title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Following several more hits, Anderson reached the number one position for a fifth time in May 1969 with "My Life (Throw It Away If I Want To)". Both this, and the hit "But You Know I Love You", were included on his 1969 studio album. He began diversifying his album releases during this period with the recording of a gospel LP, "I Can Do Nothing Alone", in 1967 and a holiday LP, "Christmas", in 1969. A greatest hits package, "Bill Anderson's Greatest Hits, was also issued and it reached number six on the country albums survey. Anderson continued releasing regular country albums as well, outputting as much as three per year by the early 1970s. His country LP's often included a mix of original material and cover versions. On his 1971 release, "Always Remember," Greg Adams of Allmusic commented that it "confounds expectations" for delivering original vocal performances of songs first cut by Kris Kristofferson and Kenny Rogers. A series of uninterrupted top ten hits followed his early 1970s albums. During this time frame, he had hits with "Love Is a Sometimes Thing", "Where Have All Our Heroes Gone", "If You Can Live with It (I Can Live Without It)" and "The Corner of My Life". In February 1974, he had his first number one hit in five years with "World of Make Believe".


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: By 1977, Anderson experienced several changes in his recording career. His longtime duet partner, Jan Howard, left his record label and road show. According to Howard, it was difficult to keep up with the busy touring schedule. She was replaced by Mary Lou Turner. In 1976, the Turner-Anderson pairing had a number one hit with the song, "Sometimes". Anderson's longtime label was renamed to MCA Records during the same time frame. Changes at the label continued when his longtime producer (Owen Bradley) was replaced by Buddy Killen. Anderson's first assignment with Killen was the 1977 studio release, "Scorpio." With Killen, Anderson's musical sound shifted from Nashville Sound ballads towards uptempo Countrypolitan tunes. The new sound was reflected in his latest albums and singles. In 1977, Anderson had two major hits with the uptempo "Head to Toe" and "Still the One". The following year, Anderson had a major hit with the disco-flavored "I Can't Wait Any Longer". The song peaked at number four on the "Billboard" country singles chart and reached number 80 on the Hot 100. Its corresponding studio effort, "Love...& Other Sad Stories," reached number 37 on the "Billboard" country albums list.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Although successful at first, Anderson's late-1970s music received negative criticism from many writers. Author Kurt Wolff criticized his new image, commenting that his music "flirted dangerously with disco beats". Eugene Chadbourne of Allmusic only gave his "Love...& Other Sad Stories" album 1.5 out of 5 stars. "This is an album that begins with what sounds like a pervert and ends with an effect described as frightening. Too bad most of it is so boring to listen to", Chadbourne concluded. Anderson's sales success began to decline following the release of "I Can't Wait Any Longer". His follow-up album, "Ladies Choice" (1979), only reached number 44 on the country albums chart. The album's only major hit was the top 20 single "This Is a Love Song". After the release of his final MCA album in 1980, he was dropped from the label.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: In the mid 1980s, Anderson shifted his professional interests. He began a brief television career in California. However, he continued recording music sporadically during the decade. On the independent Southern Tracks label, he released "Southern Fried" in 1983. The album was co-produced by Anderson and musician Mike Johnson. The album also spawned four singles that became minor hits on the country songs chart, including the title track. In 1986, Anderson released "A Place in the Country," which was also produced by Johnson. The record was also released in the United Kingdom with a different track list. Four singles were spawned from the album that became minor country hits between 1984 and 1987.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Beginning in the early 1990s, Anderson focused more on songwriting. However, he continued recording his own music. Anderson's first studio release of the decade was 1992's "Country Music Heaven," issued on Curb Records. It was a collection of gospel songs that was inspired by his grandfather, a Methodist preacher. The album's title track was issued as a single, but did not chart in any "Billboard" music publications. The single was reviewed by "Billboard" magazine in 1992 where it received comparisons to music by Garth Brooks. In 1998, Anderson was signed to Warner Bros. Records as part of a veterans artists project that included Ronnie Milsap and Connie Smith. That year, his 36th studio offering entitled "Fine Wine" was released. The project was produced by Steve Wariner and his wife Caryn. John Weisberger of "Country Standard Time" gave the release a positive response, calling the songs "vintage". Meanwhile, Allmusic only gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars. He began taking new artistic directions with his next studio release, "A Lot of Things Different" (2001). The album represented a traditional country style, which Anderson called his most traditional effort yet. It was released on Varèse Sarabande, which Anderson distributed music through in conjunction with his own record label, TWI.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson's artistic directions continued expanding into the 2000s. After the release of another holiday album, "No Place Like Home on Christmas", he released a third gospel project in 2004, "Softly & Tenderly." A year later, he released a contemporary country album entitled "The Way I Feel." It included his own version of Brad Paisley's "Whiskey Lullaby", along with his own compositions. It was reviewed positively by Al Campbell, who praised its songwriting quality. In 2007, Anderson released his first collection of bluegrass music called "Whisperin' Bluegrass." Released on Madacy Entertainment, it included collaborations with Vince Gill and Dolly Parton. Chet Flippo of "Country Music Television" called it "a terrific album of country and gospel songs done up with bluegrass instrumentation".


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: In 2010 and 2014, respectively, Anderson released two self-produced studio albums: "Songwriter" and "Life!." In 2018, his 44th studio effort, "Anderson," was issued and featured a collaboration with Jamey Johnson. He followed this with his 45th studio recording in 2020 called "The Hits Re-Imagined." The album was a collection of re-recorded hits and songs Anderson had written in his career. "Billboard" gave the record a favorable review which stated, "At 82, Anderson brings a gravitas to the heavier songs and a lightheartedness to tunes like "Po Folks" with a low-key production that keeps the focus squarely on Anderson and his delivery. Just as it should be". In June 2022, a compilation titled "The Best of Bill Anderson: As Far as I Can See" was released by MCA Nashville and included a new track featuring Dolly Parton.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson's writing career began during the same period as his recording career. His 1958 composition, "City Lights", ultimately led to his songwriting success. In an interview with Ken Burns, Anderson recalled writing the song on a hotel roof: "I was up there one night in 1957 – I was nineteen years old – and I managed to write the 'bright array of city lights as far as I can see'", he recalled. After Anderson's own version was released, it was brought to the attention of country artist Ray Price. It was picked up by his record label and became a number one hit on the national country charts in 1958.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: The success of "City Lights" led Anderson to receive a contract from the Tree Writing music publishing company in Nashville. The Tree contract allowed Anderson to write songs for his own music and others. Among his next hits as a writer was "I Missed Me", which was cut by Jim Reeves. The single became a major country hit after reaching number three in December 1960. Another hit was "I Don't Love You Anymore", which was recorded by Charlie Louvin in 1964. Released as a single, the song became Lovin's biggest solo hit, reaching number four on the "Billboard" Hot Country Singles chart. That same year, Lefty Frizzell recorded Anderson's "Saginaw, Michigan". The single became Frizzell's first number one hit since 1952, topping the charts in March 1964. During this time, he wrote two hits for Porter Wagoner, including 1964's "I'll Go Down Swinging". He was inspired to write the song after hearing the song title at the end of a Hank Snow record. Anderson also wrote solo hits for his duet partner, Jan Howard, in the 1960s. She had major hits with the Anderson-penned "Count Your Blessings, Woman", "I Still Believe in Love" and "Bad Seed". The latter track was a top ten hit for Howard in 1966.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson also wrote several hits for Connie Smith. He was also responsible for helping Smith sign her first recording contract. Anderson had discovered Smith after hearing her perform in a talent contest near Columbus, Ohio. He helped bring her to Nashville, where she recorded several demonstration tapes that were heard by producers at RCA Victor Records. In 1964, Smith was signed to the label. Anderson's composition "Once a Day" was recorded by Smith in 1964. Released as her debut single, it spent a total of eight weeks on the "Billboard" Hot Country Singles chart, becoming his most successful hit as a writer at that point. Smith's career was further facilitated by Anderson, who wrote many of her follow-up hits such as "Then and Only Then", "Cincinnati, Ohio" and "I Never Once Stopped Loving You". Anderson further helped her professional career by helping her become a member of the Grand Ole Opry and make an appearance on "The Lawrence Welk Show." "From the beginning, I liked Connie a lot personally and tried to help her", he recalled in his 2016 autobiography.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson also wrote material for pop artists during this time. In the 1960s, Brenda Lee recorded Anderson's "My Whole World Is Falling Down". The single peaked at number 24 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in August 1963. Other pop artists to record Anderson's material included James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Dean Martin. However, his most successful material would be recorded by country artist, who continued recording his songs into the next decade. In 1972, Cal Smith cut Anderson's "The Lord Knows I'm Drinking", which became a number one hit on the "Billboard" country chart. The following year, Jean Shepard recorded Anderson's "Slippin Away". The single became Shepard's first top-ten hit in four years and she had further top-twenty hits that decade with Anderson-penned compositions. That same decade, Conway Twitty also had a number-one hit with the tune "I May Never Get to Heaven".


