; recording charters in important books was a common custom in the medieval period. James Ussher transcribed the charters in his collected works, and they were later translated into English. A blank page at the end of Luke (folio 289v) contains a poem complaining of taxation upon church land, dated to the 14th or 15th century. In the early 17th century one Richardus Whit recorded several recent events on the same page in "clumsy" Latin, including a famine in 1586, the accession of James I, and plague in Ireland during 1604. The signature of Thomas Ridgeway, 17th century Treasurer of Ireland, is extant on folio 31v, and the 1853 monogram of John O. Westwood, author of an early modern account of the book, is found on 339r.


title: Book of Kells

text: Three notes concerning the book's pagination are found together on a single page (folio 334v): in 1568 one Geralde Plunket noted his annotations of the Gospel's chapter numbers throughout the book. A second note from 1588 gave a folio count, and a third note by James Ussher reported 344 folios in the book as of 1621. The bifolium 335-336 was lost and subsequently restored in 1741, recorded in two notes on folio 337r. Plunket's accretions were varied and significant. He inscribed transcriptions in the margins of the major illuminated folios 8r, 29r, 203r and 292r. On folio 32v, he added the annotation "Jesus Christus" in the spandrels of the composition's architecture, identifying the portrait's subject as Christ; in the 19th century, this annotation was covered by white paint, altering the composition. Plunket also wrote his name on multiple pages, and added small animal embellishments.


title: Book of Kells

text: The text is accompanied by many full-page miniature illustrations, while smaller painted decorations appear throughout the text in unprecedented quantities. The decoration of the book is famous for combining intricate detail with bold and energetic compositions. The characteristics of the insular manuscript initial, as described by Carl Nordenfalk, here reach their most extreme realisation: "the initials ... are conceived as elastic forms expanding and contracting with a pulsating rhythm. The kinetic energy of their contours escapes into freely drawn appendices, a spiral line which in turn generates new curvilinear motifs...". The illustrations feature a broad range of colours, with purple, lilac, red, pink, green, and yellow being the colours most often used. Earlier manuscripts tend toward more narrow palettes: the Book of Durrow, for example, uses only four colours. As is usual with insular work, there was no use of gold or silver leaf in the manuscript. The pigments for the illustrations included red and yellow ochre, green copper pigment (sometimes called "verdigris"), indigo, and possibly lapis lazuli. These would have been imported from the Mediterranean region and, in the case of the lapis lazuli (also known as ultramarine), from northeast Afghanistan. Though the presence of lapis lazuli has long been considered evidence of the great cost required to create the manuscript, recent examination of the pigments has shown that lapis lazuli was not used.


title: Book of Kells

text: The lavish illumination programme is far greater than any other surviving Insular Gospel book. Thirty-three of the surviving pages contain decorative elements which dominate the entire page. These include ten full-page miniature illustrations: a portrait of the Virgin and Child, three pages of evangelist symbols informed by the tetramorphs described in Ezekiel and Revelation, two evangelist portraits, a portrait of Christ enthroned, a carpet page, and scenes of the Arrest of Jesus and Temptation of Christ. Twelve fully decorated text pages embellish the book's verses, of which the most extreme examples are the four incipits beginning each Gospel, together with the Chi Rho monogram, a page receiving comparable treatment which heralds a "second beginning" of Matthew, the narrative of Christ's life following his genealogy. Another six fully decorated text pages emphasize various points in the Passion story, while a seventh corresponds to the Temptation. The first eleven pages of the extant manuscript begin with a decorated list of Hebrew names, followed by ten pages of Eusebian canon tables framed by architectural elements. Additionally, fourteen pages feature large decorative elements which do not extend throughout the entire page.


title: Book of Kells

text: It is highly probable that there were other pages of miniature and decorated text that are now lost. Henry identified at least three distinct artists. The "Goldsmith" was responsible for the Chi Rho page, using colour to convey metallic hues. The "Illustrator" was given to idiosyncratic portraits, having produced the Temptation and the Arrest of Christ. The "Portrait Painter" executed the portraits of Christ and the Evangelists. Almost every page contains a decorative element incorporating colour; throughout the text pages, these are commonly stylized capitals. Only two pages—folios 29v and 301v—are devoid of pigment colouration or overt pictorial elements, but even they contain trace decorations in ink.


title: Book of Kells

text: The extant folios of the manuscript start with the fragment of the glossary of Hebrew names. This fragment occupies the left-hand column of folio 1r. A miniature of the four evangelist symbols, now much abraded, occupies the right-hand column. The miniature is oriented so that the volume must be turned ninety degrees to view it properly. The four evangelist symbols are a visual theme that runs throughout the book. They are almost always shown together to emphasise the doctrine of the four Gospels' unity of message.


title: Book of Kells

text: The unity of the Gospels is further emphasised by the decoration of the Eusebian canon tables. The canon tables illustrate the unity of the Gospels by organising corresponding passages from the Gospels. The Eusebian canon tables normally require twelve pages. In the Book of Kells, the makers of the manuscript planned for twelve pages (folios 1v through 7r) but for unknown reasons, condensed them into ten, leaving folios 6v and 7r blank. This condensation rendered the canon tables unusable. The decoration of the first eight pages of the canon tables is heavily influenced by early Gospel Books from the Mediterranean, where it was traditional to enclose the tables within an arcade (as seen in the London Canon Tables). The Kells manuscript presents this motif in an Insular spirit, where the arcades are not seen as architectural elements but rather become stylised geometric patterns with Insular ornamentation. The four evangelist symbols occupy the spaces under and above the arches. The last two canon tables are presented within a grid. This presentation is limited to Insular manuscripts and was first seen in the Book of Durrow.


title: Book of Kells

text: The preliminary matter is introduced by an iconic image of the Virgin and Child (folio 7v), the first representation of the Virgin Mary in a Western manuscript. Mary is shown in an odd mixture of frontal and three-quarter pose. This miniature also bears a stylistic similarity to the carved image on the lid of St. Cuthbert's coffin of 698. The iconography of the miniature may derive from Byzantine, Armenian or Coptic art.


title: Book of Kells

text: The miniature of the Virgin and Child faces the first page of the text, which begins the "Breves causae" of Matthew with the phrase "Nativitas Christi in Bethlem" (the birth of Christ in Bethlehem). The beginning page () of the text of the "Breves causae" is decorated and contained within an elaborate frame. The two-page spread of the miniature and the text makes a vivid introductory statement for the prefatory material. The opening lines of six of the other seven pieces of preliminary matter are enlarged and decorated (see above for the "Breves causae" of Luke), but no other section of the preliminaries is given the same full-page treatment as the beginning of the "Breves causae" of Matthew.


title: Book of Kells

text: The book was designed so that each of the Gospels would have an elaborate introductory decorative programme. Each Gospel was originally prefaced by a full-page miniature containing the four evangelist symbols, followed by a blank page. Then came a portrait of the evangelist which faced the opening text of the Gospel, itself given an elaborate decorative treatment. The Gospel of Matthew retains both its Evangelist portrait () and its page of Evangelist symbols (folio 27v, see above). The Gospel of Mark is missing the Evangelist portrait but retains its Evangelist symbols page (). The Gospel of Luke is missing both the portrait and the Evangelist symbols page. The Gospel of John, like the Gospel of Matthew, retains both its portrait (folio 291v, see at right) and its Evangelist symbols page (). It can be assumed that the portraits for Mark and Luke and the symbols page for Luke at one time existed but have been lost.


title: Book of Kells

text: The ornamentation of the opening few words of each Gospel is lavish; their decoration is so elaborate that the text itself is almost illegible. The opening page (folio 29r) of Matthew may stand as an example. (See illustration at left.) The page consists of only two words: "Liber generationis" ("The book of the generation"). The "lib" of "Liber" is turned into a giant monogram which dominates the entire page. The "er" of "Liber" is presented as an interlaced ornament within the "b" of the "lib" monogram. "Generationis" is broken into three lines and contained within an elaborate frame in the right lower quadrant of the page. The entire assemblage is contained within an elaborate border, further decorated with elaborate spirals and knot work, many of which are zoomorphic.


title: Book of Kells

text: The opening words of the gospel of Mark, "" ("The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ"), Luke, "" ("Forasmuch"), and John, "" ("In the beginning was the True Word"), are all given similar treatments. Although the decoration of these pages was most extensive in the Book of Kells, they are all decorated in the other Insular Gospel books.


title: Book of Kells

text: The Gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus, followed by his portrait. Folio 32v (top of article) has a miniature of Christ enthroned, flanked by peacocks. Peacocks function as symbols of Christ throughout the book. According to earlier accounts given by Isidore of Seville and Augustine in "The City of God", the peacocks' flesh does not putrefy; the animals therefore became associated with Christ via the Resurrection. Facing the portrait of Christ on is the only carpet page in the Book of Kells, which is rather anomalous; the Lindisfarne Gospels have five extant carpet pages and the Book of Durrow has six. The blank verso of folio 33 faces the single most lavish miniature of the early medieval period, the Book of Kells Chi Rho monogram, which serves as incipit for the narrative of the life of Christ.


