title: Finding Dory

text: Mike Ryan of "Uproxx" wrote, "I never thought I wanted a sequel to "Finding Nemo", but here we are and I'm pretty happy it exists. And, for me, it was a more emotional experience than the first film. "Finding Dory" got me—it made me cry." A. O. Scott of "The New York Times" said that while the film lacks "dazzling originality", it still has "warmth, charm and good humor". In his review for "Variety", Owen Gleiberman wrote, "It's a film that spills over with laughs (most of them good, a few of them shticky) and tears (all of them earned), supporting characters who are meant to slay us (and mostly do) with their irascible sharp tongues, and dizzyingly extended flights of physical comedy." Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal" said that ""Finding Dory" can be touching, sweet and tender, but it's compulsively, preposterously and steadfastly funny." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and said that the film "brims with humor, heart and animation miracles", despite lacking "the fresh surprise of its predecessor". Wendy Ide of "The Observer" wrote that the film "reprises the central motif of "Finding Nemo": that of the enduring parent-child bond, and the special embrace of family, in all its permutations", but added: "it is approached with such charm and warmth that it hardly matters that the two films share such similar arcs."


title: Finding Dory

text: Todd McCarthy of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote, "Its heroine may suffer from short-term memory loss, but viewers with any memory at all will realize that "Finding Dory" falls rather short of its wondrous progenitor." Writing for the "Los Angeles Times", Kenneth Turan said that, "As the 13-year gap between "Nemo" and "Dory" indicates, this was not a concept that cried out to be made." Armond White of "National Review" wrote: "For anyone who is not a legally bound babysitter, "Finding Dory" offers nothing that will please a taste for finer humor, freer fun, or genuinely expressive filmmaking."


title: Finding Dory

text: Conservationists warned that, very much like "Finding Nemo", the film could lead to uninformed customers buying regal blue tang fish, Dory's species, for home aquariums. Blue tangs cannot be bred in captivity and have to be caught in the wild. They are related to surgeonfish and exhibit razor-sharp spines on both sides of the tail that can inflict formidable wounds.


title: Finding Dory

text: While promoting the film, actress Ellen DeGeneres reminded audiences that Nemo and Dory's real-life home, the Great Barrier Reef, is under enormous threat, mostly due to coral bleaching, a process induced by climate change, which has killed coral reefs on an enormous scale.


title: Finding Dory

text: Director Andrew Stanton commented in June 2016 about the possibility of a third "Finding Nemo" film, stating:


title: Finding Dory

text: "I really do feel like that this was the missing piece, emotionally, for the first movie. Now, I’ve stopped saying never for anything because there are a lot of new characters that get introduced and we’ve broadened the universe for this movie. And again, I’m very used to seeing that world continue to open up from the Toy Story movies, so I’ve learned to just say, to my knowledge, I think everything that was born of the first movie is wrapped up. But we’ll see. With any of the other sequels, we strive to try and make it seem like it was inevitable, like it was meant to be, that all these extended stories and journeys with these characters were part of the whole canon. And that's really hard, but it's so satisfying for me when I’m experiencing that, whether it's a great second season of a TV show or another book in a series. It's a small club when it's done successfully. Regardless of how much people may vocalize that they don’t enjoy or wish that there weren’t extensions, sometimes it's really nice to go back and spend more time with these characters if they evolve, if they grow, if they expand. So that, I’m very happy with. I feel like it was just as hard, if not harder, on "Finding Dory" to get it to feel inevitable and preordained, and that it was always of the larger piece."


title: Steven R. McQueen

text: Steven Chadwick McQueen (born July 13, 1988), known professionally as Steven R. McQueen, is an American actor, best known for his role as Jeremy Gilbert in The CW fantasy supernatural drama "The Vampire Diaries" from 2009 to 2015 and in 2017, and its spin-off "Legacies" in 2018. He also starred as Jimmy Borrelli in the NBC dramas "Chicago Fire" from 2015 to 2016 and "Chicago P.D." in 2016, part of the "One Chicago" franchise.


title: Steven R. McQueen

text: McQueen was born in Los Angeles on July 13, 1988, to Stacey (, now Stacia Robitaille), a humanitarian and former actress, and Chad McQueen, a race car driver and former actor. His paternal grandparents are actor Steve McQueen and Filipino actress Neile Adams. Neile Adams' niece is Filipino-Spanish socialite Isabel Preysler, mother of Chabeli Iglesias, Julio Iglesias Jr. and Enrique Iglesias, making McQueen and the Iglesiases second cousins. His stepfather, Luc Robitaille, is a professional ice hockey executive and former player. McQueen is the oldest of four children with a half-brother, Chase (b. 1995), and a half-sister, Madison (b. 1996), from his father's remarriage and a half-brother, Jesse Robitaille (b. 1995), from his mother's remarriage. His stage name is "Steven R. McQueen", the "R" referring to his stepfather's surname Robitaille. McQueen described his relationship with his father and his stepfather in an interview with the New York Post, "My stepdad has been more like a biological dad in my life. I’m pretty close with my biological dad, but I think of him more like an uncle. It’s a good relationship."


title: Steven R. McQueen

text: In his mid-teens, McQueen moved around from city to city with his parents, included living in Detroit and being homeschooled until his graduation. It was while living in Detroit that he started watching movies all day long, including those of his grandfather, "From there, my passion for it slowly unfolded. I went to a couple of classes and I grew to love it." Eventually, he packed his bags, moved back to Los Angeles and started taking acting classes.


title: Steven R. McQueen

text: McQueen made his television debut in September 2005 at the age of 17, appearing as a guest star in an episode of the short-lived CBS science fiction drama "Threshold". He subsequently guest-starred on a number of other CBS television series including "Numb3rs", "Without a Trace" and "". One of the more notable roles since his debut was a recurring role as Kyle Hunter for seven episodes of the fourth and final season of The WB drama "Everwood" from 2005 to 2006. His character is a teenage piano prodigy and moody loner struggled to navigate his sexuality, the coming out storyline was trying to shine a light on the struggles young people face and also needed to see that they are not alone. Whilst McQueen co-starred in a short film "Club Soda" in 2006, it was in January 2008 that he made his feature film debut in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Minutemen", where he played the villainous role of Derek Beaugard. In an interview, McQueen was asked whether it was hard being mean in the film and he replied, "You know, it was actually really fun because I'm not really that mean in real life. It's all just pretend and really fun."


title: Steven R. McQueen

text: In March 2009, McQueen was cast as Jeremy Gilbert in The CW's television adaptation of L. J. Smith's "The Vampire Diaries" novels and starred for the first six seasons until 2015. Gilbert was written to have left Mystic Falls for art school when it was announced that the sixth season would be McQueen's last. His performance in the drama earned him a nomination for the Choice TV Male Scene Stealer Award in the 2013 Teen Choice Awards. McQueen made a special appearance in 2017 in the series finale to reprise his role by helping out at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted, and once more in 2018 as a special guest star in his role as Jeremy Gilbert in "The Vampire Diaries"' spin-off "Legacies". Besides being a vampire hunter on-screen, McQueen starred in a loose remake of the 1978 horror film "Piranha", titled "Piranha 3D" in 2010, with an ensemble cast including Elisabeth Shue, Adam Scott, Jerry O'Connell, among others. He played a social awkward kid who fell in love with a girl who's two years his senior.


title: Steven R. McQueen

text: Away from the small screen, McQueen joined fellow actors Christa B. Allen, Colton Haynes and Debby Ryan as a fashion model for the American lifestyle retailer Abercrombie & Fitch in their Spring 2014 "The Making of a Star" advertising campaign. In the promotional video, he explained his inspiration of following his grandfather's footsteps to become an actor, "... I started watching my grandpa's movies and I saw what an impact he made to the world and I said to myself 'hey, I want to do that'", which was further elaborated in the printed version,


title: Steven R. McQueen

text: Ten years since his acting debut, McQueen joined the cast of the NBC drama "Chicago Fire", in the premiere of the fourth season as Jimmy Borrelli in 2015, a new candidate assigned to Firehouse 51. McQueen was credited as a recurring cast member for the first six episodes and was added to the main cast from the seventh episode. In addition, he also guest-starred in the crossover episodes of "Chicago P.D." in 2016, as part of the "One Chicago" franchise created by Dick Wolf. At the beginning of Season 5, he took matters into his own hands during a fire call and suffered a career-ending injury. McQueen's run on the show ended in the second episode of the fifth season in October 2016.


title: Steven R. McQueen

text: In 2018, in addition of being a special guest star in The CW's fantasy drama "Legacies", McQueen co-starred in a short film, "The Take Off" that had its world premiere at the 2018 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. He also starred in a television film for Hallmark Original Movie, "Home by Spring", and ended the year off by starring as the U.S. Medal of Honor recipient, awarded posthumously, Joseph Vittori in an episode of Netflix's anthology documentary series "Medal of Honor".


title: Steven R. McQueen

text: In 2020, McQueen starred alongside the lead actor Neal McDonough and co-star Casper Van Dien in a western television film for INSP, "The Warrant". He explained how he got involved in the film, "Neal's been a family friend for a long time so he called me and we had a conversation about it and he said it was gonna be a Western and we'd get to shoot some guns and have a good time..."


title: Steven R. McQueen

text: McQueen announced his engagement to model Alexandra Silva on Instagram on January 25, 2018, with a black and white photo and the quote "She said yes", but they called off their engagement in May 2018.


title: Steven R. McQueen

text: Since as early as 2014, McQueen has been a supporter of the Thirst Project, a nonprofit organization whose aim is to bring safe drinking water to communities around the world where it is not immediately available. He lends his support by attending at their annual fundraising event, the Annual Thirst Gala, as well as travelling to the Kingdom of Eswatini to help to construct water installations. He also supports TECHO, a nonprofit organization that mobilizes youth volunteers to fight extreme poverty in Latin America, by constructing transitional housing and implementing social inclusion programs, and Echoes of Hope, a nonprofit organization founded by his parents Stacia and Luc Robitaille, to help at-risk and emancipated foster youth succeed and reach their full potential.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Swansea City Association Football Club (; ) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their home matches at the Swansea.com Stadium (formerly known as the Liberty Stadium) since 2005, having previously played at the Vetch Field since the club was founded.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The club was founded in 1912 as Swansea Town and entered into the Southern League, winning the Welsh Cup in their debut season. They were admitted into the Football League in 1920 and won the Third Division South title in 1924–25. They again won the Third Division South title in 1948–49, having been relegated two years previously. They fell into the Fourth Division after relegations in 1965 and 1967. The club changed their name to Swansea City in 1969 to reflect Swansea's new status as a city. They were promoted at the end of the 1969–70 season.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The club won three promotions in four seasons to reach the First Division in 1981. It was during the following season they came close to winning the league title, but a decline then set in near the season's end, before they finished sixth, still a club record. It was from here the club suffered a relegation the season after, returning to the Fourth Division by 1986 and then narrowly avoiding relegation to the Conference in 2003. The Swansea City Supporters Trust Ltd owns 20% of the club, with their involvement hailed by Supporters Direct as "the most high profile example of the involvement of a supporters' trust in the direct running of a club". The club's subsequent climb from the fourth division of English football to the top division is chronicled in the 2014 film, "Jack to a King – The Swansea Story".