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson's writing and recording career both slowed down at the same time. In the early 1980s, he began writing music less frequently. Instead, he began focusing on other projects in television. "I just knew that this is what I wanted to do for my life's work, but I do remember telling people I'd stop if it wasn't working out", he said in describing his move away from writing. In a 2020 interview with "American Songwriter," Anderson also explained that the country market was shifting towards crossover pop. For that reason, he found it difficult to write material for other artists. "Country music was changing and I was wondering if I could still fit in. I don't know how I got in that funk, but it was a tough time", he recalled.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson did not fully stop writing material for his own albums. On his 1983 studio release, "Southern Fried," he wrote three of the record's tracks. His 1986 studio album, "A Place in the Country," contained two tracks written (or co-written) by Anderson. However, only one album track was self-composed: the song "We May Never Pass This Way Again.' Both of these self-composed tracks were only included on the version of the album released in the United Kingdom. Anderson turned his writing priorities towards other directions as well. In 1989, he released his first autobiography, "Whisperin' Bill," via Longstreet Press. It was reviewed by "Publishers Weekly" in August 1989, giving it a mostly positive response: "Despite a measure of hoopla and hyperbole ('I did it . . . I did it all . . . but it wasn't easy'), the author does justice to a powerful story", reviewers commented.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: In 1992, country artist Steve Wariner recorded Anderson's 1960 hit "The Tip of My Fingers". Released as a single, it became a top-five hit on the "Billboard" Hot Country Songs chart that year and inspired Anderson to write again. "Steve's version of 'Tips' was some indication that words, melodies and emotions can carry across decades", he commented. Among his next compositions was a song co-written with Vince Gill entitled "Which Bridge to Cross (Which Bridge to Burn)". The song was written in a "writing appointment", where composers make arrangements to write music and are paid by recording hours in a time clock. "Which Bridge to Cross" was released as a single by Gill in 1994 and became a major hit, peaking at number four on the "Billboard" country chart. According to Anderson, the song's success helped him gain credibility with younger songwriters in Nashville. He began receiving phone calls from other writers and performers to set up more writing appointments. Anderson, who was not used to writing with others, decided to make adaptations to his own songwriting style in order to collaborate. "I let a lot of young kids tell me a lot of things, and I benefited from that, greatly", he recounted.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson began co-writing more frequently during the 1990s. Wariner had another hit in 1999 with another Anderson composition titled "Two Teardrops". The song became a major hit when it reached number two on the country songs chart in June 1999. The song was also nominated for a Grammy award. During the same period, he collaborated with Skip Ewing and Debbie Moore on the song "Wish You Were Here". The song was released as a single by Mark Wills and became a number one hit on the "Billboard" country chart in 1999. Anderson later commented that the song's success helped him resolve financial struggles he had battled during the decade. He followed "Wish You Were Here" with the song "A Lot of Things Different", which was co-written with Dean Dillon. The song was written during an exchange the pair had while out to breakfast. The song was later recorded by Kenny Chesney, whose version reached number six on the country singles chart in 2003.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Chesney's song was followed by a track later recorded by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss called "Whiskey Lullaby". The tune was composed with singer-songwriter Jon Randall. After writing the song, Randall was reluctant to record a demo of the record to pitch to other artists. However, Anderson believed the song could be a success and its demo was then recorded at ten o'clock on a weeknight. Paisley's version was released as a single in 2004 and peaked at number three on the "Billboard" country chart that year. In 2005, "Whiskey Lullaby" won "Song of the Year" at the Country Music Association Awards. Anderson recalled the excitement of winning the accolade in his autobiography: "I jumped up and hugged Brad and knocked his white western hat from his head."


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: In 2006, Anderson co-wrote a song with Jamey Johnson and Buddy Cannon called "Give It Away". The song would later be cut by George Strait. The song's concept was inspired by Johnson's divorce at the time and included a spoken narration, a device that was not popular in the country genre during the mid-2000s. Strait's version was released as a single in 2006 and reached number one on the country chart that September. The song later won "Song of the Year" from the CMA Awards, becoming Anderson's third accolade from the awards show in the last three years. Later that decade, Anderson collaborated with other writers to compose "Joey" for the country duo Sugarland. The single reached the top 20 of the country songs chart in 2009. In 2014, Anderson co-wrote Mo Pitney's top-30 country hit "Country" with Pitney and Bobby Tomberlin.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Between 1965 and 1974, Anderson hosted his own national television series called "The Bill Anderson Show". The program also featured Jan Howard (his duet partner) and The Po' Boys (his touring band). The show was first filmed in Windsor, Ontario and Charlotte, North Carolina. Filming was later moved to the General Electric Broadcasting Facility in Nashville, Tennessee. Broadcasting from Nashville made traveling easier since Anderson lived in the city. On an average filming day, Anderson would tape two thirty minute shows in front of a live audience. Around this time, he also appeared in several country music vehicle films. This included "The Las Vegas Hillbillys", which featured country artists Sonny James and Connie Smith. He also made appearances on several national television shows during this time, including "The Today Show."


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson ventured further into television in the late 1970s. Between 1977 and 1978, he and Sarah Purcell co-hosted the ABC game show "The Better Sex". In 1980, he appeared on two episodes of the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live", portraying a fictionalized version of himself. In a 1980 interview, then-ABC vice president Jackie Smith called the decision "a first" for a country artist. Also in the 1980s, Anderson hosted the program "Backstage at the Grand Ole Opry" and the game show "Fandango", which both aired on the former Nashville Network (TNN). "Fandango" was brought to Anderson's attention by the program director of WSM TV in Nashville, who believed that a country music trivia show would be successful for the network. "I've gotten into a lot of different things. I'm probably in the public eye more right now than I've ever been because of the things that I do on television", he said in 1988. He remained with "Fandango" until 1989. Anderson was then invited to join the cast of the TNN competition program "You Can Be a Star." Anderson was involved in the show's inner workings, including helping to develop the scoring system. In addition, his touring band was hired as the show's stage band.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson appeared as himself in the February 15, 1965, episode of "To Tell the Truth", receiving two of the four possible votes. Major League Baseball pitcher Tracy Stallard appeared as one of the two imposters for Anderson.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson also focused on business opportunities, many of which were unsuccessful. In his autobiography, he commented, "I've tried to become a businessman a couple of times when I should have kept right on pickin' and grinnin'." In 1975, he bought a radio station in Provo, Utah, called KIXX. Anderson was unable to have enough advertisers support his radio station, causing it to fail. Six years later, he sold the station and left the radio industry. "I was totally disillusioned by something I love", he wrote in 2016.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: In the 1980s, Anderson served as a spokesperson for the Po' Folks restaurant chain, whose name was taken from his 1961 hit song. Anderson signed a three-year contract with the restaurant company to serve as their national spokesperson, appearing in radio and television commercials. In addition, Anderson signed off on allowing the company to use his photos and signatures to endorse their products. He then partnered with the vice president to help franchise the company. Country artist Conway Twitty was selected as a third partner to also help with franchising. However, several individual restaurants encountered financial struggles, which resulted in legal fees that Anderson had to pay. In addition, the company was being bought out by the larger Krystal fast food chain. He was forced to pay back fees he owed towards the company, causing Anderson to nearly declare bankruptcy. However, with the support of Twitty, Anderson helped pay off the company's financial entanglements. "Even as it stood, my little foray into the restaurant business wiped out a large chunk of my life's savings", he later said.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson has been married twice and has had two documented long-term relationships. He met his first wife, Bette (), in the late 1950s through a mutual friend. The pair married in December 1959. At the time of their marriage, Bette was 19 and Bill was 22. The couple remained married for ten years. Bette gave birth to two daughters during their relationship together. Bette also contributed to her husband's writing career when she co-wrote the 1965 song, "I Can't Remember". It would later be recorded by Connie Smith on her 1965 studio album "Cute 'n' Country." The pair separated in 1968 and officially divorced in 1969. Reflecting on his divorce in 2016, Anderson believed it was difficult for Bette to understand the music business, causing them to drift apart. Bette Anderson died in 2010 at the age of 69.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: In 1970, he married his second wife, Becky. Together the couple had one child. In 1984, Becky was involved in a car accident that caused "25 percent brain impairment." The couple filed a lawsuit against the driver who had crashed into Becky's vehicle. The recovery process took several years. The couple separated in the 1990s before officially divorcing in 1997. Anderson briefly dated Deborah Marlin following his second divorce. In 2003, Anderson was arrested after being accused by Marlin of hitting her with his car door. He was released from jail the same day.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson began dating Vickie Salas around 2008. The couple had first met years prior when she was 19 and was romantically involved with Anderson's band member. The two reconnected following Anderson's second divorce. "We never married, we never lived together, but she became my everything", Anderson later remembered. In 2016, Salas was diagnosed with cancer. Three years later, the disease intensified and she began receiving hospice care. She died in January 2019.


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: As a songwriter, Anderson has composed a variety of material. Author Kurt Wolff called his early compositions "cute and sentimental", citing "Po' Folks" and "I Love You Drops" to be examples of this style. Wolff also noted that other songs exemplified "anti-establishment attitudes" while other songs focused on themes that were "desperately bleak". Riane Konc of The Boot noted a similar trend in his songwriting style. She highlighted 2004's "Whiskey Lullaby" as an example. In reviewing the song, Konc commented that it was "packed full of unforgettable images" related to "heartbreak, addiction and loss". Konc also praised 2006's "Give It Away", calling it an "instant classic". In a 2018 interview with "American Songwriter," Anderson described his songwriting style: "The lyric is what attracted me to country music as a young boy– the story songs that I could listen to and feel some emotion. So yeah, I'd like to have the next generation pull out a few lines I've written and say 'yeah that's pretty clever!'"


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Anderson also created a musical style as a recording artist. After signing with Decca Records, he was given the nickname of "Whisperin' Bill Anderson", due to his soft-spoken vocal performance. Writer and critic Kurt Wolff has commented on his "whispering" vocal style. Wolff also noted that many of his recordings included a combination of both "singing and recitation". Steve Huey of Allmusic called his voice "airy" and "gentle". Stephen L. Betts of "Rolling Stone" commented that Anderson continues to demonstrate a whispering quality into his current work. In 2020, Betts stated that Anderson's vocal style "remains subdued in the present".


