title: Basilica

text: In the late 4th century, a large basilica church dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus was constructed in Ephesus in the former south "stoa" (a commercial basilica) of the Temple of Hadrian "Olympios". Ephesus was the centre of the Roman province of Asia, and was the site of the city's famed Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It had also been a centre of the Imperial cult of ancient Rome in Asia; Ephesus was three times declared Neocorate () and had constructed a Temple of the Sebastoi to the Flavian dynasty. The Basilica of the Virgin Mary was probably the venue for the 431 Council of Ephesus and the 449 Second Council of Ephesus, both convened by Theodosius II. At some point during the Christianisation of the Roman world, Christian crosses were cut into the faces of the colossal statues of Augustus and Livia that stood in the basilica-"stoa" of Ephesus; the crosses were perhaps intended to exorcise demons in a process akin to baptism. In the eastern cemetery of Hierapolis the 5th century domed octagonal "martyrium" of Philip the Apostle was built alongside a basilica church, while at Myra the Basilica of St Nicholas was constructed at the tomb of Saint Nicholas.


title: Basilica

text: At Constantinople the earliest basilica churches, like the 5th century basilica at the Monastery of Stoudios, were mostly equipped with a small cruciform crypt (), a space under the church floor beneath the altar. Typically, these crypts were accessed from the apse's interior, though not always, as at the 6th century Church of St John at the Hebdomon, where access was from outside the apse. At Thessaloniki, the Roman bath where tradition held Demetrius of Thessaloniki had been martyred was subsumed beneath the 5th century basilica of Hagios Demetrios, forming a crypt.


title: Basilica

text: The largest and oldest basilica churches in Egypt were at Pbow, a coenobitic monastery established by Pachomius the Great in 330. The 4th century basilica was replaced by a large 5th century building (36 × 72 m) with five aisles and internal colonnades of pink granite columns and paved with limestone. This monastery was the administrative centre of the Pachomian order where the monks would gather twice annually and whose library may have produced many surviving manuscripts of biblical, Gnostic, and other texts in Greek and Coptic. In North Africa, late antique basilicas were often built on a doubled plan. In the 5th century, basilicas with two apses, multiple aisles, and doubled churches were common, including examples respectively at Sufetula, Tipasa, and Djémila. Generally, North African basilica churches' altars were in the nave and the main building medium was "opus africanum" of local stone, and "spolia" was infrequently used.


title: Basilica

text: The Church of the East's Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon was convened by the Sasanian Emperor Yazdegerd I at his capital at Ctesiphon; according to "Synodicon Orientale", the emperor ordered that the former churches in the Sasanian Empire to be restored and rebuilt, that such clerics and ascetics as had been imprisoned were to be released, and their Nestorian Christian communities allowed to circulate freely and practice openly.


title: Basilica

text: In eastern Syria, the Church of the East developed at typical pattern of basilica churches. Separate entrances for men and women were installed in the southern or northern wall; within, the east end of the nave was reserved for men, while women and children were stood behind. In the nave was a "bema", from which Scripture could be read, and which were inspired by the equivalent in synagogues and regularised by the Church of Antioch. The Council of 410 stipulated that on Sunday the archdeacon would read the Gospels from the "bema". Standing near the "bema", the lay folk could chant responses to the reading and if positioned near the "šqāqonā" ("a walled floor-level pathway connecting the "bema" to the altar area") could try to kiss or touch the Gospel Book as it was processed from the deacons' room to the "bema" and thence to the altar. Some ten Eastern churches in eastern Syria have been investigated by thorough archaeology.


title: Basilica

text: A Christian basilica was constructed in the first half of the 5th century at Olympia, where the statue of Zeus by Phidias had been noted as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ever since the 2nd century BC list compiled by Antipater of Sidon. Cultural tourism thrived at Olympia and Ancient Greek religion continued to be practised there well into the 4th century. At Nicopolis in Epirus, founded by Augustus to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Actium at the end of the Last war of the Roman Republic, four early Christian basilicas were built during Late Antiquity whose remains survive to the present. In the 4th or 5th century, Nicopolis was surrounded by a new city wall.


title: Basilica

text: On Crete, the Roman cities suffered from repeated earthquakes in the 4th century, but between c. 450 and c. 550, a large number of Christian basilicas were constructed. Crete was throughout Late Antiquity a province of the Diocese of Macedonia, governed from Thessaloniki.


title: Basilica

text: Nine basilica churches were built at Nea Anchialos, ancient Phthiotic Thebes (), which was in its heyday the primary port of Thessaly. The episcopal see was the three-aisled "Basilica A", the Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki, and similar to the Church of the Acheiropoietos in Thessaloniki. Its atrium perhaps had a pair of towers to either side and its construction dates to the late 5th/early 6th century. The Elpidios Basilica "Basilica B" was of similar age, and the city was home to a large complex of ecclesiastical buildings including "Basilica G", with its luxurious mosaic floors and a mid-6th century inscription proclaiming the patronage of the bishop Peter. Outside the defensive wall was "Basilica D", a 7th-century cemetery church.


title: Basilica

text: Stobi, () the capital from the late 4th century of the province of Macedonia II Salutaris, had numerous basilicas and six palaces in late antiquity. The "Old Basilica" had two phases of geometric pavements, the second phase of which credited the bishop Eustathios as patron of the renovations. A newer episcopal basilica was built by the bishop Philip atop the remains of the earlier structure, and two further basilicas were within the walls. The "Central Basilica" replaced a synagogue on a site razed in the late 5th century, and there was also a "North Basilica" and further basilicas without the walls. Various mosaics and sculptural decorations have been found there, and while the city suffered from the Ostrogoths in 479 and an earthquake in 518, ceasing to be a major city thereafter, it remained a bishopric until the end of the 7th century and the "Basilica of Philip" had its "templon" restored in the 8th century.


title: Basilica

text: The Small Basilica of Philippopolis (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) in Thrace was built in the second half of the 5th century AD.


title: Basilica

text: Justinian I constructed at Ephesus a large basilica church, the Basilica of St John, above the supposed tomb of John the Apostle. The church was a domed cruciform basilica begun in 535/6; enormous and lavishly decorated, it was built in the same style as Justinian's Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. The Justinianic basilica replaced an earlier, smaller structure which Egeria had planned to visit in the 4th century, and remains of a aqueduct branch built to supply the complex with water probably dates from Justinian's reign. The Ephesians' basilicas to St Mary and St John were both equipped with baptisteries with filling and draining pipes: both fonts were flush with the floor and unsuitable for infant baptism. As with most Justinianic baptisteries in the Balkans and Asia Minor, the baptistery at the Basilica of St John was on the northern side of the basilica's nave; the 734 m baptistery was separated from the basilica by a 3 m-wide corridor. According to the 6th century Syriac writer John of Ephesus, a Syriac Orthodox Christian, the heterodox Miaphysites held ordination services in the courtyard of the Basilica of St John under cover of night. Somewhat outside the ancient city on the hill of Selçuk, the Justinianic basilica became the centre of the city after the 7th century Arab–Byzantine wars.


title: Basilica

text: At Constantinople, Justinian constructed the largest domed basilica: on the site of the 4th century basilica Church of Holy Wisdom, the emperor ordered construction of the huge domed basilica that survives to the present: the Hagia Sophia. This basilica, which "continues to stand as one of the most visually imposing and architecturally daring churches in the Mediterranean", was the cathedral of Constantinople and the patriarchal church of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Hagia Sophia, originally founded by Constantine, was at the social and political heart of Constantinople, near to the Great Palace, the Baths of Zeuxippus, and the Hippodrome of Constantinople, while the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate was within the basilica's immediate vicinity.


title: Basilica

text: The mid-6th century Bishop of Poreč ( or ; ) replaced an earlier 4th century basilica with the magnificent Euphrasian Basilica in the style of contemporary basilicas at Ravenna. Some column capitals were of marble from Greece identical to those in Basilica of San Vitale and must have been imported from the Byzantine centre along with the columns and some of the "opus sectile". There are conch mosaics in the basilica's three apses and the fine "opus sectile" on the central apse wall is "exceptionally well preserved".


title: Basilica

text: The 4th century basilica of Saint Sophia Church at Serdica (Sofia, Bulgaria) was rebuilt in the 5th century and ultimately replaced by a new monumental basilica in the late 6th century, and some construction phases continued into the 8th century. This basilica was the cathedral of Serdica and was one of three basilicas known to lie outside the walls; three more churches were within the walled city, of which the Church of Saint George was a former Roman bath built in the 4th century, and another was a former Mithraeum. The basilicas were associated with cemeteries with Christian inscriptions and burials.


title: Basilica

text: The Miaphysite convert from the Church of the East, Ahudemmeh constructed a new basilica c.565 dedicated to Saint Sergius at "ʿ"Ain Qenoye (or "ʿ"Ain Qena according to Bar Hebraeus) after being ordained bishop of Beth Arbaye by Jacob Baradaeus and while proselytizing among the Bedouin of Arbayistan in the Sasanian Empire. According to Ahudemmeh's biographer this basilica and its "martyrium", in the upper Tigris valley, was supposed to be a copy of the Basilica of St Sergius at Sergiopolis (Resafa), in the middle Euphrates, so that the Arabs would not have to travel so far on pilgrimage. More likely, with the support of Khosrow I for its construction and defence against the Nestorians who were Miaphysites' rivals, the basilica was part of an attempt to control the frontier tribes and limit their contact with the Roman territory of Justinian, who had agreed in the 562 Fifty-Year Peace Treaty to pay 30,000 "nomismata" annually to Khosrow in return for a demilitarization of the frontier after the latest phase of the Roman–Persian Wars. After being mentioned in 828 and 936, the basilica at "ʿ"Ain Qenoye disappeared from recorded history, though it may have remained occupied for centuries, and was rediscovered as a ruin by Carsten Niebuhr in 1766. The name of the modern site Qasr Serīj is derived from the basilica's dedication to St Sergius. Qasr Serīj's construction may have been part of the policy of toleration that Khosrow and his successors had for Miaphysitism a contrast with Justinian's persecution of heterodoxy within the Roman empire. This policy itself encouraged many tribes to favour the Persian cause, especially after the death in 569 of the Ghassanid Kingdom's Miaphysite king al-Harith ibn Jabalah (, ) and the 584 suppression by the Romans of his successors' dynasty.


