title: Laplace's equation

text: In the particular case of a source-free region, formula_79 and Poisson's equation reduces to Laplace's equation for the electric potential.


title: Laplace's equation

text: If the electrostatic potential formula_72 is specified on the boundary of a region formula_81, then it is uniquely determined. If formula_81 is surrounded by a conducting material with a specified charge density formula_69, and if the total charge formula_84 is known, then formula_72 is also unique.


title: Laplace's equation

text: A potential that doesn't satisfy Laplace's equation together with the boundary condition is an invalid electrostatic potential.


title: Laplace's equation

text: Let formula_86 be the gravitational field, formula_69 the mass density, and formula_88 the gravitational constant. Then Gauss's law for gravitation in differential form is


title: Laplace's equation

text: The gravitational field is conservative and can therefore be expressed as the negative gradient of the gravitational potential:


title: Laplace's equation

text: S. Persides solved the Laplace equation in Schwarzschild spacetime on hypersurfaces of constant . Using the canonical variables , , the solution is


title: Laplace's equation

text: Here and are Legendre functions of the first and second kind, respectively, while is the Schwarzschild radius. The parameter is an arbitrary non-negative integer.


title: Nuno Tavares

text: Nuno Albertino Varela Tavares (born 26 January 2000) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ligue 1 club Marseille, on loan from Premier League club Arsenal.


title: Nuno Tavares

text: Born in Lisbon of Cape Verdean descent, Tavares finished his development with Benfica after three years at city rivals Sporting CP and two stints with Casa Pia. His manager at Casa Pia, João Silva, drove him home from training every day while also allowing his studies to take priority.


title: Nuno Tavares

text: Tavares made his senior debut with Benfica's reserves in the LigaPro, his first match being a 3–2 home win against Covilhã on 27 October 2018. He played his first official game with the first team on 4 August 2019, featuring 90 minutes in the 5–0 victory over Sporting in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira at the Estádio Algarve. His Primeira Liga bow took place the following week, opening an eventual 5–0 home defeat of Paços de Ferreira and adding two assists. However, his weaknesses were exposed two weeks later in a 2–0 loss to Porto in O Clássico, which led him to return to the B side and lose his place to Tomás Tavares, being limited to occasional domestic cup matches in place of Alejandro Grimaldo.


title: Nuno Tavares

text: Following a difficult season, and a video posted on the Instagram account of a friend of Tavares where Grimaldo was referred to in derogatory terms, Benfica decided to sell the player in spite of his public apologies. During his spell at the club, he made 41 competitive appearances.


title: Nuno Tavares

text: On 10 July 2021, Tavares joined Arsenal on a long-term contract in a deal worth around £8 million. He made his Premier League debut on 13 August, coming on as a late substitute for Calum Chambers in a 2–0 away defeat to Brentford. Following an injury to Kieran Tierney he managed to earn a starting spot, initially achieving good performances and earning praise from coach Mikel Arteta, who especially liked his attacking qualities; however, he also struggled with homesickness, and his defensive frailties, positional mistakes and lapses in concentration led to him being regularly substituted at half-time during matches, most notably when he offered a goal to Diogo Jota in the 4–0 defeat to Liverpool following a misplaced pass.


title: Nuno Tavares

text: Tavares scored his first goal on 23 April 2022, through a calm tap-in after David de Gea had saved Bukayo Saka's curl in the third minute of an eventual 3–1 home win against Manchester United.


title: Nuno Tavares

text: On 30 July, Tavares moved to Ligue 1 club Marseille on a season-long loan; he wanted to have the option to sign permanently at the end of the deal, but Arteta refused to sanction it. He scored on his debut, a 4–1 home victory over Reims. He repeated the feat the following matchday, in the 1–1 draw at Brest.


title: Nuno Tavares

text: Tavares improved his form under manager Igor Tudor, with his attacking style being put to good use in the latter's system.


title: Nuno Tavares

text: Tavares won his first cap for Portugal at under-21 level on 10 September 2019, in a 2–0 win in Belarus for the 2021 UEFA European Championship qualifiers. On 7 October 2021, against Liechtenstein in the next edition, he scored the first goal in the 11–0 rout in Vizela.


title: Nuno Tavares

text: Tavares was included in a provisional squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but did not make the final cut.


title: Nuno Tavares

text: Tavares was involved in the Amazon Original sports docuseries "", which documented the club by spending time with the coaching staff and players behind the scenes both on and off the field throughout their 2021–22 season.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: Beaches (also known as Forever Friends) is a 1988 American comedy-drama film adapted by Mary Agnes Donoghue and based on Iris Rainer Dart's 1985 novel of the same name. It was directed by Garry Marshall, and stars Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, Mayim Bialik, John Heard, James Read, Spalding Gray, and Lainie Kazan.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: Despite generally negative reviews from critics, the film was a commercial success, grossing $59 million in the box office.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: A sequel, based on the 1991 novel "Beaches II: I'll Be There" was planned with Barbara Eden but never filmed.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: Middle-aged Cecilia Carol "C.C." Bloom, a New York actress and singer, receives a note during a rehearsal for her upcoming Los Angeles concert. She leaves in a panic to travel to the side of her friend Hillary Whitney, a San Francisco heiress and lawyer. Unable to get a flight to San Francisco because of fog, she rents a car and drives overnight, reflecting on her lifelong friendship with Hillary.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: Hillary and C.C. met in 1958, under the boardwalk on the beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Hillary is lost and C.C. is hiding from her overbearing stage mother. They become fast friends, growing up and bonding through letters of support to each other. Hillary becomes a human rights lawyer, while C.C.'s singing career does not exactly take off. Hillary shows up at the New York City dive bar where C.C. is performing, their first meeting since Atlantic City. She moves in with C.C. and gets a job with the ACLU. C.C. is now performing singing telegrams, leading to a job offer from John, the artistic director of the Falcon Players, after she sings his birthday telegram.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: A love triangle ensues as Hillary and John are instantly attracted to one another, leaving C.C. resenting her best friend. Hillary and John sleep together on the opening night of C.C.'s first lead role in an off-Broadway production. When Hillary returns home to care for her ailing father, the two friends resolve their issues about John, as John does not have romantic feelings for C.C. After her father passes away, Hillary spends time at her family beach house with lawyer Michael Essex, eventually marrying him. C.C. and John spend a lot of time together, start dating and eventually marry. Hillary and Michael travel to New York to see C.C. perform on Broadway, where she has become a star. When C.C. finds out that Hillary has stopped working as a lawyer, she accuses her of giving up on her dreams. Hillary responds that C.C. has become obsessed with her career. After the argument, Hillary ignores C.C.'s letters, throwing herself into being a dutiful, but unchallenged, wife.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: John tells C.C. that her self-centeredness and obsession with her career have him feeling left behind, and he asks for a divorce. C.C. turns to her mother for advice. Her mother tells her that she has given up a lot for her daughter, and C.C. starts to understand when her mother tells her the effect that her selfishness has had on those closest to her.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: Hillary discovers her husband is having an affair. When Hillary learns that C.C. is performing in San Francisco, she makes contact for the first time in years. They learn of each other's divorces, then discover that they have been secretly jealous of each other for years: Hillary is upset that she has none of C.C.'s talent or charisma, while C.C. admits she has always been envious of Hillary's beauty and intelligence.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: Hillary tells C.C. that she is pregnant, and has already decided to raise the child as a single parent. This wins her admiration from the feisty and independent C.C., who promises to stay and help her out. C.C. starts talking of settling down, and having a family of her own, having become engaged to Hillary's obstetrician. However, when C.C.'s agent calls with the perfect comeback gig for her, C.C. abandons her fiancé, and races back to New York City. Hillary gives birth to a daughter, whom she names Victoria Cecilia. When Victoria is a young girl, Hillary develops viral cardiomyopathy, requiring a heart transplant. Having a rare tissue type, she realizes she will most likely die before a heart is found.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: C.C. has become a big star, having won a Tony award, and completed her latest hit album. When she learns of Hillary's illness, she accompanies Hillary and Victoria to the beach house for the summer. Hillary becomes depressed due to her debilitated state, and takes her frustration out on C.C. whom she sees having fun with and connecting with Victoria. Hillary eventually begins to accept her prognosis bravely, appreciating her time with Victoria and C.C. Hillary and Victoria return to San Francisco, while C.C. heads to Los Angeles for a concert. Hillary collapses and is found by her daughter, leading to the note C.C. receives that prompts her to leave her rehearsal. C.C. takes Hillary and Victoria to the beach house, where Hillary dies.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: After the funeral, C.C. takes custody of Victoria, and the two console each other in their grief. C.C. goes forward with her concert and concludes it by singing "The Glory of Love", the first song Hillary heard her sing 30 years ago; as the song ends, C.C. tearfully waves toward the sky, in tribute to her. After the show, she leaves hand-in-hand with Victoria and begins telling stories of when she first met her mother.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: The beach house scenes were filmed at cottage #13 in what is now the Crystal Cove Historic District in Crystal Cove State Park in California.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: The film's theme song, "Wind Beneath My Wings", hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1990.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: The film took in $5,160,258 during its opening weekend beginning January 21, 1989. It grossed $57,041,866 domestically.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: The film was released on VHS, Betamax and laserdisc by Touchstone Home Video on August 23, 1989, with a DVD release on August 13, 2002, followed by a special-edition DVD on April 26, 2005. The film was later released in High Definition Blu-ray format on November 6, 2012.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 43% based on 44 critic reviews, and an average rating of 5.1/10. The consenus summarizes: "Not all great soundtracks make good movies, and "Beaches" lacks the wind beneath its wings." Critics almost unanimously found the film's emotional moments to be unearned, calculated, and familiar to the point of being predictable. Roger Ebert assessed that "'Beaches' lacks the spontaneity of life. This is a movie completely constructed out of other movies - out of cliches and archetypes that were old before most of the cast members were born." He found the problem was compounded by the film foreshadowing Hillary's death right from the beginning, and gave it two and a half stars. Gene Siskel called it "a much too mechanical tearjerker" and criticized the slow pace, but acknowledged that he heard some sniffling among the audience and gave it two and a half stars. Jay Boyar noted in the "Orlando Sentinel", "In advance publicity for "Beaches", it has been routinely referred to as a 'tear-jerker.' Though the term is sometimes used admiringly these days, doesn't it actually mean that a movie has emotional scenes in which the emotion is somehow trumped-up or unearned? This is the sort of picture in which people slap each other as they take their marriage vows, suddenly develop life-threatening diseases, and, again, have violent confrontations whenever there's a break in the action. Anything for a laugh, anything for a tear, and nothing much authentic." Similarly to Ebert, he called it "a 1940s retread", noting its use of antiquated themes like the idea that a woman must choose between being a mother and having a career.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: Dave Kehr likewise stated in the "Chicago Tribune" that ""Beaches" struggles to update a 1940s formula", describing it as particularly derivative of the 1943 film "Old Acquaintance". He also felt the friendship between C.C. and Hillary to be implausible and lacking in genuine warmth, and commented that "The cardinal rule of melodrama ... is that emotion must follow from situation. When that relationship is inverted, the result is sheer manipulation and blatantly false." He gave it two stars. Sheila Benson of the "Los Angeles Times" called it "the most shamelessly manipulative movie since they shot the dog in "The Biscuit Eater"." While opining that emotional manipulation isn't necessarily bad, she felt the film had failed to capture what made the novel it is adapted from such an effective tearjerker, by neglecting the essence of C.C. and Hillary's friendship and instead focusing on petty arguments between the two. However, she praised the performances of Midler and Hershey, and admitted that the film succeeded in making her cry.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: Several critics remarked that the scenes of C.C. and Hillary's childhood were more emotionally convincing and enjoyable than the rest of the film, with particular praise for Mayim Bialik's performance. Midler's numerous singing performances were also frequently cited as a strong point in a mostly weak film.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: The film remained poorly regarded over later decades. In reviews for the 2017 remake, "The New York Times" and "CNN Entertainment" recalled the 1988 film as, respectively, "a pastiche of 1950s tear-jerkers that was set, strangely and uncomfortably, in the 1970s and ’80s. ... a shamelessly retrograde and literal-minded soap opera with a veneer of fake feminism" and "a film that delivered a hit song and strong box-office results but is remembered mostly for its high schmaltz factor."


