title: Short Stirling

text: Prior to the Munich Agreement of 1938, Shorts had received a pair of orders for the Stirling, each for the production of 100 aircraft; however, as a result of Munich, the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) enacted 'Plan L', under which Stirling orders were rapidly increased to 1,500 aircraft. In addition to contracts extending the projected work at Rochester and Belfast; some of the additional contracts were placed with Austin Motors to be produced at their Longbridge facility and with Rootes, which were to manufacture the type at their new shadow factory in Stoke-on-Trent. At its height, manufacturing activity on the Stirling was being performed at a total of 20 factories. According to Norris, while the aircraft's design had incorporated an inherent ability for production of the Stirling to be broken down, in practice, strict supervision of the work remained necessary. To coordinate the dispersed production approach adopted for the Stirling, Shorts and MAP operated a travelling team of 600 production engineers and draughtsmen who routinely travelled throughout the United Kingdom to the manufacturing facilities involved.


title: Short Stirling

text: On 7 May 1940, the first production Stirling conducted its first flight. According to Norris, initial rates of production were disappointing, and were in part due to delays in the delivery of machine tools and forgings. It has also been alleged that production of the Stirling was negatively impacted by a decision by Lord Beaverbrook, the MAP, which had ordered a change in priority from four-engined bombers towards fighters and twin-engined aircraft to replace those lost during the Battle of Britain. In August 1940, series production of the Stirling commenced at the Rochester factory.


title: Short Stirling

text: Production of the Stirling was delayed by the ongoing bombing campaign of the Luftwaffe. The area, which included a number of major aviation firms, was heavily bombed in the opening days of the Battle of Britain, including one famous low-level raid by a group of Dornier Do 17s. A number of completed Stirlings were destroyed on the ground and the factories were heavily damaged, setting back production by almost a year. Some production was moved to Austin's Longbridge factory at Cofton Hackett just south of Birmingham, the Longbridge production line eventually produced nearly 150 Stirlings.


title: Short Stirling

text: From this point on, the Belfast factory became increasingly important, as it was thought to be well beyond the range of German bombers. However, Belfast and the aircraft factory were subjected to bombing by German aircraft during the Easter week of 1941. To meet the increased requirement for its aircraft during the war, satellite factories near Belfast were operated at Aldergrove and Maghaberry, producing 232 Stirlings between them. In 1940, bombing damaged Supermarine's factory at Woolston and the incomplete Type 316 prototypes. In November 1940, development of the 316 was formally cancelled, leaving the Stirling as the only B.12/36 design.


title: Short Stirling

text: The first few Stirling Mk.Is were furnished with Bristol Hercules II engines, but most were built with more powerful 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) Hercules XI engines, instead.


title: Short Stirling

text: Even before the Stirling went into production, Short had improved on the initial design with the S.34 in an effort to meet specification B.1/39. It would have been powered by four Bristol Hercules 17 SM engines, optimised for high-altitude flight. The new design featured longer-span wings and a revised fuselage able to carry dorsal and ventral power-operated turrets each fitted with four 20 mm Hispano cannons; despite the obvious gains in performance and capability, the Air Ministry was not interested.


title: Short Stirling

text: In 1941, it was decided that the Stirling would be manufactured in Canada and an initial contract for 140 aircraft was placed. Designated as the Stirling Mk.II, the Hercules engines were to be replaced by 1,600 hp (1,193 kW) Wright GR-2600-A5B Twin Cyclone engines; a pair of prototypes was converted from Mk.I aircraft. However, it was decided to cancel the contract in favour of manufacturing other aircraft; thus, no production Mk.IIs was ever completed.


title: Short Stirling

text: Shorts also pursued the development of the Stirling for potential use on the civilian market. Designated S.37, it was a full-furnished transport aircraft that was capable of seating 30 passengers and was constructed to conform with civilian standards. A single prototype, known as the "Silver Stirling", was converted from a Mk.V aircraft; however, partially due to greater levels of interest being expressed for a more promising civilian version of the Handley-Page Halifax, the proposal met with little official interest.


title: Short Stirling

text: In 1941, Short proposed the development of a new variant of the Stirling, the S.36, which was nicknamed the "Super Stirling" in a company publication. This aircraft would have featured a wing span of 135 ft 9 in (41.38 m), four Bristol Centaurus radials and a maximum takeoff weight of 104,000 lb (47,174 kg). The projected performance estimates included a speed of 300 mph (483 km/h) and a 4,000-mile (6,437 km) range, along with a weapons load of over , or over . The defensive armament of the S.36 was to be an assortment of 10 .50 BMG machine guns that were set into three turrets.


title: Short Stirling

text: The S.36 was initially accepted for testing under Specification B.8/41, which had been specifically written to cover the type, and an order for a pair of prototypes was placed. However, Arthur Harris, as commander of Bomber Command, felt that achieving bulk production of the type would take too much time and that the effort would be better expended on outfitting the existing design with improved Hercules engines with the aim of providing a higher operational altitude ceiling. However, despite the Air Staff having initially found the proposal to have some attraction, it was eventually decided to favour increased production rates of the rival Avro Lancaster, instead. In May 1942, Shorts were informed that the Air Ministry would not be continuing the project; in August 1942, Shorts decided to terminate all work.


title: Short Stirling

text: The Short Stirling was a four-engined monoplane heavy bomber designed to provide a previously unmatched level of strategic bombing capability to the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was powered by four Bristol Hercules radial engines which were spaced across its mid-mounted wing. The Stirling has the distinction of being the only British bomber of the period to see service that had been designed from the start with four engines - the Avro Lancaster was a re-engined, stretched-wingspan Avro Manchester while the Halifax was planned to be powered by twin Rolls-Royce Vulture engines but was similarly re-designed to use an arrangement of four Merlin engines in 1937.


title: Short Stirling

text: Although smaller than both of the pre-war American "XBLR"-designation designs (the 149-foot wingspan, 35-ton Boeing XB-15 and the 212-foot wingspan, 79-ton Douglas XB-19) and nearly as large Soviet experimental heavy bomber designs, the Stirling had considerably more power and far better payload/range than anything then flying from any British-based aviation firm. The massive 14,000 lb (6.25 long tons, 6,340 kg) bomb load put it in a class of its own, double that of any other bomber. It was longer and taller than the Handley Page Halifax and the Avro Lancaster which replaced it but both of these were originally designed to have twin engines.


title: Short Stirling

text: Under typical operations, most variants of the Stirling were flown with a crew of seven, performing several different roles. It was flown by a pair of pilots, who were supported by a navigator/bomb aimer, a front gunner/wireless operator, two further gunners, and a flight engineer. The flight engineer and wireless operator were housed in a cabin just forward of the leading edge of the wing, and directly forward of them was the navigator's station. The two pilots were contained within a fully glazed flight deck positioned level with the forward end of the bomb cells; the provision of a separate flight engineer's station led to the cockpit having a relatively simple appearance in comparison with the majority of the RAF's bombers.


title: Short Stirling

text: The cockpit containing the flying officers was provided with numerous controls and features; to the left of the first pilot were the controls for the auto-pilot and a P.4 compass; the pilot was also provided with a beam approach indicator (to aid nighttime landings) and DF visual loop indicator in addition to the standard flight controls. Switches for the flaps and position indicators were located on a central panel set between the two pilots, while the master fuel cocks were set above these on the roof; throttle and mixture controls were also normally positioned between the pilots. Only limited engine instrumentation was provisioned for, such as engine speed indicators and boost gauges.


title: Short Stirling

text: The navigator/bomb-aimer would perform the latter of these roles in a prone position within the aircraft's nose. For bomb-aiming, a drift sight, camera, and steering control over the auto-pilot were provided; directly above this position was the front turret position of the bomber. Just aft of the wireless operator's position, the centre section of the wing cut across the fuselage; the space above this was used for storing oxygen tanks while the space below was used as a rest bunk. Behind the rest area, the uninterrupted deck ran across the full length of the bomb cells to the location in which the retractable ventral turret was installed upon early production aircraft; the internal area aft of this position were used to store flame floats and reconnaissance flares, as well as an escape hatch, lavatory, rear turret position, and the crew entry door on the port side.


title: Short Stirling

text: The Stirling was armed with nose and tail turrets (the latter was notable for the wide angles of fire) along with a single retractable ventral ("dustbin") turret located just behind the bomb-bay. This proved almost useless due to cramped conditions, with the added distraction that the turret tended to drop and hit the ground when taxiing over bumps. The retractable turret was removed almost from the start and temporarily replaced by beam hatches mounting pairs of machine guns, until a twin-gun dorsal turret could be provided. This turret designated the FN.7A also had problems; it had a metal back fitted with an escape hatch which turned out to be almost impossible to use.


title: Short Stirling

text: The Stirling Mk.III, introduced in 1943, was similar to the Mk.I with the exception of the improved 1,635 hp (1,200 kW) Hercules VI or XVI engines, which improved maximum speed from 255 to 270 mph (410 to 435 km/h). The Mk.III used a fully glazed dorsal turret (the same FN.50 as in Lancaster) that had more room and an improved view. Early Mk.III Stirlings were fitted with a 12.7 mm Browning machine gun in the rear escape hatch (behind a perspex shield) to ward off German night fighters using the Schräge Musik system. Later Stirlings were fitted with an improved, low-drag remotely-controlled FN.64 ventral turret or a H2S radar. Mk.III Stirlings also were fitted with electronic countermeasure systems such as ventral antennas for the Mandrel jamming system as well as a ventral "window" chaff chute to jam Freya and Würzburg radars. Mk.III Stirlings were also fitted with a ventral antenna for the Blind Approach Beacon System which was a blind-landing aid and a Monica rear warning radar in the tail turret.


