title: Murder of the Lawson family

text: The event inspired a number of songs and other tributes including the murder ballad "The Murder of the Lawson Family", which was originally recorded by the Carolina Buddies for Columbia records in 1930 and covered by Stanley Brothers in March 1956.


title: Murder of the Lawson family

text: The Lawsons were laid to rest in a family graveyard established in 1908, originally for the use of the W. D. Browder family and selected friends and neighbors. Today, it is open for burials only for direct descendants of W. D. Browder, owing to limited plot availability. Arthur Lawson was killed in a 1945 motor accident (age 31), leaving a wife and four children.


title: Murder of the Lawson family

text: The Netflix series "28 days haunted" (2022) shows the place where the murders took place and describes what happened there.


title: Piper Curda

text: Piper Joy Curda (born August 16, 1997) is an American actress and singer. She had her breakthrough with Disney Channel, portraying Kennedy in the comedy series "A.N.T. Farm" (2013–2014), Jasmine in the sitcom "I Didn't Do It" (2014–2015) and Alyssa in the comedy-television film "Teen Beach 2" (2015). She subsequently transitioned to mainstream acting with the miniseries "Youth & Consequences" (2018), where she played Grace Ho. Curda led the horror film "The Wretched" (2020), starring as Mallory, which was a critical and commercial success.


title: Piper Curda

text: Curda was born to U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Stephen K. Curda and Dr. Leslie Curda in Tallahassee, Florida, but was raised in Chicago. Her father is the first Korean-American to reach the rank of one-star general in the United States Army Reserve. Her mother is Scottish. She has four siblings, Riley, who she appeared in the musical "The King and I" with, Major, who has appeared in "Riverdale", "Atypical", and "The Thundermans", Glory, who has appeared in "Final Fantasy VII Remake", "Adventure Time", and "". and finally Saylor, who stars as Maddox "Gadget" in the third season of "". Curda attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, from which she graduated in 2019.


title: Piper Curda

text: At age 12, Curda played Roly-Poly in the Broadway national tour of "The 101 Dalmatians Musical". In 2011, she starred as Casey in the Disney.com series "Rule the Mix". She also made numerous guest appearances in TV series including "", "Body of Proof" and "Malibu Country", and had a recurring role on "A.N.T. Farm" during its third season.


title: Piper Curda

text: In June 2013, she landed a main role as Jasmine in the Disney Channel sitcom "I Didn't Do It", which started airing in January 2014 and ended the following year in October. In September 2013, she also appeared in a short film from Wong Fu Productions, "Who pays on a first date? – Save the Date". She appeared as Alyssa in "Teen Beach 2", the sequel to 2013's "Teen Beach Movie".


title: Piper Curda

text: She released her first single "Losing You" on January 15, 2014, and the music video on January 27, 2014.


title: Extremophile

text: An extremophile (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "love") is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e. environments that make survival challenging such as due to extreme temperature, radiation, salinity, or pH level.


title: Extremophile

text: These organisms are ecologically dominant in the evolutionary history of the planet. Some spores and cocooned bacteria samples have been dormant for more than 40 million years, extremophiles have continued to thrive in the most extreme conditions, making them one of the most abundant lifeforms.


title: Extremophile

text: In the 1980s and 1990s, biologists found that microbial life has great flexibility for surviving in extreme environments—niches that are acidic, extraordinarily hot or within irregular air pressure for example—that would be completely inhospitable to complex organisms. Some scientists even concluded that life may have begun on Earth in hydrothermal vents far under the ocean's surface.


title: Extremophile

text: According to astrophysicist Steinn Sigurdsson, "There are viable bacterial spores that have been found that are 40 million years old on Earth—and we know they're very hardened to radiation." Some bacteria were found living in the cold and dark in a lake buried a half-mile deep under the ice in Antarctica, and in the Marianas Trench, the deepest place in Earth's oceans. Expeditions of the International Ocean Discovery Program found microorganisms in 120 °C sediment that is 1.2 km below seafloor in the Nankai Trough subduction zone. Some microorganisms have been found thriving inside rocks up to below the sea floor under of ocean off the coast of the northwestern United States. According to one of the researchers, "You can find microbes everywhere—they're extremely adaptable to conditions, and survive wherever they are." A key to extremophile adaptation is their amino acid composition, affecting their protein folding ability under particular conditions. Studying extreme environments on Earth can help researchers understand the limits of habitability on other worlds.


title: Extremophile

text: Tom Gheysens from Ghent University in Belgium and some of his colleagues have presented research findings that show spores from a species of Bacillus bacteria survived and were still viable after being heated to temperatures of .


title: Extremophile

text: There are many classes of extremophiles that range all around the globe; each corresponding to the way its environmental niche differs from mesophilic conditions. These classifications are not exclusive. Many extremophiles fall under multiple categories and are classified as polyextremophiles. For example, organisms living inside hot rocks deep under Earth's surface are thermophilic and piezophilic such as "Thermococcus barophilus". A polyextremophile living at the summit of a mountain in the Atacama Desert might be a radioresistant xerophile, a psychrophile, and an oligotroph. Polyextremophiles are well known for their ability to tolerate both high and low pH levels.


title: Extremophile

text: Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that investigates the deterministic conditions and contingent events with which life arises, distributes, and evolves in the universe. Astrobiology makes use of physics, chemistry, astronomy, solar physics, biology, molecular biology, ecology, planetary science, geography, and geology to investigate the possibility of life on other worlds and help recognize biospheres that might be different from that on Earth. Astrobiologists are particularly interested in studying extremophiles, as it allows them to map what is known about the limits of life on Earth to potential extraterrestrial environments For example, analogous deserts of Antarctica are exposed to harmful UV radiation, low temperature, high salt concentration and low mineral concentration. These conditions are similar to those on Mars. Therefore, finding viable microbes in the subsurface of Antarctica suggests that there may be microbes surviving in endolithic communities and living under the Martian surface. Research indicates it is unlikely that Martian microbes exist on the surface or at shallow depths, but may be found at subsurface depths of around 100 meters.


title: Extremophile

text: Recent research carried out on extremophiles in Japan involved a variety of bacteria including "Escherichia coli" and "Paracoccus denitrificans" being subject to conditions of extreme gravity. The bacteria were cultivated while being rotated in an ultracentrifuge at high speeds corresponding to 403,627 g (i.e. 403,627 times the gravity experienced on Earth). "Paracoccus denitrificans" was one of the bacteria which displayed not only survival but also robust cellular growth under these conditions of hyperacceleration which are usually found only in cosmic environments, such as on very massive stars or in the shock waves of supernovas. Analysis showed that the small size of prokaryotic cells is essential for successful growth under hypergravity. The research has implications on the feasibility of panspermia.


title: Extremophile

text: On 26 April 2012, scientists reported that lichen survived and showed remarkable results on the adaptation capacity of photosynthetic activity within the simulation time of 34 days under Martian conditions in the Mars Simulation Laboratory (MSL) maintained by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).


title: Extremophile

text: On 29 April 2013, scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, funded by NASA, reported that, during spaceflight on the International Space Station, microbes seem to adapt to the space environment in ways "not observed on Earth" and in ways that "can lead to increases in growth and virulence".


title: Extremophile

text: On 19 May 2014, scientists announced that numerous microbes, like "Tersicoccus phoenicis", may be resistant to methods usually used in spacecraft assembly clean rooms. It's not currently known if such resistant microbes could have withstood space travel and are present on the "Curiosity" rover now on the planet Mars.


title: Extremophile

text: On 20 August 2014, scientists confirmed the existence of microorganisms living half a mile below the ice of Antarctica.


title: Extremophile

text: In September 2015, scientists from CNR-National Research Council of Italy reported that "S.soflataricus" was able to survive under Martian radiation at a wavelength that was considered extremely lethal to most bacteria. This discovery is significant because it indicates that not only bacterial spores, but also growing cells can be remarkably resistant to strong UV radiation.


title: Extremophile

text: In June 2016, scientists from Brigham Young University conclusively reported that endospores of "Bacillus subtilis" were able to survive high speed impacts up to 299±28 m/s, extreme shock, and extreme deceleration. They pointed out that this feature might allow endospores to survive and to be transferred between planets by traveling within meteorites or by experiencing atmosphere disruption. Moreover, they suggested that the landing of spacecraft may also result in interplanetary spore transfer, given that spores can survive high-velocity impact while ejected from the spacecraft onto the planet surface. This is the first study which reported that bacteria can survive in such high-velocity impact. However, the lethal impact speed is unknown, and further experiments should be done by introducing higher-velocity impact to bacterial endospores.


title: Extremophile

text: In August 2020 scientists reported that bacteria that feed on air discovered 2017 in Antarctica are likely not limited to Antarctica after discovering the two genes previously linked to their "atmospheric chemosynthesis" in soil of two other similar cold desert sites, which provides further information on this carbon sink and further strengthens the extremophile evidence that supports the potential existence of microbial life on alien planets.


title: Extremophile

text: The same month, scientists reported that bacteria from Earth, particularly "Deinococcus radiodurans", were found to survive for three years in outer space, based on studies on the International Space Station. These findings support the notion of panspermia.


title: Extremophile

text: Extremophiles can also be useful players in the bioremediation of contaminated sites as some species are capable of biodegradation under conditions too extreme for classic bioremediation candidate species. Anthropogenic activity causes the release of pollutants that may potentially settle in extreme environments as is the case with tailings and sediment released from deep-sea mining activity. While most bacteria would be crushed by the pressure in these environments, piezophiles can tolerate these depths and can metabolize pollutants of concern if they possess bioremediation potential.