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: Writers and music critics have considered Anderson one of country music's most significant songwriters. Steve Huey of AllMusic called him "one of the most successful songwriters in country music history". Ken Burns of PBS called him an "acclaimed singer-songwriter". In 2019, "The Boot" further commented on Anderson's legacy: "In fact, one of the most impressive things about Anderson is his versatility: He's the soft voice behind many classic country songs, but he's also the writer or co-writer of plenty of your current favorites." Kevin John Coyne of "Country Universe" cited Anderson's songwriting as the center of his legacy: "It's been Bill Anderson's songwriting that's kept him topping the country charts for decades longer than even his most successful contemporaries."


title: Bill Anderson (singer)

text: In 1975, Anderson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In November 2002, BMI named him its first country songwriting icon, placing him alongside R&B artists Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and James Brown as the only recipients of that award. In 2018, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, along with Alan Jackson and John Mellencamp. Anderson has also been placed on several lists of country music's top writers and performers. In 2008, he was ranked 27th on "Country Universe" list of the "100 Greatest Men of Country Music". He was ranked among the "100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time" in a 2017 list compiled by "Rolling Stone."


title: History of Monopoly

text: The board game "Monopoly" has its origin in the early 20th century. The earliest known version, known as "The Landlord's Game", was designed by Elizabeth Magie and first patented in 1904, but existed as early as 1902. Magie, a follower of Henry George, originally intended "The Landlord's Game" to illustrate the economic consequences of Ricardo's Law of economic rent and the Georgist concepts of economic privilege and land value taxation. A series of board games was developed from 1906 through the 1930s that involved the buying and selling of land and the development of that land. By 1933, a board game had been created much like the modern version of "Monopoly" sold by Parker Brothers and its related companies through the rest of the 20th century, and into the 21st. Several people, mostly in the midwestern United States and near the East Coast of the United States, contributed to design and evolution.


title: History of Monopoly

text: By the 1970s, the idea that the game had been created solely by Charles Darrow had become popular folklore; it was printed in the game's instructions for many years, in a 1974 book devoted to "Monopoly", and was cited in a general book about toys as recently as 2007. Even a guide to family games published for "Reader's Digest" in 2003 gave credit only to Darrow and none to Elizabeth Magie, erroneously stating that Magie's original game was created in the 19th century and not acknowledging any of the game's development between Magie's creation of the game and the eventual publication by Parker Brothers.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Also in the 1970s, Professor Ralph Anspach, who had himself published a board game intended to illustrate the principles of both monopolies and trust busting, fought Parker Brothers and its then parent company, General Mills, over the copyright and trademarks of the "Monopoly" board game. Through the research of Anspach and others, much of the early history of the game was "rediscovered" and entered into official United States court records. Because of the lengthy court process, including appeals, the legal status of Parker Brothers' copyright and trademarks on the game was not settled until 1985. The game's name remains a registered trademark of Parker Brothers, as do its specific design elements; other elements of the game are still protected under copyright law. At the conclusion of the court case, the game's logo and graphic design elements became part of a larger "Monopoly" brand, licensed by Parker Brothers' parent companies onto a variety of items through the present day. Despite the "rediscovery" of the board game's early history in the 1970s and 1980s, and several books and journal articles on the subject, Hasbro (which became Parker Brothers' parent company) did not acknowledge any of the game's history before Charles Darrow on its official "Monopoly" website as recently as June 2012, nor did they acknowledge anyone other than Darrow in materials published or sponsored by them, at least as recently as 2009.


title: History of Monopoly

text: International tournaments, first held in the early 1970s, continue to the present, although the last national tournaments and world championship were held in 2009. Starting in 1985, a new generation of spin-off board games and card games appeared on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1989, the first of many video game and computer game editions was published. Since 1994, many official variants of the game, based on locations other than Atlantic City, New Jersey (the official setting for the North American version) or London (the official Commonwealth setting, excepting Canada), have been published by Hasbro or its licensees. In 2008, Hasbro permanently changed the color scheme and some of the gameplay of the standard US Edition of the game to match the UK Edition, although the US standard edition maintains the Atlantic City property names. Hasbro also modified the official logo to give the "Mr. Monopoly" character a 3-D computer-generated look, which has since been adopted by licensees USAopoly (The OP), Winning Moves and Winning Solutions. And Hasbro has also been including the Speed Die, introduced in 2006's "Monopoly: The Mega Edition" by Winning Moves Games, in versions produced directly by Hasbro (such as the 2009 "Championship Edition").


title: History of Monopoly

text: In 1903, Georgist Lizzie Magie applied for a patent on a game called "The Landlord's Game" with the object of showing that rents enriched property owners and impoverished tenants. She knew that some people would find it hard to understand the logic behind the idea, and she thought that if the rent problem and the Georgist solution to it were put into the concrete form of a game, it might be easier to demonstrate. She was granted the patent for the game in January 1904. "The Landlord's Game" became one of the first board games to use a "continuous path", without clearly defined start and end spaces on its board. Another innovation in gameplay attributed to Magie is the concept of "ownership" of a place on a game board, such that something would happen to the second (or later) player to land on the same space, without the first player's piece still being present. A copy of Magie's game that she had left at the Georgist community of Arden, Delaware and dating from 1903–1904, was presented for the PBS series "History Detectives". This copy featured property groups, organized by letters, later a major feature of "Monopoly" as published by Parker Brothers.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Although "The Landlord's Game" was patented, and some hand-made boards were made, it was not actually manufactured and published until 1906. Magie and two other Georgists established the Economic Game Company of New York, which began publishing her game. Magie submitted an edition published by the Economic Game Company to Parker Brothers around 1910, which George Parker declined to publish. In the UK, it was published in 1913 by the Newbie Game Company under the title "Brer Fox an' Brer Rabbit". Shortly after the game's formal publication, Scott Nearing, a professor in what was then known as the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania, began using the game as a teaching tool in his classes. His students made their own boards, and taught the game to others. After Nearing was dismissed from the Wharton School, he began teaching at the University of Toledo. A former student of Nearing, Rexford Guy Tugwell, also taught "The Landlord's Game" at Wharton, and took it with him to Columbia University. Apart from commercial distribution, it spread by word of mouth and was played in slightly variant homemade versions over the years by Quakers, Georgists, university students (including students at Smith College, Princeton, and MIT), and others who became aware of it.


title: History of Monopoly

text: A shortened version of Magie's game, which eliminated the second round of play that used a Georgist concept of a single land value tax, had become common during the 1910s, and this variation on the game became known as "Auction Monopoly". The auctioning part of the game came through a rule that auctioned any unowned property to all game players when it was first landed on. This rule was later dropped by the Quakers, and in the current game of "Monopoly" an auction takes place only when an unowned property is not purchased outright by the player that first lands on it. That same decade, the game became popular around the community of Reading, Pennsylvania. Another former student of Scott Nearing, Thomas Wilson, taught the game to his cousin, Charles Muhlenberg, around 1915–1916. The original patent on "The Landlord's Game" expired in 1921. By this time, the hand-made games became known simply as "Monopoly". Charles Muhlenberg and his wife, Wilma, taught the game to Wilma's brothers, Louis and Ferdinand "Fred" Thun, in the early 1920s.


title: History of Monopoly

text: By 1906, Magie had moved back to Illinois, and married Albert W. Phillips in 1910. She moved to the Washington, D.C. area with her husband by 1923, and re-patented a revised version of "The Landlord's Game" in 1924 (under her married name, Elizabeth Magie Phillips). This version, unlike her first patent drawing, included named streets (though the versions published in 1910 based on her first patent also had named streets). Magie sought to regain control over the plethora of hand-made games. For her 1924 edition, a couple of streets on the board were named after Chicago streets and locations, notably "The Loop" and "Lake Shore Drive". This revision also included a special "monopoly" rule and card that allowed higher rents to be charged when all three railroads and utilities were owned, and included "chips" to indicate improvements on properties. Magie again approached Parker Brothers about her game, and George Parker again declined, calling the game "too political". Parker is, however, credited with urging Magie to take out her 1924 patent.


title: History of Monopoly

text: After the Thuns learned the game, they began teaching its rules to their fraternity brothers at Williams College around 1926. Daniel W. Layman, in turn, learned the game from the Thun brothers (who later tried to sell copies of the game commercially, but were advised by an attorney that the game could not be patented, as they were not its inventors). Layman later returned to his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana, and began playing the game with friends there, ultimately producing hand-made versions of the board based on streets of that city. Layman then commercially produced and sold the game, starting in 1932, with a friend in Indianapolis, who owned a company called Electronic Laboratories. This game was sold under the name "The Fascinating Game of Finance" (later shortened to "Finance"). Layman soon sold his rights to the game, which was then licensed, produced and marketed by Knapp Electric. The published board featured four railroads (one per side), Chance and Community Chest cards and spaces, and properties grouped by symbol, rather than color. Also in 1932, one edition of "The Landlord's Game" was published by the Adgame Company with a new set of rules called "Prosperity", also by Magie.