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: In 2011, Swansea were promoted to the Premier League. On 24 February 2013, Swansea beat Bradford City 5–0 to win the 2012–13 Football League Cup (the competition's highest ever winning margin for the final), winning the first major trophy in the club's history and qualifying for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, in which they reached the round of 32 but lost over two legs to Napoli. The club was relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2017–18 season.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The area around Swansea traditionally had been a rugby area, and despite previous attempts by a football club named Swansea Villa, there were no notable football clubs until the establishment of 'Swansea Town AFC' in the summer of 1912. Following the lead of many other South Wales sides, the club joined the Second Division of the Southern League for the following season. J. W. Thorpe was the club's first chairman. A site owned by Swansea Gaslight Co., called Vetch Field due to the vegetables that grew there, was rented to be the club's ground.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The club's first professional match was a 1–1 draw at the Vetch Field against Cardiff City on 7 September 1912. During that first season the Welsh Cup was won for the first time. The Swans beat reigning English champions Blackburn Rovers 1–0 in the first round of the 1914–15 FA Cup, Swansea's goal coming from Ben Beynon.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Following the First World War the Southern League dropped its Second Division, and with many clubs dropping out due to financial difficulties, the Swans were placed in the First Division. After four seasons in the Southern League, Swansea Town became founder members of the new Third Division of The Football League in 1920 and then Division Three (South) the following season.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: After five seasons in Division Three (South) and a few failed bids for promotion, the Swans reached the Second Division for the first time in 1925, beating Exeter City 2–1 at home on the final day of the season to win the division. The side had remained unbeaten at home in the league all season – something the next promotion team would emulate over twenty years later. The following season the Swans reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time, beating Exeter City, Watford, Blackpool, Stoke City, Millwall and Arsenal, before losing 3–0 to eventual cup winners Bolton Wanderers at White Hart Lane. Swans record their highest average attendance during the season of 16,118 for pre-war league games. During the 1926–27 season they beat Real Madrid 3–0 on tour. During the 1931–32 season they finished 1st in the league and won the Welsh Cup after beating Wrexham 2–0 away after a replay.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: After just one season back from wartime football, the Swans finished 21st in the Second Division, and thus returned to Division Three (South) for the first time since 1925. The following season was one of consolidation, however in 1948–1949 the Swans stormed their way to winning the division for the second time. Only one point was dropped at home all season as the feat of the 1925 promotion side was emulated, with the side finishing a whole seven points ahead of second placed Reading. Billy McCandless was the manager who led the side to promotion, and in doing so he completed a rare hat-trick of winning the Third Division (South) title with all three South Wales clubs – and without losing a home game with Swansea or Cardiff.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Following promotion, the Swans had another 15 years of Second Division football to look forward to, however despite what successive managers and chairmen were to say, Swansea Town only once during that time looked like they could genuinely challenge for promotion. That came in the 1955–56 season, when a side containing the likes of Ivor Allchurch, Terry Medwin, Harry Griffiths and Tom Kiley led the table early in the season, before an injury to Kiley, referred to as the linchpin of the side, in mid-November led to a decline in form. He was never adequately replaced, but despite this and the sale of some of the club's best players, the side remained in contention for promotion until the beginning of April. Following a 6–1 win over second placed Leicester City at the Vetch Field at the end of March the side was just two points behind second placed Liverpool with a game in hand – however subsequent results were not as encouraging, and they eventually slipped away to finish tenth.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: In 1964, the Swans reached a second FA Cup semi-final, beating Barrow, Sheffield United and Stoke City en route to a famous sixth round victory at Anfield. Few gave the Swans, struggling for their lives at the bottom of Division Two, any chance of causing an upset against the league leaders. But the Swans were 0–2 up at half-time thanks to Jimmy McLaughlin and Eddie Thomas. Liverpool turned up the pressure in the second half, pulling a goal back before being awarded a penalty nine minutes from time. Ronnie Moran had established an excellent record as a penalty taker, but he failed to beat the excellent Noel Dwyer on this occasion. Fellow second division side Preston North End awaited in the semi-final at Villa Park, but despite taking the lead through McLaughlin again, the Swans were to be denied by a second half penalty and a wonder goal from nearly 40 yards.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: After flirting with relegation on a few occasions during the previous seasons, the Swans' luck finally ran out a season later in 1965, and they were back in the Third Division.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Following relegation, Trevor Morris, who had been manager since 1958, was sacked and Glyn Davies, a former Swansea player, was appointed in his place. Davies re-signed the 36-year-old Ivor Allchurch from Cardiff City, but despite winning the Welsh Cup, the season saw some of the club's heaviest defeats, and the manager only lasted the season. Relegation to Division Four followed in 1967 and Ivor Allchurch retired. The 1967–68 season saw the record attendance of 32,796 at the Vetch Field for an FA Cup Fourth Round match against Arsenal.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: A tragedy struck the club on 20 January 1969 when players Roy Evans and Brian Purcell were killed in a car crash on the way to a game.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: In 1969, the club name was changed to Swansea City, and Roy Bentley's side celebrated by securing promotion back to the Third Division. A record run of 19 matches unbeaten provided the foundations for a promotion challenge in 1971–72, but an awful run towards the end of the season resulted in a mid-table finish. A poor start the following season, combined with falling attendances, saw Bentley resign, and he was replaced by Harry Gregg. Gregg failed to stop the rot and the club was back in the Fourth Division for 1973–74 season.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: A record low crowd of just 1,358 watched the Swans against Northampton Town, and the following season the Swans were forced to apply for re-election to the Football League after a last day defeat at Rochdale condemned them to a 21st-place finish. The application was a success, although by now former player Harry Griffiths had replaced Gregg as manager. Malcolm Struel also took over as chairman, having previously been on the board, and promised a return to former glories, stating that he would not sell the club's best young talent as previous boards had done.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Despite promising performances during the first half of the 1977–78 season, Harry Griffiths resigned as Swansea City's manager in February 1978, doubting his own ability to take the club any further. The new manager was former Liverpool, Cardiff City and Wales striker John Toshack. On 1 March 1978, at 28 years old, Toshack became the youngest manager in the Football League, with Griffiths as his assistant. Thus began a remarkable climb from the Fourth Division to the top of the entire league. Despite relinquishing his role as manager before the end of the season, this was Griffiths' team, and the promotion from the Fourth Division was largely his doing. During this season, the Swans' record league win was achieved (8–0 against Hartlepool United). Before promotion was secured, however, Harry Griffiths died of a heart attack on 25 April 1978 before the home game against Scunthorpe United.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: A further promotion was achieved next season and the club returned to the Second Division after an absence of 14 years, with Toshack himself coming off the bench to score the winning goal against Chesterfield and thus secure promotion.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: After a season of consolidation, Swansea City again challenged for promotion and travelled to Preston North End on 2 May 1981 in the knowledge that victory would assure them a place in the First Division for the first time in the club's history. A 3–1 win guaranteed a third promotion in four seasons and Swansea City joined the footballing elite. The goalscorers on that day at Deepdale were Tommy Craig, Leighton James and Jeremy Charles. The four-year rise from basement to top division is a record in English football, held jointly with Wimbledon F.C. Swansea also won the Welsh Cup that season, qualifying for Europe for the first time since the 1965–66 season.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The 1981–82 season began with the fixture computer handing Swansea a first-day home game against Leeds United, which the club promptly won 5–1 with a hat-trick by debutant Bob Latchford. Swansea had swept from the basement division to the top of the entire Football League in three years. Victories over Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur followed as the club topped the league on several further occasions. However, injuries to key players took their toll, and the lack of depth in the squad meant that the season ended in sixth-place finish.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Two consecutive relegations followed, and Toshack was sacked. By 1985, the club was battling for its very survival on two fronts. Whilst its creditors lined up a High Court hearing with the aim of liquidating the club, Swansea City had come to rely on a combination of old players and young professionals.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Wound up by court order in December 1985, Swansea City was saved by local businessman Doug Sharpe who took over the running of the club, although the change of ownership was not enough to prevent relegation to the Fourth Division in 1986. Eight years on from the first promotion under Toshack, the club was back where it had started.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Swansea won promotion from the Fourth Division in 1988 – beating Rotherham United and Torquay United over two legs in the inaugural playoffs. They remained in the league's third tier for the next eight seasons – the longest period of stability the club had seen since the 1940s. Under Terry Yorath and then Frank Burrows, the club managed to stay in the Second Division, reach the playoff semi-finals in 1993 and make their first Wembley Stadium appearance a year later.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Burrows guided the Swans to within 180 minutes of Wembley in 1993 – a run of five wins in the last six league matches (all at home) secured a playoff place, and with five minutes remaining of the first leg of the semi-final against West Bromwich Albion, the Swans were 2–0 up. Andy McFarlane scored an own goal when the ball rebounded off the crossbar then into the net off his knee, and two early goals in the second leg gave the Baggies the advantage, until midfielder Micky Mellon was sent off. Burrows brought on Colin West, but he was sent off minutes later, ending any hopes of a Wembley final.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Although the league campaign the following season did not live up the previous one, mainly due to the sale of key players, Burrows guided the Swans to Wembley for the first time in their history for the final of the Autoglass Trophy. Wins over Plymouth Argyle & Exeter City in the group stage followed by triumphs over Exeter again, Port Vale, Leyton Orient and Wycombe Wanderers over two legs saw the Swans play Huddersfield Town in a final that finished 1–1. The Swans went on to win 3–1 on penalties.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: In the following season, the club again reached the semi-finals of the Auto Windscreens Shield, eventually going out to Birmingham City, and an eventful FA Cup run saw them win at Middlesbrough in a third round replay, before going out to Newcastle United at St James' Park.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The 1995–96 season ended with relegation back to the third division after eight years. The Swans were doing fine around Christmas time, but a complete collapse in the second half of the season, including a 7–0 FA Cup defeat at third division Fulham, 4–0 and 5–1 defeats at Blackpool and Oxford United respectively, led to relegation, despite the arrival of Jan Mølby.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Relegation in 1996 was accompanied by a club record of being managed by four men in the same season. Kevin Cullis was appointed as manager by a consortium wishing to buy the club. Cullis, whose previous experience was with non-league club Cradley Town youth team. Alarmed at developments at the club, Sharpe invoked a contractual clause to cancel the deal and resumed control himself: Cullis was promptly sacked after just six days.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Cullis's successor was the Dane, Jan Mølby, a former Liverpool player taking his first steps in management. His appointment inevitably prompted comparison with the Toshack era which began nearly 20 years earlier. Despite relegation in 1996, the club reached the final of the 1997 Third Division promotion play-offs but lost to Northampton Town, whose goal came from a re-taken free kick by John Frain in the final minute. Mølby was sacked just weeks into the following season, with Swansea struggling near the foot of the league. After the initial optimism, the Liverpool connection had not caused history to repeat itself.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Alan Cork was appointed as manager, but was dismissed after leading the club to its lowest league finish for 23 years. John Hollins was appointed, and things soon started to improve. In 1999, the club reached the promotion playoffs, only to lose in extra time at Scunthorpe United. The season included a third round FA Cup victory over Premiership opponents West Ham United, whose team included Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand and John Hartson. Swansea thus became the first bottom division team to defeat a Premiership club in the FA Cup since the re-organisation of the league structure in 1992.