title: Book of Kells

text: At (folio 34r), the actual narrative of Christ's life starts. This "second beginning" to Matthew was given emphasis in many early Gospel Books, so much so that the two sections were often treated as separate works. The second beginning starts with the word "Christ". The Greek letters chi and rho were normally used in medieval manuscripts to abbreviate the word "Christ". In Insular Gospel books, the initial Chi Rho monogram was enlarged and decorated. In the Book of Kells, this second beginning was given a decorative programme equal to those prefacing the Gospels, its Chi Rho monogram having grown to consume the entire page. The letter chi dominates the page with one arm swooping across the majority of the page. The letter rho is snuggled underneath the arms of the chi. Both letters are divided into compartments which are lavishly decorated with knotwork and other patterns. The background is likewise awash in a mass of swirling and knotted decoration. Within this mass of decoration are hidden animals and insects. Three angels arise from one of the cross arms of the chi. This miniature is the largest and most lavish extant Chi Rho monogram in any Insular Gospel book, the culmination of a tradition that started with the Book of Durrow.


title: Book of Kells

text: The Book of Kells contains two other full-page illustrations, which depict episodes from the Passion story. The text of Matthew is illustrated with a full-page illumination of the Arrest of Christ (). Jesus is shown beneath a stylised arcade while being held by two much smaller figures. In the text of Luke, there is a full-sized miniature of the Temptation of Christ (). Christ is shown from the waist up on top of the Temple. To his right is a crowd of people, perhaps representing his disciples. To his left and below him is a black figure of Satan. Above him hover two angels.


title: Book of Kells

text: Throughout the body of the Gospels, six fully decorated text pages receive treatment comparable to that of the page which began the "Breves causae" of Matthew. Of these, five correspond to episodes in the Passion story, and one refers to the Temptation. The verso of the folio containing the Arrest of Christ () has a full page of decorated text which reads "Tunc dicit illis Iesus omnes vos scan(dalum)" (), where Jesus addresses his disciples immediately before his arrest. A few pages later () is found a very similar decoration of the phrase "Tunc crucifixerant Xpi cum eo duos latrones" (), Christ's crucifixion together with two thieves. In the Gospel of Mark, another decorated page () gives a description of the Crucifixion (), while the final (and decorated) page of Mark (folio 187v) describes Christ's Resurrection and Ascension (–). In the Gospel of Luke, folio 203r faces the illustration of the Temptation, itself an illumination of the text () beginning the Temptation narrative. Finally, is a fully decorated page corresponding to another moment of the Passion, (-) between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Since the missing folios of John contain another Passion narrative, it is likely that John contained full pages of decorated text that have been lost.


title: Book of Kells

text: Apart from the thirty-three fully illuminated pages, fourteen receive substantial decoration not extending over the entire page. Among the Preliminaries and apart from the fully decorated page beginning the "Breves causae" of Matthew, six pages begin six of the eight sections of "Breves causae" and "Argumenta" with embellished names. The exception is folio 24v which introduces the final section of the "Breves causae" of John without a comparable device. Five pages (folios 200r-202v) give an organized decoration of Luke's genealogy of Christ, just before the Temptation narrative. Another three pages contain large illuminated elements not extending throughout the entire page. contains text of the Beatitudes in Matthew (–) where the letters "B" beginning each line are linked into an ornate chain along the left margin of the page. Folio 127v has an embellished line beginning the final chapter of Matthew, which gives an account of the Resurrection. A similar treatment is given to a line in folio 188v (), which begins an account of the Nativity.


title: Book of Kells

text: The book had a sacramental rather than educational purpose. Such a large, lavish Gospel would have been left on the high altar of the church and removed only for the reading of the Gospel during Mass, with the reader probably reciting from memory more than reading the text. It is significant that the "Chronicles of Ulster" state the book was stolen from the sacristy, where the vessels and other accoutrements of the Mass were stored, rather than from the monastic library. Its design seems to take this purpose in mind; that is, the book was produced with appearance taking precedence over practicality. There are numerous uncorrected mistakes in the text. Lines were often completed in a blank space in the line above. The chapter headings that were necessary to make the canon tables usable were not inserted into the margins of the page. In general, nothing was done to disrupt the look of the page: aesthetics were given priority over utility.


title: Book of Kells

text: Some of the first faithful reproductions made of pages and elements of the Book of Kells were by the artist Helen Campbell D'Olier in the 19th century. She used vellum and reproduced the pigments used in the original manuscript. Photographs of her drawings were included in Sullivan's study of the Book of Kells, first printed in 1913.


title: Book of Kells

text: In 1951, the Swiss publisher Urs Graf Verlag Bern produced the first facsimile of the Book of Kells. The majority of the pages were reproduced in black-and-white photographs, but the edition also featured forty-eight colour reproductions, including all the full-page decorations. Under licence from the Board of Trinity College Dublin, Thames and Hudson produced a partial facsimile edition in 1974, which included a scholarly treatment of the work by Françoise Henry. This edition included all the full-page illustrations in the manuscript and a representative selection of the ornamentation of the text pages, together with some enlarged details of the illustrations. The reproductions were all in full colour, with photography by John Kennedy, Green Studio, Dublin.


title: Book of Kells

text: In 1979, Swiss publisher Faksimile-Verlag Luzern requested permission to produce a full-colour facsimile of the book. Permission was initially denied because Trinity College officials felt that the risk of damage to the book was too high. By 1986, Faksimile-Verlag had developed a process that used gentle suction to straighten a page so that it could be photographed without touching it and so won permission to publish a new facsimile. After each page was photographed, a single-page facsimile was prepared so the colours could be carefully compared to the original and adjustments made where necessary. The completed work was published in 1990 in a two-volume set containing the full facsimile and scholarly commentary. One copy is held by the Anglican Church in Kells, on the site of the original monastery.


title: Book of Kells

text: The ill-fated Celtworld heritage centre, which opened in Tramore, County Waterford in 1992, included a replica of the Book of Kells. It cost approximately £18,000 to produce. In 1994, Bernard Meehan, Keeper of Manuscripts at Trinity College Dublin, produced an introductory booklet on the Book of Kells, with 110 colour images of the manuscript. His 2012 book contained more than 80 pages from the manuscript reproduced full-size and in full colour.


title: Book of Kells

text: A digital copy of the manuscript was produced by Trinity College in 2006 and made available for purchase through Trinity College on DVD-ROM. It included the ability to leaf through each page, view two pages at a time, or look at a single page in a magnified setting. There were also commentary tracks about the specific pages as well as the history of the book. Users were given the option to search by specific illuminated categories including animals, capitols and angels. It retailed for approximately €30 but has since been discontinued. The Faksimile-Verlag images are now online at Trinity College's Digital Collections portal.


title: Book of Kells

text: The 2009 animated film "The Secret of Kells" tells a fictional story of the creation of the Book of Kells by an elderly monk Aidan and his young apprentice Brendan, who struggle to work on the manuscript in the face of destructive Viking raids. It was directed by Tomm Moore and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2009.


title: David Robinson

text: David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed "the Admiral" for his service with the U.S. Navy, Robinson was a 10-time NBA All-Star, the 1995 NBA MVP, a two-time NBA champion (1999 and 2003), a two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner (1992, 1996), a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (2009 for his individual career, 2010 as a member of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team), and a two-time U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame inductee (2008 individually, 2009 as a member of the 1992 Olympic team). He was honored as one of the league's all-time players by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary (1996) and 75th Anniversary Teams (2021). He is widely considered one of the greatest centers in both college basketball and NBA history.


title: David Robinson

text: Robinson was born in Key West, Florida, the second child of Ambrose and Freda Robinson. Since Robinson's father was in the U.S. Navy, the family moved frequently. After his father retired from the Navy, the family settled in Woodbridge, Virginia, where Robinson excelled in school and in most sports, except basketball. Robinson attended Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., where Robinson's father was working as an engineer.


title: David Robinson

text: Robinson was of average height for most of his childhood and teenage years, and stood only tall in his junior year of high school (age 16–17). But during his senior year (age 17–18) he experienced a large growth spurt and grew to . He had not played organized basketball or attended any basketball camps, but the school's basketball coach added him to the team, and Robinson earned all-area and all-district honors but generated little interest among college basketball coaches.


title: David Robinson

text: Robinson graduated from Osbourn Park in 1983. He achieved a score of 1320 on the SAT, and chose to attend the United States Naval Academy, where he would major in mathematics and play on the basketball team. At the time the Naval Academy had a height restriction of for all midshipmen, and in the autumn when the new academic year began Robinson had grown to . Assuming that he was unlikely to grow much more, the academy's superintendent granted him a waiver. But Robinson continued growing, and by the start of his second year at the academy he had nearly reached his adult height of , which later prevented him from serving on any U.S. naval ships.


title: David Robinson

text: Robinson is widely considered to be the best basketball player in Naval Academy history. He chose the jersey number 50 after his idol Ralph Sampson. He began college with no expectations of playing in the NBA, but in Robinson's final two years he was a consensus All-American and won college basketball's two most prestigious player awards, the Naismith and Wooden Awards, as a Naval Academy first classman (senior). In 1986, Robinson led Navy, a number seven seed, within a game of the Final Four before falling to Duke in the East Regional Final. Robinson played his first three years for the Midshipmen under Paul Evans (who left Navy to coach at Pitt) and his senior season under former University of Georgia interim Head Coach Pete Herrmann. Upon graduation, he became eligible for the 1987 NBA draft and was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the first overall pick; however, the Spurs had to wait two years because he had to fulfill his active-duty obligation with the Navy.