title: History of Monopoly

text: It was in Indianapolis that Ruth Hoskins, a Quaker teaching at Earlham College, learned the game, and took it back to Atlantic City. After she arrived, Hoskins made a new board with Atlantic City street names and railroads. A group member Jesse Raiford, Eugene Raiford’s brother, set the property values that are still in use today. Ruth taught it to a group of local Quakers. It has been argued that their greatest contribution to the game was to reinstate the original Lizzie Magie rule of "buying properties at their listed price" rather than auctioning them, as the Quakers did not believe in auctions. Another source states that the Quakers simply "didn't like the noise of the auctioneering". Among the group taught the game by Hoskins were Eugene Raiford and his wife, who took a copy of the game with Atlantic City street names to Philadelphia. Due to the Raifords' unfamiliarity with streets and properties in Philadelphia, the Atlantic City-themed version was the one taught to Charles Todd, who in turn taught Esther Darrow, wife of Charles Darrow. After learning the game, Darrow then began to distribute the game himself as "Monopoly" and never spoke to the Todds again. Darrow initially made the sets of the "Monopoly" game by hand with the help of his first son, William Darrow, and his wife. Their new sets retained Charles Todd's misspelling of "Marvin Gardens" and the renaming of the Shore Fast Line to the Short Line. Charles Darrow drew the designs with a drafting pen on round pieces of oilcloth, and then his son and his wife helped fill in the spaces with colors and make the title deed cards and the Chance cards and Community Chest cards. After the demand for the game increased, Darrow contacted a printing company, Patterson and White, which printed the designs of the property spaces on square carton boards. Darrow's game board designs included elements later made famous in the version eventually produced by Parker Brothers, including black locomotives on the railroad spaces, the car on "Free Parking", the red arrow for "Go", the faucet on "Water Works", the light bulb on "Electric Company", and the question marks on the "Chance" spaces, though many of the actual icons were created by a hired graphic artist. While Darrow received a copyright on his game in 1933, its specimens have disappeared from the files of the United States Copyright Office, though proof of its registration remains.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Darrow first took the game to Milton Bradley and attempted to sell it as his personal invention. They rejected it in a letter dated May 31, 1934. After Darrow sent the game to Parker Brothers later in 1934, they rejected the game as "too complicated, too technical, [and it] took too long to play". Darrow received a rejection letter from the firm dated October 19, 1934. During this time, the "52 design errors" story was invented as a reason why Parker rejected Monopoly, but this has more recently been proven to be part of the Parker-invented "creation myth" surrounding the game.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In early 1935, however, the company heard about the game's excellent sales during the Christmas season of 1934 in Philadelphia and at F.A.O. Schwarz in New York City. Robert Barton, President of Parker Brothers, contacted Darrow and scheduled a new meeting in New York City. On March 18, Parker Brothers bought Darrow's game, helped him take out a patent on it, and purchased his remaining inventory. By April, 1935, the company had learned that Darrow was not the sole inventor of the game, but sought out an affidavit by Darrow to repeat his statements to the contrary, and thus bolster their claim to the game. Parker Brothers subsequently decided to buy out Magie's 1924 patent and the copyrights of other commercial variants of the game to claim that it had legitimate undisputed rights to the game.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Robert Barton, president of Parker Brothers, bought the rights to "Finance" from Knapp Electric later in 1935. "Finance" would be redeveloped, updated, and continued to be sold by Parker Brothers into the 1970s. Other board games based on a similar principle, such as a game called "Inflation", designed by Rudy Copeland and published by the Thomas Sales Co., in Fort Worth, Texas, also came to the attention of Parker Brothers management in the 1930s, after they began sales of "Monopoly". Copeland continued sales of the latter game after Parker Brothers attempted a patent lawsuit against him. Parker Brothers held the Magie and Darrow patents, but settled with Copeland rather than going to trial, since Copeland was prepared to have witnesses testify that they had played "Monopoly" before Darrow's "invention" of the game. The court settlement allowed Copeland to license Parker Brothers' patents. Other agreements were reached on "Big Business" by Transogram, and "Easy Money" by Milton Bradley, based on Daniel Layman's "Finance". Another clone, called "Fortune", was sold by Parker Brothers, and became combined with "Finance" in some editions.


title: History of Monopoly

text: "Monopoly" was first marketed on a broad scale by Parker Brothers in 1935. A Standard Edition, with a small black box and separate board, and a larger Deluxe Edition, with a box large enough to hold the board, were sold in the first year of Parker Brothers' ownership. These were based on the two editions sold by Darrow. Parker Brothers sets were the first to include die-cast metal tokens for playing pieces, initially using a battleship, a cannon, a clothes iron, a shoe, a top hat, and a thimble. George Parker himself rewrote many of the game's rules, insisting that "short game" and "time limit" rules be included. On the original Parker Brothers board (reprinted in 2002 by Winning Moves Games), there were no icons for the Community Chest spaces (the blue chest overflowing with gold coins came later) and no gold ring on the Luxury Tax space. Nor were there property values printed on spaces on the board. The Income Tax was slightly higher (being $300 or 10%, instead of the later $200 or 10%). Some of the designs known today were implemented at the behest of George Parker. The Chance cards and Community Chest cards were illustrated (though some prior editions consisted solely of text), but were without "Rich Uncle Pennybags", who was introduced in 1936.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Late in 1935, after learning of "The Landlord's Game" and "Finance", Robert Barton held a second meeting with Charles Darrow in Boston. Darrow admitted that he had copied the game from a friend's set, and he and Barton reached a revised royalty agreement, granting Parker Brothers worldwide rights and releasing Darrow from legal costs that would be incurred in defending the origin of the game.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In December 1935, Parker Brothers sent a copy of the game to Victor Watson, Sr. of Waddington Games. Watson and his son Norman tried the game over a weekend, and liked it so much that Waddington took the (then extraordinary) step of making a transatlantic "trunk call" to Parker Brothers, the first such call made or received by either company. This impressed Parker Brothers sufficiently that Waddington was granted licensing rights for Europe and the then-British Commonwealth, excluding Canada. Waddingtons version, their first board game, with locations from London substituted for the original Atlantic City ones, was first produced in 1936.


title: History of Monopoly

text: The game was very successful in the United Kingdom and France, but the 1936 German edition, published by Schmidt Spiele, disappeared from the market within three years. This edition, featuring locations in Berlin, was denounced, allegedly by Joseph Goebbels to the Hitler Youth due to the game's "Jewish-speculative character". It is also alleged that the real reason behind the Nazi denouncement was because high-ranking Nazis (i.e. Goebbels, again) lived on streets whose names appeared as those sections of the game board given the highest property values, and did not want to be associated with a game. The game last appeared in a pre-World War II Schmidt Spiele catalog in 1938. A new German edition, with "generic" street and train station names (i.e., not chosen from a single German city) would not appear until 1953. The 1936 German edition, with the original cards and Berlin locations, was reprinted in 1982 by Parker Brothers and again in 2003 (in a wooden box), and 2011 (in a red metal tin) by Hasbro.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Waddington licensed other editions from 1936 to 1938, and the game was exported from the UK and resold or reprinted in Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, Chile, The Netherlands, and Sweden. In Italy, under the fascists, the game was changed dramatically so that it would have an Italian name, locations in Milan, and major changes in the rules. This was for compliance under Italian law of the period. Italian publishers Editrice Giochi produced the game in Italy until 2009, having held a unique licensing agreement from Parker Brothers and their own copyright dating back to 1935/1936. As of 2009, Hasbro has taken over the publishing of the game in Italy, but have also, for now, kept the Milan-based properties.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In Austria, versions of the game first appeared as "Business" and "Spekulation" ("Speculation"), and eventually evolved to become "Das Kaufmännische Talent" (DKT) ("The Businessman's Talent"). Versions of DKT have been sold in Austria since 1940. The game first appeared as "Monopoly" in Austria in about 1981. The Waddingtons edition was imported into The Netherlands starting in 1937, and a fully translated edition first appeared in 1941.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Waddingtons later produced special games during World War II which secretly contained files, a compass, a map printed on silk, and real currency hidden amongst the "Monopoly" money, to enable prisoners of war to escape from German camps. However, this story has come under recent scrutiny and is being disputed.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Collector Albert C. Veldhuis features a map on his "Monopoly Lexicon" website showing which versions of the game were remade and distributed in other countries, with the Atlantic City, London, and Paris versions being the most influential. After World War II, homemade games would sometimes appear behind the Iron Curtain, although the game was effectively banned. "Monopoly" is cited as the board game played most often and most duplicated via hand made copies in the former German Democratic Republic. One official version of the game was printed for the Soviet Union by Parker Brothers in 1988. After the Cold War ended, official editions have been published throughout eastern Europe by Parker, Tonka and Hasbro. Hungary was the first, in 1992, followed by the Czech Republic and Poland in 1993, Croatia in 1994, Slovenia in 1996, Romania and a new edition for Russia in 1997, and Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia, all in 2001.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In 1936, Parker Brothers published four further editions along with the original two: the Popular Edition, Fine Edition, Gold Edition, and Deluxe Edition, with prices ranging from US$2 to US$25 in 1930s money. After Parker Brothers began to release its first editions of the game, Elizabeth Magie Phillips was profiled in the Washington D.C. "Evening Star" newspaper, which discussed her two editions of "The Landlord's Game". In December 1936, wary of the Mah-Jongg and Ping-Pong fads that had left unsold inventory stuck in Parker Brothers' warehouse, George Parker ordered a stop to "Monopoly" production as sales leveled off. However, during the Christmas season, sales picked up again, and continued a resurgence. In early 1937, as Parker Brothers was preparing to release the board game "Bulls and Bears" with Darrow's photograph on the box lid (though he had no involvement with the game), a "Time" magazine article about the game made it seem as if Darrow himself was the sole inventor of both "Bulls and Bears" and "Monopoly":


title: History of Monopoly

text: At the start of World War II, both Parker Brothers and Waddington stockpiled materials they could use for further game production. During the war, "Monopoly" was produced with wooden tokens in the US, and the game's cellophane cover was eliminated. In the UK, metal tokens were also eliminated, and a special spinner was introduced to take the place of dice. The game remained in print for a time even in the Netherlands, as the printer there was able to maintain a supply of paper. Elizabeth Magie's second patent on "The Landlord's Game" expired in September, 1941, and it is believed that after the expiration, she was no longer promoted as an inventor of "Monopoly". The game itself remained popular during the war, particularly in camps, and soldiers playing the game became part of the product's advertising in 1944.


title: History of Monopoly

text: After the war, sales went from 800,000 a year to over one million. The French and German editions re-entered production, and new editions for Spain, Greece, Finland and Israel were first produced. By the late 1950s, Parker Brothers printed only game sets with board, pieces and materials housed in a single white box. Several copies of this edition were exhibited at the American National Exhibition in Moscow in 1959. All of them were stolen from the exhibit. In the early 1960s, ""Monopoly" happenings" began to occur, mostly marathon game sessions, which were recognized by a "Monopoly" Marathon Records Documentation Committee in New York City. In addition to marathon sessions, games were played on large indoor and outdoor boards, within backyard pits, on the ceiling in a University of Michigan dormitory room, and underwater. In 1965, a 30th anniversary set was produced in a special plastic case.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Parker Brothers was acquired by General Mills in February 1968. The first "Monopoly" edition in Braille is published in 1973. Also in 1973, as the Atlantic City Commissioner of Public Works considered name changes for Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues, fans of the board game, with support from the president of Parker Brothers, successfully lobbied for the city to keep the names. After Parker Brothers was taken over by General Mills, the Monopoly license to Waddingtons was renegotiated (as was the Clue/Cluedo license to Parker Brothers/General Mills by Waddingtons). By 1974, Parker Brothers had sold 80 million sets of the game. In 1975, another anniversary edition was produced, but this edition came in a cardboard box looking much like a standard edition. Parker Brothers was under management by General Mills as the first six Monopoly Tournaments were held.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Kenner was combined with Parker Brothers and spun off as Kenner Parker Toys in 1985. Regular and Deluxe 50th Anniversary editions of "Monopoly" were released that same year. The spinoff game "Advance to Boardwalk" was first published in 1985. Kenner Parker was acquired by Tonka in 1987. The 1987/1988 "Monopoly" Tournaments were held under Kenner Parker Tonka management.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In the United Kingdom, "Monopoly" publisher Waddingtons produced its first non-London edition in 1989, creating a Limited Edition based on Leeds as a charity fundraiser.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In 1990, Merv Griffin Enterprises turned "Monopoly" into a prime time game show, airing after "Super Jeopardy!" on Saturday nights on ABC during that summer. The program was hosted by Mike Reilly and announced by Charlie O'Donnell.