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The club was promoted in 2000 as Division Three champions, following a championship decider on the final day of the season against second-placed Rotherham United. The side conceded just 32 goals during the 1999–2000 season, largely due to the form of excellent centre-back pairing Jason Smith and Matthew Bound, as well as keeper Roger Freestone. During the season the side set a record of nine consecutive league victories, and, during the same period, seven consecutive clean sheets. Striker Walter Boyd also set an unwanted record of being the fastest substitute ever sent off, when he was red-carded for striking a Darlington player seconds after being brought on and before play had resumed, therefore being officially recorded as zero seconds.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Promotion was secured courtesy of a 3–0 win over Exeter City at a packed Vetch Field. However, the following week's 1–1 draw at Rotherham United, which confirmed Swansea as Division Three Champions, was overshadowed by the death of supporter Terry Coles, who was trampled to death by a police horse in narrow Millmoor Lane before the game.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The team were relegated in May 2001, just 12 months after promotion. Hollins had failed to strengthen the side at all during the summer, and despite a decent start, a 5–1 defeat at big-spending Reading in September led to a slide down the table, and the side won just eight games all season, and only Oxford United finished below them. Relegation seemed certain following a 5–3 defeat at fellow strugglers Luton Town, where Giovanni Savarese scored a hat-trick, however Hollins maintained that the side could stay up, even when 18 points were needed from the final six matches, and for two other teams to pick up no more points.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: In July 2001, following relegation back to Third Division, the club was sold to managing director Mike Lewis for £1. Lewis subsequently sold on his stake to a consortium of Australian businessmen behind the Brisbane Lions (An Australian Rules Football team that is based in Brisbane) football team, fronted by Tony Petty. Seven players were sacked and eight others saw their contracts terminated. During this period Hollins was sacked after a poor start to the season, and Colin Addison took over as manager. The turmoil led to the creation of the Swansea City supporters' trust, which sought to save the club and ultimately guarantee supporter representation on the club's board.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The Petty group sold its stake in January 2002 after a bitter stand-off with the Mel Nurse consortium, which was supported by the majority of the club's fans. Jim Moore and Mel Griffin, previously rescuers of Hull City, stepped into the breach and persuaded Petty to sell to them (as he had promised to bankrupt the club & make it extinct rather than sell to Nurse). From there Moore became chairman for three weeks giving the "Mel Nurse Consortium" time to organize its finances. Having successfully reorganized the finances of Hull City, both Moore and Griffin were believers in clubs belonging in the hands of local people, and so believing Nurse's group were best for The Swans, subsequently passed the club onto Nurses consortium for the fee of £1. Despite problems off the pitch, Addison's side had managed a mid-table position, but he was dismissed in early March, and under Nick Cusack the club slumped to a 20th placed-finish. Cusack lasted just eight games into the following season, and was sacked after a 1–0 defeat at league debutants Boston United had put the Swans on the bottom of the Football League for the first time in their 91-year history. He was replaced by Brian Flynn. Swansea City avoided relegation to the Football Conference on the last day of the season, at the expense of Exeter City, a club then vice-chaired by Mike Lewis.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Brian Flynn's side finished 2003–04 10th and reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 24 years, eventually losing 2–1 at Tranmere Rovers. Flynn was dismissed and replaced by Kenny Jackett. Jackett lost his first six matches in charge, ending any hope of a play-off place. The following season Jackett recruited a number of new defensive players and set a record of seven consecutive home clean sheets, all victories. The Swans' last season at the Vetch Field saw the club win promotion on the last day of the season, clinching a 3rd-placed finish with a 1–0 win away to Bury. Their last league game at their old ground was a 1–0 win over Shrewsbury Town, with the last game of any sort being a 2–1 win against Wrexham in the final of the 2005 FAW Premier Cup.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The club moved to the new Liberty Stadium during the summer of 2005. The first competitive game was a 1–0 victory against Tranmere Rovers in August 2005. In their first season back in League One, Swansea, after beating Brentford in the semi-finals, lost on penalties to Barnsley in the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. That same season, Swansea won the Football League Trophy for the first time since 1994, and the FAW Premier Cup for a second successive year.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: In the following season Jackett resigned as manager in mid-season to be replaced by Roberto Martínez. Martínez's arrival saw an improvement in form, but Swansea missed out on the play-offs again. The following season, an 18-game unbeaten run helped them to the League One title. The club amassed a total of 92 points over the course of the season, the highest ever by a Welsh club in the Football League. Five Swansea players were in the PFA Team of the Year, including the division's 29-goal top scorer Jason Scotland. That same season Swansea lost on penalties to Milton Keynes Dons in the area final of the Football League Trophy.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Upon returning to the second tier of English football after 24 years Swansea City finished the 2008–09 season in eighth place, and missed out on the play-offs the following season by a single point. After 63 wins in 126 games for Swansea City, Martínez left for Wigan Athletic on 15 June 2009 with his tenure returning just 26 losses in that time. He was replaced by Portuguese Paulo Sousa. Sousa subsequently left Swansea to take charge at Leicester City on 5 July 2010, lasting just one year and 13 days in South Wales. However, just before the departure of Sousa, on 15 May 2010, Swansea player Besian Idrizaj suffered a heart attack in his native Austria while on international duty. The club retired the number 40 shirt in his memory, and the players wore shirts dedicated to Idrizaj after their victory in the play-off final.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Northern Irishman Brendan Rodgers took charge for the 2010–11 season. He guided the club to a third-placed finish and qualification for the Championship play-offs. After beating Nottingham Forest 3–1 on aggregate in the semi-final they defeated Reading 4–2 in the final at Wembley Stadium, with Scott Sinclair scoring a hat-trick.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: By being promoted to the Premier League for the 2011–12 season, Swansea became the first Welsh team to play in the division since its formation in 1992. Swansea signed Danny Graham from Watford for a then-record fee of £3.5 million. They defeated Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, the eventual champions, at home during the season. Swansea finished their debut Premier League season in 11th, but at the end of the season Brendan Rodgers left to manage Liverpool. He was replaced by Michael Laudrup for the 2012–13 Premier League season, which was the club's centenary season. Laudrup's first league game ended in a 0–5 victory over Queens Park Rangers away at Loftus Road. Swansea then beat West Ham United 3–0 at the Liberty Stadium, with Michu scoring his third goal in two games. This saw Swansea top of the Premier League; it was the first time since October 1981 the team had been at the summit of the top tier.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: On 15 October 2012, the club announced a profit of £14.2 million after their first season in the Premier League. On 1 December, Swansea picked up a 0–2 away win against Arsenal, with Michu scoring twice during the last minutes of the game, in Swansea's first win at Arsenal in three decades. Michu ended the season as the club's top scorer in all competitions, with 22 goals.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: On 24 February 2013, Swansea beat Bradford City 0–5 in the League Cup final en route to the biggest win in the final of the competition. This triumph, in a record victory, was Swansea's first major piece of silverware and qualified them for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League. Swansea finished the season in ninth place in the Premier League, improving upon the league standing achieved in the previous season. On 11 July, Swansea paid a club record transfer fee of £12 million to secure the signing of striker Wilfried Bony from Vitesse Arnhem; Bony was the leading goalscorer in the 2012–13 Eredivisie with 31 goals and was named Dutch Player of the Year.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Swansea enjoyed initial success in Europe, beating Spanish side Valencia 3–0 at the Mestalla Stadium in September 2013. On 3 November 2013, Swansea lost the first Welsh derby in the Premier League to Cardiff City following a 1–0 defeat. In February 2014, Laudrup was dismissed from the club after a poor run of form. Defender Garry Monk, a Swansea player since 2004, was named as his replacement. In Monk's first game in charge, Swansea beat Cardiff 3–0 at the Liberty Stadium on 8 February 2014. Despite holding Rafael Benítez's Napoli to a 0–0 draw in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 32, Swansea exited the competition after losing 3–1 in the second leg at the Stadio San Paolo on 27 February 2014.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: In January 2015, Wilfried Bony was sold to Manchester City for a record sale of £25 million, with add-ons reportedly leading to £28 million. This deal eclipsed the record fee received from Liverpool for Joe Allen at £15 million. At the time of the sale, Bony was the club's top scorer with 34 goals in all competitions, and the Premier League's top scorer for the 2014 calendar year, with 20 goals. Swansea City finished eighth in the Premier League at the end of the 2014–15 season with 56 points, their highest position and points haul for a Premier League season, and second highest finish in the top flight of all time. During the season, they produced league doubles over Arsenal and Manchester United, becoming only the third team in Premier League history to achieve that feat.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: On 9 December 2015, manager Garry Monk was sacked after one win in eleven matches. The club, after a period with Alan Curtis as caretaker manager for the third time, chose the Italian former Udinese Calcio coach Francesco Guidolin. During the 2016–17 preseason, Swansea City came under new ownership by an American consortium led by Jason Levien and Steven Kaplan, who bought a controlling interest in the club in July 2016. Chairman Huw Jenkins remained at the club. On 3 October 2016, Guidolin was sacked and replaced by American coach Bob Bradley. The selection of Bradley marked the first time a Premier League club had ever hired an American manager. Bradley himself was sacked after just 85 days in charge; he won only two of his 11 games, conceded 29 goals, and left with a win percentage of just 18.1%.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: On 3 January 2017, Bayern Munich assistant manager Paul Clement agreed to take charge of the team, replacing Bradley. Following Clement's arrival, Nigel Gibbs and Claude Makélélé were appointed his assistant coaches and Karl Halabi was appointed Head of Physical Performance. During the remainder of the 2016–17 season, Clement led Swansea to win 26 points from 18 games, securing their survival on 14 May. Only three prior teams had climbed from bottom of the table at Christmas to escape relegation, and only one prior team was able to escape relegation while having three managers during a season.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: On 6 November 2017, assistant coach Claude Makélélé left the club to join Belgian side Eupen. He was replaced by long-term Swansea player Leon Britton. A poor first half of the 2017–18 season saw Swansea sitting bottom of the table after 18 league games, which led to Clement being sacked on 20 December 2017, leaving the club four points adrift of safety. Towards the end of his tenure, Clement was criticised by a section of Swansea supporters for playing "boring" and "negative" football, questioning his tactical decisions with the Swans being the lowest scorers in the Premier League at the time of his sacking. He was replaced by Portuguese manager Carlos Carvalhal. Despite consecutive league home wins against Liverpool (1–0), Arsenal (3–1), Burnley (1–0), and West Ham (4–1), Swansea were winless in their last nine league games (losing five) under Carvalhal, leaving them in 18th place on the final day of the season.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: During the season, chairman Huw Jenkins and the club's American owners were criticised by Swansea fans and pundits for poor transfer windows and the firing of managers; Alan Shearer blamed the Swansea board for moving away from the style of play found under previous managers Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martínez.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Swansea City were relegated on 13 May 2018, following a 2–1 defeat to already-relegated Stoke City. On 11 June 2018, Graham Potter was announced as the club's new manager, replacing Carvalhal. On 2 February 2019, Huw Jenkins resigned as chairman amid increasing criticism over the club's sale to the American consortium in 2016 and the club's subsequent relegation from the Premier League. He was replaced with Trevor Birch. The first season back in the Championship produced a 10th-place finish, including a quarter-final appearance in the FA Cup. However, Potter left at the end of the season to manage Premier League club Brighton. He was succeeded by former England U17 manager Steve Cooper, with Mike Marsh joining him as his assistant. In September 2019, Cooper was named EFL Championship Manager of The Month, with Swansea City sitting top of the table after an unbeaten first month; this was Swansea's best start to a season in 41 years. On the final day of the season, Swansea beat Reading 4–1 to finish sixth, moving into the play-offs ahead of Nottingham Forest on goal difference, but were later defeated by Brentford in the semi-final second leg.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: At the end of the 2020–21 season, Swansea finished 4th in the league and secured a play-off place for a second consecutive season. Swansea progressed to the 2021 EFL Championship play-off Final after defeating Barnsley 2–1 on aggregate, but lost to Brentford at Wembley Stadium. For the 2021–22 season, the club unveiled a modernised version of the original crest to mark the 40th anniversary of the Swans' first promotion to the top flight in 1981. After Steve Cooper left the club, Russell Martin became head coach. Martin spoke with former Swansea boss Graham Potter before accepting the job. He said, "I know the fanbase and what they expect in terms of the modern Swansea Way, that started under Roberto Martínez and continued under Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup. We, as a coaching team, are very much aligned with that. It excites me."