title: David Robinson

text: Robinson considered leaving the academy after his second year, before incurring an obligation to serve on active duty. He decided to stay after discussing with the Superintendent the likelihood that his height would prevent him from serving at sea as an unrestricted line officer, which would be detrimental to his naval career, and might make it impossible for him to receive a commission at all. As a compromise, Secretary of the Navy John Lehman allowed Robinson to train for and receive a commission as a staff officer in the Civil Engineer Corps. As a result, Robinson was commissioned in the Naval Reserve and was required to serve only an initial active-duty obligation of two years. After graduating from the Naval Academy, Robinson became a civil engineering officer at the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia. He was regularly featured in recruiting materials for the service. Despite the nickname "Admiral", Robinson's actual rank upon fulfilling his service commitment was Lieutenant (junior grade).


title: David Robinson

text: Since he had not signed a contract, NBA regulations stated that Robinson could have reentered the draft after his naval service. Although there was speculation that he might choose not to sign with the Spurs, Robinson agreed to move to San Antonio for the 1989–90 season, but the Spurs agreed to pay him as much as the average of the salaries of the two highest-paid players in the league each year, or release him to free agency.


title: David Robinson

text: The Spurs had spent the second half of the 1980s as an also-ran, bottoming out in 1988–89 season with a 21–61 record, the worst in franchise history at the time. While it was widely thought that the Spurs would become respectable again once Robinson arrived, no one expected what happened in his rookie season. Robinson led the Spurs to the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history at the time (a record the Spurs themselves broke in 1997–98 season, after drafting Tim Duncan, which was then broken by the Boston Celtics in the 2007–08 NBA season). The Spurs leaped to a record of 56–26 for a remarkable 35 game improvement. They advanced to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs where they lost in seven games to the eventual conference champion Portland Trail Blazers. Following the 1989–90 season, he was unanimously named the NBA Rookie of the Year, and subsequently Sega produced a game featuring him entitled "David Robinson's Supreme Court". The Spurs made the playoffs seven more seasons in a row. In the 1991–92 season Robinson led the league in blocks and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Robinson also made the 1992 US Olympic Dream Team that won the gold medal in Barcelona. During the 1993–94 season, he became locked in a duel for the NBA scoring title with Shaquille O'Neal, scoring 71 points (breaking George Gervin's single-game franchise record of 63) against the Los Angeles Clippers to win it. In that season, Robinson averaged a career-high 29.8 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game, career-high 4.8 assists per game and 3.3 blocks per game.


title: David Robinson

text: Robinson went on to win the MVP trophy in 1995, and in 1996 he was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Still, from 1991 to 1996, Robinson was thwarted in his quest to claim the one prize that had eluded him: an NBA title. During that span the Spurs were eliminated from the playoffs by the Warriors, Suns (twice), Jazz (twice), and Rockets. The loss against the Rockets was particularly painful for Robinson because it occurred in the Western Conference Finals with Robinson playing head-to-head against his chief rival, Hakeem Olajuwon. By his own admission, Robinson was outplayed by Olajuwon in the series, their only meetings in post-season play. In a "LIFE" magazine story, he seemed perplexed. “Solve Hakeem?” said Robinson. “You don’t solve Hakeem.”


title: David Robinson

text: Early in the 1997 season, Robinson's dreams of becoming a champion seemed to vanish when he hurt his back in the preseason. He finally returned in December, but six games later broke his foot in a home game against the Miami Heat, and ended up missing the rest of the regular season. As a result of the injury to Robinson and other key players (most notably Sean Elliott, who missed more than half the season), the Spurs finished the season with a dismal 20–62 record. However, his injury proved to be a blessing in disguise. Despite having only the third-worst record in the league, the Spurs won the NBA Draft Lottery—and with it, the first pick in the next year's NBA draft. They used that pick to select Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest University, who was, after a few years, the final key to Robinson's quest for an NBA title.


title: David Robinson

text: Before the start of the 1998–99 season, the NBA owners and NBA commissioner David Stern locked out the NBA Players' Association to force negotiations on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. This lockout lasted for 202 days, well into the regular NBA season, before an agreement was finally reached. After playing a truncated 50-game season, the Spurs finished with an NBA-best record of 37–13, giving them the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.


title: David Robinson

text: The Spurs blitzed through the first three rounds of the NBA playoffs, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, and Portland Trail Blazers by a combined record of 11–1 to reach the NBA Finals for the first time ever. In the Finals, the combination of Robinson in the post and second-year power forward Tim Duncan proved overpowering, and the Spurs beat the New York Knicks in five games to become the first former American Basketball Association team to win an NBA title. Duncan was named Finals MVP.


title: David Robinson

text: During the 1999–00 season, Robinson averaged 17.8 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game and 2.3 blocks per game in 80 games. The Spurs made it to the playoffs as the fourth seed, but were defeated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs despite Robinson's 23.5 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game.


title: David Robinson

text: On June 15, 2003, in the finale of Robinson's career, the Spurs won another NBA title with an 88–77 victory over the New Jersey Nets in Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals. During this game, Robinson scored 13 points, as well as getting 17 rebounds. He and the year's regular season and NBA Finals MVP Tim Duncan shared "Sports Illustrated" magazine's 2003 Sportsmen of the Year award.


title: David Robinson

text: Robinson possessed tremendous mobility in the post, speed, and ball-handling, especially for a center. With good hands on both offense and defense, Robinson was nearly unstoppable on both sides of the floor, throwing down dunks and blocking shots. He was also noted for his strong midrange jumpshot.


title: David Robinson

text: Robinson averaged 21.1 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game, 3 blocks per game, and 2.5 assists per game over 987 games in his NBA career. He is also one of only a very small group of players to have scored over 20,000 career points in the NBA, as well as being one of only four players to have recorded a quadruple-double (with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks against the Detroit Pistons on February 17, 1994).


title: David Robinson

text: He is also one of only six players to record 70 or more points in a single game. Robinson scored 71 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 24, 1994. Only Elgin Baylor (71 points), Wilt Chamberlain (70, 72, 73 twice, 78, 100 points), David Thompson (73 points), Devin Booker (70 points), and Kobe Bryant (81 points) have scored 70 or more points in a single game.


title: David Robinson

text: Robinson is also noteworthy for his harmonious relationship with Tim Duncan. Sportswriter Chris Sheridan noted that it was rare for someone like Robinson to have welcomed and mentored Duncan as willingly as he did, and to have reduced his own role in the team's offense to accommodate a younger star.


title: David Robinson

text: David Robinson was a member of the United States national team at the 1986 FIBA World Championship, 1987 Pan American Games, 1988 Summer Olympics, 1992 Summer Olympics, and 1996 Summer Olympics. He won the gold medal at all tournaments except the 1987 Pan Am Games, where he won a silver medal, and the 1988 Summer Olympics, where he won a bronze medal.


title: David Robinson

text: Robinson married Valerie Hoggatt in 1991. They have three sons, David Jr., Corey, and Justin. Corey attended Notre Dame and was a wide receiver on the football team before ending his playing career in 2016 on medical advice due to multiple concussions prior to what would have been his senior season. He was very active on campus in his final undergraduate year, having been elected student body president in February 2016 for the 2016–17 school year. Justin, a 6'8" (2.03 m) forward in basketball and a two-time all-state selection in Texas, began attending Duke in August 2015. He was initially recruited to the Duke team as a "preferred walk-on" with the opportunity to eventually earn a scholarship, but was placed on scholarship before his arrival at Duke. On September 18, 2020, Mornar Bar of Erste Liga announced that they had signed Justin, signaling the start to his professional basketball career.


title: David Robinson

text: In 2001, Robinson founded and funded the $9 million Carver Academy in San Antonio, a non-profit private school named for George Washington Carver to provide more opportunities for inner-city children. In 2012, the school became a public charter school and its name changed to IDEA Carver. Robinson continues to be a very active participant in the school's day-to-day activities.


title: David Robinson

text: In 2011, Robinson earned a Master of Arts in Administration (with concentration in organizational development) from the University of the Incarnate Word to better "understand how businesses work and how to build them."


title: David Robinson

text: Beyond his founding of Carver Academy, Robinson is well known as a philanthropist. Robinson and business partner Daniel Bassichis donate 10 percent of their profits to charitable causes. The winner of the NBA Community Assist Award is presented with the David Robinson Plaque.


title: David Robinson

text: In 2008, Robinson partnered with Daniel Bassichis, formerly of Goldman Sachs and a board member of The Carver Academy, to form Admiral Capital Group. Admiral Capital Group is a private equity firm whose mission is to invest in opportunities that can provide both financial and social returns. Robinson's primary motivation in starting Admiral Capital was to create a source of additional financial support for The Carver Academy. Its portfolio is worth more than $100 million and includes nine upscale hotels and office buildings across the U.S. as well as Centerplate, one of the largest hospitality companies in the world. Admiral Capital Group also partnered with Living Cities to form the Admiral Center, a non-profit created to support other athletes and entertainers with their philanthropic initiatives. Robinson is also co-owner of a Jaguar Land Rover Dealership in San Juan, Texas.