title: Extremophile

text: There are multiple potential destinations for hydrocarbons after an oil spill has settled and currents routinely deposit them in extreme environments. Methane bubbles resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill were found 1.1 kilometers below water surface level and at concentrations as high as 183 "μ"mol per kilogram. The combination of low temperatures and high pressures in this environment result in low microbial activity. However, bacteria that are present including species of "Pseudomonas", "Aeromonas" and "Vibrio" were found to be capable of bioremediation, albeit at a tenth of the speed they would perform at sea level pressure. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons increase in solubility and bioavailability with increasing temperature. Thermophilic "Thermus" and "Bacillus" species have demonstrated higher gene expression for the alkane mono-oxygenase "alkB" at temperatures exceeding 60 °C. The expression of this gene is a crucial precursor to the bioremediation process. Fungi that have been genetically modified with cold-adapted enzymes to tolerate differing pH levels and temperatures have been shown to be effective at remediating hydrocarbon contamination in freezing conditions in the Antarctic.


title: Extremophile

text: "Acidithiubacillus ferroxidans" has been shown to be effective in remediating mercury in acidic soil due to its "merA" gene making it mercury resistant. Industrial effluent contain high levels of metals that can be detrimental to both human and ecosystem health. In extreme heat environments the extremophile "Geobacillus thermodenitrificans" has been shown to effectively manage the concentration of these metals within twelve hours of introduction. Some acidophilic microorganisms are effective at metal remediation in acidic environments due to proteins found in their periplasm, not present in any mesophilic organisms, allowing them to protect themselves from high proton concentrations. Rice paddies are highly oxidative environments that can produce high levels of lead or cadmium. "Deinococcus radiodurans" are resistant to the harsh conditions of the environment and are therefore candidate species for limiting the extent of contamination of these metals.


title: Extremophile

text: Some bacteria are known to also use rare earth elements on their biological processes for example Methylacidiphilum fumariolicum, Methylorubrum extorquens and Methylobacterium radiotolerans are known to be able to use lanthanides as cofactors to increase their methanol dehydrogenase activity.


title: Extremophile

text: Acid mine drainage is a major environmental concern associated with many metal mines. One of the most productive methods of its remediation is through the introduction of the extremophile organism "Thiobacillus ferrooxidans."


title: Extremophile

text: Any bacteria capable of inhabiting radioactive mediums can be classified as an extremophile. Radioresistant organisms are therefore critical in the bioremediation of radionuclides. Uranium is particularly challenging to contain when released into an environment and very harmful to both human and ecosystem health. The NANOBINDERS project is equipping bacteria that can survive in uranium rich environments with gene sequences that enable proteins to bind to uranium in mining effluent, making it more convenient to collect and dispose of. Some examples are "Shewanella putrefaciens", "Geobacter metallireducens" and some strains of "Burkholderia fungorum."


title: Extremophile

text: Radiotrophic fungus, which use radiation as an energy source have been found inside and around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.


title: Extremophile

text: Radioresistance has also been observed in certain species of macroscopic lifeforms. The lethal dose required to kill up to 50% of a tortoise population is 40,000 roentgens, compared to only 800 roentgens needed to kill 50% of a human population. In experiments exposing lepidopteran insects to gamma radiation, significant DNA damage was detected only at 20 Gy and higher doses, in contrast with human cells that showed similar damage at only 2 Gy.


title: Extremophile

text: New sub-types of -philes are identified frequently and the sub-category list for extremophiles is always growing. For example, microbial life lives in the liquid asphalt lake, Pitch Lake. Research indicates that extremophiles inhabit the asphalt lake in populations ranging between 10 to 10 cells/gram. Likewise, until recently boron tolerance was unknown but a strong borophile was discovered in bacteria. With the recent isolation of "Bacillus boroniphilus", borophiles came into discussion. Studying these borophiles may help illuminate the mechanisms of both boron toxicity and boron deficiency.


title: Extremophile

text: In July 2019, a scientific study of Kidd Mine in Canada discovered sulfur-breathing organisms which live 7900 feet below the surface, and which breathe sulfur in order to survive. These organisms are also remarkable due to eating rocks such as pyrite as their regular food source.


title: Extremophile

text: The thermoalkaliphilic catalase, which initiates the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water, was isolated from an organism, "Thermus brockianus", found in Yellowstone National Park by Idaho National Laboratory researchers. The catalase operates over a temperature range from 30 °C to over 94 °C and a pH range from 6–10. This catalase is extremely stable compared to other catalases at high temperatures and pH. In a comparative study, the "T. brockianus" catalase exhibited a half life of 15 days at 80 °C and pH 10 while a catalase derived from "Aspergillus niger" had a half life of 15 seconds under the same conditions. The catalase will have applications for removal of hydrogen peroxide in industrial processes such as pulp and paper bleaching, textile bleaching, food pasteurization, and surface decontamination of food packaging.


title: Extremophile

text: DNA modifying enzymes such as "Taq" DNA polymerase and some "Bacillus" enzymes used in clinical diagnostics and starch liquefaction are produced commercially by several biotechnology companies.


title: Extremophile

text: Over 65 prokaryotic species are known to be naturally competent for genetic transformation, the ability to transfer DNA from one cell to another cell followed by integration of the donor DNA into the recipient cell's chromosome. Several extremophiles are able to carry out species-specific DNA transfer, as described below. However, it is not yet clear how common such a capability is among extremophiles.


title: Extremophile

text: The bacterium "Deinococcus radiodurans" is one of the most radioresistant organisms known. This bacterium can also survive cold, dehydration, vacuum and acid and is thus known as a polyextremophile. "D. radiodurans" is competent to perform genetic transformation. Recipient cells are able to repair DNA damage in donor transforming DNA that had been UV irradiated as efficiently as they repair cellular DNA when the cells themselves are irradiated. The extreme thermophilic bacterium "Thermus thermophilus" and other related "Thermus" species are also capable of genetic transformation.


title: Extremophile

text: "Halobacterium volcanii", an extreme halophilic (saline tolerant) archaeon, is capable of natural genetic transformation. Cytoplasmic bridges are formed between cells that appear to be used for DNA transfer from one cell to another in either direction.


title: Extremophile

text: "Sulfolobus solfataricus" and "Sulfolobus acidocaldarius" are hyperthermophilic archaea. Exposure of these organisms to the DNA damaging agents UV irradiation, bleomycin or mitomycin C induces species-specific cellular aggregation. UV-induced cellular aggregation of "S. acidocaldarius" mediates chromosomal marker exchange with high frequency. Recombination rates exceed those of uninduced cultures by up to three orders of magnitude. Frols et al. and Ajon et al. hypothesized that cellular aggregation enhances species-specific DNA transfer between "Sulfolobus" cells in order to repair damaged DNA by means of homologous recombination. Van Wolferen et al. noted that this DNA exchange process may be crucial under DNA damaging conditions such as high temperatures. It has also been suggested that DNA transfer in "Sulfolobus" may be an early form of sexual interaction similar to the more well-studied bacterial transformation systems that involve species-specific DNA transfer leading to homologous recombinational repair of DNA damage (and see Transformation (genetics)).


title: Extremophile

text: Extracellular membrane vesicles (MVs) might be involved in DNA transfer between different hyperthermophilic archaeal species. It has been shown that both plasmids and viral genomes can be transferred via MVs. Notably, a horizontal plasmid transfer has been documented between hyperthermophilic "Thermococcus" and "Methanocaldococcus" species, respectively belonging to the orders "Thermococcales" and "Methanococcales".


title: Lion-man

text: The figurine, also called the Lion-man of , is a prehistoric ivory sculpture discovered in Hohlenstein-Stadel, a German cave in 1939. The German name, , meaning "lion-person" or "lion-human", is used most frequently because it was discovered and is exhibited in Germany.


title: Lion-man

text: Determined by carbon dating of the layer in which it was found to be between 35,000 and 40,000 years old, it is one of the oldest-known examples of an artistic representation and the oldest confirmed statue ever discovered. Its age associates it with the archaeological Aurignacian culture of the Upper Paleolithic. An example of zoomorphic art, it was carved out of mammoth ivory using a flint stone knife. Seven parallel, transverse, carved gouges are on the left arm.


title: Lion-man

text: After several reconstructions that have incorporated newly found fragments, the figurine stands tall, wide, and thick. It currently is displayed in the Museum Ulm, in the town of Ulm.


title: Lion-man

text: Systematic excavations at Hohlenstein-Stadel cave began in 1937 under the direction of historian . The discovery of a fragmented mammoth ivory figurine was made on 25 August 1939 by geologist . The start of World War II just one week later meant that the fieldwork was left incomplete and analysis of the finds was not undertaken. The excavation trenches were back-filled with the same soil in which the ivory had been found. For approximately thirty years, the fragments lay forgotten at the nearby Museum Ulm. It was not until archaeologist Joachim Hahn started an inventory and assembly of more than 200 fragments that a figurine with animal and human features began to emerge.


title: Lion-man

text: Wetzel continued to spend summers digging at the site until 1961, and further finds of ivory were made on the cave floor in the 1970s. In 1982, paleontologist Elisabeth Schmid combined the new fragments with Hahn's reconstruction, correcting some errors and adding pieces of the nose and mouth that emphasized the figurine's feline characteristics.


title: Lion-man

text: In 1987, a comprehensive restoration began in the workshops of the Landesmuseum Württemberg by Ute Wolf in cooperation with Schmid. During the work, which took more than six months, it was realized that the figurine was only about two-thirds complete. The back was severely damaged and the legs were missing some ivory lamellae. The ears, eye-holes, two-thirds of the mouth and nose, and the back of the head were preserved. To fill gaps in the head and body a reversible substance consisting of a mixture of beeswax, artificial wax, and chalk was used.


title: Lion-man

text: From 2008, further excavations were carried out in the cave. All layers were sifted systematically, which led to many minute fragments being discovered. The first new adjustments were simulated virtually so that fragments could be added without having to disassemble the original recreation.