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Before Swansea Town was established, children would play football on waste ground in which a plant, called "vetch" (a type of legume) was grown. The site was owned by Swansea Gaslight Company in 1912, but was deemed surplus to requirements at the Gas Company. So Swansea Town moved in when they were established in 1912. The ground originally held 12,000, but hit its peak attendance of 32,786 in a 1967 FA cup Fifth Round against Arsenal. The last league goal ever scored at the Vetch was scored by Adrian Forbes, on 30 April 2005, as Swansea beat Shrewsbury Town 1–0.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: With a rapidly deteriorating Vetch Field, Swansea looked to relocate. As Swansea and the Ospreys did not have the capital to invest in a new stadium, the Swansea City Council and a developer-led consortia submitted a proposal for a sustainable "bowl" venue for 20,520 seats on a site to the west of the river on the site of the Morfa Stadium, which the Council owned. It was funded by a 355,000 ft retail park on land to the east of the river. The final value of the development being in excess of £50 million. On 23 July 2005, The Liberty Stadium was officially opened as Swansea faced Fulham in a friendly game.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The Liberty Stadium capacity was 20,532 though has been increased to 20,750. The highest attendance recorded at the stadium came against Arsenal on 31 October 2015 with 20,937 spectators, beating the previous record of 20,845. The stadium has also hosted three Welsh international football matches; the first being a 0–0 draw with Bulgaria in 2006, the second a 2–1 defeat to Georgia in 2008 and a 2–0 win over Switzerland on 7 October 2011. The first international goal to be scored at the Liberty Stadium was a 25-yard effort from Welsh international Jason Koumas.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: On 1 July 2012, it was widely reported in national media that Swansea City were beginning the planning phase for expanding the Liberty Stadium by approximately 12,000 seats. This plan would be conditional on a successful second season in the Premier League and could cost up to £15 million; the increase would result in a capacity of approximately 32,000 seats. Later that same year, the board of directors announced that planning applications were to be put forward to the council authority, making the Liberty Stadium the largest sportsclub-owned stadium in Wales.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The Liberty Stadium was renamed the Swansea.com Stadium on 9 August 2021, following a 10-year naming rights agreement.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Swansea City's main rivals are Cardiff City, with the rivalry described as among the most hostile in British football. Matches between these two clubs are known as the South Wales derbies and are usually one of the highlights of the season for both sets of supporters. It was only from the late 1960s that the rivalry became marked. Before then fans of the two clubs often had a degree of affection for their Welsh neighbouring team.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Swansea City's other rivals are Newport County and to a lesser extent Bristol City and Bristol Rovers. However, Swansea very rarely meet Newport as they are currently separated by two divisions, while the two clubs share a mutual rivalry with Cardiff City.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Swansea have won 36 of the 106 competitive meetings, compared to Cardiff's 43, who also have the biggest result between the two sides with Swansea losing 5–0 in 1965, with a further 27 drawn; neither team had done the double, until the 2021–22 season where Swansea had completed the first ever double in the 110 year rivalry, beating Cardiff 3-0 and 0–4 home and away. Following Swansea City's promotion to the Championship, the clubs were drawn in the League Cup which would be the first meeting between both sides for nine years. Swansea City won the tie with a solitary goal from a deflected free-kick taken by Jordi Gómez. The match saw sets of supporters from both clubs clash with police after the match. The next two league games both finished in 2–2 draws. However, the derby game at Ninian Park was marred with controversy as referee Mike Dean was struck by a coin from a Cardiff City supporter.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: In the 2009–10 season, Swansea beat Cardiff 3–2 at the Liberty Stadium in November, before losing 2–1 in Cardiff in April after a late Michael Chopra strike. With Swansea and Cardiff both pushing for promotion to the Premier League, the first derby at the new Cardiff City Stadium, and the first Cardiff win in nine meetings between the sides, was billed as being the biggest South Wales derby of all time, in respect to the league positions of the teams and how close it came to the end of the season. Despite their promising league positions leading up to the derby, neither side gained promotion at the end of that campaign, and so the South Wales derby was once again played out at Championship level during the 2010–11 season – Swansea beating Cardiff 1–0 away with a late winner from then on-loan Marvin Emnes before losing their home game due to a late strike from Craig Bellamy.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Following Swansea's promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2010–11 season, the South Wales derby was again put on hiatus. It would be two seasons before the sides met once more, this time on the worldwide stage of the Premier League. On 3 November 2013, Cardiff took the bragging rights in the first ever Premier League South Wales derby, enjoying a 1–0 win courtesy of ex-Swan Steven Caulker at the Cardiff City Stadium. The return fixture for that season took place on 8 February 2014 at Swansea's Liberty Stadium, a match in which interim player-manager Garry Monk would make his managerial debut following the sacking of Michael Laudrup. The Swans took revenge for the defeat earlier in the season with a convincing 3–0 win.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The sides met again during the 2019–20 season in the EFL Championship; Swansea won 1–0 in the first fixture at the Liberty Stadium. In the 2020–21 season, Jamal Lowe scored a brace in a 2-0 Swansea win. In October 2021, Swansea won 3–0 against Cardiff. Later in the season, Swansea beat Cardiff 4–0 in the reverse fixture; Swansea became the first side to complete the league double in the derby's 110-year history.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Swansea City's first trophy was the Welsh Cup, which they won as Swansea Town in 1913. Their first league honour came in 1925, when they won the 1924–25 Football League Third Division South title. Since then Swansea have gone on to win the League Cup once, the Football League Trophy twice and the Welsh Cup a further nine times. They have also qualified for UEFA Cup Winners' Cup seven times and the UEFA Europa League once.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Wilfred Milne holds the record for Swansea appearances, having played 586 matches between 1920 and 1937, closely followed by Roger Freestone with 563 between 1991 and 2004. The player who has won the most international caps while at the club is Ashley Williams with 50 for Wales.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The goalscoring record is held by Ivor Allchurch, with 166 goals, scored between 1947 and 1958 and between 1965 and 1968. Cyril Pearce holds the records for the most goals scored in a season, in 1931–32, with 35 league goals in the Second Division and 40 goals in total.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: The club's widest victory margin was 12–0, a scoreline which they achieved once in the European Cup Winners Cup, against Sliema in 1982. They have lost by an eight-goal margin on two occasions, once in the FA Cup, beaten 0–8 by Liverpool in 1990 and once in the European Cup Winners Cup, beaten 0–8 by AS Monaco in 1991. Swansea's 8–1 win against Notts County in the FA Cup in 2018 is their largest winning margin of the competition, and the largest winning margin at their home ground, the Liberty Stadium.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: Swansea's home attendance record was set at the fourth-round FA Cup tie against Arsenal on 17 February 1968, with 32,796 fans attending the Vetch Field. The club broke their transfer record to re-sign André Ayew from West Ham United in January 2018 for a fee of £18 million. The most expensive sale is Gylfi Sigurðsson who joined Everton in August 2017 for a fee believed to be £45 million.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: On 22 July 2016, Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan led a consortium of American businessmen who bought a 68% stake in the club.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: There have been forty-four permanent managers (of whom six have been player-managers), and four caretaker managers of Swansea City since the appointment of the club's first professional manager, Walter Whittaker in 1912. In the club's first season, Whittaker led Swansea to their first Welsh Cup win. The club's longest-serving manager, in terms of tenure, was Haydn Green, who held the position for eight years, four months and 14 days, spanning the entirety of World War II. Trevor Morris, who oversaw the most games at Swansea, was also the first manager to lead a Welsh club in Europe, qualifying for the 1961–62 Cup Winners' Cup.