title: Short Stirling

text: The construction of the Stirling shares considerable similarity to the earlier Short Empire flying boats. The cantilever mid-mounted wing, which employed a two-spar structure covered by aluminium alloy sheeting that was flush-rivetted to the internal spars and ribs, was one instance of design similarity. The wing housed three large self-sealing fuel tanks within the spar truss, along with a fourth non-self-sealing fuel tank within the leading edge of the wing root, which provided for a combined tankage of 2,254 gallons. Up to six ferry tanks could also be installed within the wing bomb cells to add another 220 gallons. Significant attention was paid to reducing drag – all rivets were flush headed and panels joggled to avoid edges – but camouflage paint probably negated the benefit. The wing was fitted with Gouge flaps similar to those of the flying boats.


title: Short Stirling

text: The fuselage of the Stirling was distinct from Short's flying boat lineage, being constructed in four sections and employing continuous stringers throughout each section, as opposed to interruptions of the stringers at every frame as per established practice at Shorts. The four sections were joined using tension bolts through the webs of the end frames. The lower sides of the centre-section spar booms aligned with the main deck of the aircraft, which was supported upon the three longitudinal girders which formed the three parallel bomb cells. The bomb cells were sub-divided into 19-foot compartments sufficient to accommodate conventional 500 lb bombs or 2,000 lb armour-piercing bombs but nothing bigger.


title: Short Stirling

text: Hydraulic power was used for various purposes throughout the Stirling. The nose and dorsal turrets were powered by a duplex pump driven by the inner port engine, while the dorsal turret was powered by a single pump driven by the inner starboard engine. Pulsations in the hydraulic lines were smoothed out by a series of recuperators; German fighter pilots soon learned that by shooting at the area around roundels painted on the fuselage, two of the three turrets could be disabled and the recuperators were moved in later models of the Stirling to reduce their vulnerability.


title: Short Stirling

text: The first production model of the Stirling was powered by the Bristol Hercules II radial engine, which were housed in fully monocoque nacelles. Upon the availability of the improved Hercules XI engine, new welded steel-tube framework engine mountings were incorporated, further changes were implemented to the installation of the power units were subsequently made by Bristol. Hydraulic control of the throttle was a source of slow responsiveness and irritation and often proved dangerous during take-offs.


title: Short Stirling

text: Pilot accounts generally report that, once airborne, the Short Stirling was a delight to fly, surprisingly manoeuvrable for such a large aircraft and without any vices. According to Norris, the Stirling was "more manoeuvreable and responsive than any other aircraft in its class". The shortcomings of the aircraft in terms of lower ceiling and limited range are largely forgiven in pilot autobiographies. The Stirling did, however, exhibit some vicious flying characteristics during takeoff and landings.


title: Short Stirling

text: As a class, the large and heavy four-engined tail-wheeled bombers such as the Stirling, Handley Page Halifax, Avro Lancaster and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress could be a handful on takeoff and landing, more so for relatively young and inexperienced new pilots who formed the vast majority of the expanding Commonwealth and American air forces. Later heavy bomber designs such as the Consolidated B-24 Liberator and Boeing B-29 Superfortress used a nose-wheel (tricycle) configuration as did most successful four engined commercial aircraft in the post-war years. Tricycle geared aircraft are typically easier to control on takeoff, landing and during taxiing, and also make for easier cargo loading and servicing as the cabin, engines and other systems are closer to the ground. The long undercarriage of the Stirling was a result of a request by the RAF who sought to increase the wing incidence.


title: Short Stirling

text: The Short Stirling had particularly challenging flying characteristics on takeoff and landing, even in comparison with other tail-wheeled contemporaries. After a series of serious accidents and total aircraft losses involving uncontrolled ground loops on takeoff, the Royal Air Force implemented a special training and certification programme for all prospective Stirling pilots. Proper takeoff technique involved feeding in right engine throttle during the initial 20 seconds of the takeoff run until the rudder became effective for control. If all four throttles were advanced simultaneously, the aircraft would swing to the right, become uncontrollable and often collapse the landing gear which could be disastrous if the aircraft was loaded with bombs and fuel.


title: Short Stirling

text: On flare-out for landing, the Short Stirling exhibited a tendency to suddenly stall and "drop like a stone" to the runway. With such a heavy aircraft, a "dropped" landing could cause serious structural damage. During its service life, it was not unknown for "dropped" landings to render Stirlings or other large four-engined bombers write-offs and suitable only for parts.


title: Short Stirling

text: In July 1940, the first production Stirling departed Rochester; in August 1940, it was delivered to No. 7 Squadron at RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire. Following a four-month working-up period in which crews adapted to operating the type, the Stirling attained operational status in January 1941. On the night of 10/11 February 1941, the first operational combat mission was performed, flown by the first three Stirlings, against fuel storage tanks at Vlaardingen near Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, all but two bombers were deployed during the mission, which was considered to have run smoothly. By the end of 1941, more than 150 Stirlings had been completed and three RAF squadrons had been equipped with it. Stirlings flew on day and night bombing operations and had been found to be most capable of standing up to enemy interceptor aircraft by using a sweeping combination of fighters and bombers, a tactic which became known as the Circus offensive.


title: Short Stirling

text: From late 1941, the Stirling played a pioneering role in the formation of the RAF's Pathfinder squadrons, specialist navigation and target-finding squadrons to assist Main Force squadrons. From the spring of 1942, the number of Stirlings in service began to increase. From May 1943, raids on Germany were often conducted using over a hundred Stirling bombers at a time. Stirlings were amongst the RAF bombers used during the first 1,000 bomber raid against Cologne. Norris observed that, by 1942, the type had "given plenty of punishment to the Germans and was also proving that it could itself take punishment to an incredible extent". There were several incidents in which damaged aircraft, such as one Stirling which suffered a head-on collision with a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter over Hamburg, were able to return to base.


title: Short Stirling

text: Despite the "disappointing performance" at maximum altitude, Stirling pilots were delighted to discover that, due to the thick wing, they could out-turn the Ju 88 and Bf 110 nightfighters they faced. Its handling was much better than that of the Halifax and some preferred it to the Lancaster. Based on its flight characteristics, Flt Lt Murray Peden (RCAF) of No. 214 Squadron RAF described the Stirling as "one of the finest aircraft ever built". A consequence of the thick wing was a low ceiling; many missions were flown as low as 12,000 ft (4,000 m). This was a disadvantage if crews were attacking Italy and had to fly "through" (rather than "over") the Alps. When Stirlings were on operations with other RAF bombers which could fly higher, the Luftwaffe concentrated on the Stirlings. Within five months of being introduced, 67 out of 84 aircraft had been lost to enemy action or written off after crashes.


title: Short Stirling

text: The Stirling's maximum bomb load could be carried for only around . On typical missions deep into Germany or Italy, a smaller load was carried, consisting of seven GP bombs; this payload was in the range of that which was already being carried by the RAF's medium bombers, such as the Vickers Wellington and by 1944, the de Havilland Mosquito. Perhaps the biggest weakness present in the design was that, although the bomb bay was large at , it had a pair of structural dividers that ran down the middle, limiting the bay to nothing larger than the bomb. As the RAF started using the "cookies" and even larger "specials", the Stirling became less useful. The Handley-Page Halifax and especially the Avro Lancaster offered better performance and when these aircraft became available in greater numbers from 1943, the Stirlings were relegated to secondary tasks.


title: Short Stirling

text: During the type's service with Bomber Command, Stirlings flew a total of 14,500 sorties, during which 27,000 tons of bombs were dropped; 582 aircraft were lost in action while a further 119 were written off. By December 1943, Stirlings were being withdrawn from frontline service as bombers. The aircraft remained in service for minelaying operations in the vicinity of German ports ("Gardening"), electronic countermeasures, dropping spies deep behind enemy lines at night and towing gliders.


title: Short Stirling

text: During 1943, it had been recognised that there would be a requirement for a force of powerful aircraft capable of towing heavy transport gliders, such as the General Aircraft Hamilcar and Airspeed Horsa, it was found that the Stirling would fit this role admirably. During late 1943, 143 Mk.III bombers were converted as the "Stirling Mk.IV", with no nose or dorsal turrets, which was used for towing gliders and dropping paratroops, in addition to 461 Mk.IVs that were manufactured. These aircraft were used for the deployment of Allied ground forces during the Battle of Normandy and Operation Market Garden. On 6 June 1944, several Stirlings were also used in Operation Glimmer for the precision-laying of patterns of "Window" to produce radar images of a decoy invasion fleet.


title: Short Stirling

text: From late 1944, 160 of the special transport variant "Stirling Mk V" were built, which had the tail turret removed and a new nose opening added; most of these were completed after the war. By 1946, the Stirlings of Transport Command were being phased out and replaced by the Avro York, which was a transport derivative of the Lancaster that had previously replaced the Stirling in the bomber role. While many aircraft were scrapped, 12 Stirlings were modified to conform with S.37 standards and sold to Belgian charter operator Trans-Air in May 1947.


title: Short Stirling

text: In recognition of their deeds of valour, two Stirling pilots were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). Both pilots held the rank of Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) and both were involved in bombing raids against Turin. Flt Sgt Rawdon Hume Middleton (RAAF) received his VC while serving as the captain of a Stirling from No. 149 Squadron RAF, during a raid in November 1942. Middleton was severely wounded and knocked unconscious by a direct hit from an AA shell. Upon regaining consciousness, Middleton insisted that Flt Sgt Leslie Hyder, the co-pilot, should dress his own wounds, while Middleton flew the badly damaged bomber. After it became clear that a crash was inevitable, Middleton ordered the rest of the crew to abandon the Stirling, while he maintained control. He was killed, along with the last two crew members to bail out. Acting Flt Sgt Arthur Louis Aaron, was awarded his VC as the captain of a No. 218 Squadron Stirling in a raid on Turin in August 1943. Aaron was badly wounded while piloting the aircraft and refused to rest, directing the flight engineer, who was acting as co-pilot, to fly to Rabah Bitat Airport (Bone Airfield), Algeria; he died following the aircraft's safe landing.