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: Included on the soundtrack was Midler's performance of "Wind Beneath My Wings". The song won Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1990. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Albert Brenner and Garrett Lewis).


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: Lifetime announced a remake of the film, which aired on January 22, 2017. The updated version was directed by Allison Anders with the script by Bart Barker and Nikole Beckwith, and Idina Menzel plays the role of C.C. Nia Long plays the role of Hillary alongside Menzel. The film includes the songs "Wind Beneath My Wings" and "The Glory of Love".


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: A musical stage adaptation has been written, based on the book by Iris Rainer Dart, with lyrics and book by Dart and Thom Thomas (book) and music by David Austin. The musical premiered at the Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia in February 2014. The musical was directed by Eric D. Schaeffer, with Alysha Umphress as Cee Cee Bloom and Mara Davi as Bertie White.


title: Beaches (1988 film)

text: The musical next opened at the Drury Lane Theatre, Oakbrook, Illinois, in June 2015 (previews). Again directed by Schaeffer, Shoshana Bean plays Cee Cee and Whitney Bashor plays Bertie. The choreographer is Lorin Latarro, with scenic design by Derek McLane, lighting design by Howell Binkley, costume design by Alejo Vietti and sound design by Kai Harada.


title: The Banana Splits

text: The Banana Splits is an American television variety show produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and featuring the Banana Splits, a fictional rock band composed of four costumed animal characters in red marching band hats with yellow plumes. The costumed hosts of the show are Fleegle (guitar, vocals), Bingo (drums, vocals), Drooper (bass, vocals) and Snorky (keyboards, effects).


title: The Banana Splits

text: The series ran for 31 episodes on NBC Saturday mornings from September 7, 1968, to September 5, 1970, and in syndication from 1970 to 1982. The show features the Banana Splits band as live-action costumed characters, who host both live-action and animated segments within their program. The costumes and sets were designed by Sid and Marty Krofft, and the series' sponsor was Kellogg's Cereals.


title: The Banana Splits

text: A feature-length comedy horror film adaptation called "The Banana Splits Movie" premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 18, 2019, and was released worldwide on August 27, 2019.


title: The Banana Splits

text: In 1967, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera approached Sid and Marty Krofft to design costumes for a television show, featuring animated and live-action segments, hosted by a bubblegum rock group of anthropomorphic characters. The format of the show was loosely based on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In", and the characters appeared on one episode of that show. "The Banana Splits Adventure Hour" premiered on NBC on September 7, 1968. In his autobiography, Barbera said that the show was originally going to be called "The Banana Bunch", but permission could not be obtained from the author of a children's book by that same title.


title: The Banana Splits

text: The Krofft brothers credit the series' success for making possible their own entry into television, "H.R. Pufnstuf". NBC picked up the Krofft series, which was launched on August 30, 1969, during an hour-long special hosted by the Banana Splits.


title: The Banana Splits

text: The show's live-action segment "Danger Island", a cliffhanger serial, as well as the short-lived "Micro Ventures", a part-live action, part-animated series consisting of only four episodes, ran alongside the animated segments "Arabian Knights" and "The Three Musketeers". Actors Jan-Michael Vincent (billed as Michael Vincent) and Ronne Troup appeared in the live-action component "Danger Island". All the live-action material filmed for the series' first season, including the "Banana Splits" and "Danger Island" segments, was directed by Richard Donner.


title: The Banana Splits

text: Jason Ankeny of AllMusic has blamed the show's drastic ratings drop during the second season on the failure of production staff to change backgrounds or set designs, a situation that misled young viewers into believing that they were watching reruns instead of new segments.


title: The Banana Splits

text: Each show represented a meeting of the "Banana Splits Club", and the wraparounds featured the adventures of the club members, who acted as a musical quartet meant to be reminiscent of the Monkees.


title: The Banana Splits

text: The Splits' segments, including songs of the week and comedy skits, served as wraparounds for a number of individual segments.


title: The Banana Splits

text: For the first season, some of the live-action segments—specifically those used during the musical segments—were shot at Six Flags Over Texas, an amusement park located in Arlington, Texas. For the second season, filming took place at the Coney Island amusement park in Cincinnati, Ohio. In many episodes, the Banana Splits were seen riding on the many rides at Six Flags and Coney Island.


title: The Banana Splits

text: The "Banana Buggies", mentioned in the theme song, were customized vehicles driven by each live-action character. The buggies were customized Amphicat six-wheel drive all-terrain vehicles, each decorated to resemble the character who drove it. Plastic 1/25 scale model kits were issued by Aurora Plastics Corporation, under catalog number 832, beginning in 1969. These were never reissued by Aurora, but they have since been released as high-end resin-based kits.


title: The Banana Splits

text: "The Banana Splits" was one of the first two Hanna-Barbera series in 1968 in which Hanna and Barbera received executive producer credits, the other being "The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"; Edward Rosen served as producer on both series. This Hanna-Barbera series was also one of the first Saturday morning shows to feature a laugh track, but only the live-action comedy segments. It its first year, the cartoons were adventure-based and did not have laugh tracks. The first Saturday morning cartoon with a laugh track with Filmation's The Archie Show.


title: The Banana Splits

text: In the second season, "The Three Musketeers" segments were replaced with reruns of "The Hillbilly Bears", a cartoon segment that previously appeared on "The Atom Ant Show" (1965–1968). In reruns, episodes of "The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show", "The Adventures of Gulliver", and "The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" were aired on the show.


title: The Banana Splits

text: "The Banana Splits" was syndicated in 1970 to local stations under the title of The Banana Splits and Friends Show, but with several other series included in a package deal. All the "Banana Splits" episodes were syndicated in this package alongside "The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", "The Atom Ant Show", "The Secret Squirrel Show", and "The Adventures of Gulliver".


title: The Banana Splits

text: The show's theme song, titled "The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana)", was credited as being written by Ritchie Adams and Mark Barkan, but that was merely contractual. In fact it was written by N. B. Winkless Jr. on the upright piano in his living room—a piano that also spawned the "Snap, Crackle, Pop" jingle, among others. Adams and Barkan were music directors for the show. The song was released as a single, attributed to the Banana Splits, and peaked at number 96 on "Billboard"'s Top 100 in February 1969. The version included on the "We're The Banana Splits" album is the same recording heard at the beginning of the show, while the single version is an entirely different arrangement and recording of the song, featuring an additional verse.


title: The Banana Splits

text: The Banana Splits' bubblegum pop rock and roll was provided by studio professionals, including Joey Levine ("I Enjoy Being a Boy", "It's a Good Day for a Parade"); Al Kooper ("You're the Lovin' End"); Barry White ("Doin' the Banana Split"); Gene Pitney ("Two Ton Tessie") and Jimmy Radcliffe, who provided his songs ("I'm Gonna Find a Cave", "Soul", "Don't Go Away Go-Go Girl", "Adam Had 'Em" and "The Show Must Go On") but did not contribute vocals to Splits recordings.


title: The Banana Splits

text: The music director was music publisher Aaron Schroeder, while production duties were mainly handled by David Mook. When a heavier R&B vocal was needed, the music producers usually turned to singer Ricky Lancelotti, who was billed in the show credits under his stage name Rick Lancelot. Lancelotti went on to record several songs with Frank Zappa. In 1968, The Banana Splits released an album on Decca Records titled "We're the Banana Splits".


title: The Banana Splits

text: The Banana Splits was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.


title: The Banana Splits

text: An unusual claim is that the song may have inspired Bob Marley, with the striking similarity between the song's chorus and the bridge of the Bob Marley and the Wailers song "Buffalo Soldier". A story by the BBC in 2010 examines the claim.


title: The Banana Splits

text: US punk rock act the Dickies covered the theme song in 1978, entitled "Banana Splits (Tra La La Song)". Their recording reached Number 7 in the UK charts and appears as a bonus on the CD reissue of their 1979 album "The Incredible Shrinking Dickies".