title: David Robinson

text: In addition to his lengthy NBA career, Robinson is also noted for his charitable work. In 1991, Robinson visited with fifth-graders at Gates Elementary School in San Antonio and challenged them to finish school and go to college. He offered a $2,000 scholarship to everyone who did. In 1998, proving even better than his word, Robinson awarded $8,000 to each of those students who had completed his challenge. In perhaps his greatest civic and charitable achievement, David and his wife, Valerie, founded the Carver Academy in San Antonio, which opened its doors in September 2001. To date, the Robinsons have donated more than $11 million to the school.


title: David Robinson

text: In March 2003, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to charity, the NBA renamed its award for outstanding charitable efforts in honor of Robinson. Winners of the NBA's Community Assist Award receive the "David Robinson Plaque", with the inscription "Following the standard set by NBA Legend David Robinson who improved the community piece by piece." The award is given out monthly by the league to recognize players for their charitable efforts. Robinson is also the recipient of the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership. In 2011, in recognition of his philanthropic efforts with the Carver Academy, Robinson received the Children's Champion Award from the charitable organization Children's Hunger Fund. In 2018, Robinson became a member of the V Foundation for Cancer Research's board of directors.


title: Apostrophe

text: The apostrophe ( or ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for two basic purposes:


title: Apostrophe

text: The word "apostrophe" comes ultimately from Greek (, '[the accent of] turning away or elision'), through Latin and French.


title: Apostrophe

text: The apostrophe was first used by Pietro Bembo in his edition of "De Aetna" (1496). It was introduced into English in the 16th century in imitation of French practice.


title: Apostrophe

text: Introduced by Geoffroy Tory (1529), the apostrophe was used in place of a vowel letter to indicate elision (as in in place of ). It was also frequently used in place of a final "e" (which was still pronounced at the time) when it was elided before a vowel, as in . Modern French orthography has restored the spelling .


title: Apostrophe

text: From the 16th century, following French practice, the apostrophe was used when a vowel letter was omitted either because of incidental elision ("I'm" for "I am") or because the letter no longer represented a sound ("lov'd" for "loved"). English spelling retained many inflections that were not pronounced as syllables, notably verb endings ("-est", "-eth", "-es", "-ed") and the noun ending "-es", which marked either plurals or possessives, also known as genitives (see Possessive apostrophe, below). An apostrophe followed by "s" was often used to mark a plural; specifically, the "Oxford Companion to the English Language" notes that


title: Apostrophe

text: The use of elision has continued to the present day, but significant changes have been made to the possessive and plural uses. By the 18th century, an apostrophe with the addition of an "s" was regularly used for all possessive singular forms, even when the letter "e" was not omitted (as in "the gate's height"). This was regarded as representing not the elision of the "e" in the "-e" or "-es" ending of the word being pluralized, but the elision of the "e" from the Old English genitive singular inflection "-es".


title: Apostrophe

text: The plural genitive did not use the "-es" inflection, and since many plural forms already consisted of the "-s" or "-es" ending, using the apostrophe in place of the elisioned "e" could lead to singular and plural possessives of a given word having the exact same spelling. The solution was to use an apostrophe after the plural "s" (as in "girls' dresses"). However, this was not universally accepted until the mid-19th century. Plurals not ending in -s keep the -'s marker, such as "children's toys, the men's toilet", since there was no risk of ambiguity.


title: Apostrophe

text: The apostrophe is used in English to indicate what is, for historical reasons, misleadingly called the possessive case in the English language. This case was called the genitive until the 18th century and, like the genitive case in other languages, expresses relationships other than possession. For example, in the expressions "the school's headmaster", "the men's department", and "tomorrow's weather", the school does not own/possess the headmaster, men do not own/possess the department, and tomorrow does not/will not own the weather. In the words of Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage:


title: Apostrophe

text: This dictionary also cites a study that found that only 40% of the possessive forms were used to indicate actual possession.


title: Apostrophe

text: The modern spelling convention distinguishes possessive singular forms ("Bernadette's", "flower's", "glass's", "one's") from simple plural forms ("Bernadettes", "flowers", "glasses", "ones"), and both of those from possessive plural forms ("Bernadettes'", "flowers'", "glasses'", "ones'"). For example, the word "glass's" is the singular possessive form of the noun "glass". The plural form of "glass" is "glasses" and the plural possessive form is, therefore, "glasses'". You would therefore say "I drank the glass's contents" to indicate drinking a drink, but "I drank the glasses' contents" when you've finished your second drink.


title: Apostrophe

text: For singular forms, the modern possessive or genitive inflection is a survival from certain genitive inflections in Old English, for which the apostrophe originally marked the loss of the old "e" (for example, became ). Until the 18th century, the apostrophe was extensively used to indicate plural forms. Its use for indicating plural "possessive" forms was not standard before the middle of the 19th century.


title: Apostrophe

text: When the noun is a normal plural, with an added "s", no extra "s" is added in the possessive; so "the neighbours' garden" (there is more than one neighbour owning the garden) is standard rather than "the neighbours's garden".


title: Apostrophe

text: Compound nouns have their singular possessives formed with an apostrophe and an added "s", in accordance with the rules given above: "the Attorney-General's husband"; "the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports's prerogative"; "this Minister for Justice's intervention"; "her father-in-law's new wife".


title: Apostrophe

text: For two nouns (or noun phrases) joined by "and", there are several ways of expressing possession, including:


title: Apostrophe

text: Some grammars make no distinction in meaning between the two forms. Some publishers' style guides, however, make a distinction, assigning the "segregatory" (or "distributive") meaning to the form "John's and Mary's" and the "combinatorial" (or "joint") meaning to the form "John and Mary's". A third alternative is a construction of the form "Jack's children and Jill's", which is always distributive, i.e. it designates the combined set of Jack's children and Jill's children.


title: Apostrophe

text: When a coordinate possessive construction has two personal pronouns, the normal possessive inflection is used, and there is no apostrophe (e.g., "his and her children"). The issue of the use of the apostrophe arises when the coordinate construction includes a noun (phrase) and a pronoun. In this case, the inflection of only the last item may sometimes be, at least marginally, acceptable ("you and your spouse's bank account"). The inflection of both is normally preferred (e.g. Jack's and your dogs), but there is a tendency to avoid this construction, too, in favour of a construction that does not use a coordinate possessive (e.g. by using "Jack's letters and yours"). Where a construction like "Jack's and your dogs" is used, the interpretation is usually "segregatory" (i.e. not joint possession).


title: Apostrophe

text: If the word or compound includes, or even ends with, a punctuation mark, an apostrophe and an "s" are still added in the usual way: "Westward Ho!'s railway station"; ""Awaye!"'s Paulette Whitten recorded Bob Wilson's story"; "Washington, D.C.'s museums" (assuming that the prevailing style requires full stops in "D.C.)."


title: Apostrophe

text: An apostrophe is used in time and money references in constructions such as "one hour's respite", "two weeks' holiday", "a dollar's worth", "five pounds' worth", "one mile's drive from here". This is like an ordinary possessive use. For example, "one hour's respite" means "a respite of one hour" (exactly as "the cat's whiskers" means "the whiskers of the cat").


title: Apostrophe

text: No apostrophe is used in the following possessive pronouns and adjectives: "yours", "his", "hers", "ours", "its", "theirs", and "whose". All other possessive pronouns do end with an apostrophe and an "s". In singular forms, the apostrophe comes first, e.g. "one's"; "everyone's"; "somebody's", "nobody else's", etc., while the apostrophe follows the "s" in plural forms as with nouns: "the others' complaints".


title: Apostrophe

text: The possessive of "it" was originally "it's", and it's a common mistake today to write "its" this way, though the apostrophe was dropped by the early 1800s and authorities are now unanimous that "it's" can be only a contraction of "it is" or "it has".


title: Apostrophe

text: Each of these four phrases (listed in Steven Pinker's "The Language Instinct") has a distinct meaning:


title: Apostrophe

text: Kingsley Amis, on being challenged to produce a sentence whose meaning depended on a possessive apostrophe, came up with:


title: Apostrophe

text: Some singular nouns are pronounced with a sibilant sound at the end: /s/ or /z/. The spelling of these ends with "-s", "-se", "-z", "-ze", "-ce", "-x", or "-xe".


title: Apostrophe

text: Many respected authorities recommend that practically all singular nouns, including those ending with a sibilant sound, have possessive forms with an extra "s" after the apostrophe so that the spelling reflects the underlying pronunciation. Examples include Oxford University Press, the Modern Language Association, the BBC and "The Economist". Such authorities demand possessive singulars like these: "Bridget Jones's Diary"; "Tony Adams's friend; my boss's job; the US's economy". Rules that modify or extend the standard principle have included the following:


title: Apostrophe

text: Although less common, some contemporary writers still follow the older practice of omitting the second "s" in all cases ending with a sibilant, but usually not when written "-x" or "-xe". Some contemporary authorities such as the Associated Press Stylebook recommend or allow the practice of omitting the additional "s" in all words ending with an "s", but not in words ending with other sibilants ("z" and "x"). The 15th edition of "The Chicago Manual of Style" had recommended the traditional practice, which included providing for several exceptions to accommodate spoken usage such as the omission of the extra "s" after a polysyllabic word ending in a sibilant, but the 16th edition no longer recommends omitting the possessive "s".