title: Lion-man

text: In 2012, a second restoration was begun in the workshops of the State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments in Esslingen under the leadership of Nicole Ebinger-Rist. The figurine was disassembled into its individual parts and newly discovered fragments were added along with the old ones, allowing further completion of areas of the head, back, and right side of the body, and artificial additions used during the first restoration were discarded. The "Löwenmensch" figurine grew in height from 296 to 311 millimetres. Work was completed in late 2013.


title: Lion-man

text: Some researchers have ascribed sexual characteristics to the object. Initially, the figurine was classified as male by Hahn who suggested a plate on the abdomen could be a flaccid penis. Schmid later classified this feature as a pubic triangle; however, from examination of new parts of the sculpture, she proposed that the figurine was that of a woman with the head of a (female European cave lion). Male European cave lions often lacked distinctive manes, so the absence of a mane could not determine categorically that the figurine was that of a lioness, and a debate about its sex ensued among some involved in the research and the popular press. Kurt Wehrberger, of the Museum Ulm, stated that the statue had become an "icon of the feminist movement".


title: Lion-man

text: After the 2012–2013 restoration it was realized that the triangular platelet in the genital area was processed all around, separating it from the figurine. A fracture point suggests that originally it may have been square in shape, which most commonly could be interpreted as a stylized male sex organ. Debate continues, even though an objective determination of the sex of the Löwenmensch figurine may be impossible.


title: Lion-man

text: The "Löwenmensch" figurine lay in a chamber almost from the entrance of the Stadel cave, accompanied by many other objects. Bone tools and worked antlers were found, along with jewellery consisting of pendants, beads, and perforated animal teeth. The chamber was probably a special place, possibly used as a storehouse, hiding-place, or maybe as an area for cultic rituals.


title: Lion-man

text: A similar but smaller lion-headed human figurine was found in Hohle Fels. Archaeologist Nicholas Conard suggested that "the occupants of Hohle Fels in the Ach Valley and Hohlenstein-Stadel in the Lone Valley must have been members of the same cultural group and shared beliefs and practices connected with therianthropic images of felids and humans" and that "the discovery of a second Löwenmensch lends support to the hypothesis that Aurignacian people practised a form of shamanism."


title: Lion-man

text: The figurine shares certain similarities with later French cave paintings, which also show hybrid creatures with human-like lower bodies and animal heads, such as the "Sorcerer" from the Trois Frères in the Pyrenees or the "Bison-man" from the Grotte de Gabillou in the Dordogne.


title: Lion-man

text: Debate exists as to whether the figurine depicts a lion or human-lion hybrid figure at all; with similarities to a standing bear, and the unreliable nature of the reconstructions cited.


title: Lion-man

text: The carving of the figurine from hard mammoth tusk would have been a complex and time-consuming task. A similarly sized tusk found in the same cave has marks that "indicate that the skin and thin bone around the tooth cavity of the upper jaw were cut through to the surface of the tooth, which was then exposed for detachment with a hammer. The tip was harder and had to be removed by wedging and splitting."


title: Lion-man

text: Wulf Hein and Kurt Wehrberger conducted an experimental replication with the kinds of stone tool available at the time. Removing the base of the tusk took ten hours. The body was carved with a steep-fronted scraper; the burins requiring regular resharpening. Several different tools were needed to separate the torso from the insides of the arms while shaping the head and shoulders, which involved difficult cutting across the grain of the ivory, often required two hands on the tool. The basic shaping took around 200 hours, and in total the recreation took more than 370 hours. Jill Cook, Curator of Palaeolithic collections at the British Museum, suggests that "unless the sculpture was created slowly at odd moments over several months, someone as skilled as an artist may have been excused from other subsistence tasks to work specially on this piece."


title: Lion-man

text: ... so why would a community living on the edge of subsistence, whose primary concerns were finding food, keeping that fire going, protecting children from predators, allow someone to spend so much time away from those tasks?


title: Lion-man

text: ... a relationship to things unseen, to the vital forces of nature, that you need to perhaps propitiate, perhaps connect to, in order to ensure your successful life.


title: Stephen McGann

text: Stephen Vincent McGann (born 2 February 1963) is a British actor, best known for portraying Dr Patrick Turner in the BBC One medical period drama series "Call the Midwife". He is one of a family of acting brothers, the others being Joe, Paul, and Mark.


title: Stephen McGann

text: McGann was born in Kensington, Liverpool, and began his professional acting career in 1982, starring in the West End musical "Yakety Yak". He has since worked extensively in British theatre and on screen.


title: Stephen McGann

text: Stephen's father Joe was a Royal Naval Commando who died in 1984, and his mother Clare was a teacher. Along with his acting brothers Paul, Mark, and Joe who's named after his father, he also has a younger sister named Clare after their mother.


title: Stephen McGann

text: In 1989, he starred as Mickey in the West End hit musical "Blood Brothers". In 1990, he played Johann Strauss in the international mini-series, "The Strauss Dynasty". In 1993, he created, co-produced and starred in the award-winning BBC drama "The Hanging Gale". He portrayed the character of Sean Reynolds in "Emmerdale" from 1999 to 2002.


title: Stephen McGann

text: In 2003, he starred with Jamie Theakston in the hit West End play "'Art'". In 2006, he played the role of the Reverend Shaw in the original West End cast of the musical "Footloose". He can currently be seen playing Dr. Turner in BBC TV series "Call the Midwife".


title: Stephen McGann

text: In addition to his acting, McGann is a public speaker and communicator of science. He graduated from Imperial College London with a master's degree in Science Communication.


title: Stephen McGann

text: He was a guest speaker at the Cambridge Science Festival in March 2015. He published a guest essay in the "Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine" in April 2015, discussing issues of medical accuracy and communication in "Call the Midwife".


title: Stephen McGann

text: In January 2016, McGann published a companion book to "Call the Midwife" called "Doctor Turner's Casebook", in which he revisits key medical cases featured in the TV series and discusses their historical and social contexts. The BBC screened a documentary special based on the book, titled "Call The Midwife: The Casebook", on 15 January 2017.


title: Stephen McGann

text: In July 2017, McGann published "Flesh and Blood: A History of My Family in Seven Maladies", a personal history of his family over a century and a half as told through the medical ailments they suffered.


title: Stephen McGann

text: McGann was a member of the judging panel for the 2019 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize., and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Liverpool and the University of Chester in recognition of his contribution to public health communication and drama


title: Stephen McGann

text: Stephen McGann is married to screenwriter and "Call the Midwife" creator Heidi Thomas. They have one son, Dominic. They currently live in Cambridge.


title: Equality before the law

text: Equality before the law, also known as equality under the law, equality in the eyes of the law, legal equality, or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law. The principle requires a systematic rule of law that observes due process to provide equal justice, and requires equal protection ensuring that no individual nor group of individuals be privileged over others by the law. Sometimes called the principle of isonomy, it arises from various philosophical questions concerning equality, fairness and justice. Equality before the law is one of the basic principles of some definitions of liberalism. It is incompatible with legal slavery.


title: Equality before the law

text: Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states: "All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law". Thus, everyone must be treated equally under the law regardless of race, gender, color, ethnicity, religion, disability, or other characteristics, without privilege, discrimination or bias. The general guarantee of equality is provided by most of the world's national constitutions, but specific implementations of this guarantee vary. For example, while many constitutions guarantee equality regardless of race, only a few mention the right to equality regardless of nationality.


title: Equality before the law

text: The Bible says that "You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you." (Numbers 15:15f)


title: Equality before the law

text: The legalist philosopher Guan Zhong (720–645 BC) declared that “the monarch and his subjects no matter how great and small they are complying with the law will be the great order”.


title: Equality before the law

text: The 431BCE funeral oration of Pericles, recorded in Thucydides's "History of the Peloponnesian War", includes a passage praising the equality among the free male citizens of the Athenian democracy: If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if to social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way.


title: Equality before the law

text: The US state of Nebraska adopted the motto "Equality Before the Law" in 1867. It appears on both the state flag and the state seal. The motto was chosen to symbolize political and civil rights for Black people and women in Nebraska, particularly Nebraska's rejection of slavery and the fact that Black men in the state could legally vote since the beginning of statehood. Activists in Nebraska extend the motto to other groups, for example, to promote LGBT rights in Nebraska.


title: Equality before the law

text: The fifth demand of the South African Freedom Charter, adopted in 1955, is "All Shall Be Equal Before The Law!"


title: Equality before the law

text: Article 200 of the Criminal Code of Japan, the penalty regarding parricide, was declared unconstitutional for violating the equality under the law by the Supreme Court of Japan in 1973. This was a result of the trial of the Tochigi patricide case.


title: Equality before the law

text: Liberalism calls for equality before the law for all persons. Classical liberalism as embraced by libertarians and modern American conservatives opposes pursuing group rights at the expense of individual rights.


title: Equality before the law

text: In his "Second Treatise of Government" (1689), John Locke wrote: "A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jurisdiction is reciprocal, no one having more than another; there being nothing more evident, than that creatures of the same species and rank, promiscuously born to all the same advantages of nature, and the use of the same faculties, should also be equal one amongst another without subordination or subjection, unless the lord and master of them all should, by any manifest declaration of his will, set one above another, and confer on him, by an evident and clear appointment, an undoubted right to dominion and sovereignty."


title: Equality before the law

text: In 1774, Alexander Hamilton wrote: "All men have one common original, they participate in one common nature, and consequently have one common right. No reason can be assigned why one man should exercise any power over his fellow creatures more than another, unless they voluntarily vest him with it".


title: Equality before the law

text: In "Social Statics", Herbert Spencer defined it as a natural law "that every man may claim the fullest liberty to exercise his faculties compatible with the possession of like liberty to every other man". Stated another way by Spencer, "each has freedom to do all that he wills provided that he infringes not the equal freedom of any other".


title: Equality before the law

text: Equality before the law is a tenet of some branches of feminism. In the 19th century, gender equality before the law was a radical goal, but some later feminist views hold that formal legal equality is not enough to create actual and social equality between women and men. An ideal of formal equality may penalize women for failing to conform to a male norm while an ideal of different treatment may reinforce sexist stereotypes.