title: The Banana Splits

text: The Banana Splits' adventures continued in comic books. Gold Key began publishing a comic version in 1969, releasing eight issues through 1971. Drawn by Jack Manning, these stories followed the musicians either trying to find work or on the road between gigs.


title: The Banana Splits

text: The Banana Splits had a crossover with the Suicide Squad in "Suicide Squad/Banana Splits" #1 on March 29, 2017.


title: The Banana Splits

text: Hanna-Barbera produced "The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park", a televised feature film, for ABC in 1972 that has the group rescuing a girl from an evil witch.


title: The Banana Splits

text: In August 2008, Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced a multi-platform release featuring new comedy shorts/series and music videos; this debuted on Cartoon Network starting on from September 2, 2008. Bill Farmer voiced Fleegle, Frank Welker voiced Bingo, and Carlos Alazraqui voiced Drooper. The relaunch included a live show and a website, as well as a CD and a DVD featuring 13 new songs, released by Universal Records. In addition, a child-themed area named Banana Splitsville was placed at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina's Hard Rock Park rock-and-roll theme park, which later became Freestyle Music Park before closing permanently in 2009.


title: The Banana Splits

text: On February 19, 2019, Warner Bros. Television Group's Blue Ribbon Content division announced that it was collaborating with Blue Ice Pictures on producing a film adaptation of "The Banana Splits" television series collectively named "The Banana Splits Movie", which would serve as an R-rated parody of slasher films. Danishka Esterhazy was hired to direct the film, based on a script written by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas. On June 13, 2019, Syfy Wire released the official trailer for the film.


title: The Banana Splits

text: The plot follows a family attending a taping of "The Banana Splits" television series, in which the titular characters are animatronics with artificial intelligence instead of humans in costumes. However, the family and everyone else present are soon trying to survive when Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky go haywire upon learning of the cancellation of their show. Because of this, their programming malfunctions and they start a killing spree around the studio by targeting the crew members and the adults. The film premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 18, 2019, and was released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment via Blu-ray and DVD on August 27, 2019. Eric Bauza lent his voice to Fleegle, Bingo, and Drooper as well as the show's announcer.


title: The Banana Splits

text: The Banana Splits appear in "Jellystone!" which was released HBO Max on July 29, 2021 with Fleegle voiced by Paul F. Tompkins, Bingo voiced by Jim Conroy, and Drooper voiced by show creator C. H. Greenblatt. They are portrayed as cartoonishly effective criminals and the enemies of El Kabong.


title: The Banana Splits

text: On September 21, 2009, Warner Home Video released the complete first season on DVD in Region 2. The six-disc set consists of 36 edited half-hour episodes of "The Banana Splits and Friends Show" as aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. The series was also released on VHS.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey ( Pridgett; April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939) was an American blues singer and influential early blues recording artist. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of southern blues, influencing a generation of blues singers.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Gertrude Pridgett began performing as a teenager and became known as "Ma" Rainey after her marriage to Will "Pa" Rainey in 1904. They toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and later formed their own group, "Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues". Her first recording was made in 1923. In the following five years, she made over 100 recordings, including "Bo-Weevil Blues" (1923), "Moonshine Blues" (1923), "See See Rider Blues" (1925), "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (1927), and "Soon This Morning" (1927).


title: Ma Rainey

text: Rainey was known for her powerful vocal abilities, energetic disposition, majestic phrasing, and a "moaning" style of singing. Her qualities are present and most evident in her early recordings "Bo-Weevil Blues" and "Moonshine Blues".


title: Ma Rainey

text: Rainey recorded with Thomas Dorsey, Tampa Red, and Louis Armstrong, and she toured and recorded with the Georgia Jazz Band. Touring until 1935, she then largely retired from performing and continued as a theater impresario in her hometown of Columbus, Georgia, until her death four years later.


title: Ma Rainey

text: There is uncertainty about the birth date of Gertrude Pridgett. Some sources indicate that she was born in 1882, while most sources assert that she was born on April 26, 1886. Pridgett claimed to have been born on April 26, 1886 (beginning with the 1910 census, taken April 25, 1910), in Columbus, Georgia. However, the 1900 census indicates that she was born in September 1882 in Alabama, and researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc suggest that her birthplace was in Russell County, Alabama. She was the second of five children of Thomas and Ella (née Allen) Pridgett, from Alabama. She had at least two brothers and a sister, Malissa Pridgett Nix.


title: Ma Rainey

text: In February 1904, Ma Rainey married William "Pa" Rainey. She took on the stage name "Ma Rainey", which was "a play on her husband's nickname, 'Pa.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Pridgett began her career as a performer at a talent show in Columbus, Georgia, when she was approximately 12 to 14 years old. A member of the First African Baptist Church, she began performing in black minstrel shows. She later claimed that she was first exposed to blues music around 1902. She formed the Alabama Fun Makers Company with her husband, Will Rainey, but in 1906 they both joined Pat Chappelle's much larger and more popular Rabbit's Foot Company, where they were billed together as "Black Face Song and Dance Comedians, Jubilee Singers [and] Cake Walkers". In 1910, she was described as "Mrs. Gertrude Rainey, our coon shouter". She continued with the Rabbit's Foot Company after it was taken over by a new owner, F. S. Wolcott, in 1912.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Rainey said she found "Blues Music" when she was in Missouri one night performing, and a girl introduced her to a sad song about a man leaving a woman. Rainey said she learned the lyrics of the song and added it to her performances.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Beginning in 1914, the Raineys were billed as "Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues". Wintering in New Orleans, she met numerous musicians, including Joe "King" Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet and Pops Foster. As the popularity of blues music increased, she became well known. Around this time, she met Bessie Smith, a young blues singer who was also making a name for herself. A story later developed that Rainey kidnapped Smith, forced her to join the Rabbit's Foot Minstrels, and taught her to sing the blues; the story was disputed by Smith's sister-in-law Maud Smith.


title: Ma Rainey

text: From the late 1910s, there was an increasing demand for recordings by black musicians. In 1920, Mamie Smith was the first black woman to be recorded. In 1923, Rainey was discovered by Paramount Records producer J. Mayo Williams. She signed a recording contract with Paramount, and in December she made her first eight recordings in Chicago, including "Bad Luck Blues", "Bo-Weevil Blues" and "Moonshine Blues". She made more than 100 other recordings over the next five years, which brought her fame beyond the South. Paramount marketed her extensively, calling her the "Mother of the Blues", the "Songbird of the South", the "Gold-Neck Woman of the Blues" and the "Paramount Wildcat".


title: Ma Rainey

text: In 1924, Rainey recorded with Louis Armstrong, including on "Jelly Bean Blues", "Countin' the Blues" and "See, See Rider". In the same year, she embarked on a tour of the Theater Owners Booking Association (TOBA) in the South and Midwest of the United States, singing for black and white audiences. She was accompanied by the bandleader and pianist Thomas Dorsey and the band he assembled, the Wildcats Jazz Band. They began their tour with an appearance in Chicago in April 1924 and continued, on and off, until 1928. Dorsey left the group in 1926 because of ill health and was replaced as pianist by Lillian Hardaway Henderson, the wife of Rainey's cornetist Fuller Henderson, who became the band's leader.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Although most of Rainey's songs that mention sexuality refer to love affairs with men, some of her lyrics contain references to lesbianism or bisexuality, such as the 1928 song "Prove It on Me":


title: Ma Rainey

text: According to the website queerculturalcenter.org, the lyrics refer to an incident in 1925 in which Rainey was "arrested for taking part in an orgy at [her] home involving women in her chorus". The political activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis noted that Prove It on Me' is a cultural precursor to the lesbian cultural movement of the 1970s, which began to crystallize around the performance and recording of lesbian-affirming songs." At the time, an ad for the song embraced the genderbending outlined in the lyrics and featured Rainey in a three-piece suit, mingling with women while a police officer lurks nearby.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Unlike many blues singers of her day, Rainey wrote at least a third of the songs she sang including many of her most famous works such as "Moonshine Blues" and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" which would become standards of the "classic blues" genre.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Throughout the 1920s, Ma Rainey had a reputation for being one of the most dynamic performers in the United States due in large part to her songwriting, showmanship and voice. She and her band could fetch earnings of $350 a week on tour with the Theater Owners' Booking Association, which was double that of Bessie Brown and George Williams while a little over half what Bessie Smith would ultimately command.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Toward the end of the 1920s, live vaudeville went into decline, being replaced by radio and recordings. Rainey's career was not immediately affected; she continued recording for Paramount and earned enough money from touring to buy a bus with her name on it. In 1928, she worked with Dorsey again and recorded 20 songs, before Paramount terminated her contract. Her style of blues was no longer considered fashionable by the label. It is unclear if she maintained the royalties to her songs after she was fired from Paramount.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Ma Rainey and Pa Rainey adopted a son named Danny who later joined his parents' musical act. Rainey developed a relationship with Bessie Smith. They became so close that rumors circulated that their relationship was possibly also romantic in nature. It was also rumored that Smith once bailed Ma Rainey out of jail.


title: Ma Rainey

text: In 1935, Rainey returned to her home town, Columbus, Georgia, and became the proprietress of three theaters, the Liberty in Columbus, and the Lyric and the Airdrome in Rome, Georgia, until her death. She died of a heart attack in 1939.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Ma Rainey created what is now known as "classic blues" while also portraying black life like never before. As a musical innovator she built on the minstrelsy and vaudeville performative traditions with comedic timing and a hybrid of American blues traditions she encountered in her vast tours across the country. She helped to pioneer a genre that appealed to North and South, rural and urban audiences.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Her signature low and gravelly voice sung with Rainey's gusto and authoritative style inspired imitators from Louis Armstrong, Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt among others.