title: History of Monopoly

text: "Monopoly Junior" was first published in 1990. Kenner Parker Tonka was acquired by Hasbro in 1991. An all-Europe edition was published by Parker Brothers in 1991 for the nations of the then European Communities, using the Ecu (European Currency Unit). After acquisition by Hasbro, publication of "Monopoly" in the US ceased at the Parker Brothers plant in Salem, Massachusetts in November 1991.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In 1994, the license to the company that would become USAopoly was issued, and they produced a San Diego, California edition as their first board. In 1995, a license for new game variations and reprints of "Monopoly" was granted to Winning Moves Games. See the Localizations, licenses, and spin-offs section below for details on further releases by both companies.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In 1995, a 60th Anniversary edition was released in a gold box. In late 1998, Hasbro announced a campaign to add an all-new token to US standard edition sets of "Monopoly". Voters were allowed to select from a biplane, a piggy bank, and a sack of money – with votes being tallied through a special website, via a toll-free phone number, and at FAO Schwarz stores.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In March 1999, Hasbro announced that the winner was the sack of money (with 51 percent of the vote, compared to 29 percent for the biplane and 20 percent for the piggy bank). Thus, the sack of money became the first new token added to the game since the early 1950s. In 1999, Hasbro renamed the Rich Uncle Pennybags mascot "Mr. Monopoly", and released Star Wars: Episode I, Pokémon and Millennium editions of Monopoly. A second European edition is released in 1999, this time using the Euro as currency, but incorrectly listing Geneva as the capital of Switzerland.


title: History of Monopoly

text: A 65th Anniversary Edition was released in a variation of the white box in 2000. In 2001, the European Edition is reissued, correcting the mistake of the 1999 printing, and correctly listing Bern as the capital of Switzerland. In 2005, a 70th Anniversary Edition was released in a silver-metallic tin with a plastic slip case. Also starting in 2005, various "Here & Now" editions were released in multiple countries. The first release of this edition was for the UK market, and its success led to the selection of properties for a US edition by online vote. The most popular properties were released on the US "Here & Now" edition board in 2006. This, in turn, led to a worldwide "Here & Now" edition (released in 2008), along with other national editions (including a second UK "Here and Now" edition) with properties selected by online vote. The main principle of the "Here & Now" editions was "What if Monopoly had been invented today?"


title: History of Monopoly

text: The first changes to the gameplay of the "Monopoly" game itself occurred with the publication of both the "Monopoly Here & Now Electronic Banking Edition" by Hasbro UK and "Monopoly: The Mega Edition" by Winning Moves Games in 2006. The Electronic Banking Edition uses VISA-branded debit cards and a debit card reader for monetary transactions, instead of paper bills. This edition is available in the UK, Germany, France, Australia and Ireland. A version was released in the US in 2007, albeit without the co-branding by Visa. An electronic counter had been featured in the Stock Exchange editions released in Europe in the early 2000s (decade), and is also a feature of the "Monopoly City" board game released in 2009.


title: History of Monopoly

text: The Mega Edition has been expanded to include fifty-two spaces (with more street names taken from Atlantic City), skyscrapers (to be played after hotels), train depots, the 1000 denomination of play money, as well as "bus tickets" and a speed die. Shortly after the release of "Mega Monopoly" in 2006, Hasbro adopted the same blue version of the speed die into a special "Speed Die Edition" of the game. By 2008, the die, now red, became a permanent addition to the game, though its use remains optional there. In 2009's "Championship Edition", use of the speed die is mandatory, as it also became mandatory in most of 2009's "Monopoly" tournaments.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In addition to permanently adding the speed die in 2008, Hasbro also instituted further changes to the United States standard edition of the board, including making Mediterranean and Baltic Avenues a brown color group, making the Income Tax space a flat $200 (removing the 10% option), changing the colors on the GO space from red to black, increasing the Luxury Tax to $100 (from $75), and changing some Community Chest and Chance cards. The changes in these four areas made the US standard edition more uniform with the UK and modern European editions. In 2009, Winning Moves Games introduced "The Classic Edition", with a pre-2008 game board and cards, re-inclusion of the "sack of money" token, and a plain MONOPOLY logo in the center of the board, with neither the 1985 or 2008 version of "Mr. Monopoly" present. Also in 2009, "Monopoly" "theme packs" entered the retail market, including the Dog Lovers and Sports Fans editions, which include customized money, replacements for houses and hotels, and custom tokens, without a board.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In early 2010, Hasbro began selling the "Free Parking" and "Get out of Jail" add-on games, which can be played alone or when a player lands on the respective "Monopoly" board spaces. If played during a "Monopoly" game, success at either game gets the winning player a "free taxi ride to any space on the board" or "out of jail free", respectively. A new, customizable edition called "U-Build" is also released. Later in 2010, for the 75th anniversary of the game's publication, Hasbro released "Monopoly Revolution", giving the game a graphic redesign, as well as returning it to a round shape, which had not been seen since some of Darrow's 1930s custom-made sets. The game includes "bank cards" and keeps track of players' assets electronically, as was introduced in the "Electronic Banking Edition" earlier in the decade. The game also features clear plastic playing pieces for movers, and electronic sound effects, triggered by certain events (for instance, a "jail door slam" sound effect when a player goes to jail). "Monopoly Live" was announced at the New York Toy Fair in February 2011. The "Monopoly Millionaire" version of the game was released in 2012.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In early 2013, a board game version of the "Monopoly Hotels" online game was released. From January 8 to February 5, 2013, through the "Monopoly" page on Facebook in a campaign called "Save Your Token", Hasbro took votes from the public to make another permanent change in the lineup of game tokens. The token with the lowest number of "Save Your Token" votes will be retired, and replaced with one of five other tokens, depending on which of the new candidates gets the most votes. The potential tokens were a robot, a helicopter, a cat, a guitar or a diamond ring. Neither the biplane nor the piggy bank from the 1998 vote are being considered this time. Early on February 6, it was announced that the iron would be retired for having received the fewest votes, and the cat would be replacing it, having received the most votes. Starting in February 2013, the US discount chain Target began selling a "Golden Token" set with the eight classic tokens and all five candidates. Special editions with the thirteen golden tokens have also been released in the UK and France. The first Monopoly game to have the new token lineup was released in June 2013. In 2015, the game celebrated its 80th anniversary with eight tokens from each decade in a special edition.


title: History of Monopoly

text: The first "Monopoly" tournaments were suggested by Victor Watson of Waddington after the World Chess Championship 1972. Such championships are also held for players of the board game "Scrabble". The first European Championship was held in Reykjavík, Iceland, the same site as the 1972 World Chess Championship. Accounts differ as to the eventual winner: Philip Orbanes and Victor Watson name John Mair, representing Ireland and the eventual World "Monopoly" Champion of 1975, as also having won the European Championship. Gyles Brandreth, himself a later European "Monopoly" Champion, names Pierre Milet, representing France, as the European Champion. One of the reasons there may be differing accounts of the eventual winner is attributable to a minor controversy with the final game. According to Parker Brothers' Randolph "Ranny" P. Barton, an error was made by one of the participants and a protest was filed by an opponent. The judges (Barton, Watson, and a representative from Miro, the French publishers of Monopoly) weighed the options of starting the final game over and delaying the chartered plane that would take them home from Iceland vs allowing the game to stand with the error but allowing them to make their flight. In the end, the judges upheld the result of the game with the error uncorrected.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Victor Watson and Ranny Barton began holding tournaments in the UK and US, respectively. World Champions were declared in the United States in 1973 and 1974 (and are still considered official World Champions by Hasbro). While the 1973 tournament, the first, matched three United States regional champions against the UK champion and thus could be argued as the first international tournament, true multinational international tournaments were first held in 1975. Both authors (Orbanes and Brandreth) agree that John Mair was the first true World Champion, as decided in tournament play held in Washington, D.C. days after the conclusion of the European Championship (which Mair had also won), in November 1975.


title: History of Monopoly

text: By 1982, tournaments in the United States featured a competition between tournament winners in all 50 states, competing to become the United States Champion. National tournaments were held in the US and UK the year before World Championships through 2003–2004 but during the same year as of 2009 (see table, below). The determination of the US champion was changed for the 2003 tournament: winners of an Internet-based quiz challenge were selected to compete, rather than one state champion for each of the 50 states. The tournaments are now typically held every six years. In the past, the US edition Monopoly board was used at the World championship level, while national variants are used at the national level. Since true international play began in 1975, no World champion has come from the US, still considered the board game's "birthplace". However, Dana Terman, two-time US Champion, placed second at the 1980 World Championship, Richard Marinaccio, the 2009 US Champion, placed third at the 2009 World Championship, and Brian Valentine, the 2015 US Representative, placed third at the 2015 World Championship.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Nicolò Falcone of Italy defeated players from 27 countries plus the defending champion in the 2015 World Championship held at The Venetian resort in Macau. A World Championship had been planned for 2021, but Hasbro has cancelled it due to the Coronavirus pandemic.