title: Basilica

text: In the Roman Imperial period (after about 27 BC), a basilica for large audiences also became a feature in palaces. In the 3rd century of the Christian era, the governing elite appeared less frequently in the forums.


title: Basilica

text: They now tended to dominate their cities from opulent palaces and country villas, set a little apart from traditional centers of public life. Rather than retreats from public life, however, these residences were the forum made private.


title: Basilica

text: Seated in the tribune of his basilica, the great man would meet his dependent "clientes" early every morning.


title: Basilica

text: Constantine's basilica at Trier, the Aula Palatina (AD 306), is still standing. A private basilica excavated at Bulla Regia (Tunisia), in the "House of the Hunt", dates from the first half of the 5th century. Its reception or audience hall is a long rectangular nave-like space, flanked by dependent rooms that mostly also open into one another, ending in a semi-circular apse, with matching transept spaces. Clustered columns emphasised the "crossing" of the two axes.


title: Basilica

text: In the 4th century, once the Imperial authorities had decriminalised Christianity with the 313 Edict of Milan, and with the activities of Constantine the Great and his mother Helena, Christians were prepared to build larger and more handsome edifices for worship than the furtive meeting-places (such as the Cenacle, cave-churches, house churches such as that of the martyrs John and Paul) they had been using. Architectural formulas for temples were unsuitable due to their pagan associations, and because pagan cult ceremonies and sacrifices occurred outdoors under the open sky in the sight of the gods, with the temple, housing the cult figures and the treasury, as a backdrop. The usable model at hand, when Constantine wanted to memorialise his imperial piety, was the familiar conventional architecture of the basilicas.


title: Basilica

text: There were several variations of the basic plan of the secular basilica, always some kind of rectangular hall, but the one usually followed for churches had a central nave with one aisle at each side and an apse at one end opposite to the main door at the other end. In (and often also in front of) the apse was a raised platform, where the altar was placed, and from where the clergy officiated. In secular building this plan was more typically used for the smaller audience halls of the emperors, governors, and the very rich than for the great public basilicas functioning as law courts and other public purposes. Constantine built a basilica of this type in his palace complex at Trier, later very easily adopted for use as a church. It is a long rectangle two storeys high, with ranks of arch-headed windows one above the other, without aisles (there was no mercantile exchange in this imperial basilica) and, at the far end beyond a huge arch, the apse in which Constantine held state.


title: Basilica

text: Putting an altar instead of the throne, as was done at Trier, made a church. Basilicas of this type were built in western Europe, Greece, Syria, Egypt, and Palestine, that is, at any early centre of Christianity. Good early examples of the architectural basilica include the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem (6th century), the church of St Elias at Thessalonica (5th century), and the two great basilicas at Ravenna.


title: Basilica

text: The first basilicas with transepts were built under the orders of Emperor Constantine, both in Rome and in his "New Rome", Constantinople:


title: Basilica

text: Around 380, Gregory Nazianzen, describing the Constantinian Church of the Holy Apostles at Constantinople, was the first to point out its resemblance to a cross. Because the cult of the cross was spreading at about the same time, this comparison met with stunning success.


title: Basilica

text: Thus, a Christian symbolic theme was applied quite naturally to a form borrowed from civil semi-public precedents. The first great Imperially sponsored Christian basilica is that of St John Lateran, which was given to the Bishop of Rome by Constantine right before or around the Edict of Milan in 313 and was consecrated in the year 324. In the later 4th century, other Christian basilicas were built in Rome: Santa Sabina, and St Paul's Outside the Walls (4th century), and later St Clement (6th century).


title: Basilica

text: A Christian basilica of the 4th or 5th century stood behind its entirely enclosed forecourt ringed with a colonnade or arcade, like the stoa or peristyle that was its ancestor or like the cloister that was its descendant. This forecourt was entered from outside through a range of buildings along the public street. This was the architectural ground-plan of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, until in the 15th century it was demolished to make way for a modern church built to a new plan.


title: Basilica

text: In most basilicas, the central nave is taller than the aisles, forming a row of windows called a clerestory. Some basilicas in the Caucasus, particularly those of Armenia and Georgia, have a central nave only slightly higher than the two aisles and a single pitched roof covering all three. The result is a much darker interior. This plan is known as the "oriental basilica", or "pseudobasilica" in central Europe. A peculiar type of basilica, known as three-church basilica, was developed in early medieval Georgia, characterised by the central nave which is completely separated from the aisles with solid walls.


title: Basilica

text: Gradually, in the Early Middle Ages there emerged the massive Romanesque churches, which still kept the fundamental plan of the basilica.


title: Basilica

text: In Medieval Bulgaria the Great Basilica was finished around 875. The architectural complex in Pliska, the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire, included a cathedral, an archbishop's palace and a monastery. The basilica was one of the greatest Christian cathedrals in Europe of the time, with an area of . The still in use Church of Saint Sophia in Ohrid is another example from Medieval Bulgaria.


title: Basilica

text: In Romania, the word for church both as a building and as an institution is "biserică", derived from the term basilica.


title: Basilica

text: In the United States the style was copied with variances. An American church built imitating the architecture of an Early Christian basilica, St. Mary's (German) Church in Pennsylvania, was demolished in 1997.


title: Basilica

text: In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a large and important church building. This designation may be made by the Pope or may date from time immemorial. Basilica churches are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building does not need to be a basilica in the architectural sense. Basilicas are either major basilicas – of which there are four, all in the diocese of Rome—or minor basilicas, of which there were 1,810 worldwide . The Umbraculum is displayed in a basilica to the right side (i.e. the Epistle side) of the altar to indicate that the church has been awarded the rank of a basilica.


title: Robert Koch

text: Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( , ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the bacterium itself was discovered by Filippo Pacini in 1854), and anthrax, he is regarded as one of the main founders of modern bacteriology. As such he is popularly nicknamed the father of microbiology (with Louis Pasteur), and as the father of medical bacteriology. His discovery of the anthrax bacterium ("Bacillus anthracis") in 1876 is considered as the birth of modern bacteriology. His discoveries directly provided proofs for the germ theory of diseases, and the scientific basis of public health.


title: Robert Koch

text: While working as a private physician, Koch developed many innovative techniques in microbiology. He was the first to use the oil immersion lens, condenser, and microphotography in microscopy. His invention of the bacterial culture method using agar and glass plates (later developed as the Petri dish by his assistant Julius Richard Petri) made him the first to grow bacteria in the laboratory. In appreciation of his work, he was appointed to government advisor at the Imperial Health Office in 1880, promoted to a senior executive position ("Geheimer Regierungsrat") in 1882, Director of Hygienic Institute and Chair (Professor of hygiene) of the Faculty of Medicine at Berlin University in 1885, and the Royal Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases (later renamed Robert Koch Institute after his death) in 1891.


title: Robert Koch

text: The methods Koch used in bacteriology led to establishment of a medical concept known as Koch's postulates, four generalized medical principles to ascertain the relationship of pathogens with specific diseases. The concept is still in use in most situations and influences subsequent epidemiological principles such as the Bradford Hill criteria. A major controversy followed when Koch discovered tuberculin as a medication for tuberculosis which was proven to be ineffective, but developed for diagnosis of tuberculosis after his death. For his research on tuberculosis, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1905. The day he announced the discovery of the tuberculosis bacterium, 24 March, has been observed by the World Health Organization as "World Tuberculosis Day" every year since 1982.


title: Robert Koch

text: Koch was born in Clausthal, Germany, on 11 December 1843, to Hermann Koch (1814–1877) and Mathilde Julie Henriette (née Biewend; 1818–1871). His father was a mining engineer. He was the third of thirteen siblings. He excelled academically from an early age. Before entering school in 1848, he had taught himself how to read and write. He completed secondary education in 1862, having excelled in science and math.


title: Robert Koch

text: At the age of 19, in 1862, Koch entered the University of Göttingen to study natural science. He took up mathematics, physics and botany. He was appointed assistant in the university's Pathological Museum. After three semesters, he decided to change his area of study to medicine, as he aspired to be a physician. During his fifth semester at the medical school, Jacob Henle, an anatomist who had published a theory of contagion in 1840, asked him to participate in his research project on uterine nerve structure. This research won him a research prize from the university and enabled him to briefly study under Rudolf Virchow, who was at the time considered as "Germany's most renowned physician." In his sixth semester, Koch began to research at the Physiological Institute, where he studied the secretion of succinic acid, which is a signaling molecule that is also involved in the metabolism of the mitochondria. This would eventually form the basis of his dissertation. In January 1866, he graduated from the medical school, earning honours of the highest distinction, "maxima cum laude".


title: Robert Koch

text: After graduation in 1866, Koch briefly worked as an assistant in the General Hospital of Hamburg. In October that year he moved to Idiot's Hospital of Langenhagen, near Hanover, as a general physician. In 1868, he moved to Neimegk and then to Rakwitz in 1869. As the Franco-Prussian War started in 1870, he enlisted in the German army as a volunteer surgeon in 1871 to support the war effort. He was discharged a year later and was appointed as a district physician ("Kreisphysikus") in Wollstein in Prussian Posen (now Wolsztyn, Poland). As his family settled there, his wife gave him a microscope as a birthday gift. With the microscope, he set up a private laboratory and started his career in microbiology.