title: Apostrophe

text: Similar examples of notable names ending in an "s" that are often given a possessive apostrophe with no additional "s" include "Dickens" and "Williams". There is often a policy of leaving off the additional "s" on any such name, but this can prove problematic when specific names are contradictory (for example, "St James' Park" in Newcastle [the football ground] and the area of "St. James's Park" in London). However, debate has been going on regarding the punctuation of St James' Park (Newcastle) for some time, unlike St James's Park (London) which is the less contentious version. For more details on practice with geographic names, see the relevant section below.


title: Apostrophe

text: Some writers like to reflect standard spoken practice in cases like these with "sake": "for convenience' sake", "for goodness' sake", "for appearance' sake", "for compromise' sake", etc. This punctuation is preferred in major style guides. Others prefer to add "'s": "for convenience's sake". Still others prefer to omit the apostrophe when there is an "s" sound before "sake": "for morality's sake", but "for convenience sake".


title: Apostrophe

text: The English possessive of French nouns ending in a silent "s", "x", or "z" is addressed by various style guides. Certainly a sibilant is pronounced in examples like "Descartes's" and "Dumas's"; the question addressed here is whether "s" needs to be added. Similar examples with "x" or "z": "'s main ingredient is truffle"; "His 's loss went unnoticed"; ""Verreaux('s) eagle, a large, predominantly black eagle, "Aquila verreauxi"..."" (OED, entry for "Verreaux", with silent "x"; see Verreaux's eagle); in each of these some writers might omit the added "s". The same principles and residual uncertainties apply with "naturalised" English words, like "Illinois" and "Arkansas".


title: Apostrophe

text: For possessive "plurals" of words ending in a silent "x", "z" or "s", the few authorities that address the issue at all typically call for an added "s" and suggest that the apostrophe precede the "s": "The Loucheux's homeland is in the Yukon"; "Compare the two Dumas's literary achievements". The possessive of a cited French title with a silent plural ending is uncertain: "'s long and complicated publication history", but "<nowiki>'</nowiki> singular effect was 'exotic primitive' ..." (with nearby sibilants "-ce-" in "noces" and "s-" in "singular"). Compare treatment of other titles, above.


title: Apostrophe

text: Guides typically seek a principle that will yield uniformity, even for foreign words that fit awkwardly with standard English punctuation.


title: Apostrophe

text: Place names in the United States do not use the possessive apostrophe on federal maps and signs. The United States Board on Geographic Names, which has responsibility for formal naming of municipalities and geographic features, has deprecated the use of possessive apostrophes since 1890 so as not to show ownership of the place. Only five names of natural features in the US are officially spelled with a genitive apostrophe: Martha's Vineyard; Ike's Point, New Jersey; John E's Pond, Rhode Island; Carlos Elmer's Joshua View, Arizona; and Clark's Mountain, Oregon. Some municipalities, originally incorporated using the apostrophe, have dropped it in accordance with this policy; Taylors Falls in Minnesota, for example, was originally incorporated as "Taylor's Falls". On the state level, the federal policy is not always followed: Vermont's official state website has a page on Camel's Hump State Forest.


title: Apostrophe

text: Australia's Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping also has a no-apostrophe policy, a practice it says goes back to the 1900s and which is generally followed around the country.


title: Apostrophe

text: On the other hand, the United Kingdom has Bishop's Stortford, Bishop's Castle and King's Lynn (among many others) but St Albans, St Andrews and St Helens. London Underground's Piccadilly line has the adjacent stations of Earl's Court in Earl's Court and Barons Court. These names were mainly fixed in form many years before grammatical rules were fully standardised. While Newcastle United play football at a stadium called St James' Park, and Exeter City at St James Park, London has a St James's Park (this whole area of London is named after the parish of St James's Church, Piccadilly).


title: Apostrophe

text: Modern usage has been influenced by considerations of technological convenience including the economy of typewriter ribbons and films, and similar computer character "disallowance" which tend to ignore past standards. Practice in the United Kingdom and Canada is not so uniform.


title: Apostrophe

text: Sometimes the apostrophe is omitted in the names of clubs, societies, and other organizations, even though the standard principles seem to require it: "Country Women's Association", but "International Aviation Association"; "Magistrates' Court of Victoria", but "Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union". Usage is variable and inconsistent. Style guides typically advise consulting an official source for the standard form of the name (as one would do if uncertain about other aspects of the spelling of the name); some tend towards greater prescriptiveness, for or against such an apostrophe. As the case of "" shows, it is not possible to analyze these forms simply as non-possessive plurals, since "women" is the only correct plural form of "woman".


title: Apostrophe

text: Where a business name is based on a family name it should in theory take an apostrophe, but many leave it out (contrast "Sainsbury's" with "Harrods"). In recent times there has been an increasing tendency to drop the apostrophe. Names based on a first name are more likely to take an apostrophe, but this is not always the case. Some business names may inadvertently spell a different name if the name with an "s" at the end is also a name, such as Parson. A small activist group called the Apostrophe Protection Society has campaigned for large retailers such as Harrods, Currys, and Selfridges to reinstate their missing punctuation. A spokesperson for Barclays PLC stated, "It has just disappeared over the years. Barclays is no longer associated with the family name." Further confusion can be caused by businesses whose names look as if they should be pronounced differently without an apostrophe, such as Paulos Circus, and other companies that leave the apostrophe out of their logos but include it in written text, such as Cadwalader's.


title: Apostrophe

text: Following an evolution in usage in the 20th century, today "the apostrophe of plurality continues in at least five areas": abbreviations, letters of the alphabet/small words, numbers, family names, and in non-standard use.


title: Apostrophe

text: For abbreviations, including acronyms, the use of "s" without an apostrophe is now more common than its use with an apostrophe. Most modern style guides disparage the use of apostrophes in all plural abbreviations.


title: Apostrophe

text: Some references continue to condone their use, or even recommend their use in some abbreviations. For example, "The Canadian Style" states "Add an apostrophe and "s" to form the plural of abbreviations containing more than one period", so "G.M.'s" is preferred to "G.M.s". The "Oxford Companion to the English Language" condones "V.I.P.'s", "VIP's", and "VIPs" equally.


title: Apostrophe

text: For single lowercase letters, pluralization with "'s" is usual. Many guides recommend apostrophes whether the single letters are lowercase (as in "minding your p's and q's") or uppercase (as in "A's and S's"). "The Chicago Manual of Style" recommends the apostrophe of plurality only for lowercase letters. Sometimes, adding just "s" rather than "'s" may leave meaning ambiguous or presentation inelegant. However, an apostrophe is not always the preferred solution. APA style requires the use of italics instead of an apostrophe: "p"s, "n"s, etc.


title: Apostrophe

text: In the phrase "dos and don'ts", most modern style guides disparage spelling the first word as "do's". However, there is a lack of consensus and certainly the use of an apostrophe continues, legitimately, in which "the apostrophe of plurality occurs in the first word but not the second".


title: Apostrophe

text: The "Oxford Companion to the English Language" notes that "a plural "s" after a set of numbers is often preceded by an apostrophe, as in "3's and 4's"..., but many housestyles and individuals now favour "3s and 4s"". Most style guides prefer the lack of apostrophe for groups of years (e.g. "1980s") and will prefer "90s" or "'90s" over "90's" or "'90's".


title: Apostrophe

text: While many guides discourage using an apostrophe in all numbers/dates, many other guides "encourage" using an apostrophe for numbers or are divided on the issue; for example, the "Australian Government Style Manual" recommends "Binary code uses 0’s and 1’s" but recommends "the 2020s". Still other guides take a laissez-faire approach. For example, the University of Sussex's online guide notes regional variation in the use of apostrophes in dates, and slightly prefers "1's and 7's" over "1s and 7s" but condones both.


title: Apostrophe

text: The apostrophe is very often used in plurals of symbols, for example "that page has too many &'s and #'s on it". Some style guides state that the apostrophe is unnecessary since there is no ambiguity but that some editors and teachers prefer this usage. The addition of an "s" without an apostrophe may make the text difficult to read.


title: Apostrophe

text: For many numbers and symbols, a useful alternative is to write out the numbers as words (e.g. "thousands" instead of "1000's" or "1000s", and "ampersands" instead of "&s" or "&'s").


title: Apostrophe

text: The vast majority of English references published from the late 20th century onwards disparage the use of apostrophes in family-name plurals, for example identifying "Joneses" as correct and "Jones's" as incorrect. As an exception, the "Oxford Companion to the English Language" (2018) reports that, in addition to "Joneses" etc., standard apostrophe usage does continue "in family names, especially if they end in "-s", as in "keeping up with the Jones's"".


title: Apostrophe

text: Names that are not strictly native to English sometimes have an apostrophe substituted to represent other characters (see also As a mark of elision, below).