title: Equality before the law

text: In 1988, prior to serving as a Justice of the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote: "Generalizations about the way women or men are – my life experience bears out – cannot guide me reliably in making decisions about particular individuals. At least in the law, I have found no natural superiority or deficiency in either sex. In class or in grading papers from 1963 to 1980, and now in reading briefs and listening to arguments in court for over seventeen years, I have detected no reliable indicator or distinctly male or surely female thinking – even penmanship". In an American Civil Liberties Union's Women's Rights Project in the 1970s, Ginsburg challenged in "Frontiero v. Richardson" the laws that gave health service benefits to wives of servicemen, but not to husbands of servicewomen. There are over 150 national constitutions that currently mention equality regardless of gender.


title: Rusted Root

text: Rusted Root is an American worldbeat rock band formed in 1990 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by singer-guitarist Michael Glabicki (born January 21, 1971), bassist Patrick Norman and percussionist Liz Berlin. The band got its start as the house band playing a weekly gig in Jack's Back Room on Pittsburgh's South Side. The band achieved fame in 1994 with its platinum-selling album "When I Woke", which included the hit single "Send Me on My Way". The song has been featured prominently in many films and commercials. Rusted Root has sold more than three million albums, and is currently on hiatus.


title: Rusted Root

text: The band is known for its fusion of acoustic, rock, world and other styles of music, with a strong percussion section that draws from African, Latin American, Indian and Native American influences. Michael Glabicki has acknowledged the popular success of Peter Gabriel's 1986 album "So" as an influence on his decision to incorporate worldbeat into his own music. The band's lyrical content varies but often talks about Christianity and Judaism. The group's 2012 album, "The Movement", was fan-funded.


title: Udo Dirkschneider

text: Udo Dirkschneider (born 6 April 1952) is a German singer and songwriter who rose to fame with German heavy metal band Accept. After leaving the band in 1987, he formed U.D.O., with which he has also enjoyed commercial success.


title: Udo Dirkschneider

text: Former Accept and current U.D.O. lead singer Udo Dirkschneider has a long career spawning almost five decades that helped to shape German heavy metal. His unique and raspy voice approach and, his taste for huge choruses made big part of Accept's appeal and made him the one of most recognizable characters in the heavy metal history.


title: Udo Dirkschneider

text: In November 2011, Dirkschneider's son Sven supported U.D.O. on a date in Germany and became a permanent member of his father's band in February 2015. On the same year, the band was temporary renamed as "Dirkschneider" and embarked in a long tour called "Back To The Roots" where the band only performed Accept songs.


title: Udo Dirkschneider

text: In 2021, Udo along with his former Accept bandmates, guitarist Stefan Kaufmann and bassist Peter Baltes released new music under the name of "Dirkschneider And The Old Gang" that also features former U.D.O guitarist Matthias Dieth, drummer Svein Dirkschneider and singer Manuela Bibert, with the video of the song "Where The Angels Fly" surpassing a million of views on YouTube.


title: Udo Dirkschneider

text: On 22 April 2022, Udo released an album of cover versions, entitled 'My Way', to mark his 70th birthday.


title: Udo Dirkschneider

text: On his long career, Dirkschneider shared his vocals with few artists, as in the cover of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" released in 1983 as B-side of "Break the Chain" single on Raven's "All for One" album. Dirkschneider is also famous for his duet with his longtime friend Doro Pesch on the song "Dancing with an Angel". In 1999, Dirkschneider recorded the Helloween song "I Want Out" and a new version of Accept's "Head Over Heels" with HammerFall. And as guest on the song music "Shtil" by the Russian heavy metal band Aria on their 2001's album Chimera.


title: Udo Dirkschneider

text: In 2006, Dirkschneider sang the song "They Only Come Out at Night" with Mr. Lordi on Lordi album "The Arockalypse", as well as performing it live on stage at same year Wacken Open Air.


title: Udo Dirkschneider

text: In 2013, Dirkschneider performed a duet with Marko Hietala on Finnish band Lazy Bonez's debut album "Vol.1". They sang a song called "First to Go "–" Last to Know".


Udo Dirkschneider


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: Chesney Lee Hawkes (born 22 September 1971) is an English pop singer and occasional actor. He started his career at the age of 19 when he appeared in the film "Buddy's Song", which featured his best-known single "The One and Only", which topped the UK Singles Chart for five weeks and reached the top 10 in the United States. Follow-up single "I'm a Man Not a Boy" peaked at 27 in the UK, with subsequent singles including "What's Wrong with This Picture?", "Stay Away Baby Jane" (a collaboration with Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne) and "Another Fine Mess" also charting in the top 100.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: Aside from music, he appeared on Channel 4's "The Games" in 2005, winning a Bronze Medal. Hawkes appeared on the shows "Hit Me Baby One More Time", "Let's Dance for Comic Relief", and "Sing If You Can". Hawkes also appeared in the musical "Can't Smile Without You", as the role of Tony Lowiman.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: Hawkes was born in Windsor, Berkshire. He was named after the singer and comedian Chesney Allen. His father is singer and bassist Len 'Chip' Hawkes of the 1960s band The Tremeloes. His mother is former actress/game-show hostess Carol Dilworth, who appeared in an episode of the 1960s version of "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)" called "For the Girl Who Has Everything", as well as the 1969 horror film "The Haunted House of Horror". Keely Hawkes, his sister, was the lead singer of 1990s band Transister, and is currently a songwriter based in Los Angeles. He attended Charters School in Sunningdale. Jodie Hawkes, his brother, played drums in Chesney's band and is currently in The Tremeloes.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: Hawkes's career began at 19, when he appeared as the title character in the film "Buddy's Song." In March 1991, he released from the film's soundtrack his biggest single "The One and Only", on which his younger brother Jodie was the drummer. Written by Nik Kershaw, the song was later featured in the opening credits of "Doc Hollywood" (1991), starring Michael J. Fox; in the 2009 movie "Moon", as the song Sam Rockwell wakes up to every morning; and again in the 2011 film "Source Code" (also directed by "Moon" director Duncan Jones) as the mobile phone ringtone of Michelle Monaghan's character. The single spent five weeks at No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. He has released eight singles including "I'm a Man Not a Boy" and "Secrets of the Heart".


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: In 1993, his single "What's Wrong with This Picture?" reached number 63 in the UK, and his 2002 collaboration with Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, "Stay Away Baby Jane", reached number 74 in the UK Singles Chart.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: On 21 March 2001, Hawkes appeared on the second episode of ITV's documentary series "Holiday Airport", which followed British holidaymakers as they passed through Parma Airport, Majorca. The episode resurfaced more than 20 years later on 13 March 2022, when it was uploaded to YouTube by ITV Studios' Our Stories channel.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: Hawkes returned to the media's attention with his involvement in Channel 4's "The Games" in March 2005, in which he won a Bronze Medal. He also took part in the ITV programme "Hit Me Baby One More Time" in April that year. He released a single called "Another Fine Mess" in May 2005, it reached number 48. The following album of the same title featured fifteen songs written by Hawkes.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: Hawkes was involved in a project called the Lexus Symphony Orchestra, a corporate promotion designed to showcase the quality of Lexus' in-car audio systems. Hawkes composed two original pieces of music performed by the London Symphony Orchestra for these events held at Castle Howard and Crystal Palace, in August 2007.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: Hawkes appeared in a musical, "Can't Smile Without You" (featuring songs of Barry Manilow). In the show, Hawkes plays the part of Tony Lowiman who falls in love with a girl called Mandy when he visits New York. Things take a turn for the worse when Tony is brutally attacked one night outside a club. The musical includes over 40 Barry Manilow songs. National tour started at the Liverpool Empire Theatre on 15 September 2008, prior to performances in the West End.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: Hawkes appeared briefly in a cherry picker on "Celebrity Big Brother" (shown on 8 January 2009) on Channel 4. "The One and Only" was used as a cue to have contestants worship at a Chesney Hawkes shrine.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: In January 2011, Hawkes performed at the live finale of Louie Spence's Showbusiness. During February and March 2011, he took part in the BBC series "Let's Dance for Comic Relief". He now performs a mixture of his own material and covers at University Freshers week. In May that year, Hawkes took part in the ITV series "Sing If You Can". In September, he appeared as Joseph in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". On 24 December 2011, he appeared on the ITV programme "Text Santa", with Ant & Dec.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: Hawkes was due to take part on ITV's skating programme "Dancing on Ice" in 2012 but after fracturing his ankle, he had to pull out. He was replaced by Chico Slimani. In May, he played at Lakefest festival. In December, he appeared as an accident-prone version of himself in the ITV comedy drama "Panto!".