title: Robert Koch

text: Koch began conducting research on microorganisms in a laboratory connected to his patient examination room. His early research in this laboratory yielded one of his major contributions to the field of microbiology, as he developed the technique of growing bacteria. Furthermore, he managed to isolate and grow selected pathogens in a pure laboratory culture. His discovery of the anthrax bacillus (later named "Bacillus anthracis") hugely impressed Ferdinand Julius Cohn, professor at the University of Breslau (now the University of Wrocław), who helped him publish the discovery in 1876. Cohn had established the Institute of Plant Physiology and invited Koch to demonstrate his new bacterium there in 1877. Koch was transferred to Breslau as district physician in 1879. A year after, he left for Berlin when he was appointed a government advisor at the Imperial Health Office, where he worked from 1880 to 1885. Following his discovery of the tuberculosis bacterium, he was promoted to "Geheimer Regierungsrat", a senior executive position, in June 1882.


title: Robert Koch

text: In 1885, Koch received two appointments as an administrator and professor at Berlin University. He became Director of Hygienic Institute and Chair (Professor of hygiene) of the Faculty of Medicine. In 1891, he relinquished his professorship and became a director of the Royal Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases (now the Robert Koch Institute) which consisted of a clinical division and beds for the division of clinical research. For this he accepted harsh conditions. The Prussian Ministry of Health insisted after the 1890 scandal with tuberculin, which Koch had discovered and intended as a remedy for tuberculosis, that any of Koch's inventions would unconditionally belong to the government and he would not be compensated. Koch lost the right to apply for patent protection. In 1906, he moved to East Africa to research a cure for trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness). He established the Bugula research camp where up to 1000 people a day were treated with the experimental drug Atoxyl.


title: Robert Koch

text: Robert Koch made two important developments in microscopy; he was the first to use an oil immersion lens and a condenser that enabled smaller objects to be seen. In addition, he was also the first to effectively use photography (microphotography) for microscopic observation. He introduced the "bedrock methods" of bacterial staining using methylene blue and Bismarck (Vesuvin) brown dye. In an attempt to grow bacteria, Koch began to use solid nutrients such as potato slices. Through these initial experiments, Koch observed individual colonies of identical, pure cells. He found that potato slices were not suitable media for all organisms, and later began to use nutrient solutions with gelatin. However, he soon realized that gelatin, like potato slices, was not the optimal medium for bacterial growth, as it did not remain solid at 37 °C, the ideal temperature for growth of most human pathogens. And also many bacteria can hydrolyze gelatin making it a liquid. As suggested to him by his post-doctoral assistant Walther Hesse, who got the idea from his wife Fanny Hesse, in 1881, Koch started using agar to grow and isolate pure cultures. Agar is a polysaccharide that remains solid at 37 °C, is not degraded by most bacteria, and results in a stable transparent medium.


title: Robert Koch

text: Koch's booklet published in 1881 titled ""Zur Untersuchung von Pathogenen Organismen"" ("Methods for the Study of Pathogenic Organisms") has been known as the "Bible of Bacteriology." In it he described a novel method of using glass slide with agar to grow bacteria. The method involved pouring a liquid agar on to the glass slide and then spreading a thin layer of gelatin over. The gelatin made the culture medium solidify, in which bacterial samples could be spread uniformly. The whole bacterial culture was then put in a glass plate together with a small wet paper. Koch named this container as "feuchte Kammer" (moist chamber). The typical chamber was a circular glass dish 20 cm in diameter and 5 cm in height and had a lid to prevent contamination. The glass plate and the transparent culture media made observation of the bacterial growth easy.


title: Robert Koch

text: Koch publicly demonstrated his plating method at the Seventh International Medical Congress in London in August 1881. There, Louis Pasteur exclaimed, ""C'est un grand progrès, Monsieur"!" ("What a great progress, Sir!") It was using Koch's microscopy and agar-plate culture method that his students discovered new bacteria. Friedrich Loeffler discovered the bacteria of glanders ("Burkholderia mallei") in 1882 and diphtheria ("Corynebacterium diphtheriae") in 1884; and Georg Theodor August Gaffky, the bacterium of typhoid ("Salmonella enterica") in 1884. Koch's assistant Julius Richard Petri developed an improved method and published it in 1887 as ""Eine kleine Modification des Koch’schen Plattenverfahrens"" (A minor modification of the plating technique of Koch). The culture plate was given an eponymous name Petri dish. It is often asserted that Petri developed a new culture plate, but this was not so. He simply discarded the use of glass plate and instead used the circular glass dish directly, not just as moist chamber, but as the main culture container. This further reduced chances of contaminations. It would also have been appropriate if the name "Koch dish" had been given.


title: Robert Koch

text: Robert Koch is widely known for his work with anthrax, discovering the causative agent of the fatal disease to be "Bacillus anthracis". He published the discovery in a booklet as ""Die Ätiologie der Milzbrand-Krankheit, Begründet auf die Entwicklungsgeschichte des Bacillus Anthracis"" ("The Etiology of Anthrax Disease, Based on the Developmental History of Bacillus Anthracis") in 1876 while working at in Wöllstein. His publication in 1877 on the structure of anthrax bacterium marked the first photography of a bacterium. He discovered the formation of spores in anthrax bacteria, which could remain dormant under specific conditions. However, under optimal conditions, the spores were activated and caused disease. To determine this causative agent, he dry-fixed bacterial cultures onto glass slides, used dyes to stain the cultures, and observed them through a microscope. His work with anthrax is notable in that he was the first to link a specific microorganism with a specific disease, rejecting the idea of spontaneous generation and supporting the germ theory of disease.


title: Robert Koch

text: During his time as the government advisor with the Imperial Health Agency in Berlin in the 1880s, Koch became interested in tuberculosis research. At the time, it was widely believed that tuberculosis was an inherited disease. However Koch was convinced that the disease was caused by a bacterium and was infectious. In 1882, he published his findings on tuberculosis, in which he reported the causative agent of the disease to be the slow-growing "Mycobacterium tuberculosis". He published the discovery as ""Die Ätiologie der Tuberkulose"" ("The Etiology of Tuberculosis"), and presented before the German Physiological Society at Berlin on 24 March 1882. Koch said,When the cover-glasses were exposed to this staining fluid [methylene blue mixed with potassium hydroxide] for 24 hours, very fine rod-like forms became apparent in the tubercular mass for the first time, having, as further observations showed, the power of multiplication and of spore formation and hence belonging to the same group of organisms as the anthrax bacillus... Microscopic examination then showed that only the previously blue-stained cell nuclei and detritus became brown, while the tubercle bacilli remained a beautiful blue.


title: Robert Koch

text: There was no particular reaction to this announcement. Eminent scientists such as Rudolf Virchow remained skeptical. Virchow clung to his theory that all diseases are due to faulty cellular activities. On the other hand, Paul Ehrlich later recollected that this moment was his "single greatest scientific experience." Koch expanded the report and published under the same title as a booklet in 1884, in which he concluded that the discovery of tuberculosis bacterium fulfilled the three principles, eventually known as Koch's postulates, which were formulated by his assistant Friedrich Loeffler in 1883, saying:All these factors together allow me to conclude that the bacilli present in the tuberculous lesions do not only accompany tuberculosis, but rather cause it. These bacilli are the true agents of tuberculosis.


title: Robert Koch

text: In August 1883, the German government sent a medical team led by Koch to Alexandria, Egypt, to investigate a cholera epidemic there. Koch soon found that the intestinal mucosa of people who died of cholera always had bacterial infection, yet could not confirm whether the bacteria were the causative pathogens. As the outbreak in Egypt declined, he was transferred to Calcutta (now Kolkata) India, where there was a more severe outbreak. He soon found that the river Ganges was the source of cholera. He performed autopsies of almost 100 bodies, and found in each bacterial infection. He identified the same bacteria from water tanks, linking the source of the infection. He isolated the bacterium in pure culture on 7 January 1884. He subsequently confirmed that the bacterium was a new species, and described as "a little bent, like a comma." His experiment using fresh blood samples indicated that the bacterium could kill red blood cells, and he hypothesized that some sort of poison was used by the bacterium to cause the disease. In 1959, Indian scientist Sambhu Nath De discovered this poison, the cholera toxin. Koch reported his discovery to the German Secretary of State for the Interior on 2 February, and published it in the "Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift" ("German Medical Weekly") the following month.


title: Robert Koch

text: Although Koch was convinced that the bacterium was the cholera pathogen, he could not entirely establish a critical evidence the bacterium produced the symptoms in healthy subjects (following Koch's postulates). His experiment on animals using his pure bacteria culture did not cause the disease, and correctly explained that animals are immune to human pathogen. The bacterium was then known as "the comma bacillus", and scientifically as "Bacillus comma". It was later realised that the bacterium was already described by an Italian physician Filippo Pacini in 1854, and was also observed by the Catalan physician Joaquim Balcells i Pascual around the same time. But they failed to identify the bacterium as the causative agent of cholera. Koch's colleague Richard Friedrich Johannes Pfeiffer correctly identified the comma bacillus as Pacini's "vibrioni" and renamed it as "Vibrio cholera" in 1896.


title: Robert Koch

text: Koch gave much of his research attention on tuberculosis throughout his career. After medical expeditions to various parts of the world, he again focussed on tuberculosis from the mid-1880s. By that time the Imperial Health Office was carrying out a project for disinfection of sputum of tuberculosis patients. Koch experimented with arsenic and creosote as possible disinfectants. These chemicals and other available drugs did not work. His report in 1883 also mentioned a failed experiment on an attempt to make tuberculosis vaccine. By 1888, Koch turned his attention to synthetic dyes as antibacterial chemicals. He developed a method for examining antibacterial activity by mixing the gelatin-based culture media with a yellow dye, auramin. His notebook indicates that by February 1890, he tested hundreds of compounds. In one of such tests, he found that an extract from the tuberculosis bacterium culture dissolved in glycerine could cure tuberculosis in guinea pigs. Based on a series of experiments from April to July 1891, he could conclude that the extract did not kill the tuberculosis bacterium, but destroyed (by necrosis) the infected tissues, thereby depriving bacterial growth. He made a vague announcement in August 1890 at the Tenth International Medical Congress in Berlin, saying,In a communication which I made a few months ago to the International Medical Congress [in London in 1881], I described a substance of which the result is to make laboratory animals insensitive to inoculation of tubercle bacilli, and in the case of already infected animals, to bring the tuberculous process to a halt.