title: Apostrophe

text: In transliterated foreign words, an apostrophe may be used to separate letters or syllables that otherwise would likely be interpreted incorrectly. For example:


title: Apostrophe

text: Rather than (modifier letter left half ring), the apostrophe is sometimes used to indicate a voiced pharyngeal fricative as it sounds and looks like the glottal stop to most English speakers. For example:


title: Apostrophe

text: Finally, in "scientific" transliteration of Cyrillic script, the apostrophe usually represents the soft sign , though in "ordinary" transliteration it is usually omitted. For example,


title: Apostrophe

text: Failure to observe standard use of the apostrophe is widespread and frequently criticised as incorrect, often generating heated debate. The British founder of the Apostrophe Protection Society earned a 2001 Ig Nobel prize for "efforts to protect, promote and defend the differences between plural and possessive". A 2004 report by British examination board OCR stated that "the inaccurate use of the apostrophe is so widespread as to be almost universal". A 2008 survey found that nearly half of the UK adults polled were unable to use the apostrophe correctly.


title: Apostrophe

text: Apostrophes used in a non-standard manner to form noun plurals are known as "greengrocers' apostrophes" or "grocers' apostrophes", often written as "greengrocer's apostrophes" or "grocer's apostrophes". They are sometimes humorously called "greengrocers apostrophe's", "rogue apostrophes", or "idiot's apostrophes" (a literal translation of the German word "Deppenapostroph", which criticises the misapplication of apostrophes in Denglisch). The practice, once common and acceptable (see Historical development), comes from the identical sound of the plural and possessive forms of most English nouns. It is often criticised as a form of hypercorrection coming from a widespread ignorance of the proper use of the apostrophe or of punctuation in general. Lynne Truss, author of "Eats, Shoots & Leaves", points out that before the 19th century it was standard orthography to use the apostrophe to form a plural of a foreign-sounding word that ended in a vowel (e. g., , , , , , ) to clarify pronunciation. Truss says this usage is no longer considered proper in formal writing.


title: Apostrophe

text: The term is believed to have been coined in the middle of the 20th century by a teacher of languages working in Liverpool, at a time when such mistakes were common in the handwritten signs and advertisements of greengrocers (e. g., " 1/- a pound, 1/6d a pound"). Some have argued that its use in mass communication by employees of well-known companies has led to the less literate assuming it to be standard and adopting the habit themselves.


title: Apostrophe

text: The same use of apostrophe before noun plural -s forms is sometimes made by non-native speakers of English. For example, in Dutch, the apostrophe is inserted before the "s" when pluralising most words ending in a vowel or "y" for example, (English "babies") and (English "radios"). This often produces so-called "Dunglish" errors when carried over into English. Hyperforeignism has been formalised in some pseudo-anglicisms. For example, the French word (from English "pin") is used (with the apostrophe in both singular and plural) for collectible lapel pins. Similarly, there is an Andorran football club called (after such British clubs as Rangers F.C.) and a Japanese dance group called Super Monkey's.


title: Apostrophe

text: In the UK there is a tendency to drop apostrophes in many commonly used names such as St Annes, St Johns Lane, and so on.


title: Apostrophe

text: UK supermarket chain Tesco omits the mark where standard practice would require it. Signs in Tesco advertise (among other items) . In his book "Troublesome Words", author Bill Bryson lambasts Tesco for this, stating that "the mistake is inexcusable, and those who make it are linguistic Neanderthals."


title: Apostrophe

text: The United States Board on Geographic Names discourages the use of possessive apostrophes in geographic names (see above), though state agencies do not always conform; Vermont's official state website provides information concerning Camel's Hump State Forest.


title: Apostrophe

text: The Geographical Names Board of New South Wales, Australia, excludes possessive apostrophes from place names, along with other punctuation.


title: Apostrophe

text: George Bernard Shaw, a proponent of English spelling reform on phonetic principles, argued that the apostrophe was mostly redundant. He did not use it for spelling "cant", "hes", etc., in many of his writings. He did, however, allow "I'm" and "it's". Hubert Selby Jr. used a slash instead of an apostrophe mark for contractions and did not use an apostrophe at all for possessives. Lewis Carroll made greater use of apostrophes, and frequently used "sha'n't", with an apostrophe in place of the elided "ll" as well as the more usual "o". These authors' usages have not become widespread.


title: Apostrophe

text: The British pop group Hear'Say famously made unconventional use of an apostrophe in its name. Truss comments that "the naming of Hear'Say in 2001 was [...] a significant milestone on the road to punctuation anarchy".


title: Apostrophe

text: Over the years, the use of apostrophes has been criticised. George Bernard Shaw called them "uncouth bacilli", referring to the apostrophe-like shape of many bacteria. The author and language commentator Anu Garg has called for the abolition of the apostrophe, stating "Some day this world would be free of metastatic cancers, narcissistic con men, and the apostrophe." In his book "American Speech", linguist Steven Byington stated of the apostrophe that "the language would be none the worse for its abolition". Adrian Room, in his "English Journal" article "Axing the Apostrophe", argued that apostrophes are unnecessary, and context will resolve any ambiguity. In a letter to the "English Journal", Peter Brodie stated that apostrophes are "largely decorative ... [and] rarely clarify meaning". John C. Wells, emeritus professor of phonetics at University College London, says the apostrophe is "a waste of time". The Apostrophe Protection Society, founded by retired journalist John Richards in 2001, was brought to a full stop in 2019, Richards (then aged 96) accepting that "the ignorance and laziness present in modern times have won!".


title: Apostrophe

text: In many languages, especially European languages, the apostrophe is used to indicate the elision of one or more sounds, as in English.


title: Apostrophe

text: Several languages and transliteration systems use the apostrophe or some similar mark to indicate a glottal stop, sometimes considering it a letter of the alphabet:


title: Apostrophe

text: The apostrophe represents sounds resembling the glottal stop in the Turkic languages and in some romanizations of Semitic languages, including Arabic and Hebrew. In that case, the letter "'ayn" (Arabic ع and Hebrew ע) is correspondingly transliterated with the opening single quotation mark.


title: Apostrophe

text: Some languages and transliteration systems use the apostrophe to mark the presence, or the lack of, palatalization:


title: Apostrophe

text: Some languages use the apostrophe to separate the root of a word and its affixes, especially if the root is foreign and unassimilated. (For another kind of morphemic separation see pinyin, below.)


title: Apostrophe

text: The shape of the apostrophe originated in manuscript writing, as a point with a downwards tail curving clockwise. This form was inherited by the typographic apostrophe, , also known as the typeset apostrophe (or, informally, the curly apostrophe). Later sans-serif typefaces had stylised apostrophes with a more geometric or simplified form, but usually retaining the same directional bias as a closing quotation mark.


title: Apostrophe

text: With the invention of the typewriter, a "neutral" or "straight" shape quotation mark, , was created to represent a number of different glyphs with a single keystroke: the apostrophe, both the opening and the closing single quotation marks, the single primes, and on some typewriters even the exclamation point (by backspacing and overprinting with a period). This is known as the typewriter apostrophe or 'vertical apostrophe'. The same convention was adopted for double quotation marks (). Both simplifications carried over to computer keyboards and the ASCII character set.


title: Apostrophe

text: Formally, the symbol used to represent a foot of length, depth, or height, is (prime) and that for the inch is (double prime). (Thus, for example, the notation signifies 5 feet and 7 inches). Similarly, the prime symbol is the formal representation of a minute of arc (1/60 of a degree in geometry and geomatics), and double prime represents a second of arc (for example, 17°54′32″ represents 17 degrees 54 minutes and 32 seconds). Similarly in mathematics, the prime is generally used to generate more variable names for similar things without resorting to subscripts, with "x"′ generally meaning something related to (or derived from) "x".


title: Apostrophe

text: Because of the very close similarity of the typewriter apostrophe and typewriter double quote to prime and double prime, substitution in informal contexts is ubiquitous but they are deprecated in contexts where proper typography is important. There is also a risk of an automatic process 'correcting' a typewriter apostrophe to a typographic apostrophe, which will not make sense if a prime symbol was intended.


title: Apostrophe

text: In its Unicode Standard (version 13.0), the Unicode Consortium describes three characters that represent apostrophe:


title: Apostrophe

text: In modern computing practice, Unicode is the standard and default method for character encoding. However, Unicode itself and many legacy applications have echoes of earlier practices. Furthermore, the limited character set provided by computer keyboards has also required practical and pragmatic adjustments. These issues are detailed below.


title: Apostrophe

text: The typewriter apostrophe, , was inherited by computer keyboards, and is the only apostrophe character available in the (7-bit) ASCII character encoding, at code value 0x27 (39). In ASCII, it may be used to represent any of left single quotation mark, right single quotation mark, apostrophe, vertical line or prime (punctuation marks), or an acute accent (modifier letters).


title: Apostrophe

text: Many earlier (pre-1985) computer displays and printers rendered the ASCII apostrophe as a typographic apostrophe, and rendered the grave accent ('back tick', 0x60, 96) as a matching left single quotation mark. This allowed a more typographic appearance of text: codice_1 would appear as on these systems. This can still be seen in many documents prepared at that time, and is still used in the TeX typesetting system to create typographic quotes.