title: Ma Rainey

text: In her lyrics, Rainey portrayed the black female experience like few others of the time reflecting a wide range of emotions and experiences. In her 1999 book "Blues Legacies and Black Feminism", Angela Davis wrote that Rainey's songs are full of women who "explicitly celebrate their right to conduct themselves as expansively and even as undesirably as men". In her songs, she and other black women sleep around for revenge, drink and party all night and generally live lives that "transgressed these ideas of white middle class female respectability". The portrayals of black female sexuality, including those bucking heteronormative standards, fought ideas of what a woman should be and inspired Alice Walker in developing her characters for "The Color Purple". Bragging about sexual escapades was popular in men's songs at the time but her use of these themes in her works established her as both fiercely independent and fearless and many have drawn connections between her use of these themes and their modern use in Hip-Hop.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Rainey was also a fashion icon who pioneered flashy, expensive costuming in her performances, wearing ostrich plumes, satin gowns, sequins, gold necklaces, diamond tiaras, and gold teeth.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Rainey was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1994, the U.S. Post Office issued a 29-cent commemorative postage stamp honoring her. In 2004, "See See Rider Blues" (performed in 1924) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and was added to the National Recording Registry by the National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress.


title: Ma Rainey

text: There was also a small museum opened in Columbus in 2007 to honor Ma Rainey's legacy. It is in the very house that she had built for her mother and later lived in from 1935 until her death in 1939.


title: Ma Rainey

text: The first annual Ma Rainey International Blues Festival was held in April 2016 in Columbus, Georgia, near the home that Rainey owned and lived in at the time of her death. In 2017, the Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts opened in Columbus, Georgia, named in honor of Rainey and author Carson McCullers.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Sterling A. Brown wrote the poem "Ma Rainey" in 1932, about how "When Ma Rainey / comes to town" people everywhere would hear her sing. In 1981, Sandra Lieb wrote the first full-length book about Rainey, "Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey".


title: Ma Rainey

text: "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", a 1982 play by August Wilson, is a fictionalized account of a recording of her song of the same title set in 1927. Theresa Merritt and Whoopi Goldberg starred as Rainey in the Original and Revival Broadway productions, respectively. Viola Davis portrayed Rainey in the 2020 film adaptation of the play and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.


title: Ma Rainey

text: Mo'Nique played Rainey in the 2015 television film "Bessie" about the life of Bessie Smith, for which she earned a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.


title: Batman: Soul of the Dragon

text: Batman: Soul of the Dragon is a 2021 American animated superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. It is the 40th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. The film is directed by Sam Liu and executive produced by Bruce Timm featuring an original story not based on any comic. It features the voices of David Giuntoli as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Mark Dacascos as Richard Dragon, Kelly Hu as Lady Shiva, Michael Jai White as Ben Turner / Bronze Tiger, James Hong as O-Sensei, Jamie Chung as Jade Nguyen and Josh Keaton as Jeffrey Burr.


title: Batman: Soul of the Dragon

text: In Bruce Wayne's younger years, while training himself to become a vigilante crime-fighter, he travels to Nanda Parbat, a secret monastery in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, where he meets its caretaker, O-Sensei, and five other students training in the martial arts; Shiva, Richard Dragon, Jade, Ben Turner and Rip Jagger. O-Sensei eventually entrusts Shiva with Soul Breaker, a Muramasa sword in his possession, but otherwise remains secretive about a certain door at the monastery's outer perimeter. One night, Rip penetrates the forbidden door and kills Jade with Soul Breaker, which is the key to a mystical gate O-Sensei was guarding. This gate opens to the home dimension of the serpent god Nāga; four of his servants emerge and devour Rip before turning on O-Sensei and his students. Bruce and the others kill the demons, but to close the gate, O-Sensei sacrifices himself by entering Nāga's realm. The chamber then collapses, leaving only the gate intact.


title: Batman: Soul of the Dragon

text: Years later, Richard discovers that millionaire Jeffrey Burr, leader of a dangerous snake cult named Kobra, has gained possession of the gate. Richard travels to Gotham City to ask Bruce for help, but they are attacked by a gang hired by Burr's chief killer Schlangenfaust. During this fight, Richard learns that Bruce is Batman and that Schlangenfaust is looking for Soul Breaker. They head for Gotham Chinatown to inform Shiva, the resident crime lord, but the cultists attack them there and Schlangenfaust uses the distraction to steal the sword. Needing assistance, the three recruit Ben, and together they track the cult to a heavily fortified island where the cult has taken the gate and are preparing to open it by sacrificing several kidnapped children to Soul Breaker. They also learn from Ben that years ago he had tracked Kobra after discovering that Rip was one of their members and that he learned that due to an obscure prophecy, Burr means to become Nāga's earthly avatar.


title: Batman: Soul of the Dragon

text: Arriving by plane, Batman, Richard, Shiva and Ben parachute down and penetrate Kobra's defenses through a set of catacombs. However, they encounter Schlangenfaust, who is revealed as one of Nāga's demonic servants. While Batman and Ben battle Schlangenfaust, Richard and Shiva prevent the sacrifice of the children and engage the cult members. Vanquishing their opponents, they corner Burr at the gate, but Burr turns Soul Breaker against himself, opening the doorway. Nāga emerges, having possessed O-Sensei's body, and swiftly overwhelms the companions. Nāga reveals that Richard is his actual destined host and tries to seduce him with promises of power, but Richard refuses and, with some help from Batman, uses Soul Breaker to banish him by stabbing O-Sensei.


title: Batman: Soul of the Dragon

text: Freed from Nāga's domination, O-Sensei bids his students farewell before dying in their arms. In order to close the gate forever, Batman enters Nāga's dimension wielding Soul Breaker, but Richard, Shiva and Ben willingly follow him. Once the gate has closed, the four prepare for battle against Nāga and his demon horde.


title: Batman: Soul of the Dragon

text: The film was announced on August 13, 2020, along with the film's voice cast. It features an original story set in the 1970s.


title: Batman: Soul of the Dragon

text: The film was released on digital platforms on January 12, 2021, and was also released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 26, 2021.


title: Batman: Soul of the Dragon

text: The film was well received by critics. Based on reviews collected on Rotten Tomatoes, of critics have given the film a positive review. DVD Talk rated the film as 3 stars of 5 stars as "Recommended".


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: Victor Jörgen Nilsson Lindelöf (born 17 July 1994) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Manchester United and captains the Sweden national team. Mainly a centre-back, he can also play as a right-back.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: Lindelöf began his career in Sweden at Västerås SK, making his debut in October 2009. In December 2011, he agreed to move to Benfica in Portugal, initially representing the club at youth and B levels. After making his first-team debut in September 2013, he continued to appear for the club at B level, while also winning three Primeira Liga titles. He joined Manchester United in July 2017.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: Lindelöf has represented Sweden at under-17, under-19, under-21, and senior levels. He was inside the winning squad of the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He made his senior international debut in March 2016 and represented his country at UEFA Euro 2016, the 2018 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2020.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: Lindelöf played for numerous Västerås-based clubs in his youth such as IK Franke, Västerås IK and Västerås SK.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: In October 2009, at the age of 15, Lindelöf made his first-team debut for Västerås SK, when the team beat BK Forward 3–0 in the last round of the 2009 Division 1 Norra season. In the following season, he helped his team advance a step higher in the Swedish league system, as they were promoted to the second highest league. In 2011, he travelled to England to have a trial with Stoke City, but they did not make an offer for him.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: On 1 December 2011, Lindelöf agreed to join Portuguese club Benfica in the summer of 2012, and on 8 June 2015, the contract was extended until 2020. In the 2012–13 season, he played for the youth team and won the Portuguese under-19 championship. On 19 October 2013, he debuted for the first-team in a 1–0 Portuguese Cup win against CD Cinfães, playing the full match. In the 2013–14 season, he scored 2 goals in 33 matches for the reserve team.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: In the 2015–16 season, he returned to the first-team in a 1–0 win against Nacional in the Taça da Liga. On 16 February 2016, he played the entire match for Benfica in a 1–0 home win against Zenit Saint Petersburg in the first leg of UEFA Champions League's round of 16. Four days later, he scored his first goal for Benfica, in a 3–1 Primeira Liga victory at Paços de Ferreira. On 28 May 2017, he played in the Taça de Portugal final, which Benfica won over Vitória de Guimarães (2–1). By the time he was leaving Benfica he had won three Primeira Liga titles, two Taça de Portugal titles and one Taça da Liga title.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: On 10 June 2017, Manchester United announced that they had agreed a deal with Benfica to sign Lindelöf for a fee of €35 million (with a potential €10 million in add-ons), pending the agreement of personal terms and the player passing a medical. Lindelöf passed his medical at the Trafford Training Centre on 14 June, with the Swede signing a four-year contract with the option of an extra year; Manchester United announced that the contract would begin on 1 July.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: He made his official debut for the club against Real Madrid in the 2017 UEFA Super Cup; however, it was more than two months before his Premier League debut, brought on during added time against Liverpool on 14 October. He was limited to just 17 premier league matches, starting 13 of them, due to Jose Mourinho's preference of playing a defensive partnership of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: In the 2018–19 season, Lindelöf became Mourinho's preferred centre-back and was playing more often than he did in the previous season. He played the full 90 minutes in the first match of the season on 11 August 2019 against Leicester City, which ended in a 2–1 home win. He further went on to start in 11 out of 13 league matches before Jose Mourinho was sacked in December 2018 and replaced with Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Lindelöf scored his first goal for Manchester United on 29 January 2019, scoring their second goal in a 2–2 league draw at home to Burnley.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: In September 2019, Lindelöf signed a new contract until 2024, with the option of a further year. On 1 December 2019, he played 90 minutes and scored his only goal in the season in a league match against Aston Villa that ended 2–2 draw. He ended the season making 35 appearances and scoring one goal in the league, the third most in league appearances within the club that season coming behind Harry Maguire and David de Gea who both played all 38 matches, forming a defensive partnership with Maguire in the process.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: On 20 December 2020, Lindelöf scored his first goal of the 2020–21 season in a 6–2 home win against Leeds United. He played the full 90 minutes on 2 February 2021 in Manchester United's Premier League record-equalling 9–0 home win against Southampton. On 26 May 2021, he played the full 120 minutes as Manchester United lost in the 2021 UEFA Europa League Final to Villarreal after a 10–11 penalty shoot-out in which Lindelöf scored United's 10th penalty kick.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: Lindelöf made his debut for the under-21 team on 14 October 2014, in the second leg of the qualification play-offs against France.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: Although Lindelöf was not named in the final squad for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, on 15 June 2015 he replaced defender Emil Krafth who was ruled out of the tournament after a back injury. He made his debut in the tournament in the first game against Italy. On 30 June 2015 he successfully converted Sweden's fifth and last penalty against Portugal in a 4–3 penalty shoot-out victory in the final to become European under-21 champion. He was named in the Team of the Tournament.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: Lindelöf received his first call up to the senior Sweden squad in March 2016 for friendlies against Turkey and Czech Republic. He debuted for the country in a 2–1 away loss to Turkey on 24 March 2016.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: He was selected in Sweden's squad for UEFA Euro 2016 in France, where he started all three of their group games, although Sweden failed to progress to the round of 16. Lindelöf was also selected in Sweden's 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but was prevented from participating in the tournament by his club Benfica, who believed that the involvement of their players in the Olympics would harm their chances for the following season.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: Lindelöf scored his first international goal for Sweden in a 3–0 win over Bulgaria in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier at Friends Arena in Stockholm on 10 October 2016.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: In May 2018, he was named in Sweden's 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup in Russia. Lindelöf missed the first game against South Korea due to illness, but was a regular starter in defense alongside fellow centre-back Andreas Granqvist for the remainder of the tournament. Lindelöf and Sweden were eliminated in the quarter final against England.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: In March 2019, Lindelöf was called up for Sweden's UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Romania and Norway. However, he chose to withdraw from the squad, citing personal reasons, namely the birth of his first child. He was replaced by Anton Tinnerholm.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: He represented Sweden at UEFA Euro 2020, and appeared in all four games as Sweden reached the round of 16 before being eliminated by Ukraine.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: On 11 August 2021, Lindelöf was named Andreas Granqvist's successor as captain by Sweden coach Janne Andersson following Granqvist's retirement after Euro 2020.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: Following his move to Manchester United in 2017, Lindelöf announced his engagement to his long-time girlfriend Maja Nilsson. They got married at the end of May 2018, in Sweden. In March 2019, their first child was born.