title: Short Stirling

text: The Stirling is listed in the appendix to the novel "KG 200" as one flown by the German secret operations unit (KG 200), which tested, evaluated, and sometimes clandestinely operated captured enemy aircraft. Six Stirlings were purchased by the Egyptian Air Force for use in the 1948 Arab Israeli War, forming the 8th Bomber Squadron. These flew a number of air raids on Israeli targets in the 1948 war, one of their number being lost either as a result of an accident or sabotage. The remaining five appear to have been scrapped or retired by 1951.


title: Short Stirling

text: Stirling "BK716" was recovered using a grapple between 31 August and 9 October, 2020 from Markermeer, Netherlands, and parts of it are to be put on display.


title: Short Stirling

text: Two sections of Stirlings have been displayed in museums. At the "Musée du terrain d'aviation militaire" in Vraux, France there are sections of the rear fuselage of Stirling "LK142", a No. 196 Squadron RAF aircraft that crashed near Spincourt on 24 September 1944.


title: Short Stirling

text: The second section is at the Museum Vliegbasis in Deelen, Netherlands, and comes from No. 299 Squadron RAF Stirling "LK545" which crashed near Nijmegen on 23 September 1944. A piece of the fuselage was cut off and used as a pig sty on a farm in Beuningen until transferred to a museum in 2003.


title: Short Stirling

text: In September 2019, 75 years after the liberation of the southern Netherlands, excavation started on Stirling "W7630" in Lilbosch Abbey near Pey, Echt, Netherlands, which crashed on 10 September 1942. The crew did not survive the crash and the excavation team expects remains to be found and anticipate the wreckage being buried into the ground. The excavation was delayed for many years as the aircraft was severely damaged on impact and it is unknown if unexploded bombs are present.


title: Short Stirling

text: In 1986, the RAF Sub-Aqua Association investigated raising No. 196 Squadron RAF Stirling "EF311" which ditched offshore from Selsey Bill on 26 August 1943. After assessing the wreck, which lay at a depth of 60 feet, the group decided against proceeding.


title: Short Stirling

text: In 1994 the same group looked at the possibility of raising No.196 Squadron Stirling "LJ925", which crashed on 25 February 1945 in Hølen Lake, near Arendal, Norway and which had been discovered at a depth of 35 feet buried in mud and tree bark shavings. This plan was also abandoned, although the group recovered a propeller blade.


title: Short Stirling

text: During preparations for the laying of the North Sea Link electrical cable in 2017, remains suspected to be of a Stirling were found in the North Sea between England and Norway.


title: Short Stirling

text: In the absence of any surviving aircraft the "Stirling Aircraft Project" was setup in the late 1990s to make a recreation of the forward fuselage section of a Stirling, largely from new fabrication


title: Andrew Bryniarski

text: Andrew Bryniarski (born February 13, 1969) is an American actor and former bodybuilder, best known for portraying Leatherface in the remake of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and "", Zangief in "Street Fighter", and Steve Lattimer in "The Program".


title: Andrew Bryniarski

text: Bryniarski was visiting a friend in Los Angeles, California, when he was discovered by a talent agent. The agent got him a part in "Hudson Hawk". From then on, he was cast in several films that required his type, a muscular man.


title: Andrew Bryniarski

text: The morning after news broke that Gunnar Hansen had died -- November 8, 2015 --, Bryniarski responded by saying "Boo Hoo" on Facebook. When a fan said to him, "Nice of you to insult the legend that is Gunnar Hansen," Bryniarski replied, "Could give zero fucks. suck his dead nuts" Some fans began messaging Bryniarski; he replied back with hateful comments to those fans while also insulting Hansen. Later, Bryniarski finally gave his response on the comments, saying, "I was a big supporter of his and was cool w him he was cool with me... then he started going around to promote Chainsaw 3d and he started talking shit at cons and what not...I'm not somebody who takes shit from anybody and I tell it like it is. I originally posted a fb comment that said boo hoo yest... no tag just by itself. read into it what you will. I never wished for his death or suffering from pancreatic cancer which I didn't even know he had. Lets make that a bigger issue upon his sudden death. Cancer sucks worse than haters. Yall have a nice day."


title: Chubb Limited

text: Chubb Limited is an American company incorporated in Zürich, Switzerland. It is the parent company of Chubb, a global provider of insurance products covering property and casualty, accident and health, reinsurance, and life insurance and the largest publicly traded property and casualty company in the world. Chubb operates in 55 countries and territories and in the Lloyd's insurance market in London. Clients of Chubb consist of multinational corporations and local businesses, individuals, and insurers seeking reinsurance coverage. Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In 2018, the group had $174 billion in assets, $30.8 billion of gross written premiums and approximately 31,000 employees. Chubb trades on the NYSE and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Its core operating insurance companies are rated "AA" (Very Strong) for financial strength by Standard & Poor's and "A++" (Superior) by A. M. Best with stable outlooks from both agencies. Fitch rates Chubb Limited and its subsidiaries "AA" (Very Strong) for financial strength, "AA-" for issuer default and "A+" for senior debt. Moody's rates the U.S. companies "A1" and the unsecured loan notes "A3".


title: Chubb Limited

text: On 1 July 2015, ACE announced that it would acquire the original Chubb Corporation for $28.3 billion in cash and stock. ACE has committed that Chubb's current headquarters in Warren, New Jersey, USA, will have a substantial portion of the headquarters function for the combined company's North American Division. The combined company adopted the Chubb name in January 2016 after the acquisition was completed.


title: Chubb Limited

text: ACE USA provides commercial property insurance and casualty (P&C), risk management and accident and health (A&H) coverages through retail brokers. ACE Agriculture offers crop, farm and agribusiness P&C coverages through agents and brokers. ACE Westchester offers commercial P&C excess and surplus lines through wholesale brokers.


title: Chubb Limited

text: ACE Bermuda provides liability, property, political risk coverages and captive programs through large international brokers.


title: Chubb Limited

text: ACE Private Risk Services offers high-value personal lines coverages through independent agents and brokers. ACE Commercial Risk Services provides specialty small business coverage through agents and brokers.


title: Chubb Limited

text: ACE International provides commercial P&C, A&H, and traditional and specialty personal lines through retail brokers, agents and other channels in 51 countries outside North America. ACE Global Markets offers commercial P&C excess and surplus lines and A&H sold by wholesale brokers and through Lloyd's. In North America, Combined Insurance, acquired by ACE in 2008, provides personal accident and supplemental health insurance through captive agents.


title: Chubb Limited

text: ACE Tempest Re, based in Stamford, Connecticut, offers P&C and life reinsurance sold worldwide by reinsurance brokers.


title: Chubb Limited

text: ACE Life provides protection and savings products through agents, bancassurance and other channels in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Combined Insurance offers personal accident and supplemental health coverage sold by captive agents in North America.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In 1882, Thomas Caldecot Chubb and his son Percy started a marine underwriting business in New York City. They collected $1,000 from 100 prominent merchants and focused on insuring ships and cargoes.


title: Chubb Limited

text: The Chubb Corporation was incorporated in 1967 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1984.


title: Chubb Limited

text: Beginning in 1970, the corporation owned The Chubb Institute, a chain of commercial technical schools which grew out of the company's employee training program, but the schools were sold for $1 to a partnership of private equity firms Great Hill Partners and the High-Tech Institute in 2004.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In 2007, Chubb was named the Readers' Choice winner as "Best Admitted Property/Casualty Insurance Company" by "Business Insurance". In 2010 Chubb was number five on Chicago Business "Best Places to Work" list.


title: Chubb Limited

text: ACE Limited was established in 1985 in response to the U.S. liability insurance crisis of the mid-1980s. It was formed with the assistance of insurance broker Marsh & McLennan and funded by a group of 34 U.S. companies seeking difficult-to-obtain Excess Liability and Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance coverage. That year, ACE and its Bermuda subsidiary, incorporated in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, wrote its first insurance policy with John Cox as its president and CEO. In 1987 the company assumed management of Corporate Officers & Directors Assurance Limited (CODA), expanding ACE Bermuda's product line.


title: Chubb Limited

text: Walter Scott became Chairman, President, and CEO of ACE in 1990 and saw the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1993. Brian Duperreault succeeded Scott in 1994 as Chairman, President & CEO and worked for the next ten years as ACE went through a series of acquisitions and a diversification process that brought the ACE Group of Companies global status. One of the multiple acquisitions made during this time was the global property and casualty business of Cigna Corporation (most significantly the Insurance Company of North America, known as INA), which was purchased for $3.45 billion in 1999.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In 2004, Evan G. Greenberg became president and CEO of ACE Ltd. In 2004 ACE was also investigated by NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for participating in a bid rigging and price fixing scheme with insurance broker Marsh & McLennan.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In 2008, ACE purchased the accident and health insurance provider Combined Insurance Company of America (founded by W. Clement Stone in 1919) from Aon Corporation for $2.56 billion and the high-net-worth personal lines business of the Atlantic Companies.


title: Chubb Limited

text: Also in 2008, ACE relocated from the Cayman Islands to Zurich, Switzerland. Evan Greenberg described the move as a "natural progression" that would provide ACE with a "better strategic flexibility…and a solid legal and regulatory environment…" The re-domestication was completed in July that year.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In 2010, the ACE company ESIS Inc. was hired by BP to process claims made by the victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In 2010, ACE Limited purchased Rain and Hail, LLC for $1.1 billion. Rain and Hail Insurance Service, headquartered in Johnston, Iowa, is an industry leader in crop insurance in the United States. ACE Limited also acquired the Hong Kong and Korea life insurance operations of New York Life.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In 2013, they purchased Mexican Surety Lines Company Fianzas Monterrey and Mexican Personal Lines Insurer ABA Seguros.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In April 2014, ACE Limited acquired a majority stake in Siam Commercial Samaggi Insurance PCL from Siam Commercial Bank. Following a subsequent tender offer in June 2014, ACE and its local partner owned 93.03% of the Samaggi.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In October 2014, ACE Limited acquired the large commercial property and casualty business of Itaú Unibanco Holding SA. The transaction made ACE the largest property and casualty insurer in Brazil.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In April 2015, ACE Limited acquired the Fireman's Fund high net worth personal lines insurance business in the U.S. from Allianz for $365 million. ACE Private Risk Services is one of the largest high net worth insurers in the U.S.