title: Swansea City A.F.C.

text: John Toshack, Swansea City's most successful manager with three league promotions and three Welsh Cup wins, led the club to their highest league finish, sixth place in the 1981–82 First Division. Appointed in February 1996, the Dane Jan Mølby became Swansea City's first foreign manager and took Swansea to the 1996–97 Division Three play-off final, only to lose to a last-minute goal. In 2011, Swansea City achieved promotion to the Premier League under Brendan Rodgers, becoming the first Welsh team to play in the division since its formation in 1992. During Swansea City's centenary year (2012–13), the club won the League Cup for the first time under Michael Laudrup, the first major trophy in Swansea's 100-year history.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Terrence Andrew Davis (December 15, 1969 – August 11, 2018) was an American programmer who created and designed TempleOS, a public domain operating system. Its development was an extremely complex, time-consuming and unusual undertaking for one person.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: As a teenager, Davis learned assembly language on a Commodore 64. He later earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from Arizona State University and worked for several years at Ticketmaster as a programmer for VAX machines. In 1996, he began experiencing regular manic episodes, one of which led him to hospitalization. Initially diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he was later declared to have schizophrenia. He subsequently collected disability payments and resided in Las Vegas with his parents until 2017.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Davis grew up as a Catholic and was an atheist for some of his adult life. After experiencing a self-described "revelation", he proclaimed that he had been in direct communication with God and that God had commanded him to build a successor to the Second Temple. He then committed a decade to creating an operating system modeled after the DOS-based interfaces of his youth. In 2013, Davis announced that he had completed the project, now called "TempleOS". The operating system was generally regarded as a hobby system, not suitable for general use, but Davis received sympathy and support for bringing the project to fruition.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: During his final years, Davis amassed an online following and regularly posted video blogs to social media. Although he remained lucid when discussing computer-related subjects, his communication skills were significantly affected by his schizophrenia. He was controversial for his regular use of slurs, which he explained was his way of combating actors of psychological warfare. After 2017, he struggled with periods of homelessness and incarceration. In 2018, he was struck by a train and died at the age of 48.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Terrence Andrew Davis was born in West Allis, Wisconsin, later moving to Washington, Michigan, California and Arizona. He was the seventh of eight children, and his father was an industrial engineer. As a child, Davis used an Apple II at his elementary school, and as a teenager, learned assembly language on a Commodore 64. He earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from Arizona State University in 1994 and worked for several years at Ticketmaster as a programmer for VAX machines. On the subject of his certifications, he wrote in 2011: "Everybody knows electrical is higher in the engineering pecking order than CS because it requires real math ;-) I'm a rocket scientist, though, not a very good one".


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Davis grew up Catholic, but was an atheist for some of his adult life before experiencing what he called a "revelation from God". Starting in 1996, Davis was admitted to a psychiatric ward approximately every six months due to reoccurring manic episodes. In March, he had begun experiencing regular manic episodes and developed delusions centering around space aliens and government agents. According to Davis, he attributed a profound quality to the Rage Against the Machine lyric "some of those that work forces are the same that burn crosses" and recalled "I started seeing people following me around in suits and stuff. It just seemed something was strange." He started donating large sums of money to charity organizations, something he had never done before. Later, he surmised, "that act [probably] caused God to reveal Himself to me and saved me."


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Soon afterward, out of fear of the suited figures he believed to be following him, Davis left town and drove hundreds of miles south with no destination. After becoming convinced that his car radio was communicating with him, he dismantled his vehicle (apparently in a search for tracking devices he believed were hidden on it) and threw his keys into the desert. He walked aimlessly along the side of the highway, where he was then picked up by an officer. Davis escaped from the patrol vehicle, broke his collarbone, and was then taken to a hospital. Distressed about a conversation over artifacts found on his X-ray scans, interpreted by him as "alien artifacts", he ran from the hospital and attempted to carjack a nearby truck before being arrested. In jail, he stripped himself, broke his glasses and jammed the frames into a nearby electrical outlet, trying to open his cell door by switching the breaker. This failed, as he had been wearing non-conductive frames. He was then admitted to a mental hospital for two weeks.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Regarding these developments, Davis said in a 2014 interview that he had been "genuinely pretty crazy in a way. Now I'm not. I'm crazy in a different way maybe." Davis acknowledged that the sequence of events leading to his spiritual awakening might give the impression of "mental illness, as opposed to some glorious revelation from God. [...] It would sound polite if you said I scared myself thinking about quantum computers. And then I guess you just throw in your ordinary mental illness." Reflecting on the initial episode, he said, "I'm not especially proud of the logic and thinking. It looks very young and childish and pathetic. [...] In the Bible it says if you seek God, He will be found of you. I was really seeking, and I was looking everywhere to see what he might be saying to me."


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Davis was initially diagnosed with bipolar disorder and later declared to have schizophrenia. Afterward, he felt "guilty for being such a technology-advocate atheist" and sought to emulate Jesus by giving away all his possessions and living a nomadic lifestyle. In July 1996, he returned to Arizona and started formulating plans for a new business. He designed a three-axis milling machine, as he recalled having 3D printing in mind as an obvious pursuit. An incident involving a Dremel tool nearly set his apartment on fire, which caused him to abandon the idea. He subsequently lived with his parents in Las Vegas and collected Social Security disability payments.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: After 2003, Davis' hospitalizations became less frequent. His schizophrenia still affected his communication skills, and his online comments were usually incomprehensible. However, he was reported as "always lucid" if the topic was about computers. "Vice" noted that, in 2012, he had a productive conversation with the contributors at MetaFilter, where his work was introduced as "an operating system written by a schizophrenic programmer".


title: Terry A. Davis

text: TempleOS (known as "J Operating System" from 2004 to 2005, "LoseThos" from 2006 to early 2012, and "SparrowOS" in late 2012) is an operating system similar to the Commodore 64, DESQview and other early DOS-based interfaces. It was conceived by Davis in the early 2000s and developed alone over the course of a decade. This included the design of its original programming language, editor, compiler and kernel. It was ultimately composed of over 100,000 lines of code.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: In 2005, Davis stated that his ambition for the J Operating System was "to recreate the dynamic environment that used to exist when the Commodore 64 was around and everyone was creating odd-ball software". He envisioned the system as a Commodore 64 with a "thousand times" more powerful processing speed. Three years later, he wrote that the primary purpose of LoseThos was "for making video games. It has no networking or Internet support. As far as I'm concerned, that would be reinventing the wheel".