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: While in his home city in August 2020, Lindelöf witnessed the robbery of a 90-year-old woman by a man on a bike; Lindelöf chased the thief on foot and managed to catch him, holding him until the police arrived. The police later thanked Lindelöf for his "quick and wise intervention".


title: Victor Lindelöf

text: In January 2022, while Lindelöf was playing the full 90 minutes against Brentford in a 3–1 win, his Manchester home was broken into by intruders whilst he was on the pitch. His wife and two children were at home but hid and were left unharmed.


title: Gerry Bertier

text: Gerry Bertier (, pronounced like "Gary"; August 20, 1953 – March 20, 1981) was a high school American football player and Paralympian. He became known for his participation on the 1971 Virginia State Champion football T. C. Williams High School team and their portrayal in the Disney film "Remember the Titans". He was the nephew of Howie Livingston. He also attended Northern Virginia Community College. After the conclusion of the 1971 season, Bertier was involved in an automobile crash that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Despite this injury, Bertier remained an active athlete, participating in the Paralympics and winning multiple medals, including a gold in shot-put. In 2006, Bertier's family started the " Bertier #42 Foundation," dedicated to raising money for research on spinal cord injuries. There is also a gymnasium at T. C. Williams which bears his name.


title: Gerry Bertier

text: Bertier's parents divorced when he was around age eight and he was raised primarily by his mother, until she was remarried to Robert Agnew. As a child and young man, Bertier was described as an amiable, goal-oriented individual. Growing up, Bertier frequently discussed his lifetime goal of winning a gold medal in the Olympics, and as an active participant in various athletics, seemed to be on track for this goal.


title: Gerry Bertier

text: Bertier began his high school career at Hammond High School and joined the football team. He became a key player, soon becoming the backbone of the defense. As a sophomore, he was starting linebacker, a position for which he won many honors. However, he was only able to play three seasons, when Hammond H.S. was merged with two other Alexandria high schools to form T.C. Williams High School. The consolidation meant there were many new faces on the football team as well as on the coaching staff, which caused racial tension between team members. This new mixture of Titans was forced to come together as a single successful team, dealing with the issue of racial prejudice, a difficult battle for many members of the team. As a captain, Bertier, along with friend and teammate defensive end Julius Campbell, supported their teammates through this time of struggle. Even though the team was still struggling with prejudice as the season opener rolled around, the strife was not evident in the way the T.C. Titans began the 1971 season. The Titans went 13–0, including nine shutouts, and went on to win the Virginia State Championship. During the Titans' undefeated season, they also outscored their opponents by a 357-45 margin. Bertier's stats during the season included 142 tackles and 42 sacks. Bertier was named team Defensive Most Valuable Player. He was named National Prep School Football Player of the Year and received First Team All-Region, All-State, and All-American honors. As he prepared to move to the next level, Bertier received many football scholarships offers from prominent colleges like Notre Dame and University of Alabama.


title: Gerry Bertier

text: On December 11, 1971, Bertier had been at a banquet honoring the players of the 1971 T.C. Williams Titans football team for their undefeated season. After the banquet, Bertier borrowed his mother's new 1971 Chevrolet Camaro. Bertier lost control of the Camaro and crashed. He was moved to the operating room when he was stabilized. Although doctors tried to relieve pressure on his spine to help him regain some feeling, it was unsuccessful. Bertier coordinated with junior colleges in Alexandria to set up a "Walk for Mankind," and he encouraged students, adults, company executives to donate. Bertier occasionally met with others who survived similar injuries, helping them with their rehabilitation. Outside of his hometown, he made speeches across the country for rights for the disabled. He addressed subjects such as making buildings accessible to disabled people. Bertier worked for Abbey Medical selling medical equipment to disabled people, a position which allowed him to attend wheelchair sporting events held nationally.


title: Gerry Bertier

text: After Bertier recuperated from his injuries, he once again became a competitive athlete. According to his sister, Becky Britt, "During Gerry's childhood he had mentioned being in the Olympics. His long-term goal was to receive a gold medal." He decided to occupy himself in Wheelchair Track and Field, the Wheelchair Basketball League, and the United States Paralympics, setting state and national records. He was coached throughout his life by Bill Yoast, winning a gold medal in the shot put.


title: Gerry Bertier

text: On March 20, 1981, Bertier was critically injured in a car crash while returning home from a business trip. Driving alone, his southbound 1980 Oldsmobile collided with a northbound car, which crossed over the center line on Route 20 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Bertier died afterwards from his injuries in the University of Virginia hospital. A man from Schuyler, Virginia was charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol in connection with the accident.


title: Gerry Bertier

text: Bertier was portrayed in the Disney film "Remember the Titans" by actor Ryan Hurst. While some elements of the film have a historical basis, there are certain aspects of Bertier's portrayal that are not completely factual. The crash that left him paralyzed happened after the State Championship game, on the night of a banquet celebrating the team's success, rather than a few days before the final game. The name of Bertier's girlfriend and Bertier and Campbell's relationship, for example, were misrepresented. Bertier's on-the-field portrayal in the film, however, is almost entirely correct. As the team's defensive captain, Bertier was a dominating force on the linebacking corps and received All-American honors following the team's championship season. Although heralded as an exceptional leader on and off the football field, Bertier's duties never included cutting fellow players from the team as he was shown doing in the film.