title: History of Monopoly

text: The original hand made editions of the "Monopoly" game had been localized for the cities or areas in which it was played, and Parker Brothers has continued this practice. Their version of "Monopoly" has been produced for international markets, with the place names being localized for cities including London and Paris and for countries including the Netherlands and Germany, among others. By 1982, Parker Brothers stated that the game "has been translated into over 15 languages...". In 2009, Hasbro reported that "Monopoly" is officially published in 27 languages, and has been licensed by them in 81 countries. In 2013, Hasbro stated that the game is now available in 43 languages and 111 countries.


title: History of Monopoly

text: The game has also inspired official spin-offs, such as the board game "Advance to Boardwalk" from 1985. There have been six card games: "Water Works" from 1972, "Free Parking" from 1988, "Express Monopoly" from 1993, "" from 1999, "Monopoly Deal" from 2008 and "Monopoly Millionaire Deal" from 2012. Finally, there have been two dice games: "Don't Go to Jail" from 1991 and an update, "Monopoly Express", (2006–2007). A second product line of games and licenses exists in "Monopoly Junior", first published in 1990. In the late 1980s, official editions of "Monopoly" appeared for the Sega Master System and the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128. A television game show, produced by King World Productions, was attempted in the summer of 1990, but lasted for only 12 episodes. In 1991–1992, official versions appeared for the Apple Macintosh and Nintendo's NES, SNES, and Game Boy. In 1995, as Hasbro (which had taken over Kenner Parker Tonka in 1991) was preparing to launch Hasbro Interactive as a new brand, they chose "Monopoly" and "Trivial Pursuit" to be their first two CD-ROM games. The Monopoly CD-ROM game also allowed for play over the Internet. CD-ROM versions of the officially licensed "Star Wars" and FIFA World Cup '98 editions also were released. Later CD-ROM exclusive spin-offs, "Monopoly Casino" and "Monopoly Tycoon", were also produced under license.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Various manufacturers of the game have created dozens of officially licensed versions, in which the names of the properties and other elements of the game are replaced by others according to the game's theme. The first such license was awarded in 1994, to the company that became USAopoly, starting with a San Diego edition of Monopoly and later including themes such as national parks, "Star Trek", "Star Wars", Nintendo, Disney characters, "Pokémon", "Peanuts", various particular cities (such as Las Vegas and New York City), states, colleges and universities, the World Cup, NASCAR, individual professional sports teams, and many others. USAopoly also sells special corporate editions of "Monopoly". Official corporate editions have been produced for Best Buy, the Boy Scouts of America, Cornwell Quality Tools, FedEx, Target, Mariott and UPS, among others. In 1995, a second license was awarded to Winning Moves Games in Massachusetts. Winning Moves has produced a new board game and card games based on "Monopoly" in the United States. Winning Moves also produces official localized editions of the game in the UK, France, Germany and Australia. The "Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Edition Monopoly" is a special case, having been originally produced by Winning Moves in the UK, and resold by USAopoly within the US. A third license was awarded in 2000 by Hasbro to Winning Solutions, Inc., which produces specialty deluxe editions mostly for sale by specialized retailers. Other licensed localized editions of the game are being published in Nigeria and The Netherlands, among other locations.


title: History of Monopoly

text: When creating some of the modern licensed editions, such as the "Looney Tunes" and The Powerpuff Girls editions of "Monopoly", Hasbro included special variant rules to be played in the theme of the licensed property. Infogrames, which has published a CD-ROM edition of "Monopoly", also includes the selection of "house rules" as a possible variant of play. Electronic Arts, which publishes current electronic versions of the game, such as for the Nintendo Wii, also includes the selection of certain house rules.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Unofficial versions of the game, which share some of the same playing features, but also incorporate changes so as not to infringe on copyrights, have been created by firms such as Late for the Sky Production Company and Help on Board. These are done for smaller cities, sometimes as charity fundraisers, and some have been created for college and university campuses. Others have non-geographical themes such as Wine-opoly and Chocolate-opoly. There is also a version called "Make Your Own -OPOLY", which allows players to customize all the game equipment and rules.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Before the creation of Hasbro Interactive, and after its later sale to Infogrames, official computer and video game versions have been made available on many platforms. In addition to the versions listed above, they have been produced for Amiga, BBC Micro, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, GameCube, PC, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Sega Genesis, Xbox, and mobile phones. A version for Windows CE was planned in 1999. A handheld electronic game was first released in 1998 that allowed for one human player against up to three player-selected or randomly chosen AI "personalities" out of five. A Nintendo DS release (along with "Battleship", "Boggle", and "Yahtzee") has been published (by Atari), as well as a stand-alone edition for the same console (by EA). In 2001, Stern Pinball, Inc. released a pinball machine version of Monopoly, designed by Pat Lawlor.


title: History of Monopoly

text: The official Parker Brothers rules and board remained largely unchanged from 1936 to 2008. Ralph Anspach argued against this during an on-air conversation with "The Monopoly Book" author Maxine Brady in 1975, calling it an end to "steady progress" and an impediment to progress. Several authors who have written about the board game have noted many of the "house rules" that have become common among players, although they do not appear in Parker Brothers' rules sheets. Gyles Brandreth included a section titled "Monopoly Variations", Tim Moore notes several such rules used in his household in his foreword, Phil Orbanes included his own section of variations, and Maxine Brady noted a few in her preface. Authors Noel Gunther and Richard Hutton published "Beyond Boardwalk and Park Place" in 1986, as a guide, per the cover, "to making "Monopoly" fun again", by introducing new variations of rules and strategies. R. Wayne Schmittberger, a former editor of "Games" magazine, acknowledged the work of Gunther and Hutton in his own 1992 guide "New Rules for Classic Games" (which includes several pages of Monopoly variations and suggestions that vary from the standard rules of the game).


title: History of Monopoly

text: Starting in 1974, Parker Brothers and its then corporate parent, General Mills, attempted to suppress publication of a game called "Anti-Monopoly", designed by San Francisco State University economics professor Ralph Anspach and first published the previous year. Anspach began to research the game's history, and argued that the copyrights and trademarks held by Parker Brothers should be nullified, as the game came out of the public domain. Among other things, Anspach discovered the empty 1933 Charles B. Darrow file at the United States Copyright Office, testimony from the "Inflation" game case that was settled out of court, and letters from Knapp Electric challenging Parker Brothers over "Monopoly". As the case went to trial in November 1976, Anspach produced testimony by many involved with the early development of the game, including Catherine and Willard Allphin, Dorothea Raiford and Charles Todd. Willard Allphin attempted to sell a version of the game to Milton Bradley in 1931, and published an article about the game's early history in the UK in 1975. Raiford had helped Ruth Hoskins produce the early Atlantic City games. Even Daniel Layman was interviewed, and Darrow's widow was deposed. The presiding judge, Spencer Williams, originally ruled for Parker Brothers/General Mills in 1977, allowing the Monopoly trademark to stand, and allowing the companies to destroy copies of Anspach's "Anti-Monopoly". Anspach appealed.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In December 1979, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Professor Anspach, with an opinion that agreed with the facts about the game's history and differed from Parker Brothers' "official" account. The court also upheld a "purchasing motivation" test (described in the decision as a "Genericness Doctrine"), a "test by which the trademark was valid only if consumers, when they asked for a "Monopoly" game, meant that they wanted Parker Brothers' version...". This had the effect of potentially nullifying the "Monopoly" trademark, and the court returned the case to Judge Williams. Williams heard the case again in 1980, and in 1981 he again held for Parker Brothers. Anspach appealed again, and in August 1982 the appeals court again reversed. The case was then appealed by General Mills/Parker Brothers to the United States Supreme Court, which decided not to hear the case in February 1983, and denied a petition for rehearing in April. This allowed the appeals court's decision to stand and further allowed Anspach to resume publication of his game.


title: History of Monopoly

text: With the trademark nullified, the name "Monopoly" entered the public domain, where the naming of games was concerned, and a profusion of non-Parker-Brothers variants were published. Parker Brothers and other firms lobbied the United States Congress and obtained a revision of the trademark laws. The case was finally settled in 1985, with "Monopoly" remaining a valid trademark of Parker Brothers, and Anspach assigning the "Anti-Monopoly" trademark to the company but retaining the ability to use it under license. Anspach received compensation for court costs and the destroyed copies of his game, as well as unspecified damages. He was allowed to resume publication with a legal disclaimer. Anspach later self-published a book about his research and legal fights with General Mills, Kenner Parker Toys, and Hasbro.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Parker Brothers/Hasbro now claims trademark rights to the name and its variants, and has asserted it against others such as the publishers of "Ghettopoly". Professor Anspach assigned the "Anti-Monopoly" trademark back to Parker Brothers, and Hasbro now owns it. Anspach's game remains in print. The previous publishers were a company called Talicor, but the game is currently distributed and sold by University Games worldwide.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Various patents have existed on the game of "Monopoly" and its predecessors, such as "The Landlord's Game", but all have now expired. The specific graphics of the game board, cards, and pieces are protected by copyright law and trademark law, as is the specific wording of the game's rules.


title: History of Monopoly

text: Parker Brothers created a few accessories and licensed a few products shortly after it began publishing the game in 1935. These included a money pad and the first stock exchange add-on in 1936, a birthday card, and a song by Charles Tobias (lyrics) and John Jacob Loeb (music). At the conclusion of the "Anti-Monopoly" case, Kenner Parker Toys began to seek trademarks on the design elements of Monopoly. It was at this time that the game's main logo was redesigned to feature "Rich Uncle Pennybags" (now "Mr. Monopoly") reaching out from the second "O" in the word Monopoly. To commemorate the game's 50th anniversary in 1985, the company commissioned artist Lou Brooks to redesign and illustrate the main logo as a red street sign-like banner, as well as the character Rich Uncle Pennybags reaching out of the "O". Brooks was also hired at the time to develop and illustrate the game's special "Commemorative Edition" embossed tin box packaging. The art was also carried over onto the more traditional cardboard game box which was revised for the anniversary.