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Davis later proclaimed that he was in direct communication with God, and that God told him to build a successor to the Second Temple as an operating system. As such, references to Biblical tropes are ubiquitous in the OS. One bundled program, "After Egypt", is a game in which the player travels to a burning bush to use a "high-speed stopwatch". The stopwatch is meant to act as an oracle that generates pseudo-random text, something Davis believed to be coded messages from God. He likened the process to a Ouija board and speaking in tongues. An example of generated text follows:


title: Terry A. Davis

text: According to Davis, many of the system's features, such as its 640×480 resolution and 16-color display, were also explicit instructions from God. The charter on his website stated that TempleOS was "God's official temple. Just like Solomon's Temple, this is a community focal point where offerings are made and God's oracle is consulted". He used the oracle to ask God about war ("servicemen competing"), death ("awful"), dinosaurs ("Brontosaurs' feet hurt when stepped"), favorite video game ("Donkey Kong"), favorite car (BMW), favorite national anthem (Latvia's), favorite band (the Beatles), and the 11th commandment ("Thou shall not litter").


title: Terry A. Davis

text: In 2012, Davis stated that LoseThos was downloaded 10,000 times since 2009, and that there was "no evidence anyone has installed it. I am in a CIA prison." Later in the year, he renamed LoseThos to "SparrowOS", and in early 2013, rebranded again as "TempleOS". A few weeks later, his website announced: "God's temple is finished. Now, God kills CIA until it spreads".


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Davis believed that he was under constant subjugation by federal agents, particularly those from the Central Intelligence Agency. He was controversial for his regular use of offensive slurs, including racist and homophobic epithets, and sometimes rebuked his critics as "CIA niggers".


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Online, Davis would frequently communicate in randomly generated blocks of text and off-topic declarations about God, which led to bans from websites including Something Awful, Reddit, and Hacker News. However, the critical reception to TempleOS was mostly favorable, as tech journalist David Cassel wrote, "programming websites tried to find the necessary patience and understanding to accommodate Davis". TechRepublic and OSNews published positive articles on Davis' work, even though he had been banned from OSNews for hostile comments targeting its readers and staff.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Such outbursts, along with the operating system's "amateurish" presentation, ultimately caused TempleOS to become a frequent object of derision. Davis explained that his use of the word "nigger" was a reaction to being subject to psychological warfare tactics from media agencies such as the BBC. He addressed concerns about his language on his website:


title: Terry A. Davis

text: Once TempleOS was completed, most of Davis' time was spent online, "coding, web surfing, or using the output from the National Institute of Standards and Technology randomness beacon to talk to God", and he drew a small fanbase following through his various online activities. He posted hours of video blogs and would refer to himself as "the smartest programmer that's ever lived" while showing his creations. His YouTube channels were repeatedly banned due to his vulgarities. In 2017, the OS was shown as a part of an outsider art exhibition in Bourogne, France. Davis said he was happy to receive the attention but was disappointed that few of his fans had used the OS to speak to God.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: In September 2018, OSNews editor Thom Holwerda wrote: "Davis was clearly a gifted programmer – writing an entire operating system is no small feat – and it was sad to see him affected by his mental illness". One fan described him as a "programming legend", while another, a computer engineer, compared the development of TempleOS to a one-man-built skyscraper. The engineer had previously spoken to Davis at length and believed that Davis, had it not been for his illness, could have been a "Steve Jobs" or a "Steve Wozniak". He added that it "actually boggles my mind that one man wrote all that" and surmised that it may be difficult for a layperson to understand how extraordinary it was to write an entire operating system alone.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: During his final months, Davis struggled with periods of homelessness and incarceration. He stopped taking medication because he believed that it limited his creativity. Some fans helped him by bringing him supplies, but he refused their housing offers. After living with his sister in Arizona, Davis traveled to California, and in April 2018, stopped in Portland, Oregon. Local police were informed that Davis may be a threat, since he had stated a willingness to kill if asked by God. In June, Portland police informed officials in the nearby town of The Dalles that they had received word that Davis may be headed there. No further complaints were received about Davis.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: In his final video, recorded on a bench at the Dalles Wasco County Library and uploaded hours before his death, he explained that he had removed most of his videos because he did not wish to "litter" the Internet, and that he had learned how to "purify" himself. At the very end, he states: "It's good to be king. Wait, maybe. I think maybe I'm just like a little bizarre little person who walks back and forth. Whatever, you know, but..."


title: Terry A. Davis

text: On the evening of August 11, 2018, while walking alongside railroad tracks in The Dalles, Oregon, Davis was struck and killed by a Union Pacific train. Investigators could not determine whether his death was suicide or accidental, although the train engineer believed his death to be a suicide. The police report stated that Davis was walking with his back toward the train and that he turned around before the moment of impact. When "The Dalles Chronicle" ran a story about an unnamed homeless man who was struck by a train, the newspaper was inundated with phone calls inquiring whether it was Davis, which the paper later confirmed in a follow-up piece.


title: Terry A. Davis

text: As reports of his death surfaced online, he was memorialized by fans in a number of tributes posted to social media. Through the TempleOS website, his family asked people to donate to "organizations working to ease the pain and suffering caused by mental illness". In December 2018, Linux.org (an unofficial community for Linux users) was vandalized by hackers to include a reference to his death. In November 2019, Davis was the subject of a 30-minute documentary on BBC Radio 4.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: "Naikaku Sōri-Daijin") is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of State. The prime minister also serves as the civilian commander-in-chief of the Japan Self Defence Forces and as a sitting member of the House of Representatives. The individual is appointed by the emperor of Japan after being nominated by the National Diet and must retain the nomination of the lower house and answer to parliament to remain in office.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: The position and nature of this title allow the holder to reside in and work at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Nagatacho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, close to the National Diet Building. Fumio Kishida is the current prime minister of Japan, replacing Yoshihide Suga on 4 October 2021. As of , there have been 102 prime ministers.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: In Japanese, due to the special nature of the work of the head of government, the prime minister's titles vary depending on context, sometimes demonstrating his/her role. Since the inception of the cabinet system, the prime minister is known in Japanese as "Naikaku Sōri-Daijin" (内閣総理大臣) whenever he is referred to as the head of the Cabinet. However, this title is usually abbreviated to "Sōri-Daijin" (総理大臣). Other abbreviations include "Sōri" (総理), "Shushō" (首相) or even "Saishō" (宰相).


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: The official English rendering is 'Prime Minister'. This English translation was informally used as the English translation of 'Grand Minister' before the introduction of the cabinet system. However, this was not the original English translation of 'Prime Minister', and a German translation, 'Minister President of the State', was also used in the past.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: Before the adoption of the Meiji Constitution, Japan had in practice no written constitution. Originally, a Chinese-inspired legal system known as "ritsuryō" was enacted in the late Asuka period and early Nara period. It described a government based on an elaborate and rational meritocratic bureaucracy, serving, in theory, under the ultimate authority of the emperor; although in practice, real power was often held elsewhere, such as in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, who intermarried with the imperial family in the Heian period, or by the ruling "shōgun". Theoretically, the last "ritsuryō" code, the Yōrō Code enacted in 752, was still in force at the time of the Meiji Restoration.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: Under this system, the was the head of the "Daijō-kan" (Department of State), the highest organ of Japan's pre-modern Imperial government during the Heian period and until briefly under the Meiji Constitution with the appointment of Sanjō Sanetomi in 1871. The office was replaced in 1885 with the appointment of Itō Hirobumi to the new position of Minister President of State, four years before the enactment of the Meiji Constitution, which mentions neither the Cabinet nor the position of Prime Minister explicitly. It took its current form with the adoption of the Constitution of Japan in 1947.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: To date, 64 people have served this position. The longest serving prime minister to date is Shinzo Abe, who served as prime minister in two terms: from 26 September 2006 until 26 September 2007, and from 26 December 2012 until 16 September 2020. Shinzo Abe was planning on running in the 2022 election but was assassinated on 8 July 2022 before the elections.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: The prime minister is nominated by both houses of the Diet, before the conduct of any other business. For that purpose, each conducts a ballot under the run-off system. If the two houses choose different individuals, then a joint committee of both houses is appointed to agree on a common nominee. Ultimately, however, if the two houses do not agree within ten days, the decision of the House of Representatives is deemed to be that of the Diet. Therefore, the House of Representatives can theoretically ensure the appointment of any prime minister it wants. The nominee is then presented with his or her commission, and formally appointed to office by the Emperor.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: Conventionally, the prime minister is almost always the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives, or the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition. But there have been three cabinet prime ministers from junior coalition partners (Ashida 1948, Hosokawa 1993, Murayama 1994), a few minority governments (most recently the Hata Cabinet in 1994 and at least numerically the Second Hashimoto Cabinet of 1996 during its first year, but with an extra-cabinet cooperation (閣外協力, "kakugai kyōryoku") agreement with two parties, sufficient to ensure safe majorities for most government initiatives), and several cabinets with a majority in the House of Representatives, but without legislative majority of their own (most recently the DPJ-led cabinets after the 2010 election; cf. "Nejire Kokkai"/"twisted Diets").


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: Unlike most of his counterparts in constitutional monarchies, the prime minister is both "de jure" and "de facto" chief executive. In most other constitutional monarchies, the monarch is nominal chief executive, while being bound by convention to act on the advice of the cabinet. In contrast, the Constitution of Japan explicitly vests executive power in the Cabinet, of which the prime minister is the leader. His countersignature is required for all laws and Cabinet orders. While most ministers in parliamentary democracies have some freedom of action within the bounds of cabinet collective responsibility, the Japanese Cabinet is effectively an extension of the prime minister's authority.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: Located near the Diet building, the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan is called the . The original Kantei served from 1929 until 2002, when a new building was inaugurated to serve as the current Kantei. The old Kantei was then converted into the Official Residence, or . The Kōtei lies to the southwest of the Kantei, and is linked by a walkway.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: For overseas air travel, the Japanese government maintains two Boeing 777, which replaced the Boeing 747-400 also in 2019. The aircraft is also used by the emperor, the members of the Imperial family, and other high-ranking officials.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: They have the radio callsigns Japanese Air Force One and Japanese Air Force Two when operating on official business, and Cygnus One and Cygnus Two when operating outside of official business (e.g., on training flights). The aircraft always fly together on government missions, with one serving as the primary transport and the other serving as a backup with maintenance personnel on board. The aircraft are officially referred to as .