title: Gerry Bertier

text: After becoming paralyzed, Bertier became very active in assisting other survivors of spinal cord injuries. Bertier frequented the spinal cord injury wards of local hospitals to help them with their acceptance of the injury and eventually their rehabilitation. After Bertier died in 1981, his sister, Becky Britt, decided to continue his legacy. In 2006, she created the " Bertier #42 Foundation", to build upon Bertier's tradition of helping survivors of spinal cord injuries. The foundation is dedicated to raising money for the research of spinal cord injuries and works with the Virginia Commonwealth University to host annual fundraising golf tournaments. These tournaments draw the support of many Virginia residents, including several members of the 1971 T.C. Williams championship team. The second annual tournament was held September 29, 2007, at the Cannon Ridge Golf Club of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Proceeds were donated to the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation and Research Center of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (VCUHS). The 2007 tournament raised approximately $20,000 for donation to the VCUHS.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: In statistics, Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods comprise a class of algorithms for sampling from a probability distribution. By constructing a Markov chain that has the desired distribution as its equilibrium distribution, one can obtain a sample of the desired distribution by recording states from the chain. The more steps that are included, the more closely the distribution of the sample matches the actual desired distribution. Various algorithms exist for constructing chains, including the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: MCMC methods are primarily used for calculating numerical approximations of multi-dimensional integrals, for example in Bayesian statistics, computational physics, computational biology and computational linguistics.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: In Bayesian statistics, the recent development of MCMC methods has made it possible to compute large hierarchical models that require integrations over hundreds to thousands of unknown parameters.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: In rare event sampling, they are also used for generating samples that gradually populate the rare failure region.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: Markov chain Monte Carlo methods create samples from a continuous random variable, with probability density proportional to a known function. These samples can be used to evaluate an integral over that variable, as its expected value or variance.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: Practically, an ensemble of chains is generally developed, starting from a set of points arbitrarily chosen and sufficiently distant from each other. These chains are stochastic processes of "walkers" which move around randomly according to an algorithm that looks for places with a reasonably high contribution to the integral to move into next, assigning them higher probabilities.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: Random walk Monte Carlo methods are a kind of random simulation or Monte Carlo method. However, whereas the random samples of the integrand used in a conventional Monte Carlo integration are statistically independent, those used in MCMC are autocorrelated. Correlations of samples introduces the need to use the Markov chain central limit theorem when estimating the error of mean values.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: These algorithms create Markov chains such that they have an equilibrium distribution which is proportional to the function given.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: While MCMC methods were created to address multi-dimensional problems better than generic Monte Carlo algorithms, when the number of dimensions rises they too tend to suffer the curse of dimensionality: regions of higher probability tend to stretch and get lost in an increasing volume of space that contributes little to the integral. One way to address this problem could be shortening the steps of the walker, so that it doesn't continuously try to exit the highest probability region, though this way the process would be highly autocorrelated and expensive (i.e. many steps would be required for an accurate result). More sophisticated methods such as Hamiltonian Monte Carlo and the Wang and Landau algorithm use various ways of reducing this autocorrelation, while managing to keep the process in the regions that give a higher contribution to the integral. These algorithms usually rely on a more complicated theory and are harder to implement, but they usually converge faster.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: Interacting MCMC methodologies are a class of mean-field particle methods for obtaining random samples from a sequence of probability distributions with an increasing level of sampling complexity. These probabilistic models include path space state models with increasing time horizon, posterior distributions w.r.t. sequence of partial observations, increasing constraint level sets for conditional distributions, decreasing temperature schedules associated with some Boltzmann–Gibbs distributions, and many others. In principle, any Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler can be turned into an interacting Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler. These interacting Markov chain Monte Carlo samplers can be interpreted as a way to run in parallel a sequence of Markov chain Monte Carlo samplers. For instance, interacting simulated annealing algorithms are based on independent Metropolis–Hastings moves interacting sequentially with a selection-resampling type mechanism. In contrast to traditional Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, the precision parameter of this class of interacting Markov chain Monte Carlo samplers is "only" related to the number of interacting Markov chain Monte Carlo samplers. These advanced particle methodologies belong to the class of Feynman–Kac particle models, also called Sequential Monte Carlo or particle filter methods in Bayesian inference and signal processing communities. Interacting Markov chain Monte Carlo methods can also be interpreted as a mutation-selection genetic particle algorithm with Markov chain Monte Carlo mutations.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: The advantage of low-discrepancy sequences in lieu of random numbers for simple independent Monte Carlo sampling is well known. This procedure, known as Quasi-Monte Carlo method (QMC), yields an integration error that decays at a superior rate to that obtained by IID sampling, by the Koksma-Hlawka inequality. Empirically it allows the reduction of both estimation error and convergence time by an order of magnitude. The Array-RQMC method combines randomized quasi–Monte Carlo and Markov chain simulation by simulating formula_1 chains simultaneously in a way that the empirical distribution of the formula_1 states at any given step is a better approximation of the true distribution of the chain than with ordinary MCMC. In empirical experiments, the variance of the average of a function of the state sometimes converges at rate formula_3 or even faster, instead of the formula_4 Monte Carlo rate.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: Usually it is not hard to construct a Markov chain with the desired properties. The more difficult problem is to determine how many steps are needed to converge to the stationary distribution within an acceptable error. A good chain will have rapid mixing: the stationary distribution is reached quickly starting from an arbitrary position. A standard empirical method to assess convergence is to run several independent simulated Markov chains and check that the ratio of inter-chain to intra-chain variances for all the parameters sampled is close to 1.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: Typically, Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling can only approximate the target distribution, as there is always some residual effect of the starting position. More sophisticated Markov chain Monte Carlo-based algorithms such as coupling from the past can produce exact samples, at the cost of additional computation and an unbounded (though finite in expectation) running time.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: Many random walk Monte Carlo methods move around the equilibrium distribution in relatively small steps, with no tendency for the steps to proceed in the same direction. These methods are easy to implement and analyze, but unfortunately it can take a long time for the walker to explore all of the space. The walker will often double back and cover ground already covered.


title: Markov chain Monte Carlo

text: Further consideration of convergence is at Markov chain central limit theorem. See for a discussion of the theory related to convergence and stationarity of the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm.


title: Nouman Ali Khan

text: Nouman Ali Khan is a Pakistani-American Islamic speaker and Arabic instructor who founded the Bayyinah Institute for Arabic and Qur’anic Studies after serving as an instructor of Arabic at Nassau Community College. He has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan.


title: Nouman Ali Khan

text: Khan was born 4 May 1978, in Germany to a Pakistani family and spent his preschool years in the former East Berlin. His father then worked for the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Khan attended the Pakistan Embassy school from grades 2 to 8. His father moved the family to New York when Khan was in his teens.


title: Nouman Ali Khan

text: In September 2017, Khan was involved in a sexting scandal and accused of spiritual abuse and "luring women into sexual relationships disguised as secret marriages". Khan responded that the leaked text conversations were "between consenting adults" and that the women were marriage prospects, noting that he had been divorced for two years.


title: Nouman Ali Khan

text: Six eminent Muslim clerics and academics, led by imam Mohamed Magid, began their own inquiry into the allegations and released a joint statement, asserting that Khan "had engaged in conduct unbecoming of any believer, much less someone who teaches about the Holy Qur’an." Khan had attempted to prevent the release of the statement.


title: Givenchy

text: Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Prêt-à-Porter. It is currently owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH.


title: Givenchy

text: From 2 May 2017 until 10 April 2020, its artistic director was Clare Waight Keller, the first woman to hold that position.


title: Givenchy

text: In 1952, Hubert de Givenchy founded his own luxury house and launched a new collection "Les Séparables" with some floaty skirts and puffy blouses made from raw cotton.


title: Givenchy

text: Givenchy achieved critical acclaim with Vogue magazine praising his "wonderful first collection" 14. The collection included the "Bettina Blouse" a white shirt named in honour of Bettina Graziani, which was then painted in one of René Gruau's works.


title: Givenchy

text: "The New York Times" magazine published an article entitled "A Star Is Born" and l’Album du Figaro also wrote a feature stating that "In one night, Hubert de Givenchy became one of fashion’s most famous children with his first collection."


title: Givenchy

text: In terms of innovation, he used 'shirting', a raw cotton similar to pattern paper, to create his chic and casual collections.


title: Givenchy

text: In 1954, Hubert de Givenchy presented the first shirt dress (which later evolved in to a sack dress in 1957). He was the first high fashion designer to create a luxury ready-to-wear clothing line, called "Givenchy Université", which was produced in Paris using machinery imported from the United States.


title: Givenchy

text: In 1956, both Cristóbal Balenciaga and Hubert de Givenchy presented their collection in New York during a charity gala in aid of the American hospital in Paris.


title: Givenchy

text: In 1969, Hubert de Givenchy launched his fashion line for men, "Gentleman Givenchy". The boutique was opened in November on Avenue George V.


title: Givenchy

text: On the advice of Cristóbal Balenciaga, Givenchy developed his licences in the 1970s, in order to protect the Haute Couture collections.


title: Givenchy

text: During this period, the House of Givenchy diversified its activities to create shoes, jewellery, ties, tableware, upholstery and kimono. Hubert de Givenchy was chosen to design the interior of Hilton hotels around the world, and even a car (the Continental Mark V).


title: Givenchy

text: Hubert de Givenchy was elected the personality of the year 1979 and the most elegant man of the year by The Best Magazine.


title: Givenchy

text: In 1982, a retrospective presided by Audrey Hepburn was organized by the Fashion Institute of Technology of New York.


title: Givenchy

text: The following year Hubert de Givenchy was named « chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur » and in 1985, Jacques Lang, the French minister of the Culture, gave him the Oscar dedicated to the art of elegance during a celebration at the Opera in Paris.


title: Givenchy

text: Hubert de Givenchy left the company in 1995. He was succeeded by a variety of young British creators including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Julien MacDonald.


title: Givenchy

text: The reins for both collections were passed on to Riccardo Tisci in 2005 when he was named artistic director of womenswear. Riccardo Tisci has proposed to the House his own style and influences. By changing the house codes, Riccardo Tisci adds some dark and sensual romanticism touch.


title: Givenchy

text: Philippe Fortunato, the former chief operating of LVMH Moet Hennessy Vuitton SA – China, is the current Chief Operating at Givenchy.


title: Givenchy

text: Givenchy designs have been worn by a number of celebrities on red carpet occasions, including Rooney Mara at the 2012 Academy awards. Also responsible for working with Madonna designing her costumes for her Sticky & Sweet tour as well as the 2012 Super Bowl Halftime Show.


title: Givenchy

text: In 2016, Tisci launched a sportswear collaboration with Nike called NikeLab x RT: Training Redefined aimed at Olympic athletes for the 2016 Summer Olympics as everyday gym users.


title: Givenchy

text: In February 2017, Riccardo Tisci announced that he would be leaving Givenchy, after twelve years working as the brands Creative Director.


title: Givenchy

text: The House of Givenchy announced the appointment of Clare Waight Keller as Artistic Director, effective 2 May 2017. Waight Keller took on all creative responsibilities, including Women’s and Men’s Ready-to-wear and accessories collections, as well as Haute Couture. Meghan Markle wore a gown from Claire Waight Keller at her wedding to Prince Harry on 19 May 2018.


title: Givenchy

text: After successfully running three consecutive combined shows under the assistance of Keller, the brand announced to bring back the menswear collection calendar for the autumn/winter 2019 season.


title: Givenchy

text: In June of 2020, Givenchy announced the hiring of Matthew Williams, a stylist and designer best known for co-founding the influential streetwear brand 1017 ALYX 9SM. Williams has brought an edgier aesthetic to Givenchy, and his work is often seen on celebrities such as Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. The commercial and critical response to his work at Givenchy has been mixed, with Carine Roitfeld saying she cannot identify the Givenchy woman; "it's not a strong DNA."


title: Givenchy

text: In 1953, Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy met by the intermediary of Gladys de Segonzac in a way to create her costumes for "Sabrina" by Billy Wilder. As Gladys de Segonzac had organized the meeting with 'Miss Hepburn', the fashion designer thought that he was going to receive Katharine Hepburn. Dressed in a pink and white gingham privateer, a T-shirt and a gondolier hat, the British actress received some prototypes of the future collection. Audrey Hepburn decided to wear Givenchy clothes on and off the screen, such as in "Sabrina" (1954), "Love in the Afternoon" (1957), "Funny Face" (1957), "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961), "Charade" (1963), "Paris When It Sizzles" (1963), "How to Steal a Million" (1965) and "Bloodline" (1979).