title: Apostrophe

text: Support for the typographic apostrophe ( ’ ) was introduced in several 8-bit character encodings, such as the Apple Macintosh operating system's Mac Roman character set (in 1984), and later in the CP1252 encoding of Microsoft Windows. Both sets also used this code point for a closing single quote. There is no such character in ISO 8859-1.


title: Apostrophe

text: The Microsoft Windows code page CP1252 (sometimes incorrectly called "ANSI" or "ISO-Latin") contains the typographic apostrophe at 0x92. Due to "smart quotes" in Microsoft software converting the ASCII apostrophe to this value, other software makers have been effectively forced to adopt this as a "de facto" convention. For instance, the HTML5 standard specifies that this value is interpreted as this character from CP1252. Some earlier non-Microsoft browsers would display a '?' for this and make web pages composed with Microsoft software somewhat hard to read.


title: Apostrophe

text: Although ubiquitous in typeset material, the typographic apostrophe ( ’ ) is rather difficult to enter on a computer, since it does not have its own key on a standard keyboard. Outside the world of professional typesetting and graphic design, many people do not know how to enter this character and instead use the typewriter apostrophe ( ' ). The typewriter apostrophe has always been considered tolerable on Web pages because of the egalitarian nature of Web publishing, the low resolution of computer monitors in comparison to print, and legacy limitations provided by ASCII.


title: Apostrophe

text: More recently, the standard use of the typographic apostrophe is becoming more common on the Web due to the wide adoption of the Unicode text encoding standard, higher-resolution displays, and advanced anti-aliasing of text in modern operating systems. Because typewriter apostrophes are now often automatically converted to typographic apostrophes by word processing and desktop publishing software, the typographic apostrophe does often appear in documents produced by non-professionals, albeit sometimes incorrectly—see the section "Smart Quotes" below.


title: Apostrophe

text: XML (and hence XHTML) defines an codice_2 character entity reference for the ASCII typewriter apostrophe. codice_2 is officially supported in HTML since HTML 5. It is "not" defined in HTML 4 despite all the other predefined character entities from XML being defined. If it cannot be entered literally in HTML, a numeric character reference could be used instead, such as codice_4 or codice_5.


title: Apostrophe

text: To make typographic apostrophes easier to enter, word processing and publishing software often convert typewriter apostrophes to typographic apostrophes during text entry (at the same time converting opening and closing single and double quotes to their standard left-handed or right-handed forms). A similar facility may be offered on web servers after submitting text in a form field, e.g. on weblogs or free encyclopedias. This is known as the "smart quotes" feature; apostrophes and quotation marks that are not automatically altered by computer programs are known as "dumb quotes".


title: Apostrophe

text: Such conversion is not always correct. Smart quotes features often incorrectly convert a leading apostrophe to an opening quotation mark (e.g., in abbreviations of years: "‘29" rather than the correct "’29" for the years "1929" or "2029" (depending on context); or "‘twas" instead of "’twas" as the archaic abbreviation of "it was"). Smart quote features also often fail to recognise situations when a prime rather than an apostrophe is needed; for example, incorrectly rendering the latitude 49° 53′ 08″ as 49° 53’ 08”.


title: Apostrophe

text: In Microsoft Word it is possible to turn smart quotes off (in some versions, by navigating through "Tools", "AutoCorrect", "AutoFormat as you type", and then unchecking the appropriate option). Alternatively, typing Control-Z (for "Undo") immediately after entering the apostrophe will convert it back to a typewriter apostrophe. In Microsoft Word for Windows, holding down the Control key while typing two apostrophes will produce a single typographic apostrophe.


title: Apostrophe

text: Some programming languages, like Pascal, use the ASCII apostrophe to delimit string literals. In many languages, including JavaScript, ECMAScript, and Python, either the apostrophe or the double quote may be used, allowing string literals to contain the other character (but not to contain both without using an escape character), e.g. codice_7. Strings delimited with apostrophes are often called "single quoted". Some languages, such as Perl, PHP, and many shell languages, treat single quoted strings as "raw" strings, while double quoted strings have expressions (such as codice_8) replaced with their values when interpreted.


title: Apostrophe

text: The C programming language (and many derived languages like C++, Java, C#, and Scala) uses apostrophes to delimit a character literal. In these languages a character is a different object than a one-letter string.


title: Apostrophe

text: In Visual Basic (and earlier Microsoft BASIC dialects such as QuickBASIC) an apostrophe is used to denote the start of a comment.


title: Apostrophe

text: In Rust, in addition to being used to delimit a character literal, an apostrophe can start an explicit lifetime.


title: Levon Helm

text: Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Helm was known for his deeply soulful, country-accented voice, multi-instrumental ability, and creative drumming style, highlighted on many of the Band's recordings, such as "The Weight", "Up on Cripple Creek", and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down".


title: Levon Helm

text: Helm also had a successful career as a film actor, appearing as Loretta Lynn's father in "Coal Miner's Daughter" (1980), as Chuck Yeager's friend and colleague Captain Jack Ridley in "The Right Stuff" (1983), as a Tennessee firearms expert in "Shooter" (2007), and as General John Bell Hood in "In the Electric Mist" (2009).


title: Levon Helm

text: In 1998, Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer which caused him to lose his singing voice. After treatment, his cancer eventually went into remission, and he gradually regained the use of his voice. His 2007 comeback album "Dirt Farmer" earned the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in February 2008, and in November of that year, "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked him No. 91 in its list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. In 2010, "Electric Dirt", his 2009 follow-up to "Dirt Farmer", won the first Grammy Award for Best Americana Album, a category inaugurated in 2010. In 2011, his live album "Ramble at the Ryman" won the Grammy in the same category. In 2016, "Rolling Stone" magazine ranked him No. 22 in its list of 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time.


title: Levon Helm

text: Born Mark Lavon Helm in Elaine, Arkansas, Helm grew up in Turkey Scratch, a hamlet of Marvell, Arkansas. His parents, Nell and Diamond Helm, were cotton farmers who shared a strong affinity for music. They encouraged their children to play and sing at a young age. He saw Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys at the age of six and decided to become a musician. Helm began playing the guitar at the age of eight and also played drums.


title: Levon Helm

text: Arkansas in the 1940s and '50s stood at the confluence of a variety of musical styles, including traditional Delta blues, electric blues, country (including old-time music) and the incipient genre of rhythm and blues. Helm was influenced by each of these styles, which he heard on the "Grand Ole Opry" on radio station WSM and R&B on radio station WLAC in Nashville. He also saw the last vestiges of minstrelsy and other traveling variety shows, such as F. S. Wolcott's Original Rabbit's Foot Minstrels, which featured top Black artists of the era.


title: Levon Helm

text: A key early influence on Helm was Sonny Boy Williamson II, who played electric blues and early rhythm and blues on the "King Biscuit Time" radio show on KFFA in Helena and performed regularly in Marvell with blues guitarist Robert Lockwood, Jr. In his 1993 autobiography, "", Helm describes watching Williamson's drummer, James "Peck" Curtis, intently during a live performance in the early 1950s and later imitating this R&B drumming style. Helm established his first band, the Jungle Bush Beaters, while in high school.


title: Levon Helm

text: Helm also witnessed some of the earliest performances by early rock and roll and rockabilly artists, including Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty, Bo Diddley and fellow Arkansan Ronnie Hawkins. At age 17, Helm began playing in clubs and bars around Helena.


title: Levon Helm

text: While he was still in high school, Helm was invited to join Ronnie Hawkins' band, the Hawks, a popular bar and club act in the South and Canada where rockabilly acts were very successful. Helm's mother insisted that he graduate from high school before touring with Hawkins, but he was able to play with the Hawks locally on weekends. After his graduation in 1958, Helm joined the Hawks as a full-time member and they moved to Toronto where they signed with Roulette Records in 1959 and released several singles, including a few hits.


title: Levon Helm

text: Helm reported in his autobiography that fellow Hawks band members had difficulty pronouncing "Lavon" correctly and started calling him "Levon" ( ) because it was easier to pronounce.


title: Levon Helm

text: In 1961, Helm with bassist Rick Danko backed jazz guitarist Lenny Breau on several tracks recorded at Hallmark Studios in Toronto. These tracks are included on the 2003 release "The Hallmark Sessions".


title: Levon Helm

text: By the early 1960s, Helm and Hawkins had recruited an all-Canadian lineup of musicians: guitarist Robbie Robertson, bassist Rick Danko, pianist Richard Manuel, and organist Garth Hudson, all of whom were multi-instrumentalists. In 1963, the band parted ways with Hawkins and started touring as Levon and the Hawks and later as the Canadian Squires, before changing back to the Hawks. They recorded two singles but remained mostly a popular touring bar band in Texas, Arkansas, Canada, and on the East Coast of the United States where they found regular summer club gigs on the New Jersey shore.


title: Levon Helm

text: By the mid-1960s, songwriter and musician Bob Dylan was interested in performing electric rock music and asked the Hawks to be his backing band. Disheartened by fans' negative response to Dylan's new sound, Helm left the group in the autumn of 1965 for what turned out to be a two-year layoff, being replaced by a range of touring drummers (most notably Mickey Jones) and Manuel, who began to double on the instrument. He spent time with his family in Arkansas, and undertook sojourns in Los Angeles, where he experimented with LSD and performed with Bobby Keys, and Memphis and New Orleans, where he worked on a nearby oil platform). In the autumn of 1967, after what would later be called "the Summer of Love", he returned to the group.