title: Chubb Limited

text: On 1 September 2020, Chubb has announced the introduction of the latest update of Enterprise Guard Plus product for the emerging needs of Hong Kong plan business insurance.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In February 2021, Chubb Limited and the World Health Organisation announced the roll out of a no-fault compensation scheme for COVID-19 vaccinations for low and middle-income countries.


title: Chubb Limited

text: On 1 July 2015, ACE announced that it would acquire Chubb Corporation for $28.3 billion in cash and ACE stock. Upon completion, ACE shareholders held 70% while Chubb shareholders got 30% of the new combined company. The new company was to be based in Zurich, where ACE Limited's headquarters were. Evan Greenberg of ACE became the Chairman and CEO of the new company, while Chubb Chairman and CEO John Finnegan became Executive Vice Chairman for North America External Affairs. The company's board was expanded to 18, with 4 of them coming from Chubb. The new combined company then decided to adopt the Chubb name. The deal received ACE and Chubb shareholder approval and all required regulatory approval, and closed on 14 January 2016.


title: Chubb Limited

text: Accordingly, in Vietnam, ACE Life will change its name to Chubb Life Vietnam Company Limited (Chubb Life Vietnam). This name change will not cause any changes in the company's business strategy as well as the operation process of the company in the Vietnamese market.


title: Chubb Limited

text: All insurance benefits of customers under the insurance contracts signed with ACE Life are still guaranteed by Chubb Life to comply with the rules and terms in the contract.


title: Chubb Limited

text: In 2004 New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer conducted an investigation in the insurance industry. ACE, American International Group (AIG), Marsh & McLennan, and other large insurers and brokerages were named in Spitzer's investigation for possibly participating in questionable insurance practices including the payment of contingent commissions, bid-rigging, price-fixing, and improper accounting.


title: Chubb Limited

text: Spitzer asserted that contingent commissions contributed to a widespread practice of "bid-rigging" where brokers solicited fake bids with deliberately less favorable terms for the consumer than the bid offered by the insurance company paying the highest commissions.


title: Chubb Limited

text: As part of an $80 million settlement that abated further inquiry, ACE signed an Assurance of Discontinuance in which they acknowledged their prior conduct and agreed to alter their business practices. Evan Greenberg himself admitted no fault in Spitzer's allegations although a junior executive did plead guilty to criminal charges.


title: Chubb Limited

text: Spitzer's insurance industry probe additionally looked in early 2005 into ACE Ltd's subsidiary ACE Tempest Re's reporting to the SEC of a series of reinsurance transactions, together with the SEC reporting of a further 16 unaffiliated re-insurers. Evan Greenberg said that his company's investigation should be completed within a month. According to Greenberg, contracts appeared "generally structured in a way to provide for appropriate risk transfer and accounted for properly."


title: Chubb Limited

text: The Spitzer investigations also triggered civil litigation by policyholders who claim they were victimized by the bid rigging and commission schemes.


title: Chubb Limited

text: On 9 March 2016, U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels issued a default judgement against Iran, ordering it to pay $7.5 billion in damages to families of victims who died in the attacks in the US, as well as $3 billion to Chubb Limited & other unnamed insurers that paid out claims resulting from the event. The plaintiffs in the case argued that Iran "provided material support" and training to al-Qaeda members, including 9/11 hijackers, through Hezbollah prior to the attacks and was therefore liable.


title: Chubb Limited

text: The Chubb Classic is a Champions Tour golf tournament located at The Classics Country Club at Lely Resort in Naples, Florida. The Chubb Classic has raised more than $3 million for charity.


title: Joey Kramer

text: Joseph Michael Kramer (born June 21, 1950) is an American musician best known as the drummer of the hard rock band Aerosmith, which was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.


title: Joey Kramer

text: In the early 1970s, Kramer was a member of The Institution, a seminal New Jersey garage band founded by Philip Rubin, J. Howard Duff, Richie Lester, and Marv Coopersmith. On Nov. 25, 1970, the early Bruce Springsteen band, Steel Mill, opened for The Institution at Newark State College.


title: Joey Kramer

text: Kramer is credited with originating the name Aerosmith. In his memoir, Kramer revealed that he idly conceived the name Aerosmith while listening to Harry Nilsson's album "Aerial Ballet" in 1968, two years before the band was formed. Kramer insists that there is no connection between the name "Aerosmith" and Sinclair Lewis' novel "Arrowsmith". Shortly before joining Aerosmith, Kramer moved to Boston and was attending Berklee College of Music and worked with Chubby & the Turnpikes (later to be known as Tavares) alongside Bernie Worrell.


title: Joey Kramer

text: Kramer's memoir, "Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top", was released on June 30, 2009.


title: Joey Kramer

text: Kramer made a guest appearance in the 22nd season (2010–11) of "The Simpsons", in the episode "The Ned-Liest Catch", as a former partner of Bart's teacher Mrs. Krabappel, as told in the third-season episode "Flaming Moe's", which featured the whole of Aerosmith, the first-ever band to guest star on the show.


title: Joey Kramer

text: In 2015, NECA released a "Simpsons-ized" action figure of Kramer, as well as the other members of Aerosmith, as part of the fourth series in the company's Simpsons 25th Anniversary collectible figure line.


title: Joey Kramer

text: In June 2011, Kramer did a fan Q&A and revealed his open-mindedness to outside writers, stating he does not care about it as long as it is all five members of Aerosmith playing the material written.


title: Joey Kramer

text: In 2013, Kramer announced a partnership with Comfort Foods, Inc. to roast, package and distribute his whole bean, organic coffee line: Rockin’ & Roastin’ Coffee. In 2015, he announced a business partnership with Les Otten, the former vice chairman of the Boston Red Sox, to open two Joey Kramer's Rockin’ & Roastin’ Café and Restaurant locations in Newry, Maine, at the foot of the Sunday River Ski Resort; and North Attleborough, Massachusetts. The Newry location closed in 2016. The North Attleborough location closed in 2017.


title: Joey Kramer

text: Kramer currently endorses Pearl drums, Zildjian cymbals and sticks (including his own signature model), plus Remo heads. He has also used many other brands of drums including Ludwig with whom he was closely associated with for much of his career up until switching to Pearl. In the past he has also used sets by Fibes, Tama and DW.


title: EMF (band)

text: EMF are an English alternative rock band from Cinderford, Gloucestershire, who came to prominence at the beginning of the 1990s. During their initial eight-year run, from 1989 to 1997, the band released three studio albums before a hiatus. Their first single, "Unbelievable", reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, and was a number 1 hit on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. Their debut album, "Schubert Dip", went to number 3 on the UK Albums Chart.


title: EMF (band)

text: The name EMF is an initialism of Epsom Mad Funkers, a name taken from a fan club of the band New Order in 1989.


title: EMF (band)

text: The song "Head the Ball", which featured on the remix single release of "Lies", featured the repeating lines "electromotive force" and "ecstasy mother fucker". On the reissue of the band's 1991 album "Schubert Dip", after the song "Longtime", there is a hidden track titled "EMF". In this, the chorus lyrics start off with "E for Ecstasy, M for my mind's in my feet, F from us to you" and then move on to "E for Ecstasy, M for mother fucker mother fucker, F from us to you".


title: EMF (band)

text: All the members of the band were relatively well known in the Forest of Dean music scene before forming EMF in Cinderford in October 1989. Keyboard and sampler player Derry Brownson had formed a band called Flowerdrum but left to join bass guitarist Zac Foley, drummer Marc Decloedt and singer James Atkin as EMF. Ian Dench was the last to join, having already tasted moderate success as guitarist for Apple Mosaic.


title: EMF (band)

text: The band's music also has been counted as part of Madchester and alternative dance. They toured the UK in 1990 with Stereo MCs, a band that was relatively unknown at that point.


title: EMF (band)

text: In 1990, their debut single "Unbelievable" topped the charts in many countries around the world, reaching number 1 in the U.S. in July 1991. The single featured sampled utterances from comedian Andrew Dice Clay. In 1991, EMF released their debut album "Schubert Dip" which went to number 3 in the UK. The name was explained by songwriter Ian Dench, as "If ever I'm short of a chord sequence, I nick one from Schubert." Successful singles from the album included "I Believe", "Children", and "Lies". The last was controversial as it included a voice sample of Mark Chapman, John Lennon's murderer. Yoko Ono, Lennon's wife, achieved an injunction, and a modified version was included in future pressings.


title: EMF (band)

text: In 1992, EMF returned with the "Unexplained EP" (including a cover version of "Search and Destroy") and later "Stigma", their second album. Both of these releases did poorly in the charts. The singles released were "Getting Through", "They're Here", and "It's You".


title: EMF (band)

text: Also in 1992, EMF appeared on the Red Hot Organization's dance compilation album "Red Hot + Dance", contributing "Unbelievable (The Hovering Feet Mix)". The album attempted to raise awareness and money in support of the AIDS epidemic, and all proceeds were donated to AIDS charities.


title: EMF (band)

text: EMF's third album, "Cha Cha Cha", was released in 1995 and featured the singles "Perfect Day" and "Bleeding You Dry". In the same year, EMF teamed with comedians Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and recorded "I'm a Believer", a cover of The Monkees song. This single reached No. 3 in the UK singles chart.


title: EMF (band)

text: Following the release of the "Afro King" single (which failed to do well), the band split up for the first time. However, all members of the band continued to play music. Ian Dench formed the indie rock band Whistler, which was active from 1998 to 2000. James Atkin formed the big beat trio Cooler and Derry Brownson formed alternative rock trio LK. Zac Foley became the bass player for Carrie.