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: In 2014, Hawkes performed "The One and Only" with a flashmob dance group in the streets of Manchester to promote MyMate Loans. In addition, he recorded a version of the song with different lyrics for a MyMate commercial.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: In 2015, Hawkes competed in "Celebrity MasterChef" on BBC One. He was eliminated in the first of the semi-finals of the show.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: On 25 March 2022, Hawkes released the box set "", which consists of five CDs and one DVD. In addition, he released the digital single "The One and Only (2022 Nik Kershaw Remix)". In Autumn 2022, he joined his father Chip and brother Jodie on the Sixties Gold Tour as part of The Tremeloes, becoming their singer for a series of dates around the UK.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: On 29 November 2022, Chesney rendered a half-time performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup match between England and Wales.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: Hawkes married wife Kristina (who is American) on 4 July 1997. They lived in Chertsey, Surrey with their three children before moving to Los Angeles.


title: Chesney Hawkes

text: Entrepreneur Duncan Bannatyne is a fan, and Hawkes performed as a surprise at his 60th birthday party in 2009.


title: Virtuoso

text: A virtuoso (from Italian "virtuoso" or , "virtuous", Late Latin "virtuosus", Latin "virtus", "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, music, singing, playing a musical instrument, or composition.


title: Virtuoso

text: This word also refers to a person who has cultivated appreciation of artistic excellence, either as a connoisseur or collector. The plural form of "virtuoso" is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation virtuosos, and the feminine forms are virtuosa and virtuose.


title: Virtuoso

text: ...a virtuoso was, originally, a highly accomplished musician, but by the nineteenth century the term had become restricted to performers, both vocal and instrumental, whose technical accomplishments were so pronounced as to dazzle the public.


title: Virtuoso

text: The defining element of virtuosity is the performance ability of the musician in question, who is capable of displaying feats of skill well above the average performer.


title: Virtuoso

text: Especially in music, both critics and musicians have mixed opinions on virtuosity. While the skill implied is clearly positive, musicians focused on virtuosity have been criticized for overlooking substance and emotion in favor of raw technical prowess.


title: Virtuoso

text: More commonly applied in the context of the fine arts, the term can also refer to a "master" or "ace" who excels technically within any particular field or area of human knowledge—anyone especially or dazzlingly skilled at what they do. For instance, Ken Jennings's initial success on "Jeopardy!" was described as a "virtuoso performance."


title: Virtuoso

text: The meaning of virtuoso has its roots in the Italian usage of the 16th and 17th centuries, signifying an honorific term reserved for a person distinguished in any intellectual or artistic field. The term evolved with time, simultaneously broadening and narrowing in scope as interpretations went in and out of fashion and debates unraveled. Originally a musician was considered a "virtuoso" by being an accomplished composer, theorist, or maestro, rather than a skilled performer.


title: Virtuoso

text: In the 17th and 18th centuries, the word shifted in meaning, and many musicians applied it without considering merit, sometimes to themselves. Sébastien de Brossard, in his "Dictionnaire de Musique" (Paris, 1703), approached the word virtuoso by its Latin root "virtu" emphasizing exceptional training, especially in theory. This position was also defended in Johann Gottfried Walther's "Musicalisches Lexicon" (1732) favoring the theorist over the performer. Johann Mattheson's "Der brauchbare Virtuoso" (1720) maintained the respect for the traditional ""theoretische Virtuosen"" (theoretical virtuoso) but also paid tribute to the ""virtuosi prattici"" (performer virtuoso).


title: Virtuoso

text: Johann Kuhnau in his "The Musical Charlatan" ("Der musikalische Quack-Salber", 1700) defined the "true virtuoso", once again emphasizing theory (""der wahre Virtuose""), while describing the "highly gifted musician" (""der glückselige Musicus"") or "performer virtuoso" as having nothing more than practical facility.


title: Virtuoso

text: In the late 18th century, people began to use the term to describe an instrumentalist or vocalist who pursued a career as a soloist. The tension about the merit of practical virtuosity started to grow at the same time and intensified in the 19th century, only to remain an open debate since then. Franz Liszt, considered one of the greatest of all virtuosos, declared that "virtuosity is not an outgrowth, but an indispensable element of music" ("Gesammelte Schriften", iv, 1855–9). Richard Wagner opposed the "triviality and exhibitionist talents of the performer" voicing his opinion strongly:


title: Virtuoso

text: The real dignity of the virtuoso rests solely on the dignity he is able to preserve for creative art; if he trifles and toys with this, he casts his honour away. He is the intermediary of the artistic idea.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: Ukrainian volunteer battalions (, more formally , or abbreviated ) were militias and paramilitary groups mobilized as a response to the perceived state of weakness and unwillingness of the regular Armed Forces to counter rising separatism in spring 2014. They trace their origins to the "Maidan Self-Defense" militias formed during the Euromaidan in 2013. The earliest of these volunteer units were later formalized into military, special police and paramilitary formations in a response to Russian military intervention in Ukraine. Most of the formations were formed or placed under command of government agencies of Ministry of Internal Affairs — as "Special Tasks Patrol Police" — and Ministry of Defence — as "Territorial defence battalions". There was minority of battalions that were independent.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: Most of the Battalions initially didn't receive money from the government and were self-funded, some were backed by Ukrainian oligarchs while others received donations or started internet crowdfunding campaigns.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: As of September 2014, 37 volunteer battalions took active part in battles of the War in Donbas. Some of the battalion fighters are former Euromaidan activists, but their social background is highly diverse. They include students and military officers. They enjoy a high level of support in Ukrainian society ranked second among the most respected institutions in the country. However, their close ties with Ukrainian oligarchs bring up a high risk of the volunteer formations becoming politicized or turning into private armies. Ordered to leave the front lines in 2015, the volunteer battalion phenomenon was largely over within a year of its beginning. Most units kept existing but were fully integrated as units of either the Ukrainian Army or the National Guard of Ukraine.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: Since spring 2014, Ministry of Defence had formed 32 volunteer battalions. The ones under the Ministry of Defence command were officially named the "Territorial Defence Battalions". At the end of 2014, territorial defence battalions were reorganized as motorized infantry battalions. The idea of the territorial defence battalions, however, remained and in 2021 the Territorial Defense Forces were later created as a more formal and structured version of the territorial defence battalions.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: Besides territorial defence battalions, several regular units of Armed Forces of Ukraine were formed from volunteers, such as 3rd Airmobile Battalion "Phoenix" or 54th Reconnaissance Battalion "UNSO". In 2015 the 46th Spetsnaz Battalion "Donbas Ukraine" was created from volunteers of Donbas Battalion who decided to switch from National Guard of Ukraine to Armed Forces.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: According to Interior Minister Avakov, by mid-April 2016 205 service personnel of the ministry's volunteer battalions had been killed in action, National Guardsmen included.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: Ministry of Internal Affairs had established 56 special tasks patrol police units sized from company to battalion. After several reorganizations, this number shrunk to 33 units.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: The National Guard of Ukraine, subordinated to Ministry of Internal Affairs, had established several reserve battalions, among which were Donbas Battalion and General Kulchytskiy Battalion formed from volunteers and Maidan activists.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: The following battalions were not controlled by either the Ministry of Internal Affairs nor the Ministry of Defense, but independently operate.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: Right Sector had formed several battalions that are known as Ukrainian Volunteer Corps. In spring 2015 there were attempts to integrate Ukrainian Volunteer Corps into the Ukrainian Army or National Guard.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: Battalion of "Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists" was operating in the area of Pisky, Donetsk. The battalion was disbanded in September 2019; as one of the last units composed purely of volunteer soldiers.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: A unit specialized in aerial reconnaissance and drone warfare. Aerorozvidka was nicknamed a "war startup" by some observers, it began as a group of volunteer drone and IT enthusiasts. It used commercial drones to help the Ukrainian military forces. It was later integrated into the Ukrainian Ground Forces.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: The Noman Çelebicihan Battalion was one of the three reported battalions with majority Muslim membership.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: It was composed mostly of ethnic Crimean Tatars and was based in the Kherson region bordering Crimea. It did not participate in any combat operations. The battalion was formed and disbanded in 2016. Many of its members later joined other volunteer battalions or enlisted in the Ukrainian army. The battalion reportedly received assistance from Turkey.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: The foreign fighter movement in 2014 was largely short-lived, with researcher Kacper Rekawek writing, "fighters arrived throughout the summer of 2014, and most of them were gone from Ukraine at some point in 2015, although some returned later, with a small group settling in Ukraine permanently." By the end of 2015, Rekawek notes, "both sides took steps to professionalise their forces and incorporate the bottom-up organised volunteer battalions into e.g. the Ukrainian National Guard or, in the case of the 'separatists,' into the 'army corps.' This effectively meant an end to foreign fighter recruitment for this conflict and very few (new) foreigners joined either side after the end of 2015."


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: On 6 October 2014 the Ukrainian parliament voted to allow foreign fighters to join the Ukrainian military. That December, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko promised that foreign fighters who join the Ukrainian military will receive citizenship. However, the Kyiv Post reported that by October 2015, only one foreign fighter from Russia had been granted citizenship. The same month, 30 foreign fighters (from Belarus, Georgia, and Russia) rallied in Kyiv for Ukrainian citizenship.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: An analysis of foreign fighters by Arkadiusz Legieć, a Senior Analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, estimated that about 17,241 foreign fighters fought in Ukraine between 2014 and 2019. 3,879 of those foreign fighters supported Ukraine and joined foreign volunteer battalions. The largest group of foreign fighters in Ukraine was approximately 3,000 Russian citizen volunteers. The second-largest group consisted of approximately 300 Belarusians. The third-largest group consisted of approximately 120 Georgians. The only other country to exceed 50 foreign fighters was Croatia, with approximately 60 fighters. Other countries whose nationals supported Ukraine included Albania (15), Australia (5), Austria (35), Azerbaijan (20), Belgium (1), Bosnia and Herzegovina (5), Bulgaria (6), Canada (10), Czech Republic (5), Denmark (15), Estonia (10), Finland (15), France (15), Germany (15), Greece (2), Ireland (7), Israel (15), Italy (35), Latvia (8), Lithuania (15), Moldova (15), Kosovo (4), Netherlands (3), North Macedonia (4), Norway (10), Poland (10), Portugal (1), Romania (4), Serbia (6), Slovakia (8), Sweden (25), Turkey (30), the United Kingdom (10), and the United States (15).