title: Givenchy

text: Givenchy attracted many other celebrities, including the likes of Lauren Bacall, Babe Paley, Michael Norman, Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlène Dietrich, Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, Beyoncé Knowles, Princess Grace of Monaco, Michèle Bennett, and even Wallis Simpson, for whom he created some special garment bags to keep the duchess’s orders from being viewed by other clients. The collection of attire (dress, coat, perfume, etc.) furnished for Simpson would later become known as 'blue Wallis'.


title: Givenchy

text: Today, Givenchy dresses many Hollywood stars, including Cate Blanchett, Emma Stone, Lady Gaga, Julianne Moore, Julia Roberts, Rooney Mara, and others. In May 2019, Givenchy confirmed that singer Ariana Grande would be the new face of its Fall and Winter campaign that was unveiled that July.


title: Givenchy

text: On February 10, 2021, K-pop group Aespa became global ambassadors for Givenchy. This made them first K-pop artists chosen as such by the French fashion house.


title: Givenchy

text: As of 2013, the company's operations were divided between: "Europe accounts for 42 percent of the business, China 18 percent, Asia-Pacific 14 percent, America 12 percent, the Middle East 7 percent, Japan 4 percent, and the rest of the world 3 percent."


title: Givenchy

text: The Fall 2010 collection from Givenchy and Riccardo Tisci featured a transgender person for the first time.


title: Electra

text: Electra (; ) is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies. She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, "Electra" by Sophocles and "Electra" by Euripides. She is also the central figure in plays by Aeschylus, Alfieri, Voltaire, Hofmannsthal, and Eugene O'Neill. She is a vengeful soul in "The Libation Bearers", the second play of Aeschylus' "Oresteia" trilogy. She plans out an attack with her brother to kill their mother, Clytemnestra.


title: Electra

text: Electra's parents were King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. Her sisters were Iphigeneia and Chrysothemis, and her brother was Orestes. In the "Iliad", Homer is understood to be referring to Electra in mentioning "Laodice" as a daughter of Agamemnon.


title: Electra

text: Electra was absent from Mycenae when her father, King Agamemnon, returned from the Trojan War. When he came back, he brought with him his war prize, the Trojan princess Cassandra, who had already borne him twin sons. Upon their arrival, Agamemnon and Cassandra were murdered, by either Clytemnestra herself, her lover Aegisthus, or both. Clytemnestra had held a grudge against her husband for sacrificing their eldest daughter, Iphigenia, to the goddess Artemis in exchange for a fair wind so that he could set sail for Troy. In some versions of this story, Iphigenia was saved by the goddess at the last moment.


title: Electra

text: Eight years later, Electra returned home from Athens at the same time as her brother, Orestes. ("Odyssey", iii. 306; X. 542). According to Pindar ("Pythia", xi. 25), Orestes was saved either by his old nurse or by Electra, and was taken to Phanote on Mount Parnassus, where King Strophius took charge of him. When Orestes was twenty, the Oracle of Delphi ordered him to return home and avenge his father's death.


title: Electra

text: According to Aeschylus, Orestes recognized Electra's face before the tomb of Agamemnon, where both had gone to perform rites to the dead, and they arranged how Orestes should accomplish his revenge. Orestes and his friend Pylades, son of King Strophius of Phocis and Anaxibia, killed Clytemnestra and Aegisthus (in some accounts with Electra helping).


title: Electra

text: Before her death, Clytemnestra cursed Orestes. The Erinyes or Furies, whose duty it is to punish any violation of the ties of family piety, fulfill this curse with their torment. They pursue Orestes, urging him to end his life. Electra was not hounded by the Erinyes.


title: Electra

text: In "Iphigeneia in Tauris", Euripides tells the tale somewhat differently. In his version, Orestes was led by the Furies to Tauris on the Black Sea, where his sister Iphigenia was being held. The two met when Orestes and Pylades were brought to Iphigenia to be prepared for sacrifice to Artemis. Iphigeneia, Orestes, and Pylades escaped from Tauris. The Furies, appeased by the reunion of the family, abated their persecution. Electra then married Pylades.


title: Benghazi

text: Benghazi () ("lit. Son of [the] Ghazi") is a city in Libya. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean, Benghazi is a major seaport and the second-most populous city in the country, as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 807,250 in 2020.


title: Benghazi

text: A Greek colony named Euesperides had existed in the area from around 525 BC. In the 3rd century BC, it was relocated and refounded as the Ptolemaic city of Berenice. Berenice prospered under the Romans, and after the 3rd century AD it superseded Cyrene and Barca as the centre of Cyrenaica. The city went into decline during the Byzantine period and had already been reduced to a small town before its conquest by the Arabs. In 1911, Italy captured Benghazi and the rest of Tripolitania from the Ottomans. Under Italian rule, Benghazi witnessed a period of extensive development and modernization, particularly in the second half of the 1930s. The city changed hands several times during World War II and was heavily damaged in the process. After the war Benghazi was rebuilt and became the co-capital of the newly independent Kingdom of Libya. Following the 1969 coup d'état by Muammar Gaddafi, Benghazi lost its capital status and all government offices relocated to Tripoli.


title: Benghazi

text: On 15 February 2011, an uprising against the government of Muammar Gaddafi occurred in the city. The revolts spread by 17 February to Bayda, Tobruk, Ajdabya, Al Marj in the East and Zintan, Zawiya in the West, calling for the end of the Gaddafi Regime. Benghazi was taken by Gaddafi opponents on 21 February, who founded the National Transitional Council. On 19 March 2011, the city was the site of the turning point of the Libyan Civil War, when the Libyan Army attempted to score a decisive victory against the NTC by attacking Benghazi, but was forced back by local resistance and intervention from the French Air Force authorized by UNSC Resolution 1973 to protect civilians, allowing the rebellion to continue.


title: Benghazi

text: Benghazi remains a centre of Libyan commerce, industry, transport and culture. It continues to hold institutions and organizations normally associated with a capital city, including several national government buildings as well as the National Library of Libya.


title: Benghazi

text: The ancient Greek city that existed within the modern day boundaries of Benghazi was founded around 525 BC; at the time, it was called Euesperides () and Hesperis ().


title: Benghazi

text: Euesperides was most likely founded by people from Cyrene or Barce, which was located on the edge of a lagoon which opened from the sea. At the time, this area may have been deep enough to receive small sailing vessels. The name was attributed to the fertility of the neighborhood, which gave rise to the mythological associations of the garden of the Hesperides. The ancient city existed on a raised piece of land opposite of what is now the Sidi-Abayd graveyard in the Northern Benghazi suburb of Sbikhat al-Salmani (al-Salmani Marsh).


title: Benghazi

text: The city is first mentioned by ancient sources in Herodotus' account of the revolt of Barca and the Persian expedition to Cyrenaica in c. 515 BC, where it is stated that the punitive force sent by the satrap of Egypt conquered Cyrenaica as far west as Euesperides. The oldest coins minted in the city date back to 480 BC. One side of those coins has an engraving of Delphi. The other side is an engraving of a silphium plant, once the symbol of trade from Cyrenaica because of its use as a rich seasoning and as a medicine. The coinage suggests that the city must have enjoyed some autonomy from Cyrene in the early 5th century BC, when the issues of Euesperides had their own types with the legend EU (ES), distinct from those of Cyrene.


title: Benghazi

text: The city was in hostile territory and was surrounded by inhospitable tribes. The Greek historian Thucydides mentions a siege of the city in 414 BC, by Libyans who were probably the Nasamones: Euesperides was saved by the unexpected arrival of the Spartan general Gylippus and his fleet, who were blown to Libya by contrary winds on their way to Sicily.


title: Benghazi

text: One of the Cyrenean kings whose fate is connected with the city is Arcesilaus IV. The king used his chariot victory at the Pythian Games of 462 BC to attract new settlers to Euesperides, where Arcesilaus hoped to create a safe refuge for himself against the resentment of the people of Cyrene. This proved ineffective, since when the king fled to Euesperides during the anticipated revolution (around 440 BC), he was assassinated, thus terminating the almost 200-year rule of the Battiad dynasty.


title: Benghazi

text: An inscription found there and dated around the middle of the 4th century BC states that the city had a constitution similar to that of Cyrene, with a board of chief magistrates ("ephors") and a council of elders ("gerontes"). Later in the 4th century BC, during the unsettled period which followed Alexander's death, the city backed the losing side in a revolt by the Spartan adventurer Thibron; trying to create an empire for himself, he was defeated by the Cyreneans and their allies.


title: Benghazi

text: After the marriage around the middle of the 3rd century BC of Ptolemy III to Berenice, daughter of the Cyrenean Governor Magas, many Cyrenaican cities were renamed to mark the occasion. Euesperides became Berenice and the change of name also involved a relocation. Its desertion was probably due to the silting up of the lagoons; Berenice, the place they moved to, lies underneath Benghazi's modern city centre. The Greek colony had lasted from the 6th to the mid-3rd centuries BC.


title: Benghazi

text: Modern Benghazi, on the Gulf of Sidra, lies a little southwest of the site of the ancient Greek city of "Berenice" or "Berenicis" or "Bernici". That city was traditionally founded in 446 BC (different sources give different dates like 347 BC or 249 BC), by a brother of the king of Cyrene, but got the name Berenice only when it was refounded in the 3rd century BC under the patronage of Berenice ("Berenike"), the daughter of Magas, king of Cyrene, and wife of Ptolemy III Euergetes, the ruler of Egypt. The new city was later given the name Hesperides, in reference to the Hesperides, the guardians of the mythic western paradise. The name may have also referred to green oases in low-lying areas in the nearby coastal plain.


title: Benghazi

text: Benghazi later became a Roman city and greatly prospered for 600 years. The city superseded Cyrene and Barca as the chief center of Cyrenaica after the 3rd century AD and during the Persian attacks; in 642–643 -when was conquered by the Arabs and partially destroyed- it had dwindled to an insignificant village among magnificent historic ruins.


title: Benghazi

text: In its more prosperous period, Berenice became a Christian bishopric. The first of its bishops whose name is recorded in extant documents is Ammon, to whom Dionysius of Alexandria wrote in about 260. Dathes was at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, and Probatius at a synod held in Constantinople in 394. No longer a residential bishopric, Berenice is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.


