title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Within the first week of the strike, AMPTP-member companies fired writers' assistants, production assistants, and other lower-level staffers working on shut down programs. Writer-producer Seth MacFarlane called this a "desperate, punitive act" and called on "all show-runners whose assistants are terminated, if you have the means, keep paying your assistants because this strike is about the little guys."


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Of the "Big Four" networks—CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX—NBC had the most severe ad shortfall as its prime time ratings declined sharply; none of its new shows achieved breakout success. Moreover, during 2007, NBC saw its prime time 18-to-49-year-old viewership drop by 11%. CBS dropped the same demographic by 10%, and ABC lost 5%. Fox executive Peter Chernin suggested the strike is "probably a positive" for the network, as he expected its non-WGA reality hit "American Idol" to do especially well given reduced competition.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Although both are WGA members who pledged support for the writers, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien announced that following the collapse of negotiations, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" would return to air on January 2, 2008, without writers, citing their non-writing staff facing layoffs as the main reason.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Unlike Leno and O'Brien, whose talk shows were produced and owned by NBC, David Letterman owned his own independent production company, Worldwide Pants, which on December 28 announced an "interim agreement" with the WGA. This agreement allowed his talk show and "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" to return to air with writers during the strike under terms contained in the WGA's previously-rejected proposals to the AMPTP.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: The guild stated it had no plans to target Leno and O'Brien with protests such as were aimed at non-WGA member Carson Daly, who was accused of setting up a joke hotline as a strike-breaking effort when he returned to air. After being back on air, however, Leno was charged by WGA of strike violation after he penned and delivered monologues, but it is unclear as to what action the guild would take.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Later, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert announced that their respective shows, "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report", would also return without writers on January 7, 2008. The WGA accused Comedy Central and NBC of forcing hosts back on air by threatening the jobs of the staff and crew of their shows, and said it would picket them. To show respect to the writers, "The Daily Show" was renamed, for the duration of the strike, A "Daily Show with Jon Stewart". Similarly, "The Colbert Report" was rebranded as The Colbert Report (with hard T's) for its first new episode since the strike began. In support of the strike, Screen Actors Guild urged its members to appear on programs that had independent agreements with the WGA, such as the "Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson".


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: After returning to air, "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" experienced an increase in ratings. At the end of January 2008, "The Daily Show" was up 17% for viewers between 18-34 from January 2007 and up 9% for 18- to 49-year-olds in the same period. "The Colbert Report" was up 21% for 18- to 34-year-olds and 15% for 18- to 49-year-olds over the same time period. By contrast, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" experienced a fall in ratings against the previous year, while the "Late Show with David Letterman" remained level.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: One reason given for the increase in "The Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" ratings was the 2008 presidential election, allowing them a large amount of political humor to use. However, one journalist commented that the raise of ratings in these two shows without the writers, "has to be a big PR setback for the WGA."


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: After the strike began, more unscripted shows were ordered by networks, most coming from the reality genre. One of those shows was the game show "Duel", which was ordered by ABC as a result of the strike; the show initially aired as a six-episode long tournament in December 2007 before being renewed for 10 additional episodes as a weekly series.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: The writers' strike also created turmoil for various entertainment awards that were broadcast on television. Many awards were severely curtailed or canceled as a result.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: As a result of the Screen Actors Guild's solidarity with the WGA, they gave the SAG a waiver on December 11 granting permission for guild writers to create material for the 14th Screen Actors Guild Awards which was shown on TNT and TBS on January 27. The WGA also issued one nine days later allowing writers to write material for Film Independent's Spirit Awards on February 23.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: On December 18, the WGA announced it would not issue waivers for the Golden Globe Awards and Academy Awards (Oscars) ceremonies. In an act of solidarity, SAG also decided not to support the Golden Globes as well. Labor experts stated that this move was "an attempt by the guild to bring the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers back to the bargaining table."


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: The People's Choice Awards, which was also denied a waiver, stated it would have to revamp the format of the ceremony by releasing a taped ceremony for January 8 telecast on CBS, instead of airing it live as usual. As a result of the changes which were made, the telecast was viewed by just 6 million viewers, the lowest ratings ever in the show's history at the time. This was down from 11.3 million viewers the previous year.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which hosts the Golden Globes, tried to reach an agreement with the WGA for a waiver, but it fell through. Striking writers then threatened to picket the event, after which almost all of the celebrities due to attend announced they would skip the ceremony rather than cross the picket lines. Facing the prospect of being left without presenters or accepters, HFPA and NBC were forced to adopt another approach for the broadcast. After NBC canceled its exclusive newscast of HFPA announcing the winners, HFPA took complete control of the awards announcement and opened its press conference to all media. WGA assured HFPA that it would not picket the event, citing HFPA's honesty and its honorable and respectful treatment of the guild as reasons. The NBC telecast plummeted in the ratings from 16.0 for the full ceremony in 2007 to 4.7 for the press conference in 2008, fourth (and last) among major networks that night.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: The WGA issued two more waivers for awards telecast. One was issued towards the NAACP on January 15 for the NAACP Image Awards a month later, and one on January 29 to the NARAS for the 50th Grammy Awards held on February 10.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: The strike ended twelve days before the Academy Awards were held on February 24. Many blamed the strike for the show's low television ratings, since the writers had less time to prepare. The strike also hindered promotion at ABC, the broadcaster in the United States.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: A white paper released by Nielsen Media Research on April 2, 2008 showed that most television viewers spent more time around alternative forms of entertainment outside of broadcast television, including cable television and online video sites, during the course of the strike. Compared with the same time period from 2006–2007, during the months of the strike (November 2007 through February 2008) the average primetime ratings for that time period declined by 6.8%.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: The Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) contracts with the AMPTP both contain a "no strike" clause, meaning that working members of the acting unions are not supposed to walk off their set in support of another union's strike. However, many actors, backed by their unions, expressed their support and solidarity with the writers' strike, with some marching with writers and even refusing to cross the WGA's picket line. Many actors participated in a series of short PSAs as part of the Speechless Without Writers campaign presented by United Hollywood, which was founded by a group of WGA members.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Ellen DeGeneres stated she supports the strike, but crossed the picket line, though she decided not to do a monologue on her show during the strike, explaining that she did not wish to lay off the 135 employees from her staff. The WGAE issued a statement condemning DeGeneres, stating she was "not welcome in NY." DeGeneres' representatives asserted that she did not violate the WGA's agreement, arguing that she is competing with other first-run syndicated shows like "Dr. Phil" and "Regis and Kelly" during the competitive November sweeps period, and that DeGeneres must fulfill her duties as host and producers, lest her show lose its time slot or be held in breach of contract. In addition, a statement defending DeGeneres was subsequently issued by American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), pointing out that DeGeneres also works under the AFTRA TV Code, which bars her from striking. The WGAE then issued a response pointing out that DeGeneres is also a Writers Guild member, and that any writing work she does on her show during the strike constitutes struck work.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Early in the strike, it was rumored that Jon Stewart was continuing to pay his "Daily Show" writers out of his own pocket, but a spokesman later denied the rumor was true. However, "The Daily Show" temporarily changed its name to "A Daily Show" to show its support of the strike. Nikki Finke announced that David Letterman would pay his entire staff's salary out of his own pocket through the end of the year. She later announced that following NBC's firing of eighty staffers on "The Tonight Show", Jay Leno would continue paying them out of his own pocket as well. Conan O'Brien also promised to pay the salaries of his non-striking staff through the end of the year.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Some comedy shows have performed live shows in order to provide money for the striking workers in a series of "ON STRIKE!" performances at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. The first two shows to perform were "Saturday Night Live" on November 17, and "30 Rock" on November 19. On December 3, "The Colbert Report" held a similar performance.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Many television writer-producers, also known as "hyphenates" (or "show-runners", if they are in charge of the day-to-day production of a television show) who are WGA members found themselves contractually obligated to continue their production duties while simultaneously barred from performing writing duties during the strike. In a show of solidarity with the writers, approximately 120 show-runners marched in Burbank on November 7, 2007, and many decided to honor the picket lines entirely, refusing to perform even their production duties during the strike.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Literary agents stand to lose business when the writers they represent are not working. Some agencies reportedly eliminated assistant positions and others asked their agents to take pay cuts during the strike. A few of the larger and more prominent agencies, including William Morris, CAA, and ICM provided coffee, bagels, and churros for picketing writers. Agents had also reportedly been involved in back-channel efforts to get the two parties to return to the negotiating table before talks resumed November 26.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Two prominent executives, both of whom headed major studios in the 1980s and moved on to Internet-related ventures, voiced their disagreement with the tactics of the WGA.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner characterized the writers' strike as "insanity". He addressed a business conference, saying, "I've seen stupid strikes, I've seen less stupid strikes, and this strike is just a stupid strike".


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Former Paramount and Fox CEO Barry Diller also stated the strike is "stupid". In comments to Fox Business Channel, he said, "There are no profits for the work that writers do that is then digitized and distributed through the Internet". Diller is currently the CEO of the Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Diller also suggested that the Writers Guild should have waited five years to see where the revenues from new-media ventures were coming from. "We want to freeze this area until we can understand the revenues, which aren't going to develop for another few years".