title: Levon Helm

text: After the Hawks toured Europe with Dylan, they followed him back to the U.S., remaining under salary, and settled near Dylan's home in Woodstock, New York. The Hawks recorded a large number of demos and practice tapes in nearby West Saugerties, New York, playing almost daily with Dylan, who had completely withdrawn from public life following a motorcycle accident in July 1966. These recordings were widely bootlegged and were partially released officially in 1975 as "The Basement Tapes". The songs and themes developed during this period played a crucial role in the group's future direction and style. The Hawks also began writing their own songs, with Danko and Manuel also sharing writing credits with Dylan on a few songs.


title: Levon Helm

text: Helm returned to the group, then referred to simply as "the band", as it was known around Woodstock. While contemplating a recording contract, Helm had dubbed the band "The Crackers". However, when Robertson and their new manager Albert Grossman worked out the contracts, the group's name was given as "The Band". Under these contracts, the Band was contracted to Grossman, who in turn contracted their services to Capitol Records. This arrangement allowed the Band to release recordings on other labels if the work was done in support of Dylan. Thus the Band was able to play on Dylan's "Planet Waves" album and to release "The Last Waltz", both on other labels. The Band also recorded their own album "Music from Big Pink" (1968), which catapulted them into stardom. Helm was the Band's only American member.


title: Levon Helm

text: On "Music from Big Pink", Manuel was the most prominent vocalist and Helm sang backup and harmony, with the exception of "The Weight". However, as Manuel's health deteriorated and Robbie Robertson's songwriting increasingly looked to the South for influence and direction, subsequent albums relied more and more on Helm's vocals, alone or in harmony with Danko. Helm was primarily a drummer and vocalist and increasingly sang lead, although, like all his bandmates, he was also a multi-instrumentalist. On occasion Manuel switched to drums while Helm played mandolin, guitar, or bass guitar (while Danko played fiddle) on some songs. Helm played the 12-string guitar backdrop to "Daniel and the Sacred Harp".


title: Levon Helm

text: Helm remained with the Band until their farewell performance on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, which was the subject of the documentary film "The Last Waltz," directed by Martin Scorsese. Helm repudiated his involvement with "The Last Waltz" shortly after the completion of its final scenes. In his autobiography Helm criticized the film and Robertson who produced it.


title: Levon Helm

text: With the breakup of the Band in its original form, Helm began working on a solo-ensemble album, "Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars", with Paul Butterfield, Fred Carter, Jr., Emmeretta Marks, Howard Johnson, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Booker T. Jones, and others. Levon Helm and the RCO All-Stars recorded "Live at The Palladium NYC, New Year's Eve 1977". The CD album released in March 2006 features over one hour of blues-rock music performed by an ensemble featuring Levon Helm (drums/vocals), Dr. John (keys/vocals), Paul Butterfield (harmonica/vocals), Fred Carter (guitar/vocals), Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass), Cropper (guitar), Lou Marini (saxophones), Howard Johnson (tuba/baritone sax), Tom "Bones" Malone (trombone), and Alan Rubin (trumpet).


title: Levon Helm

text: This was followed in 1978 by the solo album "Levon Helm". More solo albums were released in 1980 and 1982: "American Son" and (once again) "Levon Helm", both produced by Fred Carter, Jr. He also participated in musician Paul Kennerley's 1980 country music concept album, "The Legend of Jesse James" singing the role of Jesse James alongside Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Charlie Daniels, Albert Lee, and others.


title: Levon Helm

text: In addition to his work as musician, Helm also acted in several dramatic films. He was cast as Loretta Lynn's father in the 1980 film "Coal Miner's Daughter", followed three years later by a role as U.S. Air Force test pilot and engineer Capt. Jack Ridley, in "The Right Stuff". Helm was also the latter film's narrator. 1987's under-appreciated "End of the Line" featured Levon as a small-town railroad employee alongside Wilford Brimley and Kevin Bacon. He played a Kentucky backwoods preacher in "Fire Down Below". He played an eccentric old man in the 2005 film "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" and appeared as Gen. John Bell Hood in the 2009 film "In the Electric Mist". He also had a brief cameo as a weapons expert in the film "Shooter" with Mark Wahlberg.


title: Levon Helm

text: In 1983, the Band reunited without Robbie Robertson, at first playing with an expanded lineup that included the entire Cate Brothers Band, but in 1985 paring down and adding Jim Weider on guitar. In 1986, while on tour Manuel committed suicide. Helm, Danko, and Hudson continued in the Band, adding pianist Richard Bell and drummer/vocalist Randy Ciarlante and releasing the album "Jericho" in 1993 and "High on the Hog" in 1996. The final album from the Band was the 30th anniversary album, "Jubilation" released in 1998.


title: Levon Helm

text: In 1989, Helm and Danko toured with drummer Ringo Starr as part of his All-Starr Band. Other musicians in the band included singer and guitarist Joe Walsh, singer and pianist Dr. John, singer and guitarist Nils Lofgren, singer Billy Preston, saxophonist Clarence Clemons, and drummer Jim Keltner. Garth Hudson was a guest on accordion on some dates. Helm played drums and harmonica and sang "The Weight" and "Up on Cripple Creek" each night.


title: Levon Helm

text: In the televised 1989 Juno Awards celebration, the Band was inducted into the Juno Awards' Hall of Fame. Helm was not present at the ceremony, but a taped segment of him offering his thanks was broadcast after the acceptance speeches by Rick Danko and Robbie Robertson. Richard Manuel's children accepted the award on behalf of their father. To conclude the televised special, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, and Robbie Robertson performed "The Weight" with Blue Rodeo.


title: Levon Helm

text: Helm performed with Danko and Hudson as the Band in 1990 at Roger Waters's epic The Wall – Live in Berlin Concert in Germany to an estimated 300,000 to half a million people.


title: Levon Helm

text: Helm's performance career in the 2000s revolved mainly around the Midnight Ramble at his home and studio, "The Barn," in Woodstock, New York. These concerts, featuring Helm and various musical guests, allowed him to raise money for his medical bills and to resume performing after a bout with cancer that nearly ended his career.


title: Levon Helm

text: In the late 1990s, Helm was diagnosed with throat cancer after suffering hoarseness. Advised to undergo a laryngectomy, he instead underwent an arduous regimen of radiation treatments at Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The tumor was then successfully removed, but Helm's vocal cords were damaged, and his clear, powerful tenor voice was replaced by a quiet rasp. Initially Helm only played drums and relied on guest vocalists at the Rambles, but eventually his singing voice grew stronger. On January 10, 2004, he sang again at his Ramble sessions. In 2007, during production of "Dirt Farmer", Helm estimated that his singing voice was 80 percent recovered.


title: Levon Helm

text: The Levon Helm Band featured his daughter Amy Helm, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Jim Weider (The Band's last guitarist), Jimmy Vivino, Mike Merritt, Brian Mitchell, Erik Lawrence, Steven Bernstein, Howard Johnson (tuba player in the horn section on the Band's "Rock of Ages" and "The Last Waltz"), Jay Collins (Helm's now former son-in-law), Byron Isaacs, and blues harmonica player Little Sammy Davis. Helm hosted Midnight Rambles that were open to the public at his home in Woodstock.


title: Levon Helm

text: The Midnight Ramble was an outgrowth of an idea Helm explained to Martin Scorsese in "The Last Waltz." Earlier in the 20th century, Helm recounted, traveling medicine shows and music shows such as F. S. Wolcott's Original Rabbit's Foot Minstrels, featuring African-American blues singers and dancers, would put on titillating performances in rural areas. (This was also turned into a song by the Band, "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show," with the name altered so the lyric was easier to sing.)


title: Levon Helm

text: "After the finale, they'd have the midnight ramble," Helm told Scorsese. With young children off the premises, the show resumed: "The songs would get a little bit juicier. The jokes would get a little funnier and the prettiest dancer would really get down and shake it a few times. A lot of the rock and roll duck walks and moves came from that."


title: Levon Helm

text: Artists who performed at the Rambles include Helm's former bandmate Garth Hudson, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Mavis Staples, Chris Robinson, Allen Toussaint, Donald Fagen and Jon Herington of Steely Dan, Jimmy Vivino (of the house band on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"), the Max Weinberg 7, My Morning Jacket, Billy Bob Thornton, Alexis P. Suter, Sean Costello, the Muddy Waters Tribute Band, Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Carolyn Wonderland, Kris Kristofferson, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, Justin Townes Earle, Bow Thayer, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, Rickie Lee Jones, Kate Taylor, Ollabelle, the Holmes Brothers, Catherine Russell, Norah Jones, Arlen Roth, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Phil Lesh (along with his sons Grahame and Brian), Hot Tuna (Jorma Kaukonen introduced the group as "the Secret Squirrels"), Michael Angelo D'Arrigo with various members of the Sistine Chapel, Johnny Johnson, Ithalia, David Bromberg, the Youngers, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.


title: Levon Helm

text: During this period, Helm switched to the matched grip and adopted a less busy, greatly simplified drumming style, as opposed to the traditional grip he used during his years with the Band.