title: EMF (band)

text: Zac Foley died on 3 January 2002 at the age of 31, due to an overdose of non-prescribed drugs. Following his death, EMF played just four more gigs in late 2002 before splitting again. Atkin would go on to form Beauty School (which released three singles between 2005 and 2006).


title: EMF (band)

text: In 2005, Kraft Foods used EMF's "Unbelievable" in an advertisement for its Kraft Crumbles. The original song's chorus "You're unbelievable" was replaced with "They're crumbelievable". The advertisement later was parodied by Stephen Colbert on his show "The Colbert Report".


title: EMF (band)

text: In 2007, the band announced they would be reforming to play a one-off gig at the Scala in King's Cross, London, on 18 December. The place of Foley was taken by Richard March, formerly of Pop Will Eat Itself and Bentley Rhythm Ace.


title: EMF (band)

text: In 2007, Hallmark Cards used EMF's "Unbelievable" in its advertising for Mother's Day cards. The mother was shown opening the card, heard the daughter say "Mom, you rock", followed by the music of EMF.


title: EMF (band)

text: In 2008, EMF played the Portsmouth Festival on 9 October, and supported Carter USM at Birmingham Academy and London's Brixton Academy in November that year.


title: EMF (band)

text: In May 2009, EMF announced that due to personal issues, the band would not be doing any more shows in the near future, thus ending their second reunion.


title: EMF (band)

text: In 2012, they reformed to play at the inaugural festival Lakefest in Tewkesbury, alongside Levellers and Dodgy, on 18 and 19 May. The band welcomed new bassist Stevey Marsh during this show. For the first time they performed every track from the album "Schubert Dip" in order to coincide with the 21st anniversary re-release. The band headlined at the Westbury Festival on 25 August 2012.


title: EMF (band)

text: In December 2012, the band played 'Schubert Dip' and 'Stigma' from start to finish at the Gloucester Guildhall. The show was recorded and sold as a live Blu-ray/DVD titled "Long Live the New Flesh."


title: EMF (band)

text: In 2020, the band successfully crowdfunded a career-spanning vinyl boxset titled 'From Us to You.' It contained all the full-length albums remastered, and a 4th vinyl containing unreleased demos and fan favorite non-album tracks.


title: EMF (band)

text: In February 2022, the band announced an all-new material album, titled "Go Go Sapiens" that was released 1 April 2022. Its first single, "Sister Sandinista", was released 1 March 2022. They also had a short UK tour in early April 2022.


title: EMF (band)

text: Since 2010 James Atkin has taught music at Holy Family Catholic School in Keighley, West Yorkshire and is a touring member of Bentley Rhythm Ace. As of June 2020, he has released four solo albums including "Popcorn Storm" (2019) and "A Country Mile" (2014).


title: Blondie (album)

text: Blondie is the debut studio album by American rock band Blondie, released in December 1976 by Private Stock Records.


title: Blondie (album)

text: The first single "X Offender" was originally titled "Sex Offender", but since radio stations would not play a song with such a provocative title, the band renamed the song. After disappointing sales and poor publicity, the band ended their contract with Private Stock and signed with Chrysalis Records in mid 1977. Chrysalis re-released the album in September 1977, when they issued Blondie's 2nd album "Plastic Letters", along with the single "In the Flesh". The album reached No. 14 in Australia, where the band had already had a top-3 entry with "In the Flesh". The album also charted at No. 75 in the UK in early 1979, where the band had become immensely popular.


title: Blondie (album)

text: Through the production of Richard Gottehrer, who had worked with the Angels and other artists of the 1950s and 1960s, much of the music is suffused with the girl group sound of that era. Debbie Harry told an interviewer in 1978 that the band never intended to be retro and when some journalists described them that way, it was "quite a shock". Likewise she rejected any attempt to brand the music as pop, insisting that Blondie played new wave music.


title: Blondie (album)

text: The album was first digitally remastered by Chrysalis Records UK in 1994. In 2001, the album was again remastered and reissued, this time along with five bonus tracks. "Out in the Streets" (The Shangri-Las cover), "The Thin Line" and "Platinum Blonde" are three of five tracks from a 1975 demo recorded by Alan Betrock; all five were first issued on the 1994 compilation "The Platinum Collection". Bonus track "Platinum Blonde" was the first song that Harry wrote. Original single versions of "X Offender" and "In the Sun" are both sides of Blondie's first single, issued on Private Stock, and are different mixes from the album versions. The two Private Stock versions are both remastered from vinyl.


title: Blondie (album)

text: Reviewing "Blondie" in 1977 for "Rolling Stone", Ken Tucker called the album "a playful exploration of Sixties pop interlarded with trendy nihilism" and found that all the songs "work on at least two levels: as peppy but rough pop, and as distanced, artless avant-rock". He noted that Harry performed with "utter aplomb and involvement throughout: even when she's portraying a character consummately obnoxious and spaced-out, there is a wink of awareness that is comforting and amusing yet never condescending." He also noted that Harry was the "possessor of a bombshell zombie's voice that can sound dreamily seductive and woodenly Mansonite within the same song".


title: Blondie (album)

text: In 2020, "Rolling Stone" included "Blondie" at number 401 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.


title: Marine biology

text: Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather than on taxonomy.


title: Marine biology

text: A large proportion of all life on Earth lives in the ocean. The exact size of this "large proportion" is unknown, since many ocean species are still to be discovered. The ocean is a complex three-dimensional world covering approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The habitats studied in marine biology include everything from the tiny layers of surface water in which organisms and abiotic items may be trapped in surface tension between the ocean and atmosphere, to the depths of the oceanic trenches, sometimes 10,000 meters or more beneath the surface of the ocean. Specific habitats include estuaries, coral reefs, kelp forests, seagrass meadows, the surrounds of seamounts and thermal vents, tidepools, muddy, sandy and rocky bottoms, and the open ocean (pelagic) zone, where solid objects are rare and the surface of the water is the only visible boundary. The organisms studied range from microscopic phytoplankton and zooplankton to huge cetaceans (whales) in length. Marine ecology is the study of how marine organisms interact with each other and the environment.


title: Marine biology

text: Marine life is a vast resource, providing food, medicine, and raw materials, in addition to helping to support recreation and tourism all over the world. At a fundamental level, marine life helps determine the very nature of our planet. Marine organisms contribute significantly to the oxygen cycle, and are involved in the regulation of the Earth's climate. Shorelines are in part shaped and protected by marine life, and some marine organisms even help create new land.


title: Marine biology

text: Many species are economically important to humans, including both finfish and shellfish. It is also becoming understood that the well-being of marine organisms and other organisms are linked in fundamental ways. The human body of knowledge regarding the relationship between life in the sea and important cycles is rapidly growing, with new discoveries being made nearly every day. These cycles include those of matter (such as the carbon cycle) and of air (such as Earth's respiration, and movement of energy through ecosystems including the ocean). Large areas beneath the ocean surface still remain effectively unexplored.


title: Marine biology

text: Marine biology can be contrasted with biological oceanography. Marine life is a field of study both in marine biology and in biological oceanography. Biological oceanography is the study of how organisms affect and are affected by the physics, chemistry, and geology of the oceanographic system. Biological oceanography mostly focuses on the microorganisms within the ocean; looking at how they are affected by their environment and how that affects larger marine creatures and their ecosystem. Biological oceanography is similar to marine biology, but it studies ocean life from a different perspective. Biological oceanography takes a bottom up approach in terms of the food web, while marine biology studies the ocean from a top down perspective. Biological oceanography mainly focuses on the ecosystem of the ocean with an emphasis on plankton: their diversity (morphology, nutritional sources, motility, and metabolism); their productivity and how that plays a role in the global carbon cycle; and their distribution (predation and life cycle). Biological oceanography also investigates the role of microbes in food webs, and how humans impact the ecosystems in the oceans.


title: Marine biology

text: Marine habitats can be divided into coastal and open ocean habitats. Coastal habitats are found in the area that extends from the shoreline to the edge of the continental shelf. Most marine life is found in coastal habitats, even though the shelf area occupies only seven percent of the total ocean area. Open ocean habitats are found in the deep ocean beyond the edge of the continental shelf. Alternatively, marine habitats can be divided into pelagic and demersal habitats. Pelagic habitats are found near the surface or in the open water column, away from the bottom of the ocean and affected by ocean currents, while demersal habitats are near or on the bottom. Marine habitats can be modified by their inhabitants. Some marine organisms, like corals, kelp and sea grasses, are ecosystem engineers which reshape the marine environment to the point where they create further habitat for other organisms.


title: Marine biology

text: Intertidal zones, the areas that are close to the shore, are constantly being exposed and covered by the ocean's tides. A huge array of life can be found within this zone. Shore habitats span from the upper intertidal zones to the area where land vegetation takes prominence. It can be underwater anywhere from daily to very infrequently. Many species here are scavengers, living off of sea life that is washed up on the shore. Many land animals also make much use of the shore and intertidal habitats. A subgroup of organisms in this habitat bores and grinds exposed rock through the process of bioerosion.


title: Marine biology

text: Estuaries are also near shore and influenced by the tides. An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between freshwater river environments and saltwater maritime environments. They are subject both to marine influences—such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water—and to riverine influences—such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The shifting flows of both sea water and fresh water provide high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world.


title: Marine biology

text: Reefs comprise some of the densest and most diverse habitats in the world. The best-known types of reefs are tropical coral reefs which exist in most tropical waters; however, reefs can also exist in cold water. Reefs are built up by corals and other calcium-depositing animals, usually on top of a rocky outcrop on the ocean floor. Reefs can also grow on other surfaces, which has made it possible to create artificial reefs. Coral reefs also support a huge community of life, including the corals themselves, their symbiotic zooxanthellae, tropical fish and many other organisms.


title: Marine biology

text: Much attention in marine biology is focused on coral reefs and the El Niño weather phenomenon. In 1998, coral reefs experienced the most severe mass bleaching events on record, when vast expanses of reefs across the world died because sea surface temperatures rose well above normal. Some reefs are recovering, but scientists say that between 50% and 70% of the world's coral reefs are now endangered and predict that global warming could exacerbate this trend.