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: The California governor at the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger, negotiated with both sides of the dispute "because it has a tremendous economic impact on our state." The 2008 Democratic presidential candidates, Senator and eventual President Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John Edwards, and Gov. Bill Richardson, each issued statements of support for the WGA. Although 2008 Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani stated that "a candidate for office really shouldn't get involved," he did offer to serve as a mediator between the parties, citing his experience "settl[ing] several difficult labor disputes" as Mayor of New York City. Civil rights leader and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson marched with the writers and spoke at a WGA rally on November 9, 2007. On November 13, 2007, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party adopted a resolution in support of the WGA. WGAW president Patric Verrone and Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg traveled to Washington, D.C. on November 14 to meet with legislators and regulators about the unions' position on new media. On November 16, John Edwards appeared in person to picket and speak with the writers outside NBC studios in Burbank, CA. The December 10, 2007, Democratic Presidential debate that was to be held in Los Angeles, California, was cancelled on November 28, 2007, due to candidate boycott.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: On December 19, 2007, Los Angeles City Council's Housing, Community, and Economic Development Committee held a hearing on the economic impact of the strike on the local and regional economy, allowing the WGA and AMPTP to testify. However, the AMPTP declined to attend, but sent in Motion Picture Association of America to issue a statement to the committee on its behalf. The Los Angeles City Council approved a resolution which urged the two sides to return to the bargaining table. Jerry Nickelsburg, an economics professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management, presented UCLA Anderson Forecast's economic report. He stated that so far, the strike has not affected the economy deeply, citing the network's inventory stockpiling in preparation of the strike and the increase in usage of reality shows. Ultimately, the Forecast predicted an economic impact of $380 million if the strike were to last 22 weeks, which was how long the 1988 strike had lasted. Jack Kyser, an economist of Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, predicted that the total amount of the direct loss and indirect loss so far was estimated at $220 million, and revenues generated for the county from the annual Academy Awards would dip if the strike were to continue and actors honored the picket lines. The strike ended twelve days before the awards show.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: On January 3, 2008, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee appeared on "The Tonight Show". "I support the writers, by the way. Unequivocally, absolutely. They're dead right on this one... I don't think anybody supports the producers on this one. Maybe the producers support the producers, but I think everybody in the business and even the general public supports the writers."


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: The WGA acknowledged support from several unions, including the Screen Actors Guild, the Teamsters, the Service Employees International Union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the National Writers Union, as well as writers guilds in Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Germany, New Zealand, France, Netherlands, Greece, Ireland, Switzerland, and Belgium. Many of the various genre writers associations also came out in support of the WGA's strike, including the Horror Writers Association, the Mystery Writers of America, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Several opinion polls gauged the public's response to the strike. One national survey conducted by Pepperdine University from November 7 to November 9 found that 84%, or more than four out of five Americans, were aware the strike was in progress. While 75% of respondents were found to have little to no concern over the strike, nearly two-thirds of the sample sided with the writers, one third was unsure, and only four percent sympathized with the AMPTP (1,000 American adults participated). A second regional poll conducted by SurveyUSA on November 11 of Los Angeles residents indicated that eight percent supported the studios with sixty-nine percent supporting the writers (550 American adults participated, with 482 identifying themselves as being familiar with the strike). According to a USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted six weeks into the strike from December 13 to December 15, 60% of Americans side with the writers, while 14% favor the studios (1,011 American adults participated). Among the viewers, 49% said they were more likely to watch reruns, 40% said they planned to watch reality series and other programming not disrupted by the strike, and 26% were more likely to buy or rent DVDs of television series from past seasons. Viewers of late-night talk shows have already changed their habits: out of 25% of the poll respondents who said they frequently or occasionally watch late-night talk shows, 27% watched another show, 25% went to bed earlier, and 25% read. Only 12% watched reruns, indicated by the shows' decreasing ratings.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Viewers of individual television shows organized to support "their" writers. Fans4Writers, an outgrowth of Joss Whedon's fan base, walked the picket line and provided regular food drops to picketing writers. Additionally, one of the largest fan-based pickets began the morning of January 24, 2008, at NBC Studios in Burbank when fans of the series "", a popular series which had ceased production in 2001, lined up to march in support of the WGA. Producers and actors from the TV show joined the line, including performers Renee O'Connor, Adrienne Wilkinson, Tim Omundson and producers Robert Tapert, RJ Stewart, Steven L. Sears, Liz Friedman, and others. As with Fans4Writers, Xena fans had been donating food and water to the picket lines for the duration of the strike and an upcoming Xena Convention in Burbank offered the opportunity of a focused show of support from fans worldwide.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: The long-term effect on the viewing habits of the general public is difficult to gauge. For reference, estimates suggest that 10% of the overall television-viewing audience was lost as a result of the 1988 writers' strike, a drop-off that has not been reversed.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: On November 19, 2007, news writers for CBS News and CBS-owned stations voted to authorize strike action against their employers. Timed closely to the WGA strike, this action has resulted in statements from politicians unwilling to cross picket lines for interview shows and candidate debates. On January 9, the WGAE and CBS News struck a tentative deal. On January 24, 2008, the WGA announced that its members had voted to ratify the contract, which runs to April 1, 2010.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Any increase for the benefits of health insurance, pension, or residual gains made by the WGA are also likely to be demanded by other entertainment industry labor unions when their contracts expire. This is a practice known as pattern bargaining — the first union to reach a contract with the AMPTP usually sets the template for the agreement with other unions. The contracts for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Directors Guild of America (DGA) expired on June 30, 2008.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: The Directors Guild of America (DGA), whose members are directors as well as below-the-line workers (1st and 2nd assistant directors), was less focused on the WGA's most contentious issue, new media residuals. The DGA's negotiations with the AMPTP started on January 12, 2008, and on January 17, the DGA announced they had reached a tentative agreement.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Following the DGA announcement, "ER" executive producer and former WGA president John Wells stated he believes that using the DGA agreement as a template, the strike could be easily resolved within two weeks. Other writers disagreed with Wells' positive assessment.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: Like the WGA, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is very concerned with residuals in new media and were especially supportive of the WGA's strike effort. SAG president Alan Rosenberg suggested that SAG could choose to ignore the tradition of pattern bargaining if terms of the DGA's deal were deemed insufficient to the actors. Thus, if the new media issue was not resolved to their satisfaction by the DGA or WGA by July 2008, SAG was likely to strike when their contract expired, a move which could potentially bring the Hollywood film industry to a near-complete standstill. The previous deal between the SAG and AMPTP expired on June 30, 2008; however, on May 6 both organizations had ended talks without a deal. The SAG scheduled a rally for the morning of June 9 in Los Angeles; the WGA subsequently encouraged its members to support SAG members in that rally.


title: 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike

text: On November 19, 2008, the Writers Guild of America announced they were filing arbitration against the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers for not honoring the agreement that ended the strike. The matter was resolved with WGA and AMPTP, and a new agreement took effect on May 2, 2011.


title: Greater Middle East

text: The Greater Middle East, is a political term, introduced in March 2004 in a paper by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as part of the U.S. administration's preparatory work for the Group of Eight summit of June 2004, denoting a vaguely defined region called the "Arab world" together with Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Turkey, and several other countries. The paper presented a proposal for sweeping change in the way the West deals with the Middle East and North Africa. Previously, by Adam Garfinkle of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the Greater Middle East had been defined as the MENA region together with Central Asia and the Caucasus.


title: Greater Middle East

text: The future of this Greater Middle East has sometimes been referred to as the "new Middle East", first so by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who in Dubai in June 2006 presented the second-term Bush administration's vision for the region's future. Rice said would be achieved through 'constructive chaos', a phrase she repeated a few weeks later during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert when the 2006 Lebanon War had broken out; the meaning of this phrase and the Bush administration's vision have been much debated since. The efforts to achieve this new Middle East are sometimes called "The Great Middle East Project".


title: Greater Middle East

text: Former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski stated that a "political awakening" is taking place in this region which may be an indicator of the multipolar world that is now developing. He alluded to the Greater Middle East as the "Global Balkans", and as a control lever on an area he refers to as Eurasia. According to Andrew Bacevich's book "America's War for the Greater Middle East" (2016), this region is the theater for a series of conflicts dating back to 1980, which heralded the start of the Iran–Iraq War. Since then, the U.S. has been involved in balancing conflicts amongst these culturally interconnected nations in order to further its interests in the region.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settlers as a town under its original Native American name, Mattabeseck, after the local indigenous people, also known as the Mattabesett. They were among the many tribes along the Atlantic coast who spoke Algonquian languages. The colonists renamed the settlement in 1653.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: When Hartford County was organized on May 10, 1666, Middletown was included within its boundaries. In 1784, the central settlement was incorporated as a city distinct from the town. Both were included within newly formed Middlesex County in May 1785. In 1923, the City of Middletown was consolidated with the Town, making the city limits extensive.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Originally developed as a sailing port and then an industrial center on the Connecticut River, it is now largely residential. Its downtown, based on Main Street, serves as a popular retail, dining, and bar district near Wesleyan University. Middletown was the county seat of Middlesex County from its creation in 1785 until the elimination of county government in 1960. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 47,717. Middletown, Connecticut is considered the southernmost city in the Hartford-Springfield "Knowledge Corridor" Metropolitan Region, which features a combined metro population of 1.9 million. Middletown is largely a politically progressive city, and is home to one of the largest pride events in all of Connecticut.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: The land on the western bank of the Connecticut River where Middletown now lies was home to the Mattabesett Native Americans (also spelled "Mattabesec," "Mattabeseck," and "Mattabesek"); the area they inhabited—now Middletown and the surrounding area—was named after them. At the time the first European settlers arrived in the region, who were primarily English, the Mattabesett were a part of the group of Algongquian-speaking tribes in the Connecticut Valley, that were under a single chief named Sowheag.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Plans for the colonial settlement were drawn up by the General Court in 1646; the first migrants came from nearby Connecticut colonies in 1650. On September 11, 1651, the General Court of Connecticut established the town of "Mattabesett". A couple of years later in November 1653, the settlement was renamed as Middletown. This name was chosen because the site was approximately halfway between Windsor and Saybrook on the Great River. Life was not easy for these early colonial Puritans; clearing the land and building houses, and tending farms in the rocky soil of New England was a labor-intensive ordeal. They had a strict society; offenses legally punishable by death in the Connecticut colonies included "witchcraft, blasphemy, cursing or smiting of parents, and incorrigible stubbornness of children."