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: The Georgian National Legion is a paramilitary unit formed of more than 700 soldiers, mostly ethnic Georgian volunteers fighting on the side of Ukraine in the War in Donbas and Russian invasion of Ukraine. The unit was organized in 2014 with the declared aim "to stand up to Russian aggression". The group is commanded by Mamuka Mamulashvili, a veteran Georgian officer. There are also members of Georgian national legion that had experience from the Chechen wars. After the start of Russian invasion of Ukraine more people of different nationalities applied to join Georgian National Legion.The GNL has been seen multiple times in news reports and interviews and can be seen as one of the more know Volunteer battalions.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: The Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion, originally named the "Chechen battalion", was set up in March 2014 and is one of the three reported majority Muslim battalions formed. It was later named after Chechnya's first president and leader Dzhokhar Dudayev and it is based in Novomoskovsk in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. As of late May 2015, the unit was in the process of being legalized as part of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry. Its Ukrainian members will join the Zoloti Borota Battalion, while its foreign members are expected to join army units under a bill enabling foreign fighters to get Ukrainian citizenship. Most of the members are ethnic Ukrainians, but there are also Chechens from European countries as well as from Chechnya and it also includes other Muslims like Azerbaijanis, Ingush and Tatars, as well as Georgians. The battalion "views the war as part of a broader struggle against Russian imperialism and the Kadyrov regime". The battalion specializes in counter-subversion.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: The Sheikh Mansur Battalion is one of the three Chechen battalions formed. It was reported as defending the front line near Mariupol in 2015. It was created by former Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion members. The battalion was disbanded in September 2019; as one of the last units composed purely of volunteer soldiers. However, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the battalion was reported to be active again.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: The separate special-purpose battalion of the Ministry of Defense of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is a military unit of Chechen volunteers, functioning as part of the Foreign Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine. It was created by Akhmed Zakayev on July 31, 2022, on the basis of a Chechen formation that has been fighting on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: Tactical Group "Belarus" is a volunteer group of Belarusian nationals who were part of the Ukrainian volunteer battalions.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: In 2022, the former Territorial defence battalions were reorganized into a more formal and structured independent branch of the armed forces known as the Territorial Defense Forces. They serve as a spiritual successor of the volunteer battalions, allowing local civilian volunteers to join and do local territorial defense against an invasion.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by forces of the Russian Federation, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged foreign volunteers to travel to Ukrainian embassies across the world to join a new 'International Brigade' of the Ukrainian armed forces.


title: Ukrainian volunteer battalions

text: Freedom of Russia Legion was formed following the 2022 invasion, which made up of defectors of the Russian armed forces. The legion also reportedly consists of volunteers from the Russian opposition.


title: English law

text: English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures.


title: English law

text: Although the common law has, historically, been the foundation and prime source of English law, the most authoritative law is statutory legislation, which comprises Acts of Parliament, regulations and by-laws. In the absence of any statutory law, the common law with its principle of "stare decisis" forms the residual source of law, based on judicial decisions, custom, and usage.


title: English law

text: Common law is made by sitting judges who apply both statutory law and established principles which are derived from the reasoning from earlier decisions. Equity is the other historic source of judge-made law. Common law can be amended or repealed by Parliament.


title: English law

text: Not being a civil law system, it has no comprehensive codification. However, most of its criminal law has been codified from its common law origins, in the interests both of certainty and of ease of prosecution. For the time being, murder remains a common law crime rather than a statutory offence.


title: English law

text: Although Scotland and Northern Ireland form part of the United Kingdom and share Westminster as a primary legislature, they have separate legal systems outside English law.


title: English law

text: International treaties such as the European Union's Treaty of Rome or the Hague-Visby Rules have effect in English law only when adopted and ratified by Act of Parliament. Adopted treaties may be subsequently denounced by executive action, unless the denouncement or withdraw would affect rights enacted by Parliament. In this case, executive action cannot be used owing to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. This principle was established in the case of "R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union" in 2017.


title: English law

text: Criminal law is the law of crime and punishment whereby the Crown prosecutes the accused. Civil law is concerned with tort, contract, families, companies and so on. Civil law courts operate to provide a party who has an enforceable claim with a remedy such as damages or a declaration.


title: English law

text: In this context, civil law is the system of codified law that is prevalent in Europe. Civil law is founded on the ideas of Roman law.


title: English law

text: In this context, common law means the judge-made law of the King's Bench; whereas equity is the judge-made law of the (now-defunct) Court of Chancery. Equity is concerned mainly with trusts and equitable remedies. Equity generally operates in accordance with the principles known as the "maxims of equity".


title: English law

text: The reforming Judicature Acts of the 1880s amalgamated the courts into one Supreme Court of Judicature which was directed to administer both law and equity. The neo-gothic Royal Courts of Justice in The Strand, London, were built shortly afterward to celebrate these reforms.


title: English law

text: Public law is the law governing relationships between individuals and the state. Private law encompasses relationships between private individuals and other private entities (but may also cover "private" relationships between the government and private entities).


title: English law

text: A remedy is "the means given by law for the recovery of a right, or of compensation for its infringement". Most remedies are available only from the court, but some are "self-help" remedies; for instance, a party who lawfully wishes to cancel a contract may do so without leave; and a person may take his own steps to "abate a private nuisance". Formerly, most civil actions claiming damages in the High Court were commenced by obtaining a writ issued in the Queen's name. After 1979, writs have merely required the parties to appear, and writs are no longer issued in the name of the Crown. Now, after the Woolf Reforms of 1999, almost all civil actions other than those connected with insolvency are commenced by the completion of a Claim Form as opposed to a writ, originating application, or a summons.


title: English law

text: The rule of European Union law in England, previously of prime importance, has been ended as a result of Brexit.


title: English law

text: Statutes are cited in this fashion: "Short Title Year", e.g. Theft Act 1968. This became the usual way to refer to Acts from 1840 onwards; previously Acts were cited by their long title with the regnal year of the parliamentary session when they received Royal Assent, and the chapter number. For example, the Pleading in English Act 1362 (which required pleadings to be in English and not Law French) was referred to as "36 Edw. III c. 15," meaning "36th year of the reign of Edward III, chapter 15". (By contrast, American convention inserts "of", as in "Civil Rights Act "of" 1964").


title: English law

text: Common law is a term with historical origins in the legal system of England. It denotes, in the first place, the judge-made law that developed from the early Middle Ages as described in a work published at the end of the 19th century, "The History of English Law before the Time of Edward I", in which Pollock and Maitland expanded the work of Coke (17th century) and Blackstone (18th century). Specifically, the law developed in England's Court of Common Pleas and other common law courts, which became also the law of the colonies settled initially under the Crown of England or, later, of the United Kingdom, in North America and elsewhere; and this law as further developed after those courts in England were reorganised by the Supreme Court of Judicature Acts passed in the 1870s, and developed independently, in the legal systems of the United States and other jurisdictions, after their independence from the United Kingdom, before and after the 1870s. The term is used, in the second place, to denote the law developed by those courts, in the same periods (pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial), as distinct from within the jurisdiction, or former jurisdiction, of other courts in England: the Court of Chancery, the ecclesiastical courts, and the Admiralty court.


title: English law

text: In the Oxford English Dictionary (1933) "common law" is described as "The unwritten law of England, administered by the King's courts, which purports to be derived from ancient usage, and is embodied in the older commentaries and the reports of abridged cases", as opposed, in that sense, to statute law, and as distinguished from the equity administered by the Chancery and similar courts, and from other systems such as ecclesiastical law, and admiralty law. For usage in the United States the description is "the body of legal doctrine which is the foundation of the law administered in all states settled from England, and those formed by later settlement or division from them".


title: English law

text: Professor John Makdisi's article "The Islamic Origins of the Common Law" in the "North Carolina Law Review" theorized that English common law was influenced by medieval Islamic law. Makdisi drew comparisons between the "royal English contract protected by the action of debt" and the "Islamic "Aqd"", the "English assize of novel disseisin" (a petty assize adopted in the 1166 at the Assizes of Clarendon) and the "Islamic "Istihqaq"", and the "English jury" and the "Islamic "Lafif"" in the classical Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence, and argued that these institutions were transmitted to England by the Normans, "through the close connection between the Norman kingdoms of Roger II in Sicily — ruling over a conquered Islamic administration — and Henry II in England." Makdisi also argued that the "law schools known as Inns of Court" in England (which he asserts are parallel to Madrasahs) may have also originated from Islamic law. He states that the methodology of legal precedent and reasoning by analogy ("Qiyas") are also similar in both the Islamic and common law systems. Other legal scholars such as Monica Gaudiosi, Gamal Moursi Badr and A. Hudson have argued that the English trust and agency institutions, which were introduced by Crusaders, may have been adapted from the Islamic "Waqf" and "Hawala" institutions they came across in the Middle East. Paul Brand also notes parallels between the "Waqf" and the trusts used to establish Merton College by Walter de Merton, who had connections with the Knights Templar.


title: English law

text: In 1276, the concept of "time immemorial" often applied in common law was defined as being any time before 6 July 1189 (i.e. before Richard I's accession to the English throne).


title: English law

text: Since 1189, English law has been a common law, not a civil law system; in other words, no comprehensive codification of the law has taken place and judicial precedents are binding as opposed to persuasive. This may be a legacy of the Norman conquest of England, when a number of legal concepts and institutions from Norman law were introduced to England. In the early centuries of English common law, the justices and judges were responsible for adapting the system of writs to meet everyday needs, applying a mixture of precedent and common sense to build up a body of internally consistent law. An example is the Law Merchant derived from the "Pie-Powder" Courts, named from a corruption of the French "pieds-poudrés" ("dusty feet") implying ad hoc marketplace courts.


title: English law

text: Following Montesquieu's theory of the "separation of powers", only Parliament has the power to legislate; but if a statute is ambiguous, then the courts have exclusive power to decide its true meaning, using the principles of statutory interpretation. Since the courts have no authority to legislate, the "legal fiction" is that they "declare" (rather than "create") the common law. The House of Lords took this "declaratory power" a stage further in "DPP v Shaw", where, in creating the new crime of "conspiracy to corrupt public morals", Viscount Simonds claimed the court had a "residual power to protect the moral welfare of the state". As Parliament became ever more established and influential, Parliamentary legislation gradually overtook judicial law-making such that today's judges are able to innovate only in certain very narrowly defined areas.