title: Marine biology

text: The open ocean is relatively unproductive because of a lack of nutrients, yet because it is so vast, in total it produces the most primary productivity. The open ocean is separated into different zones, and the different zones each have different ecologies. Zones which vary according to their depth include the epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic, and hadopelagic zones. Zones which vary by the amount of light they receive include the photic and aphotic zones. Much of the aphotic zone's energy is supplied by the open ocean in the form of detritus.


title: Marine biology

text: The deepest recorded oceanic trench measured to date is the Mariana Trench, near the Philippines, in the Pacific Ocean at . At such depths, water pressure is extreme and there is no sunlight, but some life still exists. A white flatfish, a shrimp and a jellyfish were seen by the American crew of the bathyscaphe "Trieste" when it dove to the bottom in 1960. In general, the deep sea is considered to start at the aphotic zone, the point where sunlight loses its power of transference through the water. Many life forms that live at these depths have the ability to create their own light known as bio-luminescence. Marine life also flourishes around seamounts that rise from the depths, where fish and other sea life congregate to spawn and feed. Hydrothermal vents along the mid-ocean ridge spreading centers act as oases, as do their opposites, cold seeps. Such places support unique biomes and many new microbes and other lifeforms have been discovered at these locations.


title: Marine biology

text: In biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land. Marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather than on taxonomy. For this reason marine biology encompasses not only organisms that live only in a marine environment, but also other organisms whose lives revolve around the sea.


title: Marine biology

text: As inhabitants of the largest environment on Earth, microbial marine systems drive changes in every global system. Microbes are responsible for virtually all the photosynthesis that occurs in the ocean, as well as the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients and trace elements.


title: Marine biology

text: Microscopic life undersea is incredibly diverse and still poorly understood. For example, the role of viruses in marine ecosystems is barely being explored even in the beginning of the 21st century.


title: Marine biology

text: The role of phytoplankton is better understood due to their critical position as the most numerous primary producers on Earth. Phytoplankton are categorized into cyanobacteria (also called blue-green algae/bacteria), various types of algae (red, green, brown, and yellow-green), diatoms, dinoflagellates, euglenoids, coccolithophorids, cryptomonads, chrysophytes, chlorophytes, prasinophytes, and silicoflagellates.


title: Marine biology

text: Zooplankton tend to be somewhat larger, and not all are microscopic. Many Protozoa are zooplankton, including dinoflagellates, zooflagellates, foraminiferans, and radiolarians. Some of these (such as dinoflagellates) are also phytoplankton; the distinction between plants and animals often breaks down in very small organisms. Other zooplankton include cnidarians, ctenophores, chaetognaths, molluscs, arthropods, urochordates, and annelids such as polychaetes. Many larger animals begin their life as zooplankton before they become large enough to take their familiar forms. Two examples are fish larvae and sea stars (also called starfish).


title: Marine biology

text: Microscopic algae and plants provide important habitats for life, sometimes acting as hiding places for larval forms of larger fish and foraging places for invertebrates.


title: Marine biology

text: Algal life is widespread and very diverse under the ocean. Microscopic photosynthetic algae contribute a larger proportion of the world's photosynthetic output than all the terrestrial forests combined. Most of the niche occupied by sub plants on land is actually occupied by macroscopic algae in the ocean, such as "Sargassum" and kelp, which are commonly known as seaweeds that create kelp forests.


title: Marine biology

text: Plants that survive in the sea are often found in shallow waters, such as the seagrasses (examples of which are eelgrass, "Zostera", and turtle grass, "Thalassia"). These plants have adapted to the high salinity of the ocean environment. The intertidal zone is also a good place to find plant life in the sea, where mangroves or cordgrass or beach grass might grow.


title: Marine biology

text: As on land, invertebrates make up a huge portion of all life in the sea. Invertebrate sea life includes Cnidaria such as jellyfish and sea anemones; Ctenophora; sea worms including the phyla Platyhelminthes, Nemertea, Annelida, Sipuncula, Echiura, Chaetognatha, and Phoronida; Mollusca including shellfish, squid, octopus; Arthropoda including Chelicerata and Crustacea; Porifera; Bryozoa; Echinodermata including starfish; and Urochordata including sea squirts or tunicates. Invertebrates have no backbone. There are over a million species.


title: Marine biology

text: Over 10,000 species of fungi are known from marine environments. These are parasitic on marine algae or animals, or are saprobes on algae, corals, protozoan cysts, sea grasses, wood and other substrata, and can also be found in sea foam. Spores of many species have special appendages which facilitate attachment to the substratum. A very diverse range of unusual secondary metabolites is produced by marine fungi.


title: Marine biology

text: A reported 33,400 species of fish, including bony and cartilaginous fish, had been described by 2016, more than all other vertebrates combined. About 60% of fish species live in saltwater.


title: Marine biology

text: Reptiles which inhabit or frequent the sea include sea turtles, sea snakes, terrapins, the marine iguana, and the saltwater crocodile. Most extant marine reptiles, except for some sea snakes, are oviparous and need to return to land to lay their eggs. Thus most species, excepting sea turtles, spend most of their lives on or near land rather than in the ocean. Despite their marine adaptations, most sea snakes prefer shallow waters nearby land, around islands, especially waters that are somewhat sheltered, as well as near estuaries. Some extinct marine reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, evolved to be viviparous and had no requirement to return to land.


title: Marine biology

text: Birds adapted to living in the marine environment are often called seabirds. Examples include albatross, penguins, gannets, and auks. Although they spend most of their lives in the ocean, species such as gulls can often be found thousands of miles inland.


title: Marine biology

text: There are five main types of marine mammals, namely cetaceans (toothed whales and baleen whales); sirenians such as manatees; pinnipeds including seals and the walrus; sea otters; and the


title: Marine biology

text: polar bear. All are air-breathing, and while some such as the sperm whale can dive for prolonged periods, all must return to the surface to breathe.


title: Marine biology

text: The marine ecosystem is large, and thus there are many sub-fields of marine biology. Most involve studying specializations of particular animal groups, such as phycology, invertebrate zoology and ichthyology. Other subfields study the physical effects of continual immersion in sea water and the ocean in general, adaptation to a salty environment, and the effects of changing various oceanic properties on marine life. A subfield of marine biology studies the relationships between oceans and ocean life, and global warming and environmental issues (such as carbon dioxide displacement). Recent marine biotechnology has focused largely on marine biomolecules, especially proteins, that may have uses in medicine or engineering. Marine environments are the home to many exotic biological materials that may inspire biomimetic materials.


title: Marine biology

text: Marine biology is a branch of biology. It is closely linked to oceanography, especially biological oceanography, and may be regarded as a sub-field of marine science. It also encompasses many ideas from ecology. Fisheries science and marine conservation can be considered partial offshoots of marine biology (as well as environmental studies). Marine Chemistry, Physical oceanography and Atmospheric sciences are closely related to this field.


title: Marine biology

text: An active research topic in marine biology is to discover and map the life cycles of various species and where they spend their time. Technologies that aid in this discovery include pop-up satellite archival tags, acoustic tags, and a variety of other data loggers. Marine biologists study how the ocean currents, tides and many other oceanic factors affect ocean life forms, including their growth, distribution and well-being. This has only recently become technically feasible with advances in GPS and newer underwater visual devices.


title: Marine biology

text: Most ocean life breeds in specific places, nests or not in others, spends time as juveniles in still others, and in maturity in yet others. Scientists know little about where many species spend different parts of their life cycles especially in the infant and juvenile years. For example, it is still largely unknown where juvenile sea turtles and some year-1 sharks travel. Recent advances in underwater tracking devices are illuminating what we know about marine organisms that live at great Ocean depths. The information that pop-up satellite archival tags give aids in certain time of the year fishing closures and development of a marine protected area. This data is important to both scientists and fishermen because they are discovering that by restricting commercial fishing in one small area they can have a large impact in maintaining a healthy fish population in a much larger area.


title: Marine biology

text: The study of marine biology dates back to Aristotle (384–322 BC), who made many observations of life in the sea around Lesbos, laying the foundation for many future discoveries. In 1768, Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin (1744–1774) published the "Historia Fucorum", the first work dedicated to marine algae and the first book on marine biology to use the new binomial nomenclature of Linnaeus. It included elaborate illustrations of seaweed and marine algae on folded leaves. The British naturalist Edward Forbes (1815–1854) is generally regarded as the founder of the science of marine biology. The pace of oceanographic and marine biology studies quickly accelerated during the course of the 19th century.


title: Marine biology

text: The observations made in the first studies of marine biology fueled the age of discovery and exploration that followed. During this time, a vast amount of knowledge was gained about the life that exists in the oceans of the world. Many voyages contributed significantly to this pool of knowledge. Among the most significant were the voyages of where Charles Darwin came up with his theories of evolution and on the formation of coral reefs. Another important expedition was undertaken by HMS "Challenger", where findings were made of unexpectedly high species diversity among fauna stimulating much theorizing by population ecologists on how such varieties of life could be maintained in what was thought to be such a hostile environment. This era was important for the history of marine biology but naturalists were still limited in their studies because they lacked technology that would allow them to adequately examine species that lived in deep parts of the oceans.


title: Marine biology

text: The creation of marine laboratories was important because it allowed marine biologists to conduct research and process their specimens from expeditions. The oldest marine laboratory in the world, Station biologique de Roscoff, was established in Concarneau, France founded by the College of France in 1859. In the United States, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography dates back to 1903, while the prominent Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute was founded in 1930. The development of technology such as sound navigation ranging, scuba diving gear, submersibles and remotely operated vehicles allowed marine biologists to discover and explore life in deep oceans that was once thought to not exist.


title: William II, Prince of Orange

text: William II (27 May 1626 – 6 November 1650) was sovereign Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel and Groningen in the United Provinces of the Netherlands from 14 March 1647 until his death three years later. His only child, William III, reigned as King of England, Ireland, and Scotland.