title: History of Monopoly

text: All items stamped with the red MONOPOLY logo also feature the word "Brand" in small print. In the mid-1980s, after the success of the first "collector's tin anniversary edition" (for the 50th anniversary), an edition of the game was produced by the Franklin Mint, the first edition to be published outside Parker Brothers. At about the same time, McDonald's started its first "Monopoly" game promotions, considered the company's most successful, which continue to the present. The twentieth such promotion was sponsored in 2012.


title: History of Monopoly

text: In recent years, the "Monopoly" brand has been licensed onto a line of slot machines built by WMS Gaming (first introduced in 1998, six models had been made by 2000, and over 20 by 2005). The slots were named "Most Innovative Gaming Product in 1999 and voted "most popular" in 2001. The brand has also been licensed onto instant-win lottery tickets, and lines of 1:64 scale model cars produced by Johnny Lightning, which also included collectible game tokens. Other licenses have been issued for clothing and accessories, including a line of bathroom accessories. Licensee Winning Moves Games also had a Monopoly Calculator that could be used as a standard calculator, or used to aid in transactions during a game.


title: Schmaltz

text: Schmaltz (also spelled schmalz or shmalz) is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat. It is an integral part of traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, where it has been used for centuries in a wide array of dishes, such as chicken soup, latkes, matzah brei, chopped liver, matzah balls, fried chicken, and many others, either as a cooking fat, spread, or flavor enhancer.


title: Schmaltz

text: Schmaltz is a noun derived from the German verb "schmelzen", meaning "to melt". The verb can be traced back to the Germanic root "smeltan", which survives in the Modern English verb "to smelt". The term entered English usage through Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews who used "schmaltz" to refer to kosher poultry fat; the word "shmalts" is the Yiddish word for rendered chicken fat. The English term "schmaltz" is derived from Yiddish and is cognate with the German term "Schmalz", which refers to any rendered fat of animal origin, including lard (more fully "Schweineschmalz") and clarified butter ("Butterschmalz"). English use tends to follow Yiddish, which limits its meaning to rendered poultry fat.


title: Schmaltz

text: Historically, chicken has been the most popular meat in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine due to restrictions on Jews who often were not allowed to own land in Europe, and thereby were not able to tend to livestock. Schmaltz originated in the Jewish communities of north, west, and central Europe as it was an economical replacement for olive oil that typically was not available in these areas. Olive oil previously had an important role in Jewish culture. It had been used by the ancestors of the Ashkenazi Jews in their Ancient Israelite cuisine prior to the forced exile of Jews from Roman Israel, and it remained popular in Sephardic and Mizrahi cuisines.


title: Schmaltz

text: As olive oil and other vegetable oils (e.g. sesame oil, which Jews had used in Mesopotamia) were unavailable in northwestern Europe, Ashkenazi Jews turned to animal sources, like their Gentile neighbors. However, Kashrut prohibited Jews from using the most common cooking fats in northern Europe, namely butter and lard. Butter, being derived from milk, cannot be used with meat under the Jewish prohibition on mixing meat and dairy, while lard is derived from pork, a meat not considered kosher. Furthermore, even among the less common fats available, tallow derived from beef or mutton would have been uneconomical, particularly given that virtually all suet (the raw material for tallow) is "chelev" and its consumption is forbidden. Thus Ashkenazi Jews turned to poultry fat as their cooking fat of choice. This fat, which they called schmaltz, became the most popular cooking fat used in the shtetls (Jewish villages) of central and eastern Europe. It was commonly used in a multitude of dishes served with, or containing, meat in accordance with kosher dietary laws. The practice of overfeeding geese to produce more fat per bird produced modern Europe's first "foie gras" as well.


title: Schmaltz

text: At the turn of the twentieth century, as the Ashkenazi Jews fled escalating antisemitism and persecution in Europe and sought refuge in the United States and other countries, they brought with them their traditional foods, including schmaltz. It remained popular in American Jewish cuisine until it fell out of common use over the course of the second half of the century due to the inconvenience involved in its preparation, health concerns regarding its saturated fat content, various diet trends, and aggressive marketing by Crisco of their vegetable shortening to the Jewish community of New York.


title: Schmaltz

text: Over time, schmaltz was replaced with what often were vegetarian alternatives that were perceived to be healthier, such as the aforementioned vegetable shortening, then readily available olive oil, and margarine. Despite this, schmaltz remained in common use at Jewish delicatessens and Jewish restaurants as well as among those in the Haredi community.


title: Schmaltz

text: Beginning in the twenty-first century, however, schmaltz regained much of its former popularity as various celebrity chefs such as Anthony Bourdain, Alon Shaya, Michael Solomonov, Joan Nathan, and others began to incorporate schmaltz into various dishes and recipes as part of emerging food trends popularizing long-forgotten Jewish foods. Schmaltz also began being used in various non-traditional ways, such as cornbread, chicken pot pie, and other foods as a flavor enhancer.


title: Schmaltz

text: The manufacture of schmaltz involves cutting the fatty tissues of a bird (chicken or goose) into small pieces, melting the fat, and collecting the drippings. Schmaltz may be prepared by a dry process where the pieces are cooked under low heat and stirred, gradually yielding their fat. A wet process also exists whereby the fat is melted by direct steam injection. The rendered schmaltz is then filtered and clarified.


title: Schmaltz

text: Homemade Jewish-style schmaltz is made by cutting chicken or goose fat into small pieces and melting in a pan over low-to-moderate heat, generally with onions. After the majority of the fat has been extracted, the melted fat is strained through a cheesecloth into a storage container. The remaining dark brown, crispy bits of skin and onion are known in Yiddish as "gribenes".


title: Schmaltz

text: Another simple method is as a by-product of the making of chicken soup. After the chicken is simmered in the pot or crock-pot, the broth is chilled so the fat rises to the top. Then the fat can be skimmed off, at once providing schmaltz to set aside for other uses and a lower-fat soup that is heated before serving.


title: Schmaltz

text: Schmaltz typically has a strong aroma, and therefore, often is used for hearty recipes such as stews or roasts. It is a key ingredient in Jewish soups such as chicken soup, as well as in matzo ball soup and some cholent. Sometimes it is used as a bread spread, where it may be salted. Generally, this is consumed on Jewish rye or challah breads. It may be used to prepare foods served as part of fleishig (meat) meals such as latkes, matzah brei, or potato kugel, or instead of butter when pan-frying potatoes, onions, or other foods.


title: Schmaltz

text: Various vegetarian (and consequently pareve) versions of schmaltz have been marketed, starting with Nyafat (U.S., Rokeach and Sons, 1924), which is largely coconut oil with some onion flavoring and color. Vegetable shortening also is used as a substitute.


title: Schmaltz

text: Vegetarian schmaltz was manufactured in South Africa from 1951 under the brand Debra's Schmaltz, with Debra referring to Debora Bregman, who founded Debras Manufacturers. The slogan "Even the chicken can't tell the difference" was added later. Chef Oded Schwartz discusses Debra's Schmaltz in his book "In Search of Plenty — A History of Jewish Food".


title: D.J. Caruso

text: Daniel John Caruso Jr. (; born January 17, 1965) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His work encompasses a variety of genres, including thriller ("Disturbia, Taking Lives"), drama ("Standing Up"), horror ("The Disappointments Room"), and action ("I Am Number Four", ""). He has also directed numerous episodes of television series such as "The Shield", "Over There", "Smallville", and "Dark Angel". The majority of his films fall into the thriller and action film genres.


title: D.J. Caruso

text: Caruso was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, the son of Lorraine (Zullo) and Daniel John Caruso, who owned a salon, House of Beauty. He is of Italian descent. He graduated from Norwalk High School in 1983. He is a graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.


title: D.J. Caruso

text: Caruso began his career as a protege of director John Badham, acting as producer and second unit director on films like "Point of No Return", "Drop Zone", and "Nick of Time". He directed multiple episodes of television series like "High Incident" and "", in addition to two made-for-television films.


title: D.J. Caruso

text: His feature film directorial debut was "The Salton Sea", a stylish 2002 crime thriller starring Val Kilmer and Vincent D'Onofrio that has since gained minor cult status. Caruso next directed the Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke-starring psychological thriller film "Taking Lives." The film was released in theaters on March 19, 2004, but did not meet box office expectations, grossing $65,470,529 from a $35 million budget. However, the film proved to be a success on home video, holding its place as the number one best-selling DVD for three straight weeks. "Two for the Money" was Caruso's next film which was considered "a well done sport thriller, but with too many details". The film was released on October 7, 2005, and was a moderate success, grossing $30,526,509 worldwide with a modest budget of $18 million. It was later released on DVD on January 17, 2006.


title: D.J. Caruso

text: In 2007, Caruso was asked by Steven Spielberg to direct "Disturbia". The movie was Caruso's first big hit, grossing over $117 million on a $20 million budget. It starred Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roemer, David Morse, Aaron Yoo, and Carrie-Anne Moss. It was released April 13, 2007 in theaters and on DVD August 7. "Eagle Eye" was Caruso's second collaboration with producer Spielberg and actor LaBeouf. It also starred Michelle Monaghan, Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson and was released in theaters September 26, 2008. Critical reactions were mixed to negative but, on its opening weekend the movie grossed $29.1 million in 3,510 theaters in the United States and Canada. As of 2017, it has grossed $201 million worldwide with a movie budget of $80 million.


title: D.J. Caruso

text: He directed the YA novel adaptation "I Am Number Four" in 2011, which film grossed $161 million worldwide, but failed to build enough interest for an intended sequel. Two years later, he fulfilled a long-time passion project with the coming-of-age film "Standing Up", the director's first family film. It is based on Brock Cole's novel, "The Goats". The film stars Chandler Canterbury and Annalise Basso as two geeky children who embark on a journey of discovery and self-discovery after they are stripped naked and left stranded together on an island as part of a summer camp prank. Caruso began adapting the novel in the early nineties with then-partner Ken Aguado, who produced the film. "Standing Up" was produced for a small budget of $3 million and was released on August 16, 2013.