title: English law

text: England exported its common law and statute law to most parts of the British Empire, and many aspects of that system have survived after Independence from British rule, and the influences are often reciprocal. "English law" prior to the American Revolutionary Wars (American War of Independence) is still an influence on United States law, and provides the basis for many American legal traditions and principles.


title: English law

text: After independence, English common law still exerted influence over American common law – for example, "Byrne v Boadle" (1863), which first applied the "res ipsa loquitur" doctrine. Jurisdictions that have kept to the common law may incorporate modern legal developments from England, and English decisions are usually persuasive in such jurisdictions.


title: English law

text: In the United States, each state has its own supreme court with final appellate jurisdiction, resulting in the development of state common law. The US Supreme Court has the final say over federal matters. By contrast, in Australia, one national common law exists.


title: English law

text: After Britain's colonial period, jurisdictions that had inherited and adopted England's common law developed their courts of final appeal in differing ways: jurisdictions still under the British crown are subject to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. For a long period, the British Dominions used London's Privy Council as their final appeal court, although one by one they eventually established their local supreme court. New Zealand was the last Dominion to abandon the Privy Council, setting up its own Supreme Court in 2004. Even after independence, many former British colonies in the Commonwealth continued to use the Privy Council, as it offered a readily available high-grade service. In particular, several Caribbean island nations found the Privy Council advantageous.


title: English law

text: Britain is a dualist in its relationship with international law, so international treaties must be formally ratified by Parliament and incorporated into statute before such supranational laws become binding in the UK.


title: English law

text: Britain has long been a major trading nation, exerting a strong influence on the law of shipping and maritime trade. The English law of salvage, collisions, ship arrest, and carriage of goods by sea are subject to international conventions which Britain played a leading role in drafting. Many of these conventions incorporate principles derived from English common law and documentary procedures.


title: English law

text: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland comprises three legal jurisdictions: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Although Scotland and Northern Ireland form part of the United Kingdom and share the Parliament at Westminster as the primary legislature, they have separate legal systems. Scotland became part of the UK over 300 years ago, but Scots law has remained remarkably distinct from English law. The UK's highest civil appeal court is the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, whose decisions, and those of its predecessor the House of Lords, unless obviously limited to a principle of distinct English and Welsh, Scottish or Northern Irish law, are binding on all three UK jurisdictions, as in "Donoghue v Stevenson", a Scots case that forms the basis of the UK's law of negligence.


title: English law

text: Unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, Wales is not a separate jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. The customary laws of Wales within the Kingdom of England were abolished by King Henry VIII's Laws in Wales Acts which brought Wales into legal conformity with England. While Wales now has a devolved parliament (the Senedd), any legislation it passes must adhere to circumscribed subjects under the Government of Wales Act 2006, to other legislation of the British Parliament, or to any Order in Council given under the authority of the 2006 Act.


title: English law

text: Any reference to England in legislation between 1746 and 1967 is deemed to include Wales. As to later legislation any application to Wales must be expressed under the Welsh Language Act 1967 and the jurisdiction is, since, correctly and widely referred to as England and Wales. Devolution has granted some political autonomy to Wales via the National Assembly for Wales, which gained its power to pass primary legislation under the Government of Wales Act 2006, in force since the 2007 Welsh general election. The legal system administered through civil and criminal courts is unified throughout England and Wales. This is different from Northern Ireland, for example, which did not cease to be a distinct jurisdiction when its legislature was suspended (see Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972). A major difference is use of the Welsh language, as laws concerning it apply in Wales and not in the rest of the United Kingdom. The Welsh Language Act 1993 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which put the Welsh language on an equal footing with the English language in Wales with regard to the public sector. Welsh may also be spoken in Welsh courts.


title: William Chester Minor

text: William Chester Minor (also known as W. C. Minor; 22 June 1834 – 26 March 1920), was an American army surgeon, psychiatric-hospital patient, and lexicographical researcher.


title: William Chester Minor

text: After serving in the Union Army during the American Civil War, Minor moved to England. Affected by delusions, he shot a man who he believed had broken into his room, and was consequently committed from 1872 to 1910 to a secure British psychiatric hospital.


title: William Chester Minor

text: While incarcerated, Minor became an important contributor to the "Oxford English Dictionary". He was one of the project's most effective volunteers, reading through his large personal library of antiquarian books and compiling quotations that illustrated how particular words were used.


title: William Chester Minor

text: In 1910, responding to protests about Minor's treatment, Winston Churchill, then British home secretary, ordered Minor deported to the United States. Minor was hospitalized in Connecticut, where he died in 1920.


title: William Chester Minor

text: Minor was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the son of Eastman Strong Minor and his first wife, Lucy Bailey. His parents were Congregational church missionaries from New England. He had numerous half-siblings, among them Thomas T. Minor, mayor of Seattle, Washington. At age 14, he was sent to the United States, where he lived with relatives in New Haven while attending Russell Military Academy. He subsequently enrolled at the Yale School of Medicine, supporting himself during his years as a medical student with part-time employment as an instructor at the Russell Academy and as an assistant on the 1864 revision of Webster's Dictionary, then in preparation at Yale under the supervision of Noah Porter. Minor graduated in 1863 with a medical degree and a specialization in comparative anatomy. After a brief stint at Knight General Hospital in New Haven he joined the Union Army.


title: William Chester Minor

text: He was accepted by the Union Army as a surgeon and may have served at the Battle of the Wilderness in May 1864, which was notable for the terrible casualties suffered by both sides. There is an unverified story of Minor also being given the task of punishing an Irish soldier in the Union Army by branding him on the face with a "D" for "deserter" and that this incident later played a role in Minor's delusions. Historians disagree as to whether the Union Army used branding as a punishment for desertion, which means that the story may be fabricated. Moreover, it is unlikely Minor was present at the Battle of the Wilderness, which took place May 5–7, 1864, since his military records place him at Knight USA Hospital in New Haven at that time and do not show him arriving at 2 Division Hospital USA at Alexandria, Virginia, until May 17.


title: William Chester Minor

text: After the end of the Civil War, Minor saw duty in New York City. He was strongly attracted to the red-light district of the city and devoted much of his off-duty time to consorting with prostitutes. By 1867, his behavior had come to the attention of the army and he was transferred to a remote post in the Florida Panhandle. By 1868, his condition had progressed to the point that he was admitted to St. Elizabeths Hospital, a lunatic asylum (as mental hospitals were then called) in Washington, D.C. After 18 months he showed no improvement.


title: William Chester Minor

text: In 1871, Minor went to London for a change of pace to help his mental condition. In 1872, he was living in Tenison Street, Lambeth, where once again he took up a dissolute life. On February 17, 1872, haunted by his paranoia, he fatally shot George Merrett, whom Minor wrongly believed to have broken into his room. Merrett had been on his way to work to support his family: six children and his pregnant wife, Eliza.


title: William Chester Minor

text: After a pre-trial period spent in London's Horsemonger Lane Gaol, Minor was found not guilty by reason of insanity and incarcerated at the asylum in Broadmoor in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire. As he had his US Army pension and was judged not dangerous, he was given rather comfortable quarters and was able to buy and read books.


title: William Chester Minor

text: It was probably through his correspondence with the London booksellers that he heard of the call for volunteers for what was to become the "Oxford English Dictionary" (OED). He devoted most of the remainder of his life to that work. He became one of the project's most effective volunteers, reading through his large personal library of antiquarian books and compiling quotations that illustrated the way particular words were used. He was often visited by the widow of the man he had killed, and she provided him with further books. The compilers of the dictionary published lists of words for which they wanted examples of usage. Minor provided these with increasing ease as the lists grew. It was many years before the "OED"s editor, James Murray, learned of Minor's history and visited him in January 1891. In 1899, Murray paid compliment to Minor's enormous contributions to the dictionary, stating, "we could easily illustrate the last four centuries from his quotations alone".


title: William Chester Minor

text: Minor's condition deteriorated. In 1902, he was suffering delusions that he was being abducted nightly from his rooms and conveyed to such distant places as Istanbul, where he was forced to commit sexual assaults on children. He cut off his own penis (autopenectomy) to prevent such actions. He used a knife he otherwise used in his work on the dictionary. His health continued to worsen and, after Murray campaigned on his behalf, Minor was released in 1910 on the orders of the then Home Secretary, 35 year-old Winston Churchill.


title: William Chester Minor

text: Minor was deported back to the United States and resided at St. Elizabeths Hospital. There, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 1919 he was moved to the Retreat for the Elderly Insane in Hartford, Connecticut, where he died in 1920. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut, alongside members of his family.