title: Robert Koch

text: I can tell […] that much, that guinea pigs, which are highly susceptible to the disease [tuberculosis], no longer react upon inoculation with tubercle virus [bacterium] when treated with that substance and that in guinea pigs, which are sick (with tuberculosis), the pathological process can be brought to a complete standstill.By November 1890, Koch was able to show that the extract was effective in humans as well. Many patients and doctors went to Berlin to get Koch's remedy. But his experiments showed that tuberculosis infected guinea pigs developed severe symptoms when the substance was inoculated. The severity was more so in humans. This development of severe immune response, which is now known to be due to hypersensitivity, is known as the "Koch phenomenon." The chemical nature was not known, and among several independent experiments done by the next year, only his son-in-law, Eduard Pfuhl, was able to reproduce similar results. It nevertheless became a medical sensation, and the unknown substance was referred to as "Koch's Lymph." Koch published his experiments in the 15 January 1891 issue of "Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift", and "The British Medical Journal" immediately published the English version simultaneously. The English version was also reproduced in "Nature", and "The Lancet" in the same month. "The Lancet" presented it as "glad tidings of great joy." Koch simply referred to the medication as "brownish, transparent fluid." Josephs Pohl-Pincus had used the name tuberculin in 1844 for tuberculosis culture media, and Koch subsequently adopted as "tuberkulin."


title: Robert Koch

text: The first report on the clinical trial in 1891 was disappointing. By then 1061 patients with tuberculosis of internal organs and of 708 patients with tuberculosis of external tissues were given the treatment. An attempt to use tuberculin as a therapeutic drug is regarded as Koch's "greatest failure." With it his reputation greatly waned. But he devoted the rest of his life trying to make tuberculin as a usable medication. His discovery was not a total failure, the substance is today used for hypersensitivity test for tuberculosis patients.


title: Robert Koch

text: Koch observed the phenomenon of acquired immunity. On 26 December 1900, he arrived as part of an expedition to German New Guinea, which was then a protectorate of the German Reich. Koch serially examined the Papuan people, the indigenous inhabitants, and their blood samples and noticed they contained "Plasmodium" parasites, the cause of malaria, but their bouts of malaria were mild or could not even be noticed, i.e. were subclinical. On the contrary, German settlers and Chinese workers, who had been brought to New Guinea, fell sick immediately. The longer they had stayed in the country, however, the more they too seemed to develop a resistance against it.


title: Robert Koch

text: During his time as government advisor, Koch published a report on how he discovered and experimentally showed tuberculosis bacterium as the pathogen of tuberculosis. He described the importance of pure cultures in isolating disease-causing organisms and explained the necessary steps to obtain these cultures, methods which are summarized in Koch's four postulates. Koch's discovery of the causative agent of anthrax led to the formation of a generic set of postulates which can be used in the determination of the cause of most infectious diseases. These postulates, which not only outlined a method for linking cause and effect of an infectious disease but also established the significance of laboratory culture of infectious agents, became the "gold standard" in infectious diseases.


title: Robert Koch

text: Although Koch worked out the principles, he did not formulate the postulates, which were introduced by his assistant Friedrich Loeffler. Loeffler, reporting his discovery of diphtheria bacillus in 1883, stated three postulates as follows:


title: Robert Koch

text: The fourth postulate was added by an American plant pathologist Erwin Frink Smith in 1905, and is stated as:


title: Robert Koch

text: In July 1867, Koch married Emma (Emmy) Adolfine Josephine Fraatz, and the two had a daughter, Gertrude, in 1868. Their marriage ended after 26 years in 1893, and later that same year, he married actress Hedwig Freiberg (1872–1945).


title: Robert Koch

text: On 9 April 1910, Koch suffered a heart attack and never made a complete recovery. On 27 May, three days after giving a lecture on his tuberculosis research at the Prussian Academy of Sciences, Koch died in Baden-Baden at the age of 66. Following his death, the Institute named its establishment after him in his honour. He was irreligious.


title: Robert Koch

text: Koch was made a Knight Grand Cross in the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle on 19 November 1890, and was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1897. In 1905, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine "for his investigations and discoveries in relation to tuberculosis." In 1906, research on tuberculosis and tropical diseases won him the Order Pour le Merite and in 1908, the Robert Koch Medal, established to honour the greatest living physicians. Emperor Wilhelm I awarded him the Order of the Crown, 100,000 marks and appointment as Privy Imperial Councillor, Surgeon-General of Health Service, and Fellow of the Science Senate of Kaiser Wilhelm Society.


title: Robert Koch

text: Koch established the Royal Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases in Berlin 1891. After his death it was renamed Robert Koch Institute in his honour.


title: Robert Koch

text: The World Health Organization observes "World Tuberculosis Day" every 24 March since 1982 to commemorate the day Koch discovered tuberculosis bacterium.


title: Robert Koch

text: Koch's name is one of 23 from the fields of hygiene and tropical medicine featured on the frieze of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine building in Keppel Street, Bloomsbury.


title: Robert Koch

text: A large marble statue of Koch stands in a small park known as Robert Koch Platz, just north of the Charity Hospital, in the Mitte section of Berlin. His life was the subject of a 1939 German produced motion picture that featured Oscar winning actor Emil Jannings in the title role. On 10 December 2017, Google showed a Doodle in celebration of Koch's birthday.


title: Robert Koch

text: Koch and his relationship to Paul Ehrlich, who developed a mechanism to diagnose TB, were portrayed in the 1940 movie "Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet".


title: Robert Koch

text: At their first meeting at the Seventh International Medical Congress in London in August 1881, Koch and Pasteur were friendly towards each other. But the rest of their careers followed with scientific disputes. The conflict started when Koch interpreted his discovery of anthrax bacillus in 1876 as causality, that is, the germ caused the anthrax infections. Although his postulates were not yet formulated, he did not establish the bacterium as the cause of the disease: it was an inference. Pasteur therefore argued that Koch's discovery was not the full proof of causality, but Pasteur's anthrax vaccine developed in 1881 was. Koch published his conclusion in 1881 with a statement: "anthrax never occurs without viable anthrax bacilli or spores. In my opinion no more conclusive proof can be given that anthrax bacilli are the true and only cause of anthrax," and that vaccination such as claimed by Pasteur would be impossible. To prove his vaccine, Pasteur sent his assistant Louis Thuillier to Germany for demonstration and disproved Koch's idea. They had a heated public debate at the International Congress for Hygiene in Geneva in 1882, where Koch criticised Pasteur's methods as "unreliable," and claimed they "are false and [as such ] they inevitably lead to false conclusions." Koch later continued to attack Pasteur, saying, "Pasteur is not a physician, and one cannot expect him to make sound judgments about pathological processes and the symptoms of disease."


title: Robert Koch

text: When Koch discovered tuberculin in 1890 as a medication for tuberculosis, he kept the experiment secret and avoided disclosing the source. It was only after a year under public pressure that he publicly announced the experiment and the source. Clinical trials with tuberculin were disastrous and complete failures. Rudolf Virchow's autopsy report of 21 subjects treated with tuberculin to the Berlin Medical Society on 7 January 1891 revealed that instead of healing tuberculosis, the subjects died because of the treatment. One week later, Koch publicised that the drug was a glycerine extract of a pure cultivation of the tuberculosis bacilli. The German official report in the late 1891 declared that tuberculosis was not cured with tuberculin. From this moment onwards, Koch's prestige fell apart. The reason for his initial secrecy was due to an ambition for monetary benefits for the new drug, and with that establishment of his own research institute. Since 1885, he had tried to leave government service and create an independent state-run institute of his own. Following the disappointment, he was released from the University of Berlin and forced to work as Director of the Royal Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases, a newly established institute, in 1891. He was prohibited from working on tuberculin and from claim for patent rights in any of his subsequent works.


title: Robert Koch

text: Koch initially believed that human ("Mycobacterium tuberculosis") and cattle tuberculosis bacilli (now called "Mycobacterium bovis") were different pathogens when he made the discovery in 1882. Two years later, he revoked that position and asserted that the two bacilli were the same type. This later assumption was taken as a fact in veterinary practice. Based on it, legislations were made in US for inspection of meat and milk. In 1898, an American veterinarian Theobald Smith published a detailed comparative study and found that the tuberculosis bacteria are different based on their structure, growth patterns, and pathogenicity. In addition he also discovered that there were variations in each type. In his conclusion, he made two important points:


title: Robert Koch

text: By that time, there was evidence that cattle tuberculosis was transmitted to humans through meat and milk. Upon these reports, Koch conceded that the two bacilli were different but still advocated that cattle tuberculosis was of no health concern. Speaking at the Third International Congress on Tuberculosis, held in London in July 1901, he said that cattle tuberculosis is not dangerous to humans and there is no need for medical attention. He said, "I therefore consider it unnecessary to take any measures against this form of TB. The fight against TB clearly has to concentrate on the human "bacillus."" Chair of the congress, Joseph Lister reprimanded Koch and explained the medical evidences of cattle tuberculosis in humans.


title: Robert Koch

text: The Nobel Committee selected the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to be awarded for the discovery of the transmission of malaria. But it could not make the final decision on whom to give it to — the British surgeon Ronald Ross or the Italian biologist Giovanni Battista Grassi. Ross had discovered that the human malarial parasite was carried by certain mosquitoes in 1897, and the next year that bird malaria could be transmitted from infected to healthy birds by the bite of a mosquito. Grassi had discovered "Plasmodium vivax" and the bird malaria parasite, and towards the end of 1898 the transmission of "Plasmodium falciparum" between humans through mosquitoes "Anopheles claviger". To the surprise of the Nobel Committee, the two nominees exchanged polemic arguments against each other publicly justifying the importance of their own works. Robert Koch was then appointed as a "neutral arbitrator" to make the final decision. To his disadvantage, Grassi had criticised Koch on his malaria research in 1898 during an investigation of the epidemic, while Ross had established a cordial relationship with Koch. Ross was selected for the award, as Koch "threw the full weight of his considerable authority in insisting that Grassi did not deserve the honor."