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: Until the mid-1930s, the prime minister of Japan was normally granted a hereditary peerage ("kazoku") prior to leaving office if he had not already been ennobled. Titles were usually bestowed in the ranks of count, viscount or baron, depending on the relative accomplishments and status of the prime minister. The two highest ranks, marquess and prince, were only bestowed upon highly distinguished statesmen, and were not granted to a prime minister after 1928. The last prime minister who was a peer was Baron Kijūrō Shidehara, who served as Prime Minister from October 1945 to May 1946. The peerage was abolished when the Constitution of Japan came into effect in May 1947.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: Certain eminent prime ministers have been awarded the Order of the Chrysanthemum, typically in the degree of Grand Cordon. The highest honour in the Japanese honours system, the Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, has only been conferred upon select prime ministers and eminent statesmen; the last such award to a living prime minister was to Saionji Kinmochi in 1928. More often, the Order of the Chrysanthemum has been a posthumous distinction; both the Collar and Grand Cordon of the order were last awarded posthumously to former prime minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022.


title: Prime Minister of Japan

text: After relinquishing office, the prime minister is normally accorded the second or senior third rank in the court order of precedence, and is usually raised to the senior second rank posthumously. Certain distinguished prime ministers have been posthumously raised to the first rank; the last such award was to Eisaku Sato in 1975. Since the 1920s, following their tenure in office, Prime ministers have typically been conferred with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers (until 2003 a special higher class of the Order of the Rising Sun), depending on tenure and eminence. However, honours may be withheld due to misconduct or refusal on the part of the prime minister (for example, Kiichi Miyazawa).


title: Allahabad

text: Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Allahabad district—the most populous district in the state and 13th most populous district in India—and the Allahabad division. The city is the judicial capital of Uttar Pradesh with the Allahabad High Court being the highest judicial body in the state. As of 2011, Allahabad is the seventh most populous city in the state, thirteenth in Northern India and thirty-sixth in India, with an estimated population of 1.53 million in the city. In 2011 it was ranked the world's 40th fastest-growing city. Allahabad, in 2016, was also ranked the third most liveable urban agglomeration in the state (after Noida and Lucknow) and sixteenth in the country. Hindi is the most widely spoken language in the city.


title: Allahabad

text: Allahabad lies close to Triveni Sangam, the "three-river confluence" of the Ganges, Yamuna and Sarasvati rivers. It plays a central role in Hindu scriptures. The city finds its earliest reference as one of the world's oldest known cities in Hindu mythological texts and has been venerated as the holy city of Prayaga in the ancient Vedas. Allahabad was also known as Kosambi in the late Vedic period, named by the Kuru rulers of Hastinapur, who developed it as their capital. Kosambi was one of the greatest cities in India from the late Vedic period until the end of the Maurya Empire, with occupation continuing until the Gupta Empire. Since then, the city has been a political, cultural and administrative centre of the Doab region. In the early 17th century, Allahabad was a provincial capital in the Mughal Empire under the reign of Jahangir.


title: Allahabad

text: "Akbarnama" mentions that the Mughal emperor Akbar founded a great city in Allahabad. ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni and Nizamuddin Ahmad mention that Akbar laid the foundations of an imperial city there which was called "Ilahabas" or "Ilahabad". He was said to be impressed by its strategic location and built a fort there, later renaming it "Ilahabas" by 1584, which was changed to Allahabad by Shah Jahan. In 1580, Akbar created the "Subah of Ilahabas" with Allahabad as its capital. In mid-1600, Jahangir made an abortive attempt to seize Agra's treasury and came to Allahabad, seizing its treasury and setting himself up as a virtually independent ruler. He was, however, reconciled with Akbar and returned to Allahabad where he stayed before returning to the royal court in 1604.


title: Allahabad

text: In 1833 it became the seat of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces region before its capital was moved to Agra in 1835. Allahabad became the capital of the North-Western Provinces in 1858 and was the capital of India for a day. The city was the capital of the United Provinces from 1902 to 1920 and remained at the forefront of national importance during the struggle for Indian independence.


title: Allahabad

text: Located in southern Uttar Pradesh, the city covers . Although the city and its surrounding area are governed by several municipalities, a large portion of Allahabad district is governed by the Allahabad City Council. The city is home to colleges, research institutions and many central and state government offices. Allahabad has hosted cultural and sporting events, including the Prayag Kumbh Mela and the Indira Marathon. Although the city's economy was built on tourism, most of its income now derives from real estate and financial services.


title: Allahabad

text: The location at the confluence of Ganges and Yamuna rivers has been known in ancient times as Prayāga, which means "place of a sacrifice" in Sanskrit ("pra-," "fore-" + "yāj-", "to sacrifice"). It was believed that god Brahma performed the very first sacrifice ("yāga, yajna") in this place.


title: Allahabad

text: The word "prayāga" has been traditionally used to mean "a confluence of rivers". For Allahabad, it denoted the physical meeting point of the rivers Ganges and Yamuna in the city. An ancient tradition has it that a third river, invisible Sarasvati, also meets there with the two. Today, Triveni Sangam (or simply Sangam) is a more frequently used name for the confluence.


title: Allahabad

text: Prayagraj (Sanskrit: "Prayāgarāja"), meaning "the king among the five "prayāgas"", is used as a term of respect to indicate that this confluence is the most splendid one of the five sacred confluencies in India.


title: Allahabad

text: It is said that the Mughal emperor Akbar visited the region in 1575 and was so impressed by the strategic location of the site that he ordered a fort be constructed. The fort was constructed by 1584 and called "Ilahabas" or "Abode of Allah", later changed to "Allahabad" under Shah Jahan. Speculations regarding its name however, exist. Because of the surrounding people calling it "Alhabas", has led to some people holding the view that it was named after Alha from Alha's story. James Forbes' account of the early 1800s claims that it was renamed Allahabad or "Abode of God" by Jahangir after he failed to destroy the Akshayavat tree. The name, however, predates him, with "Ilahabas" and "Ilahabad" mentioned on coins minted in the city since Akbar's rule, the latter name became predominant after the emperor's death. It has also been thought to not have been named after Allah but "ilaha" (the gods). Shaligram Shrivastav claimed in "Prayag Pradip" that the name was deliberately given by Akbar to be construed as both Hindu ("ilaha") and Muslim ("Allah").


title: Allahabad

text: Over the years, a number of attempts were made by the BJP-led governments of Uttar Pradesh to rename Allahabad to Prayagraj. In 1992, the planned rename was shelved when the chief minister, Kalyan Singh, was forced to resign following the Babri Masjid demolition. 2001 saw another attempt led by the government of Rajnath Singh which remained unfulfilled. The rename finally succeeded in October 2018 when the Yogi Adityanath-led government officially changed the name of the city to Prayagraj.


title: Allahabad

text: The earliest mention of Prayāga and the associated pilgrimage is found in "Rigveda Pariśiṣṭa" (supplement to the "Rigveda", c. 1200–1000 BCE). It is also mentioned in the Pali canons of Buddhism, such as in section 1.7 of "Majjhima Nikaya" (), wherein the Buddha states that bathing in "Payaga" (Skt: Prayaga) cannot wash away cruel and evil deeds, rather the virtuous one should be pure in heart and fair in action. The "Mahabharata" (–300 CE) mentions a bathing pilgrimage at Prayag as a means of "prāyaścitta" (atonement, penance) for past mistakes and guilt. In "Tirthayatra Parva", before the great war, the epic states "the one who observes firm [ethical] vows, having bathed at Prayaga during Magha, O best of the Bharatas, becomes spotless and reaches heaven." In "Anushasana parva", after the war, the epic elaborates this bathing pilgrimage as "geographical tirtha" that must be combined with "manasa-tirtha" (tirtha of the heart) whereby one lives by values such as truth, charity, self-control, patience and others.


title: Allahabad

text: Prayāga is mentioned in the "Agni Purana" and other Puranas with various legends, including being one of the places where Brahma attended a yajna (homa), and the confluence of river Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati site as the king of pilgrimage sites ("Tirtha Raj"). Other early accounts of the significance of Prayag to Hinduism is found in the various versions of the "Prayaga Mahatmya", dated to the late 1st-millennium CE. These Purana-genre Sanskrit texts describe Prayag as a place "bustling with pilgrims, priests, vendors, beggars, guides" and local citizens busy along the confluence of the rivers ("sangam"). Prayaga is also mentioned in the Hindu epic "Ramayana", a place with the legendary "Ashram" of sage Bharadwaj.


title: Allahabad

text: Inscription evidence from the famed Ashoka edicts containing Allahabad Pillar – also referred to as the Prayaga Bull pillar – adds to the confusion about the antiquity of this city. Excavations have revealed Northern Black Polished Ware dating to 600–700 BCE. According to Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, there is nothing to suggest that "modern Prayag (modern Allahabad) was an ancient city", but it is also inconceivable that there was no city at the holiest pilgrimage site in Hinduism. Chakrabarti suggests that the city of Jhusi, opposite the confluence, must have been the "ancient settlement of Prayag". Archaeological surveys since the 1950s has revealed the presence of human settlements near the "sangam" since BCE.


title: Allahabad

text: Along with Ashoka's Brahmi script inscription from 3rd-century BCE, the pillar has a Samudragupta inscription, as well as a Magha Mela inscription of Birbal of Akbar's era. It states,


title: Allahabad

text: These dates correspond to about 1575 CE, and confirm the importance and the name Prayag. According to Cunningham, this pillar was brought to Allahabad from Kaushambi by a Muslim Sultan, and that in some later century before Akbar, the old city of Prayag had been deserted. Other scholars, such as Krishnaswamy and Ghosh disagree. In a paper published in 1935, they state that the pillar was always at its current location based on the inscription dates on the pillar, lack of textual evidence for the move in records left by Muslim historians and the difficulty in moving the massive pillar. Further, like Cunningham, they noted that many smaller inscriptions were added on the pillar over time. Quite many of these inscriptions include a date between 1319 CE and 1575 CE, and most of these refer to the month Magha. According to Krishnaswamy and Ghosh, these dates are likely related to the Magh Mela pilgrimage at Prayag, as recommended in the ancient Hindu texts.