title: William II, Prince of Orange

text: William II, Prince of Orange, was the son of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, and Amalia of Solms-Braunfels. Frederick Henry was the youngest son of William the Silent (stadtholder 1559–1584); his older half brother Maurits of Nassau was stadtholder (1585–1625); he was stadtholder from 1625 to 1647. The stadtholders governed in conjunction with the States-General, an assembly of representatives from each of the seven provinces, but usually dominated by the largest and wealthiest province, Holland.


title: William II, Prince of Orange

text: On 12 May 1641, William married Mary, Princess Royal, who was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, in the Chapel Royal of Whitehall Palace in London. William was not yet fifteen, while Mary was just nine at that time.


title: William II, Prince of Orange

text: In 1647, his father Frederick Henry died, and William II succeeded to both his hereditary titles and his elective offices as stadtholder of six of the seven provinces: Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel and Groningen.


title: William II, Prince of Orange

text: The Netherlands at this time was engaged in the Eighty Years' War against Spain for its independence. Under Frederick Henry, the Netherlands had largely won the war, and since 1646 had been negotiating with Spain on the terms for ending it.


title: William II, Prince of Orange

text: The negotiators agreed to the Peace of Münster in 1648, but William opposed acceptance of the treaty, even though it recognized the independence of the (northern) Netherlands, because it left the southern Netherlands in the hands of the Spanish monarchy. A separate peace furthermore violated the alliance with France formed in 1635. However, the States of six provinces voted to accept it.


title: William II, Prince of Orange

text: Secretly, William opened his own negotiations with France with the goal of extending his own territory under a more centralized government. In addition, he worked for the restoration of his exiled brother-in-law, Charles II, to the throne of England.


title: William II, Prince of Orange

text: In 1650 William II became involved in a bitter quarrel with the province of Holland and the powerful Regents of Amsterdam, Andries Bicker and his cousin Cornelis de Graeff. With the Peace of Münster, the Regents wanted to reduce the army, saving money. That would also diminish William's authority. William imprisoned eight members of the States of Holland (including Jacob de Witt) in the castle of Loevestein. In addition, he sent his cousin, Willem Frederik of Nassau-Dietz with an army of 10,000 men to seize Amsterdam by force. Bad weather foiled this campaign, but Amsterdam did give in.


title: William II, Prince of Orange

text: William served as stadtholder for only three years, until he died of smallpox in 1650. His only son William was born one week after his death. This was the beginning of the First Stadtholderless Period. His son succeeded him in 1672 as stadtholder and later, in 1689, also became King of England.


title: William II, Prince of Orange

text: William II used the following arms during his time as prince of Orange, Stadholder or Holland, etc., and Captain-General:


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: Heartstopper is a young adult LGBTQIA+ ongoing graphic novel and webcomic series written and illustrated by British author Alice Oseman. It is the subject of the 2022 Netflix television series of the same name, directed by Euros Lyn and written by Alice Oseman.


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: The novel follows the lives of Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring. These characters originally appeared in "Solitaire", a novel also written by Oseman. The graphic novel and its 2022 television series adaptation have been critically acclaimed, with the latter being renewed for a second and third season shortly after its release.


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: The characters of Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring first appeared in Oseman's novel "Solitaire" as supporting characters. Oseman said she "fell in love" with the characters while writing that novel and decided she needed to tell their story. Initially planning on writing a novel, Oseman eventually realised their story needed an episodic structure that was more suited to a webcomic or graphic novel format than a traditional novel.


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: Oseman started publishing "Heartstopper" as a webcomic on Tumblr and Tapas in September 2016. It gained a significant following, and Oseman decided to self-publish a limited run of physical copies of the first two chapters. On 20 June 2018, she launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the publishing, and within two hours reached the targeted pledge. In October 2018, Hachette Children's Group (HCG) acquired the rights to physical publishing of the first two volumes of the novel, and the following January acquired the rights to the third and fourth volumes of the novel. The first volume was then published on 7 February 2019, followed by the second volume on 11 July. Oseman also began publishing the webcomic of "Heartstopper" on Webtoon, after the physical publications of the first two volumes, in August 2019. The third and fourth volumes were released on 6 February 2020 and 6 May 2021, respectively. The fifth and final volume is planned to release on February 2, 2023. There is also a colouring book which was released on June 11, 2020, and a "Heartstopper Yearbook" which released on 13 October 2022 by Hachette and Graphix.


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: "Heartstopper" tells the story of Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson as they meet and fall in love in secondary school. It also tells the story of the many side characters and their relationships.


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: Writing for "The National", Gemma McLaughlin praised the novels for being able to "capture the attention" through "the small stories that make up life" rather than plot twists and heavy drama. She called the story "infinitely welcoming with characters that seem like real life friends", singling out Charlie as "extremely likeable" and praising the novels' treatment of his mental health. "Publishers Weekly" said that the novels' "leisurely pace and focus on everyday events ... allows the characters' relationship to develop in a natural, relatable way" and stated that the art style complemented the tone of the story. Imogen Russell Williams in "The Times Literary Supplement" called Oseman's illustration style "loose and flowing" and said of the novels that they "[engage] directly with shame, fear and anxiety, bringing them sweetly into the light". "The A.V. Club" included the webcomic on its list of "The best comics of 2018", with Caitlin Rosberg saying that it is "best defined by its kindness both to the characters and the reader". Metaphrog also included the comic on "The Herald"'s 2019 list of "The best comics and graphic novels of the year as chosen by comic creators".


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: Terri Schlichenmeyer of the "Washington Blade" described Volume One of the novels as "one really sweet book" and praised the understanding treatment of characters struggling with their sexuality. She also felt that the realism of the novel was strengthened by the inclusion of bully characters. "Kirkus Reviews" stated that the placement of panels and their bordering in Volume One "prevent the visual graphics from going aesthetically stale" and that the hand-written lettering reinforced the story's human tone. They summarised the novel as "An adorable diary of love's gut punches". Summer Hayes reviewed Volume One in "Booklist" and praised Oseman's use of wordless panels to portray characters' emotions, although she felt that the illustrations were inconsistent. Overall, she concludes that "the romance and realistic fiction will draw readers into this sweet story". Kelley Gile reviewed Volume One in the "School Library Journal", praising the dialogue, detailed facial expressions in the art, and "a font that mimics handwriting [that adds] to the adorkability factor".


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: Alaine Martaus also reviewed Volume One in "The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books" in which she praised the "simple drawings" which she says "keep much of the focus on faces and phones, reinforcing a deeply interpersonal connection at the heart of the story". She described the story as being composed of "a series of charming vignettes". In a further review of Volume Two, Martaus reiterated her previous comments and said that the storytelling of the second volume "moves effortlessly from tearful poignance to laugh-worthy moments to stirring romance". "Kirkus Reviews" said of Volume Two that it retained the "distinctive style" of illustrations present in the first volume and that its transitions between panels were "creative" and "add creative flair". It praised the characters and described the story as "Incredibly lovable from start to finish". Sarah Rice reviewed Volume Two in "Booklist" and felt that Nick and Charlie's relationship was presented in a "heartfelt, gentle way" and praised the "loose art style [that] is full of lovely details, such as embarrassment and romantic blush lines".


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: In a review of Volume Two, Tiffany Babb of "The A.V. Club" praised the book's reproduction of the webcomic's art, its use of white space, and Oseman's handwritten lettering, which she says is "expressive ... in a way that feels both unique to her style and organic to the pacing of the comic". She felt that the treatment of Charlie and Nick's characters displayed "a level of understanding and care that elevates the story" and argued that the story "never devalued or ignored" the characters' other relationships with friends and family. Sarah Hughes of "i" included Volume Three in the newspaper's list of "Young Adult fiction: 25 of the best new books for 2020". Prudence Wade rated Volume Four 8/10 for "The Independent" and called it "a touching tale of teen love and accepting who you are". Fiona Noble also included Volume Four in "The Guardian"'s list of "The best children's books of 2021", describing it as a "joyful, tender look at first love and relationships with an inclusive cast".


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: The webcomic series received more than 52 million views and the novel had sold more than one million copies worldwide.


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: A television adaptation of "Heartstopper" entered development after See-Saw Films acquired the rights in July 2019. Production was greenlit in January 2021 by the streaming service Netflix as an eight-episode series written by Oseman and starring Joe Locke and Kit Connor as Charlie and Nick, respectively. It premiered on 22 April 2022 to high viewership and critical acclaim and was later renewed for a second and third season.


title: Heartstopper (graphic novel)

text: As a tie-in to the series, the first volume of the graphic novel was re-released on 28 April 2022 with new cover art featuring Locke and Connor as Charlie and Nick recreating the original illustrated cover, as well as an excerpt of the show's script. The graphic novel became the top-selling children's book in the UK following the popularity of the Netflix series.


title: John Searle

text: John Rogers Searle (; born July 31, 1932) is an American philosopher widely noted for contributions to the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and social philosophy. He began teaching at UC Berkeley in 1959, and was Willis S. and Marion Slusser Professor Emeritus of the Philosophy of Mind and Language and Professor of the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley until 2019.


title: John Searle

text: As an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Searle was secretary of "Students against Joseph McCarthy". He received all his university degrees, BA, MA, and DPhil, from the University of Oxford, where he held his first faculty positions. Later, at UC Berkeley, he became the first tenured professor to join the 1964–1965 Free Speech Movement. In the late 1980s, Searle challenged the restrictions of Berkeley's 1980 rent stabilization ordinance. Following what came to be known as the California Supreme Court's "Searle Decision" of 1990, Berkeley changed its rent control policy, leading to large rent increases between 1991 and 1994.


title: John Searle

text: In 2000, Searle received the Jean Nicod Prize; in 2004, the National Humanities Medal; and in 2006, the Mind & Brain Prize. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2010. Searle's early work on speech acts, influenced by J.L. Austin and Ludwig Wittgenstein, helped establish his reputation. His notable concepts include the "Chinese room" argument against "strong" artificial intelligence.