title: Benghazi

text: In the 13th century, the small settlement became an important player in the trade growing up between Genoese merchants and the tribes of the hinterland. In 16th century maps, the name of Marsa ibn Ghazi appears.


title: Benghazi

text: In 1578, the Turks conquered Benghazi and it was ruled from Tripoli by the Karamanlis from 1711 to 1835; it then passed under direct Ottoman rule until 1911. Greek and Italian sponge fishermen worked its coastal waters. In 1858, and again in 1874, Benghazi was devastated by bubonic plague.


title: Benghazi

text: In 1911, Benghazi was invaded and conquered by the Italians. Nearly half the local population of Cyrenaica under the leadership of Omar Mukhtar resisted the Italian occupation.


title: Benghazi

text: In the early 1930s, the revolt was over and the Italians—under governor Italo Balbo—started attempts to assimilate the local population with pacifying policies: a number of new villages for Cyrenaicans were created with health services and schools.


title: Benghazi

text: Additionally Cyrenaica was populated by more than 20,000 Italian colonists in the late 1930s, mainly around the coast of Benghazi. Benghazi population was made up of more than 35 per cent of Italians in 1939.


title: Benghazi

text: As a consequence, there was in Cyrenaica and mostly in Benghazi a huge economic development in the second half of the 1930s. Benghazi grew to be a modern city with a new airport, new railway station, new seaplane station, an enlarged port and many facilities. Benghazi was going to be connected in 1940 by a new railway to Tripoli, but in summer of that year war started between Italians and British and infrastructure development came to a standstill.


title: Benghazi

text: In World War II Benghazi changed hands several times. During Operation Compass the city was captured from the Italians by Combe Force on 6 February 1941.


title: Benghazi

text: Benghazi was recaptured by Axis powers, led by general Erwin Rommel of the German Africa Corps, on 4 April.


title: Benghazi

text: It was taken again during Operation Crusader by the British on 24 December only to change hands again on 29 January 1942 in the Rommel Afrika Corps' push to Egypt.


title: Benghazi

text: During the fateful Battle of El Alamein– from Alexandria, Egypt–British troops led by general Bernard Montgomery again defeated the Afrika Corps which then made a long steady retreat westward passing through Benghazi for the final time. On 20 November, Benghazi was captured by the British Eighth Army and thereafter held by the British.


title: Benghazi

text: In August 1943 from Benina airport of Benghazi started the US attack on the Ploiești oil refineries with 178 B-24 bombers (called Operation Tidal Wave), after an Italian "Arditi" paratroopers attack that destroyed some Allied aircraft in June 1943.


title: Benghazi

text: Heavily bombed in World War II, Benghazi was later rebuilt with the country's newly found oil wealth as a gleaming showpiece of modern Libya. It became the capital city of Emirate of Cyrenaica (1949–1951) under Idris Senussi I. In 1951, Cyrenaica was merged with Tripolitania and Fezzan to form the independent Kingdom of Libya, of which both Benghazi and Tripoli were capital cities.


title: Benghazi

text: Benghazi lost its capital status when the Free Officers under the leadership of Muammar Gaddafi staged a "coup d'état" in 1969, whereafter all government institutions were concentrated in Tripoli, Even though King Idris was forced into exile and the monarchy abolished, support for the Senussi dynasty remained strong in Cyrenaica. This was emphasized by real or perceived injustices from the government towards the people of Benghazi, including the demolition in the year 2000 of the arena of football club Alahly Benghazi S.C., following anti-government protests.


title: Benghazi

text: On 15 April 1986, U.S. Air Force and Navy planes bombed Benghazi and Tripoli. President Ronald Reagan justified the attacks by claiming Libya was responsible for terrorism directed at the United States, including the bombing of La Belle discothèque in West Berlin ten days before.


title: Benghazi

text: In February 2011, peaceful protests erupted in Benghazi that were brutally suppressed by Gaddafi's armed forces and loyalists. The violence urged the people to fight back and try to overthrow Gaddafi from power in The Libyan Revolution. At least 500 people were killed in the protests against the government.


title: Benghazi

text: The former Libyan flag used in the Kingdom of Libya was used by many protesters as an opposition flag. Demonstrators were also seen carrying images of King Idris I. Benghazi and the Cyrenaica have been traditional strongholds of the royal Senussi dynasty.


title: Benghazi

text: As of 21 February, the city was reported to be largely controlled by the opposition. The widely loathed mayor, Huda Ben Amer, nicknamed "the Executioner", fled the city for Tripoli. Residents organised to direct traffic and collect refuse. By 24 February, a committee made up of lawyers, judges and respected local people had been formed in order to provide civic administration and public services within the city. Two local radio stations, operated by Voice of Free Libya, along with a newspaper, were also established.


title: Benghazi

text: From 26 February to 26 August, Benghazi was the temporary headquarters of the National Transitional Council which is led by the former justice minister, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, until Tripoli was liberated.


title: Benghazi

text: On 19 March, pro-Gaddafi forces almost defeated the rebellion when they began attacking the city of Benghazi in a major offensive, but were forced back the next day when NATO forces began implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.


title: Benghazi

text: On 1 June, explosives were detonated in a car near the Tibesti Hotel, with a rebel spokesman calling the bombing a "cowardly act". It was suspected that an officer was killed, and many people started to shout out anti-Gaddafi chants while the Tibesti was cordoned off.


title: Benghazi

text: On 19 May 2012, residents of Benghazi voted in historic local elections; this was the first time such elections have been held in the city since the 1960s, and turnout was high.


title: Benghazi

text: On 11 September 2012, the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi was attacked by a heavily armed group of 125–150 gunmen, whose trucks bore the logo of Ansar al-Sharia, a group of Islamist militants, also known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, working with the local government to manage security in Benghazi. U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, Foreign Service Information Management Officer (IMO) Sean Smith, and CIA contractors and former Navy SEALs Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty were killed during a series of raids, commencing at nightfall and continuing into the next morning. Ten others were injured.


title: Benghazi

text: Following the outbreak of the second Libyan Civil War in 2014, Benghazi became the subject of heavy fighting between the Libyan National Army-aligned House of Representatives government, and the Islamist Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries and ISIL-aligned Wilayat Barqa, which were entrenched in various pockets in the city. During the closing months of the battle, between late-2016 and mid-2017, much of the urban center in and around the remaining Shura Council pocket in the central coastal quarters of Suq Al-Hout and al-Sabri suffered heavy bombardment and war damage. Wilayat Barqa militants reportedly fled Benghazi in early January, while the LNA's General Khalifa Haftar declared the city cleared of the Shura Council on 5 July 2017. Despite Haftar's declaration of the liberation of the city, dozens of gunmen remained fortified and besieged in Sidi Akribesh, according to sources close to military. LNA captured the last militant-held district in December 2017.


title: Benghazi

text: Benghazi is one of Libya's 22 shabiyahs (people's districts). Benghazi Baladiyat is divided into 32 Basic People's Congress administrative divisions, in which the responsibilities of the corresponding political units of the same name fall.


title: Benghazi

text: As with other cities in Libya, there is a reasonable amount of ethnic diversity in Benghazi. The people of eastern Libya, Benghazi included, have in the past always been of predominantly Arab descent. In recent times, however, there has been an influx of African immigrants into Benghazi. There are also many Egyptian immigrants in Benghazi. A small Greek community also exists in Benghazi. The Greek island of Crete is a short distance from Benghazi, and many families in Benghazi today bear Cretan surnames. There are even a few Italian-related families, left from the colonial times before World War II.


title: Benghazi

text: The overwhelming majority of Libyans in Benghazi were of Berber descent until the arrival of Bani Salim (Arabic tribe). In the 11th century, the Sa'adi tribes from the Banu Sulyam migrated to Cyrenaica; each sub-tribe from the Sa'adi historically controlled a section of Cyrenaica. Benghazi and its surrounding areas were controlled by Barghathi tribe. In modern times, Benghazi has seen a lot of Libyans from different parts of the country move into the city, especially since the Kingdom era. Many came to Benghazi from Misrata. Thus Benghazi has always been seen as a welcoming city, a city which the local Bedouins refer to as " which can be translated as, 'Benghazi raises the lost', as many immigrants who arrived from the Western Maghreb or the former Al Andalus came with little money, clothes or food and were looked after very generously by the local Bedouin population as well as those arriving following the Italian war from western Libya.


title: Benghazi

text: The predominant religion in Benghazi is Islam. Practically all of the city's inhabitants are Sunni Muslims. During Islamic holidays such as Ramadan, most abstain from food; restaurants are usually empty during the day, with the exception of some expatriates and tourists. Alcohol is banned by law in Benghazi and throughout Libya in accordance with Islamic principles. The conservative Islamic nature of Benghazi creates a strong sense of family life in the city – practically all teenagers and young adults live at home until they get married. Many Muslims in Benghazi adhere to the traditional Maliki school of religious law, however much less so than in decades past. In recent years, more people are beginning to practice Salafism with the spread of literalist inclined Islamic television channels. It is not uncommon therefore to see woman wearing black niqabs and men with full beards in Benghazi because of the existence of such schools, although not exclusively for that purpose. The Senussi order from which the royal dynasty sprang has traditionally enjoyed strong support in Benghazi and the Cyrenaica.


title: Benghazi

text: For Muslims, there are many mosques throughout Benghazi; the oldest and best known such as the Atiq and Osman mosques are located in and around the medina.


title: Benghazi

text: There is also a small Christian community in the city. The Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Benghazi's Franciscan Church of the Immaculate Conception serves Benghazi's Latin Catholic community of roughly 4,000; there is also a decommissioned cathedral church (1929–1939; closed 1977; currently abandoned). For Egyptian Copts, there is a Coptic Orthodox church (which was formerly the grand synagogue) with two serving priests.


title: Benghazi

text: Jews lived in Benghazi, as they did elsewhere in Libya, from Roman times until 1967 when most were airlifted out after a series of riots in the years after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. There are no Jews remaining in Libya today.