title: Allahabad

text: In papers published about 1979, John Irwin – a scholar of Indian Art History and Archaeology, concurred with Krishnaswamy and Ghosh that the Allahabad pillar was never moved and was always at the confluence of the rivers Ganges and Yamuna. According to Irwin, an analysis of the minor inscriptions and ancient scribblings on the pillar first observed by Cunningham, also noted by Krishnaswamy and Ghosh, reveals that these included years and months, and the latter "always turns out to be Magha, which also gives it name to the Magh Mela", the Prayaga bathing pilgrimage festival of the Hindus. He further stated that the pillar origins were undoubtedly pre-Ashokan based on the new evidence from the archaeological and geological surveys of the triveni site (Prayaga), the major and minor inscriptions as well as textual evidence, taken together. Archaeological and geological surveys done since the 1950s, states Irwin, have revealed that the rivers – particularly Ganges – had a different course in distant past than now. The original path of river Ganges at the Prayaga confluence had settlements dating from 8th-century BCE onwards. According to Karel Werner – an Indologist known for his studies on religion particularly Buddhism, the Irwin papers "showed conclusively that the pillar did not originate at Kaushambi", but had been at Prayaga from pre-Buddhist times.


title: Allahabad

text: The 7th-century Buddhist Chinese traveller Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) in Fascicle V of "Dà Táng Xīyù Jì" ("Great Tang Records on the Western Regions") explicitly mentions Prayaga as both a country and a "great city" where the Yamuna river meets Ganges river. He states that the great city has hundreds of "deva temples" and to the south of the city are two Buddhist institutions (a stupa built by Ashoka and a monastery). His 644 CE memoir also mentions the Hindu bathing rituals at the junction of the rivers, where people fast near it and then bathe believing that this washes away their sins. Wealthy people and kings come to this "great city" to give away alms at the Grand Place of Almsgiving. According to Xuanzang's travelogue, the confluence is to the east of this "great city" and the site where alms are distributed every day. Kama MacLean – an Indologist who has published articles on the Kumbh Mela predominantly based on the colonial archives and English-language media, states based on emails from other scholars and a more recent interpretation of the 7th-century Xuanzang memoir, that Prayag was also an important site in 7th-century India of a Buddhist festival. She states that Xuanzang festivities at Prayag featured a Buddha statue and involved alms giving, consistent with Buddhist practices. According to Li Rongxi – a scholar credited with a recent and complete translation of a critical version of the "Dà Táng Xīyù Jì", Xuanzang mentions that the site of the alms-giving is a "deva" temple, and the alms-giving practice is recommended by the "records at this temple". Rongxi adds that the population of Prayaga was predominantly heretics (non-Buddhists, Hindus), and affirms that Prayaga attracted festivities of "deva"-worshipping heretics and also the orthodox Buddhists.


title: Allahabad

text: Xuanzang also describes a ritual-suicide practice at Prayaga, then concludes it is absurd. He mentions a tree with "evil spirits" that stands before another "deva" temple. People commit suicide by jumping from it in the belief that they will go to heaven. According to Ariel Glucklich – a scholar of Hinduism and Anthropology of Religion, the Xuanzang memoir mentions both the superstitious devotional suicide and narrates a story of how a Brahmin of a more ancient era tried to put an end to this practice. Alexander Cunningham believed the tree described by Xuanzang was the Akshayavat tree. It still existed at the time of Al-Biruni who calls it as "Prayaga", located at the confluence of Ganga and Yamuna.


title: Allahabad

text: The historic literature of Hinduism and Buddhism before the Mughal emperor Akbar use the term Prayag, and never use the term Allahabad or its variants. Its history before the Mughal Emperor Akbar is unclear. In contrast to the account of Xuanzang, the Muslim historians place the tree at the confluence of the rivers. The historian Dr. D. B. Dubey states that it appears that between this period, the sandy plain was washed away by the Ganges, to an extent that the temple and tree seen by the Chinese traveller too was washed away, with the river later changing its course to the east and the confluence shifting to the place where Akbar laid the foundations of his fort.


title: Allahabad

text: Henry Miers Elliot believed that a town existed before Allahabad was founded. He adds that after Mahmud of Ghazni captured Asní near Fatehpur, he couldn't have crossed into Bundelkhand without visiting Allahabad had there been a city worth plundering. He further adds that its capture should have been heard when Muhammad of Ghor captured Benares. however, Ghori's historians never noticed it. "Akbarnama" mentions that the Mughal emperor Akbar founded a great city in Allahabad. 'Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni and Nizamuddin Ahmad mention that Akbar laid the foundations of an Imperial City there which he called "Ilahabas".


title: Allahabad

text: Abul Fazal in his "Ain-i-Akbari" states, "For a long time his (Akbar's) desire was to found a great city in the town of Piyag (Allahabad) where the rivers Ganges and Jamuna join... On 13th November 1583 (1st Azar 991 H.) he (Akbar) reached the wished spot and laid the foundations of the city and planned four forts." Abul Fazal adds, "Ilahabad anciently called Prayag was distinguished by His Imperial Majesty [Akbar] by the former name". The role of Akbar in founding the Ilahabad – later called Allahabad – fort and city is mentioned by ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni as well.


title: Allahabad

text: Nizamuddin Ahmad gives two different dates for Allahabad's foundation, in different sections of "Tabaqat-i-Akbari". He states that Akbar laid the foundation of the city at a place of the confluence of Ganges and Jumna which was a very sacred site of Hindus, then gives 1574 and 1584 as the year of its founding, and that it was named Ilahabas.


title: Allahabad

text: Akbar was impressed by its strategic location for a fort. According to William Pinch, Akbar's motive may have been twofold. One, the armed fort secured the control of fertile Doab region. Second, it greatly increased his visibility and power to the non-Muslims who gathered here for pilgrimage from distant places and who constituted the majority of his subjects. Later, he declared Ilahabas as a capital of one of the twelve divisions ("subahs"). According to Richard Burn, the suffix "–bas" was deemed to "savouring too much of Hinduism" and therefore the name was changed to "Ilahabad" by Shah Jahan. This evolved into the two variant colonial-era spellings of Ilahabad (Hindi: इलाहाबाद) and Allahabad. According to Maclean, these variant spellings have a political basis, as "Ilaha–" means "the gods" for Hindus, while Allah is the term for God to Muslims.


title: Allahabad

text: After Prince Salim's coup against Akbar and a failed attempt to seize Agra's treasury, he came to Allahabad and seized its treasury while setting himself up as a virtually independent ruler. In May 1602, he had his name read in Friday prayers and his name minted on coins in Allahabad. After reconciliation with Akbar, Salim returned to Allahabad, where he stayed before returning in 1604. After capturing Jaunpur in 1624, Shah Jahan ordered the siege of Allahabad. The siege was however, lifted after Parviz and Mahabat Khan came to assist the garrison. During the Mughal war of succession, the commandant of the fort who had joined Shah Shuja made an agreement with Aurangzeb's officers and surrendered it to Khan Dauran on 12 January 1659.


title: Allahabad

text: The fort was coveted by the East India Company for the same reasons Akbar built it. British troops were first stationed at Allahabad fort in 1765 as part of the Treaty of Allahabad signed by Lord Robert Clive, Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, and Awadh's Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula. The combined forces of Bengal's Nawab Mir Qasim, Shuja and Shah Alam were defeated by the English at Buxar in October 1764 and at Kora in May 1765. Alam, who was abandoned by Shuja after the defeats, surrendered to the English and was lodged at the fort, as they captured Allahabad, Benares and Chunar in his name. The territories of Allahabad and Kora were given to the emperor after the treaty was signed in 1765.


title: Allahabad

text: Shah Alam spent six years in the Allahabad fort and after the takeover of Delhi by the Marathas, left for his capital


title: Allahabad

text: in 1771 under their protection. He was escorted by Mahadaji Shinde and left Allahabad in May 1771 and in January 1772 reached Delhi. Upon realising the Maratha intent of territorial encroachment, however, Shah Alam ordered his general Najaf Khan to drive them out. Tukoji Rao Holkar and Visaji Krushna Biniwale in return attacked Delhi and defeated his forces in 1772. The Marathas were granted an imperial "sanad" for Kora and Allahabad. They turned their attention to Oudh to gain these two territories. Shuja was however, unwilling to give them up and made appeals to the English and the Marathas did not fare well at the Battle of Ramghat. In August and September 1773, Warren Hastings met Shuja and concluded a treaty, under which Kora and Allahabad were ceded to the Nawab for a payment of 50 lakh rupees.


title: Allahabad

text: Saadat Ali Khan II, after being made the Nawab by John Shore, entered into a treaty with the company and gave the fort to the British in 1798. Lord Wellesley after threatening to annexe the entire Awadh, concluded a treaty with Saadat on abolishing the independent Awadhi army, imposing a larger subsidiary force and annexing Rohilkhand, Gorakhpur and the Doab in 1801.


title: Allahabad

text: Acquired in 1801, Allahabad, aside from its importance as a pilgrimage centre, was a stepping stone to the agrarian track upcountry and the Grand Trunk Road. It also potentially offered sizeable revenues to the company. Initial revenue settlements began in 1803. Allahabad was a participant in the 1857 Indian Mutiny, when Maulvi Liaquat Ali unfurled the banner of revolt. During the rebellion, Allahabad, with a number of European troops, was the scene of a massacre.


title: Allahabad

text: After the mutiny, the British established a high court, a police headquarters and a public-service commission in Allahabad, making the city an administrative centre. They truncated the Delhi region of the state, merging it with Punjab and moving the capital of the North-Western Provinces to Allahabad (where it remained for 20 years). In January 1858, Earl Canning departed Calcutta for Allahabad. That year he read Queen Victoria's proclamation, transferring control of India from the East India Company to the British Crown (beginning the British Raj), in Minto Park. In 1877 the provinces of Agra and Awadh were merged to form the United Provinces, with Allahabad its capital until 1920.