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). The largest city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, Rockford is the fifth-largest city in the state and the 171st most populous in the United States. According to 2020 U.S. Census data, the City of Rockford had a population of 148,655 with an outlying metropolitan area population of 348,360.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Settled in the mid-1830s, the position of the city on the Rock River made its location strategic for industrial development. In the second half of the 19th century, Rockford was notable for its output of heavy machinery, hardware and tools; by the twentieth century, it was the second leading center of furniture manufacturing in the nation, and 94th largest city. During the second half of the 20th century, Rockford struggled alongside many Rust Belt cities. Since the late 1990s, efforts in economic diversification have led to growth of automotive, aerospace, and healthcare industries, as well as the undertaking of various tourism and downtown revitalization efforts.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Nicknamed the Forest City, Rockford is presently known for various venues of cultural or historical significance, including Anderson Japanese Gardens, Klehm Arboretum, Rockford Art Museum, Tinker Swiss Cottage, the BMO Harris Bank Center, the Coronado Theatre, the Laurent House, and the Burpee Museum of Natural History. Its contributions to music are noted in the Mendelssohn Club, the oldest music club in the nation, and performers such as Phantom Regiment and Cheap Trick. Notable outdoor or recreational spots near Rockford are Rock Cut State Park, Atwood Homestead County Forest Preserve, and Lowden State Park.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Rockford traces its roots to 1834, as the combined settlements of Midway were founded on both banks of the Rock River. On the west bank, Germanicus Kent and Thatcher Blake (with his slave Lewis Lemon) founded Kentville; the east bank was settled by Daniel Shaw Haight. With the location of the Rock River equidistant between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River, the combined settlement derived the name "Midway". In 1836, Winnebago County was created (from both Jo Daviess and LaSalle counties), with Midway named as its county seat, as it was “halfway between Galena and Chicago on a line of four-horse coaches."


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In 1837, the village of Midway was renamed Rockford, highlighting a rocky river ford across the Rock River in the village. The same year, Rockford established its first post office (with Daniel Shaw Haight as the first postmaster). In 1840, the first weekly newspaper began circulation. In 1847, Rockford Female Seminary (today Rockford University) was founded. On January 3, 1852, Rockford was officially chartered as a city; a year later, the long-running "Forest City" nickname first appeared, used by the New York Tribune. Also in 1852, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad connected Rockford to Chicago by railroad.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: At the time of its founding, many of the village's residents were transplants from the Northeastern United States and upstate New York. Descended from English Puritans, the Midway/Rockford population was similar to much of the rest of northern Illinois and nearly all of Wisconsin during the mid-19th century. After the Black Hawk War, additional immigrants moved to northern Illinois; during the 1830s and 1840s, Rockford and Winnebago County were considered a cultural extension of New England.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: During the antebellum period, Rockford shared abolitionist leanings, lending considerable support to the Free Soil Party and the later Republican Party. In 1848, 42 percent of voters in Winnebago County (where Rockford dominated as the county seat) voted for Martin Van Buren. In 1852, Free Soil candidate John P. Hale became the first presidential candidate to visit Rockford, although he would only receive 28 percent of the vote. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln won 3,985 votes in Winnebago County to the 817 votes of Stephen A. Douglas.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The 1850s brought industry that would change Rockford forever. In 1853, inventor John Henry Manny moved to Rockford to produce horse-drawn mechanical reapers for farmers and transport the finished products by rail. Chicago implement manufacturer Cyrus McCormick (whose company became International Harvester) took Manny to court after he produced nearly 6,000 machines; Manny would prevail on both judgement and an appeal. Along with the production of agricultural machines, Swedish furniture cooperatives established the city as a manufacturing base. The Rockford Union Furniture Company, under John Erlander, spearheaded these cooperatives. Today, Erlander's home is a Rockford museum that shows his efforts in elevating Rockford to second in furniture manufacturing in the nation, behind Grand Rapids.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: During the Civil War, one of the first Illinois regiments to be mobilized, the Zouaves, were from Rockford. The city also served as the site for Camp Fuller, a training site for four other infantry regiments.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In 1884, Rockford established its first city-wide public school district, constructing Rockford Central High School in 1885; following the construction of the high school, the district began construction of brick multi-story multigrade school buildings across the city.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The Rockford Female Seminary became the alma mater of Jane Addams in 1881. This move accompanied the Seminary's transition into a more complete curriculum, which was represented by its renaming to Rockford College in 1892. Culture flourished with the founding of the Mendelssohn Club in 1884, which became the oldest operating music club in the United States. This was complemented by the construction of a Carnegie library in 1902, which became the first building of Rockford's public library system. 1903 saw the dedication of the Winnebago County Veterans Memorial Hall in the presence of sitting President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt returned to Rockford during his campaign in 1912 and again to address the soldiers at Camp Grant, a training site for World War I soldiers.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The twentieth century saw demographic changes to Rockford. An influx of Italians, Poles, Lithuanians, and African Americans replaced the previously dominant Irish and Swedes. The city was also no stranger to contemporary political issues. Electorally divided between wets and drys on the subject of prohibition, Rockford featured a coalition of labor unionists and socialists that elected numerous aldermen and carried 25 to 40 percent in mayoral elections. During World War I, an antiwar protest by the Industrial Workers of the World led to 118 arrests. In 1920, the city was a target of the Palmer Raids. While its congressional district favored Republicans, Rockford continuously elected former Socialists as mayor between 1921 and 1955.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: One of its contemporary attractions, the Coronado Theatre, opened in 1927. Noted for its atmospheric styling, the Coronado rivaled its counterparts in Chicago and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Camp Grant was turned over to the Illinois National Guard. During World War II, it reopened as an induction center and POW detention camp. The USS "Rockford", a Tacoma-class frigate named for the city, was commissioned in March 1944 and earned two service stars.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In the September 1949 issue of "Life" magazine, postwar Rockford was described as "nearly typical of the U.S. as any city can be." Due to this archetypal nature, sociologists like W. Lloyd Warner warned of the necessity to "understand the realities of their system." In the late 1950s, Rockford lost over 50,000 trees to Dutch elm disease, thinning the tree canopy of the "Forest City" for decades.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: From 1955 to 1965, several events would take place that would shape the development of Rockford into the 21st century. In 1956, construction was approved for a four-lane U.S 20 bypass; along with shifting truck traffic away from the downtown routing of the highway, the bypass established much of the southern border of the city (which remains to this day). In 1958, Interstate 90 was completed in Illinois, becoming the Northwest Tollway; in a decision that would change Rockford forever, the interstate highway was not routed through the city, but near the Winnebago-Boone county line, with the eastern terminus of the US 20 bypass in Cherry Valley.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In 1963, the Rockford area was selected by Chrysler Corporation to construct an assembly plant; the final site of what is now the Belvidere Assembly Plant is southwest of Belvidere, between US 20 and Interstate 90. While not located directly in the city, the Chrysler assembly plant has served as one of the largest employers of the region since its 1965 opening.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The growth of Rockford led to many changes to its educational systems. In 1955, Rockford College (now Rockford University) became co-educational for the first time. Coinciding with the expansion of the student body, the college outgrew its near-east side campus in use since the 1840s. Following the acquisition of land in 1957, construction began on its present-day campus location, opening in 1964. In 1964, Rock Valley College was founded as a two-year community college, with construction on its campus commencing in 1965.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Prior to the 1960s, neighborhood and economic growth in Rockford largely mirrored itself on both sides of the Rock River. As the 20th century progressed, growth in western Rockford (and established neighborhoods in eastern areas of the city) struggled to compete with economic development that moved further east. From the late 1950s, downtown Rockford (centered around the intersection of IL 2 and US 20; Main Street and West State Street) began to decline as the primary shopping district of the city. In 1956, North Towne Mall opened on the far northwest side of the city, with Colonial Village opening on the (then) far east side in 1962, both of which were partially enclosed (some stores had exterior entrances). In 1973, Cherryvale Mall was opened as the first fully enclosed shopping mall in the city; nearly 6 miles from the city center, the mall was located at the intersection of the US-20 bypass and the Northwest Tollway, sharing a city border with Cherry Valley.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: While growth at the eastern end of Rockford undersaw favorable conditions for growth, established neighborhoods began to suffer irrevocable decline. In the 1970s, efforts commenced to revitalize downtown Rockford, once the primary shopping district. In a highly criticized decision, the city reconfigured several blocks of downtown into a pedestrian mall, closing off the Main Street/West State Street intersection to traffic. In 1975, what the local press characterized as one of the most well-known and haunting crimes took place when newspaper delivery boy Joey Didier was kidnapped and murdered by Robert Lower. In the late 1970s, "Symbol", a 47-foot tall Alexander Liberman abstract sculpture was placed in the center of the pedestrian mall. In 1980, then Congressman John B. Anderson, representing the 16th Congressional District in Illinois which includes Rockford, ran for President of the United States. To further attract commercial growth, the MetroCentre 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena, was opened in 1981.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Rockford would be hit hard by the early 1980s recession, becoming one of the highest-unemployed cities in the United States. In 1981, rail service to the city ended as Amtrak ended the Dubuque-to-Chicago Black Hawk route. After struggling to compete with more modern facilities, the Coronado Theatre showed its last movie in 1984, shifting solely to stage performances. To expand passenger service, the Greater Rockford Airport rebuilt its passenger terminal in 1987, although the access of Rockford to the Northwest Tollway (to the much larger O'Hare Airport) became a popular alternative.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In a decision that continues to affect Rockford to the present day, in 1989, Rockford Public School District 205 closed several schools across the city in a cost-cutting decision. In the aftermath of the decision, the school district was found guilty in federal court of discrimination against minority students. From 1993 to 2001, the school district was under federal oversight to desegregate its schools, costing over $250 million.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: With its economy predominately based on manufacturing, the city has been affected by the deindustrialization of the Rust Belt. There has been an emphasis on services, especially medicine and education.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: During the 2000s, a movement began to reverse urban blight of downtown Rockford, which had begun in the 1960s. Following an 18-month multi-million dollar renovation and expansion, the Coronado Theatre was reopened in 2001. In 2008, the MetroCentre downtown arena completed a $20 million renovation (renamed the BMO Harris Bank Center in 2011). In 2009, the downtown pedestrian mall was removed as part of a street refurbishment project, restoring Main Street (Illinois Route 2) to two-lane traffic for the first time in nearly 45 years.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Prior to the onset of the Great Recession, housing in Rockford was affected by catastrophic weather events. In 2006 and 2007, Keith Creek underwent 100-year flooding events, damaging hundreds of older homes on the near east side of the city. In response, the city secured FEMA grants, demolishing over 100 homes; to reduce the severity of future flooding events, the creek is being reconstructed (through 2019) and left as greenspace. As an effect of the recession, by 2013, thirty-two percent of mortgages in the city were upside-down. While remaining the largest city in Illinois outside Chicago and its suburbs, estimated population decline from 2010 to 2017 led Rockford to be overtaken by Joliet and Naperville (the latter, slightly), effectively making it the fifth-largest city in Illinois.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: From 2014 to 2018, the unemployment rate in Rockford has fallen from 12.9 percent to 4.4 percent (the lowest since 2000). While predominately a manufacturing community since World War II, Rockford has struggled to diversify its industrial base. Shifting from agricultural machinery and furniture, manufacturing in the city remains dominated by fasteners, automotive suppliers (representing FCA Belvidere Assembly), and the aerospace industry (Woodward and Collins Aerospace; the latter, tracing its roots to Sundstrand Corporation). In 2012, Woodward selected suburban Loves Park for a $200 million manufacturing campus toward its energy control and optimization systems. Boeing included Rockford in a list of five finalists to manufacture the 777X during union disputes in 2014. In 2016, AAR Corporation opened a MRO facility at the Rockford airport with a hangar large enough to fit a Boeing 747-8.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: During the 2010s, all three major health care providers in Rockford underwent major expansions of their facilities. SwedishAmerican, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, opened a $39 million Regional Cancer Center in 2013. In 2014, MercyHealth (based in Janesville, Wisconsin) acquired Rockford Health System, the operator of Rockford Memorial Hospital. In 2019, MercyHealth opened Javon Bea Hospital-Riverside (named after the MercyHealth CEO and its Riverside Boulevard/Interstate 90 location); its second hospital in Rockford, the $505 million complex was the largest construction project in the history of the city.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: According to the 2010 census, Rockford has an area of , of which (or 98.6%) is land and (or 1.4%) is water. Neighboring communities that border Rockford, and are considered an integral part of the Rockford metro area, are the cities of Loves Park, Machesney Park, Belvidere, and the villages of Winnebago, Roscoe, Rockton, Poplar Grove, New Milford, and Cherry Valley.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Also of note, South Beloit, Illinois and Beloit, Wisconsin are part of this continuous urban area that stretches for approximately 30 miles along the Rock River from the Chicago Rockford International Airport north to the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport. Rockford is approximately 85 miles west-northwest of downtown Chicago, and 70 miles south-southeast of Madison.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The Rock River forms the traditional center of Rockford and is its most recognizable natural feature. One of its largest tributaries, the Kishwaukee River, joins the Rock River at the southern end of the city near the Rockford airport. Since the 1946 closure of Camp Grant, much of the length of Kishwaukee has been redeveloped into parkland and forest preserves, effectively forming the southern border of the city. Other waterways that feed into the Rock River include Spring Creek (northeast region), Keith Creek (east region), and Kent Creek (west region). Of the 8 Illinois dams of the Rock River, the Fordham dam is located south of downtown.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Due to its location in the Midwest, naturally a deciduous forest, Rockford's climate has four clearly defined seasons. Summers are usually hot and humid with the average high temperature in July (the hottest month) being . The winter months can bring bitterly cold Arctic air masses. The average high temperature in January (the coldest month) is . June is Rockford's wettest month while January is the driest. During a typical year, Rockford receives of precipitation.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Rockford and surrounding areas are prone to violent thunderstorms during March, April, May, and June. On April 21, 1967, a violent F4 tornado struck the neighboring town of Belvidere, killing twenty-four people and injuring hundreds more at Belvidere's High School. Other severe weather events, such as hail and strong winds are common in these storms. On July 5, 2003 at 04:13, a line of severe storms and their associated high winds caused widespread damage on both the east and west sides of Rockford. Approximately 70,000 people were without power, with many on the west side suffering in the heat without electricity for a week. It took months to clear the damage, but because the storm struck so early in the morning there were no injuries or fatalities. However, these sometimes violent storms bring the majority of summer rainfall.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The city is also prone to severe snowstorms in winter, and blizzards are frequent winter occurrences. On January 13, 1979 over 9 inches (23 cm) of snow fell on Rockford in just a few hours during one of the strongest blizzards in the city's history. The city averages approximately 36 inches (91.4 cm) of snowfall in a normal winter, but greater amounts are common. The snowiest winter in the history of the city was the winter of 1978–1979, when of snow fell.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The record high temperature is , set on July 14, 1936 during the Dust Bowl, and the record low temperature is , set on January 31, 2019.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: "Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race."