title: D.J. Caruso

text: In August 2013, Caruso planned to direct the film adaptation of the comic "Preacher". Caruso was also working on a film titled "Selling Time", a supernatural thriller potentially starring Will Smith, about a man who is given the unique opportunity to relive the worst day of his life, in exchange for seven years off his own life expectancy. Both projects have since fallen through, with the former property being adapted into a hit television series aired on AMC.


title: D.J. Caruso

text: He was a guest judge on the Fox reality television show "On the Lot" for the episode of May 28 and 29 in 2007. Caruso directed his first music video in 2007 for the song "Don't Make Me Wait" by This World Fair. In 2009, he directed the music video for Airborne Toxic Event's song "Sometime Around Midnight".


title: D.J. Caruso

text: On April 2, 2015, Caruso was hired to direct the as-of-yet untitled third entry in the "G.I. Joe" film series, with Aaron Berg writing the screenplay. October 2015, actor and producer Vin Diesel had Caruso sign on as the director of "". The film was debuted as the number one film in the world and made $347 million worldwide.


title: D.J. Caruso

text: Caruso directed the film "Redeeming Love" based on Francine Rivers' 1991 novel of the same name after "he fell in love with the characters and the story when his wife introduced him to the novel." The film was set for a spring 2021 release, but was rescheduled to early 2022.


title: D.J. Caruso

text: Caruso married actress Holly Kuespert on July 6, 1990. They have five children: Brandon, Daniel, Sophia, Charlie and Sally.


title: Air Astana

text: Air Astana (; ) is an airline group based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It operates scheduled international and domestic services on 64 routes from its main hub, Almaty International Airport, and from its secondary hub, Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport. It is a joint venture between Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna (51%), and BAE Systems PLC (49%). It was incorporated in October 2001 and started commercial flights on 15 May 2002. It is one of a small number airlines which has required neither government subsidy nor shareholder financial support to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, thus preserving its central corporate principle of financial, managerial and operational independence.


title: Air Astana

text: Air Astana was described by the in January 2012 as having "performed better in its first decade than just about any other start-up carrier". Yet its origins represent one of the more intriguing and unlikely stories to have emerged from the airline industry in recent times. Originally conceived as a purely domestic airline, BAE Systems agreed in mid-2001 to participate in the proposed start-up at the request of Kazakhstan's head of state, President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in order to facilitate an air radar contract it was then negotiating with the Government of Kazakhstan. Sir Richard Evans, BAE System's chairman at the time, was instrumental in and key to the deal. However, the radar contract never materialised, and subsequent senior management changes and strategic reviews at BAE Systems led to the closure of its offices in Kazakhstan. Additionally, not withstanding the support of Nazarbayev, the start-up, initially seen as a foreign entity, was confronted with immediate and vocal opposition from many elements of Kazakhstan's media and political establishment.


title: Air Astana

text: In spite of a lack of support, the airline took off on the charge. Under its first operational president, former British Airways executive Lloyd Paxton (there had been a brace of short-lived pre-operational incumbents), it leased its first 3 Boeing 737s from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) and commenced Commercial operations on 15 May 2002. In late 2003 Fokker 50s were leased from Aircraft Finance Trading BV (AFT) and 3 Boeing 757s from Pegasus Leasing Corp. It declared a net profit in 2003, its first full year of operations. Upon the bankruptcy of the previous flag carrier Air Kazakhstan in February 2004, it moved quickly to expand from its domestic network to key international routes to Dubai, Istanbul, Moscow and Beijing, followed by Frankfurt and London.


title: Air Astana

text: Early growth pains and disagreements over fleet plans and hub strategy led to tensions between the shareholders and a management change in autumn 2005. Peter Foster, a former executive of Cathay Pacific Airways who had led the rehabilitation team at Philippine Airlines in 1999 before a spell as CEO at Royal Brunei Airlines, was appointed as the airline's president on 1 October 2005. Long-term development plans and management structures were established that have remained largely unchanged since then. The airline has been consistently profitable and was listed in the top 20 most profitable airlines in terms of net margin in the world for the years 2010, 2011, and 2012, according to Airline Business and Air Finance Journal, which ranked it 20th in its 2015 survey of global airline financial ratings, with a score of BBB−.


title: Air Astana

text: In an article on BAE Systems' offset programmes (10/10/13) the Financial Times stated, "BAE’s 49 per cent stake in Kazakhstan’s Air Astana became one of the company’s highest-yielding investments".


title: Air Astana

text: Air Astana was the "Official Air Carrier of EXPO-2017" and the official carrier and general partner of the 2017 Winter Universiade, which took place from 29 January to 8 February 2017 in Almaty.


title: Air Astana

text: Air Astana airline's fleet consists of 36 (as of January 2022) aircraft. As a result of the restructuring of the fleet and the replacement of Boeing 757 and Embraer 190s by Airbus A321neo Long Range and Embraer E2s in 2020/2021, the average age of the Air Astana fleet decreased to 3.6 years as of 2022, one of the youngest in the world. The company plans to expand its fleet up to 54 by 2025.


title: Air Astana

text: In November 2018, the airline announced plans to launch a low-cost airline, FlyArystan,[8] FlyArystan began operations on 1 May 2019 with a pair of Airbus 320s configured to 180 seats operating a classic low cost model, on the same Airline Operator Certificate (AOC) as its parent but with a separate specialist management. As of January 2022, Fly Arystan operated 10 A320s with a further 7 on firm order through to 2023. The high passenger growth of Fly Arystan (553% 2021 v 2020) has contributed to Kazakhstan becoming the fastest growing domestic aviation market in the world in 2021.


title: Air Astana

text: In September 2002 the airline launched flights between Astana and Moscow with a frequency of 3 times a week and daily flights between Almaty and Moscow performed by Boeing 737-700. In 2014, the number of weekly services on the Astana – Moscow route was increased up to 9 flights a week, and Almaty – Moscow flights up to 14. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the airline operated 54 weekly services on 11 routes to Russia: Almaty – Moscow performed by Airbus A321 and Boeing 767, Astana – Moscow, Almaty – St.Petersburg performed by Airbus A320 and Astana – Novosibirsk, Astana – Yekaterinburg, Astana – Omsk, Astana – St.Petersburg, Almaty – Kazan, and Almaty – Samara performed by Embraer 190.


title: Air Astana

text: After a pandemic-driven halt from March to May 2020, the airline resumed services from Almaty and NurSultan to Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, and between Almaty and St Petersburg, both operated in code-share with its long-term code-share partner S7 Airlines of Russia. In addition FlyArystan started operating from Karaganda International Airport to Moscow Domodedovo, and from Almaty to Novosibirsk.


title: Air Astana

text: On March 11th 2022, the group suspended all flights to, from and over Russia due to sanctions and restrictions imposed on a number of essential business partners as a consequence of the war in Ukraine.


title: Air Astana

text: Air Astana has built on its geographical strength by expanding its network to cover all key cities of the region with short haul flights.


title: Air Astana

text: In Central Asia and the Caucasus, the airline flies to Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Baku (Azerbaijan), Tbilisi (Georgia), Kyiv (Ukraine) and Dushanbe (Tajikistan) both from Almaty and Astana. Following the global pandemic, all these routes, which were temporarily suspended from March to May 2020, were resumed, and FlyArystan started operating to Kutaisi (Georgia).


title: Air Astana

text: Prior to the pandemic, the airline operated daily flights to Beijing from both Almaty and NurSultan, and flights to Urumqi in western China. Since July 2020 passenger charter flights have been resumed to Chengdu International Airport, in addition to regular all-cargo charters to various points in China with a partially-converted Boeing 767. In reflection of increasing passenger demand, the aircraft was re-converted to a passenger configuration in September 2021.


title: Air Astana

text: Following the pandemic, flights which had been operated daily to Seoul (Korea) from Almaty and twice a week from NurSultan have been reduced to a once weekly flight between Almaty and Seoul because of travel restrictions imposed by the Government of Korea. Flights between Almaty and Hong Kong have been indefinitely suspended.


title: Air Astana

text: The airline's international route development was heavily influenced by regulatory factors from 2009 until April 2014. In April 2009, an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), found the Kazakhstan Civil Aviation Committee (CAC) to be non-compliant in key areas of regulatory oversight. This resulted in, with the exception of Air Astana, a blanket ban of all Kazakhstan-registered airlines from flying to, from or within the European Union by the EU's Air Safety Committee (ASC), until the ban was lifted on 8 December 2016. Air Astana was exempted from the ban "...taking into account oral and written presentations made..." particularly the registration of its aircraft with the Department of Civil Aviation of Aruba, a Netherlands dependent territory, and its operations safety management programme as presented to the ASC. However, it was included on the ASC's Annex B, restricting its EU operations to the level of frequencies and fleet operated at the time of imposition of the ban in July 2009. The ASC removed the fleet restriction in November 2012 for the Boeing and Airbus fleet based on the airline's fleet renewal programme but retained the restriction on Embraer aircraft. On 10 April 2014 the ASC lifted the frequency restrictions based on the airline's safety performance, including Safety Audit of Foreign Airlines (SAFA) monitoring programme results, as well as continuing transparent communications. This allowed the airline to start planning for new destinations in Europe and increases to its daily service to Frankfurt from Astana, a 6x weekly service to Amsterdam from Atyrau, and a 4x weekly services to London. The airline subsequently commenced service between Astana and Paris in April 2015. The restrictions on the Embraer aircraft, which were the last to be banned from the EU, were removed in December 2015.


title: Air Astana

text: During the global pandemic, the airline was able to maintain flights between Atyrau and Amsterdam (its only international route at that time) in order to transport key oil field workers to and from Western Kazakhstan. Since July 2020 its other EU operations have gradually resumed, and by January 2022 the airlines was operating from NurSultan to Frankfurt (in code-share with Lufthansa German Airlines) and London Heathrow, in addition to its Amsterdam and Frankfurt flights from Atyrau and Urlask.