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: The Pequot Mohegan, at that time traditional allies of the English colonists and enemies of the Mattabesett and other local tribes, arrived in the Middletown area in the latter half of the 17th century; conflict between them and local Native American tribes ensued. The Mattabesett and other tribes referred to the Mohegan as "destroyers of men." Sowheag hoped that the colonists would intervene. They did not. Smallpox epidemics caused high mortality among the Mattabesett, reducing their ability to resist and disrupting their cohesion as a tribe. Records show that, over time, Sowheag was forced to sell off most of the Mattabesett property to the local colonists; by 1676 the Puritans owned all but of the former Mattabesett territory. Native Americans suffered similar fates of illness and dispossession at other colonial sites in 17th-century New England.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: During the 18th century, Middletown became the largest and most prosperous settlement in Connecticut. By the time of the American Revolution, Middletown was a thriving port, where one-third of its residents were involved in merchant and maritime activities. Some settlers held enslaved Africans as workers in the early economy of Middletown; they worked as domestic servants, laborers, and in shipping. African slaves were imported by the English in 1661 from Barbados in the Caribbean. By 1756 Middletown had the third-largest African slave population in the state of Connecticut—218 slaves to 5,446 whites.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middletown merchant traders pushed for the clearance of the Saybrook Bar at the mouth of the Connecticut River, and later sought the creation of Middlesex County in 1785. The name 'Middlesex' was chosen because the intention was to make Middletown the head of a long river port, much as London was at the head of its long river port on the Thames in Middlesex County, England. The same persons also established the Middlesex Turnpike (now Route 154) to link all the settlements on the western side of the Connecticut, again with the intent of creating one long port.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: After the American Revolution, Connecticut and most northern states abolished slavery. The port's decline began in the early 19th century during the period of strained American-British relations and resulting trade restrictions, which led to the War of 1812. The port never recovered from the restrictions of the war. The city's men distinguished themselves in the war effort, as Middletown's Commodore Thomas Macdonough led American forces to the victory on Lake Champlain in 1814 which ended British hopes for an invasion of New York. After the war, migration of New England families continued west to New York and, later, to the Midwest around the Great Lakes, where more land was available.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: In the 19th century, Middletown became a major center for firearms manufacturing. Numerous gun manufacturers in the area supplied the majority of pistols to the United States government during the War of 1812. After that war, however, the center of this business shifted to Springfield, Massachusetts; and Hartford, and New Haven, Connecticut. (See also History of Connecticut industry.)


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: In 1831 Wesleyan College was established. It became one of the United States' leading liberal arts universities. The college replaced an earlier educational institution on the same site, Partridge's American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy. It had moved to Norwich, Vermont and later developed as Norwich University.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: The two main buildings of the original campus were built by the people of Middletown in order to attract an academic institution to the city. In 1841, Middletown established the state's first public high school, which at first enrolled all students from age nine through age sixteen who had previously attended district schools.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: During the mid-19th century, manufacturing replaced trade as Middletown's economic mainstay. But industrial growth was limited after railroad operators bypassed Middletown in their construction of a railway between Hartford and New Haven. There had been an ambitious plan to build a railroad suspension bridge in the White Rock, Middletown to Bodkin Rock, Portland vicinity, which was seen as an unpractical solution.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middletonians played an active role in the American Civil War. General Joseph K. Mansfield was a Union general at the Battle of Antietam, where he died in action in 1862. Another casualty at Antietam was Brigadier General George Taylor, who had been educated at a private military academy in Middletown. The popular Civil War marching song "Marching Through Georgia" was written by Henry Clay Work, a Middletown resident. Some residents were active in the abolitionism movement, and the city was a hub along the underground railway.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: In the latter half of the 19th century, manufacturing was the mainstay of the city's economy, especially finely made metal parts, such as marine hardware (Wilcox, Crittendon & Co.) and typewriters (Royal Typewriters). There were also several machine tool & die manufacturers in the city. Middletown was the site of a major unit of Goodyear. In addition, there was the pioneer automobile manufacturer Eisenhuth Horseless Vehicle Company. Other manufacturers included in national expositions and now museum collections include the Middletown Plate Company (silver), Middletown Silver Co. and I. E. Palmer (hammocks).


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middletown also briefly was the home of a major-league baseball team, the Middletown Mansfields of the National Association.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: In the late 19th and early 20th century, the city underwent a demographic transformation, after having been settled primarily by Protestant people from the British Isles. First the Irish, in response to the Great Famine, and then large numbers of Italian immigrants arrived to work in Middletown's factories and farms. Many of the Italians were immigrants from Melilli, Sicily. Both groups were primarily Roman Catholic.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Polish and German arrivals followed, and many of these immigrants were also Catholic. By 1910 the population had swelled to nearly 21,000. Meanwhile, the number of African Americans dwindled to 53 persons. Employers chose to hire white immigrants. Later in the century, more African Americans from the South migrated to the area for its industrial jobs and better social conditions. They were part of the Great Migration during the 20th century, up to 1970.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: In the early 1980s, two Wesleyan professors arranged to bring a small group of Cambodian refugees to Middletown, who were exiled following the US involvement in Southeast Asia in the Vietnam War. They developed a thriving Cambodian community, as have later migrants from Tibet. Middletown also attracted Hindu immigrants from India and other parts of Southeast Asia, who established the first Hindu temple in Connecticut in Middletown.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Over the decades the new immigrants stimulated the rise of a range of cuisines offered by restaurants. This has become one of the most well-known aspects of the city.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middletown was hit by floods in 1927 and 1936, and by "The Great New England Hurricane" in 1938. The Arrigoni Bridge was completed over the Connecticut River in 1938. It replaced an earlier bridge to connect Middletown to Portland and points east.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: During the 1950s, as the popularity of the automobile increased, government officials approved the construction of a highway that effectively separated Middletown from the Connecticut River, which had long supported its development. Highway construction demolished historic neighborhoods, including many buildings from the 18th century. New suburban developments were built outside older neighborhoods, attracting the people with money to buy new. In the mid-20th century, Middletown and similar towns lost heavy industry and manufacturing jobs that moved offshore, resulting in a general decline in population. An alternate economy began to develop by the 1990s.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: During this period, the city tore down many older buildings in the name of 'urban renewal', but sometimes new development was delayed for years. Downtown area had large flat parking lots, or buildings were abandoned and left empty. With high unemployment and limited opportunities, and increasing problems with drugs, crime increased. During the 1960s, Pratt & Whitney opened a large aircraft engine plant in the Maromas section of Middletown. Concurrently, developers bought much of the city's remaining farms, including most of Oak Grove Dairy, to redevelop as residential suburbs for local workers and commuters to surrounding cities.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: During the 1970s, Oddfellows Playhouse was established. The theater attracts hundreds of young people every year from around the state to perform in plays and other performances. The playhouse is one of the few youth theaters in the state of Connecticut. It is located on 128 Washington Street, around the corner from Middletown's Main Street.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: During the 1990s, a partnership between the city, the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce, and Wesleyan University invested substantially in Middletown's Main Street, improving urban design and supporting new businesses. Their actions helped the revival of downtown Middletown. Crime decreased, and new restaurants and shops opened.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: The Samuel Wadsworth Russell House on High Street, built in 1827, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001. The Alsop House, also located on High Street, and built in 1840, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2009. Both buildings are part of the Wesleyan campus.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middletown sits on the west bank of the Connecticut River, in the south-central portion of the state. Running alongside the river, Route 9 bisects the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 42.3 square miles (109.6 km), of which, 40.9 square miles (105.9 km) of it is land and 1.4 square miles (3.7 km) of it is water. The total area is 3.36% water. Middletown shares borders with the neighboring towns of Cromwell, Portland, East Hampton, Haddam, Durham, Middlefield, Berlin, and Meriden. Of all the neighboring towns, Portland and East Hampton are the only ones that do not have any land boundaries, as they are located on the Eastern side of the Connecticut River.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: The west side of Middletown is flanked by the Metacomet Ridge—a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. Notable mountains of the Metacomet Ridge in Middletown include Higby Mountain and the north side of Lamentation Mountain. The Mattabesett Trail traverses the ridge. The Nature Conservancy manages the summit and ledges of Higby Mountain.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: As of the census of 2000, there were 43,167 people, 18,554 households, and 10,390 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 19,697 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 80.0% White, 12.3% Black or African American, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, and 2.7% Asian.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: There were 18,554 households, of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, and 44.0% were non-families. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.90.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: 21.7% of residents were under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: The median income for a household in the city was $47,162, and the median income for a family was $60,845. Males had a median income of $45,790 versus $34,648 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,720. 7.5% of the population and 4.3% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 7.5% were under the age of 18 and 6.6% were 65 or older.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: The headquarters of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, previously the Connecticut Department of Public Safety, is located in Middletown.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: The city has one Roman Catholic elementary school, Saint John Paul II Regional Catholic School, and two Roman Catholic high schools, Xavier High School for boys and Mercy High School for girls.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Russell Library is the public library of Middletown. It has books, newspapers, magazines, informational databases of full-text newspaper and magazine articles (offering news, business, medical, health, biographical, literary, etc., information), classes, computer training, workshops, concerts, and meeting spaces, including the Hubbard Room, a large meeting room that can accommodate 100 people.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: In recent decades, Middletown has focused on balancing the needs and comforts of its residents with the commercial development required to help fund services. These efforts date at least from 1931, when the city was one of the first in America to establish a planning board. Progress continued under the leadership of Democratic mayor, Domenique S. Thornton, who served a record eight years (four terms) as mayor. The city attracted a 12-screen movie theater and numerous restaurants and other businesses to the downtown area, the city provided free Wi-Fi service along Main Street and the historic Inn at Middletown a luxury four and half star boutique hotel transformed the former vacant National Guard Armory. On November 8, 2005, Republican Sebastian Giuliano won the mayor's office, replacing Thornton, whom he criticized for raising taxes and for the awarding of a contract for the construction of a new high school to Tomasso Brothers, Inc., a firm that had been the target of a federal corruption probe. During Giuliano's three terms in office, Middletown's Main Street became a hub for small businesses, and the city began investing heavily in the arts. Democrat Daniel T. Drew defeated Giuliano in 2011. Drew has pushed for increased development in the city's North End, an area that has been plagued by poverty and crime in recent decades. In November 2012, voters approved a $37 Million initiative to move Middletown's wastewater to the Mattabassett Sewer District treatment plant in nearby Cromwell. Previously, the city had operated its own sewage treatment plant on the banks of the Connecticut River. The city has made plans to tear down this older plant and develop the riverfront property on which it sits. Middletown continues to support manufacturing and small business.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middletown has remained an important government administrative center. From the creation of Middlesex County in 1798 until the elimination of county government in 1965 Middletown was the county seat. Middletown today retains Middlesex Superior Court, and the Judicial District remains that of the former county court. Other county functions were either centralized to the state or transferred to the towns. The former county building has been removed, but there are other state agency buildings elsewhere in the city, such as the Dept. of Social Services on Main Street Ext. Middletown's Probate Court district includes the towns of Cromwell, Portland, Middlefield and Haddam. The city is also the site of the controversial State Juvenile Training Center.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Culturally and politically, Middletown is in the midst of an effort to revitalize its historically disadvantaged North End. Economic development projects recently completed in the North End include Wharfside Commons, a 96-unit mixed income apartment block, and the new Community Health Center (completed in 2012 at the corner of Main and Grand Streets). The Green Street Arts Center, founded by Wesleyan and a coalition of community groups in 2000, is a pioneering attempt to attract residents and businesses to the neighborhood by promoting arts education and outreach. For decades, the famous O'Rourke's Diner has done much to bring some stability to the North End. A fire on August 31, 2006, gutted much of the historic structure. The Middletown community held many fundraising events to raise money for the diner's rebuilding. Reconstruction began in September 2007, and O'Rourke's Diner re-opened in February 2008. Mayor Daniel Drew (2011–2019) supported citizen-oriented efforts to revitalize the North End, such as the local nonprofit NEAT (North End Action Team). In 2012, the City of Middletown and NEAT partnered to form the "I Heart the North End" initiative, which plans to raise public awareness of the economic and cultural opportunities available in the area.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middletown is the only location of a well-known youth theater group, Oddfellows Playhouse, which is located on Washington Street and pulls in children of all ages from all over the state to learn theater skills. Oddfellows also runs the Children's Circus of Middletown where children learn circus skills and put on a free show for close to a thousand people.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middletown is also host to the Kidcity Children's Museum located in a renovated and recently expanded former home of Judge Elmer, which was moved down Washington Street to its current location.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Kidcity is a hands-on playspace where children ages 1 through 8 come with parents and other significant adults to learn through play.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: The Downtown Business District continues to revitalize the downtown area. Pratt and Whitney, Aetna, Middlesex Hospital, Connecticut Valley Hospital, Liberty Bank, and Wesleyan University are major employers. Located on the western border of the city, in an area known as Westlake, is an 84 house community known as The Farms. This architectural award-winning community was developed in 1969 by George Achenbach, and was one of the first communities in Connecticut designed for "cluster living", with open areas designated as "common land".


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: There are also many parks and nature trails including the Middletown Nature Gardens, Wadsworth Falls State Park and Smith Park, and of open property at the Guida Farm Conservation Area for families to enjoy. Harbor Park is a recreation area on the Connecticut River, featuring a boardwalk, restaurant/nightclub, fishing, seasonal boat excursions, and the Middletown High School and Wesleyan University crew boathouses. July 4 festivities, as well as the head of the Connecticut Regatta event in October are conducted from Harbor Park.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middlesex Hospital a major employer in Middletown and throughout Middlesex County, is spending $31 million to build a new emergency department. The new emergency department opened on March 24, 2008. Along with the new department, a helipad will be added along with 70 new parking spaces for patients.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: At 11:17am on February 7, 2010, a large explosion occurred at a power plant under construction in Middletown.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Three radio stations are licensed to Middletown: WMRD 1150 AM (variety), WESU 88.1 FM (Wesleyan University) and WIHS 104.9 FM (religious).


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middletown Area Transit provides public transportation services throughout Middletown; the New Britain Transportation Company provides connecting service to New Britain and the surrounding area; and Connecticut Transit provides local and express service to Hartford as well as express service to New Haven. The Estuary Transit District provides public transit service between Middletown and Old Saybrook, which, along with New Haven, provides connections to Amtrak intercity trains and Shore Line East commuter rail service.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Windsor Locks and Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN) in East Haven are the closest commercial airports to Middletown.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Meriden Markham Municipal Airport, in Meriden, and Goodspeed Airport, in East Haddam, each offer general aviation services as well and are open to the public.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: Middletown's riverfront and bridges were featured extensively in the music video for Billy Joel's hit song "The River of Dreams". TLC's reality series "90 Day Fiancé" (2017–2020) documented Darcey Silva's relationships. On June 29, 2020, "Entertainment Weekly" announced that Silva and her sister Stacey are getting their own reality show called "Darcey & Stacey". Three seasons of "Darcey & Stacey" have been filmed in Middletown.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: This notable people list is divided into three sections: people born in Middletown, people who currently live in Middletown, and people who once lived in or went to school in Middletown at some point in their lives.


title: Middletown, Connecticut

text: The following notable people were not born in Middletown but lived in or went to school there at some point in their lives:


title: Dawn Steele

text: Dawn Steele (born 11 December 1975) is a Scottish actress best known for her portrayals of the characters Alexandra “Lexie” MacDonald from the BBC drama "Monarch of the Glen", Alice Trevanion in the ITV drama series "Wild at Heart" and Dr. Annie Jandhu/Murdoch in BBC Soap Opera "River City". Steele played Ange Godard in BBC's Holby City until it ended in March 2022.


title: Dawn Steele

text: Dawn Steele was born in Glasgow and moved to Milton of Campsie in 1982, attended Kilsyth Academy from around 1987–1993 and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow from 1994 to 1998, supporting her early career as a waitress in the Rogano Restaurant. She graduated with first class honours in July 1998, and was the winner of the silver medal at the RSAMD in 1998.


title: Dawn Steele

text: Her most notable role was as Alexandra "Lexie" MacDonald in seasons one through six in the BBC drama "Monarch of the Glen", between 1999 and 2004. In January 2005, she appeared as new character Justine McManus in the second season of the BBC’s paranormal drama show "Sea of Souls" with Iain Robertson and Bill Paterson. Before she teamed up with Iain Robertson to work on "Sea of Souls" they had previously worked together on "The Slab Boys" and "The Debt Collector". Shortly after, she appeared as a student on the BBC reality show "Fame Academy" in a second all-celebrity series in aid of the charity "Comic Relief does Fame Academy".


title: Dawn Steele

text: In January 2006, Steele returned in the third season of "Sea of Souls". In April 2007 she played Shazza in Simon Farquhar's powerful Aberdonian drama "Rainbow Kiss" at the Royal Court Theatre in London's West End. Reviews praised her performance as a promiscuous beautician who becomes the object of a lethal obsession. In 2002 Steele was voted the Most Eligible Woman in Scotland and followed this up in 2003 when she was voted the second most eligible woman in Scotland by readers of a Sunday newspaper.


title: Dawn Steele

text: Steele starred in a one-off BBC One comedy, "Magnolia", which aired on 22 September 2006. In November 2007 she made her pantomime debut as the Wicked Witch "Carrion" in "Sleeping Beauty" at the King's Theatre, Glasgow. In 2009 she returned to TV screens in the fourth season of ITV's "Wild at Heart", playing a new character, Alice Collins, as the replacement for Amanda Holden who left the show after the third season.


title: Dawn Steele

text: In the summer of 2009, she guest presented STV's daily lifestyle show "The Hour" for a week, alongside main anchor Stephen Jardine.


title: Dawn Steele

text: In 2010, she returned once more as Alice for a 10-episode run in the fifth season of the popular show "Wild at Heart". She returned again for another 10-episode run in the sixth season of "Wild at Heart" but as Alice Trevanion; Alice and Danny got engaged at the end of season five. There will be no eighth season, but Steele returned for the last ever episode, a two-hour special, which was shown on 30 December 2012.


title: Dawn Steele

text: In 2011, Agatha Christie Theatre Company's national tour of the 1958 play "Verdict" starred Steele playing the part of Lisa Koletzky. In May 2012 she returned to the stage for the UK tour of Noël Coward's "Volcano" as Melissa Littleton and which transferred to the West End in August.


title: Dawn Steele

text: Steele appeared in the BBC Crime Drama "Case Histories" which aired in June 2013, playing the part of Charlotte McGill.


title: Dawn Steele

text: In October 2015 Steele joined the cast of the BBC1 Scotland Drama "River City" playing Dr. Annie Jandhu. Steele quit "River City" in 2018 stating that the commute from her home in Kent had become too much.


title: Dawn Steele

text: On 19 September 2018, it was announced that Steele had joined the cast of BBC medical drama "Holby City" in the role of consultant general surgeon Ange Godard. She made her first appearance in the show's twenty-first series, broadcast in January 2019.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Ivo Andrić (, ; born Ivan Andrić; 9 October 1892 – 13 March 1975) was a Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. His writings dealt mainly with life in his native Bosnia under Ottoman rule.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Born in Travnik in Austria-Hungary, modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Andrić attended high school in Sarajevo, where he became an active member of several South Slav national youth organizations. Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, Andrić was arrested and imprisoned by the Austro-Hungarian police, who suspected his involvement in the plot. As the authorities were unable to build a strong case against him, he spent much of the war under house arrest, only being released following a general amnesty for such cases in July 1917. After the war, he studied South Slavic history and literature at universities in Zagreb and Graz, eventually attaining his PhD. in Graz in 1924. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1924 to 1941. In 1939, he became Yugoslavia's ambassador to Germany, but his tenure ended in April 1941 with the German-led invasion of his country. Shortly after the invasion, Andrić returned to German-occupied Belgrade. He lived quietly in a friend's apartment for the duration of World War II, in conditions likened by some biographers to house arrest, and wrote some of his most important works, including "Na Drini ćuprija" ("The Bridge on the Drina").


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Following the war, Andrić was named to a number of ceremonial posts in Yugoslavia, which had since come under communist rule. In 1961, the Nobel Committee awarded him the Nobel Prize in Literature, selecting him over writers such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert Frost, John Steinbeck and E. M. Forster. The Committee cited "the epic force with which he ... traced themes and depicted human destinies drawn from his country's history". Afterwards, Andrić's works found an international audience and were translated into a number of languages. In subsequent years, he received a number of awards in his native country. Andrić's health declined substantially in late 1974 and he died in Belgrade the following March.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: In the years following Andrić's death, the Belgrade apartment where he spent much of World War II was converted into a museum and a nearby street corner was named in his honour. A number of other cities in the former Yugoslavia also have streets bearing his name. In 2012, filmmaker Emir Kusturica began construction of an ethno-town in eastern Bosnia that is named after Andrić. As Yugoslavia's only Nobel Prize-winning writer, Andrić was well known and respected in his native country during his lifetime. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, beginning in the 1950s and continuing past the breakup of Yugoslavia, his works have been disparaged by Bosniak literary critics for their supposed anti-Muslim bias. In Croatia, his works were blacklisted following Yugoslavia's dissolution, but were rehabilitated by the literary community at the start of the 21st century. He is highly regarded in Serbia for his contributions to Serbian literature.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Ivan Andrić was born in the village of Dolac, near Travnik, on 9 October 1892, while his mother, Katarina (), was in the town visiting relatives. Andrić's parents were both Catholic Croats. He was his parents' only child. His father, Antun, was a struggling silversmith who resorted to working as a school janitor in Sarajevo, where he lived with his wife and infant son. At the age of 32, Antun died of tuberculosis, like most of his siblings. Andrić was only two years old at the time. Widowed and penniless, Andrić's mother took him to Višegrad and placed him in the care of her sister-in-law Ana and brother-in-law Ivan Matković, a police officer. The couple were financially stable but childless, so they agreed to look after the infant and brought him up as their own. Meanwhile, Andrić's mother returned to Sarajevo seeking employment.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Andrić was raised in a country that had changed little since the Ottoman period despite being mandated to Austria-Hungary at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Eastern and Western culture intermingled in Bosnia to a far greater extent than anywhere else in the Balkan peninsula. Having lived there from an early age, Andrić came to cherish Višegrad, calling it "my real home". Though it was a small provincial town (or "kasaba"), Višegrad proved to be an enduring source of inspiration. It was a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional town, the predominant groups being Serbs (Orthodox Christians) and Bosniaks (Muslims). From an early age, Andrić closely observed the customs of the local people. These customs, and the particularities of life in eastern Bosnia, would later be detailed in his works. Andrić made his first friends in Višegrad, playing with them along the Drina River and the town's famous Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: At age six, Andrić began primary school. He later recounted that these were the happiest days of his life. At the age of ten, he received a three-year scholarship from a Croat cultural group called "Napredak" (Progress) to study in Sarajevo. In the autumn of 1902, he was registered at the Great Sarajevo Gymnasium (), the oldest secondary school in Bosnia. While in Sarajevo, Andrić lived with his mother, who worked in a rug factory. At the time, the city was overflowing with civil servants from all parts of Austria-Hungary, and thus many languages could be heard in its restaurants, cafés and on its streets. Culturally, the city boasted a strong Germanic element, and the curriculum in educational institutions was designed to reflect this. From a total of 83 teachers that worked at Andrić's school over a twenty-year period, only three were natives of Bosnia and Herzegovina. "The teaching program," biographer Celia Hawkesworth notes, "was devoted to producing dedicated supporters of the [Habsburg] Monarchy". Andrić disapproved. "All that came ... at secondary school and university," he wrote, "was rough, crude, automatic, without concern, faith, humanity, warmth or love."


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Andrić experienced difficulty in his studies, finding mathematics particularly challenging, and had to repeat the sixth grade. For a time, he lost his scholarship due to poor grades. Hawkesworth attributes Andrić's initial lack of academic success at least partly to his alienation from most of his teachers. Nonetheless, he excelled in languages, particularly Latin, Greek and German. Although he initially showed substantial interest in natural sciences, he later began focusing on literature, likely under the influence of his two Croat instructors, writer and politician Đuro Šurmin and poet . Of all his teachers in Sarajevo, Andrić liked Alaupović best, and the two became lifelong friends.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Andrić felt he was destined to become a writer. He began writing in secondary school, but received little encouragement from his mother. He recalled that when he showed her one of his first works, she replied: "Did you write this? What did you do that for?" Andrić published his first two poems in 1911 in a journal called "Bosanska vila" (Bosnian Fairy), which promoted Serbo-Croat unity. At the time, he was still a secondary school student. Prior to World War I, his poems, essays, reviews, and translations appeared in journals such as "Vihor" (Whirlwind), "Savremenik" (The Contemporary), "Hrvatski pokret" (The Croatian Movement), and "Književne novine" (Literary News). One of Andrić's favorite literary forms was lyrical reflective prose, and many of his essays and shorter pieces are prose poems. The historian Wayne S. Vucinich describes Andrić's poetry from this period as "subjective and mostly melancholic". Andrić's translations of August Strindberg, Walt Whitman, and a number of Slovene authors also appeared around this time.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: In 1908, Austria-Hungary officially annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the chagrin of South Slav nationalists like Andrić. In late 1911, Andrić was elected the first president of the Serbo-Croat Progressive Movement (; SHNO), a Sarajevo-based secret society that promoted unity and friendship between Serb and Croat youth and opposed the Austro-Hungarian occupation. Its members were vehemently criticized by both Serb and Croat nationalists, who dismissed them as "traitors to their nations". Unfazed, Andrić continued agitating against the Austro-Hungarians. On 28 February 1912, he spoke before a crowd of 100 student protesters at Sarajevo's railway station, urging them to continue their demonstrations. The Austro-Hungarian police later began harassing and prosecuting SHNO members. Ten were expelled from their schools or penalized in some other way, though Andrić himself escaped punishment. Andrić also joined the South Slav student movement known as Young Bosnia, becoming one of its most prominent members.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: In 1912, Andrić registered at the University of Zagreb, having received a scholarship from an educational foundation in Sarajevo. He enrolled in the department of mathematics and natural sciences because these were the only fields for which scholarships were offered, but was able to take some courses in Croatian literature. Andrić was well received by South Slav nationalists there, and regularly participated in on-campus demonstrations. This led to his being reprimanded by the university. In 1913, after completing two semesters in Zagreb, Andrić transferred to the University of Vienna, where he resumed his studies. While in Vienna, he joined South Slav students in promoting the cause of Yugoslav unity and worked closely with two Yugoslav student societies, the Serbian cultural society "Zora" (Dawn) and the Croatian student club "Zvonimir", which shared his views on "integral Yugoslavism" (the eventual assimilation of all South Slav cultures into one).


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Despite finding like-minded students in Vienna, the city's climate took a toll on Andrić's health. He contracted tuberculosis and became seriously ill, then asked to leave Vienna on medical grounds and continue his studies elsewhere, though Hawkesworth believes he may actually have been taking part in a protest of South Slav students that were boycotting German-speaking universities and transferring to Slavic ones. For a time, Andrić had considered transferring to a school in Russia but ultimately decided to complete his fourth semester at Jagiellonian University in Kraków. He transferred in early 1914. Andrić started his literary career as a poet. In 1914, he was one of the contributors to "Hrvatska mlada lirika" (Croatian Youth Lyrics) and continued to publish translations, poems and reviews.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: On 28 June 1914, Andrić learned of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. The assassin was Gavrilo Princip, a Young Bosnian and close friend of Andrić who had been one of the first to join the SHNO in 1911. Upon hearing the news, Andrić decided to leave Kraków and return to Bosnia. He travelled by train to Zagreb, and in mid-July, departed for the coastal city of Split with his friend, the poet and fellow South Slav nationalist . Andrić and Čerina spent the rest of July at the latter's summer home. As the month progressed, the two became increasingly uneasy about the escalating political crisis that followed the Archduke's assassination and eventually led to the outbreak of World War I. They then went to Rijeka, where Čerina left Andrić without explanation, only saying he urgently needed to go to Italy. Several days later, Andrić learned that Čerina was being sought by the police.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: By the time war was declared, Andrić had returned to Split feeling exhausted and ill. Given that most of his friends had already been arrested for nationalist activities, he was certain the same fate would befall him. Despite not being involved in the assassination plot, in late July or early August, Andrić was arrested for "anti-state activities", and imprisoned in Split. He was subsequently transferred to a prison in Šibenik, then to Rijeka and finally to Maribor, where he arrived on 19 August. Plagued by tuberculosis, Andrić passed the time reading, talking to his cellmates and learning languages.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: By the following year, the case against Andrić was dropped due to lack of evidence, and he was released from prison on 20 March 1915. The authorities exiled him to the village of Ovčarevo, near Travnik. He arrived there on 22 March and was placed under the supervision of local Franciscan friars. Andrić soon befriended the friar Alojzije Perčinlić and began researching the history of Bosnia's Catholic and Orthodox Christian communities under Ottoman rule. Andrić lived in the parish headquarters, and the Franciscans gave him access to the monastery chronicles. In return, he assisted the parish priest and taught religious songs to pupils at the monastery school. Andrić's mother soon came to visit him and offered to serve as the parish priest's housekeeper. "Mother is very happy," Andrić wrote. "It has been three whole years since she saw me. And she can't grasp all that has happened to me in that time, nor the whole of my crazy, cursed existence. She cries, kisses me and laughs in turn. Like a mother."


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Andrić was later transferred to a prison in Zenica, where Perčinlić regularly visited him. The Austro-Hungarian Army declared Andrić a political threat in March 1917 and exempted him from armed service. He was thus registered with a non-combat unit until February of the following year. On 2 July 1917, Emperor Charles declared a general amnesty for all of Austria-Hungary's political prisoners. His freedom of movement restored, Andrić visited Višegrad and reunited with several of his school friends. He remained in Višegrad until late July, when he was mobilized. Because of his poor health, Andrić was admitted to a Sarajevo hospital and thus avoided service. He was then transferred to the "Reservospital" in Zenica, where he received treatment for several months before continuing to Zagreb. There, Andrić again fell seriously ill and sought treatment at the Sisters of Mercy hospital, which had become a gathering place for dissidents and former political prisoners.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: In January 1918, Andrić joined several South Slav nationalists in editing a short-lived pan-Yugoslav periodical called "Književni jug" (Literary South). Here and in other periodicals, Andrić published book reviews, plays, verse, and translations. Over the course of several months in early 1918, Andrić's health began to deteriorate, and his friends believed he was nearing death. However, he recovered and spent the spring of 1918 in Krapina writing "Ex ponto", a book of prose poetry that was published in July. It was his first book.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: The end of World War I saw the disintegration of Austria-Hungary, which was replaced by a newly established South Slav state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929). In late 1918, Andrić re-enrolled at the University of Zagreb and resumed his studies. By January 1919, he fell ill again and was back in the hospital. Fellow writer Ivo Vojnović became worried for his friend's life and appealed to Andrić's old schoolteacher Tugomir Alaupović (who had just been appointed the new kingdom's Minister of Religious Affairs) to use his connections and help Andrić pay for treatment abroad. In February, Andrić wrote Alaupović and asked for help finding a government job in Belgrade. Eventually, Andrić chose to seek treatment in Split, where he stayed for the following six months. During his time on the Mediterranean coast, Andrić completed a second volume of prose poetry, titled "Nemiri", which was published the following year. By the time Andrić left, he had almost fully recovered, and quipped that he was cured by the "air, sun and figs." Troubled by news that his uncle was seriously ill, Andrić left Split in August and went to him in Višegrad. He returned to Zagreb two weeks later.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: In the immediate aftermath of the war, Andrić's tendency to identify with Serbdom became increasingly apparent. In a correspondence dated December 1918, Vojnović described the young writer as "a Catholic ... a Serb from Bosnia." By 1919, Andrić had acquired his undergraduate degree in South Slavic history and literature at the University of Zagreb. He was perennially impoverished, and earned a meagre sum through his writing and editorial work. By mid-1919, he realized that he would be unable to financially support himself and his aging mother, aunt and uncle for much longer, and his appeals to Alaupović for help securing a government job became more frequent. In September 1919, Alaupović offered him a secretarial position at the Ministry of Religion, which Andrić accepted.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: In late October, Andrić left for Belgrade. He became involved in the city's literary circles and soon acquired the distinction of being one of Belgrade's most popular young writers. Though the Belgrade press wrote positively of him, Andrić disliked being a public figure, and went into seclusion and distanced himself from his fellow writers. At the same time, he grew dissatisfied with his government job and wrote to Alaupović asking for a transfer to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 20 February, Andrić's request was granted and he was assigned to the Foreign Ministry's mission at the Vatican.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Andrić left Belgrade soon after, and reported for duty in late February. At this time, he published his first short story, "Put Alije Đerzeleza" (The Journey of Alija Đerzelez). He complained that the consulate was understaffed and that he did not have enough time to write. All evidence suggests he had a strong distaste for the ceremony and pomp that accompanied his work in the diplomatic service, but according to Hawkesworth, he endured it with "dignified good grace". Around this time, he began writing in the Ekavian dialect used in Serbia, and ceased writing in the Ijekavian dialect used in his native Bosnia. Andrić soon requested another assignment, and in November, he was transferred to Bucharest. Once again, his health deteriorated. Nevertheless, Andrić found his consular duties there did not require much effort, so he focused on writing, contributed articles to a Romanian journal and even had time to visit his family in Bosnia. In 1922, Andrić requested another reassignment. He was transferred to the consulate in Trieste, where he arrived on 9 December. The city's damp climate only caused Andrić's health to deteriorate further, and on his doctor's advice, he transferred to Graz in January 1923. He arrived in the city on 23 January, and was appointed vice-consul. Andrić soon enrolled at the University of Graz, resumed his schooling and began working on his doctoral dissertation in Slavic studies.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: In August 1923, Andrić experienced an unexpected career setback. A law had been passed stipulating that all civil servants had to have a doctoral degree. As Andrić had not completed his dissertation, he was informed that his employment would be terminated. Andrić's well-connected friends intervened on his behalf and appealed to Foreign Minister Momčilo Ninčić, citing Andrić's diplomatic and linguistic abilities. In February 1924, the Foreign Ministry decided to retain Andrić as a day worker with the salary of a vice-consul. This gave him the opportunity to complete his Ph.D. Three months later, on 24 May, Andrić submitted his dissertation to a committee of examiners at the University of Graz, who gave it their approval. This allowed Andrić to take the examinations necessary for his Ph.D. to be confirmed. He passed both his exams, and on 13 July, received his Ph.D. The committee of examiners recommended that Andrić's dissertation be published. Andrić chose the title "Die Entwicklung des geistigen Lebens in Bosnien unter der Einwirkung der türkischen Herrschaft" (The Development of Spiritual Life in Bosnia Under the Influence of Turkish Rule). In it, he characterized the Ottoman occupation as a yoke that still loomed over Bosnia. "The effect of Turkish rule was absolutely negative," he wrote. "The Turks could bring no cultural content or sense of higher mission, even to those South Slavs who accepted Islam."


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Several days after receiving his Ph.D., Andrić wrote the Foreign Minister asking to be reinstated and submitted a copy of his dissertation, university documents and a medical certification that deemed him to be in good health. In September, the Foreign Ministry granted his request. Andrić stayed in Graz until 31 October, when he was assigned to the Foreign Ministry's Belgrade headquarters. During the two years he was in Belgrade, Andrić spent much of his time writing. His first collection of short stories was published in 1924, and he received a prize from the Serbian Royal Academy (of which he became a full-fledged member in February 1926). In October 1926, he was assigned to the consulate in Marseille and again appointed vice-consul. On 9 December 1926, he was transferred to the Yugoslav embassy in Paris. Andrić's time in France was marked by increasing loneliness and isolation. His uncle had died in 1924, his mother the following year, and upon arriving in France, he was informed that his aunt had died as well. "Apart from official contacts," he wrote Alaupović, "I have no company whatever." Andrić spent much of his time in the Paris archives poring over the reports of the French consulate in Travnik between 1809 and 1814, material he would use in "Travnička hronika", one of his future novels.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: In April 1928, Andrić was posted to Madrid as vice-consul. While there, he wrote essays on Simón Bolívar and Francisco Goya, and began work on the novel "Prokleta avlija" (The Damned Yard). In June 1929, he was named secretary of the Yugoslav legation to Belgium and Luxembourg in Brussels. On 1 January 1930, he was sent to Switzerland as part of Yugoslavia's permanent delegation to the League of Nations in Geneva, and was named deputy delegate the following year. In 1933, Andrić returned to Belgrade; two years later, he was named head of the political department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 5 November 1937, Andrić became assistant to Milan Stojadinović, Yugoslavia's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. That year, France decorated him with the Order of the Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Andrić was appointed Yugoslavia's ambassador to Germany in late March or early April 1939. This appointment, Hawkesworth writes, shows that he was highly regarded by his country's leadership. Yugoslavia's King Alexander had been assassinated in Marseille in 1934. He was succeeded by his ten-year-old son Peter, and a regency council led by Peter's uncle Paul was established to rule in his place until he turned 18. Paul's government established closer economic and political ties with Germany. In March 1941, Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact, pledging support for Germany and Italy. Though the negotiations had occurred behind Andrić's back, in his capacity as ambassador he was obliged to attend the document's signing in Berlin. Andrić had previously been instructed to delay agreeing to the Axis powers' demands for as long as possible. He was highly critical of the move, and on 17 March, wrote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking to be relieved of his duties. Ten days later, a group of pro-Western Royal Yugoslav Air Force officers overthrew the regency and proclaimed Peter of age. This led to a breakdown in relations with Germany and prompted Adolf Hitler to order Yugoslavia's invasion. Given these circumstances, Andrić's position was an extremely difficult one. Nevertheless, he used the little influence he had and attempted unsuccessfully to assist Polish prisoners following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Prior to their invasion of his country, the Germans had offered Andrić the opportunity to evacuate to neutral Switzerland. He declined on the basis that his staff would not be allowed to go with him. On 6 April 1941, the Germans and their allies invaded Yugoslavia. The country capitulated on 17 April and was subsequently partitioned between the Axis powers. In early June, Andrić and his staff were taken back to German-occupied Belgrade, where some were jailed. Andrić was retired from the diplomatic service, but refused to receive his pension or cooperate in any way with the puppet government that the Germans had installed in Serbia. He was spared jail, but the Germans kept him under close surveillance throughout the occupation. Because of his Croat heritage, they had offered him the chance to settle in Zagreb, then the capital of the fascist puppet state known as the Independent State of Croatia, but he declined. Andrić spent the following three years in a friend's Belgrade apartment in conditions that some biographers liken to house arrest. In August 1941, the puppet authorities in German-occupied Serbia issued the Appeal to the Serbian Nation, calling upon the country's inhabitants to abstain from the communist-led rebellion against the Germans; Andrić refused to sign. He directed most of his energies towards writing, and during this time completed two of his best known novels, "Na Drini ćuprija" ("The Bridge on the Drina") and "Travnička hronika".


title: Ivo Andrić

text: In mid-1942, Andrić sent a message of sympathy to Draža Mihailović, the leader of the royalist Chetniks, one of two resistance movements vying for power in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia, the other being Josip Broz Tito's communist Partisans. In 1944, Andrić was forced to leave his friend's apartment during the Allied bombing of Belgrade and evacuate the city. As he joined a column of refugees, he became ashamed that he was fleeing by himself, in contrast to the masses of people accompanied by their children, spouses and infirm parents. "I looked myself up and down," he wrote, "and saw I was saving only myself and my overcoat." In the ensuing months, Andrić refused to leave the apartment, even during the heaviest bombing. That October, the Red Army and the Partisans drove the Germans out of Belgrade, and Tito proclaimed himself Yugoslavia's ruler.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Andrić initially had a precarious relationship with the communists because he had previously been an official in the royalist government. He returned to public life only once the Germans had been forced out of Belgrade. "Na Drini ćuprija" was published in March 1945. It was followed by "Travnička hronika" that September and "Gospođica" that November. "Na Drini ćuprija" came to be regarded as Andrić's "magnum opus" and was proclaimed a classic of Yugoslav literature by the communists. It chronicles the history of the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge and the town of Višegrad from the bridge's construction in the 16th century until the outbreak of World War I. The second novel, "Travnička hronika", follows a French diplomat in Bosnia during the Napoleonic Wars. The third, "Gospođica", revolves around the life of a Sarajevan woman. In the post-war period, Andrić also published several short story collections, some travel memoirs, and a number of essays on writers such as Vuk Karadžić, Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, and Petar Kočić.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: In November 1946, Andrić was elected vice-president of the Society for the Cultural Cooperation of Yugoslavia with the Soviet Union. The same month, he was named president of the Yugoslav Writers' Union. The following year, he became a member of the People's Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1948, Andrić published a collection of short stories he had written during the war. His work came to influence writers such as Branko Ćopić, Vladan Desnica, Mihailo Lalić and Meša Selimović. In April 1950, Andrić became a deputy in the National Assembly of Yugoslavia. He was decorated by the Presidium of the National Assembly for his services to the Yugoslav people in 1952. In 1953, his career as a parliamentary deputy came to an end. The following year, Andrić published the novella "Prokleta avlija" (The Damned Yard), which tells of life in an Ottoman prison in Istanbul. That December, he was admitted into the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the country's ruling party. According to Hawkesworth, it is unlikely he joined the party out of ideological conviction, but rather to "serve his country as fully as possible".


title: Ivo Andrić

text: On 27 September 1958, the 66-year-old Andrić married Milica Babić, a costume designer at the National Theatre of Serbia who was almost twenty years his junior. Earlier, he had announced it was "probably better" that a writer never marry. "He was perpetually persecuted by a kind of fear," a close friend recalled. "It seemed as though he had been born afraid, and that is why he married so late. He simply did not dare enter that area of life."


title: Ivo Andrić

text: By the late 1950s, Andrić's works had been translated into a number of languages. On 26 October 1961, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature by the Swedish Academy. Documents released 50 years later revealed that the Nobel Committee had selected Andrić over writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Frost, John Steinbeck and E.M. Forster. The Committee cited "the epic force with which he has traced themes and depicted human destinies drawn from his country's history". Once the news was announced, Andrić's Belgrade apartment was swarmed by reporters, and he publicly thanked the Nobel Committee for selecting him as the winner of that year's prize. Andrić donated the entirety of his prize money, which amounted to some 30 million dinars, and prescribed that it be used to purchase library books in Bosnia and Herzegovina.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: The Nobel Prize ensured Andrić received global recognition. The following March, he fell ill while on a trip to Cairo and had to return to Belgrade for an operation. He was obliged to cancel all promotional events in Europe and North America, but his works continued to be reprinted and translated into numerous languages. Judging by letters he wrote at the time, Andrić felt burdened by the attention but did his best not to show it publicly. Upon receiving the Nobel Prize, the number of awards and honours bestowed upon him multiplied. He received the Order of the Republic in 1962, as well as 27 July Award of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the AVNOJ Award in 1967, and the Order of the Hero of Socialist Labour in 1972. In addition to being a member of the Yugoslav and Serbian academies of sciences and arts, he also became a correspondent of their Bosnian and Slovenian counterparts, and received honorary doctorates from the universities of Belgrade, Sarajevo and Kraków.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Andrić's wife died on 16 March 1968. His health deteriorated steadily and he travelled little in his final years. He continued to write until 1974, when his health took another turn for the worse. In December 1974, he was admitted to a Belgrade hospital. He soon fell into a coma, and died in the Military Medical Academy at 1:15 a.m. on 13 March 1975, aged 82. His remains were cremated, and on 24 April, the urn containing his ashes was buried at the Alley of Distinguished Citizens in Belgrade's New Cemetery. The ceremony was attended by about 10,000 residents of Belgrade.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Andrić was an avid reader in his youth. The young Andrić's literary interests varied greatly, ranging from the Greek and Latin Classics to the works of past and contemporary literary figures, including German and Austrian writers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Heinrich Heine, Friedrich Nietzsche, Franz Kafka, Rainer Maria Rilke and Thomas Mann, the French writers Michel de Montaigne, Blaise Pascal, Gustave Flaubert, Victor Hugo and Guy de Maupassant, and the British writers Thomas Carlyle, Walter Scott and Joseph Conrad. Andrić also read the works of the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, the Italian poet and philosopher Giacomo Leopardi, the Russian writer Nikolay Chernyshevsky, the Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen, the American writers Walt Whitman and Henry James, and the Czechoslovak philosopher Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Andrić was especially fond of Polish literature, and later stated that it had greatly influenced him. He held several Serb writers in high esteem, particularly Karadžić, Njegoš, Kočić and Aleksa Šantić. Andrić also admired the Slovene poets Fran Levstik, Josip Murn and Oton Župančič, and translated some of their works. Kafka appears to have had a significant influence on Andrić's prose, and his philosophical outlook was informed strongly by the works of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. At one point in his youth, Andrić even took an interest in Chinese and Japanese literature.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Much of Andrić's work was inspired by the traditions and peculiarities of life in Bosnia, and examines the complexity and cultural contrasts of the region's Muslim, Serb and Croat inhabitants. His two best known novels, "Na Drini ćuprija" and "Travnička hronika", subtly contrast Ottoman Bosnia's "oriental" propensities to the "Western atmosphere" first introduced by the French and later the Austro-Hungarians. His works contain many words of Turkish, Arabic or Persian origin that found their way into the languages of the South Slavs during Ottoman rule. According to Vucinich, Andrić uses these words to "express oriental nuances and subtleties that cannot be rendered as well in his own Serbo-Croatian".


title: Ivo Andrić

text: In the opinion of literary historian Nicholas Moravcevich, Andrić's work "frequently betrays his profound sadness over the misery and waste inherent in the passing of time". "Na Drini ćuprija" remains his most famous novel and has received the most scholarly analysis of all his works. Most scholars have interpreted the eponymous bridge as a metonym for Yugoslavia, which was itself a bridge between East and West during the Cold War. In his Nobel acceptance speech, Andrić described the country as one "which, at break-neck speed and at the cost of great sacrifices and prodigious efforts, is trying in all fields, including the field of culture, to make up for those things of which it has been deprived by a singularly turbulent and hostile past." In Andrić's view, the seemingly conflicting positions of Yugoslavia's disparate ethnic groups could be overcome by knowing one's history. This, he surmised, would help future generations avoid the mistakes of the past, and was in line with his cyclical view of time. Andrić expressed hope that these differences could be bridged and "histories demystified".


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Shortly before his death, Andrić stated that he wished for all his possessions to be preserved as part of an endowment to be used for "general cultural and humanitarian purposes". In March 1976, an administrative committee decided that the purpose of the endowment would be to promote the study of Andrić's work, as well as art and literature in general. The Ivo Andrić Endowment has since organized a number of international conferences, made grants to foreign scholars studying the writer's works and offered financial aid to cover the publication costs of books relating to Andrić. An annual yearbook, titled "Sveske Zadužbine Ive Andrića" (The Journals of the Ivo Andrić Endowment), is published by the organization. Andrić's will and testament stipulated that an award be given annually to the author of each subsequent year's best collection of short stories. The street that runs beside Belgrade's New Palace, now the seat of the President of Serbia, was posthumously named "Andrićev venac" (Andrić's Crescent) in his honour. It includes a life-sized statue of the writer. The flat in which Andrić spent his final years has been turned into a museum. Opened over a year after Andrić's death, it houses books, manuscripts, documents, photographs and personal belongings.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Andrić remains the only writer from the former Yugoslavia to have been awarded the Nobel Prize. Given his use of the Ekavian dialect, and the fact that most of his novels and short stories were written in Belgrade, his works have become associated almost exclusively with Serbian literature. The Slavonic studies professor Bojan Aleksov characterizes Andrić as one of Serbian literature's two central pillars, the other being Petar II Petrović-Njegoš. "The plasticity of his narrative," Moravcevich writes, "the depth of his psychological insight, and the universality of his symbolism remain unsurpassed in all of Serbian literature." Due to his self-identification as a Serb, many in the Bosniak and Croat literary establishments have come to "reject or limit Andrić's association with their literatures". Following Yugoslavia's disintegration in the early 1990s, Andrić's works were blacklisted in Croatia under President Franjo Tuđman. The Croatian historian and politician Ivo Banac characterized Andrić as a writer who "missed the Chetnik train by a very small margin". Though Andrić remains a controversial figure in Croatia, the Croatian literary establishment largely rehabilitated his works following Tuđman's death in 1999.


title: Ivo Andrić

text: Bosniak scholars have objected to the ostensibly negative portrayal of Muslim characters in Andrić's works. During the 1950s, his most vocal Bosniak detractors accused him of being a plagiarist, homosexual and Serbian nationalist. Some went so far as to call for his Nobel Prize to be taken away. Most Bosniak criticism of his works appeared in the period immediately prior to the breakup of Yugoslavia and in the aftermath of the Bosnian War. In early 1992, a Bosniak nationalist in Višegrad destroyed a statue of Andrić with a sledgehammer. In 2009, Nezim Halilović, the imam of Sarajevo's King Fahd Mosque, derided Andrić as a "Chetnik ideologue" during a sermon. In 2012, the filmmaker Emir Kusturica and Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik unveiled another statue of Andrić in Višegrad, this time as part of the construction of an ethno-town called Andrićgrad, sponsored by Kusturica and the Government of Republika Srpska. Andrićgrad was officially inaugurated in June 2014, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand.


title: E. M. S. Namboodiripad

text: Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as EMS, was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of Kerala in 1957–1959 and then again in 1967–1969. As a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI), he became the first non-Congress Chief Minister in the Indian republic. In 1964, he led a faction of the CPI that broke away to form the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). He completed his graduation from St. Thomas College, Thrissur Kerala.


title: E. M. S. Namboodiripad

text: As chief minister, EMS pioneered radical land and educational reforms in Kerala, which helped it become the country's leader in social indicators. It is largely due to his commitment and guidance that the CPI(M), of which he was Politburo member and general secretary for 14 years, has become such a domineering political force, playing a vital role in India's new era of coalition politics.


title: E. M. S. Namboodiripad

text: Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad was born on 13 June 1909, as the fourth son of Parameswaran Namboodiripad and Vishnudatha Antharjanam, at Elamkulam, situated on the banks of Thuthapuzha River, in Perinthalmanna taluk of the present Malappuram district into a prominent Malayali Nambudiri Brahmin family. His two elder brothers died before he was born, and the third brother was intellectually disabled. He lost his father when he was five. During 1921 Malabar rebellion he moved to Irinjalakuda as the belligerent attacked his house. In his early years, he was a close friend of Sr. P.M. Mathew. He was associated with V. T. Bhattathiripad, M. R. Bhattathiripad and many others in the fight against the casteism and conservatism that existed in the Namboothiri community. He became one of the office-bearers of Valluvanadu Yogaskshema Sabha, an organisation of progressive Namboothiri youth.


title: E. M. S. Namboodiripad

text: During his college days, he was deeply associated with the Indian National Congress and the Indian independence movement. It is said he would walk 5–8 km to hear the firebrand Cochin politician V.J Mathai speak.


title: E. M. S. Namboodiripad

text: He was well known for his stammer. When asked if he always stammered, he would reply, "No, only when I speak."


title: E. M. S. Namboodiripad

text: EMS was married to Arya Antharjanam and had two sons – E. M. Sreedharan and E. M. Sasi – and two daughters – E. M. Malathy and E. M. Radha. His grandson (Sreedharan's son) Sujith Shankar is an actor.


title: E. M. S. Namboodiripad

text: He was a writer and author of several literary works and his book on the history of Kerala is notable. He described Mahatma Gandhi as a Hindu fundamentalist.


title: E. M. S. Namboodiripad

text: In 1934, he was one of the founders of Congress Socialist Party, a socialist wing within the Indian National Congress, and elected as its All India Joint Secretary from 1934 to 1940. During this period, he was also elected to the Madras Legislative Assembly (1939).


title: E. M. S. Namboodiripad

text: He remained committed to socialist ideals, and his compassion towards the working class led him to join the Communist movement. The Indian government considered him to be one of the founders of the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Kerala, forcing him to go into hiding. During the 1962 Sino-Indian war, he was among leaders who aired China's view on the border issue. When the CPI split in 1964, EMS stood with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)). He was the leader of the Kerala state committee of CPI(M). He served as a member of the Central Committee and the Politburo of the CPI(M) until his death in 1998. EMS became general secretary in 1977, a designation he held until 1992. A Marxist scholar, he influenced the development of Kerala, of which he was the first chief minister.


title: E. M. S. Namboodiripad

text: A Communist-led government under E. M. S. Namboodiripad resulted from the first elections for the new Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1957, making him the first communist leader in India to head a popularly elected government. It was the second ever Communist government to be democratically elected, after Communist success in the 1945 elections in the Republic of San Marino, a microstate in Europe.) On 5 April 1957 he was appointed as the first chief minister of Kerala. His government introduced the Land Reform Ordinance and Education Bill. In 1958, a period of anticommunist protest, the Vimochana Samaram, began in response to the bills. The central government of India responded in 1959 by invoking Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, suspending state government and imposing President's rule.


title: E. M. S. Namboodiripad

text: Initially, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was hesitant to dismiss a democratically elected government, but he was convinced by his daughter Indira Gandhi. Involvement by the Central Intelligence Agency's in the ouster has been long suspected. Declassified CIA documents show that the establishment of communist state governments in India concerned them and "preventing additional Keralas became an important argument for augmenting U.S. assistance to India". According to the biography of former US Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker, "the election results rang alarm bells in Washington".