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: As of the 2010 census, there were 152,871 people and 66,700 households. Rockford is in the center of its namesake metropolitan area. The racial makeup of the city was 65.1% White (58.4% Non-Hispanic white), 20.5% African American, 0.4% Native American, 2.9% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 7.5% from other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.8% of the population.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The median income for a household in the city was $55,667, and the median income for a family was $65,465. Males had a median income of $37,098 versus $25,421 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,781. 14.0% of the population and 10.5% of families were below the poverty line. 19.6% of those under the age of 18 and 8.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In the late 1950s, Rockford surpassed Peoria as the second largest city in Illinois by population, holding onto that position into the 21st century. In 2003, the status was changed as it was overtaken by Aurora after the results of a special census held by the latter city (as the two cities were not counted together, a direct comparison was not possible until the national census in 2010).


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Like many other Rust Belt and midwestern cities, Catholics make up Rockford's largest religious group. According to 2010 figures, 20% of Winnebago County residents are Catholic, 19% are Evangelical, 10% are Mainline Protestant and 48% belong to a non-listed faith or have no religion. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford, several large evangelical and non-denominational churches, and several Lutheran and other Mainline Protestant congregations serve Rockford's Christian community. Rockford's Jewish community is served by a synagogue, the Muslim community by a mosque, the Sikhs by a temple, and its Buddhist community is served by two houses of worship.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Since the creation of Winnebago County in 1836, Rockford has served as its county seat. Rockford is the largest Dillon's Rule municipality in Illinois, having revoked home rule in 1983. Along with a mayor (elected every four years), the Rockford City Council consists of 14 alderman (elected every 4 years), with the city divided into 14 wards.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In a fashion similar to other cities its size (or larger), local government is split into executive and legislative branches. The mayor of Rockford is chosen in a general election every four years. The Rockford City Council consists of 14 aldermen, individually elected from each ward in the city. The council, as of August 2021, consists of:


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In contrast to other large cities in Illinois, Rockford is within a single township. By area and population, Rockford Township is the largest township in Illinois. Operating separately from the city of Rockford, the township performs civil services for several unincorporated areas of the city, as well as for other areas of the township outside of city limits.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Mrs. Fisher's, also known as Mrs. Fishers Potato Chips, a regional manufacturer of potato chips founded in Rockford, is a recognized brand name of potato chips in parts of the Midwestern United States. Since 1923, Rockford has been home to Kegel Harley-Davidson; owned by the same family since 1912, it is the oldest family-owned Harley-Davidson franchise in existence.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: By highway, Rockford is linked by highway to Wisconsin (Madison, Milwaukee), Iowa (Dubuque), and many parts of Illinois. In the past 30 years, the centralized location of the region has worked to an advantage in attracting jobs in the logistics and transportation industries.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The Rockford Mass Transit District (RMTD) provides fixed-route and paratransit service, with a service area including Rockford, Loves Park, and Machesney Park. The 40 fixed route buses operate over 17 routes Monday thru Saturday, 6 night routes and 5 routes on Sundays.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In April 2018, Rockford became included in the LimeBike bicycle-sharing network. Using 500 commuter bicycles supplied by the company, residents rent bicycles through a mobile app, unlocking the dockless bicycles. Distinguished by their bright green color, LimeBikes are equipped with a basket, lights, and GPS (to locate them for rental); one-speed and three-speed units are in use.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In early 2019, LimeBike was discontinued in Rockford; the company shifted its business model away from bicycles to e-scooters.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The first airport serving the Rockford area was Machesney Airport, located north of the city alongside US 51. Opened in 1927, the airport was initially a private airport; during World War II, it was utilized by the Army Air Corps. After the war, Machesney Airport was opened as a municipal airport. In 1974, the location was closed, becoming the site of the Machesney Park Mall in 1980.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Following the final closure of Camp Grant in 1946, the state legislature allowed for the establishment of an airport to serve Rockford, leading to the creation of the Greater Rockford Airport Authority (GRAA). In 1948, the GRAA received a 1500-acre portion of the Camp Grant property between US 51 and the Rock River, located between the southern border of the city and New Milford.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: From the 1950s to 1970s, the Greater Rockford Airport served as a regional airport, with small airlines offering both turboprop and jet service. To further expand passenger service, the current passenger terminal was constructed in 1987. Competing against easy highway access (and bus service) to O'Hare International Airport, the airport struggled for passenger service during the 1990s, leading to the loss of passenger service from 2001 to 2003. Since 2003, the airport has restored passenger service, primarily marketing its location for leisure travelers. Following the closure of several airlines, the location is served by Allegiant Air as its passenger carrier. Following a 2005 upgrade, the passenger terminal was expanded in size in 2018.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: During the 2000s, the airport underwent several name changes, adopting the current Chicago Rockford International Airport moniker in 2007. Among the fastest-growing freight airports in the world, full-scale cargo operations began in 1994 as United Parcel Service (UPS) opened an air package hub at the airport next to the terminal. Second only to Worldport in the UPS Airlines operations, the Rockford UPS hub operates on a separate 50-acre ramp (parking up to 40 aircraft at a time), accommodating up to a Boeing 747-8F.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Next to the UPS facilities, another cargo ramp was built in 2008, intended to attract additional cargo airlines. In 2016, the facilities were leased by ABX, intending to transfer freight from aircraft to trucks; the operations transitioned into flights for Amazon Air, who partners with ABX, ATI, and Atlas Air. The same year, AAR Corporation opened an FBO facility on the southern end of the airport, building hangars large enough to accommodate an Airbus A380. In 2021, cargo operations were expanded further, as the airport constructed an additional cargo-handling facility and cargo ramp, introducing service by German air cargo company Senator International, contracting 747s by Air Atlanta Icelandic. In 2022, Korean Air Cargo introduced cargo service from Seoul to Rockford on 777-300 freighters, becoming the longest flight from the airport.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: For over four decades, the Rockford region has not been served by passenger rail. From 1974 to 1981, Rockford was served by Amtrak via its "Black Hawk" route, a daily train service from Dubuque, Iowa to Union Station in Chicago with a stop in Rockford. The "Black Hawk" was discontinued in September 1981 as part of funding cuts to Amtrak.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: During the 2000s, interest increased in relinking the Rockford and Chicago regions by rail. In 2006, the Northern Illinois Commuter Transportation Initiative proposed extending Metra train service from the western Chicago suburbs to Rockford. While Metra service has yet to be proposed on an official level, during the early 2010s, there was design work on a planned 2015 revival of the "Black Hawk" route on Canadian National rails, with Rockford as the initial terminus. As part of the ongoing Illinois financial crisis, state funding for the "Black Hawk" revival was suspended in February 2015, putting the project on hold. The service was later funded in 2019 with the support of Governor J.B. Pritzker.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Rockford is served by several different freight railroad lines, the Union Pacific, the Canadian National, the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern (Canadian Pacific), and the Illinois Railway. The Union Pacific line from West Chicago terminates in Rockford at a small yard.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The Canadian National line from Elgin enters from the Southeast and leaves in the Northwest. They have a small yard where they interchange with the Illinois Railway. The Illinois Railway Rockford Line comes from the South, joins the Canadian National line, where they continue on trackage rights to the Canadian National yard. Canadian Pacific (Iowa, Chicago, and Eastern) runs on Illinois Railway trackage rights from Davis Junction, and leaves on their own trackage to the North. All of the railroads interchange at a yard off of Main Street.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The Union Pacific Railroad's Global III Intermodal Facility is approximately south of Rockford in Rochelle, Illinois, a community of 10,000. The complex is one of the world's largest intermodal facilities. Construction on the state-of-the-art facility was completed in 2003 in Rochelle due to the close proximity to four interstate highways (I-39, I-88, I-80, and I-90) and rail routes.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Although Rockford is in a large metropolitan area, the region does not have any public 4-year universities; the closest such institution is Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, away. Along with Rockford University (a private 4-year school of just under 2000 students), the city is the home to Rock Valley College (a 10,000-student community college), Rockford Business College (re-branded as Rockford Career College in 2009), and St. Anthony College of Nursing.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In addition, it hosts several satellite branches of other schools, including Judson University (based in Elgin), Northern Illinois University (based in DeKalb), Rasmussen College, Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University as a part of their "worldwide campus", and the University of Illinois College of Medicine (based in Chicago).


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Rockford University is best known for graduating Jane Addams, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 for her efforts to promote international peace and justice. Laura Jane Addams (1860–1935) entered what was then Rockford Female Seminary in 1877 and became the first graduate to receive a B.A. degree from the newly accredited baccalaureate institution in 1882 (the school was renamed Rockford College in 1892, and Rockford University in 2013).


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Rock Valley College is a community college with several locations in the Rockford area. The main campus is the site of the Bengt Sjostrom Theatre. The former outdoor theatre now features a motorized retractable roof constructed during 2003.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Serving Rockford, Cherry Valley, and portions of Winnebago and Boone counties, Rockford Public School District 205 covers an area of roughly . With approximately 27,000 students, it is the state's fourth-largest school district by enrollment. District 205 has four high schools (Auburn, East, Guilford, and Jefferson), six middle schools, and 29 elementary schools. It also operates early-childhood and alternative education centers. Beginning with the class of 2021, graduates of the Rockford Public Schools and residents within the city of Rockford with a cumulative 3.0 GPA can attend Northern Illinois University tuition free. This location-based scholarship program is a partnership between Rockford Public Schools, Northern Illinois University, Rockford Promise and the city of Rockford.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In addition to its public school system, Rockford supports 27 sectarian and nonsectarian private schools ranging from elementary to secondary education.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Compared to Katowice by writer Leopold Tyrmand, Rockford possesses a wealth of notable architecture. The Lake-Peterson House, constructed by alderman John Lake in 1873 and preserved by Swedish industrialist Pehr August Peterson, is a notable example of Gothic Revival. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, it is used for the School of Medical Technology of the Rockford-based Swedish American Hospital.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Further Swedish influence on Rockford during the Victorian era is represented in the Erlander Home Museum, the base of the Swedish Historical Society. Swiss influence can be seen in the Tinker Swiss Cottage, which was opened as a museum under the park district in 1943 and was featured in an episode of Ghost Hunters in 2012.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Modern architectural movements, like Art Deco and Prairie School, are also integral to Rockford. Most renowned is the Coronado Theatre, a civic and entertainment center named one of 150 Great Places in Illinois by the American Institute of Architects. The theatre is known for its blend of Art Deco with Spanish Baroque Revival and has hosted numerous performers over its lifetime, including the Marx Brothers, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Dylan. The 186-foot tall Faust Hotel complements the Coronado; constructed in 1929, it endures as Rockford's tallest building, albeit as apartments for the elderly and disabled. The Laurent House, a single-story Usonian home constructed in 1952 by Frank Lloyd Wright, is the only Wright building designed for a person with disabilities. Acquired by a private foundation from its commissioners, it was renovated into a museum in 2014. The Rockford Area has two additional places named by the American Institute of Architects in the 150 Great Places, Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, Illinois and Poplar Grove United Methodist Church in Poplar Grove, Illinois.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The area is often regarded as an outdoor destination. Rock Cut State Park is to the northeast of the city. Once home to various Scots, Canadians, and New Englanders, as well as a railroad line to Kenosha, the park's 3,092 acres are now utilized for camping, hiking, fishing and boating, and hunting. Anderson Japanese Gardens, modeled after the Portland Japanese Garden and landscaped by Hoichi Kurisu, is 10 acres in size and features a teahouse and guesthouse in the sukiya-zukuri style. John Anderson, the commissioner of the gardens, was presented with a commemorative silver cup by Japan for his efforts in the mutual understanding of cultures in 1992; he donated the gardens to a nonprofit organization later in 1998. Klehm Arboretum and Botanic Garden is 155 acres in size and is noted for its selection of both indigenous and foreign plant species.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The park district of Rockford (Rockford Park District) is particularly active. It operates Aldeen Golf Club, which was rated the best municipal golf course in Illinois by Golf Digest and one of the top fifty golf courses in the nation that cost under $50 to play by Golf Magazine. In addition to Tinker Swiss Cottage, the park district maintains four other museums. The Burpee Museum of Natural History is home to the world's most complete juvenile "Tyrannosaurus rex", Jane, as well as a "Triceratops", Homer. The Discovery Center Museum, a children's museum featuring over 250 hands-on exhibits including a planetarium, is on the "12 Best Children's Museums In The U.S." list by Forbes. The Burpee Museum and the Discovery Center Museum, along with the Rockford Art Museum and the bases for Northern Public Radio, the Rockford Dance Company, and the Rockford Symphony Orchestra make up the downtown Riverfront Museum Park complex. The last museum under the park district's authority is Midway Village and Museum Center, a recreation of a Victorian-era village. The eastern riverwalk of Rockford is maintained by the park district, featuring the Nicholas Conservatory and Gardens. Located on the bank of the Rock River, the conservatory is the third-largest in the state of Illinois. Just north of the gardens is "Symbol", an Alexander Liberman sculpture moved from downtown during the 1980s and now one of Rockford's most recognizable features.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: In 2021, Rafael Blanco (artist) painted “Thinking of you Rockford” in Rockford, Illinois. This 22-foot by 77-foot piece featured a young Black Female dreaming alongside math and science illustrations.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: From 1943 to 1954, the Rockford Peaches were an inaugural team of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Playing home games at Beyer Stadium, the Peaches won league championships in 1945, 1948, 1949, and 1950; the four championships are the most of any league member.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The Rockford Peaches and the league itself were portrayed in the 1992 motion picture "A League of Their Own." However, the characters in the film are fictional; the Peaches did not compete for the 1943 league championship (as depicted in the film). Production of the film did not feature the city of Rockford; as it had largely become abandoned and fallen into disrepair, Beyer Stadium was demolished at the beginning of the 1990s.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Lidköping and Skaraborg County in Sweden have the Industrial Partnership Agreement with Rockford. The two regions work together with growing locally by working globally.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: Rockford is the 161st largest radio market in the United States. It is ranked 136th by Nielsen Media Research for the 2015-2016 television season with 170,140 television households.