title: John Searle

text: In June 2019, Searle's status as professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, was revoked for his repeated violations of the university's sexual harassment policies.


title: John Searle

text: Searle's father, G.W. Searle, an electrical engineer, was employed by AT&T Corporation; his mother, Hester Beck Searle, was a physician.


title: John Searle

text: Searle began his college education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and in his junior year became a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he obtained all his university degrees, BA, MA, and DPhil.


title: John Searle

text: Searle was the Willis S. and Marion Slusser Professor Emeritus of the Philosophy of Mind and Language and Professor of the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley, he had retired in 2014 but continued teaching until 2016. In June 2019, the emeritus title was revoked.


title: John Searle

text: While an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Searle became the secretary of "Students against Joseph McCarthy". McCarthy at that time served as the junior senator from Wisconsin. In 1959, Searle began teaching at Berkeley, and he was the first tenured professor to join the 1964–65 Free Speech Movement. In 1969, while serving as chairman of the Academic Freedom Committee of the Academic Senate of the University of California, he supported the university in its dispute with students over the People's Park.


title: John Searle

text: In "The Campus War: A Sympathetic Look at the University in Agony" (1971), Searle investigates the causes behind the campus protests of the era. In it he declares, "I have been attacked by both the House Un-American Activities Committee and...several radical polemicists... Stylistically, the attacks are interestingly similar. Both rely heavily on insinuation and innuendo, and both display a hatred --one might almost say terror-- of close analysis and dissection of argument." He asserts that "My wife was threatened that I (and other members of the administration) would be assassinated or violently attacked."


title: John Searle

text: In the late 1980s, Searle, along with other landlords, petitioned Berkeley's rental board to raise the limits on how much he could charge tenants under the city's 1980 rent-stabilization ordinance. The rental board refused to consider Searle's petition and Searle filed suit, charging a violation of due process. In 1990, in what came to be known as the "Searle Decision", the California Supreme Court upheld Searle's argument in part and Berkeley changed its rent-control policy, leading to large rent-increases between 1991 and 1994. Searle was reported to see the issue as one of fundamental rights, being quoted as saying "The treatment of landlords in Berkeley is comparable to the treatment of blacks in the South... our rights have been massively violated and we are here to correct that injustice." The court described the debate as a "morass of political invective, ad hominem attack, and policy argument".


title: John Searle

text: Shortly after the September 11 attacks, Searle wrote an article arguing that the attacks were a particular event in a long-term struggle against forces that are intractably opposed to the United States, and signaled support for a more aggressive neoconservative interventionist foreign policy. He called for the realization that the United States is in a more-or-less permanent state of war with these forces. Moreover, a probable course of action would be to deny terrorists the use of foreign territory from which to stage their attacks. Finally, he alluded to the long-term nature of the conflict and blamed the attacks on the lack of American resolve to deal forcefully with America's enemies over the past several decades.


title: John Searle

text: In March 2017, Searle became the subject of sexual assault allegations. The "Los Angeles Times" reported: "A new lawsuit alleges that university officials failed to properly respond to complaints that John Searle ... sexually assaulted his ... research associate last July and cut her pay when she rejected his advances." The case brought to light several earlier complaints against Searle, on which Berkeley allegedly had failed to act.


title: John Searle

text: The lawsuit, filed in a California court on March 21, 2017, alleged sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and assault and battery and sought damages both from Searle and from the Regents of the University of California as his employers. It also claims that Jennifer Hudin, the director of the John Searle Center for Social Ontology, where the complainant had been employed as an assistant to Searle, has stated that Searle "has had sexual relationships with his students and others in the past in exchange for academic, monetary or other benefits". After news of the lawsuit became public, several previous allegations of sexual harassment by Searle were also revealed.


title: John Searle

text: On June 19, 2019, following campus disciplinary proceedings by Berkeley's Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD), University of California President Janet Napolitano approved a recommendation that Searle have his emeritus status revoked, after a determination that he had violated university policies against sexual harassment and retaliation between July and September 2016.


title: John Searle

text: Searle has five honorary-doctorate degrees from four countries and is an honorary visiting professor at Tsing Hua University and at East China Normal University.


title: John Searle

text: In 2000, Searle received the Jean Nicod Prize; in 2004, the National Humanities Medal; and in 2006, the Mind & Brain Prize.


title: John Searle

text: Searle's early work, which did much to establish his reputation, was on speech acts. He attempted to synthesize ideas from many colleagues – including J.L. Austin (the "illocutionary act", from "How To Do Things with Words"), Ludwig Wittgenstein and G.C.J. Midgley (the distinction between regulative and constitutive rules) – with his own thesis that such acts are constituted by the rules of language. He also drew on the work of Paul Grice (the analysis of meaning as an attempt at being understood), Hare and Stenius (the distinction, concerning meaning, between illocutionary force and propositional content), P.F. Strawson, John Rawls and William Alston, who maintained that sentence meaning consists in sets of regulative rules requiring the speaker to perform the illocutionary act indicated by the sentence and that such acts involve the utterance of a sentence which (a) indicates that one performs the act; (b) means what one says; and (c) addresses an audience in the vicinity.


title: John Searle

text: In his 1969 book "Speech Acts", Searle sets out to combine all these elements to give his account of illocutionary acts. There he provides an analysis of what he considers the prototypical illocutionary act of promising and offers sets of semantical rules intended to represent the linguistic meaning of devices indicating further illocutionary act types. Among concepts presented in the book is the distinction between the "illocutionary force" and the "propositional content" of an utterance. Searle does not precisely define the former as such, but rather introduces several possible illocutionary forces by example. According to Searle, the sentences...


title: John Searle

text: ... each indicate the same propositional content (Sam smoking habitually) but differ in the illocutionary force indicated (respectively, a statement, a question, a command and an expression of desire).


title: John Searle

text: According to a later account, which Searle presents in "Intentionality" (1983) and which differs in important ways from the one suggested in "Speech Acts", illocutionary acts are characterised by having "conditions of satisfaction", an idea adopted from Strawson's 1971 paper "Meaning and Truth", and a "direction of fit", an idea adopted from Austin and Elizabeth Anscombe. For example, the statement "John bought two candy bars" is satisfied if and only if it is true, i.e., John did buy two candy bars. By contrast, the command "John, buy two candy bars!" is satisfied if and only if John carries out the action of purchasing two candy bars. Searle refers to the first as having the "word-to-world" direction of fit, since the words are supposed to change to accurately represent the world, and the second as having the "world-to-word" direction of fit, since the world is supposed to change to match the words. There is also the double direction of fit, in which the relationship goes both ways, and the null or zero direction of fit, in which it goes neither way because the propositional content is presupposed, as in "I am sorry I ate John's candy bars.")


title: John Searle

text: In "Foundations of Illocutionary Logic" (1985, with Daniel Vanderveken), Searle prominently uses the notion of the "illocutionary point".


title: John Searle

text: Searle's speech-act theory has been challenged by several thinkers in various ways. Collections of articles referring to Searle's account are found in Burkhardt 1990 and Lepore / van Gulick 1991.


title: John Searle

text: In "Intentionality: An Essay in the Philosophy of Mind" (1983), Searle applies the principles of his account(s) of illocutionary acts to the investigation of intentionality, which is central to Searle's "Philosophy of Mind". (Searle is at pains to emphasize that 'intentionality', the capacity of mental states to be "about" worldly objects, is not to be confused with 'intensionality', the referential opacity of contexts that fail tests for 'extensionality'.)


title: John Searle

text: For Searle, intentionality is exclusively mental, being the power of minds to represent or symbolize over, things, properties and states of affairs in the external world. Causal covariance, about-ness and the like are not enough: maps, for instance, only have a 'derived' intentionality, a mere after-image of the real thing.


title: John Searle

text: Searle also introduces a technical term "the Background", which, according to him, has been the source of much philosophical discussion ("though I have been arguing for this thesis for almost twenty years," Searle writes, "many people whose opinions I respect still disagree with me about it"). He calls "Background" the set of abilities, capacities, tendencies, and dispositions that humans have that are not themselves intentional states but that generate appropriate such states on demand.


title: John Searle

text: Thus, when someone is asked to "cut the cake," they know to use a knife and when someone is asked to "cut the grass," they know to use a lawnmower (and not vice versa), even though the request did not mention this. Beginning with the possibility of reversing these two, an endless series of sceptical, anti-real or science-fiction interpretations could be imagined. "I wish to say that there is a "radical" underdetermination of what is said by the literal meaning..." emphasizes Searle. The Background fills the gap, being the capacity always to have a suitable interpretation to hand. "I just take a huge metaphysics for granted," he says. Searle sometimes supplements his reference to the "Background" with the concept of "the Network", one's network of other beliefs, desires, and other intentional states necessary for any particular intentional state to make sense.


title: John Searle

text: To give an example, two chess players might be engaged in a bitter struggle at the board, but they share all sorts of Background presuppositions: that they will take turns to move, that no one else will intervene, that they are both playing to the same rules, that the fire alarm will not go off, that the board will not suddenly disintegrate, that their opponent will not magically turn into a grapefruit, and so on indefinitely. As most of these possibilities will not have occurred to either player, Searle thinks the Background is itself unconscious as well as nonintentional. To have a Background is to have a set of brain structures that generate appropriate intentional states (if the fire alarm does go off, say). "Those brain structures enable me to activate the system of intentionality and to make it function, but the capacities realized in the brain structures do not themselves consist in intentional states."


title: John Searle

text: It seems to Searle that Hume and Nietzsche were probably the first philosophers to appreciate, respectively, the centrality and radical contingency of the Background. "Nietzsche saw, with anxiety, that the Background does not have to be the way it is." Searle also thinks that a Background appears in the ideas of other modern thinkers: as the river-bed/substratum of Wittgenstein's On Certainty ("the work of the later Wittgenstein is in large part about the Background, especially "On Certainty"") and Pierre Bourdieu's "habitus".