title: William Chester Minor

text: In July 1915, the Washington D.C. Sunday Star published a "sensationalized" story beginning with the line “American Murderer Helped Write Oxford Dictionary.” The book "The Surgeon of Crowthorne" (published in America as "The Professor and the Madman"), by Simon Winchester, was published in 1998 and chronicles both Minor's later life and his contributions to the creation of the "Oxford English Dictionary". The film rights for the book were bought by Mel Gibson's Icon Productions in 1998. In August 2016, it was announced that Farhad Safinia was to direct an adaptation, called "The Professor and the Madman", starring Mel Gibson as Murray and Sean Penn as Minor. The film was released in May 2019.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: Yamashita joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates as a trainee in 1996 (age 11) and made his small acting debut for NHK's "Shonentachi" (1998) and has been active on Japanese TV since then. Yamashita made his official CD debut as part of idol group NEWS in 2004 and later debuted as a soloist in 2006. He got his successful acting career after an interesting portrayal as Kusano Akira for the hit drama "Nobuta Wo Produce" (2005). His biggest break as an actor came in 2006 when he landed his first lead role for popular drama "Kurosagi". On October 7, 2011, Johnny & Associates announced that Yamashita and Ryo Nishikido were no longer members of NEWS and Yamashita would be concentrating on his solo projects as actor and solo singer/idol. His solo music label was under Warner Music Japan until 2016. In mid-2018, Yamashita's music label moved to Sony Music Japan; however, Sony only managed Yamashita's music activities while his main career management remain under Johnny & Associates, which he left on October 31, 2020. As early as 2019, he signed a brokerage contract with Westbrook Entertainment, a brokerage company opened by Will Smith as he aspires to reach global audiences and overseas business territory.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: Yamashita is widely known for his many popular dramas such as "Nobuta Wo Produce, Kurosagi, Proposal Daisakusen, Buzzer Beat, Code Blue series, " and more"." His latest movie "Code Blue the movie" (2018) was the highest-grossing domestic movie In Japan for the year 2018 and #5 for all-time highest-grossing live action movies in Japan.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: Yamashita was born in Funabashi, Chiba. His parents separated when he was a child and both Yamashita and his younger sister were raised mainly by his mother. His real name is Tomohisa Aoki but he changed his surname to his mother's after his father left. His mother's name is Naomi Yamashita and his sister's name is Rina Yamashita. His nickname when he is young is 'Yama'. He is an athletic person ever since he is young. Since kindergarten, he started learning karate and got purple belt.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: He became motivated to send in his application to the talent agency Johnny & Associates after watching one of Takizawa Hideaki's dramas and aspiring to appear on television like him. He sent in applications to many agencies but only Johnny & Associates called him for an audition. In 1996, he became a trainee under Johnny & Associates as a part of group Johnny's Junior. He debuted as a singer in a three-member Japanese band called NEWS and as a soloist in 2006. In 1998, he later debuted as an actor with a small role in 'NHK's Shonentachi'. Since debuting, he is widely known as 'Yamapi', short for Yamashita and Pink. The nickname "Yamapi" was given to him by Takizawa Hideaki as he forgot to wear pink clothing for a performance one time and was repeatedly scolded by his coach, 'Yamashita, Pink!', 'Yamashita, Pink!', much to everybody's amusement. His other nicknames include 'Pi', 'Tomo-chan','Pi-Chan' or 'Pii-Tan'.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: Yamashita graduated from Horikoshi Gakuen's performing arts course for high school students in 2004. In Junior High, he joined athletes club. At Horikoshi, he shared a classroom with celebrities such as Koki Tanaka, Koike Teppei, and Yu Shirota. After graduating from high school, Yamashita was accepted into Meiji University's School of Commerce. He graduated with a Commerce degree (major in marketing) in autumn 2008.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: Yamashita made his acting debut in NHK's Shonentachi in 1998. He gained more attention after appearing in Ikebukuro West Gate Park in 2000. His biggest break as an actor though came in 2006 when he landed the title role in the television drama "Kurosagi". He subsequently made his widescreen debut with the "Kurosagi" film sequel "Eiga: Kurosagi" in 2008. Yamashita also made his debut as a solo artist with the "Kurosagi" soundtrack "Daite Senorita" which went on to sell over 800,000 copies. He followed that up in 2007 and 2008 with roles as time-traveler Iwase Ken in the award-winning romantic comedy "Proposal Daisakusen" and flight doctor-in-training Aizawa Kousaku in the medical drama "Code Blue". "Proposal Daisakusen" remains one of his most notable works, and in 2013, his character Ken's trademark line "" was selected by Oricon Monitor Research members as one of the most memorable signature phrases in Japanese drama history. Industry watchdog Nikkei Entertainment placed him at the top of their annual ranking of under-30 Japanese celebrities in 2008 due to his achievements in multiple entertainment fields that year. Following his work in the 2009 romance serial Buzzer Beat, Nikkei christened him the 'twenty-something ratings man', singling him out as one of the few young actors who could successfully lead romance dramas and possessed a stable ratings record despite the declining drama industry". Yamashita reprised his role as Aizawa Kousaku in the winter 2010 TV series "Code Blue 2". Days after "Code Blue 2" wrapped, Yamashita began filming for the live-action film adaptation of "Ashita no Joe". "Code Blue 2" and "Buzzer Beat" aired in Fuji TV's prestigious "getsuku" (Monday 9 p.m.) time-slot in Japan, making Yamashita the first person to have starred in two "getsukus" with only a single drama season in between.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: From January to March 2012, NTV aired , a travel documentary chronicling Yamashita's cross-country trip across the historic Route 66. Then, after a two-year absence, Yamashita returned to the small screen with the 2012 winter drama "Saikō no Jinsei no Owarikata: Ending Planner" where he portrayed the role of Ihara Masato, the reluctant heir to a funeral parlor. He also co-starred with Shingo Katori for autumn 2012 detective series "Monsters".


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: Yamashita co-hosted Fuji TV's primetime Japanese variety show from January 28, 2013, until its last episode on March 10, 2014. From April 20, 2014, Yamashita started hosting a new late-night variety show titled "Otona no Kiss Eigo". Later in 2015 the staffs put his name on the title show and changed to "YamaPi no Kiss Eigo", with new timeslot and new format games involving speaking English. In the same year, he started a new regular radio program titled “SOUND TRIPPER“ after his old radio program "CROSS SPACE" (2012-2015) ended few weeks before. In line with the new show's title, the interFM show presented chart-topping songs from US and UK charts of that year and was broadcast five days a week, from 8:05-8:10 in the morning. The radio program was aired from 2015 to early 2017


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: In 2014, Yamashita was cast as the male lead in the live action film adaption of the manga "Kinkyori Ren'ai (近キョリ恋愛, "Close-range Love")", in which he plays an English teacher at a high school who becomes the object of affection of his student Kururugi Uni, played by Komatsu Nana. "近キョリ恋愛" topped the Japanese box office for three consecutive weeks, earning a total 1.17 billion yen. It was the only movie with less than 200 screens (179 screens) which managed to earn over 1 billion yen in 2014.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: In 2015, Yamashita starred in two drama series. The first was the TBS spring 2015 drama, "アルジャーノンに花束を" "Algernon ni Hanataba wo (2015"), an adaptation of the Daniel Keyes novel, Flowers for Algernon., in which he played the lead character. In fall, he starred in the romance-comedy drama alongside actress Satomi Ishihara.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: In May 2016, Yamashita starred in Takashi Miike's "TerraFormars", an adaptation of the popular manga with same title, "Terra Formars". In early 2016, it was also announced that Yamashita would participate in a Chinese movie production, ""ReBorn"" (Chinese title) "or "Cyber Mission"" (Japanese title), in which he played his first villain character. He costarred alongside Chinese actor Hangeng and Taiwanese actor Rydian Vaughan. The movie was released on August 3, 2018 in China and January 25, 2019 in Japan In April 2017, Yamashita and Kamenashi Kazuya starred together again in the spring drama ""Boku, Unmei no Hito desu ~ I'm your Destiny" ." Yamashita played the role of a mysterious man who referred to himself as "God".


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: 9 years after the first season, Yamashita reunited with the main cast of Code Blue for a third season which aired from July to September 2017. Repeating the success of season 1 and season 2, Code Blue Season 3 ended successfully as the highest-rated drama in summer, dominating Nikkan Sport Drama Awards, Academy Drama awards and some magazine drama awards. The Code Blue series finished with Code Blue the movie, released July 27, 2018. It topped the summer box office and live action movie rankings, and at the end of the year, took the crown as the highest-grossing movie in 2018 with more than 7.17 million tickets sold and 9.23 billion yen at the box office. Code Blue is the fifth domestic live-action movie to achieve this as well as the first in fifteen years to do so; the previous film to accomplish this was Bayside Shakedown 2 in 2003.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: In 2019, he starred in the spring drama series "IN HAND" as genius and eccentric Parasitologist Himokura Tetsu, the drama involving science research and its mystery. Since 2019, Yamashita is pursuing his acting career in international projects. Most notably, he starred as a lead actor in the psychological thriller series The Head, an international production of THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO and HBO Asia. As of November 2020, Yamashita will pursue his acting career and has his eyes set on more international roles. In 2021, he stars in the Hollywood production The Man from Toronto alongside Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: Yamashita joined Johnny & Associates in 1996 at age 11. He started as trainee in a group called ""Johnny's Junior"". Johnny's Juniors appeared on music shows as their senior's backup dancers, in addition to appearing on NHK TV's ""Shounen Club"". Several years after entering the agency, Yamashita became one of the most popular junior members. After Takizawa Hideaki debuted as duo group Tackey & Tsubasa in 2003, Yamashita was appointed as Johnny's Junior leader.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: In September 2003, 7 years after joining the agency, Yamashita was one of the Johnny's Juniors chosen to be part of the idol group NEWS and he subsequently formally debuted on May 12, 2004. Yamashita was often referred to as the leader of NEWS in media but members of the group, including Yamashita himself, have stated at times that he was not the de facto leader.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: Together with Kazuya Kamenashi, Yamashita released the single "Seishun Amigo" in November 2005. The single was the soundtrack for the drama "Nobuta wo Produce", starring Kamenashi and Yamashita, and it topped the Oricon yearly charts in 2005. "Seishun Amigo" eventually sold over 1.5 million copies and is Yamashita's best-selling single to date.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: In 2009 Yamashita returned to solo music activities with the release of his second solo single, "Loveless", and his first solo concert, ~Short But Sweet~ In 2010, he released his third solo single "One in a Million" which debuted atop the Oricon charts. This was followed by the releases of the single "Hadakanbo" and his first solo album, "Supergood, Superbad", in January 2011. His first solo tour, "Supergood, Superbad: Asia Tour 2011" kicked off on January 29, 2011, in Hong Kong.


title: Tomohisa Yamashita

text: On October 7, 2011, Johnny & Associates announced that Yamashita and Ryo Nishikido were no longer members of NEWS, and Yamashita would henceforth be concentrating on his solo projects. Yamashita later published a message through the Johnny's web (Jweb) subscription service stating that this was a decision taken after much consideration on his part.