title: Rockford, Illinois

text: The area is served by over 15 commercial radio stations, over 5 non-commercial radio stations, 2 low power FM radio stations, 5 TV stations and 1 daily newspaper.


title: Fay Wray

text: Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian/American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film "King Kong". Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films. She has been dubbed one of the early "scream queens".


title: Fay Wray

text: After appearing in minor film roles, Wray gained media attention after being selected as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars" in 1926. This led to her being contracted to Paramount Pictures as a teenager, where she made more than a dozen feature films. After leaving Paramount, she signed deals with various film companies, being cast in her first horror film roles, in addition to many other types of roles, including in "The Bowery" (1933) and "Viva Villa" (1934), both of which starred Wallace Beery. For RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., Wray starred in the film she is most identified with, "King Kong" (1933). After the success of "King Kong", she made numerous appearances in both film and television, retiring in 1980.


title: Fay Wray

text: Wray was born on a ranch near Cardston, Alberta, to parents who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elvina Marguerite Jones, who was from Salt Lake City, Utah, and Joseph Heber Wray, who was from Kingston upon Hull, England. She was one of six children and was a granddaughter of LDS pioneer Daniel Webster Jones. Her ancestors came from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Wray was never baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


title: Fay Wray

text: Her family returned to the United States a few years after she was born; they moved to Salt Lake City in 1912 and moved to Lark, Utah, in 1914. In 1919, the Wray family returned to Salt Lake City, and then relocated to Hollywood, where Fay attended Hollywood High School.


title: Fay Wray

text: In 1923, Wray appeared in her first film at the age of 16, when she landed a role in a short historical film sponsored by a local newspaper. In the 1920s, Wray landed a major role in the silent film "The Coast Patrol" (1925), as well as uncredited bit parts at the Hal Roach Studios.


title: Fay Wray

text: In 1926, the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers selected Wray as one of the "WAMPAS Baby Stars", a group of women whom they believed to be on the threshold of movie stardom. She was at the time under contract to Universal Studios, mostly co-starring in low-budget Westerns opposite Buck Jones.


title: Fay Wray

text: The following year, Wray was signed to a contract with Paramount Pictures. In 1926, director Erich von Stroheim cast her as the main female lead in his film "The Wedding March", released by Paramount two years later. While the film was noted for its high budget and production values, it was a financial failure. It also gave Wray her first lead role. Wray stayed with Paramount to make more than a dozen films and made the transition from silent films to "talkies".


title: Fay Wray

text: After leaving Paramount, Wray signed with other film studios. Under these deals, Wray was cast in several horror films, including "Doctor X" (1932) and "Mystery of the Wax Museum" (1933). However, her best known films were produced under her deal with RKO Radio Pictures. Her first film with RKO was "The Most Dangerous Game" (1932), co-starring Joel McCrea. The production was filmed at night on the same jungle sets that were being used for "King Kong" during the day, and with Wray and Robert Armstrong starring in both movies.


title: Fay Wray

text: "The Most Dangerous Game" was followed by the release of Wray's best remembered film, "King Kong". According to Wray, Jean Harlow had been RKO's original choice, but because MGM put Harlow under exclusive contract during the pre-production phase of the film, she became unavailable. Wray was approached by director Merian C. Cooper to play the blonde captive of King Kong; the role of Ann Darrow for which she was paid $10,000 ($ in dollars) to portray. The film was a commercial success and Wray was reportedly proud that the film saved RKO from bankruptcy.


title: Fay Wray

text: Wray continued to star in films, including "The Richest Girl in the World", but by the early 1940s, her appearances became less frequent. She retired in 1942 after her second marriage but due to financial exigencies she soon resumed her acting career, and over the next three decades, Wray appeared in several films and appeared frequently on television. Wray portrayed Catherine Morrison in the 1953–54 sitcom "The Pride of the Family" with Natalie Wood playing her daughter. Wray appeared in "Queen Bee", released in 1955.


title: Fay Wray

text: Wray appeared in three episodes of "Perry Mason": "The Case of the Prodigal Parent" (1958); "The Case of the Watery Witness" (1959), as murder victim Lorna Thomas; and "The Case of the Fatal Fetish" (1965), as voodoo practitioner Mignon Germaine. In 1959, Wray was cast as Tula Marsh in the episode "The Second Happiest Day" of "Playhouse 90". Other roles around this time were in the episodes "Dip in the Pool" (1958) and "The Morning After" of CBS's "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". In 1960, she appeared as Clara in an episode of "77 Sunset Strip", "Who Killed Cock Robin?" Another 1960 role was that of Mrs. Staunton, with Gigi Perreau as her daughter, in the episode "Flight from Terror" of "The Islanders".


title: Fay Wray

text: Wray appeared in a 1961 episode of "The Real McCoys" titled "Theatre in the Barn". In 1963, she played Mrs. Brubaker in "The Eleventh Hour" episode "You're So Smart, Why Can't You Be Good?". She ended her acting career with the 1980 made-for-television film "Gideon's Trumpet".


title: Fay Wray

text: In 1988, she published her autobiography "On the Other Hand". In her later years, Wray continued to make public appearances. In 1991, she was crowned Queen of the Beaux Arts Ball, presiding with King Herbert Huncke.


title: Fay Wray

text: She was approached by James Cameron to play the part of Rose Dawson Calvert for his blockbuster "Titanic" (1997) with Kate Winslet to play her younger self, but she turned down the role, which was subsequently portrayed by Gloria Stuart in an Oscar-nominated performance. She was a special guest at the 70th Academy Awards, where the show's host Billy Crystal introduced her as the "Beauty who charmed the Beast." She was the only 1920s Hollywood actress in attendance that evening. On October 3, 1998, she appeared at the Pine Bluff Film Festival, which showed "The Wedding March" with live orchestral accompaniment.


title: Fay Wray

text: In January 2003, the 95-year-old Wray appeared at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival to celebrate the Rick McKay documentary film "", where she was honored with a "Legend in Film" award. In her later years, she visited the Empire State Building frequently; in 1991, she was a guest of honor at the building's 60th anniversary, and in May 2004, she made one of her last public appearances at the ESB. Her final public appearance was at the premiere of the documentary film "Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There" in June 2004.


title: Fay Wray

text: Wray married three times – to writers John Monk Saunders and Robert Riskin and the neurosurgeon Sanford Rothenberg (January 28, 1919 – January 4, 1991). She had three children: Susan Saunders, Victoria Riskin, and Robert Riskin Jr.


title: Fay Wray

text: After returning to the US after finishing "The Clairvoyant" she became a naturalized citizen of the United States in May 1935.


title: Fay Wray

text: Wray died in her sleep of natural causes in the night of August 8, 2004, in her apartment on Fifth Avenue Manhattan. She is interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.


title: Fay Wray

text: Two days after her death, the lights of the Empire State Building were lowered for 15 minutes in her memory.


title: Fay Wray

text: In 1989, Wray was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award. Wray was honored with a Legend in Film award at the 2003 Palm Beach International Film Festival. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Wray was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6349 Hollywood Blvd. She received a star posthumously on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto on June 5, 2005. A small park near Lee's Creek on Main Street in Cardston, Alberta, her birthplace, was named Fay Wray Park in her honor. The small sign at the edge of the park on Main Street has a silhouette of King Kong on it, remembering her role in "King Kong". A large oil portrait of Wray by Alberta artist Neil Boyle is on display in the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod, Alberta. In May 2006, Wray became one of the first four entertainers to be honored by Canada Post by being featured on a postage stamp.


title: Goodluck Jonathan

text: Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari, and was the first incumbent president in Nigerian history to concede defeat in an election. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010 under the administration of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua; and in oil-rich Bayelsa State as Governor of Bayelsa State from 2005 to 2007.


title: Goodluck Jonathan

text: Goodluck Jonathan was born on 20 November 1957 in Ogbia to a Christian family of canoe makers, from the Ijaw ethnicity in Bayelsa state. He was born in Otuoke, his father Lawrence Ebele Jonathan was a canoe- maker and his mother Eunice Ayi Ebele Jonathan was a retired farmer. He attended a Christian primary and secondary school.


title: Goodluck Jonathan

text: He received a bachelor's degree in zoology (second-class honours), a master's degree in hydrobiology and fisheries biology; and a doctorate in zoology from the University of Port Harcourt. During his time in the university he taught at rivers state college of education from 1982 to 1998.


title: Goodluck Jonathan

text: Before his entry into politics in 1998, he worked as an education inspector, a lecturer and an environmental-protection officer. His political career began when he became involved with the nascent People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the late 1990s.


title: Goodluck Jonathan

text: On 29 May 1999, Jonathan was sworn in as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa alongside Diepreye Alamieyeseigha who came in as the governor of the state on the platform of PDP. Jonathan served as Deputy Governor until December 2005. On 9 December 2005, Jonathan, who was the deputy governor at the time, was sworn in as the governor of Bayelsa State upon the impeachment of the current Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha by the Bayelsa State Assembly after being charged with money laundering in the United Kingdom.


title: Goodluck Jonathan

text: As Vice President, Jonathan took a very low profile. While recognising the constitutional limits of the Vice President's office, he participated in cabinet meetings and, by statute, was a member of the National Security Council, the National Defence Council, the Federal Executive Council and chairman of the National Economic Council.


title: Goodluck Jonathan

text: Jonathan was instrumental in negotiating an agreement with many of the major militant groups in the Niger Delta to lay down their weapons and stop fighting as part of